Person
Henry Dundas
- Slug
- henry-dundas-152
- Alternative names
- Unknown
- Gender
- Assigned male at birth
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Ethnicity
- White
- Languages
- English
- Occupations
- Unknown
styled as Lord Melville from 1802, was the trusted lieutenant of British prime minister William Pitt and the most powerful politician in Scotland in the late 18th century. From 1776-78, Dundas acted as counsel to an escaped slave, Joseph Knight, who had been purchased in Jamaica and later taken to Scotland. As a young man Knight tried to escape from his owner, and when that failed he launched a legal battle for his freedom. The case went to Scotland’s highest civil court, where Dundas led Knight’s legal team, in the case of Knight v. Wedderburn.[