Sir Alexander Carew (30 August 1608 – 23 December 1644) was an English landowner, soldier and politician from Antony, Cornwall. Elected Member of Parliament for Cornwall in November 1640, he voted for the execution of the Earl of Strafford in May 1641, and supported the removal of bishops from the Church of England.
When the First English Civil War began in August 1642, he was one of the relatively few members of the Cornish gentry who backed Parliament. In March 1643, he was appointed commander of St Nicholas' Island, a key defensive position for Plymouth. He was arrested in August, after attempting to switch sides and handing over the island to the Royalists, and was taken to London.
In a demonstration of Parliament's commitment to winning the war, he was executed for treason in December 1644, followed in January by Sir John Hotham, his son John Hotham the younger, and Archbishop Laud. His half-brother, John Carew, was executed as a regicide in October 1660.
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Personal details
Alexander Carew was born on 30 August 1608, the eldest surviving son of Sir Richard Carew, 1st Baronet (c. 1580–1643), and his first wife, Bridget Chudleigh (ca 1584–1612). In 1621, Sir Richard remarried, this time to Grace Rolle (1606–1655); their four sons included John Carew, who signed the death warrant for Charles I, and was executed for treason, in October 1660. Richard Carew was a moderate Puritan, who was more interested in education, inventions, and breeding cats; in August 1641, he purchased a baronetcy, a method used by Charles I to raise money.
In 1631, Alexander married Jane Rolle (1606–1679); they had five children who lived to adulthood, Bridget, Mary, Joan, John, and Richard.