William Boteler
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Other people". Template:Use dmy dates Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". William Boteler (fl. 1640s and 1650s) was a member of the Parliament of England. After the English Civil War, he was appointed Major-General for Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland during the Rule of the Major-Generals.Template:Sfn
Early life
He was born in Barnwell, Northamptonshire, the son of Noel or Neville Boteler; Ivan Roots considers that the clergyman Edward Boteler (died 1670) was his brother.Template:Sfn
Political career
In April 1640, Boteler was elected MP for Bedford in the Short Parliament in a double return and was taken off.Template:SfnTemplate:Clarify He became a Colonel of Horse (cavalry) in the New Model Army. He was zealous and uncompromising in his hostility to his religious and political enemies, and was a severe persecutor of Quakers in Northamptonshire. In 1656 he advocated that James Nayler should be stoned to death for blasphemy. Boteler was also aggressive in his persecution of Royalists in his area, unlawfully imprisoning the Earl of Northampton for failing to pay his taxes.Template:Sfn
Boteler represented Bedford in the First Protectorate Parliament,Template:Sfn and he represented Northamptonshire in the Second Protectorate Parliament from 1656 to 1658.Template:Sfn Early in 1658, Boteler replaced William Packer as commander of Cromwell's regiment of horse.Template:Sfn
Legal problems
Boteler was not returned to Third Protectorate Parliament in 1659, and his record as a Major-General in Northamptonshire, et al., was severely attacked, he was nearly impeached, by MPs in that Parliament.Template:Sfn At the Restoration he was declared exempt from pardon, making him liable for legal punishment, but he was not prosecuted. He lived at Oatlands Park, Walton-on-Thames and became a lawyer. In 1665, he was arrested on suspicion of plotting against Charles II, and, ironically,Template:Why? was arrested in 1670 for attending an unlawful prayer meeting. The date of his death is not known.Template:Sfn
Notes
References
Further reading
- Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".