HAMILTON, JAMES HAMILTON, 1ST DUKE OF (1606 1649), Scottish nobleman, son of James, 2nd marquess of Hamil ton, and of the Lady Anne Cunningham, daughter of the earl of Glencairn, was born on June 19, 1606. As the descendant and representative of James Hamilton, ist earl of Arran, whose mother was a daughter of James II. of Scotland, he was the heir to the throne of Scotland after the descendants of James VI. He married in his fourteenth year May Feilding, aged seven, daughter of Lord Feilding, afterwards ist earl of Denbigh, and was educated at Exeter College, Oxford, where he matriculated on Dec. 14, 1621. He succeeded to his father's titles on the latter's death in 1625. In 16.28 he was made master of the horse, gentleman of the bedchamber and a privy councillor. In 1631 Hamilton took over a force of 6,000 men to assist Gustavus Adolphus in Germany. He guarded the fortresses on the Oder while Gustavus fought Tilly at Breitenfeld, and afterwards occu pied Magdeburg, but his army was destroyed by disease and starvation, and after the complete failure of the expedition Ham ilton returned to England in September 1634. He now became Charles I.'s chief adviser in Scottish affairs. In 1638, after the outbreak of the revolt against the English Prayer Book, he was appointed commissioner for Scotland to appease the discontents. He was easily intimidated by the covenanting leaders and ac complished nothing. Charles offered an assembly and a parlia ment, and eventually revoked the prayer book. On Nov. 21, Hamilton presided over the first meeting of the assembly in Glas gow cathedral, but dissolved it on the 28th on its declaring the bishops responsible to its authority. The assembly, however, continued to sit notwithstanding, and Hamilton returned to Eng land leaving the enemy triumphant and in possession. War was now decided upon, and Hamilton was chosen to command an expedition to the Forth to menace the rear of the Scots. He failed, and in July 1639 resigned his commissionership.
Hamilton supported Strafford's proposal to call the Short Par liament, but otherwise opposed him as the chief adversary of the Scots. In Feb. 1641 he persuaded Charles to admit some of the parliamentary leaders to the council. Hamilton was now con fronted by a new antagonist in Montrose, who detested both his character and policy and repudiated his supremacy in Scotland. On Aug. io, 1641, he accompanied Charles on his last visit to Scotland.
As no reconciliation proved possible between Charles and Argyll, Hamilton sided with Argyll at Edinburgh. In consequence he received a challenge from Lord Ker, of which he gave the king information, and obtained from Ker an apology. Montrose wrote to Charles declaring he could prove Hamilton to be a traitor. Shortly afterwards the plot—known as the "Incident"—to seize Argyll, Hamilton and the latter's brother, the earl of Lanark, was discovered, and on Oct. 12 they fled from Edinburgh.
In July 1642 Hamilton, who, in spite of his intrigues, retained Charles's confidence, went to Scotland on a hopeless mission to prevent the intervention of the Scots in the war, and a breach then took place between him and Argyll. When in February 1643 proposals of mediation between Charles and the parliament came from Scotland, Hamilton instigated the "cross petition" which demanded from Charles the surrender of the annuities of tithes in order to embarrass Loudoun, the chief promoter of the project, to whom they had already been granted. This failing, he promoted a scheme for outvoting Argyll in the Scot tish parliament by sending to Scotland all the Scottish peers then with the king, while Charles was to guarantee the establishment of Presbyterianism in Scotland only. Montrose was eager to strike and anticipate the plans of the Covenanters. Hamilton, however, gained over the queen for his project, and in September was made a duke, while Montrose was condemned to inaction. Hamilton's scheme completely failed. On refusing to take the Covenant, he and Lanark were obliged to leave Scotland. They arrived at Oxford on Dec. 16. Hamilton's conduct had at last incurred Charles's resentment and he was sent, in Jan. 1644, a prisoner to Pendennis Castle, in 1645 being removed to St. Michael's Mount, where he was liberated by Fairfax's troops on April 23, 1646.
Hamilton showed great activity in the futile negotiations be tween the Scots and Charles at Newcastle. In 1648 he obtained a temporary influence and authority in the Scottish parliament over Argyll, and led a large force into England in support of the king on July 8. He showed complete incapacity in military com mand; was kept in check for some time by Lambert; and though outnumbering the enemy by 24,000 to about 9,000 men, allowed his troops to disperse over the country and to be defeated in detail by Cromwell, during the three days Aug. 17-19, at the so-called battle of Preston, being himself taken prisoner on the 25th. He was tried on Feb. 6, 1649, condemned to death on March 6 and executed on the 9th.
For his successors see HAMILTON, MARQUESSES AND DUKES OF. BIBLIOGRAPHY—S. R. Gardiner in the Dict. of Nat. Biog.; History of England and of the Civil War, by the same author; Memoirs of the Dukes of Hamilton, by G. Burnet; Lauderdale Papers (Camden Soci ety, 1884-85) ; The Hamilton Papers, ed. S. R. Gardiner (Camden Society, 188o) and addenda (Camden Miscellany, vol. ix., 1895) ; Thomason Tracts in the British Museum, 550 (6), 1948 (so) (account of his supposed treachery) , and S46 (2 1) (speech on the scaffold) .