George III, George Grenville, and the Colonies

George III George III came to power in 1760 after the death of his grandfather. Had two unfortunate qualities. Was determined to increase the power of the monarch, unlike his predecessors. Removed power of the Whig party by removing many of their members from Parliament. Replaced them, through a system of patronage with those allied with the monarchy

George III (continued) Suffered from bouts of insanity and insecurity. Later years of his life, the king would be rendered incontinent Maintained a sense of insecurity about his abilities Was 22 when he took the throne Often felt as though he needed to prove himself due to his condition

George Grenville Appointed Prime Minister in 1763 by George III Did not share William Pitt’s sympathy for the colonies Felt that the colonists had been indulged and that it must cease Colonists must obey the laws of the empire and should help pay the cost of defending and administering the empire These thoughts were widely accepted by the majority of the British

Commercial Imperialism vs. Territorial Imperialism Grenville and George III’s reign marked the end of what historians call the Salutary Neglect in which the British paid little attention to colonial matters This is a move away from commercial imperialism (valuing what the land produced, using it for trading purposes) to territorial imperialism Territorial Imperialism is placing value on the land itself This came from both colonists and British thinkers (i.e. George Grenville, and Benjamin Franklin) They said the land itself was valuable due to the population it could support and the taxes it could produce

Assignment Assess the validity of this statement Home rule was not something new the colonists were striving to attain, but something old and familiar they were trying to keep Write a thesis statement Write a briefly annotated (some description) outline of your support and how that connects to your thesis