HOUSE OF HANOVER

HOUSE OF HANOVER

Succeeded the last Stuart monarch Anne I in 1714. They are descended from Elizabeth, daughter of the Stuart king James I, and her husband, Frederick V, elector Palatine. Their daughter Sophia (1630-1714), married Ernest Augustus, who in 1692 became the first elector of Hanover. Sophia's title to the English throne was recognized, for lack of better qualified Protestant heirs, by the Act of Settlement of 1701 . She predeceased Queen Anne, but her son George I duly succeeded to the throne in 1714. The family name was changed to Windsor in 1917.

HOUSE OF HANOVER

George I (1714-1727) A. Roots (1660-1727) Loyal to his German obligations as elector of Hanover. He used the British fleet to secure additional territory for Hanover in the Great Northern War. He supported the Whig Party against the Tories. Took advice from his Hanoverian counselors rather than his British ones.Spoke German

HOUSE OF HANOVER PROBLEMS:1. JACOBITES: Adherents of the

exiled Stuart King James II and his Roman Catholic heirs. The major support for their cause was in Scotland and Ireland. William III had defeated the Scottish Jacobites in 1689 and the Irish Jacobites in 1690. When James II died in 1701 his son James Edward (known as the OId Pretender), was recognized as king of England and Scotland by Spain and France. He first attempted an invasion of Scotland in 1 708, but it was a total fiasco. The Jacobite rising in 1715 was defeated on November 13, and by the time James Edward landed in Scotland on Dec. 22, 1 715, the cause was lost. He departed on February 4, 1716,

HOUSE OF HANOVER

2. South Sea Bubble: Name given to a speculative boom in England that collapsed in 1720. The financial disaster was caused by the South Sea Company, founded in 1711 . Stock in the company sold well and by 1718 investors were receiving 100% interest.In 1720 the company proposed-and Parliament accepted- that it take over much of the national debt. This move created a wave of speculation in the company's stocks which rose from 128.5pounds in January to 1,000 pounds in August. In September the bubble burst. Stocks plummeted banks failed and investors were ruined. Robert Walpole however, was able to restore the company's credit and save the Whig government.

HOUSE OF HANOVER

C. SIR ROBERT WALPOLE (1676-1 745): Longest-serving (1721-42) of all British prime ministers. He was the brother-in-law of Charles Townshend. As minister, he worked to further Whig aims while courting Tory cooperation through his support of the Church of England, peace abroad and retrenchment at home. He resigned in 1 742 over his reluctance to pursue a commercial war with Spain (the War of Jenkins's Ear)

HOUSE OF HANOVER

D. THE END: George I quarreled both with his wife, Sophia Dorothea (1666-1726), whom he divorced and incarcerated (from 1694 until her death) in punishment for her alleged infidelity: and with his son Prince George, who consorted with his political opponents. The prince succeeded to the throne as George II when George I died on June 12, 1 727.

HOUSE OF HANOVER

George II (1727-1760) A. Riots (1683-1760) He was born in Hanover and remained largely Hanoverian in his interests, although, unlike his father he learned fluent English. He visited the electorate regularly during most of his reign and sometimes utilized his position as king of England to the advantage of his German territory.

HOUSE OF HANOVER

B. Image: He has been represented as a king manipulated by his own ministers-notably Sir Robert Walpole and by his highly intelligent wife, Queen Caroline (1688-1737), he was by no means a weak monarch.

HOUSE OF HANOVER

C. Accomplishments1 . WAR OF the AUSTRIAN SUCCESSION: He was the last British monarch to appear in person on the battlefield at Dettingen (1743).2. JACOBITES: His reign witnessed their final collapse after their uprising of 1745 in which the OId Pretender's son, Charles Edward (Bonnie Prince Charlie or the Young Pretender) sailed to Scotland and raised certain Highland clans. He was routed at Culloden Moor on Apr. 16, 1746. Charles Edward fled from Scotland, and with him went the last of the Jacobite hopes.

HOUSE OF HANOVER

3. Seven Years' War: (1756-63) Brilliant successes under the leadership of William Pitt the Elder. George had long detested Pitt, but he eventually came to recognize his merits.D. THE END: George ll's son. Frederick, predeceased him, so when George II died on Oct, 25,1760 he was succeeded by Frederick's son,

HOUSE OF HANOVER

George III (1760-1820): Longest reigning of male British monarchs, he was the best loved of the Hanoverian rulers, enjoying a personal reputation that stood his house in good stead during the disastrous reign of his son George.

HOUSE OF HANOVER

A. ROOTS: (1738-1820) George had high but impractical ideas of kingship. On his accession he sought to rule without regard to party, to banish corruption from political practice and to abandon the Hanoverian preoccupations of his predecessors. To the court he brought a sense of public duty and private morality that proved popular. He showed considerable interest in agricultural improvement and was an avid collector of paintings and books. He made a poor choice of ministers and for 10 years there was instability and public controversy, which ended only in 1770 with the appointment of Frederick Lord North.

HOUSE OF HANOVER

B. SEVEN YEARS' WAR: successful conclusion to the war begun under his grandfather. Ended French colonial dreams in North America.

C. WAR FOR AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE: Pursued British mercantilism policies and viewed the concession of independence in 1783 with such detestation that he considered abdicating his throne

HOUSE OF HANOVER

D. Problems: After 1801 George III was increasingly incapacitated by an illness, sometimes identified as porphyria, that caused blindness and senility. His recurring bouts of insanity became a political problem and ultimately compelled him to submit to the establishment of a formal Regency in 181 1. The regent was his oldest son the future George lV, one of 15 children borne him by his wife Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenberg-Strelitz

E. THE END: George III died on Jan. 29, 1820.