George Carteret 1610?-1680

Sir George CARTERET, 1st bart 1610?-1680

Biographical Note

Born in St Helier, Jersey, son of Elie de Carteret, a member of a long-established family there. He began life as a sailor in the Navy, becoming a captain and by 1637 a vice-admiral. Comptroller of the Navy 1641. During the Civil War he was active on the royalist side in holding and defending the Channel Islands, for which he was knighted and made a baronet in 1645. In 1651 he surrendered the Islands to the Commonwealth forces, and joined the English exiles in France. At the Restoration he was made treasurer of the Navy and in 1661 was elected MP for Portsmouth. He was involved in various political controversies during the 1660s and 70s, and was accused of keeping poor accounts, but was regularly supported by Charles II, recognising his past service. He was also heavily involved in African and American trade and by 1667 was wealthy enough to buy an 800 acre estate at Hawnes in Bedfordshire. At the time of his death the King was planning to raise him to the peerage, an honour conferred on his heir and grandson in 1681.

Books

A number of books survive with Carteret's armorial stamp, with imprints between 1595 and 1679, but the extent of his library is not known. His will has no mention of books; the bulk of his estate passed to his immediate family. Examples: BL C.67.f.20, C.67.i.7; CUL Rel.d.67.5; Durham UL Routh XLIII.C.36; Harvard Houghton Typ.605.10 428F.

Characteristic Markings

CUL Rel.67.d.5 has Carteret's inscription on the titlepage; [need to see other books]

Sources

• British Armorial Bindings.
• History of Parliament.
• Firth, C. H., and C. S. Knighton. [ "Carteret, Sir George, first baronet (1610?–1680), naval officer and administrator."] Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.