Joseph Marryat (7 October 1790 – 24 September 1876) was a British politician. The son of Joseph Marryat, he was born in Grenada, where his father owned plantations worked by slaves. He followed his father in becoming a shipowner, banker and merchant, and inherited his father's estates and slaves. He joined the

West India Committee The West India Committee is a British-based organisation promoting ties and trade with the British Caribbean. It operates as a charity and NGO (non-governmental organisation). It evolved out of a lobbying group formed in 1780 to represent the inte ...

, which opposed the abolition of slavery. At the 1826 UK general election, he stood as an independent in

Sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

. He won the seat, which had been represented by his father until 1824. In Parliament, he supported the

Great Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...

and

Catholic Emancipation Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...

, while continuing to campaign in support of slavery. He later became regarded as a Whig. He held his seat until the

1835 UK general election The 1835 United Kingdom general election was called when Parliament was dissolved on 29 December 1834. Polling took place between 6 January and 6 February 1835, and the results saw Robert Peel's Conservatives make large gains from their low of ...

, when he stood down. Marryat retired from the family business in 1849, moving to

Ystradgynlais Ystradgynlais (, ) is a town on the River Tawe in southwest Powys, Wales. It is the second-largest town in Powys and is in the historic county of Brecknockshire. The town has a high proportion of Welsh language-speakers. The community includes ...

where he became co-owner of the Ynyscedwyn Iron Company. He also became an owner of the Price, Marryat bank, which collapsed in 1866. The ironworks also struggled, and on his death in 1876, Marryat left less than £4,000 in his will. He was also known as an expert on pottery and porcelain, and wrote ''History of Pottery and Porcelain, Mediaeval and Modern''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marryat, Joseph 1790 births 1876 deaths Grenadian emigrants to the United Kingdom Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 People from Ystradgynlais