Born near Clifton upon Dunsmore (itself near Rugby), he was educated at the University of Oxford, and was first brought into notice by his controversy with Dr Henry Chandler regarding the Irish massacre, in which he defended the late King Charles I. His attachment to the Stuarts also caused him to remain a non-juror, and on the discovery of the plot of Francis Atterbury, whose secretary he was, he was forced to flee to France. There he collected materials for an English edition of the works of Jacques August de Thou and Nicolas Rigault, which were purchased and published by Dr Mead. Being recalled to England through the influence of Queen Caroline, he published, in 1738, A General Account of the Necessary Materials for a History of England.
The first volume of his General History of England, which is of value for its vast and careful collection of facts and little else, was published in 1747. By including in it the statement that the "King's Evil" had been cured by the Pretender, Carte lost the favour of most of his patrons. He, however, continued to publish; and the 2nd volume appeared in 1750, the 3rd in 1752, the 4th in 1755. He published also a Life of James, Duke of Ormond, containing a collection of letters, etc. (3 vols., 1735-1736; new ed., in 6 vols., Oxford, 1851), and a History of the Revolutions of Portugal, with letters of Sir R Southwell during his embassy there (London, 1740). His papers became the property of the university of Oxford, and were deposited in the Bodleian Library.
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