1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Carte, Thomas

CARTE, THOMAS (1686–1754), English historian, was born at Dusmoon, near Clifton. He was educated at Oxford, and was first brought into notice by his controversy with Dr Henry Chandler regarding the Irish massacre, in which he defended Charles I. His attachment to the Stuarts also caused him to remain a non-juror, and on the discovery of the plot of Atterbury, whose secretary he was, he was forced to flee to France. There he collected materials for an English edition of De Thou and Rigault, which were purchased and published by Dr Mead. Being recalled to England through the influence of Queen Caroline, he published, in 1738, A General Account of the Necessary Materials for a History of England. The first volume of his Central History of England, which is only of value for its vast and careful collection of facts, was published in 1747. By the insertion in it of the statement that the king’s evil had been cured by the Pretender, Carte forfeited the favour of most of his patrons. He, however, continued to publish; and the 2nd volume appeared in 1750, the 3rd in 1752, the 4th in 1755. He published also a Life of James, duke of Ormond, containing a collection of letters, &c. (3 vols., 1735–1736; new ed., in 6 vols., Oxford, 1851), and a History of the Revolutions of Portugal, with letters of Sir R. Southwell during his embassy there (London, 1740). His papers became the property of the university of Oxford, and were deposited in the Bodleian library.