Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford (13 April 1593 – 12 May 1641) was an English nobleman who served as Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1633 to 1641 (preceding the Earl of Leicester) and as one of King Charles I of England's closest advisors. In 1641, Parliament pressured a reluctant King Charles to have Strafford executed, as Strafford had pushed to strengthen the royal position against them, causing the King to have a bitterness against Parliament which would result in the English Civil War.
Biography[]
Strafford in 1640
Thomas Wentworth was born in London, Middlesex, England on 13 April 1593 to an old Yorkshire family of nobles. He joined Parliament in 1614 as an MP for Yorkshire, and he opposed war with Spain and pushed for the 1628 Petition of Right, which attempted to curb the power of the King. However, when he had to choose between helping the House of Commons dominate the King or vice versa, he opted for the latter and was appointed to King Charles I of England's Privy Council in 1629. He became Lord Deputy of Ireland in 1632 and arrived in Dublin a year later, and he became known as a superb administrator, firing inefficient officials, raising customs duties, raising an army, putting an end to piracy, reducing the tyranny of the wealthy over the poor, rescuing Church of Ireland property, and awarding land to Protestant settlers.
Downfall[]
His skills were valued such that, in 1639, King Charles recalled him to England to solve the domestic unrest there. He recommended the calling of a Parliament to levy new taxes to support the King's campaign against the rebellious Scots, and he was created Earl of Strafford in January 1640. When Parliament insisted on peace with the Scots, Strafford suggested dissolving the Parliament, but, when Parliament was summoned again later that year, Parliamentarian leader John Pym motioned to have Strafford impeached for misdemeanors committed in Ireland. On 13 April 1641, Parliament passed a bill of attainder by a vote of 204 to 59, incarcerating him shortly after they failed to impeach him. When an attempted coup with the goal of freeing Strafford was put down, Parliament demanded that King Charles execute Strafford to prevent him from continuing to be a threat. Strafford wrote to the King, resigned to his fate, asking for the King to execute him and thereby avoid invoking Parliament's wrath. Two days later, Strafford was beheaded in the Tower of London in front of a large crowd.