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Revision as of 07:15, 15 September 2010
Sir William Boswell (died 1650) was an English diplomat, a resident ambassador to the Netherlands.
Life
He was a native of Suffolk. He was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge, of which he was elected fellow in 1606. He subsequently entered the diplomatic service, and was appointed secretary to Sir Dudley Carleton, then ambassador at the Hague. Boswell eventually succeeded Carleton, being knighted in 1633.[1]
A large share of Sir William's attention while ambassador was taken up with the controversy between the Gomarists and the Remonstrants (Arminians). He continued the policy of Sir Dudley Carleton, and supported the rigidly Calvinist Gomarists against the Remonstrants.[1] This was for political reasons, and otherwise Boswell was an ally of William Laud. He took a close interest in the emigré English churches in the Netherlands, and in 1633-4 helped John Paget intrigue against John Davenport.[2] Charles I ordered Boswell to back Edward Misselden, influential in the Merchant Adventurers, against John Forbes.[3] In 1638 Boswell had a prosecution brought against John Canne.[4]
When the First English Civil War broke out, Boswell's efforts were directed towards preserving the neutrality of the Dutch. Despite the efforts of Walter Strickland, who was sent over by Oliver Cromwell to counteract his influence, he was quite successful in his mission.[1]
Sir William was also a man of letters and a scholar, as is shown in his correspondence with John de Laet, which touches upon subjects ranging from Oriental literature and the compilation of an Arab dictionary to Edward VI's treatise 'De Primatu Papae,' and Sir Simon d'Ewes's Saxon vocabulary. Another correspondent was the Laudian Stephen Goffe.[1]
References
- Keith L. Sprunger (1982), Dutch Puritanism: a history of English and Scottish churches of the Netherlands in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
Notes
- ^ a b c d s: Boswell, Sir William (DNB00)
- ^ Sprunger, p. 115.
- ^ Hugh Trevor-Roper, Archbishop Laud (1962 edition), pp. 264-9.
- ^ Sprunger, p. 76.
References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Boswell, Sir William". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
