William Pitt the Younger (28 May 1759 – 23 January 1806) was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became Britain's youngest prime minister when elected in 1783 at the age of 24 (although the term prime minister was not yet in use). He left the post in 1801 but became prime minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806. He also served as Chancellor of the Exchequer throughout his term as prime minister. He is called William Pitt the Younger to be distinguished from his father, William Pitt the Elder, who was also Prime Minister of Great Britain. In 1782, he joined the government of William Petty FitzMaurice as Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Pitt's first term, which took place during the reign of George III of the United Kingdom, was dominated by important events in Europe including the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. Pitt, though often referred to as a Tory, considered himself an "Independent Whig" and generally opposed the development of a partisan political system.
Childhood
The Honorable William Pitt, second son of William Pitt the Elder, was born at Hayes in the Bromley district of London. His mother, Hester Grenville, was the sister of former Prime Minister George Grenville. According to biographer John Ehrman, Pitt inherited his father's drive and genius and the determined, methodical nature of the Greenville line.
An intelligent child but in fragile health, he was educated at home by the Reverend Edward Wilson and quickly became an expert in Latin and Greek. In 1773, then aged 14, he entered Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he studied political philosophy, ancient literature, mathematics, trigonometry, chemistry and history. At Cambridge, Pitt was tutored by George Pretyman, who became a close friend. Pitt later appointed him Bishop of Lincoln and then of Winchester, and he made good use of his advice throughout his political career. He befriends the young William Wilberforce who will become a faithful friend and a political ally in parliament. Pitt tended to socialize only with other students and those he already knew and rarely ventured outside the university. Yet he was described as charming and friendly. According to Wilberforce, Pitt had an exceptionally sharp wit as well as an endearing sense of humour:"no man ... indulged more freely or happily in that playful antics which flattered all people without hurting any." In 1776, Pitt, handicapped by his frail health, used a little-used privilege reserved for the sons of nobles and chose to graduate without having to pass an examination. Pitt's father, who had been raised to the rank of Earl of Chatham, died in 1779. Not being the eldest son, Pitt received only a small share of the paternal inheritance. He received a legal education at Lincoln's Inn and was called to the bar in the summer of 1780.
Debut in politics
During the general election of September 1780, Pitt ran for the seat of the University of Cambridge but was defeated. Still trying to get into parliament, Pitt, with the help of fellow student Charles Manners, secured the support of James Lowther. Lowther indeed controlled the “rotten borough” of Appleby; a by-election in that constituency sent Pitt to the House of Commons in January 1781. Pitt's entry into parliament is somewhat ironic as he later campaigned against the same rotten boroughs to which he owed his seat.
In parliament, young Pitt put aside his tendency to stand back in public and emerged as a gifted orator from his first official speech. Pitt was initially aligned with influential Whigs like Charles James Fox. Alongside the Whigs, Pitt denounced the continuation of the war in the American colonies as his father had done. He proposed to Prime Minister Lord North to make peace with the American rebels. Pitt also supported parliamentary reform measures including a proposal to combat electoral corruption. He renewed his friendship with William Wilberforce, now an MP from Kingston-upon-Hull, with whom he chatted in the halls of the House of Commons.
After the fall of Lord North in 1782, the Whig Lord Rockingham was appointed Prime Minister. Pitt was given the lower post of Vice-Treasurer of Ireland but turned it down as too junior. Lord Rockingham died only three months after his appointment and another Whig, Lord Shelburne, succeeded him. Many Whigs who had been in the Rockingham ministry, including Fox, refused to serve the new premier. Pitt accepted the comfortable position of Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Fox, who became Pitt's lifelong political rival, joined a coalition led by Lord North with which he sought to bring down the Shelburne administration. When Lord Shelburne resigned in 1783, King George III, who despised Fox, offered Pitt the premiership. However Pitt wisely refused as he knew he would be unable to obtain the support of the House of Commons.
In 1783 Pitt developed a virulent animosity towards another Member of Parliament, Christopher Potter. The latter was also aiming for the Prime Minister and moreover, he had participated in the preliminaries of the American Peace which was going to be signed in Paris in September 1783, in the presence of Benjamin Franklin. Two good enough reasons to decide. A duel seems to have taken place between the two men and Pitt would have emerged victorious, injuring his opponent. The Fox-North coalition came to power in a government nominally led by William Cavendish-Bentinck.
Pitt, who had lost his position as Chancellor of the Exchequer, joined the opposition. He raised the issue of parliamentary reform to weaken the Fox-North coalition which was made up of supporters and opponents of reform. He did not make himself the advocate of an enlargement of the suffrage but sought to attack corruption and rotten towns. Although his proposal was unsuccessful, many reformers in parliament began to see Pitt as their leader instead of Charles James Fox.
Impact of the American Revolution
The defeat and loss of the Thirteen Colonies came as a shock to Britain. The war had revealed the financial and military limits of the state when it faced, without allies, powerful adversaries in distant territories. The defeat aggravated the dissensions and antagonism towards the King's ministers. In parliament, the main concern shifted from the fear of an absolute monarchy to problems related to representation, parliamentary reform and the reduction of government spending. Reformers wanted to destroy what they saw as widespread institutional corruption. The result was a crisis that lasted from 1776 to 1783. While the peace of 1783 left France financially devastated, the British economy benefited from the resumption of trade with America. This crisis ended in 1784 thanks to the king's skill in rejecting Fox's demands and a renewed confidence in the system engendered by Pitt's leadership. Historians conclude that the loss of the American colonies enabled the United Kingdom to face the French Revolution with greater unity.
Rise to power
The Fox-North coalition fell in December 1783 after Fox proposed Edmund Burke's Act to reform the English East India Company. Fox argued that the law was necessary to save the company from bankruptcy. Pitt replied, “Necessity is the reason given for every attack on human liberty. This is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of the slaves”. The king was opposed to this law and when it was approved in the House of Commons, he ensured its rejection in the House of Lords by threatening to consider as his enemy all those who voted for the law. Following the failure of the bill in the upper house, George III dismissed the government coalition and offered the post of Prime Minister for the third time to William Pitt, who accepted it.
Pitt, then 24, became Britain's youngest prime minister and was mocked for his youth. A popular nursery rhyme commented, "A sight that lifts up and attracts the attention of all nations:A kingdom entrusted to the care of a scholar." Many saw it as a mere transitional appointment before a more experienced statesman took over. However, even though it was widely said that the new administration would not make it through Christmas, it lasted 17 years.
In order to reduce the power of the opposition, Pitt offered Charles James Fox and his allies positions in his cabinet. Pitt's refusal to appeal to Lord North thwarted his efforts. The new government was immediately attacked and in January 1784 faced a motion of no confidence. However, Pitt took the unprecedented step of refusing to resign despite his defeat. He retained the support of the king who refused to entrust the reins of power to the Fox-North coalition. He also received the support of the House of Lords, which passed motions of support and received many messages of encouragement from all over the country which caused some MPs to turn to Pitt. At the same time, he received the keys to the city of London. When he returned from the ceremony, he was cheered by the townspeople. As it passed a Whig club, the carriage was attacked by a group of men who attempted to assault Pitt. As word spread, it was speculated that Fox and his associates were desperate to take down Pitt.
Pitt gained wide public popularity and the nickname "Honest Billy" in contrast to the images of corruption, disloyalty and lack of principle widely associated with Fox and North. Despite a string of defeats in the House of Commons, Pitt defiantly remained in office as the majority opposing him disintegrated.
In March 1784 Parliament was dissolved and a general election was held. In most ridings, the elections were between candidates clearly representing either Pitt or Fox or North. Early reports showed a massive vote for Pitt, and many opposition members who had yet to face the vote either withdrew or made deals with their opponents to avoid ruinous defeats.
First term
Once his administration was formed and secured, Pitt could begin to implement his program. His first major decision as prime minister was the India Act of 1784 which reorganized the English East India Company to fight corruption. The Indian Act created a new Board of Control to oversee the actions of the Company. This act differed from Fox's ill-fated India Bill of 1783 and specified that the council could be appointed by the king. Lord Sydney was appointed president of this council. The act centralized British rule in India by reducing the power of the governors of Bombay and Madras and strengthening that of the Governor-General of India, Charles Cornwallis. Further changes and clarifications regarding the powers of the Governor-General were made in 1786 after the trusteeship by the Penang Company.
In home affairs, Pitt supported the cause of parliamentary reform. In 1785 he introduced a law to remove representation from 36 rotten boroughs and slightly expand the suffrage. Pitt's support for the law was not enough, however, and the law was defeated by the House of Commons. This act was the last proposal for parliamentary reform introduced by Pitt before parliament.
Another important domestic matter that worried Pitt was the national debt, which had increased dramatically due to the revolt of the American colonies. Pitt sought to reduce the public debt by imposing new taxes and introducing measures to reduce smuggling and fraud. In 1786 he set up a fund to tackle the debt. Each year, a million pounds obtained from the new taxes would be added to this fund to grow; eventually, the money from the fund would be used to pay off the debt. The system was extended in 1792 to accommodate any new government borrowing.
Pitt sought to form alliances in Europe to reduce French influence. In 1788 he formed the Triple Alliance with Prussia and the United Provinces. During the Nootka Crisis of 1790, Pitt used the alliance to force Spain to give up its claims to exclusive control of the western coasts of North and South America. The Alliance, however, failed to produce any further benefits for Britain.
In 1788 Britain faced a major crisis when King George III fell ill, possibly with porphyria, a blood ailment that was poorly understood at the time. If this is not treated in time, it could lead to mental deficiencies. However, the laws of the kingdom did not provide for anything in the event of the king's mental illness and the question was whether a regent could be appointed. All factions in parliament agreed that the only valid candidate was the king's eldest son, Prince George. The prince was however a supporter of Charles James Fox. If he came to the throne, he would likely depose Pitt. Nevertheless, the parliament debated for months on such an opportunity and on the legal provisions relating to the regency. Fortunately for Pitt, George III recovered in February 1789 just after the introduction of the Regency Act.
The general election of 1790 brought a comfortable majority for the government and Pitt was able to continue his term as premier. In 1791 he set out to solve one of the problems facing the British Empire:the future of British North America. According to the terms of the constitutional act of 1791, the province of Quebec was divided into two separate colonies:Lower Canada with a French majority and Upper Canada with an English majority. In August 1792, George III appointed Pitt to the honorable post of Governor of the Five Ports. In 1791, the king had proposed to raise him to the rank of knight of the order of the garter but Pitt suggested that the honor should fall on his elder brother John Pitt, the second Earl of Chatham.
French Revolution
Proponents of parliamentary reform were encouraged by the outbreak of the French Revolution. These reforms had faded into the background after the rejection of the bill in 1785. The reformers, however, were quickly labeled as radicals and supporters of the French revolutionaries. In 1794, thirty members of the radical movement were arrested and three of them were charged with high treason by the Pitt administration but were acquitted. Parliament began to enact repressive legislation to silence the reformers. Individuals who published seditious material were punished, and in 1794 the privilege of requesting habeas corpus was suspended. Other repressive measures included the Seditious Meetings Act which curtailed the right to assemble and the Combination Act which banned unions and collective labor demands. Recruitment problems within the Royal Navy also led Pitt to introduce a quota system in 1795 in addition to the old system of forced enlistment.
The war with France was extremely expensive and jeopardized British finances. Unlike the last years of the Napoleonic Wars, the United Kingdom had only a very weak standing army and Great Britain contributed to the war effort with its powerful navy and by financing the various coalitions against France. In 1797 Pitt was forced to protect the kingdom's gold reserves by preventing individuals from exchanging gold with the Bank of England and introduced the first banknotes. He also had to introduce the first income tax in the country's history. The new tax helped offset revenue losses associated with the decline in trade. Despite the efforts of Pitt and the European allies, the French defeated the members of the First Coalition in 1798. A Second Coalition consisting of Britain, Austria, Russia and the Ottoman Empire was formed but failed to defeat the French. The fall of the Second Coalition in the Austrian defeat at Marengo on June 14, 1800 left Britain alone against France.
Resignation
The French Revolution had reignited political and religious tensions in Ireland, a kingdom under the control of the British crown. In 1798 Irish nationalists rose up hoping for French support. Pitt firmly believed that the only solution to the problem was the union of Britain and Ireland. Following the crushing of the revolt, he implemented his policy. The union was established by the Act of Union. Corruption secured the support of Irish parliamentarians. Ireland was officially united with Great Britain as one kingdom, leading to the country's name being changed to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on January 1, 1801.
Pitt sought to inaugurate the new kingdom by granting concessions to the Catholics, the majority in Ireland, and by abolishing the various restrictions of which they were victims. However, King George III was strongly opposed to any emancipation of Catholics. He argued that granting new freedoms would violate his oath to protect the Church of England. Pitt, unable to change the king's mind, resigned on February 16, 1801 to allow his political friend Henry Addington to form a new administration. Around the same time, the king suffered another fit of madness and Addington could not receive his official appointment. Although he resigned, Pitt temporarily continued to handle government duties. On February 18, 1801, he presented the annual budget to parliament. Power was transferred to Addington on March 14 when the king was better.
Pitt supported the new administration but with little enthusiasm. He was often absent from Parliament, preferring to stay at his residence as Lord Warden of the Five Ports at Walmer Castle. At the castle he helped organize a militia in the event of a French invasion and was given the rank of colonel in a battalion at Trinity House. He also encouraged the construction of the Martello Towers and the Royal Military Canal in Romney Marsh. He rented land around the castle to plant trees. His niece Esther Stanhope designed and maintained the gardens.
The recognition of the French Republic by the Russian Empire in 1799 and by Austria in 1801, the Peace of Amiens between France and Great Britain marked the end of the Revolutionary Wars. However in 1803, hostilities resumed between the United Kingdom and the Empire of Napoleon I. Although Addington offered to join his government, Pitt preferred to join the opposition and became increasingly critical of the policies put in place. Addington was unable to meet the joint opposition of Pitt and Fox and saw his majority gradually disappear. At the end of April 1804, Addington was forced to resign.
Second term
Pitt became prime minister again on May 10, 1804. He had initially hoped to be able to form a broad coalition government but had to contend with the king who continued to oppose Fox's appointment. Additionally, many of Pitt's former allies, including Addington's allies, joined the opposition. Consequently, the second Pitt administration was much weaker than the first.
The British government put pressure on the French Emperor, Napoleon I. Thanks to Pitt's efforts, Britain joined the Third Coalition. In October 1805, British Admiral Horatio Nelson won a crushing victory at Trafalgar and secured British maritime supremacy until the end of the war. At an annual banquet, Pitt was hailed as the "savior of Europe" but he replied, "I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the honor you do me, but Europe will not be saved by a single man. England has saved herself by her efforts and will, I hope, save Europe by her example."
Nevertheless, the Coalition was defeated after major defeats at Ulm (October 1805) and Austerlitz (December 1805). After being informed of the outcome of the Battle of Austerlitz, he said of a map of Europe, "Put this map away, it won't be in demand for the next ten years."
Death
The setbacks affected Pitt's health, already weakened by his penchant for port wine. He suffered from gout and liver disease. He died at his home in Putney Heath on January 23, 1806, probably of an ulcer, aged 46. He was unmarried and had no children.
Pitt's debts were £40,000 when he died but Parliament agreed to pay the sum. A motion was passed granting him a state funeral and monument despite Fox's opposition. Pitt's body was interred in Westminster Abbey alongside his father on February 22. William Grenville becomes Prime Minister and leads the Ministry of All Talents, a broad coalition of which Fox was a part.
Inheritance
William Pitt the Younger was a great prime minister who consolidated the office. Although he was sometimes attacked by members of his cabinet, he helped define the role of the prime minister as overseer and coordinator of the various ministries. He was not, however, the dominant figure in the political life of the country as the king remained the dominant force in government. One of Pitt's most important achievements was the recovery of finances after the American Revolutionary War. Pitt helped the government manage the growing national debt and introduced a new system of taxation to improve its efficiency.
Statue in Edinburgh
However, some domestic policy ideas were not all equally successful. He failed to reform parliament, expand suffrage and abolish the slave trade even though abolition took place on March 25, 1807 through the Slave Trade Act. Biographer William Hague considers this to be Pitt's greatest failure. Nevertheless, Hague notes that Pitt's long tenure “tested the natural limits of what is possible when you are at the top. From 1783 to 1792, he faced each new challenge with brio; From 1793 he showed a sometimes wavering determination and from 1804 he was worn down by a combination of narrow majority and wars”.
Cultural references
William Pitt is represented in several films or television films. Robert Donat chronicles Pitt's life in the 1942 biographical film Young Mr. Pitt. Pitt's attempts to deal with King George III's dementia are portrayed by Nicholas Hytner in the 1994 film The Madness of King George. The 2006 film, Amazing Grace, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Pitt chronicles his friendship with William Wilberforce, the leader of the abolitionists in parliament. Pitt is caricatured in the comedy series The Black Adder where he is depicted as an irascible student coming to power "in the middle of his exams".
Places named after him
The city of Pittsboro in North Carolina was named after William Pitt the Younger while Chatham County where Pittsboro is located was named after his father William Pitt the Elder.
The Pitt River, a tributary of the Fraser, which flows in the province of British Columbia in Canada, in the Vancouver region45.
Pittwater Bay in Australia was discovered by Arthur Phillip in 1788.
One of the most important streets in Sydney's central business district is called Pitt Street.