Background
Home Riggs Popham was born in Gibraltar on 12 October 1762; the son of Stephen Popham, consul at Tetuan, and was his mother's twenty-first child.
(The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration a...)
The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars. Delve into what it was like to live during the eighteenth century by reading the first-hand accounts of everyday people, including city dwellers and farmers, businessmen and bankers, artisans and merchants, artists and their patrons, politicians and their constituents. Original texts make the American, French, and Industrial revolutions vividly contemporary. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ Cambridge University Library T164695 London : printed by Geo. Cawthorn, 1799. 59,1p.,plates : maps ; 4°
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Home Riggs Popham was born in Gibraltar on 12 October 1762; the son of Stephen Popham, consul at Tetuan, and was his mother's twenty-first child.
In 1772 Home was sent to Westminster School in London, where he remained for three years. On 3 January 1776 Home was admitted to further study at Trinity College, Cambridge. In April 1778 he abandoned his studies.
He entered the navy in 1778, and served with the flag of Rodney till the end of the war. In 1783 he was promoted lieutenant, and was for a time engaged on survey service on the coast of Africa.
Between 1787 and 1793 he was engaged in a curious series of adventures of a commercial nature in the Eastern Sea-sailing first for the Imperial Ostend Company, and then in a vessel which he purchased and in part loaded himself. During this time he took several surveys and rendered some services to the East India Company, which were officially acknowledged but in 1793 his ship was seized, partlyon the ground that he was carrying contraband and partly because he was infringing the East India Company's monopoly. His loss was put at £70, 000, and he was entangled in litigation. In 1805 he obtained compensation to the amount of £25, 000. The case was a hard one, for he was undoubtedly sailing with the knowledge of officials in India. While this dispute was going on Popham had resumed his career as a naval officer.
He served with the army under the duke of York in Flanders as "superintendent of Inland Navigation" and won his confidence. The protection of the duke was exercised with so much effect that Popham was promoted commander in 1794 and post captain in 1795. He was now engaged for years in co-operating in a naval capacity with the troops of Great Britain and her allies.
In the Red Sea he was engaged in transporting the Indian troops employed in the expulsion of the French from Egypt. His bills for the repair of his ship at Calcutta were made the excuse for an attack on him and for charging him with the amount. It was just the time of the general reform of the dockyards, and there was much suspicion in the air. It was also the case that St Vincent did not like Popham, and that Benjamin Tucker (1762 - 1829), secretary to the admiralty, who had been the admiral's secretary, was his creature and sycophant. Popham was not the man to be snuffed out without an effort. He brought his case before Parliament, and was able to prove that there had been, if not deliberate dishonesty, at least the very grossest carelessness on the part of his assailants.
In 1806 he co-operated with Sir David Baird in the occupation of the Cape. He then persuaded the authorities that, as the Spanish Colonies were discontented, it would be easy to promote a rising in Buenos Ayres. The attempt was made with Popham's squadron and 1400 soldiers; but the Spanish colonists, though discontented, were not disposed to accept British help, which would in all probability have been made an excuse for establishing dominion. They rose on the soldiers who landed, and took them prisoners. Popham was recalled, and censured by a court martial for leaving his station but the City of London presented him with a sword of honour for his endeavours to "open new markets, " and the sentence did him no harm. He held other commands in connexion with the movements of troops and was promoted rear admiral in 1814.
He died at Cheltenham on the 10th of September 1820, leaving a large family.
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