I.

Introduction

William Pitt 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.