Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

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 borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

from 1698 to 1702. He succeeded

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

and was succeeded by Thomas Tench. 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 Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. Charles was born ...

. Blakiston joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and served in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

.The history of Parliament
Posted by

Eveline Cruickshanks Eveline Cruickshanks (1 December 1926 – 14 November 2021) was a historian of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century British political history, specialising in Jacobitism and Toryism. She was of English, Scottish and French descent. She was an ...

. 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-com ...

rank of Montserrat island, as acting

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

.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. The role evolved during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Initially established as a temporary role to deal with a specific probl ...

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

Virginia Colony The Colony of Virginia was a British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colony lasted for t ...

, in London. Then, in 1715, he was returned as the member of parliament 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 of the British Empire Year of birth missing 1722 deaths {{Maryland-politician-stub