William Pitt the Younger
Lord Henry Petty | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In office 19 December 1783 – 14 March 1801 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Lord John Cavendish | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Henry Addington | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 10 July 1782 – 31 March 1783 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Lord John Cavendish | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Lord John Cavendish | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Hayes, Kent, England | 28 May 1759||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 23 January 1806 Putney, London, England | (aged 46)||||||||||||||||||||||||
Resting place | Westminster Abbey, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Political party | Tory | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parent(s) | William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham Lady Hester Grenville | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alma mater | Pembroke College, Cambridge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Signature | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Military Service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Allegiance | Great Britain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Service/ | British Militia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years of service | 1802–1804 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rank | Colonel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Unit | Trinity House Volunteer Artillery Cinque Ports Volunteers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Battles/wars | Napoleonic Wars | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
William Pitt the Younger (28 May 1759 – 23 January 1806) was a British statesman, the youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain from 1783 until the Acts of Union 1800 and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom from January 1801. He left office in March 1801, but served as prime minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806. He was also Chancellor of the Exchequer for all of his time as prime minister. He is known as "Pitt the Younger" to distinguish him from his father, William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, who had previously served as prime minister and is referred to as "William Pitt the Elder" (or "Chatham" by historians).
Pitt's prime ministerial tenure, which came during the reign of King
Pitt was regarded as an outstanding administrator who worked for efficiency and reform, bringing in a new generation of competent administrators. He increased taxes to pay for the great war against France and cracked down on radicalism. To engage the threat of Irish support for France, he engineered the Acts of Union 1800 and tried (but failed) to secure Catholic emancipation as part of the Union. He created the "new Toryism", which revived the Tory Party and enabled it to stay in power for the next quarter-century.
The historian Asa Briggs argues that his personality did not endear itself to the British mind, for Pitt was too solitary and too colourless, and too often exuded an attitude of superiority. His greatness came in the war with France. Pitt reacted to become what Lord Minto called "the Atlas of our reeling globe". William Wilberforce said, "For personal purity, disinterestedness and love of this country, I have never known his equal."[1] Historian Charles Petrie concludes that he was one of the greatest prime ministers "if on no other ground than that he enabled the country to pass from the old order to the new without any violent upheaval ... He understood the new Britain."[2] For this he is ranked highly amongst all British prime ministers in multiple surveys.[3][4]
Pitt served as prime minister for a total of eighteen years, 343 days, making him the second-longest-serving British prime minister of all time, after Robert Walpole.
Early life
Family
William Pitt, the second son of William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, was born on 28 May 1759 at Hayes Place in the village of Hayes, Kent.[5] He was from a political family on both sides, as his mother, Hester Grenville, was sister of former prime minister George Grenville.[6] According to biographer John Ehrman, Pitt exhibited the brilliance and dynamism of his father's line, and the determined, methodical nature of the Grenvilles.[7]
Education
Suffering from occasional poor health as a boy, he was educated at home by the Reverend Edward Wilson. An intelligent child, Pitt quickly became proficient in
In 1776, Pitt, plagued by poor health, took advantage of a little-used privilege available only to the sons of noblemen, and chose to graduate without having to pass examinations. Pitt's father was said to have insisted that his son spontaneously translate passages of classical literature orally into English, and declaim impromptu upon unfamiliar topics in an effort to develop his oratorical skills.
Early political career (1780–1783)
Member of Parliament
During the general elections of September 1780, at the age of 21, Pitt contested the
In Parliament, the youthful Pitt cast aside his tendency to be withdrawn in public, emerging as a noted debater right from his
Chancellorship
After Lord North's ministry collapsed in 1782, the Whig Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, was appointed prime minister. Pitt was offered the minor post of Vice-Treasurer of Ireland, but he refused, considering the post overly subordinate. Lord Rockingham died only three months after coming to power; he was succeeded by another Whig, William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne. Many Whigs who had formed a part of the Rockingham ministry, including Fox, now refused to serve under Lord Shelburne, the new prime minister. Pitt, however, was comfortable with Shelburne, and thus joined his government; he was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer.[20]
Fox, who became Pitt's lifelong political rival, then joined a coalition with Lord North, with whom he collaborated to bring about the defeat of the Shelburne administration. When Lord Shelburne resigned in 1783, King George III, who despised Fox, offered to appoint Pitt to the office of Prime Minister. But Pitt wisely declined, for he knew he would be incapable of securing the support of the House of Commons. The Fox–North coalition rose to power in a government nominally headed by William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland.[21]
Pitt, who had been stripped of his post as Chancellor of the Exchequer, joined the
Effects of the American War of Independence
Losing the war and the
First Premiership (1783–1801)
Rise to power
The Fox–North Coalition fell in December 1783, after Fox had introduced Edmund Burke's bill to reform the East India Company to gain the patronage he so greatly lacked while the king refused to support him. Fox stated the bill was necessary to save the company from bankruptcy. Pitt responded that: "Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."[24] The king was opposed to the bill; when it passed in the House of Commons, he secured its defeat in the House of Lords by threatening to regard anyone who voted for it as his enemy. Following the bill's failure in the Upper House, George III dismissed the coalition government and finally entrusted the premiership to William Pitt, after having offered the position to him three times previously.[25]
Appointment
A constitutional crisis arose when the king dismissed the Fox–North coalition government and named Pitt to replace it. Though faced with a hostile majority in Parliament, Pitt was able to solidify his position within a few months. Some historians argue that his success was inevitable given the decisive importance of monarchical power; others argue that the king gambled on Pitt and that both would have failed but for a run of good fortune.[26]
Pitt, at the age of 24, became Great Britain's youngest Prime Minister ever. The contemporary satire
Above the rest, majestically great,
Behold the infant Atlas of the state,
The matchless miracle of modern days,
In whom Britannia to the world displays
A sight to make surrounding nations stare;
A kingdom trusted to a school-boy's care.
Many saw Pitt as a stop-gap appointment until some more senior statesman took on the role. However, although it was widely predicted that the new "mince-pie administration" would not outlast the Christmas season,[28] it survived for seventeen years.[29]
So as to reduce the power of the
Electoral victory
Pitt gained great popularity with the public at large as "Honest Billy" who was seen as a refreshing change from the dishonesty, corruption and lack of principles widely associated with both Fox and North. Despite a series of defeats in the House of Commons, Pitt defiantly remained in office, watching the Coalition's majority shrink as some Members of Parliament left the Opposition to abstain.[30]
In March 1784, Parliament was dissolved, and a general election ensued. An electoral defeat for the government was out of the question because Pitt enjoyed the support of King George III. Patronage and bribes paid by the Treasury were normally expected to be enough to secure the government a comfortable majority in the House of Commons, but on this occasion, the government reaped much popular support as well.[31] In most popular constituencies, the election was fought between candidates clearly representing either Pitt or Fox and North. Early returns showed a massive swing to Pitt with the result that many Opposition Members who still had not faced election either defected, stood down, or made deals with their opponents to avoid expensive defeats.[32]
A notable exception came in Fox's own constituency of
First government
In domestic politics, Pitt concerned himself with the cause of
Colonial reform
His administration secure, Pitt could begin to enact his agenda. His first major piece of legislation as prime minister was the
Convicts were originally transported to the Thirteen Colonies in North America, but after the American War of Independence ended in 1783, the newly formed United States refused to accept further convicts.[36] Pitt's government took the decision to settle what is now Australia and found the penal colony in August 1786. The First Fleet of 11 vessels carried over a thousand settlers, including 778 convicts. The Colony of New South Wales was formally proclaimed by Governor Arthur Phillip on 7 February 1788 at Sydney.[37]
Finances
Another important domestic issue with which Pitt had to concern himself was the national debt, which had doubled to £243 million during the American war.[a] Every year, a third of the budget of £24 million went to pay interest. Pitt sought to reduce the national debt by imposing new taxes. In 1786, he instituted a sinking fund so that £1 million a year was added to a fund so that it could accumulate interest; eventually, the money in the fund was to be used to pay off the national debt. By 1792, the debt had fallen to £170 million.[38][b]
Pitt always paid careful attention to financial issues. A fifth of Britain's imports were smuggled in without paying taxes. He made it easier for honest merchants to import goods by lowering tariffs on easily smuggled items such as tea, wine, spirits, and tobacco. This policy raised customs revenues by nearly £2 million a year.[39][40][c]
In 1797, Pitt was forced to protect the kingdom's gold reserves by preventing individuals from exchanging banknotes for gold. Great Britain would continue to use paper money for over two decades. Pitt also introduced Great Britain's first-ever income tax. The new tax helped offset losses in indirect tax revenue, which had been caused by a decline in trade.[41]
Foreign affairs
Pitt sought European alliances to restrict French influence, forming the
Pitt was alarmed at Russian expansion in the 1780s at the expense of the Ottoman Empire.[44] The relations between Russia and Britain were disturbed during the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792 by Pitt's subscription to the view of the Prussian government that the Triple Alliance could not with impunity allow the balance of power in Eastern Europe to be disturbed. In peace talks with the Ottomans, Russia refused to return the key Ochakov fortress. Pitt wanted to threaten military retaliation. However Russia's ambassador Semyon Vorontsov organised Pitt's enemies and launched a public opinion campaign. Pitt had become alarmed at the opposition to his Russian policy in parliament, Burke and Fox both uttering powerful speeches against the restoration of Ochakov to the Turks. Pitt won the vote so narrowly that he gave up.[45][46] The outbreak of the French Revolution and its attendant wars temporarily united Britain and Russia in an ideological alliance against French republicanism.
The king's condition
In 1788, Pitt faced a major crisis when the king fell victim to a mysterious illness,
The general elections of 1790 resulted in a majority for the government, and Pitt continued as prime minister. In 1791, he proceeded to address one of the problems facing the growing
French Revolution
An early favourable response to the French Revolution encouraged many in Great Britain to reopen the issue of parliamentary reform, which had been dormant since Pitt's reform bill was defeated in 1785. The reformers, however, were quickly labelled as radicals and associates of the French revolutionaries. Subsequently, in 1794, Pitt's administration
The war with France was extremely expensive, straining Great Britain's finances. Unlike in the latter stages of the Napoleonic Wars, at this point Britain had only a very small standing army, and thus contributed to the war effort mainly through sea power and by supplying funds to other coalition members facing France.
Ideological struggle
Throughout the 1790s, the war against France was presented as an ideological struggle between French republicanism vs. British monarchism with the British government seeking to mobilise public opinion in support of the war.
Haiti
In 1793, Pitt decided to take advantage of the
The British landed in St. Domingue on 20 September 1793, stating they had come to protect the white population from the blacks, and were able to seize some coastal enclaves.[58] The fact that the British had come to restore slavery in St. Domingue inspired ferocious resistance from the Haitians, who had no desire to be forced into chains again. The heavy death toll caused by yellow fever, the much dreaded "black vomit", made conquering St. Domingue impossible, but an undeterred Pitt launched what he called the "great push" in 1795, sending out an even larger British expedition.[59]
In November 1795, some 218 ships left Portsmouth for St. Domingue.[60] After the failure of the Quiberon expedition earlier in 1795, when the British landed a force of French royalists on the coast of France who were annihilated by the forces of the republic, Pitt had decided it was crucial for Britain to have St. Domingue, no matter what the cost in lives and money, to improve Britain's negotiating hand when it came time to make peace with the French republic.[61] The British historian Michael Duffy argued that since Pitt committed far more manpower and money to the Caribbean expeditions, especially the one to St. Domingue, than he ever did to Europe in the years 1793–1798, it is proper to view the West Indies as Britain's main theatre of war and Europe as more of a sideshow.[62] By 1795, 50% of the British Army was deployed in the West Indies (with the largest contingent in St. Domingue), whereas the rest of the British Army was divided among Britain, Europe, India, and North America.[63]
As the British death toll, largely caused by yellow fever, continued to climb, Pitt was criticised in the House of Commons. Several MPs suggested it might be better to abandon the expedition, but Pitt insisted that Britain had given its word of honour that it would protect the French planters from their former slaves, and the expedition to St. Domingue could not be abandoned.
Ireland
In May 1798, the long-simmering unrest in Ireland exploded into outright rebellion with the
Throughout the 1790s, the popularity of the
Spithead mutiny
In April 1797, the mutiny of the entire Spithead fleet shook the government (sailors demanded a pay increase to match inflation). This mutiny occurred at the same moment that the Franco-Dutch alliance were preparing an invasion of Britain. To regain control of the fleet, Pitt agreed to navy pay increases and had George III pardon the mutineers.[citation needed] By contrast, the more political "floating republic" naval mutiny at the Nore in June 1797 led by Richard Parker was handled more repressively. Pitt refused to negotiate with Parker, whom he wanted to see hanged as a mutineer.[citation needed] In response to the 1797 mutinies, Pitt passed the Incitement to Mutiny Act 1797 making it unlawful to advocate breaking oaths to the Crown. In 1798, he passed the Defence of the Realm act, which further restricted civil liberties.[50]
Failure
Despite Pitt's efforts, the French continued to defeat the
Resignation
Following the Acts of Union 1800, Pitt sought to inaugurate the new United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland by granting concessions to Roman Catholics, who formed a 75% majority of the population in Ireland, by abolishing various political restrictions under which they suffered. The king was strongly opposed to Catholic emancipation; he argued that to grant additional liberty would violate his coronation oath, in which he had promised to protect the established Church of England. Pitt, unable to change the king's strong views, resigned on 16 February 1801,[75] so as to allow Henry Addington, his political friend, to form a new administration. At about the same time, however, the king suffered a renewed bout of madness, with the consequence that Addington could not receive his formal appointment. Though he had resigned, Pitt temporarily continued to discharge his duties; on 18 February 1801, he brought forward the annual budget. Power was transferred from Pitt to Addington on 14 March, when the king recovered.[76]
Opposition (1801–1804)
Backbencher
Shortly after leaving office, Pitt supported the new administration under Addington, but with little enthusiasm; he frequently absented himself from Parliament, preferring to remain in his Lord Warden's residence of Walmer Castle—before 1802 usually spending an annual late-summer holiday there, and later often present from the spring until the autumn.
From the castle, he helped organise a local Volunteer Corps in anticipation of a French invasion, acted as colonel of a battalion raised by Trinity House—he was also a Master of Trinity House—and encouraged the construction of Martello towers and the Royal Military Canal in Romney Marsh. He rented land abutting the Castle to farm on which to lay out trees and walks. His niece Lady Hester Stanhope designed and managed the gardens and acted as his hostess.
The
Second Premiership (1804–1806)
Reappointment
Pitt finally returned to the premiership on 10 May 1804. He had originally planned to form a broad coalition government, with both the Tories and Whigs under one government.[78] But Pitt faced the opposition of George III to the inclusion of Fox, due to the king's dislike. Moreover, many of Pitt's former supporters, including the allies of Addington, joined the Opposition. Thus, Pitt's second ministry was considerably weaker than his first.[79]
Nevertheless, Pitt formed
Second government
Resuming war
By the time Pitt became prime minister in 1804, the war in Europe had been escalating for sometime since the
The British government began placing pressure on the French Emperor,
- I return you many thanks for the honour you have done me; but Europe is not to be saved by any single man. England has saved herself by her exertions, and will, as I trust, save Europe by her example.[80]
Nevertheless, the Coalition collapsed, having suffered significant defeats at the Battle of Ulm (October 1805) and the Battle of Austerlitz (December 1805). After hearing the news of Austerlitz Pitt referred to a map of Europe, "Roll up that map; it will not be wanted these ten years."[81]
Finances
Pitt was an expert in finance and served as
With a population of 16 million, the United Kingdom was barely half the size of France, which had a population of 30 million. In terms of soldiers, however, the French numerical advantage was offset by British subsidies that paid for a large proportion of the Austrian and Russian soldiers, peaking at about 450,000 in 1813.[83]
Britain used its economic power to expand the Royal Navy, doubling the number of frigates and increasing the number of the larger
By 1814, the budget that Pitt in his last years had largely shaped had expanded to £66 million,[e] including £10 million for the Navy, £40 million for the Army, £10 million for the Allies, and £38 million as interest on the national debt. The national debt soared to £679 million,[f] more than double the GDP. It was willingly supported by hundreds of thousands of investors and tax payers, despite the higher taxes on land and a new income tax.[85]
The whole cost of the war came to £831 million. The French financial system was inadequate and Napoleon's forces had to rely in part on requisitions from conquered lands.[86][87][88]
Death
The setbacks took a toll on Pitt's health. He had long suffered from poor health, beginning in childhood, and was plagued with
Pitt's debts amounted to £40,000 (equivalent to £3,500,000 in 2021) when he died, but Parliament agreed to pay them on his behalf.[92][93] A motion was made to honour him with a public funeral and a monument; it passed despite some opposition. Pitt's body was buried in Westminster Abbey on 22 February, having lain in state for two days in the Palace of Westminster.[94]
Pitt was succeeded as Prime Minister by his first cousin William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, who headed the Ministry of All the Talents, a coalition which included Charles James Fox.[95]
Personal life
Pitt became known as a "three-bottle man" in reference to his heavy consumption of port wine. Each of these bottles would be around 350 millilitres (12 US fl oz) in volume.[96]
At one point rumours emerged of an intended marriage to Eleanor Eden, to whom Pitt had grown close. Pitt broke off the potential marriage in 1797, writing to her father, Lord Auckland, "I am compelled to say that I find the obstacles to it decisive and insurmountable".[96]
Of his social relationships, biographer William Hague writes:
Pitt was happiest among his Cambridge companions or family. He had no social ambitions, and it was rare for him to set out to make a friend. The talented collaborators of his first 18 months in office—Beresford, Wyvil and Twining—passed in and out of his mind along with their areas of expertise. Pitt's lack of interest in enlarging his social circle meant that it did not grow to encompass any women outside his own family, a fact that produced a good deal of rumour. From late 1784, a series of satirical verses appeared in The Morning Herald drawing attention to Pitt's lack of knowledge of women: "Tis true, indeed, we oft abuse him,/Because he bends to no man;/But slander's self dares not accuse him/Of stiffness to a woman." Others made snide references to Pitt's friendship with Tom Steele, Secretary to the Treasury. At the height of the constitutional crisis in 1784, Sheridan had compared Pitt to James I's favourite, the Duke of Buckingham, a clear reference to homosexuality. Socially, Pitt preferred the company of young men, and would continue to do so into his thirties and forties. It may be that Pitt had homosexual leanings but suppressed any urge to act on them for the sake of his ambitions. He could be charming to women, but it seems certain that he rejected intimacy whenever it was proffered—and would do so publicly at a later date. In practical terms it appears that Pitt was essentially asexual throughout his life.[96]
Legacy
William Pitt the Younger was a prime minister who consolidated the powers of his office. Though he was sometimes opposed by members of his Cabinet, he helped define the role of the Prime Minister as the supervisor and co-ordinator of the various government departments. After his death the conservatives embraced him as a great patriotic hero.[97]
One of Pitt's accomplishments was a rehabilitation of the nation's finances after the American War of Independence.[98] Pitt made changes to the tax system in order to improve its capture of revenue, which helped manage the mounting national debt.[98]
Some of Pitt's domestic plans were not successful; he failed to secure parliamentary reform, emancipation, or the abolition of the slave trade although this last took place with the Slave Trade Act 1807, the year after his death. The 1792 Slave Trade Bill passed the House of Commons mangled and mutilated by the modifications and amendments of Pitt, it lay for years, in the House of Lords.[99][100] Biographer William Hague considers the unfinished abolition of the slave trade to be Pitt's greatest failure.[101] He notes that by the end of Pitt's career, conditions were in place that would have allowed a skillful attempt to pass an abolition bill to succeed, partly because of the long campaigning Pitt had encouraged with his friend William Wilberforce. Hague goes on to note that the failure was likely due to Pitt being a "spent force" by the time favourable conditions had arisen. In Hague's opinion, Pitt's long premiership, "tested the natural limits of how long it is possible to be at the top. From 1783 to 1792, he faced each fresh challenge with brilliance; from 1793 he showed determination but sometimes faltered; and from 1804 he was worn down by ... the combination of a narrow majority and war".[102]
Historian Marie Peters has compared his strengths and weaknesses with his father:
- Having some of his father's volatility and much of the self-confidence bordering on arrogance, the younger Pitt inherited superb and carefully nurtured oratorical gifts. These gave him, like his father, unsurpassed command of the Commons and power to embody the national will in wartime. There were, however, significant differences. The younger Pitt's eloquence, unlike his father's, included the force of sustained reasoned exposition. This was perhaps in part expression of his thoroughly professional approach to politics, so unlike his father's, but possibly deriving something from Shelburne. The younger Pitt was continuously engaged in depth with major issues of his day. He regularly and energetically sought the best information. He was genuinely progressive, as his father was not, on parliamentary reform, Catholic emancipation, commercial policy, and administrative reform. His constructive capacity in his chief responsibility, financial policy and administration, far surpassed his father's record, if it was less impressive and perhaps more equally matched in foreign and imperial policy and strategy. With good reason, his long career in high office was the mirror image of his father's short tenure. In contrast, only briefly was Chatham able to rise to the challenge of his age. By his last decade time had passed him by.[103]
Cultural references
Film and television
William Pitt is depicted in several films and television programs.
- biopic The Young Mr. Pitt, which chronicles the historical events of Pitt's life.
- Pitt's attempts during his tenure as Prime Minister to cope with the dementia of King George III are portrayed by Julian Wadham in the 1994 film The Madness of King George.
- The 2006 film Amazing Grace, with Benedict Cumberbatch in the role of Pitt, depicts his close friendship with William Wilberforce, the leading abolitionist in Parliament.[104]
- Pitt is caricatured as a boy prime minister in the third series of the television comedy Blackadder, in which Simon Osborne plays a fictionalised Pitt as a petulant teenager who has just come to power "right in the middle of [his] exams" in the episode "Dish and Dishonesty". A fictionalised younger brother, "Pitt the Even Younger", appeared as a candidate standing in the Dunny-on-the-Wold by-election.
- In the series of prime ministerial biographies Number 10, produced by Yorkshire Television, Pitt was portrayed by Jeremy Brett.
- In the first episode of the 2016 Lord Melbourne cites Pitt the Younger becoming Prime Minister at 24 as a reason why youth should not disqualify the 18-year-old Queen Victoriafrom ruling Britain.
Places named after him
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2018) |
- The University Pitt Club, a club for students at the University of Cambridge, was founded in 1835 "to do honour to the name and memory of Mr William Pitt".[105][106]
- Pittwater in Australia was named in 1788 by British explorer Arthur Phillip.[107]
- Pitt Street is the main financial precinct street in the central business district of Sydney.
- Pitt Townnear Windsor outside of Sydney, together with another township called Wilberforce
- Mount Pitt, second-highest mountain on Norfolk Island
- Pitt Water, a body of water in South East Tasmania
- Pitt's Head in Snowdonia National Park in Wales was named after the rock formation's resemblance to the Prime Minister.
- While Chatham County, North Carolina was named after his father, Pittsboro, North Carolina was named after Pitt the Younger.
- In Penang, Malaysia, Pitt Street and Pitt Lane were named for him, as British Prime Minister when George Town was founded in 1786.
- In Hong Kong, a street on Kowloon side, Pitt Street, is named after him.
- Pittsburgh, Ontario
- Pitt Street in Glasgow is named after William Pitt the Younger.
- Pitt Street in Windsor, Ontario
- Pitt Street in Kingston, Ontario
- Pitt Street in Cornwall, Ontario
- Rue Pitt, Montreal Quebec
- Chemin Pitt, Montreal Quebec
- Pitt Street, Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia
- Pitt Street, Saint John, New Brunswick
- Pitt House, High WycombeBuckinghamshire
- Pitt's Cottage Westerham, Kent, former home of Pitt the Younger and more recently a local curry house (now closed)
- The Pitt River, in British Columbia, Canada
- William Pitt Avenue, Deal, Kent
- Pitt Street in Southport, England
- Pitt Street in Auckland, New Zealand
Note, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was named for his father, William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham.[108]
Footnotes
- ^ about £33 billion today
- ^ about £19 billion today
- ^ about £269 million today
- ^ The consensus view among historians is that the king was suffering from the blood disorder porphyria, which was unknown at this time. If protracted and untreated, it has serious mentally debilitating effects.
- ^ about £4 billion today
- ^ about £46 billion today
References
- ^ Briggs 1959, pp. 148–149.
- ^ Charles Petrie, "The Bicentenary of the Younger Pitt", Quarterly Review, 1959, Vol. 297 Issue 621, pp 254–265
- ^ Strangio, Hart & Walter 2013, p. 225.
- ^ Wise, Hansen & Egan 2005, p. 298.
- ^ Hague 2005, p. 14.
- ^ Hague 2005, p. 19.
- ^ Ehrman 1969, p. 4, Vol. 1.
- ^ "Pitt, the Hon. William (PT773W)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ William Pitt the Younger (1759–1806) HistoryHome.co.uk
- ^ "Spartacus Educational – William Pitt". Spartacus-Educational.com. Archived from the original on 12 April 2010. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
- ^ "History – William Wilberforce (1759–1833)". BBC. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
- ^ Hague 2005, p. 30.
- ^ Halcombe 1859, p. 110.
- ^ Hague 2005, p. 46.
- ^ "William Pitt, the Younger: Historical importance". Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
- ^ "William Pitt 'The Younger' 1783–1801 and 1804-6 Tory". 10 Downing Street – PMs in history. Archived from the original on 7 August 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
- ^ Hague 2005, p. 89.
- ^ Hague 2005, pp. 62–65.
- ^ Hague 2005, p. 71.
- ^ Hague 2005, p. 99.
- ^ Hague 2005, p. 124.
- ^ Black 2006.
- ^ Canny 1998, p. 92.
- ^ Hague 2005, p. 140.
- ^ Hague 2005, p. 146.
- ^ Paul Kelly, "British Politics, 1783-4: The Emergence and Triumph of the Younger Pitt's Administration", Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research Vol. 54 Issue 129, pp 62–78
- ^ Short 1785, p. 61.
- Frances Anne Crewe, Lady Crewe, a Whig political hostess. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.) citing (Ehrman 1969, p. 133)
- ^ Hague 2005, p. 152.
- ^ a b Hague 2005, p. 166.
- ^ Hague 2005, p. 173.
- ^ a b Hague 2005, p. 170.
- ^ Hague 2005, p. 191.
- ^ Hague 2005, p. 193.
- ^ a b Hague 2005, p. 182.
- ^ "Why were convicts transported to Australia". Sydney Living Museums. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013.
- ^ George Burnett Barton (1889). "History of New South Wales From the Records, Volume I - Governor Phillip - Chapter 1.4". Project Gutenberg of Australia. Charles Potter, Government Printer.
- ^ Turner 2003, p. 94.
- ^ Foster, R. E. (March 2009). "Forever Young: Myth, Reality and William Pitt". History Review. No. 63. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013.
- JSTOR 558296.
- JSTOR 42922026
- ^ Black 1994, p. [page needed].
- ^ Turner 2003, pp. 149–155.
- ^ Holland Rose, John, William Pitt and National Revival (1911) pp. 589-607.
- ^ Black 1994, p. 290.
- ^ Ehrman 1969, p. xx, Vol. 2.
- .
- ^ a b Hague 2005, p. 309.
- ^ Ennis 2002, p. 34.
- ^ a b Evans 2002, p. 57.
- ^ a b Evans 2002, p. 59.
- ^ Evans 2002, p. 58.
- ^ Irvine 2005, p. 93.
- ^ Perry 2005, pp. 63–64.
- ^ Duffy 1987, p. 28.
- ^ James 1938, p. 109.
- ^ Geggus 1982, p. [page needed].
- ^ Perry 2005, p. 64.
- ^ a b Perry 2005, p. 69.
- ^ Duffy 1987, p. 197.
- ^ Duffy 1987, p. 162.
- ^ Duffy 1987, pp. 370–372.
- ^ Evans 2002, p. 50.
- ^ Perry 2005, p. 73.
- Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth "consistent series" supplied in Thomas, Ryland; Williamson, Samuel H. (2018). "What Was the U.K. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- ^ Perry 2005, pp. 75–76.
- ^ Perry 2005, p. 76.
- ^ a b Evans 2002, pp. 67–68.
- ^ a b Evans 2002, p. 68.
- ^ Evans 2002, pp. 68–69.
- ^ a b c d e Evans 2002, p. 67.
- ^ Evans 2002, p. 65.
- ^ Evans 2002, p. 66.
- ^ Evans 2002, pp. 66–67.
- ^ Hague 2005, p. 479.
- ^ Hague 2005, p. 484.
- ^ Hague 2005, p. 526.
- ^ a b c d "William Pitt the Younger (1759-1806)".
- ^ Hague 2005, pp. 529–533.
- ^ Hague 2005, p. 565.
- ^ Stanhope 1862, p. 369.
- ^ O'Brien, Patrick; "Political Biography and Pitt the Younger as Chancellor of the Exchequer"; History (1998) Vol. 83, No. 270, pp. 225–233.
- ^ Kennedy 1987, pp. 128–129.
- ^ Briggs 1959, p. 143.
- S2CID 144666348.
- ^ Halévy 1924, pp. 205–228.
- ^ Knight 2014, p. [page needed].
- ^ Watson 1960, pp. 374–277, 406–407, 463–471.
- ^ Marjie Bloy (4 January 2006). "William Pitt the Younger (1759–1806)". The Victorian Web. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ^ Hague 2005, p. 578.
- ^ "Bowling Green House, Putney Heath". The Private Life of William Pitt (1759-1806). 13 November 2013. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
- ^ "PITT, Hon. William (1759–1806), of Holwood and Walmer Castle, Kent". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
- ^ "William Pitt the Younger". Regency History. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
- ISBN 9780521223119.
- ^ Hague 2005, p. 581.
- ^ a b c Hague, William (31 August 2004). "He was something between God and man". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
- S2CID 154447696.
- ^ S2CID 144666348.
- ^ Parliament, Great Britain (1817). Cobbett's Parliamentary History of England, from the Earliest Period to the Year 1803. Vol. XXIX. p. 1293.
- ^ Journal of the House of Lords. Vol. XXXIX. H.M. Stationery Office. 1790. pp. 391–738.
- ^ Hague 2005, p. 589.
- ^ Hague 2005, p. 590.
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/22337. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ "Amazing Grace (movie)". Amazinggracemovie.com. 23 February 2007. Archived from the original on 27 November 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
- ^ Fletcher 2011, p. 1.
- ^ Hogan, Aoife (10 November 2017). "Pitt Club vote to allow female members". Varsity.
- ^ "Pittwater's past". Pittwater.nsw.gov.au. Pittwater Library. Archived from the original on 21 June 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
- ^ "The Pittsburgh 'H'". Visit Pittsburgh. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
Sources
- Ehrman, John (1969–1996). The Younger Pitt. Constable & Co. (3 volumes)
- Ehrman, John (1969). The Younger Pitt, Vol. 1: The Years of Acclaim. Constable. ISBN 978-0-09455720-8.
- Ehrman, John (1983). The Younger Pitt, Vol. 2: The Reluctant Transition. Constable. ISBN 978-0-09464930-9.
- Ehrman, John (1996). The Younger Pitt, Vol. 3: The Consuming Struggle. Constable. ISBN 978-0-09475540-6.
- Ehrman, John (1969). The Younger Pitt, Vol. 1: The Years of Acclaim. Constable.
- ISBN 9780521466844.
- Black, Jeremy (2006). "Pitt and the king". George III: America's Last King. pp. 264–287.
- Briggs, Asa (1959). The Making of Modern England 1783–1867: The Age of Improvement.
- Canny, Nicholas (1998). The Origins of Empire, The Oxford History of the British Empire Volume I. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-924676-2. Archivedfrom the original on 18 January 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
- Duffy, Michael (1987). Soldiers, Sugar, and Seapower: The British Expeditions to the West Indies and the War Against Revolutionary France. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Ennis, Daniel (2002). Enter the press-gang: naval impressment in eighteenth-century British literature. University of Delaware Press. ISBN 978-0-87413-755-2.
- Evans, Eric (2002). William Pitt the Younger. London: Routledge.
- ISBN 978-1-107-60006-5.
- Geggus, David (1982). Slavery, War and Revolution: The British Occupation of Saint Domingue, 1793–1798. New York: Clarendon Press.
- ISBN 978-0-00-714720-5.
- Halévy, Élie (1924). A History of the English People in 1815, Book 2.
- Halcombe, J. J (1859). The Speaker at Home. London: Bell and Daldy.
- Irvine, Robert (2005). Jane Austen. London: Routledge.
- James, C.L.R. (1938). Black Jacobins. London: Penguin.
- Kennedy, Paul (1987). The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000. New York: Random House. ISBN 9780394546742.
- Knight, Roger (2014). Britain Against Napoleon: The Organisation of Victory, 1793–1815. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 9780141038940.
- Perry, James (2005). Arrogant Armies: Great Military Disasters and the Generals Behind Them. Edison: Castle Books.
- Short, D., ed. (1785). Criticisms on the Rolliad: Part the First (2nd ed.). London: James Ridgway. OCLC 5203303.
- Stanhope, Philip Henry (1862). Life of the Right Honourable William Pitt, Vol. IV. John Murray.
- Strangio, Paul; Hart, Paul 't; Walter, James (2013). Understanding Prime-Ministerial Performance: Comparative Perspectives. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199666423.
- Turner, Michael (2003). Pitt the younger: a life. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-85285-377-8.
- Watson, J. Steven (1960). The Reign of George III 1760–1815. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 9780198217138.
- Wise, Leonard F.; Hansen, Mark Hillary; Egan, E. W. (2005). Kings, Rulers, and Statesmen. Sterling. ISBN 9781402725920.
Further reading
Biographical
- Carlyle, Thomas (1903). "William Pitt, the Younger". Critical and Miscellaneous Essays: Volume V. The Works of Thomas Carlyle in Thirty Volumes. Vol. XXX. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons (published 1904). pp. 152–167.
- Derry, J. W. William Pitt, the Younger (Batsford, 1962) "Makers of Britain" series
- ISBN 978-0-582-05279-6.
- Ehrman, J. P. W., and Anthony Smith. "Pitt, William (1759–1806)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, (2004); online 2009; accessed 12 September 2011
- Evans, Eric J. William Pitt the Younger (1999) 110 pages; online Archived 30 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine
- Furber, Holden. Henry Dundas: First Viscount Melville, 1741–1811, Political Manager of Scotland, Statesman, Administrator of British India (Oxford UP, 1931). online
- Jarrett, Derek (1974). Pitt the Younger. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ASIN B002AMOXYK., a short scholarly biography
- Jupp, Peter. "Grenville, William Wyndham, Baron Grenville (1759–1834)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2009)
- Jupp, P. (1985), Lord Grenville, Oxford University Press
- Leonard, Dick. "William Pitt, the Younger—Reformer Turned Reactionary?." in Leonard, ed. Nineteenth-Century British Premiers (Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2008) pp. 5–27.
- Mori, Jennifer. William Pitt & the French Revolution, 1785–1795 (1997) 305pp
- Mori, Jennifer. "William Pitt the Younger" in R. Eccleshall and G. Walker, eds., Biographical Dictionary of British Prime Ministers (Routledge, 1998), pp. 85–94
- Reilly, Robin (1978). Pitt the Younger 1759–1806. Cassell Publishers. ASIN B001OOYKNE.
- Rose, J. Holland. William Pitt and National Revival (1911); William Pitt and the Great War (1912), solid, detailed study superseded by Ehrman; vol 1; vol 2 free;
- Stanhope, Philip Henry [5th Earl Stanhope] (1861–1862). Life of the Right Honourable William Pitt. John Murray.. (4 volumes); includes many extracts from Pitt's correspondence vol 1 online; vol 2 online
Scholarly studies
- Blanning, T. C. W. The French Revolutionary Wars, 1787–1802 (1996)
- Bryant, Arthur. Years of Endurance 1793–1802 (1942); and Years of Victory, 1802–1812 (1944), well-written surveys of the British story
- Cooper, William. "William Pitt, Taxation, and the Needs of War", Journal of British Studies Vol. 22, No. 1 (Autumn, 1982), pp. 94–103 JSTOR 175658
- Derry, J. Politics in the Age of Fox, Pitt and Liverpool: Continuity and Transformation (1990)
- Gaunt, Richard A. From Pitt to Peel: Conservative Politics in the Age of Reform (2014)
- Kelly, Paul. "British Politics, 1783-4: The Emergence and Triumph of the Younger Pitt's Administration", Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research Vol. 54, No. 123 (1981) pp. 62–78.
- Ledger-Lomas, Michael. "The Character of Pitt the Younger and Party Politics, 1830–1860." The Historical Journal Vol. 47, No. 3 (2004), pp. 641–661 JSTOR 4091759
- Mori, Jennifer. "The political theory of William Pitt the Younger", History, April 1998, Vol. 83 Issue 270, pp. 234–248
- Richards, Gerda C. "The Creations of Peers Recommended by the Younger Pitt", American Historical Review Vol. 34, No. 1 (October 1928), pp. 47–54 JSTOR 1836479
- Sack, James J. From Jacobite to Conservative: Reaction and Orthodoxy in Britain c.1760–1832 (Cambridge University Press, 1993), does not see Pitt as a Tory
- Sack, James J. The Grenvillites, 1801–29: Party Politics and Factionalism in the Age of Pitt and Liverpool (U. of Illinois Press, 1979)
- Simms, Brendan. "Britain and Napoleon", The Historical Journal Vol. 41, No. 3 (1998) pp. 885–894 JSTOR 2639908
- Wilkinson, D. "The Pitt-Portland Coalition of 1794 and the Origins of the 'Tory' party" History Vol. 83 (1998), pp. 249–264
Historiography and memory
- Foster, R. E. "Forever Young: Myth, Reality and William Pitt", History Review (March 2009) No. 63
- Ledger-Lomas, Michael. "The Character of Pitt the Younger and Party Politics, 1830–1860" The Historical Journal, Vol. 47, No. 3 (2004) pp. 641–661
- Loades, David Michael, ed. Reader's guide to British history (2003) 2: 1044–45
- Moncure, James A. ed. Research Guide to European Historical Biography: 1450–Present (4 vol 1992); 4:1640–46
- Petrie, Charles, "The Bicentenary of the Younger Pitt", Quarterly Review (1959), Vol. 297 Issue 621, pp 254–265
- Sack, J. J. "The Memory of Burke and the Memory of Pitt: English Conservatism Confronts its Past, 1806–1829", The Historical Journal Vol. 30, No. 3 (1987) pp. 623–640 JSTOR 2639162, shows that after his death the conservatives embraced him as a great patriotic hero.
- Turner, Simon. 'I will not alter an Iota for any Mans Opinion upon Earth': "James Gillray's Portraits of William Pitt the Younger" in Kim Sloan et al. eds., Burning Bright: Essays in Honour of David Bindman (2015) pp. 197–206.
Primary sources
- Pitt, William. The Speeches of the Right Honourable William Pitt, in the House of Commons (1817) online edition
- Temperley, Harold and L.M. Penson, eds. Foundations of British Foreign Policy: From Pitt (1792) to Salisbury (1902) (1938), primary sources online
External links
- 1791 Caricature of William Pitt by James Gillray
- Pitt the Younger on the 10 Downing Street website
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- After Words interview with William Hague on his book William Pitt the Younger, February 27, 2005
- Hutchinson, John (1892). . Men of Kent and Kentishmen (Subscription ed.). Canterbury: Cross & Jackman. pp. 108–110.
- Biographies of William Pitt at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)