George I (Great Britain)
George I (1660-1727), was the first Hanoverian king of Great Britain and Ireland (1714-27), in addition to being (as "George Louis"), elector or ruler of the German state of Hanover.
Life
He was born on Mar. 28, 1660, in Hanover, the son of Ernest Augustus of Hanover and the Electoress Sophia, who was herself the daughter of Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia and granddaughter of King James I of England. George Louis was educated as a soldier and took part in his first battle at the age of 15. He afterward fought against the Turks with John Sobieski, king of Poland; and he distinguished himself in the wars against Louis XIV of France but resigned his commands in 1707, feeling himself snubbed by the allied commanders.
In 1682 he married his cousin Sophia Dorothea of Celle, by whom he had two children, George Augustus, his sucsessor as King who as George II, and Sophia, afterward queen of Prussia. In 1694 George Louis' wife's reputed lover, Count Philip von Koenigsmark, was murdered. She was imprisoned for life in the castle at Ahlden, dying there on Nov. 3, 1726. Although George Louis was not directly implicated in Koenigsmark's murder, his reputation acquired a sinister twist.
George succeeded to his father's realms in 1698, acquired the status of "elector" in 1699, and, by the Act of Settlement of 1701, was named next in line as heir to the English throne, after his mother, who died in 1714. He therefore succeeded Queen Anne on Aug. 1, 1714, and entered into possession of his new kingdom without difficulty.
Reign
George's reign was marked by invasions and plots (1715, 1719, 1723) fomented by the Jacobites, supporters of the former ruling house of Stuart. They were always defeated and finally faded away. In 1711 an outburst of wild speculation--the South Sea Bubble--financially ruined many aristocrats. There were political tensions between the two main parties, the Whigs and Tories. The Whigs supported George, but the Tories were divided among themselves over supporting a Jacobite (Stuart) restoration.
George I's reign was marked by the rise of Sir Robert Walpole to full power as prime minister (though the title was not yet in use). By political cunning and sound policy, Walpole did much to keep the unpopular Hanoverians on the throne of England.
Image and memory
The king himself, a man without charm, was unpopular. He was a Lutheran who headed the Church of England, causing problems for theologians. Official celebrations of his accession and other significant Hanoverian dates were seen as provocative in some anti-German or Jacobite (pro-Stuart) and triggered riots in Chester, Manchester, Oldham, Liverpool, Leeds, Warrington, Newcastle, Sheffield, Pontefract, Halifax, and York in 1714-19. The deployment of troops to suppress the riots soured public opinion against the king.[1]
Court publicists sponsored sermons and pamphlets that said George exemplified the ideal Protestant soldier-king and embodied the British virtues of Protestantism and liberty.[2]
George allowed the royal court to lose ground as an institution, with the royal household declining in political importance, However it was a useful venue for minor ministers and patronage seekers. It was also a stage for signaling political opinion through attendance, ceremony, gesture, and costume.[3]
George's two German mistresses--the Duchess of Kendall and the Countess of Darlington--were ugly and venal, and were objects of contempt after both became implicated in corrupt dealings with the South Sea Company. His German political advisers, Bothmar and Bernstorff, were suspected of betraying British interests for the sake of Hanover. This allegation was constantly leveled at the king himself, and his obvious relief in leaving England for extended visits to Hanover did much to encourage English distrust of him.
On the other hand George was well informed on European affairs and showed cool judgment regarding military and diplomatic affairs. He is credited with restoring peace in northern Europe in 1720. He was a patrron of the opera was a patron of the opera and oversaw the maturation of British parliamentary monarchy; during his reign the alliance between the Hanoverian dynasty and the Whig party was forged; the Tories (or "Country party") lost power and the Stuarts were totally ruined.
Bibliography
- Beattie, J. M. The English court in the reign of George I (1967)
- Gibbs, G. C. "George I (1660–1727)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, (2004); online edn, Oct 2007
- Hatton, Ragnhild M. George I: elector and king (1978), a standard scholarly biography
- Hatton, Ragnhild M. George I (The English Monarchs Series) (2001), 432pp; standard scholarly biography
See also
Online resources
notes
- ↑ Jonathan D. Oates, "Jacobitism and Popular Disturbances in Northern England, 1714-1719." Northern History 2004 41(1): 111-128. Issn: 0078-172x Fulltext: Ebsco
- ↑ Hannah Smith, "The Idea of a Protestant Monarchy in Britain 1714-1760." Past & Present 2004 (185): 91-118. Issn: 0031-2746 Fulltext: OUP
- ↑ Hannah Smith, "The Court in England, 1714-1760: a Declining Political Institution?" History 2005 90(1): 23-41. Issn: 0018-2648 Fulltext: Ebsco,