George I

October 20, 2013

• Topical

King George I, 1660 – 1727, was crowned on this very day (20th October) two hundred and ninety nine years ago in 1714.

George Louis, Elector of Hanover, became King after the death of Queen Anne who, despite having borne nineteen children, had no surviving heirs. George beat fifty seven relatives with stronger claims by hereditary right, benefiting from the 1701 Act of Settlement which barred Catholics from the throne.

He was not a popular king due to speaking no English and preferring to spend time in Hanover; this led to lots of domestic administration duties being delegated to various ministers. His lack of interest in domestic affairs mans his cabinets, left to run the country, grew increasingly powerful. George , unlike the former monarch, supported the Whigs and therefore it was these men who received the major positions in parliament.

Despite not being very involved in domestic affairs, King George I did take a ken interest in foreign policy. This led to Great Britain allying with both France and the Netherlands against spain in 1717. The War of Spanish Succession ended up leaving Great Britain £52 million in debt so, to over come this, shares were sold in the South Sea Company. At first, shares rocketed in value but then a number of directors sold out; this resulted in thousands of private investors being bankrupted since the stock crashed in 1720. Accusations of ministerial corruption were rife and public anger led to a failed Jacobite conspiracy involving Tory MPs.

The bursting of the ”South Sea Bubble” resulted in the Bank of England taking charge of he national economy. Robert Walpole’s work in managing the crisis led to his appointment as First Lord of the Treasury and, as the clear leader of the ministry, the first “Prime Minister”. This was, however, only used as a term of abuse at the time.

Who knows about the other Kings that have also been called George….?! Let us know at Kings Tutors.