Sir John Henderson, 5th of Fordell (3 November 1605, Fife, Scotland – 11 March 1650, Denmark) was a Scottish

laird Laird () is a Scottish word for minor lord (or landlord) and is a designation that applies to an owner of a large, long-established Scotland, Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a Baronage of ...

and

mercenary A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather t ...

, distinguished as a

Cavalier The term ''Cavalier'' () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of Charles I of England and his son Charles II of England, Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum (England), Int ...

in the

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of 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 in a personal union un ...

. He was born in 1605 at

Fordell Castle Fordell Castle is a restored 16th-century tower house, located north-west of Dalgety Bay and east of Dunfermline, in Fife, Scotland. Parts of the castle date from before 1566, though most dates from 1580 or later. The chapel was rebuilt in ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

. A distinguished soldier, Fordell had been enslaved by

Barbary pirates The Barbary corsairs, Barbary pirates, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim corsairs and privateers who operated from the largely independent Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barba ...

when commanding on the East African coast. He then supposedly fell in love with the Princess of

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

who he contrived to escape to Egypt with.Gray, Sir John (Sept 1955) "Sir John Henderson and the Princess of Zanzibar" in '' Tanganyika Notes and Records'' pp. 15-19. Later, Fordell was a mercenary, serving with the military for Denmark, Sweden, and elsewhere, and fought on the side of the Royalists in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. He was invested as a

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

by King Charles I. PORTRAIT OF THE PRINCESS OF ZANZIBAR WITH AN AFRICAN ATTENDANT

Civil War

Fordell assisted Sir John Digby, the

High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of the English county of Nottinghamshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centu ...

, to seize Newark on behalf of Charles I in late 1642 The

Earl of Newcastle Earl of Newcastle-upon-Tyne is a title that has been created three times. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1623 in favour of Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox. He was made Duke of Richmond at the same time. For information o ...

then made him Governor of Newark. During his time in Newark, Fordell lived and worked in The Governor's House In February 1643, Fordell led a sortie from the town that successfully repulsed Major-General Thomas Ballard's force of 6,000 Parliamentarians. This led to suspicions that Ballard had colluded with the Royalists. In March 1643, a large force of Royalists from Newark commanded by

Sir Charles Cavendish Sir Charles Cavendish (13 August 15914 February 1653) was an English aristocrat, Member of Parliament for Nottingham, and patron. Described as "a little, weak, crooked man" by John Aubrey, he studied mathematics himself, as well as supporting ...

and Fordell marched into Lincolnshire and captured the town of

Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...

in a surprise attack. On 9 October 1643 the

Eastern Association The Eastern Association of counties was an administrative organisation set up by Parliament in the early years of the First English Civil War. Its main function was to finance and support an army which became a mainstay of the Parliamentarian m ...

army (under the command of the

Earl of Manchester Duke of Manchester is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the current senior title of the House of Montagu. It was created in 1719 for the politician Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester. Manchester Parish in Jamaica was named aft ...

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

and

Sir Thomas Fairfax Sir Thomas Fairfax (17 January 1612 – 12 November 1671) was an English army officer and politician who commanded the New Model Army from 1645 to 1650 during the English Civil War. Because of his dark hair, he was known as "Black Tom" to his l ...

) marched from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

to Bolingbroke Castle. Sir William Widdrington put together a scratch force, which included Fordell's Royalist cavalry, in an attempt to relieve the castle. Two days later, the Earl of Manchester routed Fordell's Royalist cavalry at the

Battle of Winceby The Battle of Winceby took place on 11 October 1643 during the First English Civil War near the village of Winceby, Lincolnshire. In the battle, a Royalist relieving force under the command of Sir William Widdrington was defeated by the ...

. By the end of October 1645 Fordell's liaisons between Charles I and the

King of Denmark The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional political system, institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous administrative division, autonomous territories of the Faroe Is ...

were known to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

as Charles became increasingly desperate in his attempt to obtain aid. After "his health and means had been exhausted by his long imprisonment" he was allowed to retire to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

.Sothebys.com (7 December 2017)
Walter Frier: ''Portrait of the Princess of Zanzibar with an African Attendant''
'"'' retrieved 9 October 2019. A few months later, he returned to England as an envoy of the King of Denmark; due to a concern that he was using his diplomatic status as a cloak for espionage, he was ordered to return to Denmark. Sources agree that he died on 11 March 1650, but differ over the place (Denmark or Fife).

Family

His parents were Sir John Henderson, 4th of Fordell and Agnes Balfour. He married Margaret Monteith, daughter of Alexander Monteith of Randiford, on 7 February 1625. Together they raised ten children: # Jean Henderson (married Thomas Bruce of Blairhall, son of Robert Bruce and Catherine Preston, on 27 April 1748) # Sir John Henderson of Fordell, 1st Baronet (d. 26 Jan 1683), created in the

Baronetage of Nova Scotia Baronets are hereditary titles awarded by the Crown. The current baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier, existing baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland and Great Britain. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary ...

on 15 July 1664. # Francis Henderson (killed in action, without issue, having gained the rank of Officer in the service of the French service). # George Henderson d. 1659 (killed in action, without issue, in The Netherlands). # Margaret Henderson (married Sir Henry Wardlaw of Pitreavie, 3rd Bt. on 9 June 1653, then went on to marry Peter Hay of Maughton). # Elizabeth Henderson (married Alexander Mercer of Kinnaird on 9 May 1656, then went on to marry Sir Robert Cunningham, Bt. on 14 May 1660 and later married Sir William Denholme of Westshield on 7 July 1679). # Bethia Henderson (married John Roberton of

Earnock Earnock was an ancient estate in an area south of Hamilton in Lanarkshire, Scotland. It extended from the western side of Strathaven Road to the western extremity of the Parish of Hamilton. Etymology Sir John Sinclair's Statistical Account o ...

on 5 March 1662, then went on to marry Alexander Hamilton, 2nd of Dalzell, son of James Hamilton, 1st of Dalzell and Beatrice Fleming). # Anna Henderson (married Hon. Archibald Stuart, son of

James Stuart, 4th Earl of Moray James Stuart, 4th Earl of Moray (c. 1611 – 4 March 1653) was a Scottish nobleman and landowner. He was the son of James Stuart, 3rd Earl of Moray and Lady Anne Gordon, a daughter of George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly and Henrietta Stewa ...

and Lady Margaret Home, in 1669, then went on to marry Walter Denholme, son of Walter Denholme of Westshield). # William Henderson b. c 1628, d. 21 Jul 1676 # James Henderson b. c 1630, d. 2 May 1675 (a supporter of King Charles II, married Margaret Scott)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, John, 5th of Fordell 1605 births 1650 deaths Nobility from Fife Military personnel from Fife Scottish mercenaries Scottish knights Cavaliers Royalist military personnel of the English Civil War 17th-century Scottish military personnel