Robert William Keate (16 June 1814 – 17 March 1873) was a career British colonial governor, serving as Commissioner of the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

from 1850 to 1852, Governor of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

from 1857 to 1864, Lieutenant-governor of the Colony of Natal from 1867 to 1872, and Governor of

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

from 7 March 1873 to 17 March 1873.

Early life and family

Keate was born in 1814 in

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, B ...

, London, one of four children of

Robert Keate Robert Keate FRCS (14 March 1777 – 2 October 1857) was a noted British surgeon, and Serjeant-Surgeon to King William IV and Queen Victoria. Early life He was born in Laverton, Somerset, the fourth son of William Keate, rector of Laverton ...

, the brother of John Keate. Keate was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

and later Christ Church, Oxford.

Cricket career

Keate made his first-class debut for the Gentlemen in the 1832

Gentlemen v Players Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of English first-class cricket matches. Two matches were played in 1806, but the fixture was not played again until 1819. It became an annual event, usually played at least twice each season, exc ...

fixture. While attending Christ Church, Keate made his first-class debut for

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

in 1834 against the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

. From 1834 to 1837, he represented the University in 3 first-class matches. In 1835, he made his debut for the Marylebone Cricket Club against

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

. From 1835 to 1848, he represented the club in 21 first-class matches, making his final appearance for the club against Oxford University. In 1844, he represented

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

in a single first-class match against the Marylebone Cricket Club. In addition, Keate played first-class cricket for the Gentlemen of Kent, the Fast Bowlers (which indicates Keate was a quick bowler of some sort), the

Gentlemen of England Cricket, and hence English amateur cricket, probably began in England during the medieval period but the earliest known reference concerns the game being played c.1550 by children on a plot of land at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, Surrey ...

and an early

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

team against

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in 1840. In his overall first-class career, he scored 387 runs at a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of 6.14, with a high score of 30. With the ball, he took 2 wickets and in the field, he took 8 catches.

Colonial service

Commissioner of the Seychelles

In 1850, Keate was appointed as the Commissioner of the Seychelles. This was a position he held from 1850 to 1852.

Governor of Trinidad

Keate later joined the colonial civil service upon, and was sent to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

in 1857 as Governor of Trinidad, a position he held from 26 January 1857 to 1864.

Lieutenant-governor of Natal

In 1867, Keate was appointed the Lieutenant-governor of the Colony of Natal, a position he held from 1867 to 1872.

Governor of Cape Coast

In 1872, Keate was appointed the

Governor of the Gold Coast This is a list of colonial administrators in the Gold Coast (modern Ghana) from the start of English presence in 1621 until Ghana's independence from the United Kingdom in 1957. In addition to the Gold Coast Colony, the governor of the Gold Coast ...

from 7 March 1873 to 17 March 1873. Keate died at

Cape Coast Castle Cape Coast Castle ( sv, Carolusborg) is one of about forty "slave castles", or large commercial forts, built on the Gold Coast of West Africa (now Ghana) by European traders. It was originally a Portuguese "feitoria" or trading post, establish ...

in the

on 17 March 1873, just ten days into his Governorship.

References

External links

Robert William Keate
at Cricinfo
Robert William Keate
at CricketArchive

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keate, Robert 1814 births 1873 deaths People from Westminster Cricketers from Greater London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford English cricketers Gentlemen cricketers Oxford University cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Hampshire cricketers Governors of British Trinidad Governors of Natal Governors of the Gold Coast (British colony) Gentlemen of Kent cricketers English cricketers of 1826 to 1863 Gentlemen of England cricketers Governors of British Seychelles Governors of British Grenada Fast v Slow cricketers