Unfinished family business. Algernon Sidney's arguments with Henry Hammond, Sir William Temple, Henry Sidney, Charles II, and the public executioner. Issue 4 (1st October 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Scott, Jonathan
• Is Part Of: Seventeenth century. Volume 31:Issue 4(2016)
• Page Start: 391
• Page End: 410
• Publication Date: 2016-10-01
• Subjects: Sidney -- Temple -- Hammond -- Court Maxims -- United Provinces; Seventeenth century -- Periodicals; History, Modern -- 17th century -- Periodicals; 909.605
• DOI: 10.1080/0268117X.2016.1244651
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0268-117X

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Recent work about the life and thought of the republican Algernon Sidney (1623–1683) has emphasised the formative importance of the history, intellectual culture and personal matrix of the Sidney family. This essay underlines the richness of that context by casting new light on a series of key, previously undiscussed themes. These include Sidney's lifelong relationship with the diplomat Sir William Temple and his family; the origin of his pioneering contribution to restoration resistance theory in an argument with Henry Hammond, one-time rector at Penshurst Place; the extent to which the European diplomatic contest which helped determine England's political direction between 1679 and 1689 may be understood as a squabble between siblings; and the domestic and family circumstances attending Algernon's arrest and execution for treason in 1683.