Charles Brooke Blount, 1st Earl of Devonshire, KG (pronounced Blunt; 1563 – 3 April 1606), was an English nobleman and soldier who served as Lord Deputy of Ireland under Elizabeth I, and later as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland under James I. He was instrumental in forcing the Irish confederacy's surrender in the Nine Years' War. He is also known for his scandalous affair with married noblewoman Penelope Rich, whom he later married.
Blount entered court around 1583 and quickly found favour with the queen. He succeeded to the family title as 8th Baron Mountjoy in 1594. After the Earl of Essex's failed Irish campaign, Blount was appointed as Lord Deputy and commanded the Crown's forces during the final years of the Nine Years' War. He was able to defeat confederacy leader Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and the 4th Spanish Armada at the Siege of Kinsale, and captured Tyrone's headquarters at Dungannon before peace was agreed at the Treaty of Mellifont in 1603.
The old title of Earl of Devon was recreated for him in 1603, after returning to England, but he is usually referred to as Baron Mountjoy (his title during the most prominent period of his career). Since it was much later decided that the "Devon" earldom had not in fact become extinct, but was merely dormant in 1603, he is usually now regarded retrospectively as the 1st Earl of Devonshire. He is not related to the later Cavendish Earls (then Dukes) of Devonshire from the second creation in 1618.
Charles Brooke Blount was born in 1563, the second son of James Blount, 6th Baron Mountjoy, and Catherine Leigh. His paternal grandfather was courtier Charles Blount, 5th Baron Mountjoy. His maternal grandfather was Thomas Leigh of St Oswald's, Yorkshire, a lawyer who played a key role in the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Blount was also a distant cousin of soldier Christopher Blount.
Charles Blount studied at Oxford for a short time, then went on to study at either the Inner Temple or the Middle Temple of the four Inns of Court. When his father died in 1581, the title of Baron Mountjoy passed to Blount's elder brother William.
His father's poor business ventures had greatly diminished the Blount family's estates. From youth, Charles Blount aimed to recover his family's reputation and wealth. When he had his portrait painted as a boy, he insisted on it being inscribed with the motto "ad reædificandam antiquam domum" ("to rebuild an old house").
Charles Blount was introduced to court around 1583, and he quickly found favour with Queen Elizabeth I due to his "youthful good looks". One of her earliest remarks to him was "Fail you not to come to court, and I will bethink myself how to doe you good". This attention aroused the jealousy of royal favourite Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex. Elizabeth is said to have rewarded Blount with "a queen at chesse of gold richly enamelled" for his skill in a tilting match "which his servant had the next day fastened on his arme with a crimson ribband". Essex noticed the token and angrily remarked at court to Sir Fulk Greville, "Now I perceive every fool must have a favour." The speech was reported to Blount, and a duel followed, near Marybone Park, in which Essex was wounded. Subsequently Blount and Essex became close friends.
Charles Blount was returned to the Commons as MP for St Ives, Cornwall, in 1584 and for Bere Alston in 1586 and 1593.
Blount was knighted in 1586. He was created M.A. from Oxford on 16 June 1589.
Charles Blount succeeded as 8th Baron Mountjoy on the death in 1594 of his brother William, who had no issue. He was made a Knight of the Garter.
Between 1586 and 1598, Charles spent most of his time on the Continent, serving in the Netherlands and Brittany. He joined Essex and Walter Raleigh in their expedition to the Azores in 1597, along with his cousin Christopher. He was frequently absent from court to further his military career. In response, the Queen states to him that "you shall go when I send you; in the mean time, see that you lodge in the court where you may follow your books, read, and discourse of warre".
The downfall of Lord Essex did no damage to Lord Mountjoy's career. After the failure of his rebellion, Essex shocked many by denouncing his sister Penelope, who was Mountjoy's mistress, as a traitor, which inevitably raised the question of his own possible involvement; but the Crown, anxious to retain Mountjoy's services, and also to show as much leniency as possible to the defeated rebels, simply ignored the accusation.
On 24 February 1600, Mountjoy landed in Ireland as Lord Deputy following Lord Essex and in the ensuing years brought the Nine Years' War to an end. The leader of the rebellion, Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, wrote about Mountjoy's "refined manners" that he would lose a whole season of campaigning "while waiting until breakfast is prepared to his mind!". Despite this, Mountjoy proved that he was quite qualified to pursue the war.
In early 1600, Mountjoy had dispatched Sir Henry Docwra with an army of 4,200 troops to land at Culmore to erect a fortress commanding the shores of Lough Foyle in the north-west of Ulster. To prevent Hugh O'Neill from sending a strong force to repulse Dowcra's forces, Mountjoy advanced in force from Dublin to Newry causing O'Neill to fear a southern advance into Tyrone.
Mountjoy aimed to avoid the mistakes of previous Lords-Deputy. After the Battle of Moyry Pass, he had it cleared and a garrison established there. It had long been a problem for English forces advancing into Ulster from the south. He also established posts with garrisons at Mountnorris and Armagh.
On 13 July 1601, Mountjoy with his army along with Turlough MacHenry O'Neill of the Fews who had recently switched to the English side in the war, had a stand-off with Hugh O'Neill's forces at the River Blackwater. After a few shots in vain from either side, O'Neill's forces withdrew and Mountjoy sent his forces to occupy the ruined Blackwater fort destroyed by O'Neill in 1595. Later O'Neill's forces attacked Mountjoy's camp before withdrawing. In response, the Lord-Deputy sent his forces across the river where they found strong artificially fortified fords, which would have held out against the English.
By 15 July 1601, the Lord-Deputy had secured the surrender of O'Neill's ally Magennis. That month, Mountjoy had a new fort near the old Blackwater fort erected.
Mountjoy reported to the council in England that O'Neill was determined to prevent his forces from advancing into Tyrone and towards Dungannon. As such he initiated a policy of burning large quantities of corn to induce a famine to drive the rebels out of their strongholds.