Case Study in Elites: Hercules Ross

The lineage of Hercules Ross has moved nations.

Elite Theory has been ringing around my circles recently, and I thought I’d do a few case studies on how Elites move society outside any scope of democratic process. It’s easy to buy into the myth that votes determine how governments act, but in reality votes merely offer a season for elites to exercise their influence on plebs. Democracy is not “most popular idea wins”, it is “most influential elite wins”. Democracy is not a way to make decisions, it is a way to instruct the will of the few upon the willingness of the many. We are hierarchical creatures and despite centuries of effort, inequality will always win. Some people have leadership, others have a desire to be led. And nothing will change this biologically programmed predisposition we suffer from. So instead of fighting it, allow me to write how you can use it.

On that note, here’s a case study of one such example. Hercules Ross.

Around the time Boston Harbor was the largest cold brew in the world, a young Scott migrated to Jamaica to seek his fortune selling souls. His name was Hercules Ross. He was not one of small wealth. His family owned a large castle estate in the homeland. That said, records show the Ross’ hit hard times. Hercules took to privateering in the Caribbean, and befriended the legendary Horatio Ross. Quite an odd arrangement of events. Yet even as his heart pumped for this new-world wealth, the work of selling flesh is burdensome to those with an inner dialogue. It’s easy to do these things when your mind is quiet. Not so for Hercules. His mind revved with questions and ethics. And an ethical pirate is not long willed for his craft.

He eventually sampled his own product, a quadroon by the name of Elizabeth Foord. Pleased, he freed the woman and had several offspring with her, naming one after himself, and another he named Daniel. Others too. Hercules spent 19 years in Jamaica. At which point, he left his affairs to Ms Foord and amicably ended both the relationship, as well as his presence. The slave trade simply did not feel right to Hercules. Something felt off. And so he returned to Glasgow in 1782, two years later marrying Henrietta Parish, the heiress to an Hamburg banking clan. Their son he named Horatio Ross, after his friend the Admiral. The Admiral agreed to be a godfather to the boy. The year was now 1790. For eight years Hercules struggled with what he saw in Jamaica. And at long last, he broke. He looked and searched for a way to express his regrets. He found it in the mind of William Wilberforce.

A friend in Jesus

Arguably, William Wilberforce is the father of modern NGOs. I will be writing an origin myth for NGOs some time in the future. Suffice to say for now, there had been other attempts in the past, such as Benjamin Franklin’s own Pennsylvania Abolition Society. However we will study William’s approach as it actually succeeded. In 1787, three years before Heracles Ross contacted him, he had founded his own Abolition society in England. Much like Franklin’s, it was predominately Quaker in origin. It is arguably true to state Quakerdom is itself is something of an NGO, but we will save that for another time. William’s Abolition Society sought to pull together elites to effectuate public opinion and pressure governments to change policies. His correspondence with Hercules Ross, therefore, marks the shift from a petty petition club to a well-funded political activism. With Hercules’ wealth both from his Hamburg banking connections, and his Jamaican profits, he was able to pump Wilberforce with much funding, and perhaps most importantly: A witness testimony in court.

I cannot find a full text of Hercules’ testimony, nor what year he gave it. But what I have are bits and pieces of his words before the House of Commons from Thomas Clarkson’s archives, edited to reflect a first person words (he wrote them in third person for some ungodly reason):

…finally, as the result of my observations and most serious reflection, I hesitate not to say that the trade for slaves ought to be abolished- not only as contrary to sound policy, but to the laws of God and nature, and were it possible by the present inquiry, to convey a just knowledge of the extensive misery it occasions- but that every Kingdom of Europe must unite in calling on their legislatures to abolish the human traffic

Now, slavery was not banned in Britain until 1807. Hercules Ross began his correspondence in 1790. Whatever his words were, they were powerful enough to linger for 17 years in public conscious. That’s pretty important to note. Because William Wilberforce succeeded off the efforts of Hercules Ross, and with that he died peacefully and pleased with his accomplishments in 1816, merely 9 years later.

The Brothers Ross.

Hercules, Daniel, and Horatio Ross were the three half brothers of the Sr. Hercules. All three men maintained Elite Status.

Horatio Ross went on to use his father’s wealth to invest in sporting goods, as well as playing as arbiter in some sixteen duels, which he claims he resolved and preventing shots being fired every time. He condemned the entire dueling system in his later years. No, Horatio had a different type of shooting in mind: Cameras. Horatio founded the Scottish Photography Society, and took to shooting with that invention instead. Horatio is in many ways responsible for the early popularization of photography.

Daniel Ross took to being a hydrographer for the East Indian Company. Many of Hercules Sr. children seem to have found work in the EIC. But Daniel became the most famous. The Bombay Geographical Society honored him as their president, saying:

"Captain Ross had established for himself a European reputation of a high order, as one of the most practical and correct of Eastern Hydrographers; and the fortunes of many merchants, and the lives of many mariners, have been saved by the results of his patient and scientific labors."

Less is known of Hercules Ross Jr. The records show he may have faked his own death in a clever scheme to reinvent himself in South Africa. In 1810, a report of his death was published along with his wife by the very piracy his father was part of. Yet curiously, he shows up on the pay records in South Africa as early as the 1790s into the 1800s, making a womping 1500 pounds a year. This would be equal in modern poundage to something in the range between a few hundred thousand to a few million a year. Quite an accomplished scammer!

Destiny’s Children

When Hercules Ross died, he wrote that his testimony before Parliament had ruined his reputation, writing something akin to:

In support of abolition of the slave trade, I have earned a plentiful load of abuse and cost me all my West India connections.

Hercules Ross was an elite. He used his money to fund Wilberforce’s NGO and totally shift public policy to what he willed. He used his class to testify before Parliament and impress his values upon them, and he used the media to publish his words which resonated for years! He needed no election nor political office to get what he wanted. As an Elite, he simply had words, will, and resources. And as it seems, his children were as capable as him. All of them became someone. They were all clever. They were all accomplished.

This isn’t something we can ascribe to genetics. Hercules Ross was only one man and only half of any random collection of his genes made it into his offspring. No child had exactly his genes. His offspring were partially bred with a former slave, partially bred with a German pure blood. Yet both branches of his lineage were extremely accomplished.

This isn’t something we can ascribe to nationality either. His children were scattered across the world. Some in Britain, some in the Caribbean, some in India, some in South Africa. Different languages, different cultures. Different conditions for each one. Yet all of them ascended to elite status in whatever culture, class, work, or group they found themselves in.

This isn’t something we can ascribe to class either. Horatio Ross was high class. He was part of the upper crust of the UK. Daniel Ross was middle class. He served in the army and lived a decent middle manager life in India. He was for all intents and purposes a salary man of his craft. And Hercules Ross was an underdog player. He thrived in the underworld of crime and piracy. He faked his own death and lived as a mob boss in South Africa. There are other offspring too, such as his daughters who became accomplished teachers.

What is it that made them all successful then? Past Genetics, past nation, past language, past culture, past class, what is it?

They were elites. It’s as simple as that. They were taught from youth how to act and behave to get what they wanted. Elite status transcends genetics entirely. It transcends race and language as well. It can reflect class, but there are poor and rich elites alike. Sometimes an elite is the big guy at a pub. Sometimes an elite is the big guy at the shareholder meeting. Elite status is something else entirely. If you want to be elite, study men like Hercules Ross. He and his line transcended all difficulties, all barriers, and all things. It simply did not matter if they were the children of a slave like Ms Foord, or the children of a banker like Ms Parish. All of Hercules Sr. children overcame and outperformed their neighbors in a way that simply cannot be ascribed to any of the normal rank punditry current voices invent to dichotomize the world.

To be an elite, is simply to step over it all.

Study that.

Meditate on that.

Become that.

Sources

https://www.geographicus.com/P/ctgy&Category_Code=rossdaniel

https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/member/ross-horatio-1801-1886#footnote7_ckwmyoz

http://aparcelofribbons.co.uk/tag/hercules-ross/