Marquess of Rockingham

Marquess of Rockingham (1730-1782), British statesman, prime minister of Great Britain (1765-1766; 1782), who lent his name to the government opposition, the “Rockingham Whigs”, during the American War of Independence. Born in London, he was educated at Eton and the University of Cambridge.

Rockingham was a powerful Yorkshire landowner who secured a lifelong friendship with William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, by his support in repelling the Forty-Five. Taking his seat in the House of Lords in 1751, he became a lord of the bedchamber to George II. However, he lost his position in 1762 following the resignation of Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle, and he entered opposition.

Following the resignation of George Grenville, George III turned to Cumberland to help form his government. Cumberland chose Rockingham as his prime minister. His government is best known for its conciliatory measures towards the American colonies, including repeal of the Stamp Act and reform of the Sugar Act. The refusal of William Pitt to join his ministry, the death of Cumberland in 1765, and Rockingham’s inexperience in high office, combined with a concerted Tory opposition that feared Rockingham could create a Whig oligarchy similar to that formed by Robert Walpole, meant that the foundations of his government were always insecure. In 1766 he resigned, to be succeeded by Pitt.

In opposition, Rockingham built a parliamentary opposition to the government of Lord North, in particular on its policies towards the colonies, which eventually provoked war, and to the treatment of John Wilkes. The attacks were led by the brilliant oratory of Edmund Burke, which also placed the Rockingham Whigs in the forefront of demands for electoral reform and religious toleration for Catholics.

On the resignation of North in 1782, following the surrender of the British forces in America, George III had no choice but to ask Rockingham to form a new government, with William Shelburne as Secretary of State and Charles James Fox as Foreign Secretary. Lasting only 14 weeks, a remarkable legislative record was generated, including the opening of peace negotiations with the Americans and the formal acknowledgement of their independence, the repeal of Poyning’s Law (see Sir Edward Poynings) and the establishment of an Irish legislature, and the passage of government reform that had been drawn up by Burke to reduce the number of sinecure offices available to the Crown as patronage. Rockingham died suddenly on July 1, and was succeeded by Shelburne.