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The Bank of England
A group of financiers decided to establish a bank “The Bank of England”, which had the authority to raise money by printing “bank notes” or promissory notes. -
A national Drink
Tea became, until today, the British national drink. -
James III, the Catholic
Queen Anne, the last of the Stuarts, died. James II's son, unwilling to give up Catholicism, claimed the throne and tried to win it by force. -
The First Prime Minister
James III started a revolution against George I, which was a disaster and increased Government power. Robert Walpole remained as the greatest political leader for over twenty years with the support of the Parliament. He introduced the idea that all the Cabinet of ministers were responsible for policy, in this way the king would always be limited by the constitution. -
"The South Sea Bubble"
The South Sea Company paid the government’s national debt and it was given the monopoly right to trading in the South Seas. People who invest money in these trades lost everything.
Robert Walpole was able to to bring back public confidence and made sure that the "south sea bubble" could not happen again. -
The Spanish Empire and the French alliance
France allied with Spain. England had been trying unsuccessfully to develop trade with the Spanish Empire. Once Chatham was in the government, he made the British navy stronger than French ones and decided to take over as many as possible of France's trading posts abroad. -
War against France again
War with France broke out. Chatham directed British effort at destroying French trade. This war went all over the world -
Flame of Victory
Britain was drunk with Victory. The British took Quebec so this gave them the control of the important fish, fur and wood. Meanwhile, the British East India Company defeated French armies in Bengal and in the south of Madras. -
George III
The Hanoverian George III became a King. He did not wish Chatham to continue an expensive war. British took Montreal. -
John Wilkes, a friend to liberty.
George III made peace with France, without telling his ally, Prussia. This event angered an important Member of Parliament “John Wilkes” who printed a strong attack against government in his newspaper. He was arrested and fought back when he was tried, and thanks to the famous argument “public policy is not an argument in a court of law” he won and was released. His struggle showed that public opinion was now a new and powerful influence on politics. -
The Taxation quarrel
There was a quarrel over taxation between the British government and its colonies in America because the British government continue to think of the British colonist as British subjects and some American colonist decided that it was not lawful for the British to tax them without their agreement. To aggravate the situation, the political opinion in Britain was divided. -
The Age of Public opinion
The age of public opinion arrived and the number of newspaper increased notably. These were read by an enormous number of literate people who could never hope to vote but were interested in the important matters of the time. Newspapers in their turn increased the amount of political discussion. "Conversation" clubs met in different towns to discuss questions like "Under what conditions is a man most free?" -
Ireland
The worst laws against Catholic were removed however not everyone wanted to give the Catholics more freedom. As a consequence, Protestants formed the first "Orange Lodges", societies which were against any freedom for the Catholics -
The Boston Teaparty
“The Boston Teaparty”, a group of colonist at the port of Boston threw a shipload of tea instead of paying the tax on it. This rebellion led to a war. -
The American War of Independence
The American War of Independence lasted from 1775 to 1783. The war of America gave strength to new ideas of democracy and independence. -
The United Kingdom of Great Britian, the union of two flags.
To increase British control, Ireland was united with Britain, and the Dublin parliament closed. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland lasted for 120 years. Politicians had promised Irish leaders that when Ireland became part of Britain, the Catholics would get equal voting opportunities. But George III, supported by most Tories and many Protestants Irish landlords, refused to let this happen.
