The Age of George III

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The Age of George III
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Change

• Challenged assumptions
• New King

3
Historiography

• Debates among historians
• Whig Interpretation of History

4
Sir Lewis Namier

• Prosopography (Namierization)

5
Sir Herbert Butterfield

• Limited questions bring inaccurate results
• What people talk about at the time has meaning

6
George IIIs Personality

• Morally consistent
• Respectable
• Admired learning

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George IIIs Library
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George IIIs Library (1851)
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Enlightened Despotism

• Frederick the Great (Prussia)
• Catherine the Great (Russia)
• Joseph II (Austria)

10
1760s

• King sought reliable minister
• Lord Bute
• Decade of experimentation

11
1770s

• Lord North

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Case of John Wilkes

• Beginning of radical impulse
• North Briton No. 45
• General Warrants
• Essay on Woman

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Results

• General warrants unconstitutional
• Middlesex voters rights upheld
• Interest in Parliamentary debates increased
• Supporters of the Bill of Rights
• Clear political reform program

14
Wilkes and Liberty