was an English privateer and naval officer whose career resulted from nepotism and his connections to Oliver Cromwell, his maternal uncle.

Because of pressure from the Lord Protector, Whetstone went from volunteer to lieutenant to command of a ship called Golden Cock on his return to England.

[1] A court martial was scheduled, approved by Richard Cromwell, but it failed to meet, and Whetstone went over to the royalist side.

In 1659, he sailed to meet Charles II of England, who knighted Whetstone and sent him to rally the Royal Navy and convince them to change sides.

[1] Eventually, Charles II granted Whetstone 100 pounds sterling and a letter of recommendation to become a planter in Jamaica.