GEORGE II. 1727 - 1760
George II. (George Augustus), King of Great Britain, son of George I., was born Oct. 30, 1683. He married in 1705 Wilhelmina Carolina of Brandenburg-Anspach. In 1708, then only electoral prince of Hanover, he distinguished himself at Oudenarde under Marlborough. In 1727 he succeeded his father on the English throne, but inherited to the full the predilection of George I. for Hanover. He was a prince of very moderate abilities, regardless of science or literature; of obstinate temper and vicious habits; but honest and open in his disposition George II. died suddenly Oct. 25, 1760 .
DOMINIONS Great Britain and Ireland. Foreign and Colonial
possessions as settled by the Treaty of Utrecht . In 1739 Georgia was settled in North America, encroaching
upon territory which the Spaniards claimed as part of Florida. In 1745 Cape Breton was taken, but restored in 1748
to the French. In 1746 the French took Madras, but restored it
in 1748. Minorca was lost in 1756, but restored at the peace in exchange for Belleisle. The conquests of the Seven Years War were not confirmed
till the peace in the following reign.
Born 1683. - Married
Caroline of
Anspach. daughter of John Frederick,
Margrave of Anspach, by whom he had three sons and four daughters - Began to reign, 1727. Reigned 34 years. -
Died 1760.
PRINCIPAL EVENTS
His reign is notable for the great events with which it is filled, and for the number of men great in art, letters, war, and diplomacy which then adorned England. The House of Commons declare the publication of their debates in parliament to be a breach of privilege, 1729. Spanish outrages at sea; reprisals authorised, 1739. The war of the Austrian Succession, In which George II, himself took part at Dettingen, 1742. Victory of Dettingen, 1743. War declared against France, 1744. The French defeat the allies at Fontenoy. The Jacobite rebellion, the young Pretender lands in Scotland, and after defeating the English at Preston Pans, crosses the border and marches to Derby, 1745. The Pretender defeated at Culloden, and escapes to France, 1746. A French fleet defeated by Admiral Hawke, 1747. Peace with France, 1748. Adoption of the Gregorian, or new style, in the Calendar, 1752. The British Museum established, 1753. War renewed with France, 1756. Pitt becomes Premier: The conquest of Canada, and the growth of the British empire in India are amongst the chief events of his reign. Clive lays the foundation of our Indian empire, 1757. The allies gain a great victory at Minden . Wolfe invades Canada, and obtains possession of Quebec. and dies, 1759.
WARS
The war with Spain which had been in progress at
the time of the death of George I. was concluded with no further active operations, the siege of Gibraltar by the
Spaniards being scarcely serious. A general peace was concluded at Seville in 1729. Six R. Walpole succeeded in
keeping England at peace during the War of the Polish Succession, 1733 - 1735, when under the guise of supporting
a native candidate for the throne of Poland, France and Spain were carrying out one of the objects of the Secret
Family Compact the aggrandizement of the House of Bourbon in Europe .Walpole knew that a foreign war would mean
a Jacobite movement, and that every year of peace would help to consolidate the dynasty.
In 1739 the second great object of the Family Compact appeared, the curtailment of English commerce and colonial
and maritime power. A maritime war began with Spain, countenanced though not at first actively aided by France.
In 1742 the war merged into the great European war of the Austrian Succession, in which England and France were
arrayed on opposite sides, though war was Not actually declared between them till 1744.
In 1739 Admiral Vernon took Porto Bello, but failed before Carthagena in 1741. Admiral Anson's voyage round the
world, 1740 - 1744, resulted in some injury to Spanish towns and shipping in the Pacific.
In 1743, July 27th, the English and Hanoverian army extricated themselves from a nearly hopeless position at Dettingen,
on the Maine, by hard fighting and the mistake of a French general. It was the last occasion on which an English
king was engaged with his army. The last before this was when William III. took Namur. Omitting civil wars, the
last before that reign was when Henry VIII. took Boulogne. Before that Edward IV. had led an army abroad without
fighting. From Henry V. upwards to William I every English king, except Stephen, had commanded an army in foreign
warfare.
In 1745, April 30th, the Duke of Cumberland was defeated at Fontenoy, near Tournay, by the French under Marshal
Saxe.
1745 Louisbourg and Cape Breton in America taken by the English.
In 1746, on Oct. 12th, the French defeated the English and their allies at Roucoux; in 1747, on June 20th, at Laufeld.
In 1747 Anson defeated the French fleet off Finisterre, and Hawke defeated them off Belleisle. The war was concluded
by the Peace of Aix la Chapelle in 1748.
THE FORTY FIVE
In l745 the Jacobite Insurrection predicted by Walpole took place, Prince Charles Edward landing in the West Highlands on July 25th with seven men, and being joined by some of the clans. On Sept. 21st he defeated Sir John Cope at Preston Pans; on November 18th he entered Carlisle; on Dec. 4th he reached Derby, having out-maneuvered two English armies; on the 6th he left Derby in retreat; on the 21st returned to Scotland; on Jan. 17th, 1746, he defeated General Hawley at Falkirk; on April 16th he was defeated by the Duke of Cumberland at Culloden, or Drumossie Muir; on Sept. 20th he set sail again for France.
CLANS "OUT" IN THE FORTY FIVE
The Camerons; Stewart.s of Appin; Macdonalds of
Clanranald, Glengarry, Keppoch, and Glencoe; the MacGregors; the Maclachlans; Farquharsons; Macphersons; Macintoshes;
Frasers; Ogilvies; some of the Athol men, Gordons, Macleans, Macleods and Mackenzies. Of these the Frasers had
not been "out" in the 'Fifteen; but in that year all the Athol men, Gordons, Mackenzies, Macleans, and
Macleods; the Macdonalds of Sleat, the MacEwens, Chisholms, Breadalbane men, the Earl of Mar's men in Braemar,
and several minor clans, had been in arms on the Jacobite side, besides a considerable number of influential noblemen
and gentlemen in the Lowlands.
It may be certainly said that the Jacobites had never any chance of ultimate success in 1745. Extraordinary skill
and fortune got them safely to Derby, and back again. A continuance of the same conditions might have put them
in temporary possession of London, had they advanced, but more probably they would have been destroyed by the regular
troops in the open country of England. Lord George Murray brought more military skill to their side than they had
ever had since the death of Dundee, but even in Scotland the very general and respectable support which they had
in 1715 was wanting now, and in England the Tory party was not inclined to venture anything for them. The French,
intent on the conquest of the Austrian Netherlands, gave them very slight assistance.
Chronic hostilities continued between the English and French East India companies, and the rival colonists in America,
resulting in the Seven Years War, which, like the previous war, merged in a European contest. The events are carried
on to the end of the war, after the death of George II.
In 1755, July 9th, General Braddock's army was surprised and destroyed by the French and Indians when marching
on Fort Duquesne on the Ohio.
In 1756 war was declared. On May 20th Admiral Byng engaged the French unsuccessfully off Minorca. On June 27th
Minorca surrendered to the French.
In 1757 the Duke of Cumberland was defeated by the French at Hastenbeck in Hanover, July 26th, and forced to capitulate
at Closter Seven, Sept. 10th.
In Sept., 1757, we unsuccessfully attacked Rochefort.
In 1758 Louisbourg was taken in July. Aug. 15, an expedition destroyed Cherbourg, but was defeated at St. Malo,
Sept. 27th. On June 23rd Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick at the head of a combined English and German army defeated
the French at Crefeld in Westphalia.
Dec. 20th. Goree taken by the English.
1759. Ferdinand was defeated at Bergen, April 13th, but won a decisive victory over the French at Minden, Aug.
1st.Sept. 13th. The battle of the Heights of Abraham was followed by the surrender of Quebec, Sept. 18th.
May 1st Guadaloupe was taken.
Aug. 18th. Boscawen defeated the French off Lagos.
Nov. 20th. Hawks defeated the French in Quiberon Bay.
1760, Sept. 8th. Montreal surrendered, and the conquest of Canada was completed.
1761, June 4th. Dominica taken.
June 7th. Belleisle surrendered.
1762, Feb. 16th. Martinique taken.
Aug. 13th. Havana taken.
Oct. 5th. Manila and the Philippines taken.
THE EAST INDIAN WAR
In the course of the 17th century the great empire of the Moghuls in India was rapidly breaking up. Native adventurers like the Mahratta leaders, or foreign rulers like the Nizam of the Deccan, the Nawab of the Carnatic, or the Nawab of Bengal, were scrambling for local power, and the European traders in the country sought their own advantage and intrigued for their own protection in the confusion.
The rivalry of the English and French East India Companies involved them in disputes, apart from the wars between
the two countries. By interference in the politics of the Carnastic and the Deccan, M. Dupleix at the head of the
French administration founded French power in Southern India, and sent M. de Bussy with troops who occupied the
Circars. The genius of Clive however defeated the other French officers, Dupleix was recalled in disgrace, Lally,
who went out in military command in 1757, recalled Bussy from the Circars, but was ultimately defeated himself
in the Carnatic, while the Circars fell to Colonel Forde during Bussy's absence. Olive had meanwhile established
English influence in Bengal by the victories at Chandernagore, Plassey, and Chinsura.
BATTLE IN INDIA
1746, Sept. 25th. Madras taken by the French.
1751, Aug. 31st. Clive captured Arcot. Nov. 14th, Clive's victory at Arcot, followed by numerous defeats of the
French and their allies in the Carnatic by Clive and Lawrence.
1757, May 24th. Clive took the French post of Chandernagore.
June 23rd. Clive's victory at Plassey in Bengal.
1758. Lally took Fort St. David, June 1st Oct 20th to April 7th, 1759, Colonel Forde drove the French out of the
Circars.
1759, Feb. 17th. The French raised the siege of Madras. Clive and Fords defeated the Dutch at Chinsura in Bengal,
Nov. 3rd.
1760, Jan. 22nd. Lally defeated by Colonel Coote at Wandewash
1761, Jan. 16. Pondicherry surrendered to the English, and the French political power in India came to an end.
MINISTERS
In 1727 Sir Robert Walpole was First Lord of the
Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Lord King was Lord Chancellor.
The Duke of Devonshire was Lord President
Viscount Townshend and the Duke of Newcastle Secretaries of State.
In 1730 Lord Trevor, and on Dec. 31st the Earl of Wilmington, were Lords President and Lord (afterwards Earl) Harrington
succeeded Lord Townshend as Secretary of State. The Rt.. Hon. Henry Pelham became Paymaster-General.
In 1733 Lord Talbot was Lord Chancellor.
1737 Lord Hardwicke was Lord Chancellor.
In 1742 the long power of Sir Robert Walpole came to an end. The Earl of Wilmington was First Lord of the Treasury.
Samuel Sandys Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Earl of Harrington Lord President. The Duke of Newcastle and Lord
Carteret (afterwards Earl Granville), Secretaries of State,
In 1743 the Right Hon. Henry Pelham was First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer.
In 1744 the Earl of Harrington succeeded Lord Carteret as Secretary of State.
In 1745 the Duke of Dorset was Lord President
In 1746 Pulteney, Earl of Bath, formed a ministry which lasted only four days, Feb. 10th to 14th, when Pelham and
his colleagues returned to power.
In 1746 the Earl of Chesterfield succeeded Lord Harrington as Secretary of State.
In 1748 the Duke of Bedford succeeded Lord Chesterfield as Secretory of State.
In 1751 the Earl of Holderness succeeded the Duke of Bedford, and continued till the end of the reign.
Earl Granville became Lord President and continued till the end of the reign.
In 1754 Mr. Pelham died. The Duke of Newcastle, his brother, became First lord of the Treasury. Lord Lyttelton
Chancellor of the Exchequer till 1756, when the Rt. Hon. H. B. Legge became Chancellor of the Exchequer, and continued
till the end of the reign. Sir Thomas Robinson succeeded the Duke of Newcastle as Secretary of State.
In 1755 the Rt. Hon. Henry Fox (afterwards Lord Holland) succeeded Sir Thomas Robinson as Secretary of State.
In 1756 the Duke of Devonshire was First Lord of the Treasury, William Pitt and the Earl of Holderness Secretaries
of State
In 1757 William Pitt resigned in April, and became Secretary again in June, and was the practical head of the Administration
during the war.
The Duke of Newcastle was First Lord of the Treasury.
The Duke of Devonshire, Lord Chamberlain. Earl Temple, Privy Seal. Lord Anson, First Lord of the Admiralty. Lord
Henley, Lord Keeper Henry Fox, Paymaster.
ACTS AND DOCUMENTS
1729. The Treaty of Seville. The lingering war between
England and Spain was concluded, and a defensive alliance formed between England, Franc; Spain and Holland, Spain
repudiating the alliance of the Emperor, re-establishing the Asssiento in our favour and being guaranteed certain
rights in Italy. In fact, however, the alliance marks the conclusion of the estrangement between France and Spain,
which had prevailed since 1715, and was the occasion for the first beginning of the Family Compact between the
two branches of the House of Bourbon, for their aggrandizement in Europe and for the diminution of English maritime
and colonial power. The Treaty was followed in 1731 by that of Vienna between England, Spain, and the Emperor,
by which the last agreed to the arrangements of Seville
In 1738 the actual Family Compact, "eternal and irrevocable," was signed. (A French Version, MS., is
in the British Museum, Add. MSS. 27731.) It was immediately followed by the war of the Polish Succession. It was
renewed in 1743, just before England and France were formally engaged in the war of the Austrian Succession, but
was practically in abeyance from 1746 to 1759 during the reign of Ferdinand VI.
In 1730 Walpole passed a bill allowing the direct exportation of rice in British vessels from Carolina and Georgia
to Southern Europe This beginning of a morn literal colonial policy led to the increase of prosperity in the plantations,
and if extended as Walpole desired might have prevented the subsequent troubles in America. 3 Geo. II c. 28.
1746. An Act was passed disarming the Highlands and forbidding the wearing of the national dress. 19 Geo. II. C.39..
Disarmament had been partially carried out in 1725 by General Wade, but while it bad been general among the clans
well affected to Government, Campbells, Gunns, Munroes, etc., it bad been largely evaded by the Jacobite clans.
Even after 1746 many hidden stores of arms were preserved.
In 1740 various independent companies of Highlanders had been embodied in a regiment known familiarly as the Black
Watch, and numbered first as the 43rd and then the 42nd of the Line, now the Royal Highlanders, In 1757 Pitt extended
the practice of encouraging Highland noblemen and gentlemen to raise regiments, whose ranks were rapidly filled
by the attractions of adventure, the national dress and arms.
1747. Heritable Jurisdictions were abolished in the Highlands, so breaking down the authority of the chiefs. 20
Gee. II. C.43.
1748. The Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle ended the war between England and the Bourbon powers. A mutual restoration of
conquests was arranged. The right of search, which had been the pretext for the original quarrel of England and
Spain, was not mentioned.
1751. The Calendar was reformed. The year was to begin on Jan. 1 instead of March 25, and 11 days were nominally
suppressed in Sept. 1752, to bring the year into accord with the usual reckoning of Western Europe. 24 Geo. II.
c. 23.
Some chronological errors have arisen from the use by early chroniclers of various dates ranging from Michaelmas
Day to Lady Day, or even to Easter Day abroad, for the beginning of the year. Jan. 1, 1752, was the first legal
commencement of the year on that day in England. In Scotland a proclamation of James VI. had declared Jan. 1, 1600,
to be the first day of the year, but the New Style had not been accepted in Scotland because it was the work of
a Pope, Gregory XIII, and the same reason made it unpopular in England and Scotland in 1751.
Domestic legislation of importance was very rare in the reigns of George I. and George II. Sir Robert Walpole brought
about the annual suspension of the Test and Corporation Acts, to relieve Nonconformists from penalties for taking
office, and introduced many small financial reforms in the direction of more free trade. His comprehensive Excise
Bill was withdrawn, 1733.
See, for the Excise Scheme, Parl. Hist. viii 1268, and ix. 1-8. The Acts given above are printed in the Statutes.
