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Peers, Politics and the Price of Pepper: Skinner v . the East India Company
Author(s) -
Paley Ruth
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
parliamentary history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.14
H-Index - 11
eISSN - 1750-0206
pISSN - 0264-2824
DOI - 10.1111/1750-0206.12315
Subject(s) - parliament , politics , power (physics) , exploit , sociology , order (exchange) , law , daughter , economic history , political economy , political science , history , economics , finance , physics , computer security , quantum mechanics , computer science
The case of Thomas Skinner v. the East India Company brought parliament to a standstill in 1668 in a confrontation between the Houses over their respective privileges that lasted nearly two years. There is no doubt that the case was exploited for political advantage by presbyterians anxious to block the passage of a new conventicles act, but that is far from being the whole story. This article examines for the first time the details of the case and reliability of Skinner's claims against the East India Company. It reveals that Thomas Skinner was somewhat of an obsessive fantasist who, far from being a presbyterian sympathiser, was close to the household of James, duke of York. At one stage his daughter was even reputed to be the mother of the ‘pretended’ prince of Wales. It concludes that Skinner was himself an unscrupulous opportunist, eager to exploit political and commercial uncertainty for private gain.