Vane the Younger Henry

Henry Vane the Younger English Civil War Dated ADS


1p ADS signed by Henry Vane the Younger (1613-1662), the influential Puritan politician, as "H: Vane" in the right margin at center. Dated August 1648, possibly the second of that month. (The first part of the date appears to be inscribed "Secundo die." This could be a phonetically spelled bastardization of "Dies secundus," which means "second day" in Latin.) Inscribed in a spidery secretarial hand. Docketed verso. With expected paper folds and a few minor closed tears, else near fine. The watermarked cream bifold paper is still threaded at its binding. Each page measures 7.5" x 11.5".


The document recorded that "Sr Henry Vane" paid "Thomas ffauconberge Esqr Receive Genall of the Revenue the Some of One Hundred & Siavinty ffive pounds…of Twoe Hundred Siavinty five pounds" during the summer of 1648. The said Thomas Fauconbridge was the Receiver General of Public Revenue.


The rather banal tax receipt becomes remarkable when one considers that it dates from the throes of the English Civil War (1642-1651). A conflict at once rooted in political governance and religious freedom, the English Civil War pitted Protestant Parliamentarians against Catholic Royalists. It becomes surprising, then, that taxes could still be carefully collected and recorded during this turbulent time period.


Just one month after he signed this document, Sir Henry Vane the Younger would lead a moderate though left-leaning coalition of Parliamentary Commissioners at the Treaty of Newport. This mediation held between September 15-November 27, 1648 at Newport on the Isle of Wight was an attempt to reconcile Parliament and Charles I. Although the king had effectively lost the war, he was still unwilling to grant concessions, and the negotiations soon broke down. The failure of the Treaty of Newport led to Charles I's trial and execution a few short months later, in January 1649.


Sir Henry Vane the Younger, sometimes called Harry to differentiate him from his father Sir Henry Vane the Elder (1589-1655), became a Puritan during adolescence. After emigrating to the New World, he briefly served as the Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony during one of its most difficult phases: discord over the fate of religious dissident Anne Hutchinson. Harry soon returned to England where he earned various political appointments; he was knighted by Charles I in 1640. Both he and his father sided with the Parliamentarians during the English Civil War. Though he did not support Charles I's execution, and indeed abstained from signing his death warrant, Sir Henry Vane the Younger was executed in 1662 after the restoration of the monarchy.





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