Biography
The Berkeley lineage was thought to descend from Norse corsairs that scourged the British Isles during the Viking Age.
Berkeley was born in 1605 to Sir Maurice and Elizabeth Killigrew Berkeley, both of whom held stock in the Virginia Company of London. Referred to as “Will” by his family and friends, was born in the winter of 1605 into landed gentry. His father died when he was twelve and, though indebted, left Berkeley land in Somerset. His elder brother was John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton.
Young Berkeley showed signs of a quick wit and broad learning. His informal education consisted of observing his elders; from them he learned “the moves that governed the larger English society and his privileged place in it.” Also, as part of the English country gentry, he was aware of agricultural practices, knowledge which would influence his actions as governor of Virginia.
Though his father died in debt, Berkeley secured a proper education. He entered grammar school at about six or seven years old where he became literate in Latin and English. At eighteen, like the other Berkeley men, he entered Oxford. He began his studies at Queen’s College in the footsteps of his forebears, but quickly transferred to St. Edmund Hall, a “throwback to medieval times”. He received, though not necessarily completed, a B.A. in fifteen months of his arrival at the Hall.
All undergraduates at St. Edmund Hall received a personal tutor. While the identity of Berkeley’s tutor is unsure, his effect upon the boy showed through William’s “disciplined intellect and steady appetite for knowledge”.
In 1632, he gained a place in the household of Charles I. That position gave him entré into a court literary circle known as "The Wits". Berkeley wrote several plays, one of which—The Lost Lady: A Tragy Comedy—was performed for Charles I and Henrietta Maria and was published in 1638. It is also included in the first and fourth editions of Dodsley's "Old Plays," and "A Description of Virginia" (1663).
Soldiering in the First and Second Bishops' Wars (1639–1640) gained Berkeley a knighthood.
Read more about this topic: William Berkeley (governor)
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