Richard Overton was an important figure in England’s history. He was best known for writing controversial religious and political pamphlets. He also acted on the stage and wrote other types of manuscripts. The author was born in 1631 and passed away in 1664 at the age of 33.
The early life of the writer is a mystery. Nothing is really known about him until 1640 when his distributed booklets began to be well known. His satirical pamphlets were all at first geared at criticizing the Catholic church. During this time period, it is believed that the author converted to the religion of General Baptism.
He expounded a controversial theory in a document called ‘Man’s Mortalitie’. This work described Overton’s belief that the souls and bodies of humans die together and will not be resurrected until the Last Judgement occurs. This belief was shared by many of his General Baptist friends but Presbyterian Protestants considered it wrong and heretical.
Around 1645, the writer began to create political documents in addition to his religious pamphlets. Overton had become a supporter of the Leveller Movement which believed in popular sovereignty and tolerance of different religious beliefs. It is generally though that the author along with another writer named William Walwyn created ‘The Remonstrance of Many Thousand Citizens’ which expounded all the tenants of the Leveller beliefs.
Overton wrote a piece in 1646 that argued for John Liburne to be released from prison. The government believed the writer to have committed a criminal act by publishing this work. He was arrested and imprisoned at Newgate Prison. There, he continued to create written works arguing for the rights and liberties of the general public.
In 1647, he was released from Newgate. Rather than lying low at this time, the writer joined fellow Leveller supporters in a mutiny against the Grandees. The Grandees were members of the land owning gentry during the English Revolution. These nobles quickly squashed the Leveller’s mutinous advance.
The writer was imprisoned again sometime around 1649 for more political writings in support of the Leveller Movement. His writings were considered acts of treason. He was released in the same year and continued to conspire against the government for several years. Nothing much is known of the rest of his life. richard overton
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