Blathwayt, William, 1649?-1717

British colonial official, Secretary of the Lords of Trade and Plantations (1679-1710).

From the description of Papers, 1631-1722, bulk 1680-1700. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation). WorldCat record id: 25175344

From the guide to the William Blathwayt Papers, 1680-1700, (John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)

William Blathwayt, British politician and administrator; clerk in the Plantation Office (1675), Privy Council (1675); Secretary to the Lords of Trade (1679), Auditor General of Plantation Revenues (1680), member of the Board of Trade (1696-1707).

From the description of Papers of William Blathwayt, 1657-1770 (bulk 1660-1709). (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 122510039

William Blathwayt was a civil servant and politician who established the War Office as a department of the British Government and played an important part in administering the Thirteen Colonies of North America. Born in the parish of St Martin-in-the-Fields in London, Blathwayt was born to a well-to-do family of Protestant merchants and lawyers. In 1683, Blathwayt obtained by purchase the office of Secretary at War. This was originally merely the role of secretary to the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army but under Blathwayt the remit of the Secretary was greatly expanded to encompass all areas of Army administration. He effectively established the War Office as a department of the government, although he had very little input into the actual conduct of wars. Issues of strategic policy during wartime were managed by the Northern and Southern Departments (the predecessors of today's Foreign Office and Home Office respectively). From 1692-1702, Blathwayt served as the Secretary of State to King William III. He became a Whig Member of Parliament for Bath in 1693 (a post which he retained until 1710) and built a large mansion house for himself at Dyrham Park near Bristol, which he decorated with numerous Dutch Old Masters and sumptuous fabrics and furnishings. Blathwayt retired to Dyrham in 1710 (his wife had died in 1691). He remained there until his death in 1717.

From the description of William Blathwayt , letter, to Col. Morgan, 1702 May 21. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation). WorldCat record id: 181187768

William Blathwayt, Auditor General of the British American colonies.

From the description of The accompts of her Majesties revenues in America : as brought in and presented to the Honble. Commrs. of Accompts, 1701-1712 / by Wm. Blathwayt Esqr. Surveyor and Auditor Generall thereof. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702164611

From the description of The accompts of her Majesties revenues in America : as brought in and presented to the Honble. Commrs. of Accompts, 1701-1712 / by Wm. Blathwayt Esqr. Surveyor and Auditor Generall thereof. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 79628388

William Blathwayt, British politician, started his career as a second secretary to the English Ambassador extraordinary to the Hague (1669-1772) Sir William Temple. The Embassy in the Hague was established with the purpose of implementing the Triple Alliance (1668) and was closed following the outbreak of the Third Anglo-Dutch War (1672). After that Blathwayt toured Germany and Italy before returning to England. He held various posts in the governments of James II and William III, purchasing the post of the Secretary at War in 1683. Blathwayt gradually lost his positions in 1704-1710, and retired to his estate in Dyrham Park.

From the description of Papers of William Blathwayt (Addenda), 1667-1734 (bulk 1668-1672). (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 122564675

William Blathwayt (1649?-1717), English civil servant and politician, served as Secretary to the Lords of Trade, Secretary at War, and member of Parliament, among his several offices.

From the description of William Blathwayt papers, 1646-1796 (inclusive), 1668-1703 (bulk). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702133017

Sir George Rooke was born in Canterbury, England, around 1650. He obtained a commission as second lieutenant in the English Navy in 1672 and the following year became captain of the Holmes . Rooke re-joined the navy after a brief period in the army and served for several years in the Mediterranean and in the English Channel. Rooke was promoted to rear admiral in 1690 and to vice admiral in 1692; on February 29, 1693, he received a knighthood. After continued success at sea, he assumed command of the fleet in the English Channel in 1701. He served as an advisor to Prince George of Denmark, led a 1702 expedition to Cadiz, and commanded the successful action at Vigo, Spain, during the War of the Spanish Succession. Rooke led the 1704 capture of Gibraltar, but was forced by illness to resign his command. He died on January 24, 1709, in Kent, England.

From the guide to the Rooke-Blathwayt letter book, 1700-1702, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)

William Blathwayt (1649-1717), an English politician and administrator, served at one time as clerk of the Privy Council, auditor-general of plantation revenues, Secretary at War, and member of the Board of Trade.

From the description of Papers, 1664-1713 [microform]. (Virginia Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 43356147

William Blathwayt was clerk in Plantation Office, Secretary to Lords of Trade, Surveyor and Auditor-General of Plantation Revenues. He served in War Office and as Secretary of State and Secretary-at-War to William III and was a member of the Board of Trade.

From the description of Inventory, November 1710. (College of William & Mary). WorldCat record id: 20728997

William Blathwayt was a civil servant and politician who established the War Office as a department of the British Government and played an important part in administering the Thirteen Colonies of North America.

From the guide to the William Blathwayt Letter to Col. Morgan, 1702 May 21, (John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)

Biography

William Blathwayt (1649-1717), English politician and administrator, was one of the most distinguished civil servants of his time. Through the influence of his uncles, Thomas and Richard Povey, both of whom were prominent in colonial affairs, he secured a position in the Plantation Office in 1675 as a minor clerk. Advancement came rapidly, and among the offices administered from that time on, were: Clerk of the Privy Council, 1675; Secretary to the Lords of Trade, 1679; Auditor General of Plantation Revenues, 1680; Secretary at War, 1683; acting Secretary of State with William III, in Flanders, 1692; member of the Board of Trade, 1696. In 1712 Blathwayt, driven from active public life by ill health, withdrew to his seat at Dyrham Park, where the last five years of his life were spent in retirement.

From the guide to the William Blathwayt Papers, 1657-1770, (The Huntington Library)

William Blathwayt, civil servant and politician, was probably born in 1649, the only son of William Blathwayt of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields and Anne Povey Blathwayt. Blathwayt entered public life as clerk in the embassy of Sir William Temple at The Hague, 1668-72. This duty was followed by a grand tour of Germany and Italy. From 1675-79 he served as clerk in the Plantation Office and he became secretary to the Lords of Trade in 1679, a position held until 1696. In May 1680 Blathwayt was appointed surveyor and auditor general of Plantation Revenues. He was the first person to hold this office, one that he retained until his death in 1717. He also served as secretary to the Earl of Conway, Secretary of State for the Northern Department, 1681-83, and purchased the office of Secretary at War in August 1683. In June 1688 he was a reluctant witness in the trial of the Seven Bishops and as late as November 1688 loyally served James II.

His offices were renewed by William III in 1689 and from 1692-1701 he attended William during his campaigns in the Low Countries. Between 1693 and 1710 Blathwayt represented the constituency of Bath in the House of Commons. He also served on the Board of Trade 1696-1707. Although his offices were renewed again with the accession of Queen Anne, he gradually lost them during her reign. He was dismissed as Secretary at War in 1704, was dismissed from the Board of Trade in 1707 with the return of the Whigs to power, and lost his seat in Parliament in 1710 because he had offended to Duke of Beaufort, the man who controlled Gloucestershire.

Blathwayt married Mary Wynter of Dyrham Park in December 1686 and the couple had two sons before her death in November 1691. William Blathwayt died at Dyrham Park on August 16, 1717.

For additional biographical information, see: Gertrude Ann Jacobsen, William Blathwayt: A Late Seventeenth Century English Administrator (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1932).

From the guide to the William Blathwayt papers, 1646-1796 (inclusive), 1668-1703, (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library)