William Sacheverell

William Sacheverell (1638 – 9 October 1691) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1670 and 1691.

Sacheverell was the son of Henry Sacheverell, a country gentleman, by his wife Joyce Mansfield. His family had been prominent in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire since the 12th century; William inherited large estates from his father. He was admitted to Gray's Inn in 1667, and in 1670 he was elected Member of Parliament for Derbyshire. He immediately gained a prominent position in the party hostile to the Court, and before he had been in the House of Commons for six months, he proposed a resolution that all "popish recusants" should be removed from military commands; the motion, enlarged so as to include civil employment, was carried without a division on 28 February 1672/1673. This resolution was the forerunner of the Test Act, in the preparation of which Sacheverell took an active part, and which caused the breakup of the cabal.

Sacheverell took part in nearly every debate in the House of Commons, and was recognized as one of the most able leaders of the opposition or "Country Party". He strongly opposed the king's alliance with France, advocating a league with the Dutch and the refusal of supplies until the demands of the Commons should be complied with. Sacheverell took a special interest in the navy and spoke in many debates on this question. In 1677 he carried an address to the king calling upon him to conclude an alliance with the United Provinces against Louis XIV of France, and when the Speaker adjourned the House by Charles's order Sacheverell made an eloquent protest, asserting the right of the House itself to decide the question of its adjournment. When parliament met early in 1678 assurances were received from Charles that he had arranged the treaties demanded by the Commons; but Sacheverell boldly questioned the king's good faith, and warned the Commons that they were being deceived. When the secret treaty with France became known, confirming Sacheverell's insight, he called for the disbandment of the forces and advocated the refusal of further supplies for military purposes; and in June 1678 he resolutely opposed Lord Danby's proposal to grant £300,000 per annum to Charles II for life. Jean Barillon mentions Sacheverell among the Whig leaders who accepted bribes from Louis XIV, but the evidence against him is not conclusive.

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