Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

Nathaniel Blakiston was the 8th Royal Governor of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

from 1698 to 1702. He succeeded

Francis Nicholson Lieutenant-General Francis Nicholson (12 November 1655 – ) was a British Army general and colonial official who served as the Governor of South Carolina from 1721 to 1725. He previously was the Governor of Nova Scotia from 1712 to 1715, th ...

and was succeeded by

Thomas Tench Thomas Tench ( – 1708) was the 9th Royal Governor of Maryland, from 1702 to 1704. He was appointed by his predecessor, Nathaniel Blakiston, and was succeeded by Colonel John Seymour. Early life Thomas Tench was probably born in the 1650s in ...

. He was related to Nehemiah Blakiston.

Military career

Nathaniel Blakiston was grandson of John Blakiston,

regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...

of King

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after ...

. Blakiston joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

and served in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Great ...

.The history of Parliament
Posted by Eveline Cruickshanks. As a soldier, Blakiston attained the

lieutenant-governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

rank of Montserrat island, as acting

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

.Stephen Saunders Webb
Marlborough's America
Page 525.

Colonial governor

In 1698, Nathaniel Blakiston was appointed governor of the British colony, of

. During that time he was charged with rooting out piracy in the colonies, for example accusing slaver Henry Munday of collaborating with Pennsylvanian pirate Henry King. However, his government only lasted three years, because he had to retire for health problems, in 1701. The court of delegates chose him to serve, as their

colonial agent A colonial agent was the official representative of a British colony based in London during the British Empire. About 200 men served. They were selected and paid a fixed salary by the colonial government, and given the long delays in communication ...

, in London in appreciation for his services, in Monserrat. Later, from 1706 onwards, Blakiston was agent, for the

Virginia Colony The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertGilbert (Saunders Family), Sir Humphrey" (hist ...

, in London. Then, in 1715, he was returned as the

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for Mitchell. He was a loyal Whig who consistently voted with the administration during this period.

Death

Nathaniel Blakiston died at the end of February 1722.

References

Colonial Governors of Maryland Colonial agents Year of birth missing 1722 deaths {{Maryland-politician-stub