GEORGE, Duke of Albermarle, was a younger son of Sir Thomas Monk, and was born at Potheridge, in Devonshire, on the 6th December 1608. As his family were in decayed circumstances, he was from an early age destined to be a soldier of fortune. But before he had formed any definite plans for his future life, and before he had attained the age of seventeen, he cudgelled an under-sheriff for an affront offered to his father, and was forced to escape from punishment by volunteering into the army. His first campaign was made in that ill-concerted expedition against Cadiz, which returned inglorious at the end of the year. Nothing daunted by this unfortunate beginning, he soon afterwards sailed in the armament against the Isle of Rhé, and served as an ensign till the end of the war in 1628. The peace which followed rendered it necessary for him to earn his livelihood by entering some foreign service. He therefore embarked for the United Provinces, at that time the great seminary for soldiers, and began to devote himself earnestly to all the duties of his profession. After he had been engaged in several battles and sieges, he returned to England about his thirtieth year with the rank of captain, and with a thorough knowledge of the military art. Charles I. was then on the eve of mustering an army against his Scottish subjects. At the recommendation of the Earl of Leicester, Monk was appointed a lieutenant-colonel, and accompanied the King in those two futile expeditions which resulted in 1640 in the treaty of Ripon. The colonelcy of a regiment in Ireland was then conferred upon him by Lord Leicester, and for a year he fought with distinction against the Irish rebels. By this time the King was in the very heat of his struggle with the Parliament, and was in urgent need of the assistance of the troops in Ireland. Monk was therefore ordered to strike a truce with the rebels, and to return to England. But no sooner had he landed with his forces at Bristol in September 1643, than he was apprehended, and deprived of his command, on the charge of being friendly to the Parliament. This suspicion, founded on no other grounds than his connection with Leicester and his studied indifference to either of the contending parties, was speedily disproved, and the rank of major-general of the Irish brigade was conferred upon him as a compensation for the injury done to his character. He set out for his new regiment, then engaged in investing Nantwich, and arrived in time to be surprised and captured by Sir Thomas Fairfax in 1644. For the next two years he lay in the Tower, and his imprisonment would have been aggravated by severe poverty had not Charles I. secretly supplied him with a hundred pounds. Yet, when his royal benefactor had been left by the issues of war a hopeless captive in the hands of his enemies, Monk did not hesitate to abandon his cause. He was induced in November 1646 to purchase his freedom by taking the Solemn League and Covenant. His valour and military experience were immediately recognised by the Parliament; and in 1647 he was sent to quell the rebellion in the north of Ireland. Any other leader in this command would have become hopelessly embarrassed through the scanty supplies from England; but Monk was economical, and by his attention to agriculture, and his judicious division of the booty, managed to provide for his troops. He continued to harass and weaken the daring rebel O'Neill until 1649, when discontent and dissension among his troops forced him to patch up a truce and return to England. His talents, however, had by this time secured the confidence of Cromwell. Accordingly, in the expedition against the Scots in 1650, he was appointed lieutenant-general of the ordnance, and a regiment was raised expressly for him. He did signal service at the battle of Dunbar, was appointed commander-in-chief in Scotland, and was left by Cromwell to complete the subjugation of the kingdom. This he effected with much energy, and at the same time with much cruelty, for he butchered in cold blood the governor of Dundee and 800 of the garrison. Scotland was then formally united to the English commonwealth, and Monk returned to London in 1652. Shortly afterwards the Dutch war broke out; and in 1653 Generals Monk and Dean were sent out into the Channel in command of a fleet to encounter the redoubtable admiral Van Tromp. A fight began on the 2d of June. Dean was almost immediately shot. Monk, however, maintained the contest for two days, until the opportune arrival of a squadron under Admiral Blake gave an impulse to his attack, which in a short time scattered the Dutch ships in irretrievable flight. On the 31st of July he acted an important part in that other sea-fight which resulted in the death of Van Tromp and the humiliation of Holland. About this time an insurrection of the royalists in Scotland rendered it necessary that some able general should assume the command in that country. This post was allotted to Monk; and he repaired to the north in the early part of 1654. After reforming the discipline of the English army, which had relapsed into a state of great laxness during his absence, he followed the rebels into the Highlands. In a short time he pressed upon them so closely, that the Earl of Middleton, their principal leader, was forced to abandon his troops and to flee for his life into Holland. The rest of the insurgents soon submitted; and Monk, returning to the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, took up his abode at Dalkeith House. He now set himself to consolidate the government of the kingdom. As long as he was under the watchful and penetrating eye of Cromwell, he was prudent enough to show himself a thorough supporter of the policy and principles of the Protectorate. He set a price upon the head of all those nobles who had been up in arms for the King. He forbade the gentry to exercise any jurisdiction over their servants, to wear swords, to ride on horses of value, or to settle their own disputes. He discountenanced the Presbyterians, by depriving them of the power of excommunication and of the liberty of meeting in general assemblies. He also transmitted to London all intelligence regarding the machinations of the royalists, and took care never to intermeddle with English politics. But no sooner had Cromwell died, and left the reins of government in the feeble hands of his son Richard, than Monk changed his policy. He fixed a steady eye upon the commotions which then began to trouble the English public. He relaxed the severity of his government in Scotland, and endeavoured to conciliate both the royalists and republicans. At the same time he hoarded up money, ammunition, and arms. In 1659 the resignation of Richard, the restoration of the Long Parliament, and the consequent rupture between the Parliament and the army, opened up for Monk a way to more decisive measures. Uninfluenced by a private letter which he received at this period from the exiled prince, he resolved to follow that course of action which was likely to be safest, and at the same time most advantageous to himself. He therefore declared for the Parliament, and set out for London at the head of 7000 veterans. It was now apparent to all that the fate of the country was in his power, and the parliamentarians and the republicans, the two great parties into which the people were divided, alike strove to secure his aid. Yet he marched through England, hearing deputies from both, with the same cautious taciturnity, diverting their attention with fruitless negotiations, and all the while silently observing in what direction the tide of public opinion was setting.

On his arrival in London he continued to fluctuate for some time between serving the Parliament and conciliating the citizens; but no sooner was he convinced that the general opinion of the nation and of his army was in favour of a freer and fuller representation of the people, than he owed the Parliament into re-admitting those of their number who had been expelled by former governments. One of the first acts of the restored members was to appoint Monk commander-in-chief of the entire forces both by sea and land. He now saw the direction in which the public mind was tending, and he now had the power to take the lead in that direction. His actions accordingly became more definite. He remodelled the army, placed several royalists in high places of command, and laid all the officers under an engagement to be completely subservient to his will. He dissolved the old Parliament and convoked a new. At length, on the 1st May 1660, he introduced Sir John Greenville to the Parliament with proposals from the King; and two days afterwards he received Charles II. on the beach of Dover. Honours and riches were now lavished upon him. He was created Earl of Torrington and Duke of Albemarle, and received several pensions. In 1664 he presided at the Admiralty; and in 1665 he was entrusted with the government of the city during the great plague. Along with Prince Rupert he commanded the fleet against the Dutch in 1666, and displayed all the courage of his youth. Monk died of dropsy on the 3rd January 1670, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. (See Britain; also Lives of Monk by Skinner, 1723, and by Guizot, 1849.)