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George Grenville | |
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_by_William_Hoare_(1707-1792).jpg) Portrait byWilliam Hoare, 1764 | |
| Prime Minister of Great Britain | |
| In office 16 April 1763 – 10 July 1765 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Bute |
| Succeeded by | The Marquess of Rockingham |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
| In office 16 April 1763 – 16 July 1765 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Sir Francis Dashwood, Bt |
| Succeeded by | William Dowdeswell |
| First Lord of the Admiralty | |
| In office 14 October 1762 – 16 April 1763 | |
| Prime Minister | The Earl of Bute |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Halifax |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Sandwich |
| Northern Secretary | |
| In office 27 May 1762 – 9 October 1762 | |
| Prime Minister | The Earl of Bute |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Bute |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Halifax |
| Member of Parliament forBuckingham | |
| In office 11 June 1741 – 13 November 1770 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Grenville |
| Succeeded by | James Grenville |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1712-10-14)14 October 1712 Wotton Underwood, England |
| Died | 13 November 1770(1770-11-13) (aged 58) Mayfair, England |
| Resting place | All Saints Churchyard,Wotton Underwood |
| Political party | Whig (Grenvillite) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 8; includingGeorge,Charlotte,Thomas andWilliam |
| Parents | |
| Alma mater | |
| Signature |  |
George Grenville (14 October 1712 – 13 November 1770) was a BritishWhig statesman who served asPrime Minister of Great Britain, during the early reign of the youngGeorge III. He served for only two years (1763-1765), and attempted to solve the problem of the massive debt resulting from theSeven Years' War. He instituted a series of measures to increase revenue to the crown, including new taxes and enforcement of collection, and sought to bring the North American colonies under tighter crown control.
Born into an influential political family, Grenville first entered Parliament in 1741 as an MP forBuckingham. He emerged as one of theCobhamites, a group of young members of Parliament associated withLord Cobham. In 1754, Grenville becameTreasurer of the Navy, a position he held twice until 1761. In October 1761 he chose to stay in government and accepted the new role ofLeader of the Commons causing a rift with his brother-in-law and political allyWilliam Pitt who had resigned. Grenville was subsequently madeNorthern Secretary andFirst Lord of the Admiralty by the new prime ministerLord Bute. On 8 April 1763, Lord Bute resigned, and Grenville assumed his position as prime minister.[1]
His government tried to bring public spending under control and pursued an assertive policy over the North American colonies and colonial settlers. His best-known policy is theStamp Act,a long-standing tax in Great Britain which Grenville extended to the colonies in America, but which instigated widespread opposition inBritain's American colonies and was laterrepealed. Grenville had increasingly strained relations with his colleagues and the King. In 1765, he was dismissed byGeorge III and replaced byLord Rockingham. For the last five years of his life, Grenville led a group of his supporters in opposition and staged a public reconciliation with Pitt.
Grenville marriedElizabeth Wyndham, the granddaughter ofCharles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, the great-great-grandson ofLady Katherine Grey, who was herself a great-granddaughter ofHenry VII andElizabeth of York, and sister ofLady Jane Grey.
George Grenville was born atWotton House on 14 October 1712. He was the second son ofSirRichard Grenville andHester Temple (later the 1stCountess Temple). He was one of five brothers, all of whom became MPs. His sisterHester Grenville married the leading political figureWilliam Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham. His elder brother wasRichard Grenville, later the 2nd Earl Temple. It was intended by his parents that George Grenville should become alawyer.[2]
Grenville was educated atEton College and atChrist Church, Oxford, but did not graduate.[3]
He enteredParliament in 1741 as one of the two members forBuckingham, and continued to represent that borough for the next twenty-nine years until his death.[3] He was disappointed to be giving up what appeared to be a promising legal career for the uncertainties ofopposition politics.[4]
In Parliament, he subscribed to the "Boy Patriot" party, which opposed SirRobert Walpole.[3] In particular he enjoyed the patronage of his uncleLord Cobham, the leader of a faction that included George Grenville, his brother Richard,William Pitt andGeorge Lyttelton that became known as theCobhamites.
In December 1744 he became a Lord of theAdmiralty in the administration ofHenry Pelham. He allied himself with his brother Richard and withWilliam Pitt (who became their brother-in-law in 1754) in forcing Pelham to give them promotion by rebelling against his authority and obstructing business. In June 1747, Grenville became aLord of the Treasury.[3]
In 1754 Grenville was madeTreasurer of the Navy andPrivy Councillor. Along with Pitt and several other colleagues he was dismissed in 1755 after speaking and voting against the government on a debate about a recentsubsidy treaty withRussia which they believed was unnecessarily costly, and would drag Britain intoContinental European disputes. Opposition to European entanglements was acornerstone of Patriot Whig thinking.
He and Pitt joined the opposition, haranguing the Newcastle government. Grenville and Pitt both championed the formation of a Britishmilitia to provide additional security rather than the deployment ofHessian mercenaries favoured by the government.[5] As the military situation deteriorated following theloss of Minorca, the government grew increasingly weak until it was forced to resign in Autumn 1756.
Pitt then formed a government led by theDuke of Devonshire. Grenville was returned to his position as Treasurer of the Navy, which was a great disappointment as he had been expecting to receive the more prestigious and lucrative post ofPaymaster of the Forces.[6] This added to what Grenville regarded as a series of earlier slights in which Pitt and others had passed him over for positions in favour of men he considered no more talented than he was. From then on Grenville felt a growing resentment towards Pitt, and grew closer to the youngPrince of Wales and his advisorLord Bute who were both now opposed to Pitt.[7]
In 1758, as Treasurer of the Navy, he introduced and carried a bill which established a fairer system of paying the wages of seamen and supporting their families while they were at sea which was praised for its humanity if not for its effectiveness.[8] He remained in office during the years of British victories, notably theAnnus Mirabilis of 1759 for which the credit went to the government of which he was a member. However his seven-year-old son died after a long illness and Grenville remained by his side at their country house in Wotton and rarely came to London.[9]
In 1761, when Pitt resigned upon the question of the war with Spain, and subsequently functioned asLeader of the House of Commons in the administration ofLord Bute.[3] Grenville's role was seen as an attempt to keep someone closely associated with Pitt involved in the government, in order to prevent Pitt and his supporters actively opposing the government. However, it soon led to conflict between Grenville and Pitt. Grenville was also seen as a suitable candidate because his reputation for honesty meant he commanded loyalty and respect amongstindependent MPs.[10]
In May 1762, Grenville was appointedNorthern Secretary, where he took an increasingly hard line in the negotiations with France and Spain designed to bring theSeven Years' War to a close.[11]
Grenville demanded much greater compensation in exchange for the return of British conquests, while Bute favored a more generous position which eventually formed the basis of theTreaty of Paris. In spite of this, Grenville had now become associated with Bute rather than his former political allies who were even more vocal in their opposition to the peace treaty than he was. In October he was madeFirst Lord of the Admiralty.Henry Fox took over asLeader of the Commons, and forced the peace treaty through parliament.
Bute's position grew increasingly untenable as he was extremely unpopular, which led to him offering his resignation to George III on several occasions. Bute was the target of the radicalJohn Wilkes's criticism and satire. He was ridiculed in Wilkes' newspaperThe North Briton, a stereotypical reference to the prime minister's Scottish heritage.[citation needed]
Bute's intention to resign was genuine, and the hostile press attacks and the continuing unpopularity of his government finally led toKing George III to reluctantly accept his resignation. Though the king was unsure whom should be appoint to the position and Bute highly recommended that the King should appoint Grenville as the new prime minister. Despite the King's disapproval and distrust of his ministers, he considered appointing Grenville to office.
When Grenville was asked about becoming the new prime minister, he agreed only on the condition that Bute would not take an active part in politics and be barred from voicing policies for the government. The King agreed and thus appointed Grenville as new prime minister. George III assured Grenville that "he meant to put his government solely into his hand". Grenville set to work and formed his government on 16 April 1763. He appointed two of his trusted alliesLord Halifax andCharles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont asNorthern Secretary andSouthern Secretary respectively. He also appointed theLord Northington asLord High Chancellor,Lord Granville asLord President of the Council as well.
House of Commons was thrown into doubt by the first case involving theMember of ParliamentJohn Wilkes, a radical reformer and political activist who promoted parliamentary representation and reform, whose critique of the former prime minister led to his resignation.Wilkes was regarded by many as threat to the government and therefore was treated suspiciously. In 1763, it came to be one of Grenville's first acts to prosecute Wilkes for publishing inThe North Briton newspaper an article deriding King George III's speech made on 23 April 1763.[1] Wilkes was prosecuted for "seditiouslibel". That was a massive tactical blunder by thesecretaries of state, for it was perceived as a violation of individual liberty that raised the political discontent.
After fighting aduel with a supporter of the Grenville ministry, Samuel Martin, Wilkes fled to France for asylum. Despite government officials calling on him to be arrested, Wilkes was later returned toEngland and was elected and re-elected by theMiddlesex constituency. He was continually refused admission to parliament by parliament, and proved a problem to several successive governments.
The time of theSeven Years' War was a tumultuous period in the history ofEurope and was fought on a global conflict scale. Even though Great Britain defeatedFrance and its allies and rose to the position as a dominant world power, the victory came at a great cost. In January 1763, Great Britain's national debt was more than £122 million pounds, an enormous sum for the time. Interest on the debt was more than £4.4 million a year. Figuring out how to pay the interest alone absorbed the attention of the King and his ministers.[12]
As Britain was trying to recover from the costs of the Seven Years' War and now in dire need of finances for the British army in the American colonies, Grenville's most immediate task was to restore the nation's finances. He also had to deal with the fall-out fromPontiac's Rebellion, which erupted in North America in 1763. Although, initially, prominent measures of his government included the prosecution ofJohn Wilkes, focus shifted from arresting radicals to paying off the national debt. The passing of the tax measures in America had proved to be a disaster and would lead to the first symptoms of alienation betweenAmerican colonies andGreat Britain.[3]
Many of the acts passed by the British were perceived by the colonists as threatening to their liberties. Although not a part of the Grenville government's programme, the issue was generally attributed to him by the colonists. Another one of the most controversial acts passed by Grenville was theQuartering Act on 15 May 1765. Enacted because of a request byMajor GeneralThomas Gage, commander-in-chief in North America, to give better housing for his troops stationed in the colonies.
One of the more prominent measures of the Grenville's government occurred in March 1765 when Grenville authored theStamp Act 1765, enacted in November of that year. It was an exclusive tax placed on the colonies in America requiring thatdocuments andnewspapers be printed on stamped paper from London bearing an embossed revenue stamp that had to be paid for in British currency. It was met with general outrage and resulted in public acts of disobedience andrioting throughout the colonies in America.[13]
The signing of thetreaty in February 1763 formally marked the conclusion of theSeven Years' War experienced by Britain and as such, foreign policy, along with military policy and diplomacy, no longer became the dominant concern of both domestic politics and government agenda. Focus thus shifted to seemingly more relevant issues such as the survival of the Grenville Ministry. But overall the British relations, after negotiating, with the French and the Spanish, remained hostile and suspicious of its enemies and that wariness concluded the entirety of Grenville's policy.
When seemingly, the French and the Spanish began to support Britain's colonial dissenters in the Americas and beyond and threatening British allies in the continent, promoting disputes and resentment from British politicians who viewed them as a violation of British sovereignty. Britain begun a process of isolation, when Britain had no allies in the continent and the allies it did have were weak or less significant in military or political might.
In disputes with Spain and France, Grenville managed to secure British objectives by deploying what was later described asgunboat diplomacy.[14] During his ministry. Britain's international isolation increased, as Britain failed to secure alliances with other major European powers, a situation that subsequent governments were unable to reverse leading to Britain fighting several countries during theAmerican War of Independence without a major ally.
The King made various attempts to induce Pitt to come to his rescue by forming a ministry, but without success. George at last had recourse toLord Rockingham. When Rockingham agreed to accept office, the king dismissed Grenville in July 1765. He never again held office.[15][3]
The nickname of "gentle shepherd" was given him because he bored the House by asking over and over again, during the debate on theCider Bill of 1763, that somebody should tell him "where" to lay the new tax if it was not to be put on cider. Pitt whistled the air of the popular tune (byBoyce)Gentle Shepherd, tell me where, and the House laughed.[16] Though few surpassed him in knowledge of the forms of the House or in mastery of administrative details, he lacked tact in dealing with people and affairs.[3]
After a period of active opposition to theChatham Ministry led by Pitt between 1766 and 1768, Grenville became an elderstatesman during his last few years – seeking to avoid becoming associated with any faction or party in the House of Commons.[17] He was able to oversee the re-election of his core group of supporters in the1768 General Election. His followers includedRobert Clive andLord George Sackville and he received support from his elder brotherLord Temple.
In late 1768 he reconciled with Pitt and the two joined forces, re-uniting the partnership that had broken up in 1761 when Pitt had resigned from the government.[18] Grenville was successful in mobilising the opposition during theMiddlesex election dispute.
Grenville prosecuted John Wilkes and the printers and authors for treason and sedition for publishing a bitter editorial about King George III's recent speech in "The North Briton" a weekly periodical. After losing the case Grenville lost favor from the public who regarded the act as an attempt to silence or control the press.[15][19]
Although personally opposed to Wilkes, Grenville saw the government's attempt to bar him from the Commons as unconstitutional and opposed it on principle.
Followinga French invasion of Corsica in 1768 Grenville advocated sending British support to theCorsican Republic. Grenville was critical of theGrafton Government's failure to intervene and he considered such weakness would encourage the French. In the House of Commons he observed "For fear of going to war, you will make a war unavoidable".[20]
In 1770 Grenville steered a bill concerning the results of contested elections, a major issue in the eighteenth century, into law – despite strong opposition from the government.[21]
Grenville died on 13 November 1770, aged 58. His personal following divided after his death, with a number joining the government ofLord North. In the long-term, theGrenvillites were revived byWilliam Pitt the Younger who served as prime minister from 1783 and dominated British politics until his death in 1806. Grenville's own son,William Grenville, later served briefly as prime minister.[15] Grenville is buried atWotton Underwood in Buckinghamshire[22]
George Grenville's post mortem was carried up byJohn Hunter who retained specimens in his collection which later became theHunterian Museum. Subsequent analysis of these specimens published by the Royal College of Surgeons of England suggests that George Grenville was affected byMultiple myeloma at the time of his death.[23]
He was one of the relatively few prime ministers (others includeHenry Pelham,William Pitt the Younger,Spencer Perceval,George Canning,Sir Robert Peel,William Ewart Gladstone,Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman,Bonar Law,Ramsay MacDonald,Neville Chamberlain,Sir Winston Churchill,Sir Edward Heath,Sir John Major,Sir Tony Blair,Gordon Brown,Boris Johnson,Liz Truss andRishi Sunak) who never acceded to thepeerage.
The town ofGrenville, Quebec, was named after George Grenville. The town is in turn the namesake for theGrenville orogeny, a long-lived Mesoproterozoic mountain-building event associated with the assembly of the supercontinentRodinia. Its record is a prominent orogenic belt which spans a significant portion of the North American continent, from Labrador to Mexico, and extends to Scotland.
In 1749 Grenville marriedElizabeth Wyndham (1719 – 5 December 1769), daughter ofSirWilliam Wyndham, and the granddaughter ofCharles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset. Somerset did not approve of their marriage and consequently left Elizabeth only a small sum in his will.[15]
The couple had four sons and four daughters.[24] (One account states they had five daughters.)[15]
At the time of his death in 1770, he was theheir presumptive to theEarldom of Temple held by his elder brother Richard (who had succeeded their mother in that title in 1752, but had no sons). When Richard died in 1779, George's second (but eldest surviving) son, also George, therefore succeeded as 3rd Earl Temple, and was later created Marquess of Buckingham. His male line survived until the death of the3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos in 1889.
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Grenville, George".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 580–581.| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Treasurer of the Navy 1756 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Treasurer of the Navy 1756–1762 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the House of Commons 1761–1762 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for the Northern Department 1762 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | First Lord of the Admiralty 1762–1763 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Great Britain 16 April 1763 – 10 July 1765 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chancellor of the Exchequer 1763–1765 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the House of Commons 1763–1765 | Succeeded by |
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Buckingham 1741–1770 With:George Chamberlayne 1741–1747 Richard Grenville 1747–1753 Temple West 1753–1754 James Grenville 1754–1768 Henry Grenville | Succeeded by |
