Henry Bentinck, 1st Duke of Portland

Eldest surviving son of Hans Willem Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland, by Anne, daughter of Sir Edward Villiers. Married in 1704 to Lady Elizabeth Noel, daughter of Wriothesley Baptist Noel, 2nd Earl of Gainsborough. MP for Southampton 1705-1708 and Hampshire 1708-1709. Succeeded his father as 2nd Earl of Portland in 1709. Created Duke of Portland in 1716.

Heir to considerable estates in Berkshire, Cheshire, Cumberland, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Sussex, Westminster and Yorkshire, worth some £850,000 at the time of his succession. Also granted an annual income of £10,000 by his father from securities at the Bank of Holland. Suffered heavy losses when the South Sea Bubble burst in 1720. Governor of Jamaica from 1721 until his death in Spanish Town in 1726.

The will of The Most Noble Henry Duke of Portland was proved in London 14/02/1728.

Henry Duke Of Portland, of St Catherine, Governor. Estate probated in Jamaica in 1727. Slave-ownership at probate: 287 of whom 158 were listed as male and 129 as female. 0 were listed as boys, girls or children. Total value of estate at probate: £34306.34 Jamaican currency of which £8774 currency was the value of enslaved people. Estate valuation included £150 currency cash, £18312.33 currency debts and £250 currency plate.

'BENTINCK, Henry, Visct. Woodstock (c.1682-1726), of Titchfield, Hants.", History of Parliament Online http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1690-1715/member/bentinck-henry-1682-1726 [accessed 13/03/2019].

PROB 11/620/80.

Trevor Burnard, Database of Jamaican inventories, 1674-1784.