Edward Montagu, 8th Earl of Sandwich

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Montagu,_8th_Earl_of_Sandwich

Earl of Sandwich is a 17th-century noble title in the Peerage of England, nominally associated with Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montagu. He was made Baron Montagu, of St Neots in the County of Huntingdon, and Viscount Hinchingbrooke, at the same time, also in the Peerage of England. The viscountcy is used as the courtesy title by the heir apparent to the earldom. A member of the prominent Montagu family, Lord Sandwich was the son of Sir Sidney Montagu, youngest brother of Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester (from whom the Dukes of Manchester descend) and Edward Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu of Boughton (from whom the Dukes of Montagu descended).

He was succeeded by his son, the second Earl. He briefly represented Dover in the House of Commons and served as Ambassador to Portugal and as Lord Lieutenant of Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire.

Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, KG, FRS (27 July 1625 – 28 May 1672) was an English Infantry officer who later became a naval officer and a politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1645 and 1660. He served Oliver Cromwell loyally in the 1650s, but went on to play a considerable part in the Restoration of Charles II, and was rewarded with several Court offices. He served as the English Ambassador to Portugal 1661-1662, and Ambassador to Spain 1666-1668. He became an Admiral, serving in the two Anglo-Dutch Wars in the reign of Charles II, and was killed at the Battle of Solebay. Our best picture of him is contained in the diary of Samuel Pepys, who was his cousin and protégé.

Montagu was the only surviving son of Sir Sidney Montagu, by his wife Paulina Pepys of Cottenham (great-aunt of Samuel Pepys) and was brought up at Hinchingbrooke House.

He served the Cause of Parliament by raising a regiment of infantry in June 1643. In 1645, he was elected Member of Parliament for Huntingdonshire as a recruiter to the Long Parliament.[1] He was nominated MP for Huntingdonshire in 1653 for the Barebones Parliament and was elected MP for Huntingdonshire in 1654 for the First Protectorate Parliament. He continued to serve in the army for the Commonwealth of England and, in 1656 he became a General at Sea; he enjoyed the trust and confidence of Cromwell, who appointed him to his Council of State. Montagu, on his side, never lost his admiration and respect for Cromwell, and was prepared to defend his record even after the Restoration. In 1656 he was re-elected MP for Huntingdonshire in the Second Protectorate Parliament; in 1658 he served in Cromwell's short lived Upper House.

Montagu was the only surviving son of Sir Sidney Montagu, by his wife Paulina Pepys of Cottenham (great-aunt of Samuel Pepys) and was brought up at Hinchingbrooke House.

He served the Cause of Parliament by raising a regiment of infantry in June 1643. In 1645, he was elected Member of Parliament for Huntingdonshire as a recruiter to the Long Parliament.[1] He was nominated MP for Huntingdonshire in 1653 for the Barebones Parliament and was elected MP for Huntingdonshire in 1654 for the First Protectorate Parliament. He continued to serve in the army for the Commonwealth of England and, in 1656 he became a General at Sea; he enjoyed the trust and confidence of Cromwell, who appointed him to his Council of State. Montagu, on his side, never lost his admiration and respect for Cromwell, and was prepared to defend his record even after the Restoration. In 1656 he was re-elected MP for Huntingdonshire in the Second Protectorate Parliament; in 1658 he served in Cromwell's short lived Upper House.

Sir Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, 1625–1672 by Sir Peter Lely, painted 1666, part of the Flagmen of Lowestoft series.

He was a member of the influential group, known to their opponents as "the Kinglings" who strongly, but without success, urged Cromwell to proclaim himself King. Montagu was prepared to support a Cromwell dynasty, and in the confusion which followed Oliver's death remained loyal to his son Richard Cromwell during his brief and disastrous rule as Lord Protector.

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Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, Portrait of Edward Montagu by Peter Lely, ca. 1660-65. Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, KG, FRS (27 July 1625 – 28 May 1672) was an English Infantry officer who later became a naval officer and a politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1645 and 1660. He served Oliver Cromwell loyally in the 1650s, but went on to play a considerable part in the Restoration of Charles II, and was rewarded with several Court offices. He served as the English Ambassador to Portugal 1661-1662, and Ambassador to Spain 1666-1668. He became an Admiral, serving in the two Anglo-Dutch Wars in the reign of Charles II, and was killed at the Battle of Solebay. Our best picture of him is contained in the diary of Samuel Pepys, who was his cousin and protégé.

Early life Edit

Montagu was the only surviving son of Sir Sidney Montagu, by his wife Paulina Pepys of Cottenham (great-aunt of Samuel Pepys) and was brought up at Hinchingbrooke House.

He served the Cause of Parliament by raising a regiment of infantry in June 1643. In 1645, he was elected Member of Parliament for Huntingdonshire as a recruiter to the Long Parliament.[1] He was nominated MP for Huntingdonshire in 1653 for the Barebones Parliament and was elected MP for Huntingdonshire in 1654 for the First Protectorate Parliament. He continued to serve in the army for the Commonwealth of England and, in 1656 he became a General at Sea; he enjoyed the trust and confidence of Cromwell, who appointed him to his Council of State. Montagu, on his side, never lost his admiration and respect for Cromwell, and was prepared to defend his record even after the Restoration. In 1656 he was re-elected MP for Huntingdonshire in the Second Protectorate Parliament; in 1658 he served in Cromwell's short lived Upper House.

Sir Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, 1625–1672 by Sir Peter Lely, painted 1666, part of the Flagmen of Lowestoft series. He was a member of the influential group, known to their opponents as "the Kinglings" who strongly, but without success, urged Cromwell to proclaim himself King. Montagu was prepared to support a Cromwell dynasty, and in the confusion which followed Oliver's death remained loyal to his son Richard Cromwell during his brief and disastrous rule as Lord Protector.

Restoration

The Prize Goods Scandal

Ambassador to Spain

During his absence from battle Edward Montagu served as England's ambassador to Spain. This is further evidence that despite his unpopularity, he retained the King's confidence, although his political fortunes, like those of his friend and patron Clarendon, were in decline. Montagu himself had told Pepys the previous year not to put too much reliance on the friendship of any "great man". After the Great Fire of London Montagu downplayed the damage to the Spanish King, claiming that London's slums were the only thing in ashes. This slant on the events was also practiced by England's ambassadors throughout Europe.

As Ambassador his most notable achievement was the Anglo-Spanish Commercial Treaty of 1667, which laid the foundations for a prosperous trading relationship between the two countries which lasted for over a century. [6] He also acted as mediator in the peace negotiations between Spain and Portugal which resulted in the Treaty of Lisbon. Like all Ambassadors of the era he found the cost of running the embassy ruinous (he had never had a good head for business) and on his return to England in the autumn of 1668 one of his first actions was to borrow money from his cousin Samuel Pepys.

In 1670 he escorted the King's sister Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orleans, from France to England to negotiate the Secret Treaty of Dover between her brother and Louis XIV. Of the existence of the Treaty's secret clauses, notably that by which Charles II pledged to convert to the Roman Catholic faith, Montagu, like the general public, was quite unaware.[8] In the same year he was appointed President of the Privy Council Committee on Foreign Plantations; he had always had a keen interest in international trade, despite his notorious inability to keep his own finances in order.