William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland
British Whig and Tory statesman, Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Prime Minister of Great Britain
1738 CE to 1809 CE
William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, KG, PC, FRS (April 14, 1738 – October 30, 1809) is a British Whig and Tory statesman, Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Prime Minister of Great Britain, serving in 1783 and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1807 to 1809.
The twenty-four years between his two terms as Prime Minister is the longest gap between terms of office of any Prime Minister.
He is known before 1762 by the courtesy title Marquess of Titchfield.
He holdd a title of every degree of British nobility—Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, and Baron.
He is also a great-great-great-grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II through her maternal grandmother.
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The North ministry resigns after losing a motion of no confidence on March 22, 1782, following the British defeat at the Siege of Yorktown during the American War of Independence.
The Whig Lord Rockingham, previously Prime Minister from 1765–1766, forms a government.
The Rockingham Whigs have generally been sympathetic to the cause of the Colonists and under Rockingham the British government begins the negotiations leading to the Peace of Paris that will conclude the war.
Rockingham's death on July 1, 1782 causes a split in the ministry.
The Home Secretary Lord Shelburne is appointed to succeed him but several members of the government refuse to serve under him and resign.
These "Portland Whigs" (named after their nominal leader the Duke of Portland, but in reality led by Charles James Fox) ally in opposition with Lord North and will bring down the Shelburne ministry in March 1783, coming to power as the Fox–North coalition.
The Whig Lord Rockingham, previously Prime Minister from 1765–1766, forms a government.
The Rockingham Whigs have generally been sympathetic to the cause of the Colonists and under Rockingham the British government begins the negotiations leading to the Peace of Paris that will conclude the war.
Rockingham's death on July 1, 1782 causes a split in the ministry.
The Home Secretary Lord Shelburne is appointed to succeed him but several members of the government refuse to serve under him and resign.
These "Portland Whigs" (named after their nominal leader the Duke of Portland, but in reality led by Charles James Fox) ally in opposition with Lord North and will bring down the Shelburne ministry in March 1783, coming to power as the Fox–North coalition.
The terms of the peace, particularly the proposed treaty with the United States, had caused a political storm in Britain.
The concession of the Northwest Territory and the Newfoundland fisheries, and especially the apparent abandonment of Loyalists by an Article which the individual States would inevitably ignore, had been condemned in Parliament.
The last point had been the easiest solved—British tax revenue saved by not continuing the war will be used to compensate Loyalists.
Nevertheless, on February 17, 1783 and again on February 21, motions against the treaty had been successful in Parliament, so on February 24 Lord Shelburne had resigned, and for five weeks the British government had been without a leader.
Finally, a solution similar to the previous year's choice of Lord Rockingham had been found.
The government was to be led, nominally, by the Duke of Portland, while the two Secretaries of State were to be Charles Fox and, remarkably, Lord North.
Richard Oswald had been replaced by a new negotiator, David Hartley, but the Americans have refused to allow any modifications to the treaty—partly because they would have to be approved by Congress, which, with two Atlantic crossings, would take several months.
Therefore, on September 3, 1783, at Hartley's hotel in Paris, the treaty as agreed by Richard Oswald the previous November is formally signed, and ...
The concession of the Northwest Territory and the Newfoundland fisheries, and especially the apparent abandonment of Loyalists by an Article which the individual States would inevitably ignore, had been condemned in Parliament.
The last point had been the easiest solved—British tax revenue saved by not continuing the war will be used to compensate Loyalists.
Nevertheless, on February 17, 1783 and again on February 21, motions against the treaty had been successful in Parliament, so on February 24 Lord Shelburne had resigned, and for five weeks the British government had been without a leader.
Finally, a solution similar to the previous year's choice of Lord Rockingham had been found.
The government was to be led, nominally, by the Duke of Portland, while the two Secretaries of State were to be Charles Fox and, remarkably, Lord North.
Richard Oswald had been replaced by a new negotiator, David Hartley, but the Americans have refused to allow any modifications to the treaty—partly because they would have to be approved by Congress, which, with two Atlantic crossings, would take several months.
Therefore, on September 3, 1783, at Hartley's hotel in Paris, the treaty as agreed by Richard Oswald the previous November is formally signed, and ...
The Whig Lord Rockingham had become Prime Minister for the second time with the collapse of Lord North's ministry in 1782, but died within months.
The King had then appointed Lord Shelburne to replace him
Charles James Fox, however, had refused to serve under Shelburne, and demanded the appointment of the Duke of Portland.
In 1783, the House of Commons forces Shelburne from office and his government is replaced by the Fox–North Coalition.
The Duke of Portland becomes Prime Minister, with Fox and Lord North as Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary, respectively.
The King dislikes Fox intensely, for his politics as well as his character; he thinks Fox is unprincipled and a bad influence on the Prince of Wales.
George III is distressed at having to appoint ministers not of his liking, but the Portland ministry quickly builds up a majority in the House of Commons, and n be displaced easily.
He was further dismayed when the government introduces the India Bill, which proposes to reform the government of India by transferring political power from the East India Company to Parliamentary commissioners.
Although the King actually favors greater control over the Company, the proposed commissioners are all political allies of Fox.
Immediately after the House of Commons passes it, George authorizes Lord Temple to inform the House of Lords that he will regard any peer who votes for the bill as his enemy.
The bill is rejected by the Lords; three days later, the Portland ministry is dismissed, and William Pitt the Younger is appointed Prime Minister, with Temple as his Secretary of State.
On December 17, 1783, Parliament votes in favor of a motion condemning the influence of the monarch in parliamentary voting as a "high crime" and Temple is forced to resign.
Temple's departure destabilizes the government, and three months later the government will lose its majority and Parliament was dissolved; the subsequent election will give Pitt a firm mandate.
The King had then appointed Lord Shelburne to replace him
Charles James Fox, however, had refused to serve under Shelburne, and demanded the appointment of the Duke of Portland.
In 1783, the House of Commons forces Shelburne from office and his government is replaced by the Fox–North Coalition.
The Duke of Portland becomes Prime Minister, with Fox and Lord North as Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary, respectively.
The King dislikes Fox intensely, for his politics as well as his character; he thinks Fox is unprincipled and a bad influence on the Prince of Wales.
George III is distressed at having to appoint ministers not of his liking, but the Portland ministry quickly builds up a majority in the House of Commons, and n be displaced easily.
He was further dismayed when the government introduces the India Bill, which proposes to reform the government of India by transferring political power from the East India Company to Parliamentary commissioners.
Although the King actually favors greater control over the Company, the proposed commissioners are all political allies of Fox.
Immediately after the House of Commons passes it, George authorizes Lord Temple to inform the House of Lords that he will regard any peer who votes for the bill as his enemy.
The bill is rejected by the Lords; three days later, the Portland ministry is dismissed, and William Pitt the Younger is appointed Prime Minister, with Temple as his Secretary of State.
On December 17, 1783, Parliament votes in favor of a motion condemning the influence of the monarch in parliamentary voting as a "high crime" and Temple is forced to resign.
Temple's departure destabilizes the government, and three months later the government will lose its majority and Parliament was dissolved; the subsequent election will give Pitt a firm mandate.