Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Dawson on George I

George I (1714-27) (Dawson Furnish)




Born on May 28, 1660, in Osnabruck Hanover, Germany, George Ludwig or George Louis was the son of Ernest Augustus and Sophia Stuart. Ernest Augustus was the elector of Hanover, and Sophia was the granddaughter of King James I of England. George was raised to be the heir of his father which meant he was given a prestigious education and trained to be a noble. George later married his cousin, Sophia Dorothea, in 1682 and had two children with her; one of the children would grow up to be George’s heir, King George II of England. George’s marriage did not last long since he had accused his wife of infidelity, divorced her, and locked her up. He eventually took his father’s place as elector of Hanover in 1698. During this time, England was currently trying to rid the throne of Catholics and replace them with good old Protestant rulers. This plan lead English Parliament to form Act of Settlement in 1701. Act of Settlement made it so Parliament could regulate the succession of the crown causing them to decide that the next heir, after Princess Anne, of the throne would be Sophia instead of James Edward. During Anne’s rule, George was busy fighting in the War of the Spanish Succession against the French. This made him look even better to England’s politicians. Both Anne and Sophia died in 1714 which would leave the throne open for George to claim all to himself and was brought into England by the Whigs. George knew he would not have as much freedom to rule as he did in Hanover which resulted in him to not learn the English language. Right when George was thrown into the throne, He was tasked with suppressing the Jacobite rebellions just a year later and in 1719. Once the rebellions were taken care of, George would go back and forth from England to Hanover leaving much of his work to his prime minister, Walpole. Walpole would be the one responsible to later deal with the 1720 stock market crash guiding the government back to financial stability. Over the years, George would become less and less popular with his subjects due to him spending more and more time in Hanover where he would eventually die of a stroke in 1727.
Works Cited
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “George I.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia



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