Carew, George, Baron Carew of Clopton and earl of Totnes

Carew, George, Baron Carew of Clopton and earl of Totnes kəro͞oˈ, tŏtˈnĭs [key], 1555–1629, English soldier and statesman. He began his military career in Ireland in 1574 and served (1588–92) as master of the ordnance there. He took part in the naval expeditions to Cádiz (1596) and the Azores (1597) and in 1598 was an envoy to France. Appointed (1600) lord president of Munster, he aided the lord deputy, Lord Mountjoy, in defeating Hugh O'Neill, earl of Tyrone. Under James I, Carew was unable to save his friend Sir Walter Raleigh from execution, but he himself received honors, including his earldom in 1626. An antiquarian, he collected material on the history of Ireland, used later by his secretary, Sir Thomas Stafford, to prepare the important Pacata Hibernia; or, An Historie of the Late Warres of Ireland (1633).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: British and Irish History: Biographies