General

General (United Kingdom)

General is currently the highest peace-time rank in the British Army and Royal Marines. It is subordinate to the Army rank of Field Marshal, has a NATO-code of OF-9, and is a four-star rank....

 David Colyear, 1st Earl of Portmore KT

Order of the Thistle

The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order...

 PC (c. 1656–2 January 1730) was a Scottish general and Governor of Gibraltar

Governor of Gibraltar

The Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The Governor is appointed by the British Monarch on the advice of the British Government...

Military career

Colyear was commissioned into the Army of William of Orange

William III of England

William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...

 in 1674. He served in most of William's Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 campaigns and in 1691 became Governor of Limerick

Limerick

Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...

. For his service in Ireland he was created Lord Portmore in 1699.

He took part in the War of Spanish Succession and participated in the Battle of Cádiz

Battle of Cádiz (1702)

The Battle of Cádiz, fought in August/September 1702, was an Anglo-Dutch attempt to seize the southern Spanish port of Cádiz during the War of the Spanish Succession. The Andalusian city of Cádiz was the great European centre of the Spanish–American trade...

 in 1702 and the Battle of Vigo Bay

Battle of Vigo Bay

The Battle of Vigo Bay, also known as the Battle of Rande , was a naval engagement fought on 23 October 1702 during the opening years of the War of the Spanish Succession. The engagement followed an Anglo-Dutch attempt to capture the Spanish port of Cádiz in September in an effort to secure a naval...

 later that year. He was further created Earl of Portmore

Earl of Portmore

Earl of Portmore was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1703 for the Scottish military commander David Colyear, 1st Lord Portmore. He had already been created Lord Portmore in 1699 and was made Lord Colyear and Viscount of Milsington at the same time as he was granted the...

, Viscount Milsington and Lord Colyear in 1703. He was elevated to the Privy Council and created a Knight of the Thistle in 1712.

Family

He married Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester, former mistress of James II

James II of England

James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...

. They had two sons:

1. David Colyear, Viscount Milsington (b 1698, dvpsps 1728-9)
2. Charles Colyear, 2nd Earl of Portmore
   Charles Colyear, 2nd Earl of Portmore
   Charles Colyear, 2nd Earl of Portmore KT was a Scottish nobleman, known as Beau Colyear for his conspicuous dress....