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 VENABLES, ROBERT (1612?–1687), soldier, born about 1612, son of Robert Venables of Antrobus, Cheshire, by Ellen, daughter of Richard Simcox of Rudheath, entered the parliamentary army when the civil war broke out, and served under Sir William Brereton in Cheshire and Lancashire (, Cheshire, i. 658; Discourse of the Civil War in Lancashire, pp. 9, 97). In 1645 Venables was governor of Tarvin, and in October of that year was wounded at the siege of Chester, being then a lieutenant-colonel (Report on the Duke of Portland's Manuscripts, i. 288). In January 1648 Venables was governor of Liverpool. In 1649 he commanded a foot regiment in the army under Cromwell destined for the reconquest of Ireland (Norris Papers, p. 19, Chetham Soc. 1846). He preceded Cromwell to Ireland, landing at Dublin on 25 July 1649, in time to take part in the victory of Rathmines (, History of the Irish Rebellion, ed. 1743, p. 277). After the storming of Drogheda Cromwell detached Venables to join Sir Charles Coote in Ulster. On his march Venables defeated Colonel Mark Trevor at Dromore, and captured Newry and Carlingford (, Cromwell, Letters cvi. cxv.;, Ormond, iii. 475). Belfast surrendered to him early in October, and in December he and Sir Charles Coote defeated Lord Ards near Lisnegarvy, and took Carrickfergus (, App. p. 24; Aphorismical Discovery of Treasonable Faction, iii. 159). In 1650 Venables assisted Coote to capture Charlemont, and in 1652 forced Colonel Tirlogh O'Neill and Lieutenant-general Farrell to capitulate (ib. iii. 320, 336;, Memoirs, ed. 1894, i. 318, 522; , App. p. 28; History of the War of Ireland by an Officer of Sir John Clotworthy's Regiment, 1873, pp. 88, 99, 117, 133). On 9 Dec. 1651 Irish lands to the value of 1,223l. were ordered him for his arrears of pay (Aphorismical Discovery, iii. 273). In May 1654 Venables left Ireland, and on 9 Dec. following he was appointed general of the forces sent by the Protector to attack the Spaniards in the West Indies (his commission is printed in, State Papers, iii. 115). The instructions of the Protector and his council gave Venables the full latitude of choice as to the point to attack, suggesting various places, but declining to tie his hands, and ordering him simply ‘to gain an interest in that part of the West Indies in possession of the Spaniards’ (, Life of Sir W. Penn, ii. 28). He was, however, to consult with Penn, the admiral commanding the fleet employed in the expedition, and with two commissioners, Edward Winslow [q. v.] and Gregory Butler, on the method of carrying out his instructions.

The expedition set sail in December 1654, reached Barbados at the end of January, where additional forces were embarked, and arrived at Hispaniola on 13 April. A landing was effected with about eight thousand men some forty miles west of the capital, and the army marched through the woods to attack it. After suffering two disastrous defeats from the Spaniards on 17 April and 25 April, Venables, complaining loudly of the cowardice of his men, decided to give up the attempt, and sailed for Jamaica. That island was reached on 10 May, the chief town occupied with very little fighting, and the governor forced to capitulate on 17 May. The Spaniards retired into the woods and hills, whence they continued their resistance; the expedition was badly equipped with provisions and other necessaries, and sickness decimated the ranks of the army. Penn with part of the fleet sailed home on 25 June, and Venables himself followed in the Marston Moor on 4 July. He had been ill ever since reaching Hispaniola, and by this time was thought to be at the point of death. But, apart from reasons of health, he was anxious to get to England in order to clear himself from responsibility for the failure at Hispaniola, and to represent to the Protector the needs of the colony at Jamaica (, vol. iii. passim; Life of Penn, ii. 28–132;, Original Letters, ii. 46–52; Report on the Manuscripts of the Duke of Portland, ii. 90–8). When he arrived at Portsmouth (9 Sept. 1655) he described himself as ‘in a recovering condition,’ but almost a skeleton, and so weak that he could neither stand nor ride (ib. ii. 97). On 20 Sept. he appeared before the council of state, and was immediately committed to the Tower. Penn shared the same fate. On 30 Oct. Venables was released from his imprisonment, on condition of surrendering his general's commission and his command in Ireland (Cal. State Papers, Dom. 1655, pp. 327, 343, 402). He obtained no further employment during the protectorate. The main cause of the failure at Hispaniola and the reason for the imprisonment of the two generals was the lack of cordial co-operation on the part of both. The errors committed by Venables himself in the man-