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 Foreign Affairs and the Empire, 1714-1763

Foreign Affairs and the Empire, 1714-1763

With the accession of George I our foreign politics were affected by a new influence. George I and his successors-till the accession of Queen Victoria - were not only Kings of England, but Electors of Hanover. Englishmen are perhaps apt to regard Hanover, in the elder Pitt's words, as a "despicable German Electorate"; but in reality it was amongst the foremost of German States, and had important naval positions in the North Sea. The devotion which George I and George II felt for Hanover increased the complications and difficulties of our foreign policy during their rule, and there was always a danger of Great Britain being drawn into wars to protect Hanoverian interests. Indeed, very soon after George I came to the throne, demonstrations, which were made by the British fleet to further the ambitions of Hanover, nearly produced a war, first with Sweden, and then with Russia.

War, however, was averted, and for twenty-six years after the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht-from 1713 to 1739-Great Britain enjoyed a period of repose. Both France and Great Britain wished to uphold the Treaty of Utrecht, and for a great part of this period each country was ruled by a peace-loving minister, Walpole being chief minister in Great Britain from 1721-42, and Fleury being responsible for French policy from 1720-29. Hence not only were there no hostilities, but even at times an alliance or informal co-operation between these two powers-a very unusual state of affairs in the eighteenth century.

Chronology
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