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John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton

 

 
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John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton
 
 
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John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton (1602 – August 28, 1678) was an English royalist soldier.

Life
He was the fifth and youngest son of Sir Maurice Berkeley. He commanded the army against the Scots in 1638, and was knighted at Berwick in that year. He bore a conspicuous part in the civil wars that followed, supporting the royal cause; he became Governor of Exeter, and General of the King Charles I
Charles I of England

Charles I was List of English monarchs, List of monarchs of Scotland and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his capital punishment on 30 January 1649....
's forces in Devon.






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John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton (1602 – August 28, 1678) was an English royalist soldier.

Life


He was the fifth and youngest son of Sir Maurice Berkeley. He commanded the army against the Scots in 1638, and was knighted at Berwick in that year. He bore a conspicuous part in the civil wars that followed, supporting the royal cause; he became Governor of Exeter, and General of the King Charles I
Charles I of England

Charles I was List of English monarchs, List of monarchs of Scotland and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his capital punishment on 30 January 1649....
's forces in Devon. He participated in the exile of the royal family, in 1652, and was placed at the head of the Duke of York's establishment, having the management of all the Duke's receipts and expenditures. On May 19, 1658 he was raised to the Peerage
Peerage

The Peerage is a system of titles of nobility in the United Kingdom, part of the British honours system. The term is used both collectively to refer to the entire body of titles, and individually to refer to a specific title....
, as Baron Berkeley of Stratton, in the county of Somerset
Somerset

Somerset is a Counties of England in South West England. The county town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county. The Ceremonial counties of England of Somerset borders the counties of Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west....
. On the restoration he became one of the Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom

Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British monarchy. Its members are largely senior politicians, who were or are members of either the House of Commons of the United Kingdom or House of Lords....
, and towards the close of 1669, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland

The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland , also known as the Judiciar in the early mediaeval period and as the Lord Deputy of Ireland as late as the 17th century, was the King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland ....
, and administered the government for two years. In 1675 he was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary to Versailles, and died 28 August, 1678. Although holding so many distingnished offices some authorities assert that, at one time, he was under a cloud, in consequence of his being detected in selling of offices, and other corrupt practices. Pepys
Samuel Pepys

Samuel Pepys, Fellow of the Royal Society was an English people Navy Board and Member of Parliament, who is now most famous for his diary. Although Pepys had no maritime experience, he rose by patronage, hard work and his talent for administration, to be the Chief Secretary to the Admiralty under James II of England....
 speaks of him as being esteemed "a fortunate, though a passionate, and but weak man as to policy", and "the most hot, fiery man in discourse, without any cause", he ever saw. The intimate relations existing between Berkeley and King Charles
Charles II of England

Charles II was the Monarchy of Kingdom of England, Kingdom of Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland.His father Charles I of England Regicide#The regicide of Charles I of England at Palace of Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War....
 and the Duke of York
James II of England

James II and VII was List of English monarchs, List of Scottish monarchs, and King of Ireland from 6 February 1685. He was the last Roman Catholic Church monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of Kingdom of England, Kingdom of Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland....
, as shown in Pepys' illustrative diary, fully account for the granting to him an interest in New Jersey
New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania....
, as well as in Carolina
Province of Carolina

The Province of Carolina from 1663 to 1712, was a North American Kingdom of Great Britain proprietary colony, controlled by the Lords Proprietor, a group of eight English noblemen led informally by member Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury....
, which he had previously received.

Berkeley was co-proprietor of New Jersey
New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania....
 from 1664 to 1674. He sold his share to a group of Quakers
Religious Society of Friends

The Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers, was founded in England in the 17th century as a Christian denomination by people who were dissatisfied with the existing denominations and sects of Christianity....
 because of the political difficulties created by New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
 Governor Richard Nicolls
Richard Nicolls

Richard Nicolls was the first British colonial governor of New York.He commanded a royalist troop of horse during the English Civil War, and on the defeat of the king went into exile....
, George Carteret
George Carteret

Sir George Carteret, 1st Baronet , son of Elias de Carteret, was a royalist statesman in Jersey and England, who served in the Clarendon Ministry as Treasurer of the Navy....
, and himself. He effectively split New Jersey into two colonies: East Jersey
East Jersey

East Jersey, together with West Jersey, was a distinct, separately governed Province of New Jersey that existed for 28 years, between 1674 and 1702....
 (belonging to other proprietor Sir George Carteret) and West Jersey
West Jersey

Province of New Jersey was governed as two distinct provinces, East Jersey and West Jersey, for the 28 years between 1674 and 1702.Determination of an exact location for a border between West Jersey and East Jersey was often a matter of dispute....
. The colony was divided until 1702 when West Jersey went bankrupt and the colony was given back to the English crown
The Crown

Throughout the Commonwealth realms, the Crown is an abstract metonymy concept which represents the legal authority for the existence of any government....
, who unified the colony again. In 1665, Berkeley was one of the drafters of the Concession and Agreement
Concession and Agreement

Concession and Agreement was a document that provided religious freedom in the colony of New Jersey. It was issued as a proclamation for the structure of the government for the colony written in 1665 by the two proprietors, Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret....
, a document that provided freedom of religion
Freedom of religion

Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in religious education, practice, worship, and observance....
 in the colony of New Jersey
New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania....
. It was issued as a proclamation for the structure of the government for the colony written by the two proprietors, Berkeley and Sir George Carteret.