George Colebrooke

A 1773 political cartoon featuring Colebrooke (second from right)

Sir George Colebrooke, 2nd Baronet (14 June 1729 – 5 August 1809) was an English merchant, banker and politician who sat in the British House of Commons from 1754 to 1774, representing the constituency of Arundel. Born in Chilham, Kent, he was also a stockjobber and nabob with close ties to Robert Clive and Alexander Fordyce who thrice served as the chairman of the East India Company in 1769, 1770 and 1772 respectively. His financial activities, which included the ownership of slave plantations in the West Indies, resulted in Colebrooke coming into the possession of a large fortune; however, he went bankrupt through poor speculations during the British credit crisis of 1772–1773.[1]

  1. ^ GAMBLING ON EMPIRE: COLONIAL INDIA AND THE RHETORIC OF “SPECULATION” IN BRITISH LITERATURE AND CULTURE, C.1769-1830 by JOHN C. LEFFEL (2013)