Edmund Bohun
Encyclopedia
Edmund Bohun was an English writer on history and politics, a publicist in the Tory
interest.
, Samuel Parker and Leoline Jenkins
, in a group of High Church
proto-Tory thinkers. He began to write against the Whigs
after the Exclusion Crisis of the 1680s. He attacked Whig theories and in particular Algernon Sidney in his Defence of Sir Robert Filmer (1684). Sancroft asked Bohun to edit Robert Filmer
’s works, for an edition of 1685, and its preface Bohun attacked James Tyrrell
.
In reply to Jeremy Collier
's The Desertion discuss'd in a Letter to a Country Gentleman (1688), Bohun wrote The History of the Desertion (1690), bringing forward an argument influential for Tories who (unlike Collier) were prepared to swear allegiance after the Glorious Revolution
; this work was the first history written of the events in which James II of England
left the throne. He drew on the work of Grotius, in De Jure Belli ac Pacis
, for the idea of conquest
after a just war
as applicable to the contemporary United Kingdom, as was also done by William King
.
In 1692 he was appointed Licenser of the Press, a position as pre-publication censor. He ran into trouble in the case of an anonymous pamphlet, King William and Queen Mary Conquerors which was really by Charles Blount
. It argued a case similar to Bohun's own view. Thomas Babington Macaulay claimed that the Whig Blount in writing it deliberately set out to entrap the unpopular Bohun, but this is no longer accepted. In a House of Commons debate in 1693, Tories defending Bohun pointed out that the bishops Gilbert Burnet
and William Lloyd had published similar arguments. The outcome was that Bohun lost the position, which was shortly abolished, and Burnet's Pastoral Letter of 1689 was included in a suppression order covering William and Queen Mary Conquerors. Bohun was briefly imprisoned, and after a two-year renewal of the Press Act providing for a Licenser as censor to 1695, the pre-publication censorship of the press was allowed by Parliament to lapse.
He emigrated to Carolina
, becoming in 1698 the first recorded Chief Justice of (south) Carolina there, based in Charleston
.
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
interest.
Life
In the late 1660s he associated with William SancroftWilliam Sancroft
William Sancroft was the 79th Archbishop of Canterbury.- Life :Sancroft was born at Ufford Hall in Fressingfield, Suffolk, son of Francis Sandcroft and Margaret Sandcroft née Butcher...
, Samuel Parker and Leoline Jenkins
Leoline Jenkins
Sir Leoline Jenkins was a Welsh academic, jurist and politician. He was a clerical lawyer serving in the Admiralty courts, and diplomat involved in the negotiation of international treaties .-Biography:...
, in a group of High Church
High church
The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
proto-Tory thinkers. He began to write against the Whigs
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
after the Exclusion Crisis of the 1680s. He attacked Whig theories and in particular Algernon Sidney in his Defence of Sir Robert Filmer (1684). Sancroft asked Bohun to edit Robert Filmer
Robert Filmer
thumbnail|150px|right|Robert Filmer Sir Robert Filmer was an English political theorist who defended the divine right of kings...
’s works, for an edition of 1685, and its preface Bohun attacked James Tyrrell
James Tyrrell (writer)
James Tyrrell was an English author and Whig political philosopher.-Life:James Tyrrell was the eldest son of Sir Timothy Tyrrell and Elizabeth Ussher, the only daughter of Archbishop James Ussher. His younger sister Eleanor married the deist Charles Blount...
.
In reply to Jeremy Collier
Jeremy Collier
Jeremy Collier was an English theatre critic, non-juror bishop and theologian.-Life:Born in Stow cum Quy, Cambridgeshire, Collier was educated at Caius College, University of Cambridge, receiving the BA and MA . A supporter of James II, he refused to take the oath of allegiance to William and...
's The Desertion discuss'd in a Letter to a Country Gentleman (1688), Bohun wrote The History of the Desertion (1690), bringing forward an argument influential for Tories who (unlike Collier) were prepared to swear allegiance after the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
; this work was the first history written of the events in which James II of England
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
left the throne. He drew on the work of Grotius, in De Jure Belli ac Pacis
De jure belli ac pacis
De jure belli ac pacis is a 1625 book in Latin, written by Hugo Grotius and published in Paris, on the legal status of war. It is now regarded as a foundational work in international law....
, for the idea of conquest
Conquest (military)
Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. One example is the Norman conquest of England, which provided the subjugation of the Kingdom of England and the acquisition of the English crown by William the Conqueror in 1066...
after a just war
Just War
Just war theory is a doctrine of military ethics of Roman philosophical and Catholic origin, studied by moral theologians, ethicists and international policy makers, which holds that a conflict ought to meet philosophical, religious or political criteria.-Origins:The concept of justification for...
as applicable to the contemporary United Kingdom, as was also done by William King
William King (archbishop)
William King, D.D. was an Anglican divine in the Church of Ireland, who was Archbishop of Dublin from 1703 to 1729. He was an author and supported the Glorious Revolution.-Early life:...
.
In 1692 he was appointed Licenser of the Press, a position as pre-publication censor. He ran into trouble in the case of an anonymous pamphlet, King William and Queen Mary Conquerors which was really by Charles Blount
Charles Blount (deist)
Charles Blount was a British deist and controversialist who published several anonymous essays critical of the existing English order.-Life:...
. It argued a case similar to Bohun's own view. Thomas Babington Macaulay claimed that the Whig Blount in writing it deliberately set out to entrap the unpopular Bohun, but this is no longer accepted. In a House of Commons debate in 1693, Tories defending Bohun pointed out that the bishops Gilbert Burnet
Gilbert Burnet
Gilbert Burnet was a Scottish theologian and historian, and Bishop of Salisbury. He was fluent in Dutch, French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Burnet was respected as a cleric, a preacher, and an academic, as well as a writer and historian...
and William Lloyd had published similar arguments. The outcome was that Bohun lost the position, which was shortly abolished, and Burnet's Pastoral Letter of 1689 was included in a suppression order covering William and Queen Mary Conquerors. Bohun was briefly imprisoned, and after a two-year renewal of the Press Act providing for a Licenser as censor to 1695, the pre-publication censorship of the press was allowed by Parliament to lapse.
He emigrated to Carolina
Province of Carolina
The Province of Carolina, originally chartered in 1629, was an English and later British colony of North America. Because the original Heath charter was unrealized and was ruled invalid, a new charter was issued to a group of eight English noblemen, the Lords Proprietors, in 1663...
, becoming in 1698 the first recorded Chief Justice of (south) Carolina there, based in Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
.
Further reading
- Samuel Wilton Rix (editor) (1853), The Diary and Autobiography of Edmund Bohun Esq.
- Mark Goldie, Edmund Bohun and Jus Gentium in the Revolution Debate, 1689-1693, The Historical Journal, 20 (1977), pp. 569–86.
- Mark Goldie, Charles Blount's Intention in Writing "King William and Queen Mary Conquerors" (1693), Notes and Queries 223 (1978): pp. 527–32.