Frederick North, Lord North

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(Redirected from
Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford
)

Prime Minister of Great Britain
In office
28 January 1770 – 27 March 1782
MonarchGeorge III
Preceded byThe Duke of Grafton
Succeeded byThe Marquess of Rockingham
Home Secretary
In office
2 April 1783 – 19 December 1783
Prime MinisterThe Duke of Portland
Preceded byThomas Townshend
Succeeded byThe Earl Temple
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office
11 September 1767 – 27 March 1782
Prime Minister
Preceded byCharles Townshend
Succeeded byLord John Cavendish
Paymaster of the Forces
In office
21 August 1766 – 9 December 1767
Serving with George Cooke
Prime MinisterThe Earl of Chatham
Preceded byCharles Townshend
Succeeded byThomas Townshend
Member of Parliament
for Banbury
In office
20 May 1754 – 4 August 1790
Preceded byJohn Willes
Succeeded byGeorge North, Lord North
Personal details
Born(1732-04-13)13 April 1732
Piccadilly, London, England
Died5 August 1792(1792-08-05) (aged 60)
Mayfair, London, England
Resting placeAll Saints' Church, Wroxton, England
Political party
Spouse
Anne Speke
(m. 1756)
Children6, including George, Francis and Frederick
Parent
Alma materTrinity College, Oxford
Signature

Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford

Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most of the American War of Independence. He also held a number of other cabinet posts, including Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer
.

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

Lord of the Bedchamber to Frederick, Prince of Wales, who stood as godfather to the infant, christened Frederick, possibly in honour of his real father.[6]

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

MA. After leaving Oxford, he travelled in Europe on a Grand Tour with Lord Dartmouth. They stayed in Leipzig for nearly nine months, studying under the constitutional scholar Johann Jacob Mascov.[9] They continued through Austria and Italy, staying in Rome from December 1752 to Easter 1753, then through Switzerland to Paris, returning to England in early 1754.[10]

Portrait of Lord North by Pompeo Batoni (1753)

Early political career

Member of Parliament

On 15 April 1754, North, then 22, was elected unopposed as the

Whig, he did not closely align with any of the Whig factions in Parliament, and it became obvious to many contemporaries that his sympathies were largely Tory.[12][2]

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

Privy Counsellor. As Pitt was constantly ill, the government was effectively run by Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, with North as one of its most senior members.[16]

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

In The State Tinkers (1780), James Gillray caricatured North (on his knees) and his allies as incompetent tinkers of the National Kettle. George III cries out in rapture in the rear.

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

First British Empire expand to a peak by taking in vast new territories on several continents. Circumstances forced him to keep many members of the previous cabinet in their jobs, despite their lack of agreement with him.[17] In contrast to many of his predecessors, North enjoyed a good relationship with George III, partly based on their shared patriotism and desire for decency in their private lives.[18]

Falklands Crisis

North's ministry had an early success during the

Duc de Choiseul
, the hawkish Chief Minister of France, who had advocated war and a large invasion of Great Britain by the French.

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

Republic of Corsica, a British ally, during the Corsican Crisis two years earlier. Using his newly found popularity, North took a chance and appointed Lord Sandwich to the cabinet as First Lord of the Admiralty
.

American War of Independence

French caricature on the government of Frederick North after the defeat of Grenada (1779).

Most of North's government was focused first on the growing problems with the American colonies. Later on, it was preoccupied with conducting the

Coercive Acts in Great Britain, while dubbed the Intolerable Acts in the colonies. By shutting down the Boston government and cutting off trade, he hoped they would keep the peace and dispirit the rebellious colonists. Instead, the acts further inflamed Massachusetts and the other colonies, eventually resulting in open war during the Boston campaign
of 1775–76.

North delegated the overall strategy of the war to his key subordinates

Philadelphia, the British were unable to secure a decisive victory. In 1778, the French allied themselves with the American rebels, and Spain joined the war in 1779 as an ally of France, followed by the Dutch Republic in 1780. The British found themselves fighting a global war on four continents without a single ally. After 1778, the British switched the focus of their efforts to the defence of the West Indies, as their sugar wealth made them much more valuable to Great Britain than the Thirteen Colonies. In 1779, Great Britain was faced with the prospect of a major Franco-Spanish invasion, but the Armada of 1779 was ultimately a failure. Several peace initiatives fell through, and an attempt by Richard Cumberland
to negotiate a separate peace with Spain ended in frustration.

The country's problems were augmented by the

Protestant Association that led to the Gordon Riots in London in June 1780.[19] For around a week, the city was in the control of the mob until the military was called out and martial law imposed.[20] Public opinion, especially in middle-class and elite circles, repudiated anti-Catholicism and violence, and rallied behind the North government. Demands were made for a London police force.[21]

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

This modern American silver medallion commemorates the motion of no confidence against North on 27 February 1782 to end the American War of Independence. North resigned a month later.

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

American War of Independence
.

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

Anne Speke (before 1741 – 1797), wife of Lord North. Portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792)

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:

Titles, styles and arms

  • The Honourable Frederick North (1732–1752)
  • Lord North (1752–1790)
  • The Earl of Guilford (1790–1792)
Coat of arms of Frederick North, Lord North
Crest
A Dragon's Head erased Sable ducally-gorged and chained Or.
Escutcheon
Azure a Lion passant between three Fleurs-de-lis Argent.
Supporters
On either side a Mastiff Proper.
Motto
La Vertu Est La Seule Noblesse (Virtue is the only nobility); Animo Et Fide (With courage and Faith)

References

Citations

  1. ^ Nigel Aston, "North, Frederick, 2nd Earl of Guilford" in David Loads, ed., Readers Guide to British History (2003) pp. 960–962.
  2. ^
    doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/20304. Retrieved 11 February 2021. (Subscription or UK public library membership
    required.)
  3. ^ Whiteley p. 15.
  4. Tuchman, Barbara
    (1984). The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam. New York: Knopf. p. 185.
  5. ^ Wilkins, W H. Mrs. Fitzherbert and George IV. p. 110.
  6. ^ House of Commons (1715). Reports from Committees of the House of Commons. p. 182.
  7. ^ Whiteley p. 2.
  8. ^ Whiteley pp. 6–7.
  9. ^ Whiteley p. 12.
  10. ^ Whiteley pp. 11–14.
  11. ^ Whiteley p. 19.
  12. ^ Whiteley p. 24.
  13. ^ Kerr, pp. 10, 68.
  14. ^ Whiteley, p. 49
  15. ^ Whiteley, p. 51.
  16. ^ Whiteley, p. 60
  17. ^ a b Rodger p. 329
  18. ^ Whiteley p. 329
  19. ^ Hibbert pp. 23–62
  20. ^ Hibbert pp. 84–140
  21. ^ Dorothy Marshall, Eighteenth Century England (1974) pp. 469–472
  22. ^ Rodger p. 343
  23. ^ Wraxall, Nathaniel (November 1781). "Memoirs of Sir Nathaniel Wraxall".
  24. ^ Whiteley p. 215
  25. ^ [1][permanent dead link]
  26. ^ Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660–1851 by Rupert Gunnis p. 150
  27. ^ Whiteley Title of the Book
  28. ^ 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

Primary sources

External links

Political offices
Preceded by Paymaster of the Forces
1766–1767
Served alongside: George Cooke
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Chancellor of the Exchequer
1767–1782
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Leader of the House of Commons
1767–1782
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Prime Minister of Great Britain

1770–1782
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First Lord of the Treasury
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Home Secretary

1783
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Leader of the House of Commons
1783
Served alongside: Charles James Fox
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Parliament of Great Britain
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17541790
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