User:Guettarda/Sandbox 38

St Hillaire Begorrat (born Mary Martin Hillaire; 1759–1851) was a Martinique-born Trinidadian planter and early patron of calypso.

Early life
Begorrat was born in Martinique, one of nine children born to Pierre Begorrat, a French merchant originally from La Rochelle, and his wife Anne Tournelliers. Begorrat was educated in La Rochelle where family tradition says he studied studied engineering.

He returned to Martinique in 1781 where he became a planter and slave-holder. His republican sympathies led him to leave Martinique in 1784 for Venezuela.