Joseph Marryat

Joseph Marryat, the Member of Parliament for Sandwich and West Indies plantation owner, was born in Grenada on the 7th of October, 1790, son to the MP and West Indies Merchant Joseph Marryat Sr. His father was a member of the Society for West Indian Planters and Merchants, who, in 1807, challenged abolitionism in Parliament, and was outspoken in his support for the torturing of domestic worker Luisa Calderon in Trinidad. After the death of his father in January, 1820, Joseph, alongside his borther Charles Marryat, would inherit plantations owned by their father due to their involvement in Joseph Marryat & Sons. From 1823 to 1834, the brothers were joint owners of the Balthazar estate in Grenada, the Greenwood estate in Jamaica, and the Reform estate in Trinidad. Whilst passing his estates to his sons, Joseph Marryat Sr had another child born during his years living in Grenada; Ann Marryat, the child of Joseph Marryat Sr and an unnamed enslaved woman— prior to leaving Grenada, Joseph Marryat Sr would free both mother and daughter; Ann would eventually be awarded £500 for her own ownership of 13 slaves, following the abolition of slavery. Joseph, as the owner of the Balthazar, Greenwood, and Reform estates, would gain over £8,735 for the ownership of 335 enslaved individuals. As the mortgagee of the Mount Hope estate in Trinidad, Marryat would earn a further £6,220 for the ownership of 130 enslaved individuals on this estate. Marryat, like his father, would criticise abolitionism, joining the West Indian Committee and the Committee of 25th April 1823, to challenge emancipation.