Browne Bushell (bap. 1609, d. 1651), was an
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
-era naval officer.
He initially sided with the
Roundhead
Roundheads were the supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I of England and his supporters, known as the Cavaliers or Royalists, who ...
s. On the night of 15 August 1641 he led a small parliamentary force in a
cutting out operation
Naval boarding action is an offensive tactic used in naval warfare to come up against (or alongside) an enemy marine vessel and attack by inserting combatants aboard that vessel. The goal of boarding is to invade and overrun the enemy personne ...
to capture the
''Henrietta Marie'' in
Portsmouth harbour
Portsmouth Harbour is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Portsmouth and Gosport in Hampshire. It is a Ramsar site and a Special Protection Area.
It is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. Geographically it i ...
.
In 1643 he switched to the
royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...
side.
He was executed for treason in March 1651.
[Jack Binns]
Browne Bushell : Oxford Biography Index entry
Retrieved 1 May 2008[Staff]
, Retrieved 1 May 2008
References
Further reading
*Jack Binns, 'Bushell, Browne (bap. 1609, d. 1651)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press,Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008
*Jack Binns, "Captain Browne Bushell: North Sea adventurer and pirate", Northern History, 27 (1991), 90–105.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bushell, Browne
People from Whitby
1651 deaths
People executed under the Interregnum (England) for treason against England
Year of birth unknown
Parliamentarian military personnel of the English Civil War
Executed people from North Yorkshire
Royalist military personnel of the English Civil War
Military personnel from Yorkshire
People executed under the Interregnum (England) by decapitation
English privateers