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{{short description|Welsh naval officer and politician (1721–1783)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix = [[Sir]]
|name = William James
|honorific-suffix = [[James baronets of Park Farm Place, Eltham (1778)|Bt]]
|image = Sir William James.jpg
|constituency_MP1 = [[West Looe (UK Parliament constituency)|West Looe]]
|term_start2 = [[1774 British general election|1774]]
|term_end2 = [[1784 British general election|1783]]
|predecessor2 = [[James Townsend (British politician)|James Townsend]] [[William Graves (MP)|William Graves]]
|successor2 = [[John Cocks, 1st Earl Somers|John Cocks]] [[John Buller (politician, born 1745)|John Buller]]
|birth_date = 11 September 1721
|birth_place = [[Milford Haven]], [[Wales]]
|death_date = 16 December 1783 (aged 62)
|death_place = [[London]], [[England]]
|spouse = Anne Goddard (m. 1765)
|children = 2, including [[Thomas Parkyns, 1st Baron Rancliffe#Family|Elizabeth]]
|allegiance = {{flagicon image|Flag of the British East India Company (1707).svg}} [[East India Company]] (1747–1783)
|branch = {{flagicon image|Red Ensign of Great Britain (1707–1800).svg}} [[Royal Indian Navy#1612–1830, the Bombay Marine|Bombay Marine]] (1749–1759)
|rank = [[Commodore (rank)|Commodore]]
|commands = HCS ''Guardian'' HCS ''Protector''
|battles = {{tree list}}
* [[Battle of Vijaydurg#Fall of Suvarnadurg|Battle of Severndroog]]
* [[Battle of Vijaydurg|Battle of Gheriah]]
}}

[[Commodore (rank)|Commodore]] '''Sir William James, 1st Baronet''' (5 September 1721 – 16 December 1783) was a Welsh naval officer and politician who sat in the [[House of Commons of Great Britain|British House of Commons]] representing [[West Looe (UK Parliament constituency)|West Looe]] from 1774 to 1783. James is best known for his career in India, where he served as an officer in the [[Royal Indian Navy#1612–1830, the Bombay Marine|Bombay Marine]], the navy of the [[East India Company]] (EIC), and led several successful campaigns against forces commanded by the [[Kanhoji Angre|Angre family]].

Born on 5 September 1721 near [[Milford Haven]], James went to sea at an early age. Initially serving on a [[Coastal trading vessel|coaster]] from [[Bristol]], James entertained a brief stint as a [[Royal Navy]] cabin boy before becoming a sea captain engaged in the trade between [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Britain]] and [[British Empire|its colonies]]. During the [[War of Jenkins' Ear]], James was briefly imprisoned by the Spanish before being released and making his way back to England during the 1740's, where he married.

In 1747, James entered into the service of the East India Company, serving as [[Chief mate|first mate]] onboard two Company ships before being appointed as an officer in the Bombay Marine. Commanding the 44-gun warship ''Protector'', James participated in several successful expeditions against fortresses controlled Angre family, whose ships would frequently launch attacks on Company merchant shipping. He returned to England in 1759 a wealthy man.

Settling down in England, James remarried and purchased an [[English country house]] in [[Eltham]], in addition to being elected several times as a [[List of directors of the East India Company|director of the East India Company]]. Harbouring political ambitions, he was elected to the [[Parliament of Great Britain|British Parliament]] in the [[1774 British general election|1774 general election]]. James died in his London home on 16 December 1783, leaving behind his wife and two children. [[Severndroog Castle]] was built in 1784 by his widow to memorialise him.

==Early life==

William James was born on 5 September 1721 near the town of [[Milford Haven]], [[Wales]]. Information about his parents is extremely scarce; English politician [[Nathaniel Wraxall]] wrote that "[his] origin was so obscure as almost to baffle inquiry." His father was variously reported to be either a [[miller]] or [[farmer]], and some accounts claimed that James worked as a [[Plough|ploughboy]] before embarking on a career at sea, reportedly at the age of twelve.{{sfn|Bowyer|2004}}

The first [[merchant ship]] that James served onboard was a [[coastal trading vessel]] operating out of [[Bristol]], though historian [[Charles Rathbone Low]] claimed that by 1738 James, by now at the age of sixteen, had entered into the [[Royal Navy]] as a [[cabin boy]].{{sfn|Low|2012|p=126}} After a few years, James left the navy and became a [[sea captain]], sailing a merchant ship which participated in the trade between [[Colony of Virginia|Virginia]], the [[British West Indies]] and [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]].{{sfn|Bowyer|2004}}

While serving as a sea captain, James was captured during the [[War of Jenkins' Ear]] by the [[Spanish Navy|Royal Spanish Navy]] after his ship was shipwrecked.{{sfn|Low|2012|p=126–127}} He was imprisoned for a period before being released, making his way back to England at some point during the 1740's. There, he married a woman, whose identity was reported to be either the landlady of a [[Wapping]] pub or a widow whose husband had been the captain of an [[East Indiaman]].{{sfn|Bowyer|2004}}

==Career in India==

In 1747, James entered into the service of the [[East India Company]] (EIC), serving as [[Chief mate|first mate]] onboard the Company ship ''Hardwicke''. Two years later in 1749, he was transferred to the ''Suffolk'' before becoming an officer in the [[Royal Indian Navy#1612–1830, the Bombay Marine|Bombay Marine]], the navy of the EIC.{{sfn|Low|2012|p=127–130}} His first command was the warship ''Guardian'', and James served as a senior officer in a small squadron which operated between [[Mumbai|Bombay]] (then under [[Company rule in India|Company control]]) and [[Goa]].{{sfn|Bowyer|2004}}

During this period, the Bombay Marine was primarily focused on protecting Company shipping against attacks from ships commanded by the [[Kanhoji Angre|Angre family]].{{sfn|Sahai|2006|p=58}}{{sfn|Lincoln|2016|p=104}} James spent a period of time [[convoy]]ing EIC ships, which led to a reduction in losses. In recognition of his efforts, James was eventually promoted to the rank of [[Commodore (rank)|Commodore]] in 1751 and placed in command of the ''Protector'', a 44-gun warship.{{sfn|Bowyer|2004}} She had been constructed at the [[Bombay Dockyard (Royal Navy)|Bombay Dockyard]] by the East India Company to protect their trade routes on the [[Malabar Coast]].{{sfn|Cordingly|Falconer|1992|pp=96–97}}

In April 1755, James participated in [[Battle of Vijaydurg#Fall of Suvarnadurg|an expedition against the fortress]] of [[Suvarnadurg|Severndroog]], which was controlled by the Angre family, in conjunction with [[Maratha Empire|Maratha]] forces.{{sfn|Keay|2010|p=267–268}}{{sfn|Sutton|2010|p=63}} James led his squadron, which consisted of the ''Protector'', ''Revenge'' and ''Bombay'', into the fortress harbour and directed an effective [[Naval gunfire support|offshore naval bombardment]] which led to the Severndroog garrison capitulating on 2 April.{{sfn|Bowyer|2004}} After taking control of the fortress, James quickly handed over control to his Maratha allies before returning to Bombay in order to avoid the seasonal [[monsoon]]s damaging his squadron.{{sfn|Keay|2010|p=267–268}}

Seven months later, a [[Royal Navy]] squadron commanded by [[Charles Watson (Royal Navy officer)|Charles Watson]] arrived in Bombay, linking up with James and Colonel [[Robert Clive]]. The British decided to mount another expedition against the Angre family. On February 1756, a British force sailed from Bombay to [[Battle of Vijaydurg|attack a fortress]] at [[Vijaydurg (town)|Gheriah]] which was under the Angre family's control.{{sfn|Black|2007|p=15}} The British captured the fortress with no casualties, breaking the power of the Angre family.{{sfn|Bowyer|2004}} Although control of the fortress was handed over to British-allied Maratha forces, 130,000 [[rupee]]s worth of loot fell into British hands.{{sfn|Naravane|2006|p=103}}

In 1757, James, who was in Bombay, was charged by his superiors with informing Watson, who was commanding a squadron near the [[French India]]n city of [[Chandannagar|Chandernagore]], of an [[Seven Years' War|outbreak of war]] between Great Britain and [[Kingdom of France|France]].{{sfn|Sahai|2006|p=58–59}} As noted by historian T. H. Bowyer, since the seasonal [[Monsoon#Northeast monsoon|Northeast monsoon]] made travelling through the [[Bay of Bengal]] dangerous, James made a detour via [[Sumatra]], which allowed him to reach the [[Hooghly River]] and inform Watson in "exceptionally good time." James continued serving in the Bombay Marine until 1759, when he returned to England.{{sfn|Bowyer|2004}}

==Later life and death==
[[File:Francis Holman, Commodore James in the Protector, with the Revenge and the grab Bombay in the bay off the fort at Gheriah, India, April 1755 (18th century).jpg|thumb|right|200px|A painting depicting James' squadron near Severndroog on 2 April 1755]]

James had acquired a large fortune during his career in India, primarily through his private business dealings and [[prize money]]. Once he had returned to England, James purchased Park Farm Place, an [[English country house]] in [[Eltham]], [[Kent]]. On 15 June 1765, he remarried to Anne Goddard in [[St Marylebone Parish Church]]. James, a supporter of fellow EIC official and politician [[Laurence Sulivan]], was elected as a [[List of directors of the East India Company|director]] of the East India Company in 1768.{{sfn|Bowyer|2004}}

Despite his relationship with Sulivan, James soon began cultivating a friendship with prominent statesman [[John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich]], "whose influence brought him the honours that he enjoyed."{{sfn|Bowyer|2004}} On 22 July 1769, he was appointed as an elder brother of [[Trinity House]], before rising to the position of deputy master in 1778. During this period, James was also served as a [[Greenwich Hospital, London#Governors|governor]] of [[Greenwich Hospital, London|Greenwich Hospital]], a permanent home for retired British sailors.{{sfn|Bowyer|2004}}{{sfn|Innes|2009|p=66}}

James also started to harbour political ambitions, unsuccessfully running in a [[UK parliamentary by-elections|parliamentary by-election]] for the [[New Shoreham (UK Parliament constituency)|New Shoreham]] constituency in 1770.{{sfn|Bowyer|2004}} Although he was also attempting to secure the [[List of governors of Bombay Presidency|governorship of Bombay]] during this period, James withdrew his candidature after making his political aspirations clear to government officials. In the [[1774 British general election]], James was elected to the [[House of Commons of Great Britain|House of Commons]], representing [[West Looe (UK Parliament constituency)|West Looe]].{{sfn|Bowyer|2004}}

In [[Parliament of Great Britain|Parliament]], James continued to support both the Earl of Sandwich and [[North ministry|the ministry]] of incumbent Prime Minister [[Frederick North, Lord North|Lord North]].{{sfn|Bowyer|2004}} However, his relationship with Sulivan started to deteriorate when under government pressure James voted for the recall of EIC official [[Warren Hastings]]. In 1776, James secured a government contract to provision British forces stationed in [[History of Canada (1763–1867)|Canada]]; in the same year, he was also elected as a deputy chairman of the East India Company.{{sfn|Bowyer|2004}}

On 27 August 1778, James was granted [[James baronets of Park Farm Place, Eltham (1778)|a baronetcy]], the same date as he was re-elected as deputy chairman. His relationship with Sulivan had improved to the point where James was twice elected as chairman again, in 1779 and 1781.{{sfn|Bowyer|2004}} Together, the two successfully defended accusations from a [[Parliamentary committees of the United Kingdom|parliamentary committee]] that they had secretly altered EIC records in order to mislead the committee, maintaining that the charges were "without foundation." James died at his home on [[Gerrard Street, London]] on 16 December 1783, and was buried at Eltham six days later.{{sfn|Bowyer|2004}}

==Personal life, family and legacy==

According to Bowyer, James "seems never to have shown any inclination to shed light on the first thirty years of his life; he left no tracks, only conjecture." He had two children with his second wife Anne, a son named Edward and a daughter named [[Thomas Parkyns, 1st Baron Rancliffe#Family|Elizabeth]]. Edward, who was born in 1774, succeeded his father's title and died unmarried in 1792, leading to the baronetcy becoming extinct.{{sfn|Bowyer|2004}}{{sfn|Cokayne|1900|p=199}} Elizabeth, named as sole heir of James' estate, married [[Thomas Parkyns, 1st Baron Rancliffe|Thomas Parkyns]], who was later elevated to the [[Peerage of Ireland|Irish peerage]] as [[Parkyns baronets#Barons Rancliffe (1795)|Baron Rancliffe]]. Together, the couple had nine children.{{sfn|Burke|1865|p=867}}

During and after his career in India, rumours developed that James had married an Indian woman and had a son named Richard who was supposedly the first person of [[Asian people|Asian descent]] to succeed to a British title; these have been dismissed as baseless by Bowyer.{{sfn|Bowyer|2004}} Relationships between European employees of the East India Company and Indian women were common during the 18th century; Scottish historian [[William Dalrymple (historian)|William Dalrymple]] noted in his 2004 work ''[[White Mughals]]'' that roughly one in three wills left by EIC employees during this period left something to an Indian spouse.{{sfn|Dalrymple|2004|p=34}}

After James died, Anne commissioned English architect [[Richard Jupp]] to construct [[Severndroog Castle]], a triangular [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] [[folly]] built in 1784.{{sfn|Tomlinson|2015|p=140}}{{sfn|Barczewski|2017|p=208–209}} The building was constructed at the summit of [[Shooter's Hill]] near [[Blackheath, London|Blackheath]], and was intended by Anne to serve as a memorial to her husband, being named after the site of his most famous victory.{{sfn|Bowyer|2004}}{{sfn|Barczewski|2017|p=209}} During the [[World War I|First World War]], Severndroog Castle served as an observation post for a detachment of [[Special Constabulary]] officers, who were charged with detecting incoming [[German bombing of Britain, 1914–1918|air raids]] over London by the ''[[Luftstreitkräfte]]''.{{sfn|Castle|2020|p=53}}

James' victories over the Angre family have been seen by historians David Cordingly and John Falconer as marking a turning point for the fortunes of the East India Company in establishing naval supremacy in India. They noted that prior to James' arrival in India, the Bombay Marine had participated in several unsuccessful battles against the Angre family, who after their defeats at Severndroog and Gheriah ceased to pose an effective threat to Company shipping. The pair attributed James' victories to the EIC's superior ship-making skills ''vis-à-vis'' that of the Angre family.{{sfn|Cordingly|Falconer|1992|pp=95–97}}

==References==

===Footnotes===
{{reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}

* {{Cite book|first=Stephanie|last=Barczewski|title=Country Houses and the British Empire, 1700–1930|publisher=[[Manchester University Press]]|year=2017|isbn=978-1-5261-1753-3}}
* {{Cite book|first=Jeremy|last=Black|authorlink=Jeremy Black (historian)|title=European Warfare in a Global Context, 1660–1815|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2007|isbn=978-1-1341-5922-2}}
* {{Cite ODNB|first=T. H.|last=Bowyer|title=James, Sir William, first baronet (1722–1783)|year=2004|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-14626?rskey=6jgIb1&result=48|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/14626}}
* {{Cite book|first=Bernard|last=Burke|authorlink=Bernard Burke|title=A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire|publisher=[[Harrison and Sons]]|year=1865}}
* {{Cite book|first=Ian|last=Castle|title=The First Blitz in 100 Objects|publisher=[[Pen and Sword Books]]|year=2020|isbn=978-1-5267-3290-3}}
* {{Cite book|first=George E.|last=Cokayne|authorlink=George Edward Cokayne|title=The Complete Baronetage|publisher=W. Pollard & Co.|year=1900|oclc=1042471645}}
* {{Cite book|first1=David|last1=Cordingly|authorlink=David Cordingly|first2=James|last2=Falconer|title=Pirates: Fact & Fiction|publisher=Artabras|year=1992|isbn=978-0-8966-0034-8}}
* {{Cite book|first=William|last=Dalrymple|authorlink=William Dalrymple (historian)|title=White Mughals: Love and betrayal in eighteenth-century India|title-link=White Mughals|publisher=[[Penguin Group]]|year=2004|isbn=978-0-1430-3046-1}}
* {{Cite book|first=Joanne|last=Innes|title=Inferior Politics: Social Problems and Social Policies in Eighteenth-Century Britain|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2009|isbn=978-0-1916-0677-9}}
* {{Cite book|first=John|last=Keay|authorlink=John Keay|title=The Honourable Company: A History of the English East India Company|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|year=2010|isbn=978-0-0073-9554-5}}
* {{Cite book|first=Margarette|last=Lincoln|title=British Pirates and Society, 1680–1730|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2016|isbn=978-1-3171-7167-6}}
* {{Cite book|first=Charles Rathbone|last=Low|authorlink=Charles Rathbone Low|title=History of the Indian Navy 1613–1863 Volume I|publisher=Naval and Military Press|year=2012|orig-year=1877|isbn=978-1-7815-0167-2}}
* {{Cite book|first=M. S.|last=Naravane|title=Battles of the Honorary East India Company: Making of the Raj|publisher=A. P. H. Publishing Corporation|year=2006|isbn=978-8-1313-0034-3}}
* {{Cite book|first=Baldeo|last=Sahai|title=Indian Navy, a Perspective: From the Earliest Period to Modern Times|publisher=[[Publications Division (India)|Publications Division]]|year=2006|isbn=978-8-1230-1354-1}}
* {{Cite book|first=Jean|last=Sutton|title=The East India Company's Maritime Service, 1746–1834: Masters of the Eastern Seas|publisher=[[Boydell & Brewer]]|year=2010|isbn=978-1-8438-3583-7}}
* {{Cite book|first=Barbara|last=Tomlinson|title=Commemorating the Seafarer: Monuments, Memorials and Memory|publisher=[[Boydell & Brewer]]|year=2015|isbn=978-1-8438-3970-5}}

{{refend}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-par|gb}}
{{Succession box
|title=[[Member of parliament|Member of Parliament]] for [[West Looe (UK Parliament constituency)|West Looe]]
|with=[[Charles Ogilvie (merchant)|Charles Ogilvie]] 1774–1775 [[John Rogers (1750–1832)|John Rogers]] 1775–1780 [[John Buller (politician, born 1745)|John Buller]] 1780–1782 [[John Cocks, 1st Earl Somers|John Cocks]] 1782–1783
|before=[[James Townsend (British politician)|James Townsend]] [[William Graves (MP)|William Graves]]
|after=[[John Cocks, 1st Earl Somers|John Cocks]] [[John Buller (1745–1793)|John Buller]]
|years=[[1774 British general election|1774]]–[[1784 British general election|1783]]}}
{{S-reg|gb-bt}}
{{S-new}}
{{S-ttl| title=[[James baronets of Park Farm Place, Eltham (1778)|Baronet]] '''(of Eltham, Kent)''' | years=1778–1783}}
{{S-aft| after=[[Sir Edward James, 2nd Baronet|Edward William James]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, William, 1st Baronet}}
[[Category:1722 births]]
[[Category:1783 deaths]]
[[Category:18th-century Royal Navy personnel]]
[[Category:18th-century Welsh politicians]]
[[Category:Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain]]
[[Category:British East India Company Marine personnel]]
[[Category:British MPs 1774–1780]]
[[Category:British MPs 1780–1784]]
[[Category:Directors of the British East India Company]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for West Looe]]
[[Category:People from Pembrokeshire]]
[[Category:Welsh sailors]]

Sir William James, 1st Baronet - Revision history

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