Sir Alexander Carew (30 August 160823 December 1644) was an English landowner, soldier and politician from

Antony, Cornwall Antony () is a coastal civil parish and a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated on the Rame Peninsula about three miles west of Torpoint and has a shop, a pub and a garage. There are two possible etymologies of ...

. Elected Member of Parliament for

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

in November 1640, he voted for the execution of the

Earl of Strafford Earl of Strafford is a title that has been created three times in English and British history. The first creation was in the Peerage of England in January 1640 for Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, the 1st Viscount Wentworth, the clo ...

in May 1641, and supported the removal of bishops from the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. When the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males in England and Wales served in the military at some point b ...

began in August 1642, he was one of the relatively few members of the Cornish gentry who backed

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. In March 1643, he was appointed commander of St Nicholas' Island, a key defensive position for

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

. He was arrested in August, after attempting to switch sides and handing over the island to the

Royalists A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gover ...

, and was taken to London. In a demonstration of Parliament's commitment to winning the war, he was executed for treason in December 1644, followed in January by Sir John Hotham, his son

John Hotham the younger Sir John Hotham the younger (1610, Yorkshire – 2 January 1645, London), known as Captain Hotham, was an English member of parliament and military commander who fought for the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War. He was execu ...

, and

Archbishop Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Charles I's religious reforms; he was arrested by Parliament in 164 ...

. His half-brother,

John Carew John Alieu Carew (born 5 September 1979) is a Norwegian actor and former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was capped 91 times and scored 24 goals for the Norway national team. Club career Vålerenga Carew began his career ...

, was executed as a regicide in October 1660.

Personal details

Alexander Carew was born on 30 August 1608, the eldest surviving son of

Sir Richard Carew, 1st Baronet Sir Richard Carew, 1st Baronet (ca. 1580 – 14 March 1643), of Antony in Cornwall, was an English writer and Member of Parliament. Life Carew was the eldest son of the antiquary Richard Carew (1555–1620). He was educated at Oxford, prob ...

(c. 1580–1643), and his first wife, Bridget Chudleigh (ca 1584–1612). In 1621, Sir Richard remarried, this time to Grace Rolle (1606–1655); their four sons included

, who signed the

death warrant An execution warrant (also called a death warrant or a black warrant) is a writ that authorizes the execution of a condemned person. United States In the United States, either a judicial or executive official designated by law issues an ...

for

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, and was executed for treason, in October 1660. Richard Carew was a moderate

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

, who was more interested in education, inventions, and breeding cats; in August 1641, he purchased a

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, a method used by

to raise money. In 1631, Alexander married Jane Rolle (1606–1679); they had five children who lived to adulthood, Bridget, Mary, Joan,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, and Richard.

Career

Although there is no record of which university he attended, in 1628 Carew entered the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

to acquire legal training, then considered part of a gentleman's education. Like his father and

grandfather Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, or Grandma and Grandpa, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a m ...

before him, in November 1640 Carew was elected Member of Parliament for

. He supported the removal of bishops from the

, and voted for the execution of the

in May 1641. He reportedly claimed "If I were sure to be the next man, that should suffer upon the same scaffold, with the same axe, I would give my consent." When the

began in August 1642, Carew was one of the relatively few members of the Cornish gentry who openly supported

, and was appointed to numerous committees as a result. After succeeding his father in March 1643, he was made a member of the Cornish Sequestration Committee, and commander of St Nicholas' Island, a key defensive position for

. Many went to war in 1642 expecting a single, decisive battle; by 1643, it was clear this was incorrect, and Parliamentarians like Carew whose estates lay in occupied territory faced financial ruin. The summer of 1643 was the highpoint of Royalist success, and by August they controlled the entire

West Country The West Country is a loosely defined area within southwest England, usually taken to include the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Bristol, with some considering it to extend to all or parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and ...

with the exception of Plymouth and

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

. Carew's cousin

James Chudleigh Colonel James Chudleigh ( 1618 – 6 December 1643) was an English military officer, who served in the First English Civil War. Initially appointed to command the Parliamentarian garrison at Barnstaple, he showed considerable ability, and was ...

, leader of Parliamentarian forces in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, switched sides after being captured at Stratton in May, and he himself now opened negotiations to do the same. In August, he ordered his men to open fire on a Parliamentarian warship entering harbour; they refused, and he allegedly escaped lynching only after the ship's captain intervened on his behalf. Drakes island high

Accused of treason, Carew was held in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

, and expelled from Parliament. As the war grew more bitter, both sides began using martial law to prosecute senior officers who had defected. In August 1644, Parliament established a military tribunal to try those suspected of treachery; in November, Carew was sentenced to death, along with the former commander of

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

, Sir John Hotham, and his son. These sentences were supported by those like

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

, who felt the war risked being lost due to lack of commitment. His wife petitioned Parliament, who dismissed her claim that he was "in a kind of distracted condition and unfit to die", but gave him a month to arrange his affairs. He was executed on

Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...

in December 1644, followed in January by the Hothams, and

; held since 1641, it was widely believed he was put to death to please the Scots

Covenanters Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son ...

. Carew was buried in the graveyard attached to

St Augustine's Tower, Hackney St Augustine's Tower stands in St John's Church Gardens, in central Hackney, in the London Borough of Hackney, just off the southern end of the Narrow Way (formerly Church Street). It is all that remains of the early 16th-century parish church ...

. His social standing seemed unaffected either by his execution, or that of his half-brother in 1660; John inherited title and estates, and he and Richard both served as MPs. Of their three sisters, Mary married John Sparke (1636-1680), MP for

, Joan married Walter Kendall, MP for

Lostwithiel Lostwithiel (; ) is a civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739, increasing to 2,899 at the 2011 census. The Lostwi ...

. Bridget's husband was John Pendarves of Roscrow; their son

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

was an MP from 1689 to 1725.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Carew, 2nd Baronet, Sir Alexander 1644 deaths 1608 births People from Antony, Cornwall Baronets in the Baronetage of England Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall English MPs 1640–1648 Roundheads

English politicians convicted of crimes Executed Cornish people People executed by Stuart England by decapitation 17th-century executions by England Carew baronets