Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole was a Whig politician, member of the Parliament, and is considered to be the first prime minister of Britain.
Contents
History
Walpole first won election to the House of Commons in 1701, representing Castle Riding. The next year he received the seat of a neighboring pocket borough.
He was appointed to Anne's government in 1705.
Following the Sacheverell riots and amid mounting opposition to English involvement in the War of Spanish Succession, the Tories won a majority and took power. The new Harley government quickly charged Walpole with taking bribes for contracts, found him guilty, and sentenced him to 6 months in the Tower of London. He returned to the Commons in 1713.
With the Hanoverian succession and a Whig victory in 1714 elections, Walpole returned to government.
George I and Stanhope pursued a foreign policy strongly oriented around Hanoverian interests, drawing opposition from several influential Whigs. The Whig Split emerged by 1717, with Walpole and Townshend leading this faction.
The split healed after about three years, and both Walpole and Townshend returned to government. Nearly simultaneously though, the South Sea Company collapsed. The company had been granted a monopoly on slave trade in the southern Pacific and Atlantic, which attracted interest from private finance. The government sold shares in the company to buy back public debt, effectively consolidating the national debt into a chartered company. The company itself was not profitable, and inevitably collapsed. The subsequent scandal consumed nearly all of the establishment Whigs that had been involved in government since before the Split. Now, Walpole emerged as the dominant remaining member of government. From this point, he is considered to be the first prime minister.
Policies
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Walpole oversaw a period of prosperity through the late years of George I's reign, and was retained by George II upon his coronation in 1727. Townshend was the only rival for power, and he retired in 1730.
Against the wishes of both George II and the Whig opposition, Walpole refused to intervene in the War of Polish Succession.
He also orchestrated closer relations with Austria, concluding the Treaty of Vienna and establishing Anglo-Austrian Alliance.
Walpole pushed a policy of lowering land taxes, with the intent of switching the internal revenues toward excise and customs taxes.
Walpole was forced to resign from government in 1742. He took a peerage but remained an influential advisor to the successive government led by Compton but centered on Pelman.
Legacy
While forced to resign from government, Walpole's chosen successors (especially Pelman) held on to power and continued his platforms. Chiefly, they maintained Whig dominance, ensured the continuance of the Hanoverian succession, and made progress towards civilian governance.