politics of the empire Flashcards
what is an autocrat?
someone who was born into power such as george iii
what was george iii’s madness?
a rare blood disorder - porphyia
what did george’s political prejudices cause?
ministerial instability
what did george hope to do?
inaugurate a new era in politics by breaking the dominance of the whigs and ending the exclusion of the tories
what did george want to protect the constitution from?
whigs and the corruption which he imagined they employed to reinforce their power
what did george see his role as ?
complete legal authority over all british citizens
what was george iii?
the third hanoverian king
who were the whigs and what did they want?
modern day liberals
want reform and change
favour parliament
who were the tories and what did they want?
conservative
reluctant to change
favour the monarchy
when did the whigs dominate politics?
1722 - 1762
george favoured the tories
william pitt ‘the elder’ (whig 1766-1768)
dominated british politics in the middle of the 18th century
only prime minister for 2 years
popular politician with great influence
encouraged war and wanted to expand the empire
john stuart ,earl of bute, (tory 1762 - 1763)
favourite of george iii
king’s tutor in 1751
rose quickly to high political office after george’s accession
faced the difficult task of negotiating peace at the end of the seven years war
lord newcastle (whig 1757 - 1762)
management of finances and marshalling mps underpinned pitt’s strategic vision as the secretary of state
lead to british success in the seven years war
tension with the ministry and george iii’s premotion of earl of bute
encouraged war and wanted to expand the empire
the war of austrian succession
britain was too absorbed in europe to send much help to the colonists
peace treaty upset the americans because it overlooked their claim to the town of louisbourg - given back to france
example of tension
why did the peace treaty of aix la chapelle annoy the colonists so much?
wanted to make it purtian - suspicious of catholics
