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Patronage and the Fall of Walpole
In 1742 Sir Robert Walpole resigned. He had been chief minister since 1721 and had governed unhampered by royal interference. In1714 George I came to the throne and
his poor English precluded him from presiding in person over the Cabinet, he had to rely on his executive committee of ministers. Walpole established himself as the
chief of these ministers and thereafter ensured that any rebellious colleagues were dismissed by the King.
The war in Europe meant England needed a firm hand at the helm of Government. Sir Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington was asked to form a Government by George II.
He was immediately opposed in Parliament as totally incompetent. Lord Carteret was recalled from Ireland. Wilmington would continue as chief minister but Carteret
became secretary of state and was sent to negotiate a treaty with Maria Theresa of Austria. So England joined Austria in the War of Austrian Succession against
Frederick the Great of Prussia and France which had begun in 1740.
Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington |
SPENCER COMPTON, EARL OF WILMINGTON (1673-1743)- A Whig politician who became Speaker of the Commons in 1715
- When his patron, the Prince of Wales, became George II, he wanted Spencer Compton as his PM
- Walpole was so much the obvious person to lead the Government, that the King bowed to political and financial sensibilities
- Given a peerage in 1728
- Became Lord president of the Council
- Was Prime Minister in name but really subordinate to Carteret
Sir Robert Walpole was the first chief minister to reside at 10 Downing Street. The title on the door still reads First Lord of the Treasury.
 
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| 1727 | George I dies
George II becomes king
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| 1728 | Irish Catholics deprived of the vote
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| 1731 | Captain Jenkins loses his ear
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| 1739 | War of Jenkins' ear against Spain
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| 1740 | Famine in Ireland
War of Austrian Succession
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| 1742 | Walpole resigns
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| 1742 | Pelham becomes Prime Minister
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| 1745 | Last Jacobite Rebellion breaks out
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| 1746 | Jacobites defeated at Cullodan
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| 1751 | Death of Frederick Prince of Wales
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| 1754 | Tom Pelham, Duke of Newcastle becomes Prime Minister
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| 1756 | Pitt the Elder becomes Secretary at War
Seven Years' War starts
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| 1760 | George II dies
George III becomes king
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| 18TH CENTURY PRIME MINISTERS | | • | Sir Robert Walpole |
| • | Sir Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington |
| • | Henry Pelham |
| • | Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle |
| • | William Cavendish, Duke of Devonshire |
| • | William Pitt, the Elder |
| • | Augustus Fitzroy, Duke of Grafton |
| • | Lord Frederick North |
| • | Charles Wentworth, Marquess of Rockingham |
| • | William Petty, Earl of Shelburne |
| • | William Bentinck, Duke of Portland |
| • | William Pitt the Younger |
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