Transcript Slide 1

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 128.5
pounds 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. Accomplishments
1 . 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.