John Streater (died 1687) was an English soldier, political writer and printer. An opponent of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

, Streater was a "key republican critic of the regime" He was a leading example of the "commonwealthmen", one division among the English republicans of the period, along with James Harrington,

Edmund Ludlow Edmund Ludlow (c. 1617–1692) was an English parliamentarian, best known for his involvement in the execution of Charles I, and for his ''Memoirs'', which were published posthumously in a rewritten form and which have become a major source ...

, and Henry Nevile.

Republican

He was in the Parliamentary forces from 1642, seeing action at the

Battle of Edgehill The Battle of Edgehill (or Edge Hill) was a pitched battle of the First English Civil War. It was fought near Edge Hill and Kineton in southern Warwickshire on Sunday, 23 October 1642. All attempts at constitutional compromise between ...

and Battle of Newbury. He served in the Parliamentary army in Ireland, as a quarter-master and engineer. He made a direct reply in 1653, "Christ must come before Christmas, or else he will come too late", to Cromwell's supporter Thomas Harrison, who said that Cromwell sought not for himself but that "King Jesus might take the sceptre". This comes from James Heath, ''Flagellum: or, the Life and death, birth and burial of Oliver Cromwell'' (1663), and is considered "rather dubious" by Austin Woolrych. In 1654 he started a

serial publication In publishing and library and information science, the term serial is applied to materials "in any medium issued under the same title in a succession of discrete parts, usually numbered (or dated) and appearing at regular or irregular intervals ...

, ''Observations Historical, Political. and Philosophical''. It ran for 11 issues, from 4 April to 4 July. It argued for annual elections. Taking the form of commentary on the ''

Politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

'' of

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...

, it broached many topics such as

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...

and right of assembly, with views on the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

and criticism of the paternalist theories of divine right. Streater has been seen as taking radical ideas, such as those suppressed with the

Levellers The Levellers were a political movement active during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms who were committed to popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law and religious tolerance. The hallmark of Leveller thought was its populis ...

, onto a new plane: He fell into considerable trouble for his opposition to Cromwell, but found a protector in

John Desborough John DesboroughAlso spelt John Disbrowe and John Desborow (the latter in the Indemnity and Oblivion Act, section XLIII) (1608–1680) was an English soldier and politician who supported the parliamentary cause during the English Civil War. ...

. He was arrested under a writ of Parliament, and argued a ''

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...

'' case, unsuccessfully, but using

Sir Edward Coke ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

's approach. A pamphleteer publicised the case (1654). His eventual release in early 1654 was because Parliament was dissolved. In the political confusion of 1659, he argued once more a republican line: against tweaking the Protectorate, against single-person rule, against forms of Senate or "standing council". He also was commissioned as a colonel by Parliament.

Printer

He published ''

The Commonwealth of Oceana ''The Commonwealth of Oceana'' , published 1656, is a work of political philosophy by the English politician and essayist James Harrington (1611–1677). The unsuccessful first attempt to publish ''Oceana'' was officially censored by Lord Prote ...

'' in 1656. With John Macock he styled himself a printer to Parliament in 1659 and 1660. After the Restoration he became a successful commercial printer, in particular with titles by

Nicholas Culpeper Nicholas Culpeper (18 October 1616 – 10 January 1654) was an English botanist, herbalist, physician and astrologer.Patrick Curry: "Culpeper, Nicholas (1616–1654)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford, UK: OUP, 2004) His bo ...

from the backlist of Peter Cole who committed suicide in 1665. He had a specific exemption from the 1662 Act regulating publishers.

Works

* ''A Glympse of that Jewel'' (1653) * ''Perfect and Impartial Intelligence'' (1654) * ''A Seasonable Advertisement to the People of England'' (1659) * ''A Shield against the Parthian Dart'' (1659) * ''Secret Reasons of State'' (1659)

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Streater, John 1687 deaths English printers Year of birth unknown

Republican

Printer

Works

Notes

Further reading

External links