Pitt, William, the Younger

Pitt, William, the Younger (1759-1806), Prime Minister of Great Britain (1783-1801 and 1804-1806), which he made into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801 through his Act of Union with Ireland. Pitt restored British confidence and prosperity after the American War of Independence, and was a resolute leader of the nation against revolutionary France at the start of the Napoleonic Wars.

Born at Hayes, Kent, on May 28, 1759, Pitt, known as the Younger, was the second son of William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham. He was educated for a political career at the University of Cambridge and Lincoln’s Inn. In 1781 he entered Parliament, linking himself with William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, leader of the Tory political group formerly connected with his father. In 1782 Shelburne took office with Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, and became Prime Minister when Rockingham died three months later. Pitt became Chancellor of the Exchequer under Shelburne, and was occupied with proposals for parliamentary and administrative reform. He left office with Shelburne in April 1783, but in December King George III appointed him Prime Minister, a post he held for 18 years. He was just 24 years old.

Pitt’s goal was to revive the national spirit through peace and economy. He was an excellent financial manager, improving the state’s revenue, cutting expenditure, consolidating the accounts, and beginning systematic reduction of the national debt. In foreign policy he restored Britain’s prestige in Europe and negotiated a favourable trade treaty with France. Some of his proposals—parliamentary reform, free trade between Britain and Ireland, abolition of the slave trade—were rejected by Parliament. When George III became temporarily insane in 1788, an attempt by Charles James Fox (Pitt’s political rival) to gain power by arranging for the Prince of Wales (later George IV) to be appointed regent was blocked by Pitt. Pitt also made important changes to the administration of the British Empire. His Canada Act (1791) established representative institutions for English- and French-speaking Canada. The need for a place for the transportation of convicts led to the dispatch of the First Fleet in 1787 and the establishment of a penal colony in Australia. Political control over the territories in British India was established by Pitt’s India Act (1784).

The outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, followed by general European war, removed the conditions that favoured Pitt’s policies of peace and economy (see French Revolutionary Wars). Britain declared war on France in 1793, in retaliation for France’s declaration of war, and Pitt became the leader of a nation determined to resist the spread of French power and ideas. Pitt’s policy was to attack French trade and colonies, while subsidizing allies to fight the French on land. In 1793-1794 Pitt’s ministry was strengthened when most of the Whigs came to his support, leaving only a small opposition led by Fox. Fear of radicalism led to legislation to suppress dissidents and restrict political discussion. The war in Europe went badly and brought many hardships at home, but British sea-power remained, and Pitt continued the struggle.

A major problem was Ireland, where Irish nationalism engendered a rebellion (1798) under Wolfe Tone, encouraged by French promises of help. Pitt’s solution to the Irish problem was the Act of Union (1800), which incorporated Ireland into one United Kingdom with Great Britain from January 1, 1801. He also proposed equal political rights for Roman Catholics as essential to making the Act of Union work. Opposition to Roman Catholic emancipation by the king and by many of Pitt’s own supporters caused him to resign in 1801.

Pitt was succeeded by Henry Addington, who made peace with Napoleonic France in 1802 with the Treaty of Amiens. War was soon resumed, however, and the nation again turned to Pitt, who returned to office in 1804. He formed a Third Coalition of Britain, Austria, Russia, and Sweden against France. Pitt had lost many of his former supporters, and weary determination replaced the vitality of his former years. The Battle of Trafalgar (1805) confirmed British supremacy at sea, but Napoleon continued victorious on land. When Pitt died at Putney on January 23, 1806, his last words were, “Oh, my country! How I leave my country!”

Pitt was a man of exceptional political ability, receptive to new ideas, a superb speaker, and well informed on all aspects of government. His policies were moderate, for his political support came almost exclusively from a king who was conservative in outlook. His long tenure of power and his determination to control all aspects of government were important contributions to the developing concept of the role of the prime minister.