Sir William Norris, 1st Baronet

William succeeded his eldest brother, Thomas, as member for Liverpool in 1695, and held the seat till 1701; he was re-elected during his absence in India, but unseated on petition.

The situation on the ground was complicated by the actions of Sir Nicholas Waite, the English company's representative at Surat, who had written to Aurangzeb, before Norris's arrival, to request firmans of privileges, and offering to suppress piracy on the Indian seas in return.

Norris fell out with him, and sailed on 23 August 1700 for Swally (Suvali), the port on the Indian west coast for Surat, which he reached on 10 December.

In the substantive negotiations, however, Aurangzeb put his finger on the offer to suppress piracy in the Indian Ocean, particularly since it affected pilgrims on the hajj; while Norris was unwilling to give sufficient guarantees.

This point proved the stumbling block, and while both Companies made substantial monetary gifts Norris went away empty-handed, feeling hampered by a lack of expertise in Persian on the part of his interpreter Adiell Mill.

At Mauritius the two ships met on 11 July, but soon afterwards the Scipio parted company, and when she came to St. Helena it was reported that Norris had been attacked with dysentery, and had died at sea on 10 October 1702.