Decarteret, A Family History

Part 4

Surrender

Carteret had to surrender Jersey to the Commonwealth on 12 December 1651 after an invasion by parliamentarian troops. He then went into exile in France. Although he had command of a French naval vessel for some time, he was imprisoned in 1657 and then exiled from France, after which he went to Venice.

Restoration

At the Restoration, having shared Charles II's banishment, Sir George formed one of the immediate train of the restored monarch on his triumphant entry into London. The next day Carteret was sworn into the Privy Council, appointed Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, and Treasurer of the Navy. His career for the next decade is documented in the diary of Samuel Pepys who joined him as Clerk of the Acts to the Navy Board in 1660. In 1667 he exchanged his office as Vice-Chamberlain with Lord Anglesey for that of Vice-Treasurer of Ireland, an office which he sold two years later for £11000.

American colonies

The fidelity with which Carteret, like John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton, had clung to the royal cause, gave him great influence at court. He had, at an early date, taken a warm interest in the colonization of America. In recognition for all the help given to him during his exile in Jersey in the 1640s, Charles II gave Carteret a large grant of land in the American colonies, which he named New Jersey. With Berkeley, he became one of the proprietors of the Province of Carolina, prior to their becoming jointly interested in East Jersey. Carteret County, North Carolina and the town of Carteret, New Jersey are named after him.

In 1665, Carteret was one of the drafters of the Concession and Agreement, a document that provided freedom of religion in the colony of New Jersey. It was issued as a proclamation for the structure of the government for the colony written by the two proprietors, Berkeley and Carteret.

Later life

He was elected in 1661 to represent Portsmouth in Parliament but his lax methods of keeping accounts led to his being censured by parliament, having initially been accused of embezzlement. After an announcement from the king expressing his satisfaction with Carteret and an acquittal by the House of Lords, the inquiry against him lapsed.

In 1673, he was appointed one of the Lords of the Admiralty, and continued in the public service until his death on 14 January 1680.

Shortly before Carteret's death, the king proposed to give him the title Baron Carteret, but Carteret died too soon, so the honour was granted to his grandson George Carteret, 1st Baron Carteret.