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Robert Baikie (died 1817) was a Scottish politician from
Tankerness Tankerness is a district in the St Andrews parish in Mainland, Orkney, Scotland.Wenham, Shiela "The East Mainland" in Omand (2003) p. 198 Essentially a peninsula, it is about south-east of Kirkwall and east of Kirkwall Airport.
and Egilshay in
Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...
. Baikie was the oldest son of James Baikie of Tankerness and his wife Janet, a daughter of William Douglas, and heiress of the Monteiths of Egilshay through her grandfather
Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...
. His father was
provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...
of
Kirkwall Kirkwall (, , or ; ) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. First mentioned in the ''Orkneyinga saga'', it is today the location of the headquarters of the Orkney Islands Council and a transport hub wi ...
during the
Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...
, and was paid a pension by the
Earls of Morton The title Earl of Morton was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1458 for James Douglas, 1st Earl of Morton, James Douglas of Dalkeith. Along with it, the title Lord Aberdour was granted. This latter title is the courtesy title for the eldest so ...
for his support of their electoral interests. However, in 1766
James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton, KT, FRS (1702 – 12 October 1768) was a Scottish peer and astronomer who was president of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh from its foundation in 1737 until his death in 1768. He also became preside ...
sold all his interests in Orkney to Sir Lawrence Dundas. At the 1768 general election Sir Lawrence installed as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Orkney and Shetland his older brother Thomas Dundas, who was returned unopposed. Thomas stood down in 1770, and the following year Thomas's son Captain Thomas Dundas was elected unopposed. He was returned unopposed at the 1774 general election. However, Sir Lawrence had alienated both the lairds and merchants of Orkney. When he opposed
Lord North Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (13 April 17325 August 1792), better known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from 1752 to 1790, was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most of the ...
's government, the Orkney opposition received £300 from secret service funds to support a government candidate. Baikie was chosen to stand, and at the 1780 general election, Baikie was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Orkney and Shetland by 11 votes to the 5 won Sir Lawrence's nephew Charles Dundas. However, Baikie's election had been achieved only by excluding seven supporters of Dundas, and after an
election petition An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...
the seat was awarded to Dundas on 28 February 1781. Baikie stood again at the
1784 Events January–March * January 6 – Treaty of Constantinople: The Ottoman Empire agrees to Russia's annexation of the Crimea. * January 14 – The Congress of the United States ratifies the Treaty of Paris with Great Brit ...
, but was defeated by 12 votes to 7 by the returned Colonel Thomas Dundas.


References

Year of birth missing 1817 deaths People from Orkney Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1780–1784 {{Scotland-GreatBritain-MP-stub