Richard Robert Madden
Encyclopedia
Richard Robert Madden (born Dublin, Ireland 22 August 1798, died Dublin, 5 February 1886) was an Irish doctor, writer, abolitionist
and historian of the United Irishmen.
He was born at Wormwood Gate, Dublin to Edward Madden, a silk manufacturer. He was educated at private schools. He studied medicine in Paris, Italy, and St George's Hospital, London. While in Naples
he became acquainted with Lady Blessington
and her circle.
Madden was employed in the British civil service from 1833, first as a justice of the peace
in Jamaica, where he was one of six Special Magistrates sent to oversee the eventual liberation of Jamaica's slave population, according to the terms of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833. From 1835 he was Superintendent of the freed Africans in Havana
. His son, Thomas More Madden
, who later became a surgeon and writer, was born there. In 1839 he became the investigating officer into the slave trade on the west coast of Africa, in 1847 the secretary for the West Australian colonies. He returned to Dublin and in 1850 he was named secretary of the Office for Loan Funds in Dublin.
He died at his home in Booterstown
, just south of Dublin city, in 1886 and is interred in Donnybrook Cemetery
.
which contains important details on the causes of the Irish Rebellion of 1798
.
His other books include:
His time in Jamaica is also noticeable for his collection of letters and autobiographical accounts of several Muslim African slaves there at the time. These accounts are dealt with in his two-volume memoir, A Twelve Month's Residence in the West Indies.
He also wrote poetry for The Nation
.
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
and historian of the United Irishmen.
He was born at Wormwood Gate, Dublin to Edward Madden, a silk manufacturer. He was educated at private schools. He studied medicine in Paris, Italy, and St George's Hospital, London. While in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
he became acquainted with Lady Blessington
Marguerite, Countess of Blessington
Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington was an Irish novelist.Born Margaret Power near Clonmel in County Tipperary, Ireland, she was a daughter of Edmund Power, a small landowner...
and her circle.
Madden was employed in the British civil service from 1833, first as a justice of the peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
in Jamaica, where he was one of six Special Magistrates sent to oversee the eventual liberation of Jamaica's slave population, according to the terms of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833. From 1835 he was Superintendent of the freed Africans in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
. His son, Thomas More Madden
Thomas More Madden
Thomas More Madden was an Irish physician and writer, son and biographer of Richard Robert Madden.-Life:He was born at Havana, Cuba, where his father was an appointee of the British Government working on the abolition of the slave trade, according to the terms of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833...
, who later became a surgeon and writer, was born there. In 1839 he became the investigating officer into the slave trade on the west coast of Africa, in 1847 the secretary for the West Australian colonies. He returned to Dublin and in 1850 he was named secretary of the Office for Loan Funds in Dublin.
He died at his home in Booterstown
Booterstown
Booterstown,, is a coastal townland and civil parish, situated in the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council area of the former County Dublin, about south of the city of Dublin in Ireland.-Location and access:...
, just south of Dublin city, in 1886 and is interred in Donnybrook Cemetery
Donnybrook Cemetery
Donnybrook Cemetery is located close to the river Dodder in Donnybrook, Dublin, Ireland. The cemetery was the location of an old Celtic church founded by Saint Broc and later a church dedicated to St. Mary...
.
Published works
Besides several travel diaries (Travels in Turkey, Egypt etc. in 1824–27, 1829, and others (1833)), his works include the historically significant book The United Irishmen, their lives and times (1843, 7 Vols.),which contains important details on the causes of the Irish Rebellion of 1798
Irish Rebellion of 1798
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 , also known as the United Irishmen Rebellion , was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against British rule in Ireland...
.
His other books include:
- The Mussulman., London, H. Colburn and R. Bentley, 1830. 3 vol. . Available on Google Books: vol. 1, vol. 2 and vol. 3.
- The infirmities of genius illustrated by referring the anomalies in the literary character to the habits and constitutional peculiarities of men of genius., London, Saunders and Otley, 1833. 2 vol. . Available on Google Books: vol. 1 and vol. 2.
- A Twelvemonth’s Residence in the West Indies, during the transition from slavery to apprenticeship; with incidental notice of the state of society, prospects, and natural resources of Jamaica and other islands., Philadelphia, Carey, Lea and Blanchard, 1835. 2 vol. . Available on Google Books: vol. 1 and vol. 2.
- New edition, under the same title: Westport, Connecticut, Negro Universities Press, 1970. ISBN 0837132320.
- Juan Francisco Manzano, Poems by a slave in the island of Cuba, recently liberated; translated from the Spanish, by R. R. Madden, M.D., with the history of the early life of the negro poet, written by himself; to which are prefixed two pieces descriptive of Cuban slavery and the slave-traffic, by R. R. M., London, T. Ward & Co., 1840. [9]-188 p.
- Note that there is an ew edition, under a shorter title: The Life and Poems of a Cuban Slave : Juan Francisco Manzano, 1797–1854 / edited by Edward J. Mullen, Hamden, Connecticut : Archon Books, 1981. vii, 237 p. ISBN 0208019006. – Madden's name as editor and translator seems to be given inside the book.
- The Connexion between the Kingdom of Ireland and the Crown of England ... With an appendix of the Privy Council correspondence during ... 1811, 1812, 1816, 1817., Dublin : James Duffy, 1845. iii-340 p.
- The History of the Penal Laws Enacted Against Roman Catholics, London : Thomas Richardson and Son, 1847. 1 vol. (80 p.). Available on Google Books.
- The Life and Times of Robert EmmetRobert EmmetRobert Emmet was an Irish nationalist and Republican, orator and rebel leader born in Dublin, Ireland...
, Esq., Dublin : James Duffy Publisher, 1847 (first edition), XV-VII-343 p. (available on Google Books. Second edition : Glasgow :Cameron, Ferguson & Co., 1902, 272 p. . - The island of Cuba: its resources, progress, and prospects, considered in relation especially to the influence of its prosperity on the interests of the British West India Colonies., London, C. Gilpin; [etc., etc.] 1849. xxiv-252 p.
- The shrines and sepulchres of the Old and New World; records of pilgrimages in many lands and researches connected with the history of places remarkable for memorials of the dead, or monuments of a sacred character; including notices of the funeral customs of the principal nations, ancient and modern., London, T. C. Newby, 1851. 2 vol.
- The Life and Martyrdom of SavonarolaGirolamo SavonarolaGirolamo Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar, Scholastic, and an influential contributor to the politics of Florence from 1494 until his execution in 1498. He was known for his book burning, destruction of what he considered immoral art, and what he thought the Renaissance—which began in his...
, illustrative of the history of church and state connexion., London, T. C. Newby, 1853. 2 vol. . Available on Google Books: vol. 1 and vol. 2. - The Literary Life and Correspondence of the Countess of Blessington, London, T. C. Newby, 1855. 3 vol. . Available on Google Books: vol. 1, vol. 2 and vol. 3.
- New edition, under the same title: New York, AMS Press, 1973. 3 vol. ISBN 040407720X.
- Phantasmata ; or, Illusions and fanaticisms of Protean forms, productive of great evils., London, T. C. Newby, 1857. 2 vol.
- The Turkish Empire. In its Relations with Christianity and Civilization., London, T. C. Newby, 1862. 2 vol. . Available on Google Books: vol. 2.
- GalileoGalileo GalileiGalileo Galilei , was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism...
and the InquisitionInquisitionThe Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
, London: Burns & Lambert; Dublin: J. Mullany, 1863. vi-210 p. - Historical Notice of Penal Laws Against Roman Catholics: Their Operation and Relaxation During the Past Century, of Partial Measures of Relief in 1779, 1782, 1793, 1829, and of Penal Laws which Remain Unrepealed, Or Have Been Rendered More Stringent by the Latest So-called Emancipation Act., London : Thomas Richarson and Son, 1865. 241 p. Available on Google Books.
- The history of Irish periodical literature, from the end of the 17th to the middle of the 19th century, its origin, progress, and results; with notices of remarkable persons connected with the press in Ireland during the past two centuries., London : T. C. Newby, 1867. 2 vol. (vii-338 p. + 531 p.). Available on Google Books: vol. 1 and vol. 2.
- The memoirs (chiefly autobiographical) from 1798 to 1886 of Richard Robert Madden. Edited by his son Thomas More Madden., London, Ward & Downey, 1891. 4-328 p.,
His time in Jamaica is also noticeable for his collection of letters and autobiographical accounts of several Muslim African slaves there at the time. These accounts are dealt with in his two-volume memoir, A Twelve Month's Residence in the West Indies.
He also wrote poetry for The Nation
The Nation (Irish newspaper)
The Nation was an Irish nationalist weekly newspaper, published in the 19th century. The Nation was printed first at 12 Trinity Street, Dublin, on 15 October 1842, until 6 January 1844...
.