Sir William Norris, 1st Baronet (c. 1658 – 10 October 1702) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1695 to 1701. He was also a servant of the East India Company, and served as ambassador to the Mogul Emperor Aurangzeb. The family name is sometimes spelt Norres or Norreys.
Contents
Life
Origins
He was the second son of Thomas Norris of Speke Hall, Lancashire, by Katherine, daughter of Sir Henry Garraway. The eldest son, Thomas Norris (1653–1700), was a Whig MP for Liverpool, 1688 to 1690 and 1690 to 1695. William succeeded his eldest brother, Thomas, as member for Liverpool in 1695, and held the seat till 1701; he was re-elected during his absence in India, but unseated on petition. He was made a baronet on 3 December 1698, of Speke, Lancashire. The title became extinct on his death.
India
In 1698 the new General Society or English Company (less accurately, the "New East India Company") obtained an act of parliament and letters patent from the Crown for the purpose of trading to the East Indies, and in order to obtain the necessary privileges from the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, Sir William Norris, specially created a baronet for the mission, was sent out to India as king's commissioner in a ship of war, at a salary of £2,000 a year, paid by the company. He was expected to obtain the protection and privileges of the Mughal authorities in favour of the new company, in face of the opposition of the officers of the East India Company (the old or 'London' East India Company), which had been the accredited representative of British commerce in India for a century. The Old Company had its firmans from the Mughal Emperors conferring special privileges of trading.