Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Brooke, Robert
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
Robert Brooke joined the East India Company as an ensign in 1764 and had a distinguished career in India, taking part in many military campaigns. When he went on leave in 1774 he invested his fortune in a scheme to grow cotton in Ireland.
When this scheme failed in 1787 he applied to the East India Company to be reinstated. This they would not do in full but appointed him governor of St. Helena.
During his years as governor at St. Helena, from 1787-1801, he strengthened the defences and recruited and drilled troops for service in India.
Despite the fact that his plan to capture the Cape of Good Hope was anticipated by the British attack under General Baird, he was highly commended by the government and in 1799 was presented with a diamond-hilted sword as a mark of esteem. He had to resign in 1801 due to ill health and died shortly afterwards.