Rowland Whyte

Rowland Whyte (died after 1626) was an Elizabethan official and businessman, whose letters provide important evidence about the latter stages of the life of Queen Elizabeth I and the transition to the rule of James I. The letters were first published in 1746 as Letters and Memorials of State, edited by Arthur Collins.

Life and career Whyte was the son of Richard Whyte of Beaumaris, Anglesey. He was born in Anglesey and in 1601 wrote a letter asking to be appointed as muster-master (militia recruiter) for the area. Before that he seems to have travelled on the continent and gained a reputation with the Sidney family for honesty and efficiency in business. He worked for the Sidneys in the 1590s, possibly serving in some military capacity at one point.

In 1595 he was sent to London by Sir Robert Sidney, who had been appointed as governor of Flushing (Vlissingen in the Netherlands). His role was to lobby for resources for Flushing, while also relaying to Sir Robert the latest political gossip from court. Each of his letters, therefore, is essentially a news report with updates on events. Whyte also wrote newsletters to the Earl of Shrewsbury.

While he mentions literature and plays, he generally has nothing to say about them except as occasions for gossip and social networking. He often makes barbed comments and is regularly frustrated when he gets unreadable letters back from Sir Robert, whose handwriting was apparently indecipherable. He was also dismayed by his employer's spendthrift ways.