The Anglo-Dutch Favourite. The career of Hans Willem Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland (1649-1709) De Engels-Nederlandse favoriet. De carrière van Hans Willem Bentinck, 1ste graaf van Portland (1649-1709) (met een samenvatting in het Nederlands) Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit Utrecht op gezag van de Rector Magnificus, Prof. Dr. W.H. Gispen, ingevolge het besluit van het College voor Promoties, in het openbaar te verdedigen op 30 januari 2004 des middags te 14.30 uur. Door David Martin Luther Onnekink Geboren op 3 maart 1971 te Apeldoorn i Promotor: Prof. Duco Hellema, Faculteit der Letteren van de Universiteit Utrecht Co-promotor: Dr. Jeroen Duindam, Faculteit der Letteren van de Universiteit Utrecht ii Acknowledgments During a discussion with fellow PhD students in the restaurant of the British Library, where I spent most of my time research in London, someone remarked that the subject of one’s doctoral thesis reflects in some way the personality and interest of the researcher himself. In my case, my interest for English and Dutch affairs seems evident, and my postgraduate research has taken place both at Dutch and British universities. During the course of the years I have worked on this thesis, inevitably I have accumulated many debts to colleagues, supervisors and friends, who through their criticism, ideas, and suggestions have all helped me get a clearer idea of my work: John Stapleton, Ophelia Field, Andrew Hanham, Alexandra Veyrie, Guus Veenendaal, Gijs Rommelse, Caroline Knight, Stephane Jettot, John Childs, John Hattendorf, John O’Connor, John Rule, Simon Groenveld, Siegfried Jansen, Sonia Anderson, Karen Hearn, Conrad Gietman, Sue Kinder, Freya Wolf, Karl de Leeuw, Hugh Dunthorne, Otto van der Meij, Nigel Little, Kevin Jones and Henry Snyder, my colleagues at the History Department at the University of Utrecht (in particular Rimko van der Maar, Rene de Groot and Isabella Duyvestein), the participants in the Low Countries Seminar at the Institute of Historical Research, and friends and colleagues I met during my stay in London at the British Library (Julia Kuehn, Jorge Giovannetti and Harriet Knight). I am particularly thankful to Charles-Edouard Levillain and Beatrice Jansen-de Graaf, my paranimfen, and Esther Mijers. I am very grateful to James R. Jones, Wout Troost, Alexander Murdoch and Andrew Barclay, who have extensively commented on the sections dealing with England, Ireland, Scotland and the court respectively, and made numerous valuable suggestions. Thanks to Kate Delaney for swiftly proof-reading and editing most of the manuscript and keeping me from many mistakes. Needless to say any shortcomings are entirely my own. The committee consisted of Henk van Nierop, Simon Groenveld, John Miller, Wijnand Mijnhardt and Maarten Prak. Staff of the following institutions have been very helpful in my quest for source material: the British Library, the National Archive, University of Nottingham Manuscripts Room (in particular Lynda Crawford), Surrey County Record Office, Lambeth Palace Library, the House of Lords archives, Buckinghamshire County Records, Bodleian Library Oxford, National Archives of Scotland, National Library of Scotland, Nationaal Archief, Gemeentearchief Amsterdam, Rijksarchief Utrecht, Archives du Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, Bibliothèque National. This PhD could not have been undertaken without a generous 2-year scholarship from the British Council in Amsterdam, and a 2-year stipend from the Research Organisation for History and Culture (OGC) of the University of Utrecht. The OGC has also financially assisted relevant conference trips. Archival trips were generously sponsored by the NWO (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research). The following persons need special mention for their supervisory tasks at the various universities where this thesis took shape. Johan Aalbers for sparkling my interest in the period when I was an undergraduate. Dwyred Jones and Ronald Clayton for guiding my research into British history when I was studying in York. Jonathan Israel, Julian Hoppit and Nicholas Tyacke for supervising the first stage of my work at University College London from 1999 to 2001. Duco Hellema for his supervision at Utrecht University where this thesis was completed. Special mention must be given to Guido de Bruin for his criticism and continuous support, and lastly, Jeroen Duindam, not only for guiding me through the final stage of my PhD, but also for his continuous interest, enthusiasm and support. This leaves me to confirm our University motto, Sol Iustitæ illustra nos, and thank my family, and especially my parents, to whom this thesis is dedicated, for their invaluable and continuous support, both emotional and financial. iii Contents Acknowledgments iii Contents iv Note on style and dates, abbreviations vi Introduction 1 PART I: Early years (1649-1689) Chapter 1: Bentinck’s early career (1649-1687) I Youth (1649-1670) 6 II Early career (1670-1676) 9 III The Prince’s confidant (1676-) 13 IV Diplomatic career (1677-1684) 16 V The Monmouth crisis (1685) 20 VI Politics and the States of Holland (1685) 24 VII Conclusion 25 Chapter 2: ‘For religion and liberty’? The Glorious Revolution (1688-1689) I The intelligence network (1687-1688) 26 II Rising international tensions (October 1687-June 1688) 28 III Bentinck’s missions to Germany (June-August 1688) 31 IV Preparations for the invasion (June-October 1688) 34 V The invasion (November 1688) 37 VI The Revolution (December 1688-February 1689) 38 VII Conclusion 43 PART 2: Power, Policy and Perception. The Anglo-Dutch Favourite (1689-1697) Chapter 3: Power I The Anglo-Dutch favourite 44 II Position in England 45 III Position in the United Provinces 51 IV Position in Scotland and Ireland 53 V Position in the army and diplomatic service 56 VI Portland and Albemarle 60 VII Conclusion 64 iv Chapter 4: Policy I The nature of party politics 66 II The Amsterdam magistrates’ controversy (1689-1690) 67 III The Irish campaigns (1690-1691) 73 IV The Melville administration (1689-1691) 75 V The continental strategy (1692) 78 VI Court Tories (1690-1692) 81 VII Court Whigs (1693) 83 VIII Struggles with Parliament (1693-1696) 85 IX The Johnstone and Queensberry administrations (1692-1697) 87 X Irish policy (1692-1695) 90 XI The Assassination Plot (1696) 92 XII Finance (1696) 94 XIII The Ryswick Negotiations (1697) 95 XIV Conclusion 96 Chapter 5: Perception I Possessions 98 II Garden architecture 101 III Williamite ideology 102 IV Protestantism 103 V Dutch community 106 VI Anti-Dutch rhetoric 110 VII Conclusion 119 PART III: Retirement and last years (1697-1709) Chapter 6: Retirement 1697-1699 I Retirement (1697/1699) 121 II Portland and Albemarle 123 III Partisan struggles 125 IV Attacks by Country 128 V The Anglo-Dutch connection 131 VI The standing army debates 132 VII Conclusion 133 Chapter 7: Arcana Imperii. Portland’s last years 1697-1709 I The Ryswick negotiations (1697) 134 II The Paris Embassy (1698) 136 III The First Partition Treaty (1698-1699) 139 IV The Second Partition Treaty (1699-1700) 144 V Impeachment (1701) 147 VI Last years (-1709) 149 VII Conclusion 155 Conclusion 156 Appendix I: Genealogical table 162 Appendix II: Portland’s possessions 163 Bibliography 164 Summary 179 Curriculum Vitae 181 v Note on style and date Throughout the text New Style dates have been adopted, with regard to both British and continental events. Dates of letters have been printed as they appear in the letter; OS or NS has been printed when there is cause for confusion. Where possible, the place where letters by Portland were written is indicated between brackets. Quotations from manuscripts follow the original spelling. Abbreviations: AAE CPA: Archives du Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, Cahiers Politiques d’Angleterre AAE CPH: Archives du Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, Cahiers Politiques de Hollande BL Add Ms: British Library, Additional Manuscript BL Eg Ms: British Library, Egerton Manuscript CSPD: W.J. Hardy and E. Bateson, eds., Calendar of State Papers, domestic series, in the reign of William and Mary (11 vols., Nendeln, 1969). CTB: A.W. Shaw, ed., Calendar of Treasury books (London, 1935). Huygens, Journaal, I-1, I-2: Journaal van Constantijn Huygens, den zoon, van 21 Oct. 1688 tot 2 Sept.1696 (2 vols., Utrecht, 1876). Huygens, Journaal, II: Journaal van Constantijn Huygens, den zoon, gedurende de veldtochten der jaren 1673, 1675,1676, 1677 en 1678 (Utrecht, 1881). Huygens, Journaal, III: Journalen van Constantijn Huygens, den zoon (Utrecht, 1888). HMC: Historical Manuscripts Commission, ed. NA SP: National Archives, London, State Papers NAH: Nationaal Archief, The Hague. NAS: National Archives of Scotland NLS: National Library of Scotland NUL Pw A: Nottingham University Library, Portland of Welbeck Archive. RGP: N. Japikse, ed., Correspondentie van Willem III en van Hans Willem Bentinck, eersten graaf van Portland (5 vols., The Hague, 1927-1933). RU HA: Rijksarchief Utrecht, Huisarchief Amerongen SHC: Surrey History Centre Cover illustration: Hans Willem Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland By an artist in the studio of Hyacinthe Rigaud, 1698-1699. Oil on canvas. (National Portrait Gallery) vi Introduction The Glorious Revolution of 1688/1689 was a pivotal moment in British history. For the first time in more than a century the British Isles became committed to large-scale continental warfare, marking their emergence as Great Power. For the United Provinces, the brief moment of success paradoxically contained the seeds of their decline, as the wars against Louis XIV would exhaust the States’ finances in the long run.1 The revolution also led to profound political, economic and constitutional changes on the British Isles. According to revisionist historians, these were the unforeseen results of the mobilisation of human and financial resources to conduct the Nine Years War which had commenced at the same time on the continent.2 The events were therefore closely connected, because William’s main purpose had been to forge an alliance between the Maritime Powers against France, one that would last for a quarter of a century until the Peace of Utrecht was concluded in 1713.