This proved to be unpopular for some of the settlers and especially Ralph Hanson, whose family timber business was failing due to the lack of free labour that slavery provided. In other words, a mixed race group of the trades and occupations that had grown up around the elites, the Baymen, the all-white, wealthy mahogany dealers. She was very vocal and bitter towards those she thought were better off than her. As mentioned previously, Regan is set to appear in the final series of Poldark as the dynamic and impassioned historical figure, Ned Despard. The season finale is due to air on Sunday, August 18 on BBC One at 9pm. He was a younger son, and was expected to make his own way in the world, which he did by joining the army at the age of fifteen. Mining Poldark is your behind-the-scenes pass to all five seasons of the beloved MASTERPIECE / BBC drama, Poldark. This letter, which she sent to the newspapers, started a three-week debate in Parliament on whether the suspension of habeas corpus should be extended: Some mention having been made in newspaper reports of the House of Commons, relative to the treatment of Colonel Despard in the new prison, I think it necessary to state, that he was confined near seven months in a dark cell, not seven feet square, without fire, or candle, chair, table, knife, fork, a glazed window, or even a book. Ross told Wickham he wasn't, but he now had to spy on Ned and Kitty instead. Lieutenant Superintendent Edward "Ned" Marcus Despard was an Irish solider and abolitionist who supported the end of the slave trade. The settlers sent a letter of protest to the British government, and Ralph accused Ned of betraying the Crown by purposely depriving it of the profits the slavery industry and noted that depriving the Crown of its share made that person an enemy of the Crown. Ned Despard became Poldark's former army Colonel (Image: BBC) Read More Related Articles. But though His Majesty’s Ministers know as well as I do that I am not guilty, yet they avail themselves of a legal pretext to destroy a man, because he has been a friend to truth, to liberty, and to justice. ha!’, he laughed, ‘what nonsensical mummery is this?’. Gallant hero Ross Poldark rides again in this reimagined MASTERPIECE classic. [2], Ned was introduced to Demelza, Jeremy and Clowance Poldark. However, it wasn’t long before Ross was off to the capital to try and free former comrade Ned Despard (Vincent Regan) who was serving time in prison. ‘Ha! The Despard Plot, as it became known, was sensational, impractical stuff--it involved the seizure of the Tower of London, the Bank of England, and armories, and the assassination of King George III. He began as an Ensign in the Fifteenth Foot Regiment,  was promoted to Lieutenant in 1772. And it's now that Kitty swung into action, appalled by the conditions her husband suffered in the Coldbath Fields Prison, a new facility in Clerkenwell, London. This season on Poldark, Ned has been something of a thorn in Ross’ side ever since he came to the reluctant MP for help in the first place – another case of wrongful imprisonment. Playing him was interesting as he is a real person amongst the f Vincent Regan is Ned Despard. But with Season 2 not yet greenlit, we have a few PBS drama suggestions. Edward Despard, was a real person, and a high-ranking British Army colonel stationed in Central America and the Caribbean in the late eighteenth century Poldark writer Debbie Horsfield … Ross is… He was a colonel in the American Revolutionary War where he led a force to victory at the Battle of the Black River and secured the British hold in Miskito Kingdom. Telly Visions is a service of WETA and is supported by contributions from readers like you. Poldark season five features a whole host of new cast members for the BBC series. In 1798 when the Great Irish Rebellion took place, Despard was arrested and imprisoned. He sent letters to powerful friends for help, but they couldn't. The jailer will bear witness that he never made any complaint of his treatment, however severe it was. Consider that Despard's good friend Nelson, who shared the same experiences in Jamaica remained resolutely pro-slavery. Ensign Poldark – Ned I think you’ll find you’re Captain Poldark now! Nelson said: We went on the Spanish Main together; we slept many nights together in our clothes upon the ground; we have measured the height of the enemies wall together. Despard was given these instructions from the Home Secretary, Lord Sydney: His Majesty feels an equal concern for all his subjects, & is disposed at all times to listen to their reasonable applications; but in the present instance His Majesty conceives that the Mosquito Settlers who have been obliged to relinquish their possessions ought first to be attended to, especially in the disposal of those lands which may in some degree be looked upon as a consideration for their Settlements upon the Mosquito Shore. Catherine Despard (wife) The Unfortunate Colonel Despard: And the British Revolution that Never Happened by Mike Jay. When he was stopped and questioned by a constable, he identified himself as Citizen Edward Marcus Despard, using the inflammatory revolutionary title favored by the French. He was executed on 22 February 1803. The government was rightly nervous about this--popular support for Despard was running high, the newspapers were in a state of frenzy, and public executions were falling out of favor. Tonight, Poldark season 5 episode 6 offered up an opportunity to explore the state of things for Ross and Ned Despard, a man who had bitten off far more than he could chew. Catherine, or Kitty, is a great addition – a former slave who also really existed – played with elegant defiance by Kerri McLean. The season finale is due to air on Sunday, August 18 on BBC One at 9pm. Kitty worked with Despard on his final speech, which was delivered to the mostly silent crowd of 20,000 people. The legal system at this time relied on character witnesses rather than what we would consider legal evidence.