John Holker (1719 – 27 April 1786) was an English

Jacobite Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to: Religion * Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include: ** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometimes ...

soldier, industrialist, and one of the world's first

industrial espionage Industrial espionage, economic espionage, corporate spying, or corporate espionage is a form of espionage conducted for commercial purposes instead of purely national security. While political espionage is conducted or orchestrated by governm ...

agents.

Early life

Born in

Stretford Stretford is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. It is situated on flat ground between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal, south of Manchester city centre, south of Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford and n ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

, England, to blacksmith John Holker and his wife Alice Morris. He married a local woman, Elizabeth Hilton, in 1740, and while still in his twenties, he set up a

calendering Calendering of textiles is a finishing process used to smooth, coat, or thin a material. With textiles, fabric is passed between calender rollers at high temperatures and pressures. Calendering is used on fabrics such as moire to produce its wate ...

business in Manchester, in partnership with Peter Moss. When

Bonnie Prince Charlie Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...

's army entered the town in 1746, both men purchased commissions in the Jacobite regiment that was raised there. Holker and Moss were captured at

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

during the army's retreat, and were incarcerated in

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, ...

, in London. They succeeded in escaping together, and Holker made his way, via Holland, to France, where he joined the Scottish Ogilvy Regiment, a Jacobite regiment in the French army, seeing service in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

. Holker and his wife became French citizens in 1766.

French textile industry

Holker came to the attention of

Daniel-Charles Trudaine Daniel-Charles Trudaine (3 January 1703 – 19 January 1769) was a French administrator and civil engineer. Trudaine was one of the primary developers of the present French road system. He is also known for the monumental ''Atlas de Trudaine'' ( ...

, head of the French bureau of commerce. Trudaine believed that Holker would be able to increase the competence of the French cotton industry, based in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...

, raising it to the standards of the English, and he provided funds and resources to allow Holker to set up two factories: one for spinning and weaving, and the other for the finishing of cloth, particularly by calendering. Holker returned to England, and with help from his mother, managed to recruit a sufficient number of skilled workers for his new factories. He also managed to acquire some of the necessary textile machinery and have it shipped to France. Holker subsequently submitted a proposal to the French government suggesting that a scheme should be set up to encourage the "seduction" of workers and machinery from England, and that agents should be employed for that purpose. The French government approved Holker's idea, and appointed him inspector-general of foreign manufactures in 1756, with a brief to identify those industries that might benefit from "an infusion of English technology and workers".

French chemical industry

Holker also developed an interest in the French chemical industry, and in particular the manufacture of

vitriol Vitriol is the general chemical name encompassing a class of chemical compound comprising sulfates of certain metalsoriginally, iron or copper. Those mineral substances were distinguished by their color, such as green vitriol for hydrated iron(II ...

, an archaic name for sulfuric acid, which could be used as a bleach for linen. At the time, Britain had a monopoly on the manufacture of vitriol, but working with his son Holker was able to establish a factory at Saint-Sever, a suburb of

, which produced the acid in sufficient quantities not only to supply the needs of France, but also to turn the country into an exporter of sulfuric acid. Holker

References

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Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holker, John Jacobite military personnel of the Jacobite rising of 1745 1719 births 1786 deaths English spies English emigrants to France People from Stretford