John Tarleton (26 October 1755 – 19 September 1841) was an English ship-owner,

slave-trader The history of slavery spans many cultures, nationalities, and religions from ancient times to the present day. Likewise, its victims have come from many different ethnicities and religious groups. The social, economic, and legal positions of ...

and politician. He was a son of John Tarleton, a West Indies merchant and slave trader, from Aigburth near

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, and brother of

Banastre Tarleton Sir Banastre Tarleton, 1st Baronet, GCB (21 August 175415 January 1833) was a British general and politician. He is best known as the lieutenant colonel leading the British Legion at the end of the American Revolution. He later served in Por ...

. The younger John also became a West India merchant, in partnership with his brothers Thomas and Clayton, and

Daniel Backhouse Daniel Backhouse (1741-1811) was a Liverpool slave trader. In the period between 1773 and 1799 Backhouse was responsible for 100 slave voyages. Over half of his slaves were embarked from the Bight of Biafra. He was born in Ulverston Ulverst ...

. Between 1786 and 1804 he invested in 39 Liverpool-registered ships. At the 1790 general election he unsuccessfully contested the borough of Seaford, but an

election petition An election petition refers to the procedure for challenging the result of a Parliamentary election. Outcomes When a petition is lodged against an election return, there are 4 possible outcomes: # The election is declared void. The result is ...

resulted in him being awarded the seat in 1792. In Parliament, he opposed measures to abolish or regulate the slave trade. At the 1796 general election, he did not contest Seaford but stood against his brother Banastre in

, but failed to win a seat. Tarleton married Isabella Collingwood (''c''.1770–''c''.1850), who was heir of Alexander Collingwood of Unthank and Little Ryle, near

Alnham Alnham is a hamlet and civil parish in Northumberland, England. It is about west of Alnwick, about from Scotland and is located on the south of a small tributary of the River Aln. The village stands on uneven ground, sloping from south to ...

. Their four children were all born between 1792 and 1806 in Liverpool. Tarleton went on to inherit the Collingwood estates in Northumberland, and also owned property in

Gloucester Place Gloucester Place is a street in Marylebone in Central London. Located in the City of Westminster, it runs north from Portman Square across the Marylebone Road eventually merging into Park Road. It is parallel to Baker Street to the east and ...

, London. John Tarleton died on 20 September 1841 at 14 Grove Terrace, London, and was buried at St Pancras.

References

1755 births 1841 deaths British businesspeople in shipping People from Aigburth Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1790–1796 British slave traders Businesspeople from Liverpool {{England-business-bio-stub