Duncan Davidson (1733 – 15 August 1799) was a Scottish merchant and Member of Parliament. He was the second son of William Davidson, of Davidston in the

Black Isle The Black Isle ( gd, an t-Eilean Dubh, ) is a peninsula within Ross and Cromarty, in the Scottish Highlands. It includes the towns of Cromarty and Fortrose, and the villages of Culbokie, Jemimaville, Rosemarkie, Avoch, Munlochy, Tore, and Nor ...

, and his wife Jean. His elder brother Henry purchased Tulloch Castle from their maternal grandfather, Kenneth Bayne of

Knockbain Knockbain is a parish on the Black Isle, in the county of Ross and Cromarty in Highland council area, Scotland. It includes the villages of North Kessock, Munlochy and Kilmuir. The parishes of Kilmuir Wester and Suddie were united in the 1750s, ...

, in 1762; Duncan succeeded to the estate on his brother's death in 1781. Duncan Davidson became a junior partner in the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

merchant house of George Chandler (1721-79), which traded in

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

from the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. After Chandler's death, he formed a partnership with Charles Graham (before 1757 - 1806). The partnership of Davidson & Graham, operating from Fenchurch Buildings in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

, prospered in the sugar trade for over a quarter of a century.Alston, David (2021), ''Slaves and Highlanders: Silenced Histories of Scotland and the Caribbean'',

Edinburgh University Press Edinburgh University Press is a scholarly publisher of academic books and journals, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. History Edinburgh University Press was founded in the 1940s and became a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Edinburgh ...

, pp. 190 - 192, At the general election of 1790, Davidson was elected to Parliament for

Cromartyshire Cromartyshire ( gd, Siorrachd Chromba) is a historic county in the Highlands of Scotland, comprising the medieval "old shire" around the county town of Cromarty and 22 enclaves and exclaves transferred from Ross-shire in the late 17th century. ...

with the support of William Pulteney, defeating Alexander Brodie who had the support of

Henry Dundas Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC, Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE (28 April 1742 – 28 May 1811), styled as Lord Melville from 1802, was the trusted lieutenant of British Pri ...

. A compromise was reached whereby Davidson would hold the seat for four years before resigning in favour of a candidate to be decided by Brodie's supporters. However, once in Parliament, Davidson supported the government and Dundas agreed to his retaining the seat until the next general election.Fisher, David R. (1986)
DAVIDSON, Duncan (1733-99), of Tulloch, Ross and Myles's, Ongar, Essex.
an
Cromartyshire
in ''

The History of Parliament The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in w ...

: the House of Commons 1790-1820''. Davidson married twice, leaving one son (Henry) by his first wife; his son carried on the family business after his father's death.

References

1733 births 1799 deaths British MPs 1790–1796 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies People from the Black Isle {{Scotland-GreatBritain-MP-stub