Robert Rodger MP (c.1650 – c.1720) was a 17th/18th century Scottish merchant who twice served as

Lord Provost of Glasgow The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Glasgow is the convener of the Glasgow City Council. The Lord Provost serves both as the chair of the city council and as a figurehead for the entire city, and is elected by the city councillors from among i ...

including the critical junction of the

Act of Union 1707 The Acts of Union refer to two acts of Parliament, one by the Parliament of Scotland in March 1707, followed shortly thereafter by an equivalent act of the Parliament of England. They put into effect the international Treaty of Union agree ...

when the overarching power translated to London. He served as MP for Glasgow Burghs 1708–1710.

Life

He was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

the son of William Rodger, a skinner (leather-maker) and Burgess of the city. His father left Glasgow and went to Ireland in 1655 but did not take his family with him. As a merchant Robert traded with the Americas and 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 ...

. He was a Burgess from 1680 and rose to be Treasurer of the City from 1693. He was Bailie multiple times from 1695 onwards,

Dean of Guild A Dean of Guild, under Scots law, was one of a group of burgh magistrates who, in later years, had the care of buildings. The leader of the group was known as Lord Dean of Guild. Originally, the post was held by the head of the Guild brethren of ...

1697–1699. In 1707 he succeeded John Aird as

Lord Provost A lord provost () is the convenor of the local authority, the civic head and the lord-lieutenant of one of the principal cities of Scotland. The office is similar to that of a lord mayor. Only the cities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Stirlin ...

of the city, and after a period of interchange every two years between Aird and Rodgers (the position being held for a duration of two years) ended his second term in 1713. In the year of Union (1707) he undertook a census of the city and the population was calculated at 12766. The average status was assessed as "very moderate and frugal cast". Due to a strong reading of the new rules and regulations of elections introduced in 1707 he was elected Member of Parliament for Glasgow Burghs in 1708 and served two years in this position, representing the Whig party and an ardent supporter of the English government. In the London Parliament he spoke against the fishing quotas in February 1709 and against the

Royal African Company The Royal African Company (RAC) was an English trading company established in 1660 by the House of Stuart and City of London merchants to trade along the West African coast. It was overseen by the Duke of York, the brother of Charles II of Eng ...

in March 1709. He did not seek re-election in 1710 and his seat was filled by Thomas Smith II who was his rival for provostship in 1711. At this time the journey to London was done at the expense of the individual and could be very costly. This was possibly the reason that Rodger stood down in the role. He died around 1720 and was buried in his family burial plot at Blackfriars (better now known as the

Ramshorn Cemetery The Ramshorn Cemetery is a cemetery in Scotland and one of Glasgow's older burial grounds, located within the Merchant City district, and along with its The Ramshorn, accompanying church, is owned by the University of Strathclyde. It has had v ...

Family

In 1680 he married Margaret Caldwell daughter of John Caldwell, a Glasgow merchant. He was uncle of Hugh Rodger, Lord Provost 1732–34.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodger, Robert Businesspeople from Glasgow Lord provosts of Glasgow Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1708–1710