Richard Hart Davis (8 June 1766 - 21 February 1842) was a British merchant and

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

politician who served as Member of Parliament for both

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

and

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

Merchant career

Davis was a successful merchant in Bristol trading with 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 ...

. In 1810, he was said to have made £200,000 by "getting possession of all the Spanish wool in the kingdom". In 1803, he joined the

Society of Merchant Venturers The Society of Merchant Venturers is a charitable organisation in the English city of Bristol. The society can be traced back to a 13th-century guild which went on to fund the 15th-century voyage of John Cabot to Canada. In 1552, it gained a mono ...

Parliamentary career

Davis was elected to Parliament in the 1807 general election as the MP for

taking the seat from Whig MP

William Tufnell William Tufnell ( – 26 April 1809) was an abolitionist and Whig MP for Colchester from 1806 till 1807. He was the father of Henry Tufnell, who was also an MP. Biography Tufnell was born to the MP George Forster Tufnell and his second w ...

. He didn't speak during this period until he stepped down from his seat allowing his son, Hart Davis, to take the seat. He was elected as MP for

for 15 days before Parliament was dissolved for the 1812 general election where he received a personal letter from then Prime Minister

Lord Liverpool Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (7 June 1770 – 4 December 1828) was a British Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827. Before becoming Prime Minister he had been Foreign Secretary, ...

who wished him luck in his election against the

Radicals Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

Political positions

Davis opposed

Catholic relief The Roman Catholic relief bills were a series of measures introduced over time in the late 18th and early 19th centuries before the Parliaments of Great Britain and the United Kingdom to remove the restrictions and prohibitions imposed on British ...

Personal life

Davis' son, Hart Davis, was also a Tory MP.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Richard Hart 1766 births 1842 deaths 19th-century British merchants Tory MPs (pre-1834) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Bristol Members of the Society of Merchant Venturers UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831