| Authorised form of name | Monck; George (1608 - 1670); 1st Duke of Albemarle; army and navy officer |
| Other forms of surname | Monk |
| Dates | 1608 - 1670 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Potheridge, near Torrington, Devon, England, Europe |
| Date of birth | 6 December 1608 |
| Place of death | His office at the Cockpit in Whitehall, London, England, Europe |
| Date of death | 3 January 1670 |
| DatesAndPlaces | Baptism:
Parish church of Landcross, Devon, England, Europe (11 December 1608)
Burial:
Westminster Abbey, London, England, Europe (29 April 1670) |
| Occupation | Soldier; politician; statesman; colonial official |
| Activity | Education:
King's College, Cambridge (admitted 1627)?; Gray's Inn (admitted 1662)
Career:
Killed a man and fled to the Netherlands, where he became a soldier (1627-1638); served in the Royalist Army (1639-1644); imprisoned in the Tower (1644-1646); joined the Parliamentary forces (1646); Commander-in-chief of the Parliamentary Army in Scotland (1651-1652, 1654-1660); General of the Fleet (1652-1653); Commissioner for Assessment for Devon (1652, 1657, 1660); MP for Devon (1653, 1660); played a large part in the peaceful Restoration of Charles II (1660); Privy Councillor (1660-death); Master of the Horse (1660-1668); Master of Trinity House (1660-1661); Commissioner for Trade (1660-death); Gentleman of the Bedchamber (1660-death); Keeper of St James's Park (1660-death); Custos Rotulorum for Devon (1660-death); Lord Lieutenant of Devon (1660-death), Middlesex (1662-death); Keeper, Hampton Court (1660-death); High Steward of Kingston-upon-Hull (1661-death), Exeter (1662-death), Barnstaple (1664-death); Colonel of the Duke of Albemarle's Regiment of Foot (Coldstream Guards) (1661); Commissioner for Loyal and Indigent Officers (1662); Commissioner for Tangier (1662-death); Commissioner for the sale of Dunkirk (1662); Lord Proprietor of Carolina (1663); Assistant, Royal Adventurers into Africa (1664-death); member of the Company of the Royal Fishery of England (1664); Commissioner for Prize Appeals (1665-1667); Deputy Lord High Admiral (1665); First Lord of the Treasury (1667-death); Commissioner for Public Accounts (Ireland) (1668)
Honours:
KG 1660; Baron Monck of Potheridge, Beauchamp and Teyes, Earl of Torrington and Duke of Albemarle 1660 |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 09/01/1665 |
| Age at election | 56 |
| Proposer | William Brouncker |
| Other Royal Society activity | Signed the Charter Book on 11 January 1665 with Charles II and the Duke of York; Asked to contribute towards the building of a Society college (1668) |
| Relationships | Parents: Sir Thomas Monck and Elizabeth Smyth [Smith]
Married: Anna Radford (née Leaver)
Children: George Monck; surviving heir Christopher Monck |
| OtherInfo | Monck's support of the royalist cause was instrumental in the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, which ultimately led to his being given his title and senior positions. He received lands in modern day South and North Carolina, where he's the namesake for Albemarle Sound. Furthermore, Monck is credited with maintaining a strong leadership role after the Great Fire of 1666.
Monck was a shareholder named in the first charter of The Royal Adventurers into Africa, later Royal African Company (RAC) and was employed as an assistant to the Company. The RAC was a British trading company established by Royal Charter in 1660 which enslaved and sold African people. The company was chartered by Charles II, the founding royal Patron of the Royal Society, which was also chartered in 1660. The RAC was made up of and funded by members of the Stuart royal family and London merchants many of whom were, or went on to become, Fellows of the Royal Society. The Royal Society itself held shares in the company from 1682 until 1699.
Monck was also a member of the Company of the Royal Fishery of England, a trading company incorporated in 1676, which sanctioned involuntary labour, though not lifelong slavery, on Company ships. |
| Related images | Discover a selection of related images in our picture library |
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| Source | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; Venn; GEC; Aubrey; Hunter; Henning; ODNB
References:
N J W Thrower, 'Samuel Pepys FRS (1633-1733) and The Royal Society' in NR 2003 vol 57 pp.3-13
Mark Govier, 'The Royal Society, Slavery and the Island of Jamaica: 1660-1700' in NR 1999 vol 53 pp 203-217 for information on connections to trading companies |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/71422092 |
| Code | NA8435 |