The Imprisonment of Lord Danby in the Tower, 1679–1684

Abstract

There are few statesmen in English history who have been so completely the victim of their circumstances as Thomas Osborne, Lord Danby. He was Lord High Treasurer of England 1673–1679, an office which combined those of the Modern Chancellor of the Exchequer and Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as that of the Chief Executive Officer of the Realm. In all these duties Lord Danby displayed conspicuous ability, and attained considerable success. He was certainly one of the most able financiers of those times. He entered office just after the responsible government of the day had repudiated its national obligation to its creditors, and declared a “Stop of the Exchequer.” Trade was almost stagnant; every channel of revenue was drained at its source by Royal gifts and pensions; the financial ability of the Government was thoroughly discredited in commercial circles; the ordinary revenue of the country was inadequate to meet its needs. Yet out of this chaotic and insolvent condition Danby produced order, solvency, credit and prestige in the commercial world. His work in the Treasury would bear comparison with the ablest of the Chancellors of the Exchequer of England.