Nathaniel Wells was a British planter and politician of Afro-Caribbean descent. Born on a slave plantation in Saint Kitts, he was sent to Britain to complete his education, eventually serving as a magistrate after being called to the bar. Inheriting his father's estates in the British West Indies, Wells was commissioned in the Yeomanry Cavalry in 1820, becoming the third Black person to serve as a British military officer after Captain John Perkins and Ensign James Swaby. He was also the first Black sheriff in Britain. Wells died in 1852, remaining wealthy despite his slaves having been emancipated 19 years earlier by the Slavery Abolition Act 1833.