Edward Bullock (English politician)

Edward Bullock was MP for Essex from 1698 till 1700 and MP for Colchester from 8 May till his death on 6 December 1705.

Family and education

Edward Bullock was the first son of Edward Bullock and Elizabeth. He was educated at Newport School, Essex, Trinity College, Cambridge in 1679 and Grey's Inn in 1682.
He married Elizabeth and they had one daughter. She died in childbirth in 1691 and so he married Mary on 11 February 1693 and they had five sons and 2 daughters.
Edward Bullock acquired a lot of wealth through his marriages. His first wife inherited significant Essex estates from her father, Sir Mark Guyon and his second was the daughter of Sir Josiah Child, 1st Baronet, the governor of the East India Company.

Parliamentary career

Bullock considered standing for Parliament as early as 1694 but repeatedly hesitated. He finally stood with Sir Charles Barrington in 1698, with the support of Bishop Compton. In Parliament, he leaned towards Country and Tory positions. Rivalries between the Old and New East India companies and shifting alliances caused him to lose his Essex seat in 1701, and he failed again later that year.
By 1704 he had switched sides, aligning with the Whigs and helping back Whig candidates against his former Tory allies. He gained a seat for Colchester in 1705 and supported Whig positions, but died only months later. His estate passed through the family, and his son Josiah continued the family’s mercantile connections through marriage into another East India Company family.