William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger (
May 28,
1759 -
January 23,
1806) was a
British politician and
Prime Minister of
Great Britain from
1783 to
1801 and of the
United Kingdom from
1804 until his death in 1806. He is considered to have been one of the key figures in consolidating the office and powers of the Prime Minister.
He was born in Hayes,
Kent the second son of
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham. Pitt the Younger was educated at home due to his consistently poor health. He attended the
University of Cambridge from
1773, but his health delayed his graduation so in
1776 he took advantage of a little-used privilege allowing the sons of nobles to graduate without a final examination. His father died in
1778 and left Pitt with very little. He was called to the bar in
1780 and in September of that year he also stood for election to
Parliament for
Cambridge. He lost but entered Parliament in January
1781 after winning in
Appleby, a seat controlled by
patronage.
In Parliament the youthful Pitt cast aside his withdrawn and aloof nature to emerge as a great parliamentarian. He was a traditional
Tory, accepting Royal control over the more democratic ideas of the
Whigs. He demonstrated amazing self confidence: when
William Petty, 2nd Earl Shelburne formed a new government in July
1782 Pitt gained for himself the post of
Chancellor of the Exchequer. He appointed a commission to consider economic reform and introduced certain new taxes. Pitt attempted to build a rapprochement with the reformer
Charles James Fox: instead he succeeded in earning Fox's political enmity for life and an alliance of Fox with
Lord North soon brought the Shelburne administration to an end.
George III offered Pitt the opportunity to form a new government, a chance Pitt wisely declined realising he would not be able to control the House. The new
coalition government that did form was nominally under the control of the
Duke of Portland. In order to strain the uneasy alliance of reformers and anti-reformers Pitt raised the reform question, although he did not seek to extend the franchise he managed to convince the reformers that he was their true leader.
In December
1783 the coalition government was dismissed and this time Pitt accepted the offer of the King to form a new administration. He was Britain's youngest ever prime minister, still trading on his father's reputation. A popular ditty commented that it was:
- A sight to make all nations stand and stare:\n:A kingdom trusted to a schoolboy's care.
Pitt was shrewd enough to try to co-opt Fox and his allies into his ministry, but his refusal to include Lord North thwarted his efforts. The new government was immediately on the defensive. Defeated in the House in January 1784, Pitt took the unprecedented step of
not resigning. He remained defiantly in office and gained some defectors from the coalition, but insufficient to prevent the House being dissolved and a general election called on March 25. Pitt was not concerned: his government, through the tools of royal patronage and electoral fraud, was returned to the House with a reasonable number of supporters and Pitt was elected MP for the
University of Cambridge.
With his administration secure Pitt could now turn to the actual problems of the country. He had the
British East India Company reorganised by a bill in
1784, inroducing government supervision. It went so far that when the governor-general,
Warren Hastings returned from his commercially successful and expansionist term he was faced with an inquiry and trial for impeachment. In
1790 the
Spanish claims to exclusive control of the western side of
North America were crushed following the Nootka Sound Controversy.
Canada was divided between the
French and the British by the
Constitutional Act of 1791.
Following the rebellion in America the national debt had assumed staggering proportions. Pitt instituted more
taxes, simplified
customs and
excise, and worked to reduce corruption. In
1786 he instituted a new fund of
stock purchase, at £1 million a year for 28 years. In
1792 the
sinking fund concept was extended by an Act to all new loans - a 1% fund would allow each loan to be repaid in under fifty years. The system worked only if there was an annual surplus, so the outbreak of renewed hostilities with France in
1793 threw the government finances back into disarray.
Pitt had sought European alliances to restrict French power, signing agreements with
Prussia and the
United Provinces in
1788. But the government delayed intervening in Europe following the
French Revolution as long as possible: the French had to declare war on
February 1,
1793 before Britain would act. Pitt refused to act to restore the monarchy and confined his resources to guarding the most vital interests of the empire. He formed an alliance with
Austria, Prussia,
Spain and the United Provinces. He responded to the demonstrations of reformers by clamping down on seditious publications and in
1794 habeas corpus was suspended (until
1801). The French repeatedly beat Britain's allies on the battlefield, the
First Coalition collapsing around
1798. The fall of the
Second Coalition with the defeat of the
Austrians at
Marengo (
June 14,
1800) left Britain facing France alone. With a lull in active hostilities Pitt was distracted by the
Irish: inflamed by revolutionary ideas there had been a rebellion in
1798 and
religious tensions were worse than ever. Pitt sought a union of the two countries and also, controversially,
Catholic emancipation. Blocked by his cabinet and the King he resigned on
February 3, 1801.
Henry Addington, a political friend of Pitt, headed the new government. The King suffered a renewed bout of madness and when he recovered in March, 1802 he accused Pitt of inciting the attack by arguing the Catholic issue. Pitt supported the new government but with little enthusiasm; he was frequently absent from Parliament. A series of British military victories led to the signing of the
Treaty of Amiens (March,
1802). War with the French was renewed in earnest from May
1803 and Pitt returned to the House a strong critic of government policy. Addington lost support and in May
1804 resigned. Pitt was approached to head a new government and agreed.
Pitt's new government was shaky in the House and under unrelenting pressure from the activities of
Napoleon. Pitt put great effort into forming a coalition with Austria,
Russia and
Sweden. Pitt was highly confident in the success of the Third Coalition but military defeats at Ulm (September-October, Austrians) and
Austerlitz (
December 2, Russians and Austrians) led to its collapse. The threat of invasion grew ever closer throughout the year until
Nelson secured British control of the seas with his vital victory at
Trafalgar (
October 21). The set-backs took a toll on Pitt's health - he made a last public speech in November and by early January,
1806 he was doing so poorly that MPs were considering forcing him to resign to preserve his life. He died on
January 23 and was buried at
Westminster Abbey. In Parliament a motion to pay his debts (£40,000) was carried unanimously. He was replaced as Prime Minister by
Lord Grenville.
Famous quote
\nNecessity is the argument of tyrants, it is the creed of slaves.
Pitt's First Government, December 1783 - February 1801
\n*William Pitt - First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer\n*Lord Thurlow - Lord Chancellor\n*Lord Gower - Lord President of the Council\n*The Duke of Rutland - Lord Privy Seal\n*Lord Sydney - Secretary of State for the Home Department\n*Lord Carmarthen (the Duke of Leeds from 1789) - Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs\n*Lord Howe - First Lord of the Admiralty\n*The Duke of Richmond - Master-General of the Ordnance
Changes\n*March, 1784 - The Duke of Rutland becomes Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, remaining also Lord Privy Seal.\n*December, 1784 - Lord Gower succeeds the Duke of Rutland as Lord Privy Seal (Rutland remains Viceroy of Ireland). Lord Camden succeeds Gower as Lord President.\n*November, 1787 - Lord Buckingham succeeds the Duke of Rutland as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland\n*July, 1788 - Lord Chatham, Pitt's elder brother, succeeds Lord Howe as First Lord of the Admiralty\n*June, 1789 - William Wyndham Grenville (Lord Grenville from 1790), succeeds Lord Sydney as Home Secretary.\n*October, 1789 - Lord Westmorland succeeds Lord Buckingham as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland\n*June, 1791 - Lord Grenville succeeds the Duke of Leeds as Foreign Secretary. Henry Dundas succeeds Grenville as Home Secretary.\n*June, 1792 - Lord Thurlow resigns as Lord Chancellor. The Great Seal goes into commission.\n*January, 1793 - Lord Loughborough becomes Lord Chancellor\n*July, 1794 - Lord Fitzwilliam succeeds Lord Camden as Lord President. Henry Dundas takes the new Secretaryship of State for War, while the Duke of Portland succeeds Dundas as Home Secretary. The Duke of Marlborough succeeds Gower as Lord Privy Seal. William Windham, the Secretary at War, enters the Cabinet.\n*December, 1794 - Lord Chatham succeeds the Duke of Marlborough as Lord Privy Seal. Lord Spencer succeeds Chatham as First Lord of the Admiralty. Lord Fitzwilliam succeeds Lord Westmorland as Viceroy of Ireland. Lord Mansfield succeeds Fitzwilliam as Lord President.\n*March, 1795 - Lord Camden succeeds Lord Fitzwilliam as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland\n*1795 - Lord Cornwallis succeeds the Duke of Richmond as Master-General of the Ordnance.\n*September, 1796 - Lord Chatham succeeds Lord Mansfield as Lord President, remaining also Lord Privy Seal.\n*February, 1798 - Lord Westmorland succeeds Lord Chatham as Lord Privy Seal. Chatham remains Lord President.\n*June, 1798 - Lord Cornwallis succeeds Lord Camden as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, remaining also Master-General of the Ordnance.
Pitt's Second Government, May 1804 - February 1806
\n*William Pitt - First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer\n*Lord Eldon - Lord Chancellor\n*The Duke of Portland - Lord President of the Council\n*Lord Westmorland - Lord Privy Seal\n*Lord Hawkesbury - Secretary of State for the Home Department\n*Lord Harrowby - Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs\n*Lord Camden - Secretary of State for War and the Colonies\n*Lord Melville - First Lord of the Admiralty\n*Lord Chatham - Master-General of the Ordnance\n*The Duke of Montrose - President of the Board of Trade\n*Lord Castlereagh - President of the Board of Control\n*Lord Mulgrave - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Changes\n*January, 1805 - Lord Mulgrave succeeds Lord Harrowby as Foreign Secretary. Lord Buckinghamshire (previously Lord Hobart) succeeds Mulgrave at the Duchy of Lancaster.\n*April, 1805 - Lord Barham succeeds Lord Melville as First Lord of the Admiralty\n*July, 1805 - Lord Harrowby succeeds Lord Buckinghamshire as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Lord Sidmouth succeeds the Duke of Portland as Lord President. Portland becomes a Minister without Portfolio.
{| border=2 align="center"\n|-\n|width="30%" align="center"|Preceded by:
The Lord John Cavendish\n|width="40%" align="center"|Chancellor of the Exchequer
1782-1783\n|width="30%" align="center"|Followed by:
The Lord John Cavendish\n|-\n|width="30%" align="center"|Preceded by:
The Lord John Cavendish\n|width="40%" align="center"|Chancellor of the Exchequer
1783-1801\n|width="30%" align="center"|Followed by:
Henry Addington\n|-\n|width="30%" align="center"|Preceded by:
Henry Addington\n|width="40%" align="center"|Chancellor of the Exchequer
1804-1806\n|width="30%" align="center"|Followed by:
The Lord Henry Petty\n|-\n|width="30%" align="center"|Preceded by:
The Duke of Portland\n|width="40%" align="center"|Prime Minister of Great Britain
1783-1801\n|width="30%" align="center"|Followed by:
Henry Addington\n|-\n|width="30%" align="center"|Preceded by:
Henry Addington\n|width="40%" align="center"|Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1804-1806\n|width="30%" align="center"|Followed by:
The Lord Grenville\n|}
\n
Pitt, William\nPitt, William
