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167-750: French victory The Hanover Expedition , also known as the Weser Expedition , was a British invasion of the Electorate of Hanover during the Napoleonic Wars . Coordinated as part of an attack on France by the nations of the Third Coalition against Napoleon by William Pitt the Younger and Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh , planning began for an invasion of French territories in July 1805. Hanover, previously

334-519: A Regency Bill had been introduced and passed in the House of Commons. The general elections of 1790 resulted in a majority for the government, and Pitt continued as prime minister. In 1791, he proceeded to address one of the problems facing the growing British Empire : the future of British Canada . By the Constitutional Act of 1791 , the province of Quebec was divided into two separate provinces:

501-407: A light infantry brigade of four more infantry battalions, six brigades of Royal Horse Artillery , and ten brigades of Royal Artillery . Military historian C. T. Atkinson suggests that this force, if it had come to fruition, would have been "a really formidable effort". This large army, while viable on paper, would have been very difficult to form up and transport in reality, and so on 10 October

668-587: A British possession, was chosen as the goal of the expedition, with Swedish and Russian forces under Gustav IV Adolf and Count Pyotr Aleksandrovich Tolstoy brought in to support the endeavour. Key to the success of the invasion was the support of Prussia , a nation poised to threaten France but not as yet openly hostile to the country. Sir George Don commanded the British expedition and he arrived with an army of around 14,000 men at Cuxhaven in November. To bolster

835-513: A French force of three divisions was preparing to attack from Holland, orders were sent for Cathcart to evacuate on 19 January. Cathcart received his instructions at the end of the month, and quickly put them into effect. His army by this time had grown to 26,643 men because of recruitment by the KGL which resulted in it returning to Britain with more battalions and depots than it had left with; only around 14,000 were British infantry. The first to leave were

1002-426: A brigade of Foot Guards under Major-General Edward Finch , and a brigade of line infantry under Major-General Edward Paget . This totalled between 12,000 and 14,000 men, and Don received his final orders on 16 October. Von der Decken planned the operation, ensuring that the force would be transported quickly to avoid the coming of the harsh northern winter that would freeze the ports and rivers necessary in disembarking

1169-461: A consequence, a reluctant Britain was forced time and again to defend the king's German possessions. Nonetheless, Hanover remained a separately ruled territory with its own governmental bodies, and the country had to sign a treaty with Great Britain whenever Hanoverian troops fought on the British side of a war. Merged into the Napoleonic Kingdom of Westphalia in 1807, it was re-established as

1336-489: A dramatic impression. Sir John Sinclair, member of Parliament for Lostwithiel, thought that Pitt's first speech was never surpassed and ‘rarely equalled by any ever delivered in that assembly.’ When Pitt resumed his seat after finishing speaking there was thunderous applause. Sinclair noted that there was ‘utter astonishment … by an audience accustomed to the most splendid efforts of eloquence.’ Pitt originally aligned himself with prominent Whigs such as Charles James Fox . With

1503-472: A friend that 'I do not wish to be thought inlisted [sic] in any party or to call myself anything but the Independent Whig, which in words is hardly a distinction, as every one alike pretends to it.' intent on entering Parliament, Pitt secured the patronage of James Lowther , later 1st Earl Lowther, with the help of his university friend, Charles Manners, 4th Duke of Rutland . Lowther effectively controlled

1670-434: A gift of £2,500,000 to ensure this. Castlereagh believed that only the wavering support of Prussia could stop Don's expedition from being successful, and by the end of October it was thought that Prussia's entry into the conflict was imminent. Pitt, in turn, was of the mind that success could bring about "Bonaparte's army either cut off or driven back to France". It was expected that Don's force would sail immediately, but with

1837-678: A great loss of men or material, and Castlereagh would later write that he was well satisfied with Cathcart's actions, war-related losses having been minor. Some senior generals in the army were angered by the failure of the expedition, feeling that its control by civilian politicians trying to be military experts had caused its failure. Critics suggested that if the expedition had been sent to join Lieutenant-General Sir James Craig's Anglo-Russian occupation of Naples then Britain might have had one successful expedition instead of two failures. Positively, however, Hanover had shown that

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2004-516: A hostile majority in Parliament, Pitt was able to solidify his position within a few months. Some historians argue that his success was inevitable given the decisive importance of monarchical power; others argue that the king gambled on Pitt and that both would have failed but for a run of good fortune. Pitt, at the age of 24, became Great Britain's youngest prime minister ever. The contemporary satire The Rolliad ridiculed him for his youth: Above

2171-439: A large "disposable force" commanded by Lieutenant-General Lord Cathcart . This would have included two divisions of cavalry, one of light dragoons and the other of heavy cavalry , consisting of 9,600 men. Alongside the cavalry plans called for seven divisions of infantry, including four battalions of Foot Guards and forty of line infantry . These divisions would have each had around 5,000 men, and would have been supported by

2338-441: A little-used privilege available only to the sons of noblemen, and chose to graduate without having to pass examinations. Pitt's father was said to have insisted that his son spontaneously translate passages of classical literature orally into English, and declaim impromptu upon unfamiliar topics in an effort to develop his oratorical skills. Pitt's father, who had by then been raised to the peerage as Earl of Chatham, died in 1778. As

2505-445: A massive swing to Pitt with the result that many Opposition Members who still had not faced election either defected, stood down, or made deals with their opponents to avoid expensive defeats. A notable exception came in Fox's own constituency of Westminster , which contained one of the largest electorates in the country. In a contest estimated to have cost a quarter of the total spending in

2672-565: A much smaller army was hastily brought together to cross the North Sea under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir George Don , who was expected to also instigate diplomatic connections with the allied nations. While the original plan had expected the creation of multiple divisions, Don's force was instead made up of two cavalry and six infantry regiments of the King's German Legion (KGL) which were controlled by Brigadier-General Friedrich von der Decken ,

2839-617: A mutineer. In response to the 1797 mutinies, Pitt passed the Incitement to Mutiny Act 1797 making it unlawful to advocate breaking oaths to the Crown. In 1798, he passed the Defence of the Realm act, which further restricted civil liberties. Despite the major concerns to Britain's defences when the navy mutinied Pitt remained calm and in control. He was confident that the matter would be resolved. Lord Spencer,

3006-680: A part of the Rockingham ministry, including Fox, now refused to serve under Lord Shelburne, the new prime minister. Pitt, however, was comfortable with Shelburne, and thus joined his government; he was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer . Fox, who became Pitt's lifelong political rival, then joined a coalition with Lord North, with whom he collaborated to bring about the defeat of the Shelburne administration. When Lord Shelburne resigned in 1783, King George III , who despised Fox, offered to appoint Pitt to

3173-654: A renewed bout of madness, with the consequence that Addington could not receive his formal appointment. Though he had resigned, Pitt temporarily continued to discharge his duties; on 18 February 1801, he brought forward the annual budget. Power was transferred from Pitt to Addington on 14 March, when the king recovered. Shortly after leaving office, Pitt supported the new administration under Addington, but with little enthusiasm; he frequently absented himself from Parliament, preferring to remain in his Lord Warden 's residence of Walmer Castle —before 1802 usually spending an annual late-summer holiday there, and later often present from

3340-640: A result of the company's setting up of Penang with their own superintendent (governor), Captain Francis Light , in 1786. Convicts were originally transported to the Thirteen Colonies in North America, but after the American War of Independence ended in 1783, the newly formed United States refused to accept further convicts. Pitt's government took the decision to settle what is now Australia and found

3507-523: A rising of the United Irishmen) was only thwarted by bad weather . To crush the United Irishmen, Pitt sent General Lake to Ulster in 1797 to call out Protestant Irish militiamen and organised an intelligence network of spies and informers. In April 1797, the mutiny of the entire Spithead fleet shook the government (sailors demanded a pay increase to match inflation). This mutiny occurred at

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3674-555: A sideshow. By 1795, 50% of the British Army was deployed in the West Indies (with the largest contingent in St. Domingue), whereas the rest of the British Army was divided among Britain, Europe, India, and North America. As the British death toll, largely caused by yellow fever, continued to climb, Pitt was criticised in the House of Commons. Several MPs suggested it might be better to abandon

3841-434: A third of the budget of £24 million went to pay interest. Pitt sought to reduce the national debt by imposing new taxes. In 1786, he instituted a sinking fund so that £1 million a year was added to a fund so that it could accumulate interest; eventually, the money in the fund was to be used to pay off the national debt. Pitt had learned of the idea of the 'Sinking Fund' from his father in 1772. Earl Chatham had been informed of

4008-470: A year. In 1797, Pitt was forced to protect the kingdom's gold reserves by preventing individuals from exchanging banknotes for gold. Great Britain would continue to use paper money for over two decades. Pitt also introduced Great Britain's first-ever income tax . The new tax helped offset losses in indirect tax revenue, which had been caused by a decline in trade. Pitt's two policies of suspending cash payments and introducing Income Tax were later cited by

4175-649: Is a heraldic motif associated with the German provinces of Lower Saxony and Westphalia , and the Dutch region of Twente as the electorate covered large portions of the original stem Duchy of Saxony . The electorate comprised large parts of the modern German state of Lower Saxony in Northern Germany . Beside the Principality of Calenberg it also included the former princely lands of Göttingen and Grubenhagen as well as

4342-518: Is commonly referred to as the elector of Hanover after his residence. Hanover acquired Bremen-Verden in 1719. The electorate was legally bound to be indivisible: it could add to its territory, but not alienate territory or be split up among several heirs; and its succession was to follow male primogeniture. The territory assigned to the electorate included the Brunswick-Lüneburg principalities of Calenberg, Grubenhagen, and Lüneburg (even though at

4509-465: The 28th and 36th Regiments of Foot succeeded in arriving substantially intact, but large portions of Cathcart's reinforcements were so badly depleted that they were incapable of further operations, with over 1,000 people having been killed. Cathcart could do little with his new troops, and had further problems with the local intelligence. On 28 December Castlereagh complained that the situation in Hanover

4676-552: The Austrians to surrender and the Russians to retreat into Poland. With no large armies now protecting Cathcart's force from French attack, the situation was exacerbated when Prussia signed the Treaty of Schönbrunn with France, which created an alliance between the two nations and agreed that Prussia should control Hanover. With French and Prussian forces moving against Hanover, Cathcart's army

4843-631: The Batavian Republic alongside Tolstoy. Their plan was slowed by the reticence of the Swedish force and the continuing confusion surrounding the intentions of the Prussians. Tolstoy eventually decided that he could not invest enough men into an invasion and ensure the continued blockade of Hamelin, and no attack took place. It was afterwards decided that Don's force, then spread about, would be brought together as one field army . On 27 November this new command

5010-637: The British Army , supported by troops from Prussia, Hesse-Kassel and the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel , again expelled the occupants. Hanover remained unaffected for the rest of the war. After the war ended, peace prevailed until the French Revolutionary Wars started. The War of the First Coalition against France (1792–1797) with Great Britain, Hanover and other war allies forming

5177-602: The British Empire and ensuring that the slaves in the British West Indies would not be inspired to revolt likewise. Many of those who owned slave plantations in the British West Indies had been greatly alarmed by the revolution, which began in 1791, and they were strongly pressing Pitt to restore slavery in St. Domingue, lest their own slaves be inspired to seek freedom. Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville , who

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5344-525: The City of London . When he returned from the ceremony to mark this, men of the City pulled Pitt's coach home themselves, as a sign of respect. When passing a Whig club, the coach came under attack from a group of men who tried to assault Pitt. When news of this spread, it was assumed Fox and his associates had tried to bring down Pitt by any means. Pitt gained great popularity with the public at large as "Honest Billy" who

5511-588: The Continental System , the French Empire annexed in late 1810 all of the continental North Sea coast (as far as Denmark) and the areas along the sections of the rivers navigable for seagoing vessels, including Bremen-Verden and Saxe-Lauenburg and some adjacent territories of Hanover proper. The government of George III did not recognise the French annexation, however, and was at war continuously with France for

5678-481: The East India Company to gain the patronage he so greatly lacked while the king refused to support him. Fox stated the bill was necessary to save the company from bankruptcy. Pitt responded that: "Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves." The king was opposed to the bill; when it passed in the House of Commons, he secured its defeat in

5845-731: The French Empire , since 1804 France's new government, ceded Hanover, which it no longer held, to Prussia, which captured it in early 1806. On 6 August 1806, the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved, thereby abolishing the function of prince-electors electing its emperors. After Prussia had turned against France in the War of the Fourth Coalition , it was defeated in the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt (11 November 1806), and France recaptured Hanover. Following

6012-500: The French Revolution and its attendant wars temporarily united Britain and Russia in an ideological alliance against French republicanism. In 1788, Pitt faced a major crisis when the king fell victim to a mysterious illness, a form of mental disorder that incapacitated him. If the sovereign was incapable of fulfilling his constitutional duties, Parliament would need to appoint a regent to rule in his place. All factions agreed that

6179-523: The French invaded Hanover and defeated George II's son Prince William, Duke of Cumberland , leading the Anglo-Hanoverian army , at the Battle of Hastenbeck and drove him and his army into remote Bremen-Verden, where in the former Zeven Convent  [ de ] he capitulated on 18 September ( Convention of Kloster-Zeven ). George II did not recognise the convention, however. The following year,

6346-767: The German Chancery , situated in St James's Palace in London. During the French and Indian War (1754–1763) in the North American colonies, Britain feared a French invasion of Hanover. George II formed an alliance with his Prussian cousin Frederick II combining the North American conflict with the Brandenburg-Prusso–Austrian Third Silesian, or Seven Years' War (1756–1763). In the summer of 1757,

6513-558: The House of Hanover since 1662. After Britain, this time without any allies, had declared war on France (18 May 1803), French troops invaded Hanover on 26 May . According to the Convention of Artlenburg (5 July 1803), confirming the military defeat of Hanover, the Hanoverian Army was disarmed, and its horses and ammunitions were handed over to the French. The Privy Council of Hanover, with

6680-544: The House of Lords by threatening to regard anyone who voted for it as his enemy. Following the bill's failure in the Upper House, George III dismissed the coalition government and finally entrusted the premiership to William Pitt, after having offered the position to him three times previously. A constitutional crisis arose when the king dismissed the Fox–North coalition government and named Pitt to replace it. Though faced with

6847-500: The Kingdom of Hanover in 1814, and the personal union with the British crown lasted until 1837. In 1692, Emperor Leopold I of the House of Habsburg elevated Duke Ernest Augustus of the Brunswick-Lüneburg line of Calenberg , to the rank of prince-elector of the empire as a reward for aid given in the Nine Years' War . There were protests against the addition of a new elector, and

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7014-610: The Lower Rhine , and bringing his army together around the Weser. Before being withdrawn, the units stationed at Hamelin briefly skirmished with the defending French on 22 December, marking the only combat engaged by any of the force. Word of the Battle of Austerlitz threw Cathcart's plans into confusion. There on 2 December a Russo-Austrian army had been soundly defeated by Napoleon, and Austria had surrendered in consequence, with both allied armies all but destroyed. The chance of Prussia entering

7181-622: The North Sea . In 1700, the territories forming the electorate introduced, like all other Protestant territories of imperial immediacy , the Improved Calendar, as the Gregorian calendar was called by Protestants to avoid mentioning the name of Pope Gregory XIII . Sunday, 18 February (Old Style) was thus followed by Monday, 1 March ( New Style ). In 1692, the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, elevated George's son, Duke Ernest Augustus to

7348-784: The Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 , which changed the Habsburgs' inheritance law. It took George II Augustus until 1733 to persuade Charles VI to enfeoff him also with the Duchy of Bremen and the Principality of Verden, colloquially called Duchies of Bremen-Verden. At both enfeoffments, George II Augustus swore that he would respect the existing privileges and constitutions of the estates in Bremen-Verden and in Hadeln, thus confirming 400-year-old traditions of estate participation in government. In Hanover ,

7515-571: The Royal Navy also led to Pitt to introduce the Quota System in 1795 in addition to the existing system of impressment . The war with France was extremely expensive, straining Great Britain's finances. Unlike in the latter stages of the Napoleonic Wars , at this point Britain had only a very small standing army, and thus contributed to the war effort mainly through sea power and by supplying funds to other coalition members facing France. Throughout

7682-431: The Royal Navy 's blockade of Brest as the best way to impact the French at home. This outlook changed in 1803 when Austria and Russia allied themselves to Britain as part of the Third Coalition . With more militarily impressive allies now available to take the war to France on land, the British Army would be able to do the same, safe in the knowledge that it would not be engaging the French armies alone. This combined with

7849-432: The Treaty of Tilsit in 1807, the new Kingdom of Westphalia was founded, ruled by Napoléon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte , then including territories of the former Electorate of Hesse-Kassel , the ducal Brunswick-Lüneburgian principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and formerly Prussian territories. In early 1810 Hanover proper and Bremen-Verden but not Saxe-Lauenburg were also annexed by Westphalia. In an attempt to assert

8016-552: The Walcheren Expedition , would be launched in imitation of the Hanover Expedition. Castlereagh's disposable force of 30,000 men remained in existence, but by March 1807 it had dwindled to 12,000 men, with the fleet of troopships created to assist in transporting it dispersed for other uses. Opinions on the expedition have been varied. Atkinson argues that the failure of the expedition was the fault of Britain's allies on

8183-493: The pocket borough of Appleby ; a by-election in that constituency sent Pitt to the House of Commons in January 1781. Pitt's entry into parliament is somewhat ironic as he later railed against the very same pocket and rotten boroughs that had given him his seat. In Parliament, the youthful Pitt cast aside his tendency to be withdrawn in public, emerging as a noted debater right from his maiden speech . Pitt's first speech made

8350-465: The "great push" in 1795, sending out an even larger British expedition. In November 1795, some 218 ships left Portsmouth for St. Domingue. After the failure of the Quiberon expedition earlier in 1795, when the British landed a force of French royalists on the coast of France who were annihilated by the forces of the republic, Pitt had decided it was crucial for Britain to have St. Domingue, no matter what

8517-702: The "new Toryism", which revived the Tory Party and enabled it to stay in power for the next quarter-century. The historian Asa Briggs argues that his personality did not endear itself to the British mind, for Pitt was too solitary and too colourless, and too often exuded an attitude of superiority. His greatness came in the war with France. Pitt reacted to become what Lord Minto called "the Atlas of our reeling globe". William Wilberforce said, "For personal purity, disinterestedness and love of this country, I have never known his equal." Historian Charles Petrie concludes that he

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8684-423: The 'independent Whig' he identified as. In domestic politics, Pitt concerned himself with the cause of parliamentary reform . In 1785, he introduced a bill to remove the representation of thirty-six rotten boroughs, and to extend, in a small way, the electoral franchise to more individuals. Pitt's support for the bill, however, was not strong enough to prevent its defeat in the House of Commons. The bill of 1785

8851-455: The 1790s, the war against France was presented as an ideological struggle between French republicanism vs. British monarchism with the British government seeking to mobilise public opinion in support of the war. The Pitt government waged a vigorous propaganda campaign contrasting the ordered society of Britain dominated by the aristocracy and the gentry vs. the "anarchy" of the French revolution and always sought to associate British "radicals" with

9018-672: The Act of Union. Throughout the 1790s, the popularity of the Society of United Irishmen grew. Influenced by the American and French revolutions, this movement demanded independence and republicanism for Ireland. The United Irishmen Society was very anti-clerical, being equally opposed to the "superstitions" promoted by both the Church of England and the Roman Catholic church, which caused the latter to support

9185-489: The British expeditionary force, hoping this would entice Prussia into more warlike actions. The diplomatic situation was complicated because Prussia also coveted Hanover, and Napoleon had offered it to Prussia in return for aggression towards Austria. Despite this difficulty, Pitt and Castlereagh were encouraged by the absence of the expected harsh winter weather and continued to move forward with their plans. While Pitt decided on his next actions, Don began to plan an attack into

9352-495: The British force gone and the Russians under Prussian control, Hanover was occupied by Prussia. In Britain, the remains of Cathcart's force were split up along the south coast of England to serve as a deterrent to invasion. Prussia was forced by France to close all its north German ports to British traffic, and this caused Britain to declare war on Prussia on 21 April. The expedition was the last military endeavour planned and orchestrated by Pitt. It had achieved nothing, but had not been

9519-409: The British treasury a fortune and weakened British influence in Europe, making British power "fettered, numbered and paralysed", all for nothing. Pitt maintained close control over Ireland. The Lord Lieutenants were to follow his policy of Protestant control and very little reform for the Catholic majority. When the opposition Portland group joined Pitt's ministry, splitting the Foxite opposition, Pitt

9686-454: The Bute family backed off and ceased making their claims. He acquired his legal education at Lincoln's Inn and was called to the bar in the summer of 1780. During the general elections of September 1780, at the age of 21, Pitt contested the University of Cambridge seat , but lost, coming bottom of the poll of the five candidates. Pitt had campaigned on his own merit, not as part of any group or with prominent backers. He explained to

9853-557: The Calenberg line further inherited the principality of Celle in 1705. Further included were the earlier-acquired counties of Diepholz and Hoya . Although the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806, George III's government did not consider the dissolution to be final, and he continued to be styled "Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg, Arch-treasurer and Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire" until 1814. Circles est. 1500: Bavarian , Swabian , Upper Rhenish , Lower Rhenish–Westphalian , Franconian , (Lower) Saxon William Pitt

10020-458: The Christmas season, it survived for seventeen years. So as to reduce the power of the Opposition , Pitt offered Charles James Fox and his allies posts in the Cabinet; Pitt's refusal to include Lord North, however, thwarted his efforts. The new government was immediately on the defensive and in January 1784 was defeated on a motion of no confidence . Pitt, however, took the unprecedented step of refusing to resign, despite this defeat. He retained

10187-480: The Crown. Realising that the Catholic church was an ally in the struggle against the French Revolution, Pitt had tried fruitlessly to persuade the Dublin parliament to loosen the anti-Catholic laws to "keep things quiet in Ireland". Pitt's efforts to soften the anti-Catholic laws failed in the face of determined resistance from the families of the Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland, who forced Pitt to recall Earl Fitzwilliam as Chief Secretary for Ireland in 1795, when

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10354-403: The First Lord of the Admiralty recalled how calm Pitt was. Very late one evening after visiting the Minister with desperate news of the fleet, as Spencer proceeded away from Downing Street he remembered he had some more information to give to Pitt. He immediately returned to Number 10 only to be infomred that Pitt was fast asleep. Henry Dundas, who was President of the Board of Control, Treasurer of

10521-409: The Forces , the Duke of York , relying on his experience in the Flanders campaign , arguing that expeditions that relied too much on the allies' actions would be difficult. Castlereagh estimated that the retirement of the French armies from the Channel coast had freed up between 40,000 and 60,000 British soldiers for service abroad. With this in mind, original estimates for an expedition planned for

10688-537: The French Minister of Finance as being 'genius'. As they had stopped the French from destroying Britain's economy. Pitt sought European alliances to restrict French influence, forming the Triple Alliance with Prussia and Holland in 1788. During the Nootka Sound Controversy in 1790, Pitt took advantage of the alliance to force Spain to give up its claim to exclusive control over the western coast of North and South America. The Alliance, however, failed to produce any other important benefits for Great Britain. Pitt

10855-417: The French that could result in "crippling defeat". With news of the French withdrawal having reached Britain before its culmination, Castlereagh began planning in September. By taking Hanover, Britain could restore the country to its rightful rulers while also gaining a useful springboard for further operations in Europe. Not all of the establishment was in favour of the endeavour, with the Commander-in-Chief of

11022-459: The Grenvilles. Suffering from occasional poor health as a boy, he was educated at home by the Reverend Edward Wilson. An intelligent child, Pitt quickly became proficient in Latin and Greek . He was admitted to Pembroke College, Cambridge , on 26 April 1773, a month before turning fourteen, going up to Cambridge in October 1773. He studied political philosophy, classics , mathematics, trigonometry , chemistry and history. At Cambridge, Pitt

11189-405: The KGL and the four British battalions that had been most weakened in the crossings of the North Sea. By 12 February the last of the army had been embarked, and Cathcart left Hanover on 15 February. Von der Decken, who had served the expedition as quartermaster general to both the British and Russian forces, stayed behind to ensure that all British debts were paid. He finally returned in May. With

11356-402: The KGL and two of line infantry, were sent to join the Russians at Hamelin, while other portions of the force were split off to go to the Ems and Weser rivers. The neutral Prussian Army had also entered French-controlled lands, south of Hanover, commanded by the Duke of Brunswick , but quickly looked for their forces to be replaced by those of the coalition. Don's position on the continent

11523-400: The KGL would leave first. Pitt's health was severely declining and he had retired to Bath ; with the prime minister unavailable, the Cabinet began to send troopships to Cathcart in preparation for an evacuation. The remaining troopships at Ramsgate waiting to make the voyage to Hanover had their men disembarked on 30 December, and were instead sent as part of this force. On 5 January 1806 it

11690-403: The Napoleonic Wars against the French. French control lasted until November 1813, when the territory was overrun by Allied troops after the Battle of Leipzig spelled the definitive end to the Napoleonic client state of Westphalia, as well as the entire Confederation of the Rhine , and the rule of the House of Hanover was restored. The former electorate became the Kingdom of Hanover , which

11857-404: The Navy, Secretary at War and a close friend of Pitt, envied the First Minister for his ability to sleep well in all crcumstances. Despite Pitt's efforts, the French continued to defeat the First Coalition , which collapsed in 1798. A Second Coalition , consisting of Great Britain, Austria , Russia , and the Ottoman Empire , was formed, but it, too, failed to overcome the French. The fall of

12024-465: The North Sea. Hardly any of the battalions embarked succeeded in reaching Cathcart whole; the troopship Ariadne , carrying the headquarters party and 300 men of the 9th Regiment of Foot , was wrecked near Calais and all on board were taken as prisoners of war . The same happened to half of the 5th Regiment of Foot , while losses were also encountered in the 3rd , 30th , and 89th Regiments of Foot,

12191-660: The Prince of Calenberg to the College of Electors , creating the new Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg. The fortunes of the electorate were tied to those of Great Britain by the Act of Settlement 1701 and Act of Union 1707 , which settled the succession to the British throne on Queen Anne's nearest Protestant relative, the Electress Sophia of Hanover , and her descendants. The prince-elector of Hanover became king of Great Britain in 1714. As

12358-452: The Prussians were inclining towards neutrality in the conflict. Cathcart was issued his orders on 5 December, which expected him to work to the best of his abilities with the armies of the allied nations, but not endanger Hanover. Despite this aggressive step, Cathcart was also warned to take caution in his warlike manoeuvres; even if he put his army under the command of another force, such as that of Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden at Stralsund, he

12525-509: The Prussians, and an uneasy cooperation with the Prussian General Friedrich Adolf, Count von Kalckreuth continued. The reinforcements in the Weser landed and joined Cathcart's army, despite there being no clear view of what they might be used for. This injection of new troops was not the boon it might have been for Cathcart, because on top of the decaying strategic situation, the troopships had sailed through rough weather in

12692-416: The Russians and Prussians where possible, but that the Prussians were untrustworthy and he should not go on the offensive unless Prussian assistance was guaranteed. Prussia was also suspected of plotting to force Cathcart to leave the German soldiers of the KGL in Hanover under Prussian command. Castlereagh and Cathcart were both heavily resistant to this, and the latter ensured that in the case of an evacuation

12859-694: The Second Coalition with the defeat of the Austrians at the Battle of Marengo (14 June 1800) and at the Battle of Hohenlinden (3 December 1800) left Great Britain facing France alone. Following the Acts of Union 1800 , Pitt sought to inaugurate the new United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland by granting concessions to Roman Catholics, who formed a 75% majority of the population in Ireland, by abolishing various political restrictions under which they suffered. The king

13026-448: The United Irishmen with the Crown executing about 1,500 United Irishmen after the revolt. The revolt of 1798 destroyed Pitt's faith in the governing competence of the Dublin parliament (dominated by Protestant Ascendancy families). Thinking a less sectarian and more conciliatory approach would have avoided the uprising, Pitt sought an Act of Union that would make Ireland an official part of

13193-568: The United Kingdom and end the " Irish Question ". The French expeditions to Ireland in 1796 and 1798 (to support the United Irishmen) were regarded by Pitt as near-misses that might have provided an Irish base for French attacks on Britain, thus making the "Irish Question" a national security matter. As the Dublin parliament did not wish to disband, Pitt made generous use of what would now be called " pork barrel politics " to bribe Irish MPs to vote for

13360-528: The Welshman, Sir Richard Price's idea, Pitt approved of the idea and adopted it when he was in office. By 1792, the debt had fallen to £170 million. Pitt always paid careful attention to financial issues. A fifth of Britain's imports were smuggled in without paying taxes. He made it easier for honest merchants to import goods by lowering tariffs on easily smuggled items such as tea, wine, spirits, and tobacco. This policy raised customs revenues by nearly £2 million

13527-488: The Whigs, Pitt denounced the continuation of the American War of Independence , as his father strongly had. Instead he proposed that the prime minister, Lord North , make peace with the rebellious American colonies. Pitt also supported parliamentary reform measures, including a proposal that would have checked electoral corruption. He renewed his friendship with William Wilberforce, now MP for Hull , with whom he frequently met in

13694-503: The Younger Pitt's prime ministerial tenure, which came during the reign of King George III , was dominated by major political events in Europe, including the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars . Pitt, although often referred to as a Tory , or "new Tory", called himself an "independent Whig " and was generally opposed to the development of a strict partisan political system. Pitt

13861-484: The actions of Britain's allies in order to succeed has been echoed by historian Alexander Mikaberidze . Glover writes succinctly that "[The British] had enlisted a few hundred recruits for the King's German Legion, they had offended the King of Prussia, but they had not caused Napoleon a moment's worry". The Third Coalition completed its final collapse in July 1806. Hanover remained under French control until November 1813 when it

14028-642: The already poor Irish peasantry, and a sectarian war with many atrocities on both sides had begun in 1793 between Catholic " Defenders " versus Protestant " Peep o' Day Boys ". A section of the Peep o'Day Boys who had renamed themselves the Loyal Orange Order in September 1795 were fanatically committed to upholding Protestant supremacy in Ireland at "almost any cost". In December 1796, a French invasion of Ireland led by General Lazare Hoche (scheduled to coordinate with

14195-439: The armed neutrality. During the War of the Second Coalition against France (1799–1802), Napoléon Bonaparte urged Prussia to occupy the continental British dominions. In 1801, there was an invasion of 24,000 Prussian soldiers that surprised Hanover, which surrendered without a fight. In April they arrived at Bremen-Verden's capital, Stade , and stayed there until October. The British first ignored Prussian hostility, but when

14362-412: The army could march towards Swedish Pomerania . The army continued in its positions, awaiting official instructions from Britain. By 29 December the state of Cathcart's allies was so poor that Castlereagh admitted to him that the possibility of supporting them with the British force was now completely gone. Castlereagh was aware of Cathcart's difficulties, writing to him that he should continue to support

14529-482: The board would be appointed by the king. Pitt was appointed, along with Lord Sydney , who was appointed president . The act centralised British rule in India by reducing the power of the governors of Bombay and Madras and by increasing that of Governor-General Charles Cornwallis . Further augmentations and clarifications of the governor-general's authority were made in 1786, presumably by Lord Sydney, and presumably as

14696-618: The capital of the electorate, the Privy Council of Hanover (electoral government) installed a new ministry in charge of the Imperial Estates ruled by the electors in personal union. It was called the Department of Bremen-Verden, Hadeln, Lauenburg and Bentheim . Nonetheless, the electors spent most of their time in England. Direct contact with the electorate was maintained through the office of

14863-518: The coalition, did not affect Hanoverian territory since the first French Republic was fighting on several fronts, even on its own territory. Men were drafted to recruit the 16,000 Hanoverian soldiers fighting in the Low Countries under British command against France. In 1795, the Holy Roman Empire declared its neutrality, including Hanover, but a peace treaty with France was being negotiated until it failed in 1799. Prussia, however, ended for its part

15030-616: The conflict was heavily diminished, and the remaining Russian forces began to withdraw towards Poland. Cathcart had come ahead of his reinforcements, and their ships only arrived in the Weser on 27 December, with two divisions under Lieutenant-Generals Francis Dundas and George Ludlow, 3rd Earl Ludlow . In these were four infantry brigades, commanded by Major-Generals Rowland Hill , Sir Arthur Wellesley , Alexander Mackenzie Fraser , and John Coape Sherbrooke , with three companies of Royal Artillery and some Royal Engineers attached. The news of Austerlitz reached Britain on 28 December, but it

15197-417: The continent, rather than the politicians who had ordered the endeavour. Pitt and Castlereagh had reacted quickly to the opportunity to attack Germany, and Atkinson says that the Austrians and Russians made enough mistakes that Napoleon was able to take advantage and defeat them; without them Cathcart's army could do, and did, nothing. On the other hand, military historian Sir John Fortescue is more critical of

15364-483: The cost in lives and money, to improve Britain's negotiating hand when it came time to make peace with the French republic. The British historian Michael Duffy argued that since Pitt committed far more manpower and money to the Caribbean expeditions, especially the one to St. Domingue, than he ever did to Europe in the years 1793–1798, it is proper to view the West Indies as Britain's main theatre of war and Europe as more of

15531-506: The creation of the King's German Legion in 1804 produced an opportunity for new British Army operations. In around October 1805 Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom was called off and the Grande Armée left its encampments at Boulogne to march towards the Russians and Austrians. With the largest portions of the French army gone, an opening was created for a British incursion into northwest Germany, with particular interest in

15698-518: The ducal family, the change needed imperial confirmation, which Emperor Leopold I granted in 1692. In 1692, at its upgrading to the rank of electorate, its territory comprised the Brunswick-Lüneburgian principalities of Calenberg and Grubenhagen , which the line of the former had already inherited in 1665. Before the confirmation of the electorate by the Imperial Diet in 1708, however,

15865-541: The electorate was ruled in personal union with Great Britain and Ireland following the Hanoverian Succession . The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg had been split in 1269 between different branches of the House of Welf . The Principality of Calenberg , ruled by a cadet branch of the family, emerged as the largest and most powerful of the Brunswick-Lüneburg states. In 1692, the Holy Roman Emperor elevated

16032-572: The elevation did not become official until the approval of the Imperial Diet in 1708. Calenberg's capital, Hanover , became colloquially eponymous for the electorate, but it officially used the name Chur-Braunschweig-Lüneburg of the entire ducal dynasty. The electoral coat of arms and flag (see info box upper right of this article) displayed the Saxon Steed (German: Sachsenross, Niedersachsenross, Welfenross, Westfalenpferd ; Dutch : Twentse Ros / Saksische ros/paard ; Low Saxon : Witte Peerd )

16199-519: The entire country, Fox bitterly fought against two Pittite candidates to secure one of the two seats for the constituency. Great legal wranglings ensued, including the examination of every single vote cast, which dragged on for more than a year. Meanwhile, Fox sat for the Scottish pocket borough of Tain Burghs . Many saw the dragging out of the result as being unduly vindictive on the part of Pitt and eventually

16366-423: The entire period, and Hanoverian ministers continued to operate out of London . The Privy Council of Hanover maintained its own separate diplomatic service, which maintained links with countries such as Austria and Prussia. The Hanoverian Army was dissolved, but many of the officers and soldiers went to England, where they formed the King's German Legion . That was the only German army to fight continually throughout

16533-543: The examinations were abandoned with Fox declared elected. Elsewhere, Pitt won a personal triumph when he was elected a Member for the University of Cambridge , a constituency he had long coveted and which he would continue to represent for the remainder of his life. Pitt's new constituency suited him perfectly as he was able to act independently. Sir James Lowther's pocket borough of Appleby, which had been Pitt's previous constituency, had strings attached. Now Pitt could really be

16700-541: The expedition and to strengthen the resolve of Prussia, Don's army was reinforced by 12,000, with Lord Cathcart taking over command. Coordination between the British, Swedes, and Russians in Hanover was so poor that by December very little past the occupation of Hanover had been achieved. Cathcart grouped his force around the Weser , and soon after learned of the Austro-Russian defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz , which forced

16867-469: The expedition, but Pitt insisted that Britain had given its word of honour that it would protect the French planters from their former slaves, and the expedition to St. Domingue could not be abandoned. The British attempt to conquer St. Domingue in 1793 ended in disaster; the British pulled out on 31 August 1798 after having spent 4 million pounds (roughly £500 million in 2023 ) and having lost about 100,000 men—dead or crippled for life, mostly from disease—over

17034-423: The expedition, describing it as an "egregious farce". However, he agrees that the plan behind the expedition was sound in theory, its execution being let down by the rulers of the allied nations; while complimentary to Pitt's attempts to strike a blow against France, he is derisory of the other leaders, calling those of Russia and Sweden "insane", that of Prussia "contemptible", and Austria "weak". This need to rely on

17201-519: The first part of the Third Coalition to enter Hanover, as a Russian force had earlier arrived to blockade Hamelin , still garrisoned by the French and the only position left to them. Despite this Don's army received a warm welcome, and they quickly secured lines of supplies, while the KGL took advantage of being back in Germany to increase their numbers with local recruits. Four infantry battalions, two of

17368-516: The first years of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars Britain found increased difficulty in engaging France in land battles. With British control of the seas and with many of the French colonies already taken because of this, France provided little opportunity for Britain to attack her apart from at sea. The small British Army was not equipped to engage in an invasion of the highly defended French mainland, and so continued to rely on

17535-536: The gallery of the House of Commons. After Lord North's ministry collapsed in 1782, the Whig Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham , was appointed prime minister. Pitt was offered the minor post of Vice-Treasurer of Ireland , but he refused, considering the post overly subordinate. Lord Rockingham died only three months after coming to power; he was succeeded by another Whig, William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne . Many Whigs who had formed

17702-514: The gardens and acted as his hostess. The Treaty of Amiens in 1802 between France and Britain marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars . Everyone expected it to be only a short truce. By 1803, war had broken out again with France under Napoleon Bonaparte . Although Addington had previously invited him to join the Cabinet, Pitt preferred to join the Opposition, becoming increasingly critical of

17869-519: The government was out of the question because Pitt enjoyed the support of King George III . Patronage and bribes paid by the Treasury were normally expected to be enough to secure the government a comfortable majority in the House of Commons, but on this occasion, the government reaped much popular support as well. In most popular constituencies, the election was fought between candidates clearly representing either Pitt or Fox and North. Early returns showed

18036-466: The government were lurking everywhere. This comment captures well the tense, paranoid atmosphere of the 1790s, when people were being encouraged to report "radicals" to the authorities. In 1793, Pitt decided to take advantage of the Haitian Revolution to seize St. Domingue , the richest French colony in the world, believing this would strike a great blow at France while bringing St. Domingue into

18203-460: The historian Eric J. Evans argued the picture of Pitt's "reign of terror" as portrayed by the Marxist historian E.P. Thompson is incorrect, stating there is much evidence of a "popular conservative movement" that rallied in defence of King and Country. Evans wrote that there were about 200 prosecutions of "radicals" suspected of sympathy with the French revolution in British courts in the 1790s, which

18370-587: The honour go to his elder brother , the second Earl of Chatham. An early favourable response to the French Revolution encouraged many in Great Britain to reopen the issue of parliamentary reform, which had been dormant since Pitt's reform bill was defeated in 1785. The reformers, however, were quickly labelled as radicals and associates of the French revolutionaries. Pitt, due to economic reasons, wanted to remain aloof from War with France. However, this option

18537-441: The issues of representation, parliamentary reform, and government retrenchment. Reformers sought to destroy what they saw as widespread institutional corruption . The result was a crisis from 1776 to 1783. The peace in 1783 left France financially prostrate, while the British economy boomed due to the return of American business. That crisis ended in 1784 as a result of the king's shrewdness in outwitting Fox and renewed confidence in

18704-476: The key Ochakov fortress. Pitt wanted to threaten military retaliation. However Russia's ambassador Semyon Vorontsov organised Pitt's enemies and launched a public opinion campaign. Pitt had become alarmed at the opposition to his Russian policy in parliament, Burke and Fox both uttering powerful speeches against the restoration of Ochakov to the Turks. Pitt won the vote so narrowly that he gave up. The outbreak of

18871-617: The latter had indicated he would support a bill for Catholic relief. In fact, the actions of Fitzwilliam had been encouraged by Pitt who wanted an excuse to remove Fitzwilliam and replace him with the Earl of Camden, however, Pitt had managed this feat without witnesses. Pitt was very much opposed to Catholic relief and the repeal of their political disabilities which were contained in the Test and Corporation Laws. In much of rural Ireland, law and order had broken down as an economic crisis further impoverished

19038-552: The latter joined the pro-French coalition of armed neutral powers, including Denmark-Norway and Russia , Britain began to capture Prussian ships. After the Battle of Copenhagen (1801) , the coalition fell apart and Prussia withdrew its troops. As part of the German Mediatisation of 25 February 1803, the electorate received the Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück in real union , which had been ruled by every second ruler of

19205-507: The latter of which lost 150 men killed and a further 150 captured. The 26th Regiment of Foot was the hardest hit in the crossing, with one troopship being wrecked on the Goodwin Sands with the loss of all on board, and another wrecked off the coast of Holland, totalling between them 500 deaths. Other units were also depleted, but not by shipwrecks, with over 1,000 men returning to Britain when ships were unable to reach their destination. Only

19372-444: The limitations of Britain's fiscal-military state when it had powerful enemies and no allies, depended on extended and vulnerable transatlantic lines of communication, and was faced for the first time since the 17th century by both Protestant and Catholic foes. The defeat heightened dissension and escalated political antagonism to the king's ministers. Inside parliament, the primary concern changed from fears of an over-mighty monarch to

19539-586: The minister Friedrich Franz Dieterich von Bremer holding up the Hanoverian stake, fled to Saxe-Lauenburg , across the Elbe , which was ruled by Britain and Hanover in personal union. Soon, the French also occupied Saxe-Lauenburg. In the autumn of 1805, at the beginning of the War of the Third Coalition against France (1805), the French occupying troops left Hanover in a campaign against Austria . British, Swedish and Russian coalition forces captured Hanover . In December,

19706-449: The navy could transport large groups of soldiers across seas at short notice, and in relatively good order barring bad weather. Lessons were, however, not fully learned. Pitt died on 23 January, having been further weakened by the knowledge that Britain was alone in war against France, her allies defeated and the British once more pushed from the continent. His government was replaced, and future expeditions with equally poor results, such as

19873-481: The office of prime minister. But Pitt wisely declined, for he knew he would be incapable of securing the support of the House of Commons. The Fox–North coalition rose to power in a government nominally headed by William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland . Pitt, who had been stripped of his post as Chancellor of the Exchequer, joined the Opposition . He raised the issue of parliamentary reform in order to strain

20040-481: The only viable candidate was the king's eldest son and heir apparent , George, Prince of Wales . The Prince, however, was a supporter of Charles James Fox. Had the Prince come to power, he would almost surely have dismissed Pitt. He did not have such an opportunity, however, as Parliament spent months debating legal technicalities relating to the regency. Fortunately for Pitt, the king recovered in February 1789, just after

20207-456: The penal colony in August 1786. The First Fleet of 11 vessels carried over a thousand settlers, including 778 convicts. The Colony of New South Wales was formally proclaimed by Governor Arthur Phillip on 7 February 1788 at Sydney. Another important domestic issue with which Pitt had to concern himself was the national debt, which had doubled to £243 million during the American war. Every year,

20374-400: The preceding five years. The British historian Sir John William Fortescue wrote that Pitt and his cabinet had tried to destroy French power "in these pestilent islands ... only to discover, when it was too late, that they practically destroyed the British army". Fortescue concluded that Pitt's attempt to add St. Domingue to the British empire had killed off most of the British army, cost

20541-506: The predominantly French Lower Canada and the predominantly English Upper Canada . In August 1792, coincident with the capture of Louis XVI by the French revolutionaries , George III appointed Pitt as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports , a position whose incumbent was responsible for the coastal defences of the realm. The king had in 1791 offered him a Knighthood of the Garter , but he suggested

20708-630: The rank of elector of the empire as a reward for aid given in the War of the Grand Alliance. There were protests against the addition of a new elector, and the elevation did not become official (with the approval of the Imperial Diet) until 1708, in the person of Ernest Augustus's son, George Louis. Though the elector's titles were properly duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he

20875-624: The re-taking of the Electorate of Hanover , which George III had controlled until 1803, and which had only 4,000 French troops remaining in it. The British Prime Minister , William Pitt the Younger , and his Secretary of State for War and the Colonies Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh , were strong supporters of the enterprise, having championed it from as early as July. They envisaged an amphibious army that could be landed at points across Napoleonic Europe, making "pinprick" attacks against enemy targets while avoiding large battles with

21042-423: The reason for Cathcart's continued presence on the continent, he was unimpressed with them, writing that they were "strong numerically, but not in quality". Cathcart kept his army in Hanover in the hope that Russia would continue to fight and that Prussia would finally officially enter the conflict, but he also began to plan routes of retreat, expecting that if the rivers froze and they were not able to sail home, that

21209-528: The reformers. Individuals who published seditious material were punished, and, in 1794, the writ of habeas corpus was suspended. Other repressive measures included the Seditious Meetings Act 1795 , which restricted the right of individuals to assemble publicly, and the Combination Acts , which restricted the formation of societies or organisations that favoured political reforms. Problems manning

21376-433: The rest, majestically great, Behold the infant Atlas of the state, The matchless miracle of modern days, In whom Britannia to the world displays A sight to make surrounding nations stare; A kingdom trusted to a school-boy's care. Many saw Pitt as a stop-gap appointment until some more senior statesman took on the role. However, although it was widely predicted that the new "mince-pie administration" would not outlast

21543-565: The revolution in France. Some of the writers the British government subsidized (often from Secret Service funds) included Edmund Burke , William Cobbett , William Playfair , John Reeves , and Samuel Johnson (the last through the pension granted him in 1762). Though the Pitt government did drastically reduce civil liberties and created a nationwide spy network with ordinary people being encouraged to denounce any "radicals" that might be in their midst,

21710-469: The right of him. While still not part of the Third Coalition, Prussia was on increasingly poor terms with France because of incursions made by the French into Ansbach , and Pitt hoped that Prussia would join the Coalition because of this. With Napoleon placed just to the south of Prussian lands, an advance by a Prussian army would put him in a very precarious situation. Realising this, Pitt decided to strengthen

21877-562: The same moment that the Franco-Dutch alliance were preparing an invasion of Britain. To regain control of the fleet, Pitt agreed to navy pay increases and had George III pardon the mutineers. By contrast, the more political "floating republic" naval mutiny at the Nore in June 1797 led by Richard Parker was handled more repressively. Pitt refused to negotiate with Parker, whom he wanted to see hanged as

22044-412: The second son of William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham , was born on 28 May 1759 at Hayes Place in the village of Hayes , Kent . He was from a political family on both sides, as his mother, Hester Grenville , was sister of former prime minister George Grenville . According to biographer John Ehrman , Pitt exhibited the brilliance and dynamism of his father's line, and the determined, methodical nature of

22211-628: The spring until the autumn. From the castle, he helped organise a local Volunteer Corps in anticipation of a French invasion, acted as colonel of a battalion raised by Trinity House —he was also a Master of Trinity House—and encouraged the construction of Martello towers and the Royal Military Canal in Romney Marsh . He rented land abutting the Castle to farm on which to lay out trees and walks. His niece Lady Hester Stanhope designed and managed

22378-513: The support of the king, who would not entrust the reins of power to the Fox–North Coalition. He also received the support of the House of Lords, which passed supportive motions, and many messages of support from the country at large, in the form of petitions approving of his appointment which influenced some Members to switch their support to Pitt. At the same time, he was granted the Freedom of

22545-646: The system engendered by the leadership of Pitt. Historians conclude that the loss of the American colonies enabled Britain to deal with the French Revolution with more unity and organisation than would otherwise have been the case. Britain turned towards Asia, the Pacific, and later Africa with subsequent exploration leading to the rise of the Second British Empire . The Fox–North Coalition fell in December 1783, after Fox had introduced Edmund Burke 's bill to reform

22712-422: The territory of the former County of Hoya . In 1705, Elector George I Louis inherited the Principality of Lüneburg with the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg upon the death of his uncle Duke George William of Brunswick-Lüneburg . In 1715, he purchased the duchies of Bremen-Verden from King Frederick IV of Denmark (confirmed by the 1719 Treaty of Stockholm ), whereby his former landlocked electorate gained access to

22879-442: The time Lüneburg was ruled by Ernest Augustus's older brother) and the counties of Diepholz and Hoya. In 1714, George Louis became king of Great Britain and Ireland and so the electorate and Great Britain and Ireland were ruled in personal union . The possessions of the electors in Germany also grew, as they de facto purchased the formerly Swedish -held duchies of Bremen and Verden in 1719. George Louis died in 1727 and

23046-415: The troops. It was initially planned that Don would go ahead of his force to ensure that they would receive a positive welcome upon their landing, but this duty was instead taken by the politician Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby on 25 October. Harrowby's mission was to Berlin and the court of Prussia, with the intention of enticing that nation into joining the Third Coalition. He was authorised to offer

23213-425: The uneasy Fox–North coalition, which included both supporters and detractors of reform. He did not advocate an expansion of the electoral franchise, but he did seek to address bribery and rotten boroughs. Though his proposal failed, many reformers in Parliament came to regard him as their leader, instead of Charles James Fox. Losing the war and the Thirteen Colonies was a shock to the British system. The war revealed

23380-411: The university grounds. Yet he was described as charming and friendly. According to Wilberforce, Pitt had an exceptional wit along with an endearingly gentle sense of humour: "no man ... ever indulged more freely or happily in that playful facetiousness which gratifies all without wounding any." An example of Pitt's innocent wit was recorded by Sir John Sinclair. In the early years' of Pitt's ministry there

23547-455: The war with France by the Treaty of Basel (1795), which stipulated that Prussia would ensure the Holy Roman Empire's neutrality in all of the latter's territories north of the demarcation line of the River Main , including the British continental dominions of Hanover, Bremen-Verden, and Saxe-Lauenburg. To that end, Hanover also had to provide troops for the so-called demarcation army maintaining

23714-471: The white population from the blacks, and were able to seize some coastal enclaves. The fact that the British had come to restore slavery in St. Domingue inspired ferocious resistance from the Haitians, who had no desire to be forced into chains again. The heavy death toll caused by yellow fever , the much dreaded "black vomit", made conquering St. Domingue impossible, but an undeterred Pitt launched what he called

23881-530: The wind against them their troopships only succeeded in arriving at Cuxhaven on 19 November. The crossing was difficult, and at least five ships did not complete it, spending seventeen days at sea before returning to Harwich with a portion of the KGL cavalry still on board. The expedition went on despite this loss. A Swedish force of 10,000 men paid for by Britain was poised to attack from Stralsund , and they were joined by 20,000 Russians under Lieutenant-General Pyotr Aleksandrovich Tolstoy . The British were not

24048-476: The younger son, Pitt received only a small inheritance.In the months following the death of the Earl of Chatham, Pitt was forced to defend his father's reputation. This came about when the Bute family made claims that the late Lord had sought out the Earl of Bute with the desire to form a political coalition. Pitt although just over nineteen years of age publicly argued that this was not the case. Faced with Pitt's arguments

24215-468: Was Pitt's Secretary of State for War , instructed Sir Adam Williamson, the lieutenant-governor of Jamaica, to sign an agreement with representatives of the French colonists that promised to restore the ancien regime , slavery, and discrimination against mixed-race colonists, a move that drew criticism from abolitionists William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson . The British landed in St. Domingue on 20 September 1793, stating they had come to protect

24382-752: Was alarmed at Russian expansion in the 1780s at the expense of the Ottoman Empire . The relations between Russia and Britain were disturbed during the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792 by Pitt's subscription to the view of the Prussian government that the Triple Alliance could not with impunity allow the balance of power in Eastern Europe to be disturbed. In peace talks with the Ottomans, Russia refused to return

24549-526: Was allowed to refuse action if he deemed it too dangerous. Castlereagh even suggested that Cathcart attempt to link up with the main Russian army advancing from the east, but this was a logistically difficult proposition. Cathcart arrived at Cuxhaven on 15 December, making his headquarters at Bremen . He began to prepare for the upcoming campaign, discussing how to communicate if the rivers of Heligoland should freeze over, considering whether to advance on Holland or

24716-467: Was almost unknown to him, being reliant on French and Dutch newspapers more than anything. In some ways, Cathcart's army knew less than him; Wellesley reported around the same time that "they appear to have very little intelligence in this place, except what they receive from England". Prussian troops were still present in Hanover, dating from the period before Austerlitz when Prussia was considering more offensive actions against France. Despite Prussia being

24883-454: Was confirmed at the Congress of Vienna in 1814. The electorate was legally indivisible: it could add to its territory, but not alienate territory or be split up among several heirs, as had been the rule before, which led at times to a multitude of Brunswick-Lüneburgian principalities. Its succession was to follow male primogeniture . Since that was against Salic law , which was then valid for

25050-479: Was decided that no more troops would be sent to Hanover. Two days later it was discovered that on 14 December Prussia had ratified the Treaty of Schönbrunn , a defensive and offensive alliance with France in which Prussia was given leave to occupy Hanover. Prussia also began to withdraw Tolstoy's force, which had been left under its auspices by the retreating Alexander I of Russia . With Prussia now advancing to occupy Hanover with 50,000 men and with rumours growing that

25217-490: Was given to Cathcart, who would bring 12,000 reinforcements with him to bolster his army. Don was superseded, but continued with the army as its second in command. Cathcart, who had been preparing to serve as ambassador-extraordinary to Russia and Prussia, was titled "Commander-in-Chief of British Forces in Northern Europe", and was given control over Russian, Swedish, or Prussian troops as well. Harrowby began reporting that

25384-584: Was great interest in the new young First minister. Sinclair was required to write an account of Pitt to satisfy foreign curiosity when he was abroad. At the end of a long description of Britain's eminent leader he added: ‘Of all the places where you have been, where did you fare best?’ My answer was, ‘In Poland; for the nobility live there with uncommon taste and splendour; their cooks are French,- their confectioners Italian, - and their wine Tokey.’ He immediately observed, ‘I have heard before of The Polish diet.’ In 1776, Pitt, plagued by poor health, took advantage of

25551-486: Was liberated following the Battle of Leipzig . Electorate of Hanover The Electorate of Hanover ( German : Kurfürstentum Hannover or simply Kurhannover ) was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire located in northwestern Germany that arose from the Principality of Calenberg . Although formally known as the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg ( German : Kurfürstentum Braunschweig-Lüneburg ), it made Hanover its capital city. For most of its existence,

25718-399: Was much less than the prosecutions of suspected Jacobites after the rebellions of 1715 and 1745. However, the spy network maintained by the government was efficient. In Jane Austen 's novel Northanger Abbey , which was written in the 1790s, but not published until 1817, one of the characters remarks that it is not possible for a family to keep secrets in these modern times when spies for

25885-481: Was one of the greatest prime ministers "if on no other ground than that he enabled the country to pass from the old order to the new without any violent upheaval ... He understood the new Britain." For this he is ranked highly amongst all British prime ministers in multiple surveys. Pitt served as prime minister for a total of eighteen years, 343 days, making him the second-longest-serving British prime minister of all time, after Robert Walpole . William Pitt,

26052-436: Was put in a difficult situation. He wanted to replace his friend Westmorland, who was Lord Lieutenant, with Lord Camden, whom he could trust. However, one of Portland's group, Earl Fitzwilliam, wanted the position. Pitt, to keep Portland on side, appointed Fitzwilliam but allowed the new Lord Liuetantant to believe that he had free range to reform the government in Ireland. Thus when Fitzwilliam's reforms became public in London he

26219-580: Was quickly recalled and Camden replaced him. This ensured Pitt had his man in Dublin Castle, whilst also retaining Portland and his group. The unfortunate effect was to produce optimism amongst Irish Catholics who wanted political reform. In May 1798, the long-simmering unrest in Ireland exploded into outright rebellion with the United Irishmen Society launching a revolt to win independence for Ireland. Pitt took an extremely repressive approach to

26386-404: Was recalled in January 1806. The evacuation was completed on 15 February, and Hanover was left to the occupation of a Prussian army. The expedition, while a total failure, had little effect on the British position because of the lack of combat. Its method of quick amphibious transportation and landings of troops on a foreign shore would go on to be imitated in the Walcheren Expedition in 1809. In

26553-459: Was regarded as an outstanding administrator who worked for efficiency and reform, bringing in a new generation of competent administrators. He increased taxes to pay for the great war against France and cracked down on radicalism. To counter the threat of Irish support for France, he engineered the Acts of Union 1800 and tried (but failed) to secure Catholic emancipation as part of the Union. He created

26720-421: Was seen as a refreshing change from the dishonesty, corruption and lack of principles widely associated with both Fox and North. Despite a series of defeats in the House of Commons, Pitt defiantly remained in office, watching the Coalition's majority shrink as some Members of Parliament left the Opposition to abstain. In March 1784, Parliament was dissolved, and a general election ensued. An electoral defeat for

26887-417: Was still hoped that Prussia would not cease fighting against France, and that Russia might hold on in the west. Without the larger Russian and Austrian armies standing as a buffer between the French forces and Cathcart's army, the latter's position in Hanover became untenable. Despite its now increasingly precarious position, Cathcart's force was kept in Hanover in the hope that its presence might still encourage

27054-416: Was strongly opposed to Catholic emancipation ; he argued that to grant additional liberty would violate his coronation oath , in which he had promised to protect the established Church of England . Pitt, unable to change the king's strong views, resigned on 16 February 1801 so as to allow Henry Addington , his political friend, to form a new administration. At about the same time, however, the king suffered

27221-410: Was succeeded by his son George II Augustus . In 1728, Emperor Charles VI officially enfeoffed George II (gave him land in exchange for a pledge of service), with the reverted fief of Saxe-Lauenburg , which had de facto been ruled in personal union with Hanover and with one of its preceding Principality of Lüneburg since 1689. In 1731, Hanover also gained Hadeln . In return, Hanover recognised

27388-558: Was taken away from him by an ultimatum from King George III. Pitt could either resign or go to war. Committed to making Britain financially stable Pitt agreed, albeit very reluctantly, to go to war against the French Revolutionaries. Though France's declaration of hostilities against Britain meant that Britain was forced into war. Subsequently, in 1794, Pitt's administration tried three of them for treason but lost. Parliament began to enact repressive legislation in order to silence

27555-447: Was tenuous but not immediately threatened. Napoleon had beaten an Austrian army, that did not wait for Russian assistance before advancing, at the Battle of Ulm , but in doing so had stretched his lines of communication too far and was unable to advance further, giving time for Britain's allies to reinforce their armies. When fully organised, Don's force stretched in a line between the Weser and Verden , supported with Tolstoy's Russians to

27722-481: Was the last parliamentary reform proposal introduced by Pitt to British legislators. His administration secure, Pitt could begin to enact his agenda. His first major piece of legislation as prime minister was the India Act 1784 , which re-organised the British East India Company and kept a watch over corruption. The India Act created a new Board of Control to oversee the affairs of the East India Company. It differed from Fox's failed India Bill 1783 and specified that

27889-482: Was tutored by George Pretyman , who became a close personal friend and looked after Pitt whilst at University. Pitt later appointed Pretyman Bishop of Lincoln , then Winchester , and drew upon his advice throughout his political career. While at Cambridge, he befriended the young William Wilberforce , who became a lifelong friend and political ally in Parliament. Pitt tended to socialise only with fellow students and others already known to him, rarely venturing outside

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