Benjamin Keene

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.[6]

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

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.[7] The company was acquired by the British government after going bankrupt in the 1720 'South Sea Bubble' and became a state enterprise.[8]

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.[9] The real benefit was in carrying smuggled goods that evaded customs duties, demand from Spanish colonists creating a large and profitable black market.[10] 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.'[11]

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.[12] Utrecht had also confirmed British possession of the Spanish ports of Gibraltar and Mahón; their desire to regain them was a factor in the 1718 to 1720 War of the Quadruple Alliance, as well Spanish support for the Jacobite rising of 1719. 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; credit for the treaty was taken by William Stanhope, who returned from two years absence in London for the purpose. He also negotiated the 1739 Convention of El Pardo, an attempt to prevent war between the two states; the terms were denounced by British merchants, and never ratified.[13]

With the outbreak of the War of Jenkins' Ear in 1739, he returned to London, and was elected Member of Parliament for Maldon. Part of Henry Pelham's Whig administration, he was re-elected for West Looe in 1741; from 1741 to 1744, he was a member of the Board of Trade, then Paymaster of Pensions from 1745 to 1746.[13]

Ferdinand VI, who had a strong relationship with Keene

In July 1746, French-born Philip V of Spain died and was succeeded by Ferdinand VI, who was more pro-British than his predecessor. British foreign policy was overseen by Pelham's younger brother, the Duke of Newcastle, who saw this as an opportunity to break the Bourbon alliance, and improve Britain's position in the War of the Austrian Succession.[14]

Keene's personal correspondence shows he did not enjoy Parliamentary life, and he was happy to be appointed Ambassador to Portugal in 1745. Since Britain and Spain were still at war, his role in Lisbon was to open negotiations with the new Spanish regime, although his talks with the Marqués de Tabuérniga made little progress, largely because Britain refused to consider the return of Gibraltar.[15]

After the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ended the war, Keene resumed his position in Madrid; he quickly developed a good relationship with Ferdinand and his ministers, who shared Newcastle's aim of moving Spain away from France and closer to Britain. In October 1750, Keene helped negotiate the Treaty of Madrid, which resolved commercial issues between the two countries.[16]

He also brokered the 1752 Treaty of Aranjuez between Spain, Austria and Sardinia, in which the three countries agreed to recognise each other's boundaries in Italy.[17] In 1754 he helped remove the pro-French Marquis of Ensenada, who was replaced as Prime Minister by Ricardo Wall, former Spanish ambassador in London. His achievements were recognised with the award of the Order of the Bath by George II, presented to him by Ferdinand at a special ceremony.[3]

Although Newcastle failed to prevent the 1756 Diplomatic Revolution, in which Austria allied with France, Spain initially stayed out of the Seven Years' War. Keene was now in poor health, but his request to be relieved was rejected since he was considered too valuable to British interests. He died in Madrid in 1757, and was replaced by George Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol, who did not have the same influence; Charles III of Spain succeeded Ferdinand in 1759, and in 1762 he entered the war on the side of France.[17]