WILDMAN, SIR JOHN (c. 1621-169)

This article appears in Volume V28, Page 640 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

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WILDMAN, SIR JOHN (c. 1621-169) , English agitator, was educated at the university of

Cambridge

, and during the Civil War served for a short time under Sir

Thomas

Fairfax. He became prominent, however, not as a soldier but as an agitator, being in 1647 one of the leaders of that section of the army which objected to all compromise with the king. In a pamphlet, Putney Projects, he attacked Cromwell; he was responsible for The Case of the Army stated, and he put the views of his associates before the council of the army at a

meeting

MEETING (from " to meet," to come together, assemble, 0. Eng. metals ; cf. Du. moeten, Swed. mota, Goth. gamotjan, &c., derivatives of the Teut. word for a meeting, seen in O. Eng. Wit, moot, an assembly of the people; cf. witanagemot)

in Putney church in October 1647. The authorities looked upon hint with suspicion, and in January 1648 he and John Lilburne were imprisoned, preparations, says Clarendon, being made " for his trial and towards his execution." However, he was released in the following August, and for a time he was associated with theparty known as the levellers, but he quickly severed his connexion with them and became an officer in the army. He was a large buyer of the land forfeited by the royalists, and in 1654 he was sent to the

House

HOUSE
HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in
Gothic
- GOTHIC
it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

of Commons as member for

Scarborough

SCARBOROUGH

. In the following year he was arrested for conspiring against Cromwell, and after his release four months later he resumed the career of plotting, intriguing alike with royalists and republicans for the overthrow of the existing regime. In 1659 he helped to seize Windsor castle for the

Long

LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

Parliament

PARLIAMENT (Anglo-Lat. parliamentum, Fr. parlement, from parler, to speak)

, and then in November 1661 he was again a prisoner on some suspicion of participating in republican plots. For six years he was a captive, only regaining his freedom after the fall of Clarendoh in October 1667.
In or before 1681 Wildman became prominent among those who were discontented with the

rule

RULE

of Charles II., being especially intimate with Algernon Sydney. He was undoubtedly concerned in the Rye

House

HOUSE
HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in
Gothic
- GOTHIC
it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

Plot

PLOT
PLOT, ROBERT (164o-1696)

, and under James II. he was active in the interests of the duke of Monmouth, but owing to some disagreements, or perhaps to his cowardice, he took no part in the rising of 1685. He found it advisable, however, to escape to Holland, and returned to England with the army of William of Orange in 1688. In 1689 he was a member of the convention

parliament

PARLIAMENT (Anglo-Lat. parliamentum, Fr. parlement, from parler, to speak)

.
Wildman was postmaster - general from April 1689 to February 1691, when some ugly rumours about his con-duct brought about his dismissal. Nevertheless, he was knighted by William III. in 1692, and he died on the and of June 1693. Sir John, who was the author of many political pamphlets, left an only son, John, who died childless in 1710.

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