Obv.: GEORGIVS. II. D: G: MAG. BRI FRA ET. H: REX. F. D. Bust to right. Below, L. NATTER. F.

CHAPTER XXX.

GEORGE II. A.D. 1727-1760.

His

§ 1. Accession of George II. His Character. Ministry. § 2. Treaty of Seville. The royal Family. Rupture with Spain. § 3. Rise of Pitt. Decline of Walpole's Power. § 4. Attack on Porto Bello and St. Jago. Anson's Voyage. § 5. Resignation of Walpole. New Ministry. Inquiry into Walpole's Administration. § 6. War of the Austrian Succession. Campaigns of 1742 and 1743. Battle of Dettingen. § 7. Pelham's Ministry. Threatened Invasion of the Pretender. The French Fleet dispersed. § 8. Ministerial Arrangements. War with France. Battle of Fontenoy. § 9. The Pretender Charles Edward in Scotland. Character. The Raising of the Standard and March to Edinburgh. § 10. Battle of Preston Pans. March to Derby. § 11. Retreat of the Pretender. Battles of Falkirk Muir and Culloden. Flight of Prince Charles and others. Executions. § 12. Change of Ministry. Treaty of Aix-laChapelle. § 13. Account of the Pretender. Halifax settled. Death of Frederick, Prince of Wales. § 14. Newcastle's Ministry. Hostilities between France and England. The French take Minorca. § 15. Trial and Execution of Admiral Byng. Pitt Prime Minister. § 16. Expedition to Rochefort. Seven Years' War. Convention of Kloster Seven. § 17. Campaign of 1758. Conquest of Cape Breton. Cherbourg destroyed. § 18. Campaign of 1759. Naval Victories. Battle of Minden. Conquest of Canada. Death of General Wolfe. Death of George II.

§ 1. GEORGE II. was 44 years of age at the time of his accession. In temper he was not so shy and reserved as his father, and he was subject to violent gusts of anger; but his ruling passion was avarice. His mind was narrow and little cultivated; he had no taste for literature; in short, he had scarcely a royal

Rev.: OPTIMO PRINCIPI. Tetrastyle temple. Below, CIOIOCCXXXXI.

quality, except that he loved justice and was personally courageous. His habits of life were temperate and regular, but exceedingly dull and monotonous. His speaking English with fluency gave him an advantage over his father, who had been obliged to converse with Walpole in Latin, which the latter had almost forgotten, and which the king had never perfectly learnt. In 1705 George II. had married the Princess Caroline of Anspach, who at that time possessed considerable beauty. Her manners were graceful and dignified, and her conduct marked with propriety and good sense. Her influence over her husband was unbounded, and during ten years she may be said to have ruled England. The issue of this marriage were two sons (Frederick, Prince of Wales, born in 1707; William, Duke of Cumberland, born in 1721) and four daughters.

When the news of his father's death reached the palace at Richmond, George II. had retired to bed for his customary afternoon's doze. Sir Robert Walpole knelt down, kissed his hand, presented Townshend's letter announcing his father's death, and, in the full expectation that he should be retained in his office, inquired who should draw the necessary declaration to the privy council. To his surprise and mortification, the king selected Sir Spencer Compton, one of his favorites when Prince of Wales; but Compton was so ignorant that he could do nothing without Walpole's advice and assistance. Queen Caroline was in favor of Walpole, who in a few days triumphed over the king's prejudices, and the old ministers were reappointed.

§ 2. The first ten or twelve years of George II.'s reign are marked by few events of importance. Walpole was employed in main

taining his power by his skillful Parliamentary tactics, and the nation was peaceable and prosperous. In the spring of 1728 the King of Spain notified his desire for peace; but the negotiations were long protracted, and the treaty of Seville was not finally concluded till November 9, 1729. By this a defensive alliance was established between England, Spain, and France, to which Holland subsequently acceded. The English trade to America was placed on its former footing; all captures were restored, and the Asiento confirmed to the South Sea Company. Gibraltar was tacitly relinquished by Spain, and the strong lines of St. Roque across the isthmus were now constructed. A few months after this treaty Lord Townshend resigned, after an open rupture with Walpole. The two secretaries of state were now Lord Harrington and the Duke of Newcastle.

When, by a residence of some years, Frederick, Prince of Wales, had become acquainted with the English language and manners, he began to cabal against his parents, as George II. had caballed against George I. Though stubborn, he was weak and vain, and easily led by flatterers. He affected to patronize literature, probably because his father despised and neglected it; and his residence was frequented by all the men of wit and genius, especially by Bolingbroke, whose "Patriot King" was composed in anticipation of his future reign, and as a sort of satire on that of his father. In 1737 the difference between Frederick and his parents came to an open rupture. The prince was ordered to leave St. James's, and took up his residence at Norfolk House, St. James's Square; and persons who visited there were forbidden to appear at court. Frederick had now married (1736) the Princess Augusta of Saxe Gotha. The separation of the royal family was followed in a few weeks by the death of Queen Caroline (Nov. 20). On his next trip to Hanover George II. brought over with him, as his mistress, Sophia de Walmoden, who was created Countess of Yarmouth. This is the last instance in England of a royal mistress being raised to the peerage; but the quiet and retiring character of the countess stripped it of much of its offensiveness.

Events were now rapidly tending to a war with Spain. The Spaniards complained of infringements of the treaty of commerce; the English cried out against the abuse of the right of search, and the hardships endured in loathsome Spanish dungeons; and there was likewise a question between the two countries respecting the boundaries of Georgia, a new settlement in America named in honor of the king. The tale which most excited the public was that which Burke afterward characterized as the fable of Jenkins's ears. Jenkins was the master of a small trading sloop in Jamaica, which seven years before had been overhauled by a Spanish guardacosta,

A.D. 1727-1739.

RUPTURE WITH SPAIN.

609

the commander of which, finding nothing contraband, tore off one of Jenkins's ears, bidding him carry it to King George, and tell him that, had he caught him, he would have served him in the same manner. This ear (which, however, some affirmed he had lost in the pillory) Jenkins carried about with him, wrapped up in cotton. He was now produced at the bar of the House of Commons, in order to excite the public indignation; and on being asked by a member what were his feelings at the moment of the outrage, Jenkins answered, "I recommended my soul to God, and my cause to my country." These words ran through the nation like a watchword. Though averse to war, Walpole felt that something must be done to appease the public feeling. A fleet of 10 sail of the line was dispatched to the Mediterranean; letters of marque and reprisal were issued; troops and stores were sent to Georgia; and the British merchants in Spain, in case of a rupture, were recommended to register their goods before notaries. These vigorous measures extorted from the Spaniards (Jan. 14, 1739) a convention, the terms of which appear to have been tolerably favorable, and which the king announced, in his opening speech to the Parliament, "with great satisfaction." But the nation was not satisfied. The compensation agreed to be paid by Spain was deemed inadequate; above all, the obnoxious right of search was still retained, and Walpole carried the address on the king's speech only by a small majority.

§ 3. Among the ranks of the opposition, William Pitt, afterward Lord Chatham, was now rising into eminence. He was the grandson of Thomas Pitt, Governor of Madras, and was born in 1708. William was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge; but an hereditary gout compelled him to leave the university without taking a degree. He was, nevertheless, an excellent scholar, and his education was completed by a tour on the Continent. Having obtained a cornetcy in the Blues, he entered Parliament, as member for Old Sarum, in 1735, and joined the opposition against Walpole. His figure was tall and striking, his features noble, his nose aquiline, his eye fiery and expressive, his voice at once harmonious and powerful. His style of oratory was grand and imposing, yet deficient in simplicity and ease, so that his impromptu speeches were frequently the best. His conduct was disinterested, his views lofty and patriotic; but his temper, owing perhaps to his bad health, was sometimes causelessly bitter, wayward, and impracticable. His patrimony was but £100 a year; his cornetcy he lost through some ardent speeches against the minister. He was then taken into the service of the Prince of Wales, and continued to inveigh against Walpole.

Not only Pitt, but also nearly all the men of the greatest abil

ity, were on the side of the opposition. Walpole's best supporters were in the House of Peers-the Duke of Newcastle, a ready debater, and Lord Chancellor Hardwicke; but even these were not cordial with him on the Spanish question. King George himself was for vigorous measures against Spain; and Walpole found it necessary to choose between a war which he disapproved, and retirement from office. He determined on the former. The Spaniards having evaded the peremptory demands made upon them, war was declared on October 19, 1739, and was received with great public rejoicings.

§ 4. A squadron had already been dispatched to the West Indies under Admiral Vernon, and on the 20th of November he appeared off Porto Bello, in the Isthmus of Darien. The Spaniards were unprepared, and the place was captured without much resistance; but little treasure was found. In the following year Vernon was re-enforced by a large armament commanded by Sir Chaloner Ogle, with a military force under Lord Cathcart. When the armament assembled at Jamaica, it was found to consist of 115 ships, 30 of which were of the line, carrying 15,000 sailors and 12,000 troops. Vernon resolved to attack Carthagena, the strongest Spanish settlement in America, having a garrison of 4000 men with 300 guns. It was not till March 4, 1741, that the British fleet appeared before it. The harbor was entered after considerable resistance, and Vernon dispatched a ship to England to announce his approaching victory. The troops were landed and a night assault planned, which, though conducted with determined bravery, was repulsed with great loss. It is said that Vernon, out of jealousy, did not cordially co-operate with Wentworth, who had succeeded to the command of the troops on the death of Lord Cathcart. Shortly after a fatal sickness broke out among the soldiers, and in a few days their effective force was reduced to one half. Under these circumstances it was resolved to return to Jamaica, all the damage done to the Spaniards being the destruction of their forts. Vernon afterward proceeded to St. Jago in Cuba, but on reconnoitring thought it prudent to withdraw.

Another squadron, under Commodore Anson, had been dispatched in September, 1740, to sail round Cape Horn and attack Peru. The sufferings and adventures of Anson and his crews on this expedition, which lasted nearly four years, and in which he circumnavigated the globe, having returned by the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived at Spithead in the Centurion, his only remaining ship, in June, 1744, have been detailed in a separate and wellknown narrative, and are too long to be here recorded. As far as the war is concerned, the expedition resulted only in the capture, plunder, and destruction of the town of Paita, and in the taking