Henry William Martin

Born in 1786 to Henry Martin and Elizabeth Ann Gillman, William Martin would, from 1817 to 1834, own the Green Castle estate in Antigua. The Green Castle estate was first owned by Samuel Martin the Elder of Antigua. Following emancipation, Martin was awarded over £4,454 for this estate, which encompassed 319 enslaved individuals. Martin had also claimed over £5,425 for the Bendals, and the Mathew (or Constitution Hill) estates in Antigua, encompassing 383 enslaved individuals, although this claim was not met. Prior to this, in 1832, Martin had written A Counter Appeal to ‘An Appeal’ by William Wilberforce, essentially expressing his defence for slavery and the Caribbean plantations, arguing emancipation to be ‘a flagrant breach of national honour, hostile to the principles of religion, justice, and humanity, and highly injurious to the planter and to the slave’.