Sir George Robinson, 2nd Baronet
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Sir George Best Robinson Bt. |
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|---|---|
| Chief Superintendent of British Trade in China | |
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In office 19 January 1835 – 7 June 1836 |
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| Preceded by | John Francis Davis |
| Succeeded by | Charles Elliot |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 November 1797 |
| Died | 27 January 1855 |
| Spouse(s) | Louisa Douglas |
| Profession | Diplomat, colonial administrator |
Sir George Best Robinson, 2nd Baronet (14 November 1797 – 1855) was a British colonial administrator who became Chief Superintendent of British trade in China.
Son of Sir George Robinson, 1st Baronet and Margaret Southwell, the natural daughter of Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Suffolk, he succeeded to the baronetcy on 13 February 1832.
Between 1818-19 he was employed as a supercargo by the East India Company in Canton, (now known as Guangzhou).
He was appointed third Superintendent of British Trade in China alongside Lord Napier and John Francis Davis in December 1833. After Napier's death in 1834, Davis and Robinson moved up to become chief and second superintendents.
Robinson became Chief Superintendent on 19 January 1835 following the resignation of John Francis Davis with John Harvey Astell and Charles Elliot as second and third superintendents. He maintained a "perfectly quiescent line of policy" during his tenure and reported a "quiet and prosperous routine of trade". To maintain this state of affairs and to avoid the necessity of British ships obtaining port clearance in Macao, in November 1835, Robinson left the British Factory in Canton after announcing that he would henceforth operate from aboard the cutter Louisa moored off Lintin Island outside the Bocca Tigris. British Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerton effectively dismissed Robinson in line with "the intention of His Majesty’s Government to reduce the establishment in China" through a dispatch dated 7 June 1836, in which he wrote:
"It, therefore, now becomes my duty to acquaint you, that His Majesty’s Government have decided to abolish at once the office and salary of Chief Superintendent. In communicating to you this decision, I have at the same time to inform you, that your functions will cease from the date of the receipt of this despatch. You will make over. to Captain Elliot all the archives of the Commission; which will, of course, include copies of every despatch, and its inclosures (sic), which you have addressed to this department during the period you have acted as Chief Superintendent.
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