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Who was William Pitt (the Younger)?
Statesman and Prime Minister of Great Britain.
Date and Place of Birth:
28th May 1759, Hayes, Kent, England.
Family Background:
Son of William Pitt (The Elder) a Statesman and
former Member of Parliament for Old Sarum. Later became Earl of
Chatham.
Education:
Educated at home by his father as he suffered
from poor health.He was given lessons in oratory. Pembroke Hall,
Cambridge under his tutor the Reverend George Pretyman.
Chronology/Biography of Pitt the Younger:
1776: Received his
MA from Cambridge.
1778: (7th April)
His father was making
a speech in the House of Lords and Pitt who was in the gallery rushed
down to help carry his dying father home.
1780: Called to
the Bar. Failed to win a seat at Cambridge in the General Election.
1781: With the help
of Sir James Lowther, Pitt became the Member of Parliament (MP)
for Appleby-in-Westmoreland. His maiden speech was described by
Lord North, later to become Prime Minister, as the best speech he
had ever heard. Pitt then became influenced by Charles James Fox
the Leader of the Whig Party and he joined in the move to establish
peace in the American Colonies and described it as an unjust war.
Pitt was also critical of the way that the monarchy influenced who
should become MP's and insisted that parliamentary reform was necessary
if Britain was to preserve liberty.
1782: He supported
a motion which would shorten the hours worked in Parliament and
measures which would reduce the chances of government ministers
being bribed. Lord North's government fell in March and was replaced
by Rockingham's Whig Government. Fox was appointed Foreign Secretary
but left the government in July as he could not work with the new
Prime Minister Lord Shelburne. Short of people to appoint Shelburne
made Pitt Chancellor of the Exchequer at the tender age of twenty
three replacing Fox. Fox
took the fact that Pitt accepted the post as an act of betrayal
and the two became bitter enemies for the rest of their lives.
Statue of William Pitt the Younger in London
(© Anthony Blagg)
1783: Pitt resigned
and declared that he had no connections with the party whatsoever.
He could now turn back to seeking parliamentary reform. When Shelburne
resigned the King offered the Prime Ministership to Pitt but he
declined and it went to William Bentinck, Duke of Portland, instead.
Pitt also opposed Charles James Fox's India
Bill. King George the Third was also opposed to the India Bill which
had already been passed by the House of Commons and made it clear
that any Member of the Lords who supported it would be his enemy.
(19th December) The Lords duly voted against it bringing about the
fall of The Duke of Portland's Government. The King now asked Pitt
himself to form a new government. At the age of Twenty-four he became
Britain's youngest Prime Minister. The news was received with derisive
laughter in he House of Commons and he had difficulty in getting
enough people to serve beneath him. Charles James Fox led the attacks
on him but although defeated in several votes Pitt refused to resign.
1784: Pitt had now
built up a reputation in the country and called a General Election.
Pitt stood for Cambridge University and Fox duly lost 160 of his
supporters when the vote came around. Now with a majority in the
House of Commons he passed a series of Acts including one to curb
the powers of the East India Company.
1785:
Pitt proposed a Bill to remove thirty six rotten boroughs, i.e.
places which had MP's but little population to represent and which
were in the gift of the local landlord. He proposed seventy two
seats in areas were populations were rising.The Commons, not thinking
he was serious on this issue, voted against the reforms and Pitt
was never again to try such radical measures.
1790: (October)
At the General Election Pitt increased his majority and he now turned
his eyes towards France. He had seen the Revolution of the previous
years as an internal matter but he now became concerned that reform
groups in Britain were in touch with the French revolutionaries.
He passed an Act preventing seditious writings.
1791: The Canada
Act established a division between the English and the French.
Statue of William Pitt the Younger in
George Street, Edinburgh
(© Anthony Blagg)
1793: (January)
He expelled the French Ambassador to London when he heard of the
Execution of King Louis the Sixteenth of France. Charles James Fox
accused Pitt of not doing enough to preserve peace with France who
declared war on Britain on 1st February. (May) Habeus Corpus was
suspended within twenty-four hours which meant that suspected rebels
could now be tried in their absence. Those seeking parliamentary
reform were now to be arrested. One of the main people in this cause
Tom Paine managed to escape to America.
Pitt formed alliances against France with Russia, Prussia, Austria
and Spain amongst others but a series of defeats became costly and
he was forced to put up taxes to pay for it.
1795: (October)
When King George the Third went to open parliament the public shouted
at him to remove Pitt as there had been a series of bad harvests
as well as crippling tax rises.Pitt replied by passing the Act of
Sedition which redefined the crime of treason.
1796: Pitt sued
for peace with France to try and remove Britain's financial burdens
but this was rejected and he had to bring in even more taxes.
1797: He was forced
to bring in Taxes on tea, sugar and spirits but still the budget
deficit widened. Pitt now had to be protected by an armed guard
everywhere he went. He passed a new law to regulate newspapers.
Lord Castlereagh was appointed as Irish Chief Secretary and he followed
Pitt's desire to crush the Irish uprising and unite Ireland with
Britain under one parliament. This required Catholic emancipation
to achieve which was unpopular with the King.
1798:
Pitt brought in a new graduated Income Tax.
1801: The Act of
Union with Ireland was passed. Pitt resigned when he found out that
the King had secretly been trying to get Henry Addington to become
his new Prime Minister. Although highly paid for the time he was
penniless and feared he would become bankrupt. He sold his family
home and with the help of friends narrowly avoided this.
1804: Henry Addignton
resigned and Pitt again became Prime Minister. Lord Castelreagh
was appointed Secretary for War but again Charles James Fox
and other leading politicians refused to serve under him. Pitt hastily
formed coalitions with Russia, Austria and Sweden.
1805: When it was
found that Lord Nelson had defeated the
French at the Battle of Trafalgar Pitt was hailed as the saviour
of Europe. Napoleon fought back, however and made a tremendous victory
over Austrian and Russian ground forces at the Battle of Austerlitz.
Pitt was taken aback by the news and the onset of a serious illness
came as a consequence. Again he was so heavily in debt that the
House of Commons had to pay off his creditors at his death.
Marriage:
Never married.
Date and Place of Death:
23rd January 1806, London, England.
Age at Death:
46.
Site of Grave:
In his father's tomb, North transept, Westminster
Abbey, London, England.
Westminster Abbey, London
(© Anthony Blagg)
Places of Interest:
AVON:
Lived at 15 Johnstone Street, Bath.
LONDON:
British Museum.
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