Isaac Morier (1750–1817) was British consul-general of the
Levant Company
The Levant Company was an English chartered company formed in 1592. Elizabeth I of England approved its initial charter on 11 September 1592 when the Venice Company (1583) and the Turkey Company (1581) merged, because their charters had expired, ...
at Constantinople.
Early life
Isaac Morier was born on 12 August 1750 in
Smyrna
Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...
.
[Lane-Poole, 1894] He was from a
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
family. He was educated at
Harrow.
Career
In 1803, he lost his fortune in 1803 and had to work. In 1804, he was appointed the first consul-general of the Levant Company at Constantinople, and on the dissolution of the company in 1806, he became his Britannic majesty's consul. He also became an agent of the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
, and held both positions until his death in 1817 from the plague in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
.
Personal life
Morier became a naturalised Englishman. In 1775, he married Clara van Lennep, daughter of the Dutch consul-general and president of the
Dutch Levant Company
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
.
They had children including:
* John Philip Morier (1776–1853), diplomat
* James Justinian Morier (1780-1849), diplomat and novelist
* David Richard Morier (1784–1877), diplomat
* William Morier (1790-1864), admiral
Death
He died in 1817.
Notes
References
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morier, Isaac
1750 births
1817 deaths
People educated at Harrow School
British East India Company civil servants
Morier family, Isaac