in 1675. Charles attended
Tonbridge School before matriculating at
Christ Church, Oxford, on 11 April 1674. When about sixteen years of age he joined
Sir John Narborough's fleet in the Mediterranean, and won his first distinction in arms in the destruction of the
dey's fleet under the guns of
Tripoli. His father died on 5 June 1675, and Charles Mordaunt succeeded to the peerage as
Viscount Mordaunt. On his return from the second expedition to
Tangier, he plunged into active political life as a zealous
Whig and an unswerving opponent of the heir to the throne
James, Duke of York. When James succeeded to the throne, Mordaunt's continued hostility forced him to repair to
Holland in 1686, when he proposed to
William of Orange to invade England. The disposition of the cold and cautious William had little in common with the fierce and turbulent Mordaunt. His plan was rejected, though the prudent prince of Orange deemed it judicious to retain his services. When William sailed to
Torbay, his friend accompanied him, and when the Dutch prince was safely established on the throne of England, honours without stint were showered upon Lord Mordaunt.
First Lord of the Treasury He was sworn to the
privy council on 14 February 1689, on 8 April of the same year appointed
First Lord of the Treasury, and a day later advanced in the peerage by creation as
1st Earl of Monmouth (second creation within the same family line). His maternal grandparents were Thomas Carey and his wife Margaret Smith; Thomas was the second son of
Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth and his wife
Elizabeth Trevanion. The Monmouth creation thus returned the earldom to the descendant of an earlier holder. In less than a year, he was out of the treasury, but he still remained by the person of his monarch and was with him in his dangerous passage to Holland in January 1691. He was one of the eighteen peers who signed the protest against the rejection, on 7 December 1692, of the motion for the appointment of a committee to inquire into the conduct of the
war, and although William had refused his consent to a bill for triennial parliaments in the previous session, Lord Monmouth did not shrink from reintroducing it in December 1693. This led to a disagreement with the court, though the final breach did not take place until January 1697, when Monmouth was accused of complicity in
Sir John Fenwick's conspiracy and of the use of undutiful words towards the king. He was committed to the
Tower of London, staying in confinement until 30 March 1697, and deprived of his employments. Some consolation for these troubles came to him on 19 June of the same year, when he succeeded to the Earldom of
Peterborough, by the death of his uncle
Henry Mordaunt, 2nd Earl.
Release from the Tower The four years after his release from the Tower were mainly passed in retirement, but on the accession of
Queen Anne, he plunged into political life again with avidity. His first act was to draw down on himself in February 1702 the censure of the
House of Commons for the part which he took in the attempt to secure the return of his nominee for the
borough of
Malmesbury. Through the fear of the ministry that his restless spirit would drive him into opposition to its measures if he stayed at home, he was appointed early in 1705 to command an expedition to Spain, during the
War of the Spanish Succession.
Sole commander of land forces He led English and Dutch troops in Spain. He was created the sole commander of the land forces in April 1705 and joint commander with Sir
Cloudesley Shovell of the fleet on 1 May, after he had been reinstated a member of the privy council on 29 March. He arrived at
Lisbon on 20 June 1705, sailed for
Barcelona that August on an expedition for the conquest of
Catalonia, and
began to besiege the city. For some weeks, the operations were not prosecuted with vigour and Peterborough urged that the fleet should transport the troops to Italy, but the energetic counsels of the
Archduke Charles of Austria at last prevailed and by 14 October the city fell into his hands. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica 1911: "It is difficult to understand the action of Peterborough during this campaign, unless on the supposition that he was out of sympathy with the movement for placing an Austrian prince on the throne of Spain. When Charles determined upon uniting with
Lord Galway's troops and marching to
Madrid, the advice of Peterborough again hindered his progress. At first, he urged an advance by Valencia as supplies had there been collected, then he withdrew this statement; afterwards, he delayed for some weeks to join Galway, who was in need of succour, but ultimately reached the camp on 6 August.
Return to England On his return to England, he allied himself with the Tories, and received his reward in being contrasted, much to his advantage, with the Whig victor of
Blenheim and
Malplaquet. The differences between the three peers, Peterborough, Galway and Tyrawley, who had served in Spain, formed the subject of angry debates in the
House of Lords, when the majority declared for Peterborough; after some fiery speeches the resolution that he had performed many great and eminent services was carried, and votes of thanks were passed to him without any division in early 1708. His new friends were not desirous of detaining him long on English soil, and they sent him on a mission to
Vienna, where he characteristically engaged the ministry in pledges of which they disapproved. His resentment at this disagreement was softened by the command of a cavalry regiment, and by his appointment as a
Knight of the Garter in 1713. With the accession of
George I, Lord Peterborough's influence was gone. Worn out with suffering, he died in Lisbon on 25 October 1735. His remains were brought to England, and buried at
Turvey in
Bedfordshire on 21 November. == Character and family ==