Player: Andrew P
Rank: Viscount (Rank 3)
Religion: Church of England
Reputation: Gentlemanly
Email: michael_gerard@albion.chaosdeathfish.com
A respectable Lord and owner of extensive estates beyond England in India. The Lord Surat is the son of a successful trader and he himself is now a Director in the East India Company know for his excellent links with the East. He has also made a name for himself as an excellent sea-captain, the evidence being his frequent successful trips to India. He is responsible for the marvel of the Gerard Canal, linking the Mediterranean and the Red Seas for shipping.
East India Company Director (Rank 3)
An extract from “The East India Company Under the Lord Directors”
Lord Michael Gerard, Viscount Surat, is almost as mysterious and intriguing as the Directress or Lord Sherborne. While his loyalty to the Queen and Country is little doubted, his involvement within the Company has been criticised.
It is particularly apparent now that Lord Surat was instrumental in ensuring that Sir Samuel Brakerige became the Lord Director and his own promotion to Proprietor soon followed. If he was a shadowy power behind the EIC's throne it was only to the profit of Company and Crown.
The Gerard Canal allowed the EIC to maintain a sort of monopoly on Gunpowder and their traders took advantage of it in recouping the Company's loses. Hid development of the EIC trade and involvement in the New England Company brought the Viscount a significant wealth, but it is obvious he was not content with the small part he got in the NEC. We see many attempts to gain a significant or controlling interest in the new venture but the finances of the primary individuals and companies interested in the NEC prevented that.
From “The Deeds of Lord Michael Gerard's Family”
The Viscount, a Colonel in the Royalist Forces in Ireland for much of the early Civil War, was the most able assistant that General Braganza could have asked for. His heroic carriage during the hard times and the generosity of his resources, as well as the ability to persuade the EIC to lend a great hand in the Civil War mark the Viscount as one of the most outstanding men of England and Albion.
Though false accusations are a trademark of popularity, fame and fortune, the Viscount Surat was endowed with an unfair share of trouble. He had ever wanted and given the best to the Country, Queen and the East India Company but still unfounded rumours abounded. The proposterous claim that he had supported Lord Sherborne or was engaged in an illegal trade of native children from the Americas remain entirely fantastic and without evidence.