George III: America’s Last King

Description

The sixty-year reign of George III (1760–1820) witnessed and participated in some of the most critical events of modern world history: the ending of the Seven Years’ War with France, the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars, the campaign against Napoleon Bonaparte and battle of Waterloo in 1815, and Union with Ireland in 1801. Despite the pathos of the last years of the mad, blind, and neglected monarch, it is a life full of importance and interest. Jeremy Black’s biography deals comprehensively with the politics, the wars, and the domestic issues, and harnesses the richest range of unpublished sources in Britain, Germany, and the United States. But, using George III’s own prolific correspondence, it also interrogates the man himself, his strong religious faith, and his powerful sense of moral duty to his family and to his nation. Black considers the king’s scientific, cultural, and intellectual interests as no other biographer has done, and explores how he was viewed by his contemporaries. Identifying George as the last British ruler of the Thirteen Colonies, Black reveals his strong personal engagement in the struggle for America and argues that George himself, his intentions and policies, were key to the conflict. CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PREFACE Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Chapter 2 A PRINCE AND HIS EDUCATION Chapter 3 EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY MONARCHY Chapter 4 FIRST YEARS AS KING, 1760–3 Chapter 5 MINISTERIAL INSTABILITY, 1763‒70 Chapter 6 GEORGE AND LORD NORTH, 1770–4 Chapter 7 CHARACTER AND BEHAVIOUR Chapter 8 FAMILY Chapter 9 CULTURE Chapter 10 RELIGION AND MORALITY Chapter 11 WAR WITH AMERICA Chapter 12 REPEATED CRISES, 1780–4 Chapter 13 GEORGE AND WILLIAM PITT THE YOUNGER, 1784–90 Chapter 14 THE REVOLUTIONARY CRISIS, 1790–3 Chapter 15 ELECTOR OF HANOVER Chapter 16 THE QUEST FOR EMPIRE Chapter 17 WAR WITH FRANCE, 1793–1801 Chapter 18 LAST YEARS, 1801–20 Chapter 19 REPUTATION AND COMPARISONS Chapter 20 GEORGE III AND THE MAKING OF THE MODERN BRITISH MONARCHY ABBREVIATIONS BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX