George III: Difference between revisions
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== His Social Background == | == His Social Background == | ||
He was the first son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Augusta. King George III was born in 1738 and ruled from 1760 until 1820, the year he died. In 1761 he married Charlotte of | He was the first son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Augusta. King George III was born in 1738 and ruled from 1760 until 1820, the year he died. In 1761 he married Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and had fifteen children, nine sons and six daughters, with her. King George III ascended to the throne after his grandfather, [[George II]], died in 1760. His father, Frederick, Prince of Wales, who died in 1751, never ascended to the throne. | ||
Ruling | Ruling Great Britain was not easy because King George III suffered from porphyria, a disease that causes mental problems, and so his reign was occasionally disrupted, e.g. in 1765. (Britannia, "King George III") | ||
== His Reign == | == His Reign == | ||
His reign was unstable for he frequently changed his ministry. From October 1760 to February 1770 he had six separate ministries. Before he became king, the country had actually been governed under 40 years of stability with a one-party system of Whig [http://www.el.rub.de/wiki/Brit-Cult/index.php/Whigs] patronage and court | His reign was unstable for he frequently changed his ministry. From October 1760 to February 1770 he had six separate ministries. Before he became king, the country had actually been governed under 40 years of stability with a one-party system of Whig [http://www.el.rub.de/wiki/Brit-Cult/index.php/Whigs] patronage and court favouritism. Improving the previous government under King George II, King George III accepted oppositional politics according to the Tories [http://www.el.rub.de/wiki/Brit-Cult/index.php/Tories virtue]. However, this opposition was only a fake. As a matter of fact, King George III was permanantly accused of corruption and of acting secretly and illegitimately. (Cody 215, 216) | ||
He did not accept any | He did not accept any opposition and thus, e.g. prohibited the freedom of the press (Cody 216). Everyone who wrote something against the English government was immediately persecuted. Consequently, journalists had no other choice than use caricatures and further indirect allusions to criticize the king (Cody 199). | ||
== Problems == | == Problems == | ||
First problems arose in his early reign when the [[Seven Years War]] was over and the Peace of Paris was signed in 1763 ceding French territory to England. Thus, England acquired a territory making its Empire grow larger. The question was then how to manage this new territory. King George III tried to introduce | First problems arose in his early reign when the [[Seven Years War]] was over and the Peace of Paris was signed in 1763 ceding French territory to England. Thus, England acquired a territory making its Empire grow larger. The question was then how to manage this new territory. King George III tried to introduce the Stamp Act of 1766 and the Declaratory Act in March 1766. Critics in England and from the American colonies strongly disagreed with this decision reproaching King George III of corruption and betrayal. The defence against the introduction of the tax resulted in the loss of the American colonies (Cody 226). | ||
== End of his Reign == | == End of his Reign == | ||
King George III's reign ended on January 29, 1820, at Windsor Castle when his disease broke out. By this day he had become blind, deaf and mad | King George III's reign ended on January 29, 1820, at Windsor Castle when his mental disease broke out again. By this day he had become blind, deaf and mad, as Shelley put in in his poem "England in 1819" (Britannia, "King George III"). | ||
== Bibliography == | == Bibliography == | ||
Revision as of 08:57, 9 November 2009
His Social Background
He was the first son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Augusta. King George III was born in 1738 and ruled from 1760 until 1820, the year he died. In 1761 he married Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and had fifteen children, nine sons and six daughters, with her. King George III ascended to the throne after his grandfather, George II, died in 1760. His father, Frederick, Prince of Wales, who died in 1751, never ascended to the throne. Ruling Great Britain was not easy because King George III suffered from porphyria, a disease that causes mental problems, and so his reign was occasionally disrupted, e.g. in 1765. (Britannia, "King George III")
His Reign
His reign was unstable for he frequently changed his ministry. From October 1760 to February 1770 he had six separate ministries. Before he became king, the country had actually been governed under 40 years of stability with a one-party system of Whig [1] patronage and court favouritism. Improving the previous government under King George II, King George III accepted oppositional politics according to the Tories virtue. However, this opposition was only a fake. As a matter of fact, King George III was permanantly accused of corruption and of acting secretly and illegitimately. (Cody 215, 216) He did not accept any opposition and thus, e.g. prohibited the freedom of the press (Cody 216). Everyone who wrote something against the English government was immediately persecuted. Consequently, journalists had no other choice than use caricatures and further indirect allusions to criticize the king (Cody 199).
Problems
First problems arose in his early reign when the Seven Years War was over and the Peace of Paris was signed in 1763 ceding French territory to England. Thus, England acquired a territory making its Empire grow larger. The question was then how to manage this new territory. King George III tried to introduce the Stamp Act of 1766 and the Declaratory Act in March 1766. Critics in England and from the American colonies strongly disagreed with this decision reproaching King George III of corruption and betrayal. The defence against the introduction of the tax resulted in the loss of the American colonies (Cody 226).
End of his Reign
King George III's reign ended on January 29, 1820, at Windsor Castle when his mental disease broke out again. By this day he had become blind, deaf and mad, as Shelley put in in his poem "England in 1819" (Britannia, "King George III").
Bibliography
Britannia. "George III (1760-1820 AD)", Britannia: America's Gateway to the British Isles Since 1996, ed. Britannia.com, LLC. 2007 http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon55.html.
Cody Forman, Lisa. Birthing the Nation: Sex, Science, and the Conception of Eighteenth-Century Britons. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. ISBN: 978-0-19-954140-9.