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A.
Queen Anne was the last ruler of the Stuart monarchy, for she died without an heir since the five children she gave birth to all died in childhood. Preceding Anne’s reign, her sister Mary II was in
charge of England, along with her husband William III. Following disagreements regarding Anne’s financial status she was not fond of her brother-in-law, causing her to take a disliking to any politician who
had closely associated with William. Because of this, she kept a careful eye on each politician that was involved in her reign, and made sure the English parliament was free of corruption. The first topic
Anne had to deal with parliament was the War of Spanish Succession. The main concern of the war was how England was going to finance it, which Queen Anne and parliament disagreed upon.
Parliament objected to the war finance and increased taxation Queen Anne had proposed. To handle this, Tories (a competing political party at the time) attempted to obstruct Parliament’s opposition, in
attempt to gain power for themselves. A man named Robert Harley was greatly trusted by the Queen, who allowed him to appoint whomever he desired to Anne’s government upon being elected
Secretary of State. However, people began to suspect Queen Anne was being influenced to strongly by the individuals Harley chose, and he was therefore dismissed from parliament. As both the Tories
and Whigs were becoming popular at the time of Queen Anne’s rule, they each became involved in her parliament in order to make it more balanced so it did not favor one party over the other. It was this
second Parliament that signed Act of Union with Scotland in 1707, which joined the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland into a single kingdom named “Great Britain”. Following this, the
Whigs became the most powerful party in government, and greatly dominated Anne’s third parliament. At this time, France decided to continue the War of Spanish Succession, causing the English
government to fear that the war may eventually spread to their own country. In order to subdue this English government made a failed attempt to rally their people, which angered the Queen. In response,
Queen Anne shrewdly and somewhat disrespectfully dismissed some members of Parliament that she non longer saw as worthy of the position. Harley was brought back into power, along with twelve
newly appointed Tory individuals, hand selected by the Queen. Shortly after this, Queen Anne died, heirless, in 1714. The most important outcome of the relationship between Queen Anne and
Parliament was that individuals within Parliament had influence over the Queen’s affairs, causing her to rule partially under their guidelines.
Following Anne’s death, George I indirectly inherited the throne of England. This had to do in part by the Act of Settlement passed in 1701 by parliament, which ensured a Protestant line of
succession in England. Opposing his prior role as absolute ruler of Hanover, George soon realized that he would have to with Parliament and the Whigs that dominated it. Robert Walpole played a large
role in the Parliament during George’s reign, but became much more significant following its conclusion. Unlike Anne’s fairly civil relationship with Parliament, George had a much more aggressive one, as
he constantly failed to control it. This caused him to become increasingly dependent on his advisers. George also depended heavily on his ministry because he was from Hanover, spoke little English, and
knew very few things about the English government. Much of the problems that occurred while George was in power were financial, dealing with the national debt. George, however, was absent for much
of this, and was called back to London by the ministry following the passing of the Bubble Act. The economic crisis that emerged due to corruption and the economic deficit caused George and his ministry
to become greatly unpopular, causing him to again rely on his Parliament to aid his struggles. As Robert Walpole returned after resigning years earlier due to a disagreement, he convinced King George to
revive the Order of the Bath in 1725, which ended up gaining Walpole more success than the King. This later allowed for Walpole to dominate the English government following King George I’s death.
Throughout George’s reign, power continued to shift away from the monarchy not only due to his inability to solve the country’s crisis, but the introduction of a new monarchial family that
knew little of England’s history.
King George I was succeeded by his son, George II. However, his rule was heavily dominated by Robert Walpole, who was prime minister (or regarded as, at least, for thispositioned did not yet
exist officially). He used his personal influence with the new King in order to gain power within Parliament, which he did so rather effectively. In fact, one of Walpole’s leading characteristics was that he
was incredibly shrewd in his ways of influencing and using his personal connections to gain power. His power increased mainly throughout the reigns of the Hanoverian Kings, for they were particularly
weak in knowledge of national affairs. By 1721, he was no longer merely influencing the monarchy, but in complete control of the king’s cabinet along with another individual, Lord Townshend. Walpole
also ensured his power by maintaining a close relationship with King George II’s wife, Caroline. Throughout his dominance, he kept England out of numerous foreign conflicts, and aimed to avoid war or
reform at all costs. Some of his tactics received much opposition, but Parliament continued to obey him as he maintained power of the king throughout much of his reign. Because King George II was
unable to efficiently lead England on his own, his dependency on Robert Walpole essentially transferred power to Parliament entirely.
B.
Much of Queen Anne’s rule was dictated by religion. Anne is marked by her continued devotion to both England and Protestantism. Following protestant leaders William and Mary, Anne did not
receive the severity of opposition regarding her religion. Instead she feared that her father, James II, would regain catholic power. Strictly against Protestantism, James II had been overthrown by William
and Mary, whom were given the support of Anne. Their father had attempted to reinstate Catholicism as the sole religion of England on several occasions. While his successor was being debated, James
II made an offer to his daughter Anne for the throne if she agreed to embrace Catholicism – which she strongly refuted. Her religious views influenced her politically when it came to parliament. She
favored Tory politicians, who were more likely to share her protestant believes than their opponents, the Whigs. This manipulated who was appointed to Parliament until the Whigs were eventually able to
overpower the Tories and gain a greater influence in Parliament despite Anne’s opposition. Despite her inability to produce an heir, she did all that she could to ensure that her protestant line would
continue after her death. In 1701, under her reign, the Act of Settlement was passed. This guaranteed that Anne’s successor would in fact be protestant. At the time of Anne’s rule, though, there were still
conflicts present between the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. However, with Anne’s efforts Protestantism was gaining bother power and popularity. Queen Anne helped influence
religion during her reign by reinforcing protestant beliefs and most importantly ensuring that her successor would be protestant as well, which failed to resolve the religious conflicts
present in England for people were still opposed to Protestantism. This led to the involvement of Parliament, for the country was in need of unity.
TIMELINE OF SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:
1701: The Act of Succession is passed. This guarantees a line of consecutive Protestant rulers after the death of Queen Anne.
1702: The War of Spanish Succession brings out a bitter feud between Parliament and Anne. The question as to how the British will pay for the war arises and has the Queen
flustered. The fact that Anne had to debate with Parliament on the tax hikes she proposed signifies that the monarch of England was in no way absolute.
1707: The Act of Union brings Scotland and England together, and transfers seats of Scottish Parliament to London Parliament. The new country is called Great Britain.
1714: A new Parliament controlled by the Whigs is elected. The Parliament is led by Robert Walpole. This is significant for two reasons. Firstly, it gives birth to Walpole’s extensive
political career in Britain. His start as lead of Parliament will eventually turn into Prime Minister. Secondly, although it is never stated explicitly, it is implied based on Anne’s
appointments of all Tories to the Parliament that she and George I favor Tories’ policies. With the Whigs holding the majority of Parliament, Anne and George would find it difficult to
pass their agenda, and with the constant fighting between them, the power of the monarch would slowly diminish.
1716: The Septennial Act allows for a general election. The general election signifies representation. The British people are allowed to choose representatives for Parliament to vote
on issues on behalf of the people they represent. When the people gain a right to vote, the power of the monarch decreases because this indicates that their power is not
wholesome or absolute. They must share it with the representatives and people.
1720: The South Sea Company, a major British Corporation, collapses. The economic recession followed leads to low approval ratings of King George. On top of having a Whigcontrolled Parliament, George I also had to face the issue of recession. Already wildly unpopular, the support for George continued to decrease. His popularity and power were
rapidly decreasing.
1721: At the peak of the recession, Walpole is elected as Secretary of the Treasury. His actions help Britain emerge from the economic recession.
1730: Walpole is (kind of) elected Prime Minister in 1730. The term “Prime Minister was not officially used at the time of Walpole’s reign. The position of Prime Minister soon
replaced the monarch as the major political figurehead in Great Britain. When Walpole became Prime Minister, his actions in Britain’s domestic and (although he attempted to avoid
war) foreign affairs had increased the power of the Prime Minister’s chair. At the same time, the monarchy was still unpopular after the recession. When King George II entered the
monarchy in 1727, he did not possess much power at all. He could do little to stop the diminishing of monarchical power. Walpole was the unofficial head of state, almost serving as
a de facto Prime Minister until 1742, when he resigned. He is the longest serving “Prime Minister” in Great Britain’s history.
Robert Walpole is depicted here sitting in a king-like
chair, surrounded by the members of Parliament.
Parliament seems happy with Walpole for some reason.
It could be implied that the cartoonist is stating that
Walpole actually possesses that king-like power that
is diminishing from George I and George II.
This graph depicts the stock prices of the
The South Sea Company between 1719 - 1722.
As stated, it hits its peak in 1720. Because the
prices dropped again so quickly, many companies
who had invested became bankrupt.
The table here depicts the enormous lead
in the Whig party in the 1715 general election.
The overwhelming victory led to further disputes
between the king and Parliament.
Bibliography
“King George I.” Royal Family History. 2013. Web. 20 Oct 2013.
“Queen Anne.” History Learning Site.
2013. Web. 20 Oct 2013.
“Queen Anne.” NNBD: Tracking the
Entire World. 2013. Web. 20 Oct 2013.
“Robert Walpole.” Heritage History.
2012. Web. 20 Oct 2013.