William Napier, 9th Lord Napier

The Lord Napier
Chief Superintendent of British Trade in China
In office 31 December 1833 – 11 October 1834
Preceded by	Position created
Succeeded by	John Francis Davis
Personal details
Born	13 October 1786 Kinsale, Ireland
Died	11 October 1834 Macau
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Cochrane-Johnstone
Profession	Naval officer, trade envoy

William John Napier, 9th Lord Napier (Chinese: 律勞卑; 13 October 1786 – 11 October 1834) was a British Royal Navy officer and trade envoy in China.

Napier was born in Kinsale, Ireland, on 13 October 1786. He was the son of Francis Napier, 8th Lord Napier (1758–1823) and the father of Francis Napier, 10th Lord Napier and 1st Baron Ettrick (1819–1898). He served during the Battle of Trafalgar (1805) as a midshipman. He later served as lieutenant under Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald.

A peer of Scotland, Lord Napier was an elected Scottish representative in the House of Lords from 1824 to 1832. In December 1833, upon the ending of British East India Company's monopoly on trade in the Far East, he was appointed by Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston, a family friend of Napier, as the first Chief Superintendent of Trade at Canton (now Guangzhou), in China. The Second and Third Superintendents were John Francis Davis and Sir George Best Robinson, respectively. He arrived at Macau on 15 July 1834 on board the East India Company frigate Andromanche, and reached Canton ten days later, with the mission of expanding British trade into inner China. Lacking the necessary diplomatic and commercial experience, he was not successful in achieving the objective.

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