ROE, THOMAS [SSNE 4421]
Text source
Sir Thomas Roe lived from ca. 1580-1644 and had a long and distinguished career as a diplomat, starting at the court of Queen Elizabeth. He was knighted in 1605. In 1613 he spent time in the Netherlands as an ambassador, and subsequently was sent to India. His connection with Sweden began as a Stuart negotiator regarding the English trading company operating out of Elbing and issues arising with Danzig from 1629-30 (tolls, and the right to enter other Prussian ports under arms, etc). The Swedes sent Colonel John Hepburn [SSNE 2660] as their representative to Danzig. Roe tried to encourage the establishment of a confederation between Britain, Sweden and the Netherlands (United Provinces) on behalf of the evangelical cause as much as for the restoration of the Palatinate. King Charles I would offer £10,000 sterling per month toward this effort. These suggestions were made directly to Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna in February 1630. Oxenstierna also revealed that it was on Roe's insistence in March that year that George Fleetwood [SSNE 2208] was awarded the rank of lieutenant-colonel. In 1630 he wrote to King Gustav II Adolf on behalf of Archibald Rankin [SSNE 6284]. He also worked in Hamburg, Ratisbon and Vienna for the Palatine cause between 1638-42. During this period Roe became involved in negotiations over the Danish Sound Toll, and in attempts to get Danish financial support for King Charles 1. He was chancellor of the Order of the Garter in 1637. He was ambassador in negotiations with Imperial, French and Swedish plenipotentiaries for the settlement of terms for a general peace between 1638-42. Bell tells us that after participating in the peace negotiations in Hamburg, Roe paid a brief visit to Denmark in the summer of 1640. He was also ambassador extraordinaire to Vienna 1642-3.Swedish Riksarkiv, Anglica 522; PRO, SP/81/44-46, SP/88/5, SP/104/170; Additional Manuscripts in the Sloane collection, Add 4168-72; Harleyian Manuscripts 1901; 'Svenske Sändebuds till Utländske Hof och Deras Sändebud till Sverige', Swedish Riksarkiv, Stockholm, 1841, p.83; G. M. Bell, A Handlist of British Diplomatic Representatives 1509-1688 (London, 1990), passim; old DNB; Rikskansleren Axel Oxenstiernas skrifter och brefvexling, first series, V, passim; Hamburg Staatsarchiv, 177/2b 'Diplomatenlisten' I, p.42; D. Croxton and A. Tischer, The Peace of Westphalia: A Historical Dictionary (London, 2002), p.82; Steve Murdoch, Network North: Scottish Kin, Commercial and Covert Associations in Northern Europe, 1603-1746 (Brill, Leiden, 2006), pp.66., 271, 274, 284-290, 294-295, 303.
Service record
- STUART KINGDOMS, THE DUTCH REPUBLIC
- Arrived 1629-04-02
- Departed 1629-07-04
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- STUART KINGDOMS, DENMARK-NORWAY
- Arrived 1629-04-02
- Departed 1629-08-10
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- STUART KINGDOMS, BRANDENBURG
- Arrived 1629-08-18
- Departed 1629-08-20
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- STUART KINGDOMS, POLAND
- Arrived 1629-08-25
- Departed 1630-07-04
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- STUART KINGDOMS, ELBING [SWEDEN]
- Arrived 1629-08-29
- Departed 1630-07-04
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- STUART KINGDOMS, HAMBURG [SWEDEN, DENMARK-NORWAY, THE DUTCH REPUBLIC]
- Arrived 1638-04-08
- Departed 1640-06-02
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- STUART KINGDOMS, DENMARK-NORWAY
- Arrived 1640-06-03
- Departed 1640-07-31
- Capacity AGENT?, purpose DIPLOMACY
- STUART KINGDOMS, THE DUTCH REPUBLIC
- Arrived 1641-05-01
- Departed 1641-05-30
- Capacity ENVOY, purpose DIPLOMACY
- STUART KINGDOMS, VIENNA
- Arrived 1641-06-01
- Departed 1643-12-31
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY