William Alexander, Earl Of Stirling
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William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling PC (c. 156712 February 1640) was a
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...
and poet who was involved in the Scottish colonisation of Charles Fort, later Port-Royal,
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
in 1629 and
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,
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. His literary works include ''Aurora'' (1604), ''The Monarchick Tragedies'' (1604) and ''Doomes-Day'' (1614, 1637).


Biography


Early life

William Alexander was the son of Alexander of Menstrie and Marion, daughter of an Allan Couttie. He was born at
Menstrie Castle Menstrie Castle is a three-storey manor house in the town of Menstrie, Clackmannanshire, near Stirling, central Scotland. From the early 17th century, it was home to Sir William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling, who was instrumental in founding t ...
, near
Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...
. The family was old and claimed to be descended from
Somerled Somerled (died 1164), known in Middle Irish as Somairle, Somhairle, and Somhairlidh, and in Old Norse as Sumarliði , was a mid-12th-century Norse-Gaelic lord who, through marital alliance and military conquest, rose in prominence to create the ...
,
Lord of the Isles Lord of the Isles or King of the Isles ( or ; ) is a title of nobility in the Baronage of Scotland with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It began with Somerled in the 12th century and thereafter the title was ...
, through John of Islay. Because his father died in 1580, and William was entrusted to the care of his great-uncle James in Stirling, he was probably educated at Stirling grammar school. There is a tradition that he was at the
University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...
; and, according to his friend the poet
William Drummond of Hawthornden William Drummond (13 December 15854 December 1649), called "of Hawthornden", was a Scottish poet. Life Drummond was born at Hawthornden Castle, Midlothian, to John Drummond, the first laird of Hawthornden, and Susannah Fowler, sister of the ...
, he was a student at
Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...
. As a young man, William became tutor to the
Earl of Argyll Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...
and accompanied him on his travels in France, Spain and Italy. William married, before 1604, Janet, daughter of Sir William Erskine "The Parson of Campsie", one of the Balgonie family. He was introduced by Argyll to the court of King James VI in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, taking on the role of a courtier-poet.Edinburgh University Press Edinburgh University Press is a scholarly publisher of academic books and journals, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. History Edinburgh University Press was founded in the 1940s and became a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Edinburgh ...
, p. 29, He was one of the senior aristocrats who moved to London with the king in 1603 when he became King of England. He received the place of
Gentleman Usher Gentleman Usher and Lady Usher are titles for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. For a list of office-holders from the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 up to the present day see List of Lady and Gentleman Ushers. Gen ...
to
Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
, son of James I of England (
James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
), in 1603, and continued in favour at court after Prince Charles became Charles I of England in 1625. In 1607, his father-in-law received a pension of £200 a year to be shared with William, and half the pension continued after Erskine's death. William built a reputation as a poet and writer of rhymed tragedies, and assisted King James I and VI in preparing the metrical version known as "The Psalms of King David, translated by King James" and published by authority of Charles I. James knighted him in 1609 and appointed him the Master of Requests for Scotland in 1614, effectively his private secretary. In 1613, he began a correspondence with the poet
William Drummond of Hawthornden William Drummond (13 December 15854 December 1649), called "of Hawthornden", was a Scottish poet. Life Drummond was born at Hawthornden Castle, Midlothian, to John Drummond, the first laird of Hawthornden, and Susannah Fowler, sister of the ...
, which ripened into a lifelong intimacy after their 1614 meeting at Menstrie Castle, where Alexander was on one of his short annual visits. William Alexander was involved in the silver mines at Hilderston by 1614. In 1615, he was made a member of the
Scottish Privy Council The Privy Council of Scotland ( — 1 May 1708) was a body that advised the Scottish monarch. During its existence, the Privy Council of Scotland was essentially considered as the government of the Kingdom of Scotland, and was seen as the most ...
. Alexander was an active
freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
, belonging to Mary's Chapel Lodge, Edinburgh, from July 1634.


Nova Scotia

In 1621, King James I granted Stirling a
royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...
appointing him mayor of a vast territory which was enlarged into a lordship and barony of
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
(meaning ''New Scotland''); the area is now known as Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...
, and parts of the northern
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. The creation of
Baronets of Nova Scotia Baronets are hereditary titles awarded by the Crown. The current baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier, existing baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland and Great Britain. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary ...
was used to settle the
plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...
of the new province, which was later increased (at least on paper) to include much of Canada. Stirling was appointed as
Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...
in 1626 and held that office for the rest of his life. Lord Stirling's efforts at colonisation were less successful, at least in monetary terms, as his recruitment efforts made unrealistic promises about the new territory and were offered on meager terms. He briefly established a Scottish settlement at Charles Fort, later Port-Royal, Nova Scotia, led by his son William Alexander (the younger). However, the effort cost him most of his fortune, and when the region—now Canada's three
Maritime Provinces The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of ...
and the state of
Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
—was returned to
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in 1632, it was lost. He was unable to obtain from the treasury, in spite of royal support, £6,000 as compensation for his losses. He spent his later years with limited means. However, Alexander's settlement provided the basis for Scottish claims to Nova Scotia, and his baronets provided the
Coat of arms of Nova Scotia The coat of arms of Nova Scotia is the heraldic symbol representing the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is the oldest provincial achievement of arms in Canada, and the oldest British coat of arms in use outside Great Britain. It is blaz ...
and Flag of Nova Scotia which are still in use today.


Long Island

In 1630, King Charles rewarded his service by creating him Lord Alexander of
Tullibody Tullibody () is a village set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies north of the River Forth near to the foot of the Ochil Hills within the Forth Valley. The village is southwest of Alva, Clackmannanshire, Alva, northwest of Alloa and ...
and Viscount of Stirling. Three years later, when Charles was crowned in Holyrood in 1633, he became Earl of Stirling and Viscount Canada, and Earl of Dovan in 1639. On 22 April 1636, Charles told the
Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes spelled Plimouth) was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 and the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony. It was settled by the passengers on t ...
, which had laid claim to Long Island but had not settled it, to give the island to Alexander. Through his agent James Farret (who personally received Shelter Island and Robins Island), Alexander in turn sold most of the eastern island to the
New Haven Colony New Haven Colony was an English colony from 1638 to 1664 that included settlements on the north shore of Long Island Sound, with outposts in modern-day New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. The colony joined Connecticut Colony in 16 ...
and
Connecticut Colony The Connecticut Colony, originally known as the Connecticut River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became the state of Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636, as a settlement for a Puritans, Puritan congregation o ...
. Farret arrived in
New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...
in 1637 to present his claim of English sovereignty but was arrested and sent to prison in Holland where he escaped. English colonists attempted to settle at Cow Bay at what today is Port Washington, New York in 1640, but after an alert by Native leader Penhawitz were arrested by the Dutch and released after saying they were mistaken about the title. After 1640, eastern Long Island was quickly settled by the English while the western portion remained under Dutch rule until 1674.


Death and succession

Alexander died in London on 12 February 1640. He was succeeded by his grandson William Alexander, 2nd Earl of Stirling (c. 1632 - May 1640), a child who himself died the same year. The 3rd Earl, Henry Alexander (died 1650), was the second son of William Alexander, the 1st Earl.


Literary works

Alexander was one of the most highly regarded Scottish poets in early seventeenth-century Scotland and England: he was praised by William Drummond of Hawthornden, Arthur Johnstone, Andrew Ramsey, Michael Drayton, Samuel Daniel and John Davies of Hereford. Alexander's earliest work was probably ''Aurora'' (London, 1604), which was described on its title-page as 'the first fancies of the author's youth' and is a late addition to the corpus of Elizabethan Petrarchan sonnets. His
closet drama A closet drama is a play (theatre), play that is not intended to be performed onstage, but read by a solitary reader. The earliest use of the term recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is in 1813. The literary historian Henry Augustin Beers, H ...
s - ''Croesus, Darius, The Alexandrean,'' and ''Julius Caesar'' - were published together as ''The Monarchick Tragedies'' (London, 1604; further editions in 1607, 1616, 1637). According to Daniel Cadman, in these plays Alexander 'interrogates the value of republican forms of government and provides a voice for the frustrations of politically marginalised subjects of absolutist regimes'. Alexander's grandest work is an epic poem describing the end of the world, ''Doomes-day''. It was first published in four books (Edinburgh, 1614), and later in twelve (in the collected edition of Alexander's work printed in London, 1637). The poem, which contains almost 1,400 eight-line stanzas in total, begins with a synopsis of world history in the First 'Hour', then provides long catalogues of the creatures, battle dead, pagans, monarchs, sinners, biblical characters and, finally, members of the heavenly host who will appear at the Final Judgement. Alexander's method was indebted to the French Protestant poet Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas; Drummond acknowledged the kinship in the title of a manuscript poem ''Sur les oeuvres poetiques de Guillaume Alexandre, Sieur De Menstre''. Alexander collaborated with James VI and I on a new paraphrase of the Psalms, composed a continuation to Philip Sidney's ''Arcadia'' that links the end of Book 3 in Sidney's incomplete revised version to the ending in the 1593 text, and also wrote down his thoughts on poetry in ''Anacrisis: Or a Censure of some Poets Ancient and Modern'' (c. 1635). ''Anacrisis'' begins with a reflection on the pleasure of literature: :After a great Travel both of Body and of Mind, which (since not voluntary but imposed upon me) was the more painful, by retiring for a Time where I was born ..being curious, as the most dainty Kind of Pleasure for such as are capable of their Delicacies to recreate myself with the Muses,—I may justly say recreate, since they create new Spirits ..I conversed with some of the Modern as well as with the Ancients, kindling my Fire at those Fires which do still burn out of the Ashes of ancient Authors. This passage testifies to the value that Alexander placed on his literary pursuits (which mostly took place at his Menstrie estate) as an activity that was separate from but complementary to his public life as a politician and coloniser. Indeed, the phrase 'recreate myself with the Muses' re-appeared in the title of the collected edition of his works, ''Recreations with the Muses'' (1637).


Legacy

The
Canadian Coast Guard The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; ) is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues in Canadian waters, such as navigation aids and i ...
has named the CCGS ''Sir William Alexander'' in his honour.


References


Further reading

* ''The Poetical Works of Sir William Alexander, Earl of Stirling'', ed. by L.E. Kastner and H.B. Charlton, 2 vols (Edinburgh: Printed for the Scottish Text Society, 1921‒29) * Atkinson, David W., 'More than One Voice; The Poetic Accomplishment of William Alexander', in ''Older Scots Literature'', ed. by Sally Mapstone (Edinburgh: John Donald, 2005), pp. 584‒94 * * * * McGrail, Thomas, ''Sir William Alexander, First Earl of Stirling: A Biographical Study'' (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1940) * Tranter, Nigel, ''
Poetic Justice Poetic justice, also called poetic irony, is a literary device with which ultimately virtue is rewarded and misdeeds are punished. In modern literature, it is often accompanied by an ironic twist of fate related to the character's own action, h ...
'', London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1996. A well-researched & lively retelling of the life of William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling. * * * * Sandrock, Kirsten (2022), ''Scottish Colonial Literature: Writing the Atlantic, 1603 - 1707'', Edinburgh University Press,


External links


Photographs of Halifax monument
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stirling, William Alexander, 1st Earl of 1560s births 1640 deaths Nobility from Clackmannanshire Earls in the Peerage of Scotland Peers of Scotland created by Charles I Pre-Confederation Nova Scotia people 17th-century Scottish businesspeople Scottish Freemasons Scottish explorers Scottish knights Scottish scholars and academics Alumni of the University of Glasgow Castalian Band Governors of Acadia Members of the Privy Council of Scotland 16th-century Scottish poets 16th-century Scottish male writers 17th-century Scottish dramatists and playwrights 17th-century Scottish poets 17th-century Scottish male writers Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1625 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1630
William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...