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{{Short description|English admiral and politician}}

'''Sir William Monson''' (a. [[1569]] - [[February]] [[1643]]), [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] [[admiral]], was the third son of Sir John Monson of South Carlton in Lincolnshire, where the family was of old standing.

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}

{{Infobox military person

|name = Vice-Admiral Sir William Monson

|birth_date = 1569

|death_date = 1643

|birth_place =

|death_place = [[London]]

|placeofburial =

|image =

|caption =

|nickname=

|allegiance = {{flag|Kingdom of England}}

|branch={{navy|Kingdom of England}}

|serviceyears = 1585–1636

|rank = [[Vice admiral (Royal Navy)|Vice-Admiral]]

|commands = [[Admiral of the Narrow Seas]]

|battles = [[Spanish Armada|Armada]]<br>[[Azores Voyage of 1589]]<br>[[Battle of Flores (1592)]]<br>[[Battle of Berlengas Islands|engagement off Berlengas Islands]]<br>[[Capture of Cadiz|Battle of Cadiz (1596)]]<br>[[Battle of Sesimbra Bay|Battle of Sesimbra Bay (1602)]]

|relations = Son of Sir John Monson of [[South Carlton]]

}}

[[Vice admiral (Royal Navy)|Vice-Admiral]] '''Sir William Monson''' (1569 – February 1643) was an English [[admiral]] and politician who sat in the [[House of Commons of England|House of Commons]] in 1601.

He matriculated at [[Balliol College, Oxford]], in 1581, but ran away to sea in 1585, being then according to his own account sixteen. His first services were in a privateer in an action with a Spanish ship in the [[Bay of Biscay]], of which he gives a somewhat Munchausenlike account in his Naval Tracts. In the Armada year he served as lieutenant of the "Charles," a small ship of the queen's. There being at that time no regular naval service, Monson is next found serving with the adventurous [[George Clifford, 3rd earl of Cumberiand]] (1558-1605), whom he followed in his voyages of 1589, 1591 and 1593. During the second of these ventures Monson had the ill-luck to be taken prisoner by the [[Spain|Spaniards]] in a recaptured prize, and was for a time detained at [[Lisbon]] in captivity. His cruises must have brought him some profit, for in 1595 he was able to marry, and he thought it worth while to take his M.A. degree. The earl offended him by showing favour to another follower, and Monson turned elsewhere. In the expedition to [[Cádiz]] in 1596, he commanded the "Repulse" (50). From this time till the conclusion of the war with Spain he was in constant employment. In 1602 he commanded the last squadron fitted out in the reign of [[Elizabeth I of England|Queen Elizabeth]]. In [[1604]] he was appointed admiral of the Narrow Seas, the equivalent of the [[English Channel|Channel]] squadron of modern times, In 1614 he was sent to the coasts of Scotland and Ireland to repress the pirates who then swarmed on the coast. Monson claimed to have extirpated these pests, but it is certain that they were numerous a generation later. After 1614 he saw no further active service till 1635, when he went to sea as vice-admiral of the fleet fitted out by [[Charles I of England|king Charles I]] with the first ship-money. He spent the last years of his life in writing his ''Tracts'', and died in February 1643.

==Life==

His claim to be remembered is not based on his services as a naval officer, though they were undoubtedly honourable, but on his ''Tracts''. These treatises consist in part of historical narratives, and in part of argumentative proposals for the reform of abuses, or the development of the naval resources of the country. They form by far the best account by a contemporary of the naval life and transactions of the reign of Elizabeth I and the beginning of the reign of King James. Monson takes care to do himself full justice, but he is not unfair to his contemporaries. His style is thoroughly modern, and has hardly a trace of the poetry of the Elizabethans. He was the first naval officer in the modern sense of the word, a gentleman by birth and education who was trained to the sea, and not simply a soldier put in to fight, with a sailing-master to handle the ship for him, or a tarpaulin who was a sailor only.

Monson was the third son of Sir John Monson of [[South Carlton]], [[Lincolnshire]]. He matriculated at [[Balliol College, Oxford]], on 2 May 1581 at the age of 14.<ref name=Alumni>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=119372 'Alumni Oxonienses, 1500-1714: Michaelson-Morcombe', Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714 (1891), pp. 1007-1026. Date accessed: 21 May 2012]</ref>

==Career==

Monson's elder brother, Sir Thomas Monson (1564-1641), was one of [[James I of England|James I]]'s favourites, and was made a [[baronet]] in 1611. He held a position of trust at the [[Tower of London]], a circumstance which led to his arrest as one of the participators in the murder of [[Sir Thomas Overbury]]. He was, however, soon released. His eldest son was Sir John Monson, Bart. (1600-1683), a member of parliament under Charles I, and another son was Sir William Monson (c. 1607-1678), who was created an Irish peer as Viscount Monson of Castlemaine in 1628. Having been a member of the court which tried Charles I the viscount was deprived of his honours and was sentenced to imprisonment for life in 1661. Sir John Monson's descendant, another Sir John Monson, Bart. (1693-1748), was created Baron Monson in 1728. His youngest son was George Monson (1730-1776), who served with the English troops in India from 1758 to 1763. The baron's eldest son wasJohn, the 2nd baron (1727-1774), whose son William Monson (1760-1807) served in the Mahratta War under General Lake. William's only son William John (1796-1862) became 6th Baron Monson in succession to his cousin Frederick John, the 5th baron, in October 1841. His son William John, the 7th baron (1829-1898), was created Viscount Oxenbridge in 1886. When he died without sons in 1898 the viscounty became extinct, but the barony descended to his brother Debonnaire John (1830-1900), whose son Augustus Debonnaire John (b. 1868) became 9th Baron Monson in 1900. Another of Viscount Oxenbridge's brothers was Sir Edmund John Monson, Bart. (b. 1834), who, after filling many other diplomatic appointments, was British ambassador in Paris from 1896 to 1904.

He matriculated at [[Balliol College, Oxford]], in 1581, butMonson ran away to sea in 1585, being then according to his own account sixteen. His first services were in a [[privateer]] in an action with a Spanish ship in the [[Bay of Biscay]], of which he gives a somewhat Munchausenlikean account in his Naval Tracts. In the [[Spanish Armada|Armada]] year he served as lieutenantLieutenant of the "Charles," a small ship of the queenQueen's. There being at that time no regular naval service, Monson is next found serving with the adventurous [[George Clifford, 3rd earlEarl of CumberiandCumberland|Earl of Cumberland]] (1558-16051558–1605), whom he followed as a young twenty old as second in hiscommand voyagesof the ''[[Azores Voyage of 1589,]]''. His success there led him to join Cumberland's other ventures in 1591 and 1593. DuringThe voyage in 1592 however was the secondmost ofspectacular theseand venturesled Monsonto hadthe [[Battle of Flores (1592)|capture of the ill-luckrich]] to[[carrack]] be''[[Madre de Deus]]''. After this, in another venture Monson was taken prisoner by the [[Spain|Spaniards]] in a recaptured prize after an [[Battle of Berlengas Islands|engagement off Berlengas Islands]], and was for a time detained at [[Lisbon]] in captivity. He was awarded MA at Oxford on 9 July 1594 and was also a student of [[Gray's Inn]] in 1594.<ref name=Alumni/> His cruises must have brought him some profit, for in 1595 he was able to marry, and he thought it worth while to take his M.A. degree. The earlEarl offended him by showing favour to another follower, and Monson turned elsewhere. In the [[Capture of Cadiz|expedition to [[Cádiz]] in 1596, he commanded the "[[English ship Repulse" (501596)|''Due Repulse'']] and was also knighted there.<ref>[[Thomas Birch]], ''Memorials of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth'', vol. 2 (London, 1754), p. 50.</ref> From this time tilluntil the conclusion of the war with Spain he was in constant employment. In 1602 he commanded the last squadron fitted out in the reign of [[Elizabeth I of England|Queen Elizabeth]]. Inby [[1604]] he was appointed admiralBattle of theSesimbra Narrow Seas, the equivalent of the [[English ChannelBay|Channel]]defeating squadrona of modern times, In 1614 he was sent to the coasts of ScotlandSpanish and Ireland to repress the pirates who then swarmed on the coast. Monson claimed to have extirpated these pests, but it is certain that they were numerous a generation later. After 1614 he saw no further active service till 1635, when he went to sea as vice-admiral of thePortuguese fleet]] fitted out byat [[CharlesSesimbra]] IBay ofnear England|king Charles I[[Lisbon]] withcapturing thea firstrich large ship-moneycarrack. He spentalso thetook lastprisoner yearsthe ofsame hisman lifewho incaptured writingMonson hisat ''Tracts'',Berlengas andnearly diedten inyears February 1643earlier.

Monson was elected [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Malmesbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Malmesbury]] in 1601. In 1604 he was appointed [[Admiral of the Narrow Seas]], the equivalent of the [[English Channel|Channel]] Fleet of modern times. Like several Jacobean courtiers and officials, Mansell received gifts of money from Spanish diplomats between 1604 and 1625.<ref>Óscar Alfredo Ruiz Fernández, ''England and Spain in the Early Modern Era: Royal Love, Diplomacy, Trade and Naval Relations'' (London: Bloomsbury, 2020), p. 110.</ref> In 1613, the diplomat [[John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol|Sir John Digby]] was surprised to discover records of these payments.<ref>Sheila R. Richards, ''Secret Writing in the Public Records'' (London: HMSO, 1974), pp. 75–76.</ref> According to the historian [[Garrett Mattingly]], in exchange for his Spanish pension he willingly provided the Spanish Ambassador with information on the latest strength of the English Navy, or the movements of Dutch and English ships in the Narrow Seas.<ref>Garrett Mattingley, ''Renaissance Diplomacy'' (1955), ch. XXVI.</ref>

The one authority for the life of Sir William Monson is his own ''Tracts'', but a very good account of him is included by Southey in his ''Lives of the Admirals'', vol. v. The Tracts were first printed in the third volume of Churchill's ''Voyages'', but they have been edited for the Navy Record Society by Mr Oppenheim.

In 1614 he was sent to the coasts of [[Scotland]] and [[Ireland]] to repress the [[Pirate|pirates]] who then swarmed on the coast. Monson claimed to have extirpated these pests, but it is certain that they were numerous a generation later. After 1614 he saw no further active service till 1635. In 1635 he went to sea as vice-admiral of the fleet fitted out by [[Charles I of England|King Charles I]] with the first [[ship money]]. He spent the last years of his life in writing his ''Tracts''.

==Reference==

*''This entry incorporates public ___domain text originally from the [[1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica]].''

Monson died in February 1643 and was buried at St Martin in the Fields.<ref name=Alumni/>

==Legacy==

His claim to be remembered is not based on his services as a naval officer, though they were undoubtedly honourable, but on his ''Tracts''. These treatises consist in part of historical narratives, and in part of argumentative proposals for the reform of abuses, or the development of the naval resources of the country. They form by far the best account by a contemporary of the naval life and transactions of the reign of Elizabeth I and the beginning of the reign of King James. Monson takes care to do himself full justice, but he is not unfair to his contemporaries. His style is thoroughly modern, and has hardly a trace of the poetry of the Elizabethans. He was the first [[naval officer]] in the modern sense of the word, a gentleman by birth and education who was trained to the sea, and not simply a soldier put in to fight, with a [[sailing- master]] to handle the ship for him, or a tarpaulin who was a sailor only. The one authority for the life of Sir William Monson is his own ''Tracts'', but a very good account of him is included by Southey in his ''Lives of the Admirals'', vol. v. The Tracts were first printed in the third volume of Churchill's ''Voyages'', but they have been edited for the Navy Record Society by Mr Oppenheim.

==Family==

Monson's elder brother, [[Sir Thomas Monson, 1st Baronet|Sir Thomas Monson]] (1564-16411564–1641), was one of [[James I of England|James I]]'s favourites, and was made a [[baronet]] in 1611. He held a position of trust at the [[Tower of London]], a circumstance which led to his arrest as one of the participators in the murder of [[Thomas Overbury|Sir Thomas Overbury]]. He was, however, soon released. His eldest son was Sir John Monson, Bart. (1600-16831600–1683), a member of parliament under [[Charles I of England|Charles I]], and another son was Sir [[William Monson, 1st Viscount Monson|William Monson]] (c. 1607-16781607–1678), who was created an Irish peer as Viscount Monson of Castlemaine in 1628. Having been a member of the court which tried Charles I the viscount was deprived of his honours and was sentenced to imprisonment for life in 1661. Sir John Monson's descendant, another Sir John Monson, Bart. (1693-17481693–1748), was created Baron Monson in 1728. His youngest son was George Monson (1730-17761730–1776), who served with the English troops in India from 1758 to 1763. The baron's eldest son wasJohnwas John, the 2nd baron (1727-17741727–1774), whose son William Monson (1760-18071760–1807) served in the Mahratta War under General Lake. William's only son William John (1796-18621796–1862) became 6th Baron Monson in succession to his cousin Frederick John, the 5th baron, in October 1841. His son William John, the 7th baron (1829-18981829–1898), was created Viscount Oxenbridge in 1886. When he died without sons in 1898 the viscounty became extinct, but the barony descended to his brother Debonnaire John (1830-19001830–1900), whose son Augustus Debonnaire John (b. 1868) became 9th Baron Monson in 1900. Another of Viscount Oxenbridge's brothers was Sir Edmund John Monson, Bart. (b. 1834), who, after filling many other diplomatic appointments, was British ambassador in Paris from 1896 to 1904.

==References==

{{Reflist}}

* {{EB1911|wstitle=Monson, Sir William|volume=18|page=740}}

==External links==

* [https://books.google.com/books?id=5RjkmCoZ1ggC ''The Naval Tracts of Sir William Monson'', in ''Publications of the Navy Records Society'', v. 43, 1912 (London, 1913)]

{{s-start}}

{{s-par|en}}

{{succession box

| title=[[Member of Parliament]] for [[Malmesbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Malmesbury]]

| before= Sir [[Henry Knyvet]]

| before2= [[Thomas Estcourt (died 1624)|Thomas Estcourt]]

| with= [[Sidney Montagu (MP, died 1644)|Sidney Montagu]]

| years=1601

| after= [[Roger Dallyson|Sir Roger Dallyson]]

| after2= [[Thomas Dallyson|Sir Thomas Dallyson]]

}}

{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Pirates}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monson, William}}

[[Category:1569 births]]

[[Category:1643 deaths]]

[[Category:People from West Lindsey District]]

[[Category:Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford]]

[[Category:Royal Navy vice admirals]]

[[Category:English privateers]]

[[Category:16th-century Royal Navy personnel]]

[[Category:17th-century Royal Navy personnel]]

[[Category:English people of the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)]]

[[Category:English MPs 1601]]

[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]