Several other men who were born in our county have distinguished themselves as explorers, or by having helped, by peaceable means, to found our over-seas empire. Such were Davis, the arctic navigator, who was born near Dartmouth about 1550, who left his name in Davis's Straits, and who wrote _The Seaman's Secrets_ and other works; Sir Humphrey Gilbert, born in 1539 at Dartmouth, distinguished as a soldier in the Irish wars of Elizabeth's reign, but still more as having taken possession of Newfoundland, thus establishing the first British colony; Gate, who with Somers colonised Bermuda in 1611; and Wills, who perished in 1861 with Burke in crossing Australia. Devonshire has been the native land of many soldiers. Two of the most distinguished, both of whom strongly influenced their country's destiny, and were made dukes as a reward for their services, were Monck and Marlborough. George Monck, born near Torrington in 1608, distinguished himself both by land and sea. He twice defeated the great Dutch admiral Van Tromp; and although severely beaten by de Ruyter he afterwards gained a great victory over him off the North Foreland. At first a Royalist, he joined the parliamentary army after his capture by Fairfax (followed by two years in the Tower) and Cromwell made him governor of Scotland. On the death of the Protector he marched to London, and was the chief instrument in the Restoration of Charles II, who made him Duke of Albemarle. John Churchill, better known as the Duke of Marlborough, born at Ashe House in 1650, was not only the greatest general of his time, but one of the ablest military commanders the world has ever seen. His most memorable successes were the four great battles of Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet, in which he defeated the long-victorious armies of Louis XIV, then the most powerful monarch on the continent. By this series of victories, followed by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, the peace of Europe was secured for thirty years.