Edward Backwell (ca. 1618–1683) was an English goldsmith-banker, and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

at various times between 1673 and 1683. He has been called "the principal founder of the banking system in England", and "far and away the best documented banker of his time". Backwell provided substantial financial support for the King Charles II government.

Life

Backwell was the son of Barnaby Backwell, of

Leighton Buzzard Leighton Buzzard ( ) is a market town in Bedfordshire, England, in the southwest of the county and close to the Buckinghamshire border. It lies between Aylesbury, Tring, Luton/ Dunstable and Milton Keynes, near the Chiltern Hills. It is nor ...

. He migrated to the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, where he was apprenticed to Thomas Vyner, a prominent London goldsmith-banker, in 1635. Like other goldsmith-bankers of the era, he was also played a role in State finance. He received his freedom of the Goldsmith's Company in 1651 and had his goldsmith's shop at the sign of the Unicorn in Lombard Street.Moshe Arye Milevsky, ''The Day the King Defaulted: Financial Lessons from the Stop of the Exchequer'', pp. 56–59 During the time of the

English Republic The Commonwealth of England was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, were governed as a republic after the end of the Second English Civil War and the tria ...

(1649-1660), Edward was deeply involved in credit finance, and dealt in former Crown property that had been put on the market. During the Commonwealth, he bought the park at

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

and then resold it to the government, at a profit.Jenny Uglow, ''A Gambling Man: Charles II and the Restoration'' (Faber and Faber, 2009), p. 204 Blackwell was a rich merchant of the

. Following the capture of Dunkirk in 1658 by Anglo-French forces, Blackwell was appointed Treasurer of Dunkirk, which was ceded to England by Spain. After the Restoration of the monarchy he kept the position. In 1662 he was involved in the negotiations that led to the

Sale of Dunkirk The Sale of Dunkirk took place on when Charles II of England sold his Sovereignty, sovereign rights to Dunkirk and Fort-Mardyck to his cousin Louis XIV of France. Context Dunkirk was occupied by English forces of the The Protectorate, Protectorat ...

to France. In the 1650s he was involved in

bullion Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from ...

transactions and in 1657 helped Thomas Vyner to handle captured Spanish plate. He was also very actively involved as treasurer for the Dunkirk garrison, from the time of its capture and establishment as an English base in 1657 until its sale back to France in 1662. Together with Sir Thomas Vyner he was responsible for provision of money to the royal household and with handling bullion brought in for coinage at the Royal Mint. In 1660, just before the Restoration, Edward was elected alderman of the

, but the following year he paid the customary fine to be excused from continuing to serve. He is the most frequently referred to financier in

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

's Diary, which is perhaps indicative of his importance. Trading from his premises in Lombard Street, he was

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

for the City ward of

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate's name is traditionally attributed to Earconwald, who was Bishop of London in the 7th century. It was first built in Roman times and marked the beginning o ...

and the greatest banker of the early years of the Restoration. Among many others,

was one of his customers.James Smith McMaster, ''McMaster's Commercial Cases: Current Business Law from the Decisions of the Highest Courts of the Several States'', Volume 18 (1915), p. 476 He continued to operate in finance during the reign of Charles II. He was selected an

for

1660–1661. Edward was a signatory to ''The Several Declarations of The Company of Royal Adventurers of England Trading into Africa'', a document published in 1667 which led to the expansion of the

Royal Africa Company The Royal African Company (RAC) was an English trading company established in 1660 by the House of Stuart and City of London merchants to trade along the West African coast. It was overseen by the Duke of York, the brother of Charles II of Engl ...

. One of the most prominent financiers of his time, Blackwell took deposits, lent money and provided foreign exchange services during the years leading up to the

Stop of the Exchequer The Great Stop of the Exchequer or Stop of the Exchequer was a repudiation of state debt that occurred in England in 1672 under the reign of Charles II of England. The stop and its causes Under Charles II the state finances were in such a grievou ...

of 1672, which almost ruined him. However, in 1671 with his son John he had been appointed comptroller of customs in the port of London, and with his old master Vyner, he was from 1671 to 1675 a commissioner of the customs and farmer of the customs revenue. Backwell owned land in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

and

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

. In 1671 he was elected as a Member of Parliament for

Wendover Wendover is a town and civil parish at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated at the point where the main road across the Chilterns between London and Aylesbury intersects with the once important road along t ...

in a by-election to the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. With the exception of the Long Parliament, it was the longest-lasting English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring ...

. He was re-elected a Member for Wendover in the second election of 1679 and again in 1681.History of Parliament Online - Backwell, Edward
/ref> He went bankrupt in 1682 and went to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, where he died, his body being brought back to London and buried on 13 June 1683. In 1657 Backwell married firstly Sarah Brett and had one son,

John Backwell John Backwell (20 April 1654 – 15 April 1708) was an English politician, the son of the financier Edward Backwell. In 1678, he married Elizabeth Tyringham, only daughter of Sir William Tyringham, by whom he had a son, Tyringham Backwell. He ...

. In 1662, he married secondly Mary Leigh, who died in 1669, by whom he had three sons and two daughters.

References

Leighton-Linslade Past Times

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Backwell, Edward 1610s births 1683 deaths People from Leighton Buzzard English goldsmiths Cavaliers English MPs 1661–1679 Bankers from London English MPs 1679 English MPs 1680–1681 English MPs 1681

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...