Benjamin Keene

Benjamin Keene was born around 1697 in King's Lynn, Norfolk, eldest son of Charles Keene (1675–?) and Susan Rolfe (?–1753). His younger brother Edmund (1714–1781) was Bishop of Ely and Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge.

Both his father and uncle Benjamin served as Mayor of King's Lynn, as did his grandfather Edmund Rolfe (1640–1726).[2] Rolfe was also election agent for Sir Robert Walpole, British Prime Minister from 1721 to 1742; this connection helped the careers of both Benjamin and his younger brother.[3]

Keene was unmarried and left his estate to his brother Edmund; his nephew Benjamin (1753–1837) was MP for Cambridge from 1774 to 1786.[4]

Viscount Townshend (1674–1738) who spotted Keene's talents and sent him to Madrid in 1723

Keene graduated from Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1718 and completed his legal studies at the Dutch university of Leiden. Family connections brought him to the notice of Secretary of State and Norfolk magnate, Viscount Townshend (1674–1738), who sent him to Madrid in 1723, first as an officer of the South Sea Company, then Consul from 1724.[5]

The South Sea Company was established to hold commercial rights awarded to Britain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, allowing access to the closed markets of Spanish America. They included the Asiento de Negros to supply 5,000 slaves a year and Navio de Permiso, permitting limited direct sales in Porto Bello and Veracruz.[6] The company was acquired by the British government after going bankrupt in the 1720 'South Sea Bubble' and became a state enterprise.[7]

The asiento itself was marginally profitable and has been described as a 'commercial illusion'; between 1717 and 1733, only eight ships were sent from Britain to the Americas.[8] The real benefit was in carrying smuggled goods that evaded customs duties, demand from Spanish colonists creating a large and profitable black market.[9] There was also a significant legitimate trade; British goods were imported through Cadiz, either for sale locally or re-exported to the colonies, Spanish dye and wool going the other way. A leading City of London merchant called the trade 'the best flower in our garden.'[10]

The Spanish resented being forced to open their colonial markets, partly due to the prevailing economic theory of mercantilism, which viewed trade as a finite resource. This meant an increase in Britain's share was at the expense of Spain's and wars were often fought over commercial issues.[11] Utrecht had also confirmed British possession of the Spanish ports of Gibraltar and Mahón and their loss was a factor in the 1718 to 1720 War of the Quadruple Alliance and Spanish support for the 1719 Jacobite Rising. This made the post of British Consul highly important, held by someone of skill and intelligence.

Keene's first major role was to negotiate the Treaty of Seville, ending the 1727 to 1729 Anglo-Spanish War. He negotiated the Treaty of El Pardo in 1728 and the 1739 Convention of El Pardo in an attempt to prevent war between the two states. That mission was interrupted by the War of Jenkins' Ear (1739–1748). He was forced to return to London, but after the peace was concluded, set off to Spain again.

Second spell

Keene was influential at the Spanish court. He played a big role in ousting the anti-British Marquis of Ensenada and helping a new Spanish minister of Irish descent seize power – Ricardo Wall. In the wake of this, King George II conferred the Order of the Bath on Keene,[12] who had the honour presented to him by the Spanish king at a special ceremony. The Spanish king was grateful to Keene for exposing Ensenada, who had violated his policy of friendship to Britain. Thereafter several Anglophile ministers came to power, further strengthening Keene's hand.

Keene's funeral monument

Thus Spain, guided by Wall, stayed out of the Seven Years' War until 1762 – denying France a major ally and contributing to the decisive British victory. He died in Madrid in 1757, shortly after being relieved of his position due to ill health. He had requested a recall to London on several occasions, but he was considered too valuable to British interests for this to be considered.

Keene's place was taken by George Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol, who struggled to make the same impact. After the accession of King Charles III in 1759, he failed to prevent Spain from entering the war against Britain on the side of France.

Keene's nephew, another Benjamin Keene, was MP for Cambridge.

• Anderson, MS (1976). Europe in the Eighteenth Century, 1713–1783 : (A General History of Europe). Longman. ISBN 978-0582486720.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Browning, Reed (1993). The War of the Austrian Succession. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0312094836.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Ewing, William Creasey (1837). Norfolk lists, from the Reformation to the present time. Matchett, Stevenson, Matchett.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Ibañez, Ignacio Rivas (2008). Mobilizing Resources for War: The Intelligence Systems during the War of Jenkins' Ear. PHD UCL.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Mercer, M (2004). Keene, Sir Benjamin (Online ed.). Oxford DNB.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Namier, Lewis (ed), Brooke, J (ed) (1964). KEENE, Benjamin (1753–1837), of Westoe Lodge, Cambs in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1754–1790 (Online ed.). Boydell & Brewer.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link) CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Richard Lodge, The Private Correspondence of Sir Benjamin Keene. In: The English Historical Review, Vol. 49, No. 194 (Apr. 1934), pp. 344–45
• Rodger, N. A. M., The Insatiable Earl: A Life of John Montagu, Fourth Earl of Sandwich, 1718–1792. Harper Collins, 1993
• Sedgwick (editor), R (1970). KEENE, Benjamin (c.1697–1757) in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1715–1754 (Online ed.). Boydell & Brewer.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link) CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Simms, Brendan, Three Victories and a Defeat: The Rise and Fall of the First British Empire. Penguin Books, 2008

• JSTOR The Private Correspondence of Sir Benjamin Keene
• Mercer, M. J. "Keene, Sir Benjamin". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/15245. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Sir Benjamin Keene's papers, GB/NNAF/P150670, National Archives
• Portrait of Sir Benjamin Keene
• Will of His Excellency, Sir Benjamin Keene, His Majesty's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Catholic King of Madrid
• "M6012; Sir Benjamin Keene". Maritime Memorials. Retrieved 30 July 2019.