Robert Montgomery Martin

Robert Montgomery Martin (c. 1801 – 6 September 1868) was an Anglo-Irish writer and civil servant. He served as Colonial Treasurer of Hong Kong from 1844 to 1845. He was a founding member of the Statistical Society of London, the Colonial Society (1837), and the East India Association (1867).

Biography Early life Robert Montgomery Martin was born in Dublin, Ireland, into a Protestant family, the son of John Martin and Mary Hawkins; and trained as a doctor. In 1847 the marriage was dissolved by Parliament, and he married Eliza Barron, later as Eliza Phillips known in bird welfare. Vol I: Possessions in Asia Vol II: Possessions in the West Indies Vol III: Possessions in North America Vol IV: Possessions in Africa and Austral-Asia Vol V: Possessions in Europe

In 1837, Martin expanded the work, and published the new edition as The British Colonial Library, in ten volumes:

Vol I: History, Statistics, and Geography of Upper and Lower Canada Vol II: History of Austral-Asia: comprising New South Wales, Van Diemen's Island, Swan River, South Australia, &c. Vol III: History of Southern Africa: comprising the Cape of Good Hope, Mauritius, Seychelles, &c. Vol IV: History of the West Indies: comprising Jamaica, Honduras, Trinidad, Tobago, Grenada, the Bahamas, and the Virgin Isles. Vol V: History of the West Indies: comprising British Guiana, Barbadoes, St. Vincent's, St. Lucia, Dominica, Montserrat, Antigua, St. Christopher's, &c. &c. Vol VI: History of Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, the Sable Islands, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, the Bermudas, Newfoundland, &c. &c. Vol VII: History of the British Possessions in the Mediterranean: comprising Gibraltar, Malta, Gozo, and the Ionian Islands. Vol VIII: History of the Possessions of the Honorable East India Company. Vol I. Vol IX: History of the Possessions of the Honorable East India Company. Vol II. Vol X: History of the British Possessions in the Indian & Atlantic Oceans; comprising Ceylon, Penang, Malacca, Sincapore, the Falkland Islands, St. Helena, Ascension, Sierra Leone, the Gambia, Cape Coast Castle, &c. &c.

Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley entrusted Martin with the preparation of his papers for publication, as The Marquis of Wellesley's Indian Despatches, 5 vols. 1836, and The Marquis of Wellesley's Spanish Despatches, 1840. For some months in 1833–4 he was engaged on the Taxation of the British Empire, working mainly in the library of the House of Commons. He next turned to the records of East India House, and brought out his History of the Antiquities of Eastern India (3 vols.) in 1838. Temples in Madurai, illustration from vol. 3 of Martin's The Indian Empire vol. 3. Other works were: Political, Commercial, and Financial Condition of the Anglo-Eastern Empire, 1832. British Relations with the Chinese Empire, 1832. Analysis of the Parliamentary Evidence on the China Trade, 1832. Ireland as it was, is, and ought to be, 1833. Past and Present State of the Tea Trade, 1832. East and West India Sugar Duties, 1833. Poor Laws for Ireland, a Measure of Justice for England, 1833. Analysis of Parliamentary Evidence on the Handloom Weavers, 1834–5. Analysis of the Bible (later translated into Chinese), 1836. The Colonial Policy of the British Empire, pt. i. Government, 1837. The Statistics of the British Colonies, 1839. The Monetary System of British India, 1841. Ireland before and after the Union, 1844; 2nd edit. in 1848. Steam Navigation with Australia, 1847. China, Political, Commercial, and Social, 2 vols. 1847. Free Trade in Sugar, 1848. The Hudson's Bay Territories and Vancouver's Island, 1849. The Indian Empire (illustrated), 5 vols. 1857. The Rise and Progress of the Indian Mutiny, 1859. Sovereigns of the Coorg (pamphlet), 1867.