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The Earl of Bute | |
|---|---|
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| Prime Minister of Great Britain | |
| In office 26 May 1762 – 8 April 1763 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Preceded by | The Duke of Newcastle |
| Succeeded by | George Grenville |
| Leader of the House of Lords | |
| In office 26 May 1762 – 8 April 1763 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | The Duke of Newcastle |
| Succeeded by | Unknown |
| Secretary of State for the Northern Department | |
| In office 25 March 1761 – 27 May 1762 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | The Duke of Newcastle |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Holdernesse |
| Succeeded by | George Grenville |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Stuart (1713-05-25)25 May 1713 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Died | 10 March 1792(1792-03-10) (aged 78) Westminster, England |
| Resting place | St Mary's Chapel,Rothesay,Isle of Bute, Scotland |
| Nationality |
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| Political party | Tory |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 11; includingJohn,James,Charles,William andLouisa |
| Parent |
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| Alma mater | |
| Signature |  |
| Part of aseries on |
| Toryism |
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John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (/bjuːt/; 25 May 1713 – 10 March 1792), styledLord Mount Stuart between 1713 and 1723, was a BritishTory statesman who served as thePrime Minister of Great Britain from 1762 to 1763 underGeorge III. He became the first Tory to hold the position and was arguably the last important royalfavourite in British politics. He was the first prime minister from Scotland following theActs of Union in 1707. He was also elected as the first president of theSociety of Antiquaries of Scotland when it was founded in 1780.
He was born in Parliament Close, near toSt Giles Cathedral on theRoyal Mile inEdinburgh on 25 May 1713, the son ofJames Stuart, 2nd Earl of Bute, and his wife, Lady Anne Campbell.[1] He attendedEton College from 1724 to 1730.[2] He went on to studycivil law at the Universities ofGroningen (1730–1732) andLeiden (1732–1734) in the Netherlands,[3][4] graduating from the latter with a degree in civil law.[5]
A close relative of theClan Campbell (his mother was a daughter of the1st Duke of Argyll), Bute succeeded to theEarldom of Bute (named after theIsle of Bute) upon the death of his father in 1723. He was brought up thereafter by his maternal uncles, the2nd Duke of Argyll and Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll, 1st and only Earl of Ilay. In August 1735, he eloped withMary Wortley Montagu, whose parentsSir Edward andLady Mary Wortley Montagu were slow to consent to the marriage.[6]
In 1737, he was elected aScottish representative peer; despite being in London in December of that year, he did not participate in deliberations in theHouse of Lords.[6] Because of his support for Argyll againstWalpole, he was not re-elected in 1741.[7] For the next several years he retired to his estates in Scotland to manage his affairs and indulge his interest inbotany.
In 1745, Bute moved to Twickenham, Middlesex where his family rented a house for forty-five pounds per annum.[8] He metFrederick, Prince of Wales, in 1747 at theEgham Races and became a close friend.[9]
After the Prince's death in 1751, Bute was appointed tutor toPrince George, the new Prince of Wales (later George III).[10]
Bute arranged for the Prince and his brotherPrince Edward to follow a course of lectures onnatural philosophy by the itinerant lecturerStephen Demainbray. This led to an interest in natural philosophy on the part of the young prince and may have led to George III's collection of natural philosophical instruments.
Bute furthermore became close to Prince Frederick's widow,Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, theDowagerPrincess of Wales, and it was rumoured that the couple were having an affair. Indeed, one of the Prince of Wales's associates,John Horne Tooke, published a scandalous pamphlet alluding to the liaison, but the rumours were almost certainly untrue, since Bute held sincere religious beliefs againstadultery and, by all indications, appeared happily married.
In 1780, Bute was elected as the first President of theSociety of Antiquaries of Scotland.[11]
Because of the influence he had over his pupil, Bute expected to rise quickly to political power following George's accession to the throne in 1760, but his plans were premature. It would first be necessary to remove both the incumbent prime minister (theDuke of Newcastle) and arguably the even more powerful Secretary of State for the Southern Department (William Pitt the Elder).[12] The Government of the day, buoyed by recent successes in theSeven Years' War, was popular, however, and did well at the1761 British general election which, as was customary at the time, took place on the accession of the new monarch.[13]
Supported by the King, Bute manoeuvred himself into power by first allying himself with Newcastle against Pitt over the latter's desire to declare war on Spain. Once thwarted in his designs against Spain by Bute and Newcastle, Pitt resigned his post as Secretary of State for the Southern Department. Next, Bute forced Newcastle's resignation as prime minister when he found himself in a small minority within the government over the level of funding and direction of the Seven Years' War.[14] Re-elected as a Scottish representative peer in 1760, Bute was appointed thede facto prime minister after the resignations of Pitt and Newcastle, thus ending a long period ofWhig dominance.[citation needed]
TheAnglo-Prussian Alliance, which was established in 1756 was dissolved in 1762.Frederick the Great accused Bute of a plot to destroy the Prussian monarchy.[15]
Bute's premiership was notable for the negotiation of theTreaty of Paris (1763) which concluded the Seven Years' War. In so doing, Bute had to soften his previous stance in relation to concessions given to France in that he agreed that the important fisheries inNewfoundland be returned to France without Britain's possession ofGuadeloupe in return.[16]
After peace was concluded, Bute and the King decided that Britain's military expenditure should not exceed its prewar levels, but they thought a large presence was necessary in America to deal with the French and Spanish threat. They therefore charged the colonists for the increased military levels, thus catalysing the resistance to taxes which led to theAmerican Revolution.[17] Bute also introduced acider tax of four shillings per hogshead in 1763 to help finance the Seven Years' War.[10]
The journalistJohn Wilkes published a newspaper,The North Briton, in which both Bute and the Dowager Princess of Wales were savagely satirised. Bute resigned as prime minister shortly afterwards, although he remained in the House of Lords as a Scottish representative peer until 1780.
For the remainder of his life, Bute remained at his estate inHampshire, where he built himself a mansion called High Cliff nearChristchurch.[18] From there he continued his pursuit ofbotany and became a major literary and artistic patron. Among his beneficiaries wereSamuel Johnson,Tobias Smollett,Robert Adam,William Robertson andJohn Hill. He also gave considerably to the Scottish universities.
He financedAlberto Fortis's travels intoDalmatia. His botanical work culminated in the publication ofBotanical Tables Containing the Families of British Plants in 1785. Even after his retirement, Bute was accused by many Americans in the years leading up to theAmerican Revolutionary War as having an undue corrupting influence over the British government.[19]
He died at his home in South Audley Street,Grosvenor Square,Westminster, from complications of a fall suffered while staying atHighcliffe, and was buried atRothesay on theIsle of Bute.[18]
Theflowering plant generaButea andStewartia are named after him.[20]
In 1761, Bute was appointed Ranger ofRichmond Park by King George III, a post he held until his death; Bute Avenue inPetersham near the park is named after him.[21]
According to historian John Naish, the 18th-century expression "Jack Boot" meaning a stupid person originated as disparagement of Stuart's performance as prime minister.[22]
Stuart Island (British Columbia) is named for Stuart.
Bute purchasedLuton Hoo, or Luton Park, from Francis Herne MP in 1763 for the sum of £94,700.[23] Recognising that the existing buildings were unsuitable, Bute commissioned theneoclassical architectRobert Adam to oversee the redesign of the estate house.[24]
Initial designs were unsatisfactory and, coupled with the sale of Bute House, Adams submitted new designs for a larger complex, which Bute further adjusted to include five book rooms and seven water closets.[24] The building also housed an extensive art collection, particularly paintings of the Dutch and Flemish schools. A fire in March 1771 "did considerable damage" according to contemporary reports.[25] The project was completed by 1773 but not according to the full plan, the second phase of which was abandoned.[26]
He died on 10 March 1792, from a fall he had a year and a half prior. He fell 30 feet (9.1 m) down cliffs inHampshire while collecting plants.[27] He died in his mansion on South Audley Street offGrosvenor Square.[1]
In 1736 he marriedMary Wortley Montagu, daughter ofEdward andLady Mary Wortley Montagu, daughter of1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull. They had at least eleven children:
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He left Eton College in 1730, and subsequently travelled to the Netherlands where he too pursued civil law, first attending Groningen University, before moving to Leiden University in 1732. After spending two years in Leiden, Bute left in March 1734 with a degree in civil law.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for the Northern Department 1761–1762 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Great Britain 26 May 1762 – 8 April 1763 | |
| First Lord of the Treasury 1762–1763 | ||
| Court offices | ||
| Preceded by | Keeper of the Privy Purse 1760–1763 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of Scotland | ||
| Preceded by | Earl of Bute 1723–1792 | Succeeded by |
