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GEORGE III 1760 - 1820 |
George III., King of Great Britain, Born in 1738, the eldest son of Frederick, prince of Wales, by the Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha . He Married - Charlotte of Mecklenburg - Strelitz daughter of George grand duke of Mecklinburgh Strelitz, by whom he had nine sons and six daughters. Succeeded his grandfather, George II., in 1760 Began to reign 1760 reigned 60 years
The sixty years of his reign are filed with great events, amongst which are the Wilkes controversy, the American revolution, 1775 - 83; the French revolution, 1789, and the Napoleonic wars which followed; the Irish rebellion, 1798, &c.
George III. was a man of conscientious principles
and of a plain sound understanding, though hardly enlarged enough for the great responsibilities of his position.
His narrow patriotism, his obstinate prejudices, and blind partialities were even more hurtful to British interests
than the indifference of his predecessors had been. His tastes and amusements were plain and practical, literature
and the fine arts receiving but a small share of his attention. His private life was very exemplary. In 1810 the
kings mind, which had already given way several times, finally broke down, and from that time to his death on Jan. 20, 1820, his biography is a blank. DOMINIONS Great Britain and Ireland, Hanover, and dominions
in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America . By the Peace of Paris, Feb. 10th, 1763, the whole of Upper and Lower Canada, Labrador, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward's Island, Hudson's Bay
Territory (guaranteed at Utrecht but disputed since), Florida, and the country lying behind our North American
colonies to the river Mississippi were ceded or guaranteed to England,
France retaining the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, and rights of fishing off Newfoundland and in the St.
Lawrence. In the West Indies we kept Grenada, St. Vincent Tobago, and Dominica.
In 1773 New Zealand and Australia were formally taken into possession by Captain Cook, but the latter was not occupied till 1787, the former only
in the 19th century. In 1778 what is now British Columbia and Vancouver's Island were claimed, and the right of
possession vindicated against Spain in 1789.
In Africa we retained Senegal.
In Europe Minorca was restored to us.
In India we restored the French factories, but they were not to be fortified.
In 1765 the Isle of Man was put directly under the English Crown by purchase from the Duke of Athol
In 1765 the Great Moghul ceded to the East India Company
the administration, revenues, and virtual sovereignty of Bengal, Bahar and Orissa, and the northern Circars, though
the last was not actually occupied till 1768.
1771. Falkland Islands recognized as English.
In 1783, by the Peace of Versailles, the Independence of the United States was acknowledged. Florida and Minorca were restored to Spain, Tobago and Senegal to France.
Negapatam, in India, was ceded to us by the Dutch. All other conquests were restored.
In 1786 Penang was occupied.
In 1787 Sierra Leone.
In 1792 the Malabar Coast and Coorg were ceded to us by Tippoo Sahib.
In 1794-6 Corsica was under the protection of England, and ruled by an English Viceroy.
In 1801-2, by the Peace of Amiens, we retained Ceylon and Trinidad, taken in 1796 and 1797.
Malta, taken in 1800, was to have been relinquished, but was retained by us ultimately.
In India, in 1799, part of the Mysore territory was annexed, and the remainder formed into a protected state under
the native line of rulers, the usurping Mohammedan dynasty being destroyed.
In 1801 the direct administration of the Carnatic was taken over.
In 1803 Cuttack, part of Berar, and the Doab were annexed.
In 1806 the Cape Colony was taken finally. It had been taken before, but restored by the Peace of Amiens
In 1807 Heligoland was taken from the Danes
In 1809 the Ionian Islands, except Corfu, were occupied.
In 1810 Mauritius, the Seychelles, and Ammirante were taken
In 1811 Java was taken, but restored to the Dutch in 1814.
In 1814 the Treaty of Paris confirmed the English conquests as above, and restored to the French their West India
Islands which we had occupied in the course of the war. All the Ionian Islands were put under English protection.
Ascension and Tristan d'Acunha were occupied by us.
1815. The interior of Ceylon was conquered. In India the
Ghoorkas ceded part of the Terai.
In India, in 1818, the territories of the Peishwa were annexed, with other great parts of the Mahratta conquests
in Central and Western India. The Princes of the remaining Mahratta states, Gwalior and Indore, Guzerat Baroda,
the Nizam of Hyderabad, and the Rajput states were made finally dependant upon English power
In 1819 Singapore was occupied.
PRINCIPAL EVENTS.
The American Stamp Act passed, 1765; repealed, 1766. Invention of the spinning - jenny by Hargreaves, and the spinning frame by Arkwright, 1767. The Royal Academy founded, 1768. The Americans resist the taxes on tea, 1773. Commencement of the America war, 1775. England acknowledges the independence of America. 1783. The steam-engine first applied to cotton-spinning. 1785. First settlement in Australia, at Botany Bay, 1788. French Revolution. 1789. The first Volunteer Corps formed in England. 1794. Rebellion in Ireland suppressed. The French defeated at the battle of the Nile, by Lord Nelson, l798. Act of Union with Ireland, 1800. The first Imperial Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland, 1801, Peace of Amiens, 1802. War renewed with France. 1803. Victory of Trafalgar, but Nelson is killed, 1804. The slave-trade abolished, 1808. Sir Arthur Wellesley commences his Peninsula campaign against the French: defeats them at Talavera, 1809 The French again defeated at Busaco, 1810. The Prince of Wales becomes Regent, 1811. Napoleon Buonaparte's disastrous campaign in Russia 1812. Napoleon abdicates. and is sent to the Isle of Elba., 1814; he returns, and is defeated by Wellington at Waterloo he surrenders to the English, and is sent to St. Helena. End of the great French war, 1815. Printing by steam, and steam navigation of rivers, commenced, 1817.The Princess Victoria, daughter of the duke of Kent, born 1819. Death of the duke of Kent, and of the King. 1820
