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Domestic Affairs, 1760-1815
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Domestic Affairs, 1760-1815
We must now deal with the domestic history of Great Britain, from the accession of George III till the battle of Waterloo. The two most conspicuous features of that period are: first, the great development of trade and industry, the history of which is dealt with later; and, secondly, the series of great wars, the story of which we have already told. Great Britain during this period was almost continuously at war. She enjoyed a period of repose for twelve years between 1763 and 1775, and for ten years between 1783 and 1793; but public attention during a great part of the first of these intervals was occupied with the American controversy, and for the later years of the second with the French Revolution. Home politics, therefore, are somewhat unimportant, and the period is one, so far as legislation is concerned, of stagnation. The chief interest of the earlier part of George III's reign lies in the attempt of the king to free himself from Whig control, and of the later part in the administration and personality of the younger Pitt.
George III, the grandson of George II, was throughout his reign a popular monarch. And in many ways he deserved his popularity. He was a thorough gentleman. He was a devoted husband, and except when his sons were at fault - and they often were - an affectionate father. He was simple in all his tastes, sincere in his religion, and imperturbably brave (Not even a shot fired at him as he was entering his box at a theatre prevented him from enjoying his usual nap during the interval between the play and the afterpiece). He was not without interests in art and literature; his library was a magnificent one, and most of the drawings at Windsor were purchased by him, whilst he had a fine collection of miniatures and gems. Moreover, having been born and educated in Great Britain, he could glory, as he said, in the name of " Briton", whilst his fondness for the public schools, his devotion to hunting (He was so fond of riding that even when he was blind he used to take long rides in Windsor Park, accompanied by a groom with a leading-rein), and his keenness as a farmer showed that he shared the interests of the Englishmen of his day. But his education had been inadequate, and he could hardly be considered a learned monarch; his English was un-grammatical, his spelling inaccurate, and his stock of general knowledge somewhat slender, whilst he is said to have expressed an opinion that Shakespeare wrote "much sad stuff" (It is worth remembering, however, that George III, when recovering from his first attack of insanity, asked for King' Lear. That same evening, on seeing his three eldest daughters, he said of the play: "It is very beautiful, very affecting, very awful.
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Chronology
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