Frederick North, Lord North
Prime Minister of Great Britain | |
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In office 28 January 1770 – 27 March 1782 | |
Monarch | George III |
Preceded by | The Duke of Grafton |
Succeeded by | The Marquess of Rockingham |
Home Secretary | |
In office 2 April 1783 – 19 December 1783 | |
Prime Minister | The Duke of Portland |
Preceded by | Thomas Townshend |
Succeeded by | The Earl Temple |
Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
In office 11 September 1767 – 27 March 1782 | |
Prime Minister |
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Preceded by | Charles Townshend |
Succeeded by | Lord John Cavendish |
Paymaster of the Forces | |
In office 21 August 1766 – 9 December 1767 Serving with George Cooke | |
Prime Minister | The Earl of Chatham |
Preceded by | Charles Townshend |
Succeeded by | Thomas Townshend |
Member of Parliament for Banbury | |
In office 20 May 1754 – 4 August 1790 | |
Preceded by | John Willes |
Succeeded by | George North, Lord North |
Personal details | |
Born | Piccadilly, London, England | 13 April 1732
Died | 5 August 1792 Mayfair, London, England | (aged 60)
Resting place | All Saints' Church, Wroxton, England |
Political party | |
Spouse |
Anne Speke (m. 1756) |
Children | 6, including George, Francis and Frederick |
Parent |
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Alma mater | Trinity College, Oxford |
Signature | |
Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford
North's reputation among historians has varied wildly, reaching its lowest point in the late 19th century, when he was depicted as a creature of the king and an incompetent who lost the American colonies. In the early 20th century, a revised view emerged which emphasised his strengths in administering the Treasury, handling the House of Commons, and in defending the Church of England. Historian Herbert Butterfield, however, argued that his indolence was a barrier to efficient crisis management; he neglected his role in supervising the entire war effort.[1][2]
Early life
Birth and family
North was born in London on 13 April 1732 at the family house at Albemarle Street, just off Piccadilly.[3] He spent much of his youth at Wroxton Abbey in Oxfordshire. North's strong resemblance to King George III suggested to contemporaries that George III's father, Frederick, Prince of Wales, might have been North's real father, making North the king's half-brother, a theory compatible with the prince's reputation but supported by little else other than the circumstantial evidence.[4]
King
North was descended from Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester, paternal uncle of Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich and was related to Samuel Pepys and the 3rd Earl of Bute. He at times had a slightly turbulent relationship with his father Francis North, yet they were very close. In his early years, the family was not wealthy, though their situation improved in 1735 when his father inherited property from his cousin.[7] Frederick's mother, Lady Lucy Montagu, a daughter of George Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax and his first wife, Ricarda Posthuma Staltonstall, died in 1734. His father remarried, but his stepmother, Elizabeth Kaye, widow of George Legge, Viscount Lewisham, eldest son of William Legge, 1st Earl of Dartmouth and his wife, Lady Anne Finch, third daughter of Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Aylesford, died in 1745, when Frederick was thirteen. One of his stepbrothers was William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth, who remained a close friend for life.[8]
Education
He was educated at
Early political career
Member of Parliament
On 15 April 1754, North, then 22, was elected unopposed as the
He was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the 1st Somerset Militia on 23 June 1759 when it was embodied for fulltime service, and commanded it in the West Country for Earl Poulett, the colonel, who was also Lord Lieutenant of Somerset. However, North resigned in November 1761 and concentrated on his political career.[13]
In November 1763, he was chosen to speak for the government concerning radical MP John Wilkes. Wilkes had made a savage attack on both the Prime Minister and the king in his newspaper The North Briton, which many thought libellous. North's motion that Wilkes be expelled from the House of Commons passed by 273 votes to 111. Wilkes' expulsion took place in his absence, as he had already fled to France following a duel.[14]
In government
When a government headed by the Whig magnate Charles Watson-Wentworth, Lord Rockingham came to power in 1765, North left his post and served for a time as a backbench MP. He turned down an offer by Rockingham to rejoin the government, not wanting to be associated with the Whig grandees that dominated the Ministry.[15]
He returned to office when Pitt returned to head a second government in 1766. North was appointed Joint
In December 1767, he succeeded Charles Townshend as Chancellor of the Exchequer. With the resignation of the secretary of state Henry Seymour Conway in early 1768, North became Leader of the Commons as well. He continued to serve when Pitt was succeeded by Grafton in October.[2]
Prime Minister
Appointment
When the Duke of Grafton resigned as Prime Minister, North formed a government on 28 January 1770. His ministers and supporters tended to be known as Tories, though they were not a formal grouping and many had previously been Whigs. He took over with Great Britain in a triumphant state following the
Falklands Crisis
North's ministry had an early success during the
The British government's prestige and popularity were enormously boosted by the incident. It had successfully managed to drive a wedge between France and Spain and demonstrated the power of the
American War of Independence
Most of North's government was focused first on the growing problems with the American colonies. Later on, it was preoccupied with conducting the
North delegated the overall strategy of the war to his key subordinates
The country's problems were augmented by the
Britain's fortunes in the war in America had temporarily improved following the failure of a Franco-American attack on Newport and the prosecution of a Southern strategy that saw the capture of Charleston, South Carolina and its garrison. During 1780 and 1781, the North government gained strength in the House of Commons.[22]
In October 1781, British forces under Lord Cornwallis surrendered at the conclusion of the Siege of Yorktown, dealing a crushing blow to British morale. When the news reached North, he took it "as he would have taken a ball in his breast", and exclaimed repeatedly "Oh God! It is all over!"[23]
Resignation
North was the second British Prime Minister to be forced out of office by a motion of no confidence; the first was Sir Robert Walpole in 1742. Lord North resigned on 20 March 1782 on account of the British defeat at Yorktown the year before. In an attempt to end the war, he proposed the Conciliation Plan, in which he promised that Great Britain would eliminate all disagreeable acts if the colonies ended the war. The colonies rejected the plan, as their goal had become full independence.
In April 1782, it was suggested in cabinet by Lord Shelburne that North should be brought to public trial for his conduct of the American War, but the prospect was soon abandoned.[24] Ironically, the war began to turn in Great Britain's favour again in 1782 through naval victories, owing largely to policies adopted by Lord North and the Earl of Sandwich. The British naval victory at the Battle of the Saintes took place after the government's fall. Despite predictions that Gibraltar's fall was imminent, that fortress managed to hold out and was relieved. Great Britain was able to make a much more favourable peace in 1783 than had appeared likely at the time when North had been ousted. In spite of this, North was critical of the terms agreed by the Shelburne government which he felt undervalued the strength of the British negotiating position.
Post-premiership
Fox–North coalition
In April 1783, North returned to power as
The new Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger, was not expected to last long, and North, a vocal critic, still entertained hopes of regaining high office. In this, he was to be frustrated, as Pitt dominated the British political scene for the next twenty years, leaving both North and Fox in the political wilderness.
Later years
North was an active speaker until he began to go blind in 1786. He succeeded his father as 2nd Earl of Guilford on 4 August 1790 and entered the House of Lords, by which time he had entirely lost his sight.[25] Lord Guilford died in Mayfair, England (now part of London), and was buried at All Saints' Church, Wroxton (Oxfordshire), near his family home of Wroxton Abbey. His memorial was sculpted by John Flaxman RA.[26]
His son George North, Lord North, took over the constituency of Banbury, and in 1792 acceded to his father's title. Wroxton Abbey is now owned by Fairleigh Dickinson University, ironically an American college, and the modernised abbey serves as a location for American students to study abroad in England.
Legacy
Lord North is today predominantly remembered as the Prime Minister "who lost America".[27]
Both Lord North Street and Guilford Street in London are named after him.
Family
On 20 May 1756 Lord North married Anne Speke (before 1741 – 1797), daughter of George Speke MP, of Whitelackington in Somerset. She was the sole heiress of the Devonshire estates of the Drake family of Ash, which subsequently were sold piecemeal by Lord North.[28] By Anne he had seven children:
- George Augustus North, 3rd Earl of Guilford (11 September 1757 – 20 April 1802), who married, firstly, Maria Frances Mary Hobart-Hampden (died 23 April 1794), daughter of the 3rd Earl of Buckinghamshire, on 30 September 1785 and had issue. He married, secondly, Susan Coutts (died 24 September 1837), on 28 February 1796.
- Catherine Anne North (1760–1817), who married Sylvester Douglas, 1st Baron Glenbervie, and had no children.
- Francis North, 4th Earl of Guilford (1761–1817)
- Lady Charlotte North (died 25 October 1849), who married Lt. Col. The Hon. John Lindsay (15 March 1762 – 6 March 1826), son of the 5th Earl of Balcarres, on 2 April 1800.
- Frederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford (1766–1827)
- Lady Anne North (before 1783 – 18 January 1832), who married the 1st Earl of Sheffieldon 20 January 1798 and had two children
Titles, styles and arms
- The Honourable Frederick North (1732–1752)
- Lord North (1752–1790)
- The Earl of Guilford (1790–1792)
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References
Citations
- ^ Nigel Aston, "North, Frederick, 2nd Earl of Guilford" in David Loads, ed., Readers Guide to British History (2003) pp. 960–962.
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/20304. Retrieved 11 February 2021. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Whiteley p. 15.
- Tuchman, Barbara(1984). The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam. New York: Knopf. p. 185.
- ^ Wilkins, W H. Mrs. Fitzherbert and George IV. p. 110.
- ^ House of Commons (1715). Reports from Committees of the House of Commons. p. 182.
- ^ Whiteley p. 2.
- ^ Whiteley pp. 6–7.
- ^ Whiteley p. 12.
- ^ Whiteley pp. 11–14.
- ^ Whiteley p. 19.
- ^ Whiteley p. 24.
- ^ Kerr, pp. 10, 68.
- ^ Whiteley, p. 49
- ^ Whiteley, p. 51.
- ^ Whiteley, p. 60
- ^ a b Rodger p. 329
- ^ Whiteley p. 329
- ^ Hibbert pp. 23–62
- ^ Hibbert pp. 84–140
- ^ Dorothy Marshall, Eighteenth Century England (1974) pp. 469–472
- ^ Rodger p. 343
- ^ Wraxall, Nathaniel (November 1781). "Memoirs of Sir Nathaniel Wraxall".
- ^ Whiteley p. 215
- ^ [1][permanent dead link]
- ^ Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660–1851 by Rupert Gunnis p. 150
- ^ Whiteley Title of the Book
- ^ Prince, John, (1643–1723) The Worthies of Devon, 1810 edition, London, p. 331, footnote 2
Sources
- Aston, Nigel. "North, Frederick, 2nd Earl of Guilford" in David Loads, ed., Readers Guide to British History (2003) pp 960–962; Historiography
- Butterfield, Herbert. George III, Lord North, and the People, 1779–80 (1949)
- Cannon, John. Lord North: The Noble Lord in the Blue Ribbon (1970), Short survey
- Hibbert, Christopher. King Mob: The Story of Lord George Gordon and the Riots of 1780 London, 1958.
- W.J.W. Kerr, Records of the 1st Somerset Militia (3rd Bn. Somerset L.I.), Aldershot:Gale & Polden, 1930.
- Rodger, N.A.M. Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain 1649–1815, (2007)
- O'Shaughnessy, Andrew Jackson. The Men who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire (Yale UP, 2014) pp 47–80. online
- Smith, Charles Daniel. The Early Career of Lord North, the Prime Minister, (1979)
- Valentine, Alan. Lord North (1967, 2 vol.), the standard biography
- Whiteley, Peter. Lord North: The Prime Minister who lost America, (1996)
Primary sources
- Lord North, The Correspondence of King George the Third with Lord North from 1768 to 1783, William Bodham Donne, ed. (1867) online edition
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 691.
External links
- More about Lord North on the Downing Street website.