Basil Cochrane

Basil Cochrane (born 22 April 1753; died Paris, France, 12 or 14 August 1826) was a Scottish civil servant, businessman, inventor, and wealthy nabob of early 19th century England.

Early life

The sixth son of Scottish nobleman and politician Thomas Cochrane, 8th Earl of Dundonald, by his second wife Jane Stuart, Cochrane was probably named for his father's brother Basil Cochrane (died 1788), at the time Governor of the Isle of Man and later a member of the Scottish Board of Customs. At the age of sixteen Basil was given a place in the East India Company in Madras. From 1783–5 he served as a revenue administrator in Nagapattinam, which had been seized from the Dutch in 1781. During his time there he was accused of having two locals, including one named Vaidyanada, beaten to death. After a trial in Madras in 1787, he was acquitted by a British jury.

Nabob

In 1792 Basil Cochrane took over supply contracts for the British navy in India from his brother John, who had held them since 1790. The demand for provisions was so great that Basil had flour mills and bakeries built at Calcutta and Madras to fulfill his contracts. He also financed "Cochrane's Canal" (now the Buckingham Canal) which improved navigation to Madras. The contract was rebid in 1803 and Cochrane again won the bid.