William Boteler

William Boteler was a 17th-century member of the Parliament of England. He born in Barnwell, Northamptonshire and became a Colonel of Horse in the New Model Army during the English Civil War. By the end of the war, Boteler had been appointed Major-General for Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland during the Rule of the Major-Generals.

Political career
In April 1640, Boteler was elected MP for Bedford in the Short Parliament in a double return and was taken off. He was zealous and uncompromising in his hostility to his religious and political enemies, and was a severe persecutor of Quakers in Northamptonshire. In 1656 he advocated that James Nayler should be stoned to death for blasphemy. Boteler was also aggressive in his persecution of Royalists in his area, unlawfully imprisoning the Earl of Northampton for failing to pay his taxes.

Boteler represented Northamptonshire in the Second Protectorate Parliament from 1656 to 1658. Early in 1658, Boteler replaced William Packer as commander of Cromwell’s regiment of Horse.

Legal problems
He was re-elected in the Third Protectorate Parliament in 1659, where he was attacked by MPs over his record as a Major-General. He was exempted from pardon at the Restoration, but was not prosecuted. In 1665, he was arrested on suspicion of plotting against Charles II, and was arrested again in 1670 for attending an unlawful prayer meeting.

The date of his death is not known.