Arthur Mainwaring Arthur Mainwaring Sir Arthur Mainwaring (c. 1580 – 1648) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1624 to 1626. Mainwaring was the eldest son of Sir George Mainwaring of Ightfield, Shropshire and Ann More, daughter of William More. He was awarded BA from Brasenose College, Oxford on 7 July 1598 and MA on 15 June 1601. He began a rise to prominence working for Sir Thomas Egerton, in whose household he was steward from 1602 to 1617. John Payne Collier published records by Mainwaring relating to a performance of "Othello" for Queen Elizabeth at this
Henry Mainwaring of Pirates", on the suppression of piracy, 1618), the manuscript of which is in the British Museum. In his book, he explains what causes a desperate man to turn to piracy. He also advises the King against granting pardons to pirates. The King promptly dispatched Mainwaring to the Venetian Republic as his representative, over the protests of the Spanish ambassador. Mainwaring was knighted at Woking on 20 March 1618. He was commissioned in the Royal Navy. In 1621, he was elected Member of Parliament from Dover. Mainwaring became vice-admiral before leaving the navy in 1639. As a Royalist, he served