Robert Rodger MP (c.1650–c.1720) was a 17th/18th century Scottish merchant who twice served as

Lord Provost of Glasgow The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Glasgow is the convener of the Glasgow City Council. Elected by the city councillors, the Lord Provost serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city. The office is equiv ...

including the critical junction of the

Act of Union 1707 The Acts of Union ( gd, Achd an Aonaidh) were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act 1707 passed by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the te ...

when the overarching power translated to London. He served as MP for Glasgow Burghs 1708-1710.

Life

He was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

the son of William Rodger, a skinner (leather-maker) and Burgess of the city. His father left Glasgow and went to Ireland in 1655 but did not take his family with him. As a merchant Robert traded with the Americas and 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 Greater A ...

. He was a Burgess from 1680 and rose to be Treasurer of the City from 1693. He was Bailie multiple times from 1695 onwards,

Dean of Guild A Dean of Guild, under Scots law, was one of a group of burgh magistrates who, in later years, had the care of buildings. The leader of the group was known as Lord Dean of Guild. Originally, the post was held by the head of the Guild brethren o ...

1697-1699. In 1707 he succeeded John Aird as Lord Provost of the city, and after a period of interchange every two years between Aird and Rodgers (the position being held for a duration of two years) ended his second term in 1713. In the year of Union (1707) he undertook a census of the city and the population was calculated at 12766. The average status was assessed as "very moderate and frugal cast". Due to a strong reading of the new rules and regulations of elections introduced in 1707 he was elected Member of Parliament for Glasgow Burghs in 1708 and served two years in this position, representing the Whig party and an ardent supporter of the English government. In the London Parliament he spoke against the fishing quotas in February 1709 and against the

Royal African Company The Royal African Company (RAC) was an English mercantile (trade, trading) company set up in 1660 by the royal House of Stuart, Stuart family and City of London merchants to trade along the West Africa, west coast of Africa. It was led by the J ...

in March 1709. He did not seek re-election in 1710 and his seat was filled by Thomas Smith II who was his rival for provostship in 1711. At this time the journey to London was done at the expense of the individual and could be very costly. This was possibly the reason that Rodger stood down in the role. He died around 1720 and was buried in his family burial plot at Blackfriars (better now known as the

Ramshorn Cemetery The Ramshorn Cemetery is a cemetery in Scotland and one of Glasgow's older burial grounds, located within the Merchant City district, and along with its accompanying church, is owned by the University of Strathclyde. It has had various names, ...

Family

In 1680 he married Margaret Caldwell daughter of John Caldwell, a Glasgow merchant. He was uncle of Hugh Rodger, Lord Provost 1732-4.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodger, Robert Businesspeople from Glasgow Lord Provosts of Glasgow Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1708–1710