Sir Alexander Douglas of Eagleshay (

Egilsay Egilsay (, sco, Egilsay) is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, lying east of Rousay. The island is largely farmland and is known for its corncrakes and St Magnus Church, dedicated or re-dedicated to Saint Magnus, who was killed on the is ...

), Lord of Egilshay (died January 1718), was a Scottish politician who sat in the

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...

from 1702 to 1707 and in the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

from 1707 to 1713. Douglas was the son of William Douglas of Spynie and his wife Marjorie Menteith, daughter of Patrick Mentieth of Egilsay. He succeeded his father after 1685. On 12 April 1688, he married Janet Scot, widow of Alexander Cruickshanks of Waristoun. Douglas served as

Shire Commissioner A commissioner was a legislator appointed or elected to represent a royal burgh or shire in the pre-Union Scottish Parliament and the associated Convention of the Estates. Member of Parliament (MP) and Deputy are equivalent terms in other ...

for Orkney and Zetland stewartry in the

from 1702 to 1707. He was knighted in 1707 and was one of the Scottish MPs co-opted to the first

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...

in 1707. At the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...

he was returned as

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 Orkney and Shetland and his only known vote was in favour of the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. He was appointed the Chamberlain of the Bishopric of Orkney in 1710, which brought a salary or pension of £1000 Scots. He was reluctant to stand again, but was promised £200 from the government to cover the cost of attendance at Westminster. At the

1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto. ...

, he was returned as a Tory and listed as a 'worthy patriot' who helped to detect the mismanagements of the previous administration. However he never received the promised travel allowance. He declined standing at the

1713 British general election The 1713 British general election produced further gains for the governing Tory party. Since 1710 Robert Harley had led a government appointed after the downfall of the Whig Junto, attempting to pursue a moderate and non-controversial policy, b ...

He was joint lieutenant of Orkney in 1715. Douglas died in January 1718, having had two sons and three daughters. His wife died after 1718. Egilsay descended via his eldest son, William, to his granddaughter, Janet, who married James Baikie of Tankerness and had a son,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

References

. Year of birth missing 1718 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies Shire Commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland Politics of Orkney Politics of Shetland People associated with Orkney People associated with Shetland Place of birth missing Place of death missing Scottish knights Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1702–1707 British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 {{Scotland-pre1707-MP-stub