Thomas Moody (geopolitician)

870:: a copy of which is in the library of the Royal Commonwealth Society. Historian D. J. Murray provides a synopsis of Moody's contribution to the Colonial Office: 'He helped to provide an understanding in the Office of problems the existence of which was barely comprehended, he raised fundamental questions and explained the wider implications of the Government's course of action'. Moody considered his objective to be the identification of factual evidence that would enable Lord Bathurst and Wilmot Horton to make accurate decisions: and Moody was contemptuous of the inclusion of unproven assertions in political discourse: Moody wrote, on 3 July 1826, 'It is of infinitely great importance for Lord Bathurst to have laid before him clear statements of facts rather than mere opinions... It is so much easier to give an opinion than to describe carefully and accurately a tedious series of facts. It is, however, from these facts only that Lord Bathurst can form his own principles practically to guide his judgment'. Moody's contention that only factual evidence could be a valid determiner of practice was taught to his protégé 932:. When apprentices employed by Hugh C. Maclean, who was Comptroller of the Customs on Tortola, stole livestock, Maclean had them beaten. Dougan objected to Moody's refusal to criticise Maclean: but did not receive any sympathy from the government of the islands. Dougan replied that Moody was an agent 'not of His Majesty's government, but of the colonial assemblies'; and complained of the 'state of Irritation and Disunion of the Commission'; and asserted that as a consequence of ' repeated attacks, the State of Irritation of Major Moody's Mind... all hopes of Conciliation ended'. Moody replied that Dougan ' for some time past obviously been affected by a termination of blood to his head' and their 'protracted and unpleasant dispute' was inherited by Dougan's daughter Mary Dougan after the death in penury of Dougan in 1826. 794:

Viscount Combermere in a letter from the same to Sir Robert Wilmot Horton that be dated 15 December 1821, as ' very intelligent person, and having been employed in various situations, these gave him opportunities of acquiring a thorough knowledge of the local details, etc. of those islands and Colonies , and a great deal of useful information may be collected from him'. In 1816, Moody was responsible for the transfer of Africans, whom the Royal Navy had rescued from slave-ships since the abolition of the slave-trade, to the Crown estates in

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Blue Books, which had been introduced in 1821, and introduced, as his own invention, new Brown Books in which further statistical information from every colony was entered every six months for the London Colonial Office. The subjects of the analyses by Moody for the Colonial Office included: 'The duties and means of increasing the utility of naval officers in the West Indies'; the history of the Crown Estates of Berbice; and the conditions of labour on the sugar-plantations of the West Indies'. Moody also wrote the 1825

850:. Moody and John Dougan (1765 - 1826) volunteered for the commissionerships and were selected by Bathurst. In April 1824, Moody received the official title of 'Home Secretary for Foreign Parliamentary Commissioners'. Moody believed that this title were inaccurate: he wrote in a letter to Robert Hay, of 14 July 1828, 'my real duties have been more connected with the West India Department, the Colonial Finance Accounts, and the correspondence and details relative to emigration'. 928:

slaveowners interviewed by Moody included Abraham Mendes Belisario, who was the Deputy Provost Marshal of Tortola, who owned 17 slaves. Moody insisted that the unreliable 'Character' reports that were provided by the masters ought not to be included in the Commission's report: and that rather he and Dougan ought to specify their assessment of the masters. The Commissioners recorded that African apprentices were employed by free black

962:, who was then Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Moody, who had returned to London by 9 January 1824, in 1825 presented to the House of Commons the official Commission report, with an exposition of the reasons for his refusal to sign Dougan's report. Moody's first report, which is dated 2 March 1825 and consists of over 200 pages, contends that 'without some species of coercion African labour would be worthless'. 855:'It is of infinitely great importance for Lord Bathurst to have laid before him clear statements of facts rather than mere opinions... It is so much easier to give an opinion than to describe carefully and accurately a tedious series of facts. It is, however, from these facts only that Lord Bathurst can form his own principles practically to guide his judgment'. 1064:. Historian D. J. Murray contends that Hyde Villiers and Taylor were only advisors, rather than experts like Moody and Stephen. Dougan died destitute, in September 1826, before he had completed his reply to Moody's second report, which was completed by his daughter Mary Dougan and annotated by Moody. John Dougan and Moody were each made a 1018:; and by the British Parliament, which stated Moody's ‘great experience in the control of labour, both slave and free, both African and European, in garrison, and in the field’. Moody's reports provoked ire of the evangelical Whig abolitionists, who desired a 'free black peasantry' rather than equality for Africans. 731:, after which he was promoted to the Government Secretaryships of Demerara and Berbice, as which he served for three years. Moody was promoted to Second Captain on 1 May 1811; to Captain on 20 December 1814; and to Brevet Major on 23 May 1816. He was put on half-pay by the Army, in 1815, after the cessation of the 2666:

compliance with an address of the House, to inquire into the State of the Africans, who had been condemned to His Majesty under the acts abolishing the slave trade, and who had been apprenticed, or otherwise disposed of, in the West Indies. Viz. second part of Major Moody's report relating to Captured Negroes

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from 1817 to 1820, as 'a very intelligent person': and by 20th century historian D. J. Murray as 'an expert on West Indian affairs in general' who 'helped to provide an understanding in the Office of problems the existence of which was barely comprehended, raised fundamental questions and explained

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Slave Trade. (In Continuation of the Paper no. 462, Ordered to be Printed 12 June 1827.) Return to an address of the Honourable House of Commons, dated 12th March 1827;--for copy of any further reports made to His Majesty's government by Thomas Moody, Esq. and John Dougan, Esq. or either of them, or

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Dougan (who was the uncle of Moody's wife Martha Clement) was the son of an owner of sugar-plantations on Demerara: and stated, 'all my nearest relations and friends were either Planters or Owners of slaves'. Dougan had worked as a privateer and as a Prize Agent for the Royal Navy on Tortola. Dougan

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for his services in conflicts in the West Indies. Moody also served as aide-de-camp to both the President of Tortola; and to Stapleton Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermere, who was Governor of Barbados from 1817 to 1820, after whom Moody named one of his sons. Moody was described by Stapleton Cotton, 1st

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Slave Trade. Three Volumes. (Vol.2.) Papers Relating to Slaves in the Colonies; Slaves Manumitted; Slaves Imported, Exported; Manumissions, Marriages; Slave Trade at the Mauritius; Apprenticed Africans; Captured negroes at Tortola, St. Christopher's, and Demerara; etc. Session: 21 November 1826 – 2

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described Moody's report as 'in substance, a defence of West Indian slavery' but Macaulay's description is inaccurate because Moody did not desire the Africans' employment as slaves, but as apprentices. Moody described his anti-slavery theory as a 'Philosophy of Labour', and himself as a 'practical

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Sir Robert Wilmot Horton, Undersecretary of State for the Colonies, wrote to Moody, 'I do not know any man more competent (if so competent) to direct the application of labour as yourself'. Moody had improved the efficacy of the Colonial Office in London: he had improved the efficacy of the annual

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Return to an Address of the Honourable The House of Commons, dated 25 June, 1863 : for, "Copy of the Correspondence Between the Military Authorities at Shanghai and the War Office Respecting the Insalubrity of Shanghai as a Station for European Troops:" "And, Numerical Return of Sickness and

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Moody and Dougan arrived on Tortola in May 1822 despite that Moody objected to the stipulated interview process in which masters and apprentices were to be interviewed together: because Moody thought that that practice were 'calculated to excite complaints of the servant against the master'. The

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by any other commissioners appointed to inquire into the state of the slaves, condemned to the Crown, in the different colonies belonging to His Majesty, under the acts abolishing the Slave Trade. Captured negroes at Tortola. Mr. Dougan's further report,--and Major Moody's remarks thereon. (II)

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Slave Trade. Papers relating to Captured Negroes. Return to an Address of the Honourable the House of Commons, dated 13th April 1824; (as far as it can at present be complied with) for copies of all reports made by the commissioners, or by either of them, who were appointed by His Majesty, in

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to advise on the defence of the West Indies, to which he returned in 1828 to perform special service in the Dutch Colonies for Sir Robert Wilmot Horton, which he completed in 1829. Moody served as Commander of the Royal Engineers in the West Indies from 1829 to 1832. He on 13 October 1832 was

798:, where they were to be employed as apprentices. Moody knew that the rescued Africans made an 'extremely useful' contribution to the British Empire. He consequently was appointed as a Parliamentary Commissioner and then as the 'Home Secretary for Foreign Parliamentary Commissioners'. 801:

Moody, who contended that blacks ought to be treated without partiality to whites, witnessed and supported the slave-rebellions of September and October 1816 that he described as an attempt 'by the mass of the slaves... to gain independence'. Moody by 1816 owned estates in

698:' being a very intelligent person, and having been employed in various situations, these gave him opportunities of acquiring a thorough knowledge of the local details, etc. of those islands and Colonies , and a great deal of useful information may be collected from him'. 1182:) was the owner of the estates Black Bess (196 slaves) and Clement Castle (220 slaves) on St Peter's Island that were inherited by his son Hampden Clement. Thomas Moody and Martha Clement had 10 children, 8 of whom outlived their father: 1055:

newspaper, in which they refuted the objections to Moody's contentions and to the Government's policy. Moody testified before the Privy Council in 1827 and in 1828. Moody's reports influenced Lord Bathurst; and Moody's protégé

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On 1 January 1809, Thomas Moody married Martha Clement (1784 – 1868), who was the daughter of Richard Clement (1753 - 1829) and the niece of John Dougan (1765 - 1826). Richard Clement (after whom Thomas named his second son

2443:"Letter of Thomas Moody of Bolton Street Mayfair, late Commissioner for Inquiring into the State of Captured Negroes, 7 July 1828, in Papers Relating to the Slave Trade, of the Session 29 January - 28 July 1828, Vol. XXVI" 1835: 3351: 1560:"The Will of Major Thomas Moody, PROB 11/2101, Codicil of 09/01/1843; The Carlisle Patriot 22/09/1849, accessed via Legacies of British Slave-Ownership: Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Moody: Profile and Legacies Summary" 967:

philanthropist'. Moody, who was extensively read in abolitionist literature, contended that it were a 'physical fact' that only blacks could perform in the 'torrid zone'. Moody's conclusion was that the

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from 1873 to 1881. Thomas Barrington Moody married Mary Ellen Dewrance by whom he had one daughter, Joan Barrington Moody, who married, on 14 December 1914, Allen Holford-Walker (1890 - 1949) of the

3043:"Letter of Thomas Moody, late Commissioner for inquiring into the State of Captured Negroes, 7 July 1828, in Papers Relating to the Slave Trade, of the Session 29 January - 28 July 1828, Vol. XXVI" 2196:"Letter by Captain Stirling and Major Moody to Under Secretary Hay. 21st August, 1828, in Official Papers relating to the Settlement at Swan River, West Australia, December 1826 – January 1830", 3356: 3321: 593:

to advise on the defence of the West Indies. Moody had 'all 's archives open to him' and was 'almost an obvious choice' to be 'Home Secretary for Foreign Parliamentary Commissioners'.

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advertised unclaimed property of the value of £120 that had belonged to 'Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Moody of Waltham Abbey' and of which the dividends had been unclaimed since 1839.

495:. Thomas's eldest brother Charles was a colonial merchant: and his other brother George, of Longtown, was a surgeon whose daughter Jane married Lewis Alexander of Hopwood Hall, 1734:

Rupprecht, Anita (September 2012). "'When he gets among his countrymen, they tell him that he is free': Slave Trade Abolition, Indentured Africans and a Royal Commission".

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Rupprecht, Anita (September 2012). "'When he gets among his countrymen, they tell him that he is free': Slave Trade Abolition, Indentured Africans and a Royal Commission".

924:. Moody's protégé's Stephen's recommendation, in 1802, of indenture created the basis for both the Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, and for the Orders in Council. 1407:. Married, at Belfast, Louise Harriet Thompson, by whom he had two daughters and one son, Hampden Lewis Clement (b. 28 February 1855, Hong Kong), who was a Captain of the 3008:"Report of the Incorporated Society for the Conversion and Religious Instruction and Education of the Negro Slaves in the British West India Islands for the Year 1829" 2993:"Report of the Incorporated Society for the Conversion and Religious Instruction and Education of the Negro Slaves in the British West India Islands for the Year 1828" 2515: 3056: 2456: 676: 628:, whom he thought to be 'unquestionably clever' and to have a 'cool and reasoning manner', to Downing Street to discuss economics. Moody's other friends included 1084:

and Moody, in August 1828, offered to form an association of private capitalists to using their own money settle Australia in fulfilment of the 'principles' of

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Social and Industrial Capacities of the Negroes (Edinburgh Review, March 1827), collected in Critical, Historical and Miscellaneous Essays, Volume 6 (1860)

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newspaper, censured Moody's contentions and his rhetoric. Moody, in correspondences and in the newspapers, repudiated the assertions by his critics.

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Moody's office at the Colonial Office was abolished in 1828 whilst he was 'unpopular with the Saints '. Moody then was employed in London by the

3105: 998:, and the American Colonization Society for African-American settlement in West Africa. Moody also studied the agriculture and the commerce of 936: 839: 3006:

Incorporated Society for the Conversion and Religious Instruction and Education of the Negro Slaves in the British West India Islands (1829).

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Incorporated Society for the Conversion and Religious Instruction and Education of the Negro Slaves in the British West India Islands (1828).

822:: but he freed his and his wife's over 500 slaves without claiming any of the offered compensation except for one enslaved person, who was of 2760:

Parliamentary Abstracts, Containing the Substance of all Important Papers laid before the two Houses of Parliament during the Session of 1825

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in 1846; and had been promoted to Colonel by 1847. The British Government consulted Moody for important engineering projects: including the

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his report, which is dated 20 December 1823, in which he contends that 'free labour in the West Indies is preferable to compulsory labour'.

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was violated by owners who had untruly redesignated their slaves as 'apprentices'. There were to be two commissioners who were to report to

487:. He was the third son of the colonial fine-food merchant Thomas Moody (1732 – 1796) by Barbara Blamire (1740 – 1806) who was a cousin of 3262:

Mortality of the Troops of All Arms at Shanghai, from the Year 1860 to the Latest Date, showing the Per-centage upon the Total Strength"

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about the settlement of the Swan River Colony at minimal cost to the British Government. Their proposal was rejected by the government.

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Bulletins and Other State Intelligence Compiled and Arranged from the Official Documents published in the London Gazette, 1820

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Report of the Proceedings of the Caledonian, West Cumberland, and Furness Railway Meeting held at Whitehaven on 10 April 1838

1408: 1350: 1191: 297: 1321:, and studied engineering in Manchester and sugar-refinement in London, before he in 1843 investigated sugar-manufacture in 3336: 1375: 1057: 894: 871: 770: 720: 535: 460: 369: 220: 3206: 711:

Moody arrived in Barbados in 1797, to be mathematics master, writing master, and Assistant Headmaster, of the Anglican

514:. He was extensively read in history, economics, philosophy, climatology, physics, and surveillance, and was fluent in 1236: 898: 727:, which Moody entered as a Lieutenant on 1 July 1806. Moody's first duty was to administer the Office of Ordinance in 645: 539: 192: 188: 1791: 284:

British Parliamentary Commission on West Indian Slavery (1821 – 1828); Inspector of British Gunpowder (1840 – 1849)

1136:, and the embankments at Morecambe Bay and Duddon Sands. Moody's expertise contributed to the appointment his son 675: 2812: 1345:, for which he reported to Parliament in 1847 and in 1848. Shute married Sarah Blackburn, on 19 January 1847, at 1300:. He married Mary Willan, who was the daughter of The Rev. Willan, on 15 October 1863, by whom he had 5 children. 1029: 963: 641: 586: 1203: 1187: 1061: 974:

Moody submitted his second report, also of over 200 pages, in 1826. This analysed agricultural colonies in the

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Royal Kalendar and Court and City Register for England, Scotland, Ireland, and the Colonies: For the Year 1830

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to wear the Cross of the Order whilst in Britain, but not to use the title 'Sir'. Moody received the rank of

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The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle: a Journal of Papers on Subjects Connected with Maritime Affairs

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consequently wrote articles (which were ascribed to the pseudonym 'Vindex', which Moody also used) to

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during the Napoleonic Wars, and of whom his father was an admirer. James Leith Moody was educated at

1121: 1114: 1065: 1048: 1015: 940: 909: 882: 843: 758: 665: 629: 550: 511: 397: 259: 49: 3027: 2537:"Legacies of British Slave-Ownership: Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Moody: Profile and Legacies Summary" 1822:, Volume II, 1834, July to December, Sylvanus Urban, published by William Pickering, London, pp.641" 1159:, where his son Wilmot Horton Moody was raised. Moody died on 5 September 1849 at Berrywood House, 991: 835: 829: 597: 2971: 2430:. House of Commons Parliamentary Papers, 1826–1827. p. Slave Trade: Papers Relating To, p.54. 1817: 3295: 2976: 2957: 2934: 2919: 2509: 2101: 1751: 1470: 1243: 1210: 1129: 1105: 921: 712: 590: 565: 507: 2846: 2650: 2627: 1994: 3083:"Legacies of British Slave Ownership: Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Moody: Imperial Legacy Details" 2159: 2134: 1124:

on 13 June 1834; and was appointed as Inspector of Gunpowder on 2 July 1840; and was posted to

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John Dougan resigned from the Commission in June 1822 and returned to England to submit to the

3050: 2892: 2802:. House of Commons Parliamentary Papers, 1826–1827. p. Captured Negroes on Tortola, p.45. 2763: 2598: 2450: 2219: 1362: 1253: 1247: 1077: 1040: 917: 766: 661: 621: 558: 464: 215: 1528: 868:

Considerations in Defence of the Orders in Council for the Melioration of Slavery in Trinidad

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The Royal Military Calendar or Army Service and Commission Book, Third Edition, Vol. V, 1820

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Moody's appointment as Home Secretary for Foreign Parliamentary Commissioners (1821 - 1828)

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about Thomas Moody, in a letter to Sir Robert Wilmot Horton that is dated 15 December 1821.

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A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire

1426: 1400: 1396: 1133: 732: 724: 519: 492: 488: 433: 410: 406: 402: 364: 325: 269: 196: 86: 77: 69: 2177: 632:(with whom he had an extensive correspondence, and after whom he named one of his sons); 3187: 2305: 1774: 17: 2839: 2643: 2620: 2135:"Correspondence with Major Moody, of Barrington, Shute (1734 - 1826), Bishop of Durham" 1987: 1442: 1384: 1148: 968: 959: 929: 906: 823: 669: 547: 484: 461:

Colonel Hampden Clement Blamire Moody CB, the Commander of the Royal Engineers in China

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using their own capital, but were prohibited from doing so by the British Government.

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Moody was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1830; and received a DCL degree from the

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The Colonization of Australia (1829–42): The Wakefield Experiment in Empire Building

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Entry for Moody, James Leith, in The Register of Tonbridge School from 1820 to 1893

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Hart's Annual Army List, Special Reserve List, and Territorial Force List, Volume 5

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in 1841, when Richard Clement Moody was the unprecedentedly young age of 28 years.

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Will of Richard Clement of Barbados, PROB 11/1811/204, University College, London

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from May 1815 to October 1816, and as Superintendent of the Crown Plantations in

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Letter of Thomas Moody to H. Goulburn, 14 October 1816, CO. 28/85, as noted in

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Chasing the Dragon in Shanghai: Canada's Early Relations with China, 1858–1952

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after Leith, of whom he was an admirer. Thomas was involved in the successful

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