View source for William Penn (Royal Navy officer)

{{Short description|English Royal Navy admiral, politician and member of parliament}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = Sir
| name          = William Penn
| image         = Lely, William Penn.jpg
| caption       = ''Admiral Sir William Penn, 1621–1670'', a 1666 portrait of Penn by [[Peter Lely]] and part of the ''[[Flagmen of Lowestoft]]'' series
| nickname      =
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1621|04|23|df=yes}}
| birth_place   = St. Thomas Parish, [[Bristol]], England
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1670|09|16|1621|04|23|df=yes}}
| death_place   = [[Walthamstow]], Essex, England
| placeofburial =
| allegiance    = {{flag|Commonwealth of England}}<br>{{flag|Kingdom of England}}
| branch        = {{navy|Kingdom of England}}
| serviceyears  =
| rank          = [[Admiral (Royal Navy)|Admiral]]
| unit          =
| commands      = [[Jamaica Station (Royal Navy)|Jamaica Station]]
| battles       = [[English Civil War]]<br />[[First Anglo-Dutch War]]<br />[[Second Anglo-Dutch War]]
| awards        =
| relations     =
| laterwork     =
| signature     = Signature of William Penn (1621–1670).png
}}
'''Sir William Penn''' (23 April 1621 – 16 September 1670) was an English [[admiral]] and politician who sat in the [[House of Commons of England|House of Commons]] from 1660 to 1670. He was the father of [[William Penn]], founder of the [[Colonial history of the United States|colonial]] [[Province of Pennsylvania]], which is now the US Commonwealth of [[Pennsylvania]].
== Early life ==
Penn was born in St Thomas Parish, [[Bristol]] to Captain [[Giles Penn]], English militar and consul of [[Salé]] and his wife Joan Gilbert.{{sfn|Jenkins|1896|p=14}} He served his apprenticeship at sea with his father.
==Career==
===Naval career===
[[File:Coat of Arms of William Penn.svg|thumb|Coat of Arms of William Penn]]
[[File:Macroom Castle.jpg|thumb|Macroom Castle gatehouse]]
In the [[First English Civil War]] of 1642&ndash;1646, he fought on the side of [[Roundhead|the Parliament]], and commanded a ship in the squadron maintained against [[Charles I of England|the king]] in the Irish seas. The service was arduous and called for both energy and good seamanship. In 1648, he was arrested and sent to London, but was soon released, and sent back as rear-admiral in the ''Assurance''. The exact cause of the arrest remains unknown, but it may be presumed that he came under suspicion of corresponding with the king's supporters. It is highly probable that he did so, for, until the [[Stuart Restoration|Restoration of 1660]], he was regularly in communication with the [[Cavalier|Royalist]]s, while serving the parliament, or [[Oliver Cromwell|Cromwell]], so long as their service was profitable, and making no scruple of applying for grants of the confiscated lands of the king's Irish friends.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=99}}{{unverifiable|date=May 2019}}
After 1650, Penn served as commander-in-chief of the southern fleet in the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean in pursuit of the Royalists under [[Prince Rupert of the Rhine|Prince Rupert]]. After an action at Macroom in County Cork, Ireland he was awarded [[Macroom Castle]]. He was so active on this service that when he returned home on 18 March 1651 he could boast that he had not put foot on shore for more than a year.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=99}}
In the [[First Anglo-Dutch War]] (1652&ndash;1654), he served in the navy of the [[Commonwealth of England]], commanding squadrons at the battles of [[Battle of the Kentish Knock|the Kentish Knock]] (1652), [[Battle of Portland|Portland]], [[Battle of the Gabbard|the Gabbard]] and [[Battle of Scheveningen|Scheveningen]] (1653). In this last battle, a sniper from his ship killed Dutch admiral and fleet commander [[Maarten Tromp]] on the Dutch flagship [[Dutch ship Brederode (1644)|''Brederode'']].
In 1654, he offered to carry the fleet over to [[Charles II of England|the king]], but in October of the same year he had no scruple in accepting the naval command in the expedition to the [[West Indies]] sent out by Cromwell.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=99}} In 1655, he commanded the fleet that launched a bungled [[Siege of Santo Domingo (1655)|attack]] on [[Hispaniola|La Hispaniola]]. He was not responsible for the shameful repulse at San Domingo, which was due to a panic among the troops.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=99}} [[Jamaica]] was ruled by the heirs of [[Christopher Columbus]], until gradually the Catholic Church grew to dominate the island. The crypto-Jewish population following the strengthening of the church aided the English who seized the less desirable island for the [[Commonwealth of England|Commonwealth]] régime, and Penn established the [[Jamaica Station (Royal Navy)|Jamaica Station]] there.<ref>Cundall, p. xx</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-04-09 |title=Jewish pirates of the Caribbean |url=https://www.jpost.com/magazine/jewish-pirates-of-the-caribbean-447397 |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Kritzler | first=Edward | title=Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean | publisher=Anchor | publication-place=New York | date=2009-11-03 | isbn=978-0-7679-1952-4 | pages=59–60}}</ref> On their return, he and his military colleague, [[Robert Venables]], were sent to the [[Tower of London|Tower]]. He made a humble submission, and when released retired to the estates of confiscated land he had received in Ireland.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=99}} On 20 December 1658, Penn was knighted by [[Henry Cromwell]] at Dublin Castle, but [[the Protectorate]] honour passed into oblivion at the [[Stuart Restoration|Restoration]] in May 1660.{{sfn|Ferris|1983}}{{sfn|Shaw|1906|p=224}}
===Political career===
In April 1660, Penn was elected as one of the Members of Parliament for [[Weymouth and Melcombe Regis (UK Parliament constituency)|Weymouth and Melcombe Regis]] and sat in the [[Convention Parliament (1660)|Convention Parliament]].{{sfn|Ferris|1983}} He played a small part in the [[Stuart Restoration|Restoration]]:{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=99}} in May 1660 he was on the [[Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich|Earl of Sandwich]]'s ship, the ''Naseby'' (later the [[HMS Royal Charles (1655)|''Royal Charles'']]), which was sent to bring [[Charles II of England|King Charles II]] home to England from his exile at [[Amsterdam]] in the [[Dutch Republic]]. During the voyage, Penn made himself known to the Duke of York, who was soon to be appointed Lord High Admiral, and with whom he had a lasting influence.<ref>"Penn, Sir William", in Latham, R (ed), ''The Diary of Samuel Pepys'', volume X Companion (Bell & Hyman, 1983)</ref>
In 1661, Penn was re-elected as a member for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis in the [[Cavalier Parliament]]. In the [[Second Anglo-Dutch War]], he was flag captain at the [[Battle of Lowestoft]] (1665), serving under [[James II of England|James, Duke of York]], and later in the same year was admiral of one of the fleets sent to intercept [[Michiel de Ruyter|Ruyter]], despite suffering from gout.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tomalin |first1=Claire |title=Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self |date=2003 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=London |isbn=0-140-28234-3 |page=125 |edition=1st}}</ref>
Although Penn was not a high-minded man, he is a figure of considerable importance in English naval history. As admiral and [[General at sea|General at Sea]] for Parliament, he helped in 1653 to draw up the first code of tactics provided for the English navy, ''Duties of a Commander at Sea, 1664, Instructions by Sir W. Penn''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Street |first1=Lucie |title=An Uncommon Sailor: A Portrait of Admiral Sir William Penn |date=1986 |publisher=The Kensal Press |location=Bourne End, Buckinghamshire |isbn=0-946041-47-4 |page=112 |edition=1st}}</ref> It became the basis of the "Duke of York's Sailing and Fighting Instructions", which continued for long to supply the orthodox tactical creed of the navy.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=99}} Penn was an early proponent of fighting in line ahead, so as to bring as much firepower as possible to bear.<ref>Latham, R.</ref>
===Legacy===
[[File:Sir William Penn's memorial at St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, England.jpg|thumb|Penn's memorial in [[St Mary Redcliffe]] church in [[Bristol]]]]
A key source for the adult life of Penn is the diary of his colleague at the [[Navy Board]], and next door neighbour in Seething Lane, [[Samuel Pepys]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tomalin |first1=Claire |title=Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self |date=2003 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=London |isbn=0-140-28234-3 |page=142 |edition=1st}}</ref> However, Pepys's assessments have to be tempered by the jealousy that he evidently held for Penn.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tomalin |first1=Claire |title=Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self |date=2003 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=London |isbn=0-140-28234-3 |page=123 |edition=1st}}</ref>
In 1660, Penn was appointed a Commissioner of the [[Navy Board]], where he worked with Pepys, [[Clerk of the Acts]]. The character of "mean fellow", or "false knave",<ref>[http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1663/12/31 ''The Diary of Samuel Pepys'']</ref> given him by Pepys is borne out by much that is otherwise known of him. He also was an excellent seaman and a good fighter.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=99}}  Like Pepys and the [[Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich|Earl of Sandwich]], Penn was a "moderate" [[Roundhead]] who succeeded in maintaining his position at the Restoration. Penn appears several times in Pepys diary. A typical entry from 5 April 1666 reads, "To the office, where the falsenesse and impertinencies of Sir W. Pen would make a man mad to think of."
He is also referenced in an entry from 1665, which states, "At night home and up to the leads [roof], were contrary to expectation driven down again with a stinke by Sir W. Pen's shying of a shitten pot in their house of office".
The diary entry for 4 July 1666 includes a long account of Penn's analysis of what was to be learned from the [[Four Days' Battle]], which ended with the statement, "He did talk very rationally to me, insomuch that I took more pleasure this night in hearing him discourse then I ever did in my life in anything that he said."
As a native of the [[West Country]], Sir William Penn is buried in the church of [[St Mary Redcliffe]] in [[Bristol]]. His helm and half-armour are hung on the wall, together with the tattered banners of Dutch ships that he captured in battle. His portrait by Lely, part of the [[Flagmen of Lowestoft]] series, is in the [[Old Royal Naval College|Painted Hall at Greenwich]]. After his death, his son, [[William Penn|William]], accepted the grant of land in the American colonies in lieu of money owed by the Crown to his father. William Penn had wanted to call the land "New Wales", which was objected to by the Secretary of State, Privy Council member and Welshman [[Leoline Jenkins]]. Penn instead put forward the name "Sylvania". The Council then chose to tweak this new name a bit by adding the prefix "Penn" to honour the late Admiral, William Penn's father. After some protestation from William Penn, he reluctantly accepted it.<ref>Murphy, A R. ''William Penn: a life''. Oxford University Press. 2019</ref>
==Personal life==
[[File:William Penn at 22 1666.jpg|thumb|Penn's son [[William Penn|William]] at 22 years old in 1666; he later founded the [[Province of Pennsylvania]], one of the initial [[Thirteen Colonies]] in [[British America]]]]
On 6 June 1643, he married Margaret Jasper, a daughter of John Jasper, a wealthy Dutch merchant from Rotterdam. They had three children:
*[[William Penn]] (1644–1718), who married [[Gulielma Penn|Gulielma Maria Springett]] (1644–1694), and later, [[Hannah Callowhill Penn|Hannah Margaret Callowhill]] (1671–1726)
*Margaret "Pegg" Penn, who married [[Anthony Lowther (died 1693)|Anthony Lowther]]
*Richard Penn
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
== Sources ==
*{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924020417527#page/n27/mode/2up|title=Historic Jamaica|first=Frank|last=Cundall|publisher=West India Committee|year=1915}}
* {{citation |last=Ferris |first=John. P. |year=1983 |chapter=Penn, William (1621–70), of the Navy Office, London and Wanstead, Essex. |title=The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1660–1690|editor-first=B.D. |editor-last=Henning |publisher=Boydell and Brewer |chapter-url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1660-1690/member/penn-william-1621-70}}
* {{citation |first=Howard M. |year=1896 |chapter=The Family of William Penn |last=Jenkins |title=The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography |volume=XX |pages=1–29 |publisher=[Philadelphia] Historical Society of Pennsylvania |url=https://archive.org/details/pennsylvaniamaga20histuoft}}
* {{Citation |last=Shaw |first=William Arthur |year=1906 |title=The Knights of England: A complete record from the earliest time to the present day of the knights of all the orders of chivalry in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and of knights bachelors, incorporating a complete list of knights bachelors dubbed in Ireland |volume=2 |location=London |publisher=Sherratt and Hughes|url=https://archive.org/details/knightsofengland02shawuoft}}
* {{cite book |last1=Street |first1=Lucie |title=An Uncommon Sailor: A Portrait of Admiral Sir William Penn |date=1986 |publisher=The Kensal Press |location=Bourne End, Buckinghamshire |isbn=0-946041-47-4 |page=112 |edition=1st}}
'''Attribution'''
* {{EB1911|first=David|last=Hannay |wstitle=Penn, William (British admiral) |volume=21 |page=99|mode=cs2}}
== Further reading ==
*{{citation |last=Street |first=Lucie |title=An Uncommon Sailor A Portrait of Admiral Sir William Penn : English Naval Supremacy |location=New York |publisher=St. Martin's Press |year=1988}}
== External links ==
{{DNB poster|Penn, William (1621-1670)}}
* [http://www.familysearch.org/ familysearch.org] Accessed 3 November 2007
* [http://www.renderplus.com/hartgen/htm/penn.htm ''Penn Family Genealogy''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061021182759/http://www.renderplus.com/hartgen/htm/penn.htm |date=21 October 2006 }}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Penn, William}}
[[Category:1621 births]]
[[Category:1670 deaths]]
[[Category:17th-century Royal Navy personnel]]
[[Category:English MPs 1660]]
[[Category:English MPs 1661–1679]]
[[Category:English people of Welsh descent]]
[[Category:Lords of the Admiralty]]
[[Category:Members of Trinity House]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Bristol]]
[[Category:Penn family|William]]
[[Category:Politicians from Bristol]]
[[Category:Prisoners in the Tower of London]]
[[Category:Roundheads]]
[[Category:Royal Navy admirals]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel of the First Anglo-Dutch War]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel of the Second Anglo-Dutch War]]