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| Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick | |
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The Earl of Warwick by Daniël Mijtens
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| Born | 5 June 1587 |
| Died | 19 April 1658 |
| Parent(s) | Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich |
Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick (5 June 1587 – 19 April 1658) was an English colonial administrator, admiral, and Puritan.
Biography
Rich was the eldest son of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick and his wife Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich, and succeeded to his father's title (Earl of Warwick) in 1619 (a younger brother was Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland). Early developing interest in colonial ventures, he joined the Guinea, New England, and Virginia companies, as well as the Virginia Company's offspring, the Somers Isles Company. Warwick's enterprises involved him in disputes with the British East India Company (1617) and with the Virginia Company, which in 1624 was suppressed as a result of his action. In 1627 he commanded an unsuccessful privateering expedition against the Spaniards.[1]
Warwick's Puritan connections and sympathies gradually estranged him from the court but promoted his association with the New England colonies. In 1628 he indirectly procured the patent for the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and in 1631 he granted the "Saybrook" patent in Connecticut. Forced to resign the presidency of the New England Company in the same year, he continued to manage the Somers Isles Company and Providence Island Company, the latter of which, founded in 1630, administered Old Providence on the Mosquito Coast. Meanwhile, in England, Warwick opposed the forced loan of 1626, the payment of ship money, and Laud's church policy.[1]
His Richneck Plantation was located in what is now the independent city of Newport News, Virginia. The Warwick River, Warwick Towne, Warwick River Shire, and Warwick County, Virginia are all believed named for him, as are Warwick, Rhode Island and Warwick Parish in Bermuda (alias The Somers Isles). The oldest school in Bermuda, Warwick Academy, was built on land in Warwick Parish given by the Earl of Warwick; the school was begun in the 1650s (its early records were lost with those of the Warwick Vestry in a twentieth-century shipwreck), though the school places its founding officially in 1662. [1]
In 1642, following the dismissal of the Earl of Northumberland as Lord High Admiral, Warwick was appointed commander of the fleet by Parliament.[2] In 1643 he was appointed head of a commission for the government of the colonies, which the next year incorporated Providence Plantations, afterwards Rhode Island, and in this capacity he exerted himself to secure religious liberty.[1]
As commander of the fleet, in 1648, Warwick retook the 'Castles of the Downs' (at Walmer, Deal, and Sandown) for Parliament, and became Deal Castle's captain 1648–53.[3] However, he was dismissed from office on the abolition of the House of Lords in 1649, he retired from national public life, but was intimately associated with Cromwell, whose daughter Francis married his grandson and heir, also Robert Rich, in 1657.[1]
Family
Robert Rich was a descendant of Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich, who first rose to political prominence and the peerage in the reign of Edward VI, and was previously an associate of Thomas Cromwell during the reign of Henry VIII.
Robert Rich married firstly, in February 1605, Frances Hatton (1590–1623), daughter and heir of Sir William Newport alias Hatton (1560-1597) and Elizabeth Gawdy, by whom he had at least five children.[4]
His second wife, whom he married between 12 March 1625 and 20 January 1626, was Susan (née Rowe) Halliday (1582–1646), daughter of Sir Henry Rowe, Lord Mayor of London, and his wife, Susan Kighley; and widow of William Halliday (d.1624), Alderman of London.[5]
His third wife was Eleanor Wortley, widow of Sir Henry Lee and of Edward Radclyffe, 6th Earl of Sussex; after Warwick's death she made yet another marriage to Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester, in modern eyes an unusual marriage since he had previously been married to her step-daughter Anne Rich.[6]
Children:
- Lady Frances Rich, later Countess of Scarsdale; married Nicholas Leke, 2nd Earl of Scarsdale (1612–1681)
- Lady Anne Rich m later Countess of Manchester (1604–14 February 1641/2), who married Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester in 1625, as his 2nd wife, and had issue, including Robert Montagu, 3rd Earl of Manchester. A double portrait[7] of her and her sister Lady Essex Rich by Anthony van Dyck exists.
- Robert Rich, 3rd Earl of Warwick (1611–1659)
- Lady Lucy Rich, later Countess of Radnor (1615–after 1635), who married John Robartes, 1st Earl of Radnor
- Charles Rich, 4th Earl of Warwick (1623?–1673), who succeeded his brother in 1659.
- Lady Essex Rich, part of a double portrait with her sister Anne, by Anthony van Dyck.
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Warwick, Sir Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of". Encyclopædia Britannica. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 349. - ^ 'July 1642: Ordinance for the Earl of Warwick to remain in his Command of the Fleet.', Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, 1642-1660 (1911), p. 12. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=55732. Date accessed: 13 April 2007.
- ^ 13 July 1648 - 'Taking of Walmer Castle' URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=25420#s6 Date accessed: 6 August 2007.
- ^ Aughterson 2004; Gowdy 1919, pp. 39–41; Nicolas 1847, p. 502; Kelsey 2004.
- ^ Aughterson 2004; Gowdy 1919, pp. 39–41; Kelsey 2004.
- ^ "She was a vain, petulant and grasping woman who had reached the top rungs of the social ladder through successive marriages to rich old men." (Miriam Slater, Family Life in the Seventeenth Century: the Verneys of Claydon House 1984:17).
- ^ "Double portrait of the Essex sisters: the countess of Manchester and lady Anne Rich (d. c. 1655)" However, the sisters were the Rich sisters, not the Essex sisters; the Countess of Manchester was Lady Anne Rich (who died c. 1641/2), and her sister was Lady Essex Rich. Source Cracroft's Peerage and other sources.
References
- Aughterson, Kate (2004). Hatton, Elizabeth, Lady Hatton [née Lady Elizabeth Cecil] (1578-1646). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- Gowdy, Mahlon M. (1919). A Family History Comprising the Surnames of . . . Gawdy. Lewiston, Maine: Journal Press.
- Kelsey, Sean (2004). Rich, Robert, second earl of Warwick (1587-1658). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
- Nicolas, Harris (1847). Memoirs of the Life and Times of Sir Christopher Hatton. London: Richard Bentley.
External links
Media related to Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick at Wikimedia Commons
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Earl of Sussex |
Lord Lieutenant of Essex jointly with The Earl of Sussex 1625–1629 The Earl of Portland 1629–1635 The Lord Maynard 1635–1640 The Earl of Carlisle 1641–1642 1625–1642 |
English Interregnum |
| Preceded by The Lord Maynard |
Custos Rotulorum of Essex 1640–1642 |
Succeeded by James Hay, 2nd Earl of Carlisle |
| Peerage of England | ||
| Preceded by Robert Rich |
Earl of Warwick 1619–1658 |
Succeeded by Robert Rich |
| Baron Rich (descended by acceleration) 1619–1641 |
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3 Annotations
JWB • Link
"Earl of Warwick, Robert Rich, 1587-1658
The eldest son of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick and of his wife Penelope Rich. He succeeded to the earldom of Warwick in 1619 and was active in colonial ventures in New England and the West Indies during the 1620s and '30s. Warwick also financed and sometimes took part in unofficial privateering expeditions against the Spaniards. A staunch Puritan, he became increasingly alienated from Court life and was associated with the opposition to the King's policies led by Lord Saye and Sele at Broughton Castle.
In March 1642, Parliament appointed Warwick Admiral of the Fleet against the King's wishes. His appointment ensured Parliament's control of the Navy. Even before the First Civil War broke out, Warwick's ships transferred arms and ammunition from the northern arsenal at Hull to London. Realising the strategic importance of control of the sea, the King attempted to dismiss Warwick from command but, with dissent from only two captains, the fleet accepted Warwick as Admiral and declared for Parliament in July 1642. Under Warwick's command, the Navy intercepted ships carrying supplies to the Royalists and supported military operations on land, notably at the siege of Hull in 1643 and Lyme 1644. In April 1645, however, Parliament decided to extend the Self-Denying Ordinance to include naval officers, and Warwick stepped down from his command. He was appointed chairman of the 12-man Admiralty Commission which replaced the office of Lord High Admiral.
In May 1648, just as the Second Civil War was erupting, the Fleet mutinied against the appointment of the Leveller Thomas Rainsborough as Admiral, and a number of warships defected to the Royalists. Warwick was re-appointed Admiral of the Fleet and sent to ensure the loyalty of the remaining ships. In August 1648, Warwick confronted a Royalist fleet commanded by the Prince of Wales in the shallow waters of the Thames estuary. The Prince avoided a battle and sailed back to Holland, with Warwick in pursuit. He blockaded the Royalists in the neutral Dutch port of Helvoetsluys, where Prince Rupert took over command. Unable to attack in neutral waters, Warwick maintained the blockade for several months, during which three of the Royalist ships defected back to Parliament. Reluctant to spend the winter off Helvoetsluys, Warwick returned to England with his entire fleet in November 1648. This allowed Rupert's fleet to escape to Kinsale in southern Ireland and begin raiding Commonwealth shipping.
The new republican government in England regarded Warwick's actions against the Royalists as over-cautious. His brother the Earl of Holland was at this time facing trial for fighting against Parliament in the Second Civil War. It was impossible to allow Warwick to retain control of the Navy. In February 1649, his commission was revoked and he was replaced by the three Generals-at-Sea Popham, Blake and Deane. Thereafter, Warwick retired from public life."
David Plant, British Civil Wars and Commonwealth website
http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/biog/index_...
Paul Chapin • Link
Self-Denying Ordinance
A bill passed by the House of Commons on 19 December 1644 stipulating that no member of the House of Commons or the House of Lords could hold any command in the army or navy. Since this meant that nobles were automatically debarred from military command (whereas members of the House of Commons could resign and retain their commands), the House of Lords hesitated, but finally passed the bill on 3 April 1645.
See http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/glossary/se... for further information.
Bill • Link
RICH, Sir ROBERT, second Earl of Warwick (1587-1658) eldest son of the first earl of Warwick and Penelope, Lady Rich, educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge; K.B., 1603; member of the Inner Temple, 1604; M.P., Maldon, 1610 and 1614; succeeded his father in 1619, and occupied himself largely with the colonisation of America and with privateering ventures, which involved him in controversy with the great merchant companies; during the early part of Charles I's reign gradually became estranged from the court; was associated with the foundation of the colonies of New Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Connecticut; refused to subscribe to the forced loan of 1626 and to pay ship money, and protected the puritan clergy; arrested and his papers searched on the dissolution of the Short parliament, 1640; active in raising forces for parliament on the outbreak of civil war; gained the fleet, July 1642, and (1643) was appointed lord high admiral; nominated head of a commission for the government of the colonies, 1643; associated in 1644 with the foundation of Rhode Island; generally exerted his authority in behalf of religious freedom; endeavoured unsuccessfully (1648) to regain the fleet, the greater part of which had revolted to Charles I, but was able to organise a new one; after the abolition of the House of Lords was removed by the independents from the post of lord high admiral; took no part in public affairs during the Commonwealth, but received support and encouragement from Cromwell. His grandson, Robert Rich, married the Protector's daughter.
---Dictionary of National Biography: Index and Epitome. S. Lee, 1906.