James Craggs the Younger (9 April 168616 February 1721), was an English politician.

Life

Craggs was born at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

, the son of

James Craggs the Elder James Craggs the Elder (1657 – 16 March 1721), of Jermyn Street, Westminster and Charlton, Lewisham, Kent, was an English financier and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1702 to 1713. Life Craggs was ba ...

. Part of his early life was spent abroad, where he made the acquaintance of George Louis,

Elector of Hanover The Electorate of Hanover (german: Kurfürstentum Hannover or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, located in northwestern Germany and taking its name from the capital city of Hanover. It was formally known as ...

, afterwards King George I of Great Britain. In 1713 he became

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Tregony Tregony ( kw, Trerigoni), sometimes in the past Tregoney, is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Tregony with Cuby, in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies on the River Fal. In the village there is a post office (now ...

, in 1717

Secretary at War The Secretary at War was a political position in the English and later British government, with some responsibility over the administration and organization of the Army, but not over military policy. The Secretary at War ran the War Office. Afte ...

, and in the following year

Secretary of State for the Southern Department The Secretary of State for the Southern Department was a position in the cabinet of the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Southern Department became the Home Office. History Before 1782, the responsibilities of ...

. Craggs was implicated in the

South Sea Bubble South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

, but not so deeply as his father, whom he predeceased, dying on 16 February 1721, aged 34. Among Craggs's friends were

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

(who wrote the epitaph on his monument in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

Joseph Addison Joseph Addison (1 May 1672 – 17 June 1719) was an English essayist, poet, playwright and politician. He was the eldest son of The Reverend Lancelot Addison. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his long-standing friend Richard S ...

and

John Gay John Gay (30 June 1685 – 4 December 1732) was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for ''The Beggar's Opera'' (1728), a ballad opera. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly Peac ...

. James Craggs left an illegitimate daughter, Harriot Craggs, by the noted dancer and actress

Hester Santlow Hester Santlow (married name Hester Booth; c. 1690 – 1773) was a noted British dancer and actress, who has been called "England's first ballerina". She was influential in many spheres of theatrical life. Life Hester Santlow was born circa 16 ...

. Harriot married firstly in 1726 to Richard Eliot, having nine children including

Edward Craggs-Eliot, 1st Baron Eliot Edward Craggs-Eliot, 1st Baron Eliot (London, 8 July 1727 – 17 February 1804, Port Eliot, Cornwall) was an English official and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1748 to 1784, when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Elio ...

and secondly in 1749 to John Hamilton by whom she had a son. James Craggs also left two Illegitimate sons, each named James, by different mothers, Reference to these may be found in the Will of his uncle, Michael Richards, who left bequests to Harriot and to each of the sons. One of the sons died at sea in 1740 as a lieutenant in the Royal Navy under the name James Smith, but noted as being the natural son of the late Secretary Craggs. In 1719 he was one of the original backers of the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

, establishing a London opera company which commissioned numerous works from

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

Bononcini Bononcini is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Antonio Maria Bononcini (1677–1726), Italian cellist and composer *Giovanni Bononcini (1670–1747), Italian Baroque composer, cellist, singer, and teacher *Giovanni Maria Bononcin ...

and others.Thomas McGeary. ''The Politics of Opera in Handel's Britain''. Cambridge University Press, 2013. p.254

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cragg, James, the Younger 1686 births 1721 deaths British Secretaries of State Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722