Sir Daniel Harvey (10 November 1631 – August 1672) was an English merchant and diplomat who was the English Ambassador to the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
from 1668 to 1672.
Life
Harvey was born in Croydon on 10 November 1631, the first surviving son of Daniel and Elizabeth Harvey. His grandfather Thomas was a wealthy merchant and former Mayor of
Folkestone
Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...
who had nine children, the eldest of which was the anatomist
William Harvey
William Harvey (1 April 1578 – 3 June 1657) was an English physician who made influential contributions in anatomy and physiology. He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, the systemic circulation and proper ...
.
Harvey was educated at
Pembroke College, Oxford
Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located at Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale, and was named after ...
and
Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...
, graduating in 1647;
Like his father, he was a member of the Turkey or
Levant Company
The Levant Company was an English chartered company formed in 1592. Elizabeth I of England approved its initial charter on 11 September 1592 when the Venice Company (1583) and the Turkey Company (1581) merged, because their charters had expired, ...
whose main source of profits was the lucrative trade in dried currants. In 1651, he married Elizabeth, daughter of
Edward Montagu, Baron Montagu of Boughton and shortly afterwards purchased an estate at
Coombe, Surrey.
Career
![Zante_currant_drying_in_Tsilivi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Zante_currant_drying_in_Tsilivi.jpg)
The Harveys were Royalist sympathisers during the
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities united in a pers ...
while the Montagus had been prominent supporters of Parliament. This made Daniel's marriage to Elizabeth an important connection and in 1654 he was made
Sheriff of Surrey
The list of known High Sheriffs of Surrey extends back to 1066. At various times the High Sheriff of Surrey was also High Sheriff of Sussex (1229–1231, 1232–1240, 1242–1567, 1571–1635).
1066–1228
(High Sheriffs of Surrey only)
1229– ...
.
The Montagus were also closely involved in the negotiations leading to the 1660
Restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
of
Charles II. Harvey was elected
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
in the
Convention Parliament, knighted in May 1660 and appointed custodian of
Richmond Park
Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, C ...
.
[ Most importantly, Charles renewed the Levant Company's monopolistic charter in 1661.
]
Harvey's wife Elizabeth was a significant figure in her own right and a renowned society hostess; she was a close friend of Charles' mistress Lady Castlemaine who stayed with her in 1667 during her quarrel with Charles, although they later fell out. One suggestion is Harvey's appointment as Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
was to remove an inconvenient husband.
The Levant Company charter of 1585 required it to maintain an agent in Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
, which looked after English trading privileges within the Ottoman Empire. Since the expenses associated with the Embassy were so high and increasingly covered more than just commercial dealings, the position of 'Agent' was later converted into Ambassador, normally held by a Levant Company member. Harvey was appointed in January 1668 and arrived in December accompanied by his secretary the playwright George Etherege
Sir George Etherege (c. 1636, Maidenhead, Berkshire – c. 10 May 1692, Paris) was an English dramatist. He wrote the plays '' The Comical Revenge or, Love in a Tub'' in 1664, ''She Would If She Could'' in 1668, and '' The Man of Mode or, ...
. His predecessor was Heneage Finch, 3rd Earl of Winchilsea
Sir Heneage Finch, 3rd Earl of Winchilsea (1628 – 28 September 1689) of Eastwell, Kent, was the 3rd Earl of Winchilsea.
Early life
Finch was the only surviving son of Thomas Finch, 2nd Earl of Winchilsea and the former Cecille Wentworth of G ...
; Harvey's sister Elizabeth was married to his cousin Heneage Finch, Earl of Nottingham
Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham, PC (23 December 162018 December 1682), Lord Chancellor of England, was descended from the old family of Finch, many of whose members had attained high legal eminence, and was the eldest son of Sir Heneage ...
.
Harvey died in Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
on 26 August 1672 at the age of 40 and was later buried at Hempstead, Essex.[
]
Family
Daniel and Elizabeth had four children;
* Edward Harvey (30 March 1658 - 24 October 1736); Tory or Jacobite MP, arrested in 1722 for his role in the Atterbury Plot
The Atterbury Plot was a conspiracy led by Francis Atterbury, Bishop of Rochester and Dean of Westminster, aimed at the restoration of the House of Stuart to the throne of Great Britain. It came some years after the unsuccessful Jacobite risi ...
but released without charge;
* Lt-General Daniel Harvey (1664 – 6 September 1732); soldier and Whig MP who was Governor of Guernsey
The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British crown dependency off the coast of France.
Holders of the post of Governor of Guernsey, until the role was abolished in 1835. Since then, only Lieutenant-Governors have been appointed (see Lieutenant Gover ...
from 1714–1732;
* Edward Harvey (died young);
* Elizabeth Harvey; her marriage to Thomas Grey, 2nd Earl of Stamford
Thomas Grey, 2nd Earl of Stamford, PC (c. 165431 January 1720) was a British peer and politician.
Grey was the only son of Thomas, Lord Grey of Groby, and inherited his title from his grandfather. His mother was Lady Dorothy Bourchier, d ...
ended in divorce amid accusations of adultery;
His sisters also married well-connected and influential husbands;
* Elizabeth Harvey (ca 1627 - 15 March 1676); married Heneage Finch, Earl of Nottingham
Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham, PC (23 December 162018 December 1682), Lord Chancellor of England, was descended from the old family of Finch, many of whose members had attained high legal eminence, and was the eldest son of Sir Heneage ...
;
* Mary Harvey (ca September 1629 - 7 February 1704; married Edward Dering and a composer in her own right;
* Sarah Harvey (ca 1636 - 18 June 1715); married Viscount Bulkeley
Viscount Bulkeley, of Cashel in the County of Tipperary, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 19 January 1644 for Thomas Bulkeley, the son of Sir Richard Bulkeley of Beaumaris and a supporter of King Charles I of England. The ...
.
Footnotes
References
Pepys' Diary reference to Daniel Harvey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harvey, Daniel
1631 births
1672 deaths
People from Croydon
Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford
Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Ambassadors of England to the Ottoman Empire
Directors of the British East India Company
English MPs 1660
High Sheriffs of Surrey
17th-century English diplomats
People educated at Whitgift School