Henry Dawkins

Henry Dawkins II (24 May 1728–1814) was a Jamaican plantation owner and Member of the Parliament of Great Britain (MP).

The Dawkins family settled on Jamaica shortly after its seizure from the Spanish in 1655. William Dawkins acquired plantations in Jamaica, by grant, in the period 1669 to 1682. These descended to his grandsons James Dawkins I, and the sons of Henry Dawkins I, James Dawkins II and Henry Dawkins II, sons of Henry Dawkins I, all three being MPs. Both James I and James II left property in England to Henry II, who also inherited Jamaican properties from relatives, for an annual income of £40,000 to £50,000.

He was born 24 May 1728 in Clarendon, Jamaica. He was the second surviving son of Henry Dawkins (1698–1744), a sugar planter, and his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Pennant of Clarendon, chief justice of Jamaica; James Dawkins II, who died in 1757, was his eldest brother. He studied at St Mary Hall, Oxford from 1745, Dawkins's father on his death in 1744 bequeathed 25,000 acres of land and approximately £100,000 to his three surviving sons. James, the eldest son (James Dawkins II, who died in 1757), inherited 14,300 acres, William received 5000, and Henry 5700.

From 1752 to 1758 Henry Dawkins was a member of the assembly in Jamaica, and was then on the council to 1759. In 1760 he entered the Parliament of Great Britain as member for Southampton, holding the seat to 1768. He then was member for Chippenham, Hindon and Chippenham again, leaving Parliament finally in 1784. He served for a 24-year period with only short breaks (one caused by his defeat at Salisbury, near his estate at Standlynch, in 1768).

According to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, there is no record of Dawkins having spoken in the House of Commons. However, from 1773 to 1805 he was a member of the Society of West India Planters and Merchants, a pressure group.

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