John Tutchin facts for kids
John Tutchin (born around 1660 or 1664 in Lymington, England) was a writer and journalist who often disagreed with the government. He was part of the Whig group, which believed in more power for Parliament and less for the king. Tutchin came from a Puritan family and had strong feelings against the Catholic Church. His newspaper, The Observator, and his political actions often got him into trouble.
John Tutchin and the Bloody Assizes
In 1685, John Tutchin wrote some poems while he was starting to speak out against James II of England becoming king. That same year, he joined the Monmouth Rebellion, a fight against King James II. After the rebellion failed, Tutchin was put on trial by Judge Jeffreys during what was known as the Bloody Assizes.
Judge Jeffreys made fun of Tutchin's poems in court. He gave Tutchin a very harsh sentence:
- seven years in prison
- a large fine
- a promise to behave well for the rest of his life
- to be whipped through all the market towns of Devon once a year
Facing such a terrible punishment, Tutchin asked to be hanged instead. His case became very famous among both Whig and Tory supporters. Because of this, he was released from prison after only one year. He then married Elizabeth Hickes, whose father was a Puritan minister who also spoke out against King James II.
When William III of Orange arrived in England, Tutchin was very happy. In 1689, he wrote a poem called An heroick poem upon the late expedition of His Majesty to rescue England from popery, tyranny, and arbitrary government. However, Tutchin felt that William was not democratic enough for his liking, as Tutchin's ideas were moving more towards a republic (a country without a king). Even so, Tutchin was rewarded for supporting William. He received a small job in the victualling office, which was in charge of supplying food for the navy.
Throughout his life, Tutchin believed that there was a lot of cheating and corruption in the government. He thought people were trying to trick the government or secretly help England's enemies. In 1699, he was given £12 for finding ways to save money and prevent cheating in his job. This shows how determined Tutchin was to uncover problems.
Around this time, he also started to dislike King William's friends from the Netherlands. In 1700, he wrote a poem called The Foreigners. This poem shared ideas similar to those of John Locke, about how a government should treat its people. Tutchin suggested that King William was not a proper king. He was arrested, but because he had slightly hidden the names of the people he was criticizing, the poem was called "seditious libel" (writing that criticized the government too much), but Tutchin could not be tried for a more serious crime. Another famous writer, Daniel Defoe, wrote a poem called The True-Born Englishman in response to Tutchin.
The Observator Newspaper
John Tutchin started his newspaper, The Observator, in 1702. It continued to be published even after his death. The paper strongly criticized Queen Anne and her Tory government. Tutchin and Daniel Defoe often argued in their public writings. Defoe represented a more traditional part of the Whig party, while Tutchin was more democratic and supported ideas similar to those of Oliver Cromwell. Many writers, including Alexander Pope, mentioned Tutchin and Defoe together. Pope even showed Defoe standing over Tutchin in his poem The Dunciad. The Observator was written as conversations between two characters: "Observator" (or "Mr. Observator") and "Countryman".
In December 1703, The Observator was accused of writing bad things about Parliament. In May 1704, Tutchin briefly ran away to France to avoid being caught. He contacted Robert Harley, a powerful Tory politician, and asked for his help. Harley was trying to find a middle ground between the Whigs and Tories. Tutchin was found guilty, but his conviction was overturned because the evidence had not been presented correctly. Some Tory politicians and writers believed this mistake was made on purpose.
After returning to England, Tutchin continued to speak out against supporters of King James II (called Jacobites) and French agents. He even accused the Navy of secretly supplying food to the French Navy. This led to his arrest again. In October 1706, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough wrote a letter to Harley about the situation. He said that if he didn't get justice, he would find someone to hurt Tutchin and his printer.
Something terrible did happen to Tutchin in prison. He was badly beaten and died from his injuries while still in custody on 23 September 1707.
Even though The Observator was well-known for its strong opinions against the Jacobites, Tutchin's constant fears and suspicions about the government meant he didn't have many friends at the time. Even after his death under unclear circumstances, he was not widely mourned. Alexander Pope, in particular, wrote about him in a very harsh way in The Dunciad, seventeen years after Tutchin died. In the poem, Pope describes a tapestry showing the fates of foolish writers, and one part shows Tutchin being whipped through the countryside.
