Thomas Pitt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the fictional character in Anne Perry's novels, see Thomas Pitt (fictional character).
Thomas Pitt (July 5, 1653 – April 28, 1726), born at Blandford Forum, Dorset, to a rector and his wife, was a British merchant involved in trade with India. He at first came into conflict with the British East India Company, however this was settled and the company appointed him governor of Fort St. George, Madras. He is known as "Diamond" Pitt for his purchase of and profit from an extraordinary diamond.
In 1674, Pitt went to India, where he worked as an "interloper", trading in defiance of the British East India Company's legal monopoly on Indian trade. Upon his return to England he was fined £400. He then proceeded to buy the manor of Stratford and its surrounding borough Old Sarum. With that acquisition he gained a seat in the House of Commons. Pitt returned to India, and eventually was hired by the British East India Company. He bought out the ruler of the Carnatic in order to save Madras, his base of operations.
He was married in 1679 to an Anglo-Indian lady, Jane Innis, who was descendant from the Earls of Moray. He had 3 sons and 2 daughters. His eldest son, Robert, was father of William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, often called "William Pitt, the Elder". His second son was created Thomas Pitt, 1st Earl of Londonderry. His third son John was a distinguished soldier. His second daughter, Lucy married James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope. Thomas Pitt also had a grandson named Thomas Pitt through his older son Robert.
Contents |
[edit] Pitt's diamond
Pitt is most famous for his purchase of a 410 carat (82 g) uncut diamond acquired from an Indian merchant named Jamchund in Madras in 1701. The merchant had purchased the diamond from an English sea captain, who had, in fact, stolen the diamond from a slave. The slave found the diamond in one of the Golkonda mines on the Kistna River and had concealed it inside of a large wound in his leg. According to another version the diamond was a stolen one which had formed an eye of some Hindu idol.
Pitt bought the diamond for 48,000 pagodas or £20,400, and then sent it back to England in 1702 with his eldest son. For two years from 1704-1706, the jeweller Harris labored in London to hew a 141 carat (28.2 g) cushion brilliant from the rough stone. Several secondary stones were produced from the cut that were sold to Peter the Great of Russia. After many attempts to sell it to various European royalty, including Louis XIV of France, Pitt and his sons went with the diamond to Calais in 1717. With John Law acting as agent, it was sold that year to the French regent, Philippe II, Duke of Orléans for £135,000, becoming one of the crown jewels of France. Today, "Le Régent" as it came to be known, remains in the French Royal Treasury at Louvre. It has been on display there since 1887.
[edit] Properties
With the money received for his famous diamond, he now began to consolidate his properties. Besides Mawarden Court at Stratford and the Down at Blandford, he acquired Boconnoc in Cornwall from Lord Mohun's widow in 1717, and subsequently Kynaston in Dorset, Bradock, Treskillard and Brannell in Cornwall, Woodyates on the border of Wiltshire, Abbot's Ann in Hampshire (where he rebuilt the church) and, subsequently his favourite residence, Swallowfield Park in Berkshire, where he passed away in 1726.
[edit] Titles held
| Preceded by: ? |
Governor of Fort St George (Madras) 1697–? |
Succeeded by: ? |
[edit] Sources
- Moore, Gloria. The Anglo-Indian Vision, 1986.
- Palmer, R.R., et al. A History of the Modern World, 2004.
