Sir Thomas Smythe (or Smith, c. 1558 – 4 September 1625)
was an English merchant, politician and colonial administrator. He was the first governor of the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sou ...
and treasurer of the Virginia Company from 1609 to 1620 until enveloped by scandal.
Early life
The second surviving son of
Thomas "Customer" Smythe of
Westenhanger Castle
Westenhanger Castle is a fortified manor house once owned by royalty, located next to Westenhanger railway station and the grandstand of Folkestone Racecourse in Kent. The castle has endured a period of steady decline to near ruination in recent ...
in Kent, by his wife Alice, daughter of Sir
Andrew Judde
Sir Andrew Judde, or Judd (5 September 1492 – 1558) was a 16th-century English merchant and Lord Mayor of London. He was knighted on 15 February 1551.
Biography
He was born in Tonbridge, the third son of John Judde, (d. 1493), gentle ...
. His grandfather, John Smythe of
Corsham, Wiltshire
Corsham is a historic market town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England. It is at the south-eastern edge of the Cotswolds, just off the A4 national route, southwest of Swindon, southeast of Bristol, northeast of Bath and southwest of ...
, was described as
yeoman
Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...
,
haberdasher
In British English, a haberdasher is a business or person who sells small articles for sewing, dressmaking and knitting, such as buttons, ribbons, and zippers; in the United States, the term refers instead to a retailer who sells men's clothi ...
and clothier, and was
High Sheriff of Essex for the year of 1532. His father was also a haberdasher, and was 'customer' of the port of London. He purchased
Westenhanger from
Sir Thomas Sackville, and other property from
Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, (24 June 1532 – 4 September 1588) was an English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. He was a suitor for the queen's hand for many years.
Dudley's youth was o ...
. Thomas Smythe's elder son, Sir John Smythe or Smith (1556?–1608) of Westenhanger, was
High Sheriff of Kent in 1600, and father of
Thomas Smythe, 1st Viscount Strangford.
Thomas senior, one of thirteen children, was brought in his father's business, and was educated at
Merchant Taylors' School (1571).
Business and political career
In 1580, young Smythe was admitted to the freedom of the
Worshipful Company of Haberdashers and also of the
Worshipful Company of Skinners
The Worshipful Company of Skinners (known as The Skinners' Company) is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. It was originally an association of those engaged in the trade of skins and furs. It was granted Royal Charter in 1327 ...
. He quickly rose to wealth and distinction after entering politics to augment his business.
Smythe was made
Auditor
An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting and a ...
for the City of London from 1597 to 1598, and Treasurer of
St Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust.
History
Early history
Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (die ...
from 1597 to 1601. In 1597, he was briefly elected to Parliament for
Aylesbury
Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...
. In 1599, he was elected
alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members ...
for
Farringdon Without
__NOTOC__
Farringdon Without is the most westerly Ward of the City of London, its suffix ''Without'' reflects its origin as lying beyond the City's former defensive walls. It was first established in 1394 to administer the suburbs west of Ludg ...
and chosen as one of the two
sheriffs of the City of London
Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ju ...
for 1600.
['Chronological list of aldermen: 1601–1650', The Aldermen of the City of London: Temp. Henry III – 1912 (1908), pp. 47–75. Date accessed: 16 July 2011]
/ref>
Smythe financed numerous Elizabethan-era trade ventures and voyages of exploration during the early 17th century. In 1592, Smythe obtained settlement
Settlement may refer to:
* Human settlement, a community where people live
*Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building
*Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction
*Settlement (fin ...
rights to the Virginia colony
The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertGilbert (Saunders Family), Sir Humphrey" (histor ...
from Sir Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebelli ...
. When the East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sou ...
was formed in October 1600, Smythe was appointed as its first governor by the charter dated 31 December, a position he held for only four months.
In February 1600 – 1601, Smythe, serving as London's sheriff, was suspected of being a supporter of the Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG, PC (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following ...
who, on 8 February, went to Smythe's house in Gracechurch Street. Smythe advised Essex to turn himself in to the Lord Mayor of London
The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...
. When Essex refused, Smythe left to confer with the Lord Mayor. When Smythe was later accused of complicity in the Essex Rebellion, he was examined before the Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...
. He was fired from his office of sheriff and committed to the Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...
. However, his imprisonment proved short due to Queen Elizabeth's death on 24 March 1603.
On 13 May 1603, after the accession of James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
*James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
*James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
*James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
, Smythe was knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
ed. Later that year he was re-elected to Parliament for Dunwich in place of Sir Valentine Knightley, who was chosen to sit for Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It ...
. After one of his sons married intro the aristocracy, Smythe became part of the "court faction" along with Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick. In 1614, Smythe was elected Member of Parliament for Sandwich
A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...
and for Saltash in 1622.
In 1603, Smythe was re-elected governor of the East India Company, and, with one break in 1606–1607, continued to hold that office till July 1621, when he was discovered to be involved in the Virginia Company scandal. During this period, the company established trade with India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
.
Thomas Smythe's letter to Fedor II of Russia (20 April 1605)
Meanwhile, in 1604, Smythe was appointed one of the receivers for the Duchy of Cornwall
The Duchy of Cornwall ( kw, Duketh Kernow) is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch obtains possession of the duchy and the title of 'Duke of Cornwall' at ...
, and, in June, was named special ambassador to the Russian Tsar Boris Godunov
Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of his ...
. Like Smythe's grandfather, Sir Andrew Judde, Lord Mayor of London (1550) and one of the founders of the Muscovy Company
The Muscovy Company (also called the Russia Company or the Muscovy Trading Company russian: Московская компания, Moskovskaya kompaniya) was an English trading company chartered in 1555. It was the first major chartered joint s ...
, Smythe involved himself in the Muscovy trade. Sailing from Gravesend
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Rochester, it is ...
on 13 June 1603, his party arrived at Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near ...
on 22 July, and was taken by way of Kholmogory and Vologda
Vologda ( rus, Вологда, p=ˈvoləɡdə) is a city and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the river Vologda within the watershed of the Northern Dvina. Population:
The city serves as a major transport hu ...
to Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl ( rus, Ярослáвль, p=jɪrɐˈsɫavlʲ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluenc ...
, where the tsar was. During that winter, Smythe obtained new privileges for the company. In the spring he went to Moscow to meet with associates. He returned to Arkhangelsk and sailed for England on 28 May 1604. He was elected MP for Dunwich that same year.
In 1609, Smythe obtained a royal charter for the London Virginia Company
The Virginia Company was an English trading company chartered by King James I on 10 April 1606 with the object of colonizing the eastern coast of America. The coast was named Virginia, after Elizabeth I, and it stretched from present-day Mai ...
. He became the new colony's treasurer and de facto non-resident governor until his resignation in 1620—two years after Raleigh's execution, and two years before a major revolt caused by Smythe's policy of "rooting out" the native people
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
. To address the new colony's many problems, Smythe ordered both the end of religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliatin ...
of the Native Americans and the expansion of the tobacco crop In 1620, Smythe was formally charged with enriching himself at the expense of the company. King James revoked the colony's charter in 1624, making it a royal colony instead. Although Smythe was held to be partly to blame, and despite the king's hatred of tobacco and desire to form a Christian empire, Smythe nonetheless retained the king's support. Parliamentarians urging the graft investigation included Nicholas Ferrar
Nicholas Ferrar (22 February 1592 – 4 December 1637) was an English scholar, courtier and businessman, who was ordained a deacon in the Church of England. He lost much of his fortune in the Virginia Company and retreated with his extended fam ...
(Smythe's former deputy) and Edwin Sandys. The inquiry continued until Smythe's death in 1625, despite the King's refusal to accepted the charges against Smythe. The King's officials continued to consult Smythe on all important matters relating to shipping and to eastern trade.
For several years Smythe served as one of the navy's chief commissioners. Smythe was an original ''adventurer'' (shareholder) of the Somers Isles Company
The Somers Isles Company (fully, the Company of the City of London for the Plantacion of The Somers Isles or the Company of The Somers Isles) was formed in 1615 to operate the English colony of the Somers Isles, also known as Bermuda, as a commerc ...
on its formation in 1615, having and also served as Governor (in England, with a Deputy Governor serving in the colony itself) of the Somers Isles (or Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = "Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, mapsize2 =
, map_caption2 =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name =
, es ...
) from its official settlement by the Virginia Company in 1612, continuing in this role after its split with the Virginia Company in 1614. His connection with the East India Company, the Virginia Company and the Muscovy Company, also led Smythe to promote and support voyages for the discovery of the North-West Passage in North America. William Baffin named Smith Sound
Smith Sound ( da, Smith Sund; french: Détroit de Smith) is an uninhabited Arctic sea passage between Greenland and Canada's northernmost island, Ellesmere Island. It links Baffin Bay with Kane Basin and forms part of the Nares Strait.
On the ...
between Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland ...
and Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island ( iu, script=Latn, Umingmak Nuna, lit=land of muskoxen; french: île d'Ellesmere) is Canada's northernmost and third largest island, and the tenth largest in the world. It comprises an area of , slightly smaller than Great Br ...
to honour the patron of his 1616 voyage of discovery. In January 1618–19, Smythe was appointed one of the commissioners for the settlement of the differences with the Dutch which, however, after years of discussion, remained for the time, unsettled.[Cal. State Papers, Dom. 8 January 1619, 6? Dec. 1624]
Private life
Although his name was often spelled "Smith", it was always written "Smythe" by the man himself, as well as by his extended family
An extended family is a family that extends beyond the nuclear family of parents and their children to include aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins or other relatives, all living nearby or in the same household. Particular forms include the stem ...
at Strangford. Smythe married three times. The first two wives must have died young and without issue
Issue or issues may refer to:
Publishing
* ''Issue'' (company), a mobile publishing company
* ''Issue'' (magazine), a monthly Korean comics anthology magazine
* Issue (postal service), a stamp or a series of stamps released to the public
* '' ...
. He was already married to his third wife, Sarah, daughter of William Blount, by the time Smythe was sheriff of London. They had one daughter who died unmarried in 1627; and three sons, two of whom seem to have died before their father. The eldest son, Sir John Smythe of Bidborough, married Isabella Rich, daughter of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick
Robert Rich, 3rd Baron Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick (December 1559 – 24 March 1619), was an English nobleman, known as Baron Rich between 1581 and 1618, when he was created Earl of Warwick. He was the first husband of Penelope Devereux, whom he d ...
and Penelope Devereux. Their children included Letitia Isabella Smythe (d. 1714), who married John Robartes, 1st Earl of Radnor
John Robartes, 1st Earl of Radnor and Viscount Bodmin (160617 July 1685), known as The Lord Robartes (or John, Lord Roberts) between 1634 and 1679, was a Cornish politician, who fought for the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War ...
.
Death and legacy
Smythe died at Sutton-at-Hone in Kent on 4 September 1625, and was buried there in St John's Church. An elaborate monument to his memory was installed there.
During his lifetime, Smythe amassed a large fortune, a considerable part of which he devoted to charitable purposes. He endowed the free school of Tonbridge
Tonbridge ( ) is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated population ...
, which was founded by his grandfather, Sir Andrew Judd, furthermore to this day one of the 5 day houses at the school is named after him. He also established several charities for the poor of the parish of Tonbridge.
A portrait belonging to the Skinners' Company
The Worshipful Company of Skinners (known as The Skinners' Company) is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. It was originally an association of those engaged in the trade of skins and furs. It was granted Royal Charter in 132 ...
has been identified with Smythe, though it has been supposed to be that of Sir Daniel Judd. An engraving by Simon Pass is inserted in the Grenville copy of Smith's ''Voiage and Entertainment in Rushia'' (London, 1605, 4to). It is reproduced in Wadmore's memoir (1892).
Notes
References
*
*
*
;Attribution
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Thomas
1550s births
1625 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
People from Folkestone and Hythe District
People from Sutton-at-Hone
16th-century English businesspeople
English merchants
British East India Company people
Ambassadors of England to Russia
Virginia colonial people
Sheriffs of the City of London
Prisoners in the Tower of London
Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall
English MPs 1597–1598
English MPs 1604–1611
English MPs 1614
English MPs 1621–1622
17th-century English diplomats
Knights Bachelor