George II
British King and Elector of Hanover
A More Active King
Unlike his father George I from 1727 George II decided to take more active part in the ruling of Great Britain and Ireland. George II had detested his father yet maintained the services of Sir Robert Walpole as Prime Minister. Indeed George II became king when Great Britain was becoming increasingly powerful and gaining a large empire. In Europe Great Britain found its links with Hanover and alliance with Prussia was very useful in keeping the power of France in check. However the French were anxious to find ways of undermining British power by supporting Charles Stuart the Young Pretender.
The Young Pretender and the Failure of the '45
Despite the might of the Royal Navy Charles Stuart was still able to land in the highlands of Scotland in 1745 to launch the '45 Rebellion and make him Charles III. The bulk of the British army was away fighting in Europe so that the Young Pretender apparently had no obstacles to becoming king after reaching London. Charles Stuart was not concerned that the French were not able to send troops to help him, his Scots followers seemed to be strong enough to win the day.
Unlike many members of the government George II did not panic as the Jacobite army marched southwards. As units of the British army were brought back from the European mainland the Young Pretender was unable to persuade his supporters to carry on towards London and they returned to Scotland. In 1746 the British army commanded by George II's son the Duke of Cumberland destroyed the Jacobites at Culloden Moor.
The Expanding British Empire
During George II’s reign the British Empire continued to expand increasing British rivalry with France. The British had been on the winning side in the War of the Austrian Succession, which had also led to fighting in North America and India as well as in Europe. The French were determined to reverse their defeats at the hands of Britain and Prussia contributing to the outbreak of the Severn Years War in 1756. At first the war went badly for the British yet George II’s appointment of William Pitt the Elder to be Prime Minister proved an inspired choice. By the time that George died in 1760 the French had been driven out of Canada and India.
Bibliography
Crystal D (1998) Chambers’ Biographical Encyclopedia, 2nd edition, Edinburgh
Holmes R, (2007) Battlefield, Oxford University Press, Oxford
Gardiner & Wenborn (1995) The History Today Companion to British History, Little, Brown & Co, London
Lenman B, (2004) Chambers Dictionary of World History, Edinburgh
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