Henry Vane the Younger

English politician, statesman, and colonial American governor

• Born: May 26, 1613 (baptized)
• Birthplace: Debden, Essex, England
• Died: June 14, 1662
• Place of death: London, England

An English Puritan, Vane served as governor of Massachusetts, and after his return to England, he served as an administrator for the navy and a member of Parliament, where he was a staunch opponent of King Charles I during the English Civil Wars. He was instrumental in drafting important legislation and negotiating the Solemn League and Covenant with Scotland.

Early Life

Sir Henry Vane the Younger was born and baptized in May, 1613. His father, Sir Henry Vane the Elder, was secretary of state under Charles I . The younger Vane was educated at Westminster School, which was noted for producing a number of prominent Puritans. Later, Vane studied at Oxford University, after having undergone a profound religious experience at about age fifteen in 1628, an experience that left him with decidedly Puritan views and a strong interest in religious issues. He left Oxford and spent some time on the European continent at Geneva and Vienna from 1631 to 1632.

During the decade of the 1630’s, many Puritans migrated to Massachusetts; Vane was one of them and arrived in Massachusetts in October, 1635. At age twenty-three, Vane had become a strong opponent of state interference in religion, and his support for Anne Hutchinson in her struggle with Massachusetts’s authorities cost him reelection as governor of Massachusetts in March, 1637. He returned to England, where he wrote “A Brief Answer to a Certain Declaration” (1637), defending his support for Hutchinson and decrying persecution in the name of religion.

In 1639, the First Bishops’ War broke out when the Scots rebelled as a result of an attempt by Charles I to impose changes in liturgy in the Church of Scotland . It was in this volatile situation that Vane the Younger became joint treasurer of the navy, a position purchased for him by his father. Because of the Scottish problems, Charles I called Parliament into session in 1640, after an eleven-year hiatus. Vane returned as a member of the House of Commons from Hull. He was knighted in June, 1640, and married Frances Wray on July 1, 1640. It was as a member of Parliament that Vane became a prominent political figure.

Life’s Work

In the House of Commons, Vane was appointed to important committees and supported John Pym , Oliver St. John, Oliver Cromwell , John Hampden, and other strong opponents of Charles I. In the spring of 1641, Vane played a vital role in the condemnation of Thomas Wentworth, first earl of Strafford , by an act of attainder: Vane produced his father’s notes of a Privy Council meeting during which Strafford had supported using Irish troops in England. Vane supported the Root and Branch Bill, which called for the abolition of the episcopacy in the Church of England. These actions moved Charles I in 1641 to strip Vane of his position as joint treasurer of the navy, but Parliament reappointed him in August, 1642.

With the outbreak of the First Civil War (1642-1646), Vane became one of the leaders of Parliamentary actions against the Royalists because of his wealth, connections, intelligence, and assiduousness. In August, 1643, he played a major role in negotiating the Solemn League and Covenant , which provided for Scottish military assistance to Parliament in the war against the king and also for changes in the Anglican Church. Vane’s insertion of the phrase “according to the Word of God” in the covenant was a way of preventing imposition of a Scottish style Presbyterian system in England. His forward, radical thinking in support of religious toleration and his fear of government interference in private religious matters had not been completely compromised.

Vane, one of the leaders of the Independents, maneuvered adroitly within the shifting factions in Parliament and was influential in preparing the 1644 Self-Denying Ordinance, which called upon members of Parliament to give up any military or civil positions that they held. He was also instrumental in helping his old friend Roger Williams obtain a charter for Rhode Island (or Providence Plantation), and Vane attempted to convince John Winthrop , governor of Massachusetts, to be more tolerant of religious dissenters in the colony. With the surrender of Charles I in 1646, Parliamentary leaders attempted to work out a post-Civil War solution to the problems of the relationship between king and Parliament. Vane supported the Treaty of Newport (1648), which proposed a negotiated settlement with the king on the basis of a modified system of Episcopal governance in the Church of England, but he felt that the king’s concessions were not adequate.

As he was wont to do when his view was in the minority, Vane did not attend Parliament during Pride’s Purge (December, 1648) or during the Trial and Execution (January, 1649) of Charles I. He resumed attendance and duties at the navy only in February, 1649, and was a leading figure in many important undertakings during the Commonwealth (1649-1660). Vane was a member of the Council of State, he helped negotiate the union of England and Scotland in March, 1652, after Cromwell’s conquest of Scotland, he worked to strengthen the English fleet, and, although he opposed the First Anglo-Dutch War (1651-1652) because he believed the Dutch and English should cooperate with each other, his administrative skills helped ensure English victory.

Vane also influenced England’s foreign policies and worked closely with England’s Latin secretary, the poet John Milton , who honored Vane with a sonnet in 1652 praising his “sage counsel.” Although Vane had had a slight falling out with Cromwell over the First Anglo-Dutch War, Vane was at the peak of his influence and power by April, 1653, when Cromwell, angered by the attempt by members of Parliament to remain members in the new Parliament then being organized, forcibly dissolved the Rump Parliament and created a permanent breach between himself and Vane. After this episode, Vane retired from politics and wrote his most significant work, “A Healing Question” (1656), which maintained that Cromwell had abandoned the principles they had fought for. Vane in “A Healing Question” renewed his call for liberty of conscience and proposed that a written constitution be prepared for England. Vane was imprisoned from September-December, 1656, for espousing such views.

After Cromwell’s death in September, 1658, and the coming to power of Cromwell’s son Richard as lord protector, Vane reemerged as an active participant in Parliament representing, Whitchurch in Hampshire. He was appointed to the Council of State and other important committees. When General John Lambert overthrew Parliament in October, 1659, Vane refused to serve Lambert’s government but continued his naval duties. When General George Monck restored the Long Parliament , Vane was expelled and ordered to return home. After the Restoration of Charles II , Vane was excluded from the special Act of Indemnity of June, 1660 , and imprisoned in the Tower of London. He was later transferred to the Scilly Islands. Vane was charged with treason, tried, and found guilty in London in June, 1662. At his execution on June 14, 1662, his attempt to address the assembled crowd was drowned out by the beat of drums and blasts of trumpets. Although not a regicide, he had been too dangerous for the king of allow him to live.

Significance

Vane combined the rare qualities of active politician, statesman, and political theorist. His guiding principles, to which he held steadfastly save for a couple of strategic compromises, were for liberty of conscience, or religious toleration, which would allow the individual believer the greatest possible freedom from state interference, as well as for a government based on the consent of its citizenry. More than a century later, these principles were in large measure incorporated into fabric of the fledgling government of the United States. Although his governorship of Massachusetts was short and troubled, it was under his tenure that Harvard College (later Harvard University) was established. Vane developed friendships with Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson, key figures in American colonial history and the New World struggle for religious toleration.

In England, Vane was an influential figure throughout the English Civil Wars and Interregnum period. He was regarded by his contemporaries as an extremely able and hard-working public servant; his supporters valued those traits, and his opponents feared him. He was at times unscrupulous and Machiavellian, which led some to regard his efforts as based on personal aggrandizement rather than principle. Modern scholars perhaps have not paid the attention to Vane that is merited.

Bibliography

Adamson, J. H., and H. F. Folland. Sir Harry Vane: His Life and Times, 1613-1662. Boston: Gambit, 1973. A major biography that adequately covers his political and administrative career while also analyzing his political and religious views.

Hirst, Derek. England in Conflict, 1603-1660: Kingdom, Community, Commonwealth. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. A survey that is especially strong on explaining and analyzing the maneuvering among the parliamentary supporters in the 1640’s.

Judson, Margaret A. The Political Thought of Sir Henry Vane the Younger. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1969. This short monograph analyzes Vane’s thought and places it within the context of the great political thinkers of the seventeenth century.

Rowe, Violet A. Sir Henry Vane the Younger: A Study in Political and Administrative History. London: The Athlone Press, University of London, 1970. An analytical study of Vane’s political career from 1640 until his execution in 1662.

Woolrych, Austin. Britain in Revolution, 1625-1660. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. An analytical survey that covers the period when Vane was an influential political figure.