Thomas Wentworth (1593-1641)
Thomas Wentworth was an English statesman who was one of the most enduring characters during the years leading up to the outbreak of the civil war in England. The first Earl of Stafford, Wentworth was born on April 13, 1593. His namesake, Thomas Wentworth, the First Earl of Cleveland was a relative of his who fought in the Civil War.
Wentworth was born in London to Sir William Wentworth of Wentworth Woodhouse located in Rotherham and to Anne who was the daughter of Sir Robert Atkins of Stowell, Gloucestershire. Wentworth's lineage can be traced back to the old Yorkshire clan of England.
He received his early education from St. John's College in Cambridge and later on pursued law studies at the Inner Temple in 1607. Thomas Wentworth was knighted in 1611 and later married Margaret who was the daughter of Francis Clifford, the Fourth Earl of Cumberland.
In 1614, Wentworth joined the English Parliament as Yorkshire's representative. He was staunchly opposed to the political policies of King James II and often came into disagreement with the king's main advisor George Villiers who was the 1st Duke of Buckingham although Wentworth mostly avoided debate until the parliament of 1621 when he sat for the same constituency.
Thomas Wentworth's political stance was mostly ambivalent, in that he did not openly support the popular party's desire to go into war with Spain. At the same time, King James curtailment of many of the rights and privileges of the parliament caused Wentworth to align himself with the House of Commons and their causes. He also supported the protest that abolished the third parliament of James.
Wentworth's hesitance to engage in a war with Spain was a manifestation of his wishes to avoid complications in foreign shores and instead to attend to the business of the commonwealth primarily. This hesitation came to a head in the first parliament of Charles in June 1625 when Wentworth supported a motion for adjournment before the war on Spain could be discussed. His opposition to the war efforts continued until he was imprisoned in 1627 for refusing to contribute to the forced loans imposed on the country.
Wentworth was again the subject of much controversy when in 1628 he became one of the most vocal advocates of the proposed Petition of Right, which sought among other things to limit the power of the throne. When the beleaguered Charles I finally gave in to the proposal, Wentworth felt obliged to renew his support to the crown. As honourable as this action may have seemed to Wentworth, this caused him to be seen as a turncoat by many people.
Throughout his career, Wentworth engaged in many actions, which ultimately benefited the country such as establishing an army, putting an end to piracy, revitalizing the church and rescuing church property. Many of these actions were carried out in an arbitrary manner however and he made many enemies. He was later sentenced to death on little more than the Parliaments will and he was executed before a crowd 200,000 on May 12th, 1641.
Original Authors: Doods Pangburn
Edit Update Authors: M.A.Harris
Updated On: 25/07/2008
