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Paul Benfield

Paul Benfield

Male - 1810    Has no ancestors but 22 descendants in this family tree.

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  • Name Paul Benfield 
    Gender Male 
    Death 1810  Paris, Île-de-France, France Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I186290  Geneagraphie
    Last Modified 25 Jan 2001 

    Family Mary Frances Swinburne   d. 1828 
    Children 
    +1. Henrietta Sophia Bensfield,   b. Abt 1810, Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 15 Dec 1857 (Age 47 years)
    Family ID F75275  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 25 Jan 2001 

  • Event Map Click to hide
    Link to Google MapsDeath - 1810 - Paris, Île-de-France, France Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 
    Pin Legend  : Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  • Notes 
    • Indian trader, has become notorious principally in consequence of the attack made upon him by Burke in his celebrated speech on the debts of the Nawab of the Carnetie, in which Benfield was denounced as 'a criminal who long since ought to have fattened the region kites with his offal.' Benfield went out to India as a civil servant of the East India Company in 1764, and during the greater part of his residence in that country never drew a higher salary than two or three hundred rupees a month; yet he is reported to have amassed a fortune considerably exceeding half a million sterling.
      Shortly after his arrival at Madras he appears to have entered into partnership with a native Soukar, half trader, half banker, and to have made his money partly by trade, partly by loans at high rates of interest, and partly by contracts. He had very extensive money transactions with the Nawab of the Carnatie, and he entered into and completed contracts with the government for the construction of fortifications for the town of Madras and for Fort St. George. One of the most important of his loans was made for the purpose of enabling the Nawab, who, with the aid of the English, had recently invaded and conquered the Maharatta state of Tanjore, to satisfy certain claims held by the Dutch at Tranquebar upon a portion of the Tanjore Rajah's territories. The character of this transaction having been called in question, and Benfield having been charged with having aided and abetted the malcontents in the Madras council, he was ordered by the court of directors in 1777 to return to England. He accordingly resigned the company's service, and on reaching London in 1779 lost no time in demanding an investigation into his conduct. He made no attempt to conceal his loans to the Nawab, stating that though they had been extensive, they had not been of a clandestine nature, and that they were well known to the governor, to the council, and, indeed, to the whole settlement. He alleged that 'by long and extensive dealings as a merchant he had gained credit at Fort St. George, and confidence with the natives of India, and with the moneyed people in particular, to an extent never before experienced by any European in that country.' He urged that by his loans he had prevented war, and had promoted 'the most essential interests of his honourable employers.' He was subsequently restored to the service and permitted to return to Madras; the court of directors resolving that there was nothing in the company's records that warranted 'a conclusion of his having acted wrongly on the occasion of the loan' above referred to, but that, on the contrary, 'his conduct, so far as it respects the loan to satisfy the claims of the Dutch, was productive of public benefit.
      "Benfield finally returned to England in 1793, and in the same year married Miss Swinburne, of Hamsterley, Durham, upon whom he settled a jointure of 3,000 [pounds] a year, besides 500 [pounds] a year for pin-money. Each of their children was to have 10,000 [pounds], and an estate in Hertfordshire, valued at 4,000 [pounds] a year, was settled upon his eldest son. He presented his bride on their wedding day with a ring valued at 3,000 [pounds]. About the same time he established a mercantile firm in London, called Boyd, Benfield, & Co., and engaging in speculations which turned out badly, his fortune collapsed as rapidly as it had been acquired. He died in Paris in indigent circumstances in 1810. During his stay in England in 1780, Benfield was returned to Parliament as a member for Cricklade. He brought an action for bribery against his opponent, S. Petrie, which was tried at Salisbury 12 March 1782, when Petrie was defended by (Richard) Burke and William Pitt. Petrie was acquitted, and published an account of his case and the trial. It was said that Benfield returned nine members to parliament. He sat for Malmesbury 1790-2 and for Shaftesbury 1793-1802...."



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