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Blathwayt (William) Papers Addenda
mssBLA  
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Table of contents What's This?
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Conditions Governing Use
  • Preferred Citation
  • Immediate Source of Acquisition
  • Biographical / Historical
  • Scope and Contents
  • General
  • Related Materials
  • Existence and Location of Copies
  • Arrangement

  • Contributing Institution: The Huntington Library
    Title: William Blathwayt papers addenda
    Creator: Blathwayt, William, 1649?-1717
    Identifier/Call Number: mssBLA
    Physical Description: 3.5 Linear Feet (3 boxes)
    Date (inclusive): 1668-1734
    Date (bulk): 1668-1672
    Abstract: This collection consists of 195 pieces of business, diplomatic, and personal correspondence and accounts primarily accumulated by English civil servant William Blathwayt (1649-1717) during his service as a clerk in The Hague (1668-1672) and his tour of Europe in 1672, with some items dated 1682 and a few pieces relating to colonies in East and West Indies. Approximately twenty items are secret diplomatic correspondence and intelligence reports from agents throughout Europe, dating from 1720 to 1734 (after Blathwayt's death).
    Language of Material: The records are in English, French, and Dutch.

    Conditions Governing Access

    Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

    Conditions Governing Use

    The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item]. William Blathwayt papers addenda, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

    Immediate Source of Acquisition

    Purchased from Sotheby's through the agency of Maggs Bros. on December 6, 1984.

    Biographical / Historical

    English politician and administrator William Blathwayt (1649-1717) was one of the most distinguished civil servants of his time. Blathwayt was born in London, England, in 1649. Beginning in 1665, he attended the Middle Temple and in 1668 entered public life as clerk in the embassy of Sir William Temple at The Hague (1668-1672). The Embassy was established with the purpose of implementing the Triple Alliance (1668) and was closed in 1672, following the secret treaty between Charles II and Louis XIV (1670) and the outbreak of the Third Anglo-Dutch War (1672). In 1672, Blathwayt toured Germany and Italy, before returning to England.
    Through the influence of his uncles, Thomas and Richard Povey, both of whom were prominent in colonial affairs, Blathwayt 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 Extraordinary of the Privy Council (1678); Secretary of the Lords of Trade (1679-1696); Surveyor and Auditor General of Plantation Revenues (1680-until his death); Under-Secretary of State to Lord Conway in the Northern department (1681-1683); Secretary at War (1683-1704); Clerk in Ordinary of the Privy Council (1686-1689); acting Secretary of State with William III, during his campaigns in the Low Countries in Flanders (1692-1701); member of Parliament for Bath (1693-1710); and a member of the Board of Trade (1696-1707).
    During the reign of Queen Anne, he gradually lost his posts: in 1704 he was dismissed as Secretary at War, in 1707 lost his Board of Trade position, and three years later, his seat in Parliament. 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.
    Blathwayt married Mary Wynter (1650-1691) of Dyrham Park in December 1686, and the couple had two surviving sons and a daughter. William Blathwayt died at Dyrham Park on August 16, 1717.

    Scope and Contents

    This collection consists of 195 pieces of business, diplomatic, and personal correspondence and accounts primarily accumulated by English civil servant William Blathwayt (1649-1717) during his service as a clerk in The Hague (1668-1672) and his tour of Europe in 1672, with some items dated 1682 and a few pieces relating to British colonies in the East and West Indies. Approximately twenty items are secret diplomatic correspondence and intelligence reports from agents throughout Europe, dating from 1720 to 1734 (after Blathwayt's death).
    Blathwayt Correspondence, 1668-1682
    The correspondence of William Blathwayt primarily pertains to the affairs of the English Embassy in The Hague, international affairs, and the personal affairs and professional duties of Blathwayt, including his acquisition of rare books and antiques, particularly his dealings with Daniel Elzevir.
    The documents related to the affairs of the English Embassy in The Hague date from 1668 to 1672 and include negotiations about the release of ships and goods seized during the Second Anglo-Dutch War; affairs of English sailors and merchants in the Low Countries; and the salvage of a cargo of tin sunk off the port of Ostend (1666-1669).
    The documents related to international affairs primarily concern the secret treaty of Dover (1670) and the events leading to the Third Anglo-Dutch War (1672-1674); foreign relations with Sweden, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, and Russia, as reflected in letters to Blathwayt from English diplomats and memoranda submitted to King Charles II by the Ambassador of the Holy Roman Empire in London (1682).
    Among the correspondents represented are Amsterdam lawyer Paulus Buys (18 items); Amsterdam book commissioner and agent J. D. Benoist (3 items); English factotum in Amsterdam Edmond Custis (15 items); Thomas Downton, the 1st secretary of William Temple (8 items); E. Jollyvet (4 items); Tannegui Lefebvre (2 items) Edward Meredith, an English diplomat in Spain (3 items); Sir William Temple (11 items); Count Franz Sigmund von Thun (6 items); Amsterdam merchant Dirck Van Pas (7 items); Sir John Werden (7 items); and Robert Wolseley (3 items).
    Diplomatic and intelligence reports, 1720-1734
    The collection also includes letters and dispatches (including ciphered messages), written between 1720 and 1734 (after Blathwayt's death), from intelligence agents in Berlin, Hamburg, Cambrai, Paris, Port Sainte Marie (Spain), and Madrid addressed to Alexander Hume-Campbell, 2nd Earl of Marchmont, Charles Withworth, Charles Townshend, and Thomas Pelham-Holles, 4th Duke of Newcastle. The documents contain information on affairs in Brandenburg-Prussia, Russia, Spain, France, and Italy. Correspondents include: Giovanni Battista Paretti, Charles du Bourgay, and Sir Cyril Wich, although most dispatches are anonymous.

    General

    Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssBLA 1-195.

    Related Materials

    1. William Blathwayt Papers  
    2. Correspondence and documents from the office of William Blathwayt  

    Existence and Location of Copies

    This collection has been digitized in its entirety and the digital reproductions are available in the Huntington Digital Library. 

    Arrangement

    The collection is arranged chronologically and organized in the following manner:
    1. Box 1: Blathwayt correspondence (1668-Nov. 1669)
    2. Box 2: Blathwayt correspondence (Dec. 1669-1670)
    3. Box 3: Blathwayt correspondence (1671-1682 and undated) and diplomatic correspondence and intelligence reports (1720-1734)

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Anglo-Dutch War, 1664-1667.
    Book collecting -- Great Britain -- 17th century
    Diplomats -- Great Britain -- 17th century -- Correspondence
    Dutch War, 1674-1678.
    Intelligence service -- Great Britain -- 17th century
    Maritime law -- History -- 17th century -- Sources
    Antiques -- Great Britain -- 17th century
    Great Britain -- Foreign relations -- 17th century
    Great Britain -- Foreign relations -- 18th century
    Great Britain -- History -- Stuarts, 1603-1714 -- Sources
    Great Britain -- History -- 18th century -- Sources
    Letters (correspondence) -- Great Britain -- 17th century
    Professional papers -- Great Britain -- 17th century
    Personal papers -- Great Britain -- 17th century
    Blathwayt, William, 1649?-1717 -- Archives
    Marchmont, Alexander Hume-Campbell, Earl of, 1675-1740, correspondent.
    Newcastle, Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of, 1693-1768, correspondent.
    Temple, William, 1628-1699
    Townshend, Charles Townshend, Viscount, 1674-1738, correspondent.
    Whitworth, Charles Whitworth, Baron, 1675-1725, correspondent.
    Great Britain. Embassy (Hague, Netherlands), 1668-1672 -- Correspondence.