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Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool: Difference between revisions

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The Right Honourable The Earl of Liverpool KG PC FRS
Portrait by Thomas Lawrence, c. 1827
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 8 June 1812 – 9 April 1827
Monarchs	George III George IV
Regent	George, Prince Regent (1812–1820)
Preceded by	Spencer Perceval
Succeeded by	George Canning
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
In office 1 November 1809 – 11 June 1812
Prime Minister	Spencer Perceval
Preceded by	The Viscount Castlereagh
Succeeded by	The Earl Bathurst
Leader of the House of Lords
In office 25 March 1807 – 9 April 1827
Prime Minister	The Duke of Portland Spencer Perceval Himself
Preceded by	The Lord Grenville
Succeeded by	The Viscount Goderich
In office 17 August 1803 – 5 February 1806
Prime Minister	Henry Addington William Pitt the Younger
Preceded by	The Lord Pelham
Succeeded by	The Lord Grenville
Home Secretary
In office 25 March 1807 – 1 November 1809
Prime Minister	The Duke of Portland
Preceded by	The Earl Spencer
Succeeded by	Richard Ryder
In office 12 May 1804 – 5 February 1806
Prime Minister	William Pitt the Younger
Preceded by	Charles Philip Yorke
Succeeded by	The Earl Spencer
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
In office 20 February 1801 – 14 May 1804
Prime Minister	Henry Addington
Preceded by	The Lord Grenville
Succeeded by	The Lord Harrowby
Personal details
Born	Robert Banks Jenkinson (1770-06-07)7 June 1770 London, England
Died	4 December 1828(1828-12-04) (aged 58) Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England
Resting place	Hawkesbury Parish Church, Gloucestershire, England
Political party	Tory
Spouses	Louisa Hervey ​ ​ (m. 1795; died 1821)​ Mary Chester ​ ​ (m. 1822)​
Parent	Charles Jenkinson (father)
Education	Charterhouse School
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford
Signature

Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, KG, PC, FRS (7 June 1770 – 4 December 1828) was a British Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827. He also held many other important cabinet offices such as Foreign Secretary, Home Secretary and Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. He was also a member of the House of Lords and served as leader.

As prime minister, Liverpool called for repressive measures at domestic level to maintain order after the Peterloo massacre of 1819. He dealt smoothly with the Prince Regent when King George III was incapacitated. He also steered the country through the period of radicalism and unrest that followed the Napoleonic Wars. He favoured commercial and manufacturing interests as well as the landed interest. He sought a compromise of the heated issue of Catholic emancipation. The revival of the economy strengthened his political position. By the 1820s, he was the leader of a reform faction of "Liberal Tories" who lowered the tariff, abolished the death penalty for many offences, and reformed the criminal law. By the time of his death, however, the Tory party, which had dominated the House of Commons for over 40 years, was ripping itself apart.

Important events during his tenure as prime minister included the War of 1812 with the United States, the Sixth and Seventh Coalitions against the French Empire, the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars at the Congress of Vienna, the Corn Laws, the Peterloo Massacre, the Trinitarian Act 1812 and the emerging issue of Catholic emancipation. Scholars rank him highly among all British prime ministers, but he was also called "the Arch-mediocrity" by a later Conservative prime minister, Benjamin Disraeli.^[1]

Early life: 1770-1790

Family

Jenkinson was baptised on 29 June 1770 at St. Margaret's, Westminster, the son of George III's close adviser Charles Jenkinson, later the first Earl of Liverpool, and his first wife, Amelia Watts. Jenkinson's 19-year-old mother, who was the daughter of a senior East India Company official, William Watts, and of his wife Begum Johnson, died from the effects of childbirth one month after his birth.^[2] Through his mother's grandmother, Isabella Beizor, Jenkinson was descended from Portuguese settlers in India; he may also have been one-sixteenth Indian in ancestry.^[3][4][5]

Education

From an early age, Jenkinson had a strong influential training in economics and politics from his father, who was at the time, a leading politician and adviser to King George III.^[6] To give his son the highest education possible, Jenkinson was sent to be educated at Charterhouse School, whose education was broader than that of the prestigious Eton College, to which many sons of noblemen were sent be educated.^[6] While at Charterhouse, Jenkinson's father insisted that he study political economy and read current politics. Jenkinson later matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford, in 1787.^[7][8]

While learning at Oxford, he went on the tradition "Grand Tour" of Europe, which was undertaken by most wealthy students to travel abroad.^[6] In the summer of 1789, he took his Grand Tour, first travelling to Italy and then to Paris, France.^[6] In Paris, Jenkinson spent four months there to perfect his French and enlarge his social experience among Parisian Society.^[9] While there, he witnessed the storming of the Bastille during the early stages of the French Revolution and before the revolution took place, he was able to safely return to England and in time for his last year at Oxford.^[6] He spent next the three months in Oxford to complete his terms of residence, and in May 1790 was created Master of Arts.

Early career: 1790–1801

Member of Parliament

He won election to the House of Commons in 1790 for Rye, a seat he would hold until 1803; at the time, however, he was below the age of assent to Parliament, so he refrained from taking his seat and spent the following winter and early spring in an extended tour of Continental Europe. This tour took in the Netherlands and Italy; at its conclusion he was old enough to take his seat in Parliament. It is not clear exactly when he entered the Commons, but as his twenty-first birthday was not reached until almost the end of the 1791 session, it is possible that he waited until the following year.

House of Commons

With the help of his father's influence and his political talent, he rose relatively fast in the Tory government. In February 1792, he gave the reply to Samuel Whitbread's critical motion on the government's Russian policy. He delivered several other speeches during the session, and was a strong opposer of abolitionism and William Wilberforce. He served as a member of the Board of Control for India from 1793 to 1796.

In the defence movement that followed the outbreak of hostilities with France, Jenkinson, was one of the first of the ministers of the government to enlist in the militia. He became a colonel in the Cinque Ports Fencibles in 1794, and his military duties led to frequent absences from the Commons. His regiment was sent to Scotland in 1796, and he was quartered for a time in Dumfries.

In 1797, the then Lord Hawkesbury was the cavalry commander of the Cinque Ports Light Dragoons who ran amok following a protest against the Militia ActatTranent in East Lothian; twelve civilians were killed. Author James Miller wrote in 1844 that "His lordship was blamed for remaining at Haddington, as his presence might have prevented the outrages of the soldiery."^[10]

His parliamentary attendance also suffered from his reaction when his father angrily opposed his projected marriage with Lady Louisa Hervey, daughter of the Earl of Bristol. After Pitt and the King had intervened on his behalf, the wedding finally took place at Wimbledon on 25 March 1795. In May 1796, when his father was created Earl of Liverpool, he took the courtesy title of Lord Hawkesbury and remained in the Commons. He became Baron Hawkesbury in his own right and was elevated to the House of Lords in November 1803, as recognition of his work as Foreign Secretary.^{[citation needed]} He also served as Master of the Mint (1799–1801).^[7]

Foreign Secretary: 1801–1804

Entry

As the question of Catholic emancipation came apparent and as the King refused to pass on to law, in response, Pitt resigned as prime minister as a result. This departure left the King to choose a successor and so appointed one of Pitt's prominent allies, Henry Addington, as the new prime minister. When Addington's government came to power, the young Liverpool entered the cabinet in 1801 as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.^[7] Addington's main political agenda was peace and promised that as prime minister that, he will negotiate with the French. In this capacity he was entrusted by Addington negotiate with the France and pursue an immediate peace deal, which he set to do, as his first duty.^[11]

Treaty of Amiens

The French Revolutionary Wars begun as a direct result of the French Revolution, of which the aftermath saw a growing sentiment of radicalism and a shock wave of political turmoil being sent across Europe. At the beginning of the Revolution, the British government led by William Pitt opposed its ideology and the belief that it would undermine the principles of Britain's established constitutional monarchy. Also the French revolutionary ideology heavily opposed such forms of government containing a monarchy, while favouring a republican form of government, which Britain and other countries in Europe opposed and wished to end such ideologies from spreading elsewhere. What followed was a decade long series of wars, known as the Coalition wars that resulted in Britain and its allies being defeated or being pushed to the position of economic crisis and so many opted to peace.^[12]

As Foreign Secretary, Liverpool has to face the crisis war in Europe and negotiate peace as soon as possible. As Britain and its allies in the continent were unable to defeat France in any way and the long duration of the war itself, led to a period of instability as the British war effort has been over overwhelmed by nearly a decade of war without any results. As per Addington's wishes, Liverpool opened negotiations with France. Liverpool immediately, first, communicated with the French commissary for prisoners of war in London, Louis Guillaume Otto, through whom he could contact and agree to Napoleon Bonaparte's earlier proposals.^[12]

Liverpool stated that he "wanted to open discussions on terms for a peace agreement", but Otto, who was under direct and strict orders from Bonaparte, begun to open negotiations by mid-September. Despite his efforts, negotiations seemed fruitless with Otto and unhappy with this result, Liverpool sent diplomat Anthony Merry to Paris to open a second round of negotiations with his own French counterpart, French Foreign Minister Talleyrand by mid-September. By this time, written negotiations followed and progressed to the point Otto met shaft a preliminary agreement on 30 September and finally in London, which was finally published the next day. Thus signing the Treaty of Amiens and concluding the end of the War of the Second Coalition.^[12]

Resignation

Most of his time as Foreign Secretary was spent dealing with the nations of France and the United States. But this was cut short, as shortly afterwards, the Addington government came under attack from the opposition and was criticised for its lack of credibility when war resumed yet again in 1803 and the start of the War of the Third Coalition. Soon the government fell into disarray and quickly led to the reappointment of Pitt as prime minister.^[12]

Home Secretary: 1804–1809

Pitt Ministry

When Pitt came to power for the second time, he reappointed the former Foreign secretary and he was soon continued to serve in the cabinet as Secretary of State for the Home DepartmetinPitt the Younger's second government. Although the new government was smaller than the previous one, the ministry still held the support of both the King, Parliament and the public, whom still had high confidence installed in Pitt and it became the government's greatest strength.

Soon after taking the role of Prime Minister, Pitt fell ill and was sick during 1805. Despite a terminal illness, he managed the out-going war in Europe and was able to hold together his Cabinet and his country against the will-power of the French. While Pitt was seriously ill, Liverpool was in charge of the cabinet and drew up the King's Speech for the official State Opening of Parliament. When William Pitt died in 1806, the King needed choose a successor to office immediately and asked the Home Secretary Liverpool to accept the post of Prime Minister, but he refused, as he believed he lacked a governing majority.^[7]

Opposition and return

The death of Pitt, almost led to political unrest and the King soon appointed the former prime minister's cousin, William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, as the new prime minister. Grenville lacked a strong majority in Parliament and had to call on every MP willing to join his new government, which led to the formation of a national unity government. The Ministry of All The Talents was formed by Grenville's aim to form the strongest possible coalition to avoid major opposition and included many leading politicians at the time. But Hawkesbury and Pitt's loyal supporters refused, who eventually left the government.

He then became Leader of the Opposition during Lord Grenville's ministry. This was the second only time that Liverpool did not hold active government office between 1793 and after his retirement. In 1807, after a year of Grenville's ministry in power, it fell without accomplishing any major policy efforts during its time. Hawkesbury, who was in opposition at the time, returned to government and he resumed office as Home Secretaryinthe Duke of Portland's new ministry.^[7]

War Secretary: 1809–1812

Lord Hawkesbury, by this point, assumed the title of Lord Liverpool, as he had now become by the death of his father in December 1808. After the fall of the Whig Portland ministry, saw the sudden rise of Spencer Perceval to the office of prime minister. Perceval was reluctant appoint a fellow Tory to his cabinet, as the Whigs were splintered and unified, which would allow the Tories to govern opposed and asked Liverpool to join his new cabinet. Liverpool accepted the position of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in Perceval's new government in 1809. Liverpool's first step on taking up his new post was to elicit from General Arthur Wellesley (the future Duke of Wellington) a strong enough statement of his ability to resist a French attack to persuade the cabinet to commit themselves to the maintenance of his small force in Portugal. In 1810 Liverpool was made a colonel of militia.^[13]

War finance

By 1809 the political situation in Europe have changed dramatically. Napoleon has conquered most, if not almost, all of Europe except for Russia, Austria, Eastern Europe and Northern Europe. The war against Napoleonic France did not improve for Britain's war effort and is by this point, Five coalitions have failed to defeat Napoleon or bring down France. This did not help Britain overcome the Continental System, issued by the 1806 Berlin Decree, which forbade most countries of Europe from Engaging in trade and commerce with the British and prevented them from trading British goods.

This not only effected Britain, but affected all European countries as they were dependent on British supplies, mainly many of Britain's closest allies. This caused massive disruption in the trading and economic system of Europe, as they were at this point, were key trading partners of each other and likely led to an unstable economic crisis. But to prevent Britain falling to an economic crisis, Liverpool as War Secretary has raised loans to help the Britain win the war and also help Britain's allies in need.

At home, with a combination of strong government finances and sustain financial attrition was able to save Britain from falling behind the economic fallout. And by using the Royal Navy to undermine French naval activities, a blockade across the English Channel and with persistent but moderate military pressure on France would ultimately bear fruit and will win the war.^[12]

Prime Minister: 1812–1827

Appointment

On 12 May 1812 at 5:15 p.m, Perceval was assassinated in the Parliamentary lobby of the House of Commons by a Liverpool merchant, John Bellingham who had a grievance against the government for not compensating him when he was imprisoned in a Russian prison for trading debt. This shocked the government and the Prince Regent George, Prince of Wales, was to appoint a new replacement. The Prince Regent tried unsuccessfully to appoint four men to succeed the now deceased Perceval, but failed. Jenkinson, now the 2nd Earl of Liverpool, who was at the time, the War Secretary, was only the fifth choice suitable for the office, reluctantly accepted office on 8 June 1812.^[14][7] Jenkinson was proposed as a direct successor by the cabinet office and Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh who acted as leader in the House of Commons. The Prince Regent, however, found it impossible to form a different coalition to advance an alternative candidate and confirmed Jenkinson as prime minister on 8 June.

Government

Liverpool appointed many capable politicians into his new cabinet, most of whom held many positions within past government and had considerable experience, which he was most keen on. To avoid schisms and splits in his party, Liverpool appointed, not only his supporters and other MPs from reactionary or radical factions to form a strong government with a successful hand in passing major policies and reform.

Liverpool's newly appointed government included some of the future great leaders of Britain, such as Lord CastlereaghasForeign Secretary, George CanningasLeader of the House of Commons, former Prime Minister Addington as Home Secretary, Nicholas VansittartasChancellor of the Exchequer, the Duke of Wellington, Robert Peel, and William HuskissonasPresident of the Board of Trade. Liverpool was considered an experienced as well as skilled politician, and was highly successful in holding together the liberal and reactionary wings of the Tory party. This success would lead to a stable government which would remain in power for the next 14 years.

Foreign affairs

War

At the beginning of his premiership, Liverpool had to face the outgoing conflictinEurope. The French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte conquered nearly half of Europe and another half was under his rule and at this point, his hegemony over the continent seemed unshakable. Britain led the war solely on its own since 1809 and the although it helped to fund the escalating war in Spain by sending British troops under the Duke of Wellington to defeat French forces there. When he became prime minister, Liverpool was determined to direct his new government on the goal to win the war against Napoleonic France.

During his first year in office, Napoleon's army led an ill-fated invasion of Russia in a doomed attempt to subdue the Russian Empire into his sphere of control. But Napoleon suffered a devastating setback during the campaign and the loss of an army of around one and half million men, forcing him to retreat. To topple Napoleon, once and for all, a new Coalition was launched by the allies against Napoleon in 1813 and resulted in an effortless campaign on Rhine and the German frontier lasting a year, which eventually led to Napoleon's final defeat during the Hundred Days campaign in 1815.^[15] The War of 1812 with the United States was fought during his government as well.

The Peninsular Campaigns saw the British army led by the Duke of Wellington drive the French out of Spain and Portugal into France itself. Also, the Sixth Coalition led by Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden successfully embarked on a major campaign on the German front that resulted in Napoleon's crushing defeat at the Battle of Leipzig. With Napoleon's defeat, the Allies invaded France and occupied the capital, Paris. The fall of Paris led to Napoleon's abdication and exile to the island of Elba. At the peace negotiations that followed, Liverpool's government was mainly concern with obtaining a European settlement that would ensure the independence of the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal, and confine France inside its pre-war frontiers without damaging its national integrity. To achieve this, Jenkinson was ready to return all British colonial conquests. Within this broad framework, he gave Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh the discretion at the Congress of Vienna.

At the Congress of Vienna Jenkinson gave prompt approval for Castlereagh's bold initiative in making the defensive alliance with Austria and France in January 1815. This all happened in the aftermath of Napoleon's defeat, as Napoleon had briefly been exiled to the island Elba but returned to power to start the Hundred Days. The allies immediately begun mobilizing their armies to fight the escaped emperor and an combined Anglo-Allied army was send under the command of Wellington to assist Britain's allies. Within few months, Napoleon was decisively defeated at the Battle of Waterloo and peace followed through the now exhausted continent.

Concert of Europe

After the Battle of Waterloo saw the conclusion of the War of the Seventh Coalition and ushered in a possibility of a long lasting peace between the powers Europe in future. To achieve this, they have to undo many of the changes brought on by Napoleon, which left a difficult situation in Europe. The main powers and other nations of Europe were to fill the vacuum left by Napoleon and to reconstruct many of the cracks. Soon after end of war, securing peace was a major issue.

As prime minister, Jenkinson was petitioned regarding possible solutions for peace. For example, Jenkinson and his government provided guidance to Henri Christophe, who emerged from the Haitian Revolution as ruler of the Kingdom of Haiti. On the matter of peace in Europe, Jenkinson received a letter by Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve, a French politician, with the proposal to establish peace with France and thus indemnity payment to France.^[16] The Austrian Foreign Minister Klemens Von Metternich, a skilled diplomat and capable politician, called on European countries to gather at Vienna to negotiate a peacekeeping effort, with the aim of establishing a lasting peace. The main powers: Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and last the defeated France all met at Vienna for negotiations and representing their perspective countries.

Jenkinson, in order to hold influence as a powerful signatory, decided to a send one of his most skilled ministers to attend the peace assembly in France, and so appointed his Foreign Secretary, Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Castlereagh, to be sent to Vienna. The gathering of nations at the Austrian city, is known as the Congress of Vienna and was attended by some of Europe's most influential diplomats and politicians and the result of this congressional meeting was the establishment of a peaceful Europe. So, as a direct result, it saw the maps of Europe being redrawn to the previous borders there before the war, opposing or eradicating radicalism and liberal ideals, such as that of the French Revolution, from spreading across the continent and securing a lasting peace that would see no major conflict being ever fought between the nations of Europe. This became known as the Concert of Europe and its ideals of a longstanding peace and political landscape would endure to the early 20th century until the start of the First World War in 1914.^[12]

Colonial expansion

The British Empire in 1815 and throughout Liverpool's premiership was thriving and expanding across the globe and was raising as the greatest colonial empire of all time. As the 20-year long war in Europe ended with peace being established in Europe, Britain finally established itself as a dominant main power, alongside Austria, Russia and France. But by this point, Britain proved itself to be a far more superior power than any other nation in Europe. Through its vast empire, strong economy and military might, it made Britain one of the first known world power with establishing a strong hegemony over the globe. Through trade and commerce, Britain accumulated large amounts of wealth and through its industrialisation, mass production of cotton, iron, wheat increased dramatically.

Asia

Britain's colonial endeavours saw British armies conquering and subjugating new territories. In South Asia, saw British territories gradually expanded far and beyond. The annexation of Nepal during the Anglo-Nepalese War saw it incorporated to British India as a result. Britain also expanded its borders within the Indian frontiers during the Third Anglo-Maratha War against the long-time British enemy of the Maratha Confederacy. In modern-day Myanmar, conflict with the Third Burmese Empire led to the First Anglo-Burmese War, which saw the strategic weakening of the Burma and led to the cessation of territories in Assam, Manipur, Arakan and other territories south of the Salween River as a result.

Apart from Southern Asia, British interests in the east continued as it seemed to establish trading posts with East Asian colonies, which were at the time, were partly under British control.^[17] The Kew Letters, signed by the Prince of Orange, instructed Dutch colonial officials to hand over rule to the British.^[12] These colonies remained under British control, until 1814, when the Dutch asked for their return. Although the British were reluctant to return the colonies, it was moreover hesitant, as it would undermine British colonial efforts and trade.^[17] Some of the colonies seized by the British were later returned under the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814.^[12]

Some British officials in the colonies were not so willing to hand over rule in subordination to the British, leading to the British to take Dutch territories by force.^[17] In 1811, British colonial officer Sir Stamford Raffles invaded the strategic Dutch island of Java, leading to tension among the British and the Dutch, as it was seen as an act of aggression.^[12] Under Raffles, the British went to establish a new trade post in modern-day Singapore and the colony of Bencoolen were established by the British.^[17] This further exacerbated the tension among the British and the Dutch to a further extent and the point of Dutch trading rights in Asia and its possessions in East Asia became a dominant contention.^[12] In 1820, British merchants with the interests in the Far East, pressured Liverpool's government to take immediate action on the issue.^[17] The British government began negotiations with Dutch over the possessions in Asia, despite being suspended for a time on 5 August and talks resumed with the Dutch under the new Foreign Secretary George Canning.^[12]

The Dutch want the British to abandon Singapore and Canning was unaware of the circumstances by which Singapore was acquired in the first.^[12] At first, non-controversial issues such as free navigation rights, trade and commerce and the issues of piracy were agreed in the first discussions. By 1823, the commercial value of Singapore had been well-recognized by the British and it’s importance was realised to be strategic, giving it away was out of the discussions.^[12] Instead the Dutch, realising that the British will not abandon the are and the growth of Singapore cannot be curbed, pressed for an different exchange in which the Dutch agreed to abandoned claims to north of the Strait of Malacca and the Indian colonies and exchange for the confirmation of Dutch claims to south of the strait, including Bencoolen.^[17] The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 was signed by Canning and Henrik Fagel and Anton Reinhard Falck in acknowledgement of British presence in East Asia and by ending hostilities between Britain and the Netherlands.^[12]

Africa

Furthermore, during midst Liverpool's premiership, in Africa saw the complete integration of the Cape ColonyinSouth Africa by 1820. The British annexed Cape Town in 1806 from the Dutch East India Company and ever since had it under its rule. By 1824, by efforts of British foreign and colonial intervention in the colony, development of the colonial government and settlements were implemented. It saw the reconstruction of the infrastructure of the colony by making English the administrative language, the introduction of the Pound and newspaper publishing. Further efforts to establish a fully functioning colony, the British appointed a new governor with an advisory council and the settlement of British settlers in the area by 1825.

The settlements of Europeans and the British colonial administration came into conflict with local African tribes as virtual displacement of natives saw resistance from tribes and neighbouring African nations. This led to conflict with the Xhosa tribes and led a series of armed conflict between Europeans and native Africans. Ultimately, the British won the victory over the Xhosa tribes in the Fourth Xhosa War in which the Colony were able to push the tribes beyond the Fish River and able to reverse many of the Xhosa's past success. During Liverpool's tenure as Prime Minister, saw the establishment of a permanent penal colony in Australia and new settlements in New Zealand.^[12]

Domestic affairs

Home trouble

During the early years of his tenure as prime minister, domestic and political unrest was rampant as Britain's wartime spending had drained the economy and was in debt. The government enacted measures to decrease debt through extensive taxation and austerity as living conditions worsened during this period. Inevitably taxes rose to compensate for borrowing and to pay off the national debt, which led to widespread disturbance between 1812 and 1822.

Around this time, industrial action and strikes began as a response to the management of factories and low income for workers, which became a feature of this time. A group known as Luddites began industrial action. Throughout the period 1811–1816, there was a series of incidents of machine-breaking, smashing of stocking frame machinery and cotton looms by this group, which began reactions of outrage at government officials and mill owners. The government passed serious legislation against such action, which led a ban on trade unions and many of those convicted faced execution or deportation to a penal colony.^[11]

Agriculture

A pressing issue during the early years of Liverpool's tenure as prime minister was agriculture. During the Napoleonic Wars, in the both wake of the Continental System, Napoleon forbade Europe from trading with Britain and this caused severe disruption in the British economy add agriculture remained an important aspect of the British industry. This forced Britain to become agriculturally self-sufficiency, especially during the Milan Decree, between 1807 and 1812. The self-sufficient policy meant that it required farmers to plant and grow crops in much inferior lands to compensate revenue. When the war ended in 1815, Britain was to transform into an post-war State. The agricultural issue remained critical, even after the war, as it meant that the cost of agricultural commodities and goods would increase with trade relations being re-established.

This meant that the price of commodities such as corn rose unprecedentedly and increased hardship on the poor during the dearth years. It also saw that British farmers earned less wages than in Europe, where the wages were higher than in country, which would leave most of Britain's rural population poorer. The Liverpool government was concerned that wit bout protection for agricultural production and products would undermine harvests and agriculture as whole. Liverpool was primarily concerned about balancing different taxes and tariffs: such as on wool, cotton, pottery, and other industries will be subjected to a higher rate of protective tariff, so agriculture should also receive similar protection. The protection provided for agricultural commodities and industry increased the cost in manufacturing labor, it would have not been hindering to manufacturing and the cause for emigration, since the wages for British farmers rose relatively high

Corn Laws

Agriculture remained a problem because good harvests between 1819 and 1822 had brought down prices and evoked a cry for greater protection. When the powerful agricultural lobby in Parliament demanded protection in the aftermath, Liverpool gave in to political necessity. Under governmental supervision the notorious Corn Laws of 1815 were passed prohibiting the import of foreign wheat until the domestic price reached a minimum accepted level. Liverpool, however, was in principle a free-trader, but had to accept the bill as a temporary measure to ease the transition to peacetime conditions. His chief economic problem during his time as Prime Minister was that of the nation's finances.^{[citation needed]}

The interest on the national debt, massively swollen by the enormous expenditure of the final war years, together with the war pensions, absorbed the greater part of normal government revenue. The refusal of the House of Commons in 1816 to continue the wartime income tax left ministers with no immediate alternative but to go on with the ruinous system of borrowing to meet necessary annual expenditure. Liverpool eventually facilitated a return to the gold standard in 1819.^{[citation needed]}

Liverpool argued for the abolition of the wider slave trade at the Congress of Vienna, and at home he supported the repeal of the Combination Laws banning workers from combining into trade unions in 1824.^[18] In the latter year the newly formed Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, later the RNLI, obtained Liverpool as its first president.^[19]

Social legislation

Civil unrest

The economic and social situation in Britain deteriorated as growing discontent toward government policies increased leading to widespread civil unrest across Britain. In the northern part of the country, which was heavily industrialising and was a source of large production, saw frustrated factory workers go on strike and protest against factory owners and local authorities for increases in wages and pay. At the same time, the Luddites began their efforts to undermine efforts by local officials and the landed gentry by breaking machinery and going on strike for months.

To avoid general disruption, the government introduced harsh measures punishing workers and repealing rights to organisation and banning the formation of trade unions. These measures often contained the death penalty for protesting or violating the law by hanging. These policies were perceived as repressive and unconstitutional, leading to more discontent among the working class population across the country. Rise in prices of food and manufactured items increased between 1816 and 1818, which left the country's population in difficult conditions.

Also during this period, a growing movement began calling for parliamentary reform and universal suffrage and voting rights for the common man led by prominent anti-government politicians to end perceived rampant corruption among local magistrates. It also called for reform in the House of Commons and for greater representation in Parliament for every deprived area in the country. Although the movement gained momentum among the poor and the middle class, the government was fearful of its actions leading to sedition and introduced more measures limiting the ability for the gathering of committees and political organisations.

In 1819 a factory act was passed under which no children under the age of 9 were allowed to work in the cotton mills ^[20]

Assassination attempt

The reports of the secret committees he obtained in 1817 pointed to the existence of an organised network of disaffected political societies, especially in the manufacturing areas. Liverpool told Peel that the disaffection in the country seemed even worse than in 1794. Because of a largely perceived threat to the government, temporary legislation was introduced. He suspended habeas corpus in both Great Britain (1817) and Ireland (1822). Following the Peterloo massacre in 1819, his government imposed the repressive Six Acts legislation which limited, among other things, free speech and the right to gather for peaceful demonstration. In 1820, as a result of these measures, Liverpool and other cabinet ministers were targeted for assassination. They escaped harm when the Cato Street conspiracy was foiled.^[21]

Economic policy

National debt

After the end of war at Waterloo, Liverpool's government had to face a critical debt crisis.^[6] The national debt in 1815, was by far 200% of the country's GDP, with the budget being in high deficit and debt payments absorbing over half of the government's normal funding.^[6] To counter this, serious measures were undertaken to reduce the national debt and were enacted when the government began a rigorous austerity program, which saw public expenditure being cut by 67.2% in 1817.^[6]

These measures did not prove to be any popular, as it was sternly resisted by populace, with civil and industrial unrest being high for most of the period.^[6] By 1825, however, saw Britain being at the top as major economic power, into ten years into peace after the establishment of the Concert of Europe in 1815.^[6] At this point government payments and expenditure were further reduced by 8.5%.^[6] The buoyancy of revenues had taken to produce major tax reductions, mostly on tariffs and excises, as well as the budget surplus.

By doing so, Britain's debt to the GDP ratio peaked at a round 260% following with a recession of 1819, fell below 200% by Liverpool's last year in office in 1827. As a result, Britain emerged, out of the economic instability of around 20 years since the Napoleonic Wars, to become the most influential economic power with a global hegemony over all of world's trade.^[6]

Fiscal reforms

The period during 1815 to 1820, saw massive economic disruption caused by the end of a two-decade long war.^[6] The unpopularity of the government's economic policies led to tensions between officials and the public, mainly in industrial sector.^[6] Industrial actions and strikes became common after 1816, with violence escalating in some parts of Britain as a reaction to the government policy.^[6]

During this same period, a devastating failure of the European harvests in 1816, led to hunger and sometimes starvation among the population.^[6] The cause of crop failure is attributed to the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora, which came to be known as “the year without a summer”.^[6] The Price of food and shortages of wheat in some of parts of Europe and Britain were rampant. The enactment of the controversial Corn Laws led the to further discontent and rendered worse conditions for the common people and the price of bread saw hunger and stealing, leading to more signs of broader economic instability.^[6] But in 1817, saw Britain's economy going through unprecedented growth, never seen in its history.

This is the cause of the rapid success of Industrial Revolution as the country saw mass production in iron, metal, wheat, cotton and other agricultural commodities being traded and sold around the world, generating vast wealth.^[6] The government also repealed some its harsh measures, as one Of the changes were that the government freed the British private sector of the economy to compete cuts to public spending.^[6] After the period of post-war alignment, which lasted two years since the eruption of Mount Tambora led to harvest failure and discontent within the country, Britain's economy recovered rapidly and grew at unpredictable rate during 1818.^[6]

Under Liverpool's direction government was passed two important economic legislations that had positive long-standing effects. The Savings Bank Act of 1817 established which would later become the Trustee Savings Bank.^[6] Under this system, it provided for savings that were administered by unpaid trustees which would then require to invest in government deposits. The Saving Banks Act was solely the most influential legislative act of the Liverpool ministry by far.^[6] Since it's establishment in 1817, its bond deposits grew to £13.3 million more than the 27% of the share of the total capital of the London Stock Exchange.

Trade and monetary policy

In 1819 Lord Liverpool's government ensured Britain's return to the Gold Standard in the Parliamentary Session of that year.^[6] Before it's revival, the use of the gold standard was abolished by the Bank of England, which suspended cash payments in gold in 1797 by the then government of William Pitt the Younger. Its suspension, saw the price of gold growing to the premium of up to 30% from previous values.^[6] The government brought back the gold standard once again amidst rapidly growing British economy and industrial rise. In 1820, the economy was in a strong position to support its convertibility to the gold standard and came into effect on 1 May.^[6]

In 1820, Liverpool's ministry also directed British trade policy by announcing that the government its move toward free trade, providing an opportunity that lead to Britain's future prosperity and growth for the next 40 years.^[6] On 26 May, during a House of Commons, Liverpool reproached toward a suggestion by the Whig Leader of the Opposition, which Liverpool found was advantageous for Britain's economic endeavours.^[6] The principles of free trade and its benefits, persuaded Liverpool to support multilateral trade while being staunchly against unilateral trade. Liverpool accepted the idea of the task of moving towards free trade which will enable Britain's economic stability and prosperity.^[6]

Catholic emancipation

During the 19th century, and in particular during Liverpool's time in office, Catholic emancipation was a source of great conflict. In 1805, in his first important statement of his views on the subject, Liverpool had argued that the special relationship of the monarch with the Church of England, and the refusal of Roman Catholics to take the oath of supremacy, justified their exclusion from political power. Throughout his career, he remained opposed to the idea of Catholic emancipation, though he did see marginal concessions as important to the stability of the nation.

The decision of 1812 to remove the issue from collective cabinet policy, followed in 1813 by the defeat of Grattan's Roman Catholic Relief Bill, brought a period of calm. Liverpool supported marginal concessions such as the admittance of English Roman Catholics to the higher ranks of the armed forces, the magistracy, and the parliamentary franchise; but he remained opposed to their participation in parliament itself. In the 1820s, pressure from the liberal wing of the Commons and the rise of the Catholic Association in Ireland revived the controversy.

By the date of Sir Francis Burdett's Catholic Relief Bill in 1825, emancipation looked a likely success. Indeed, the success of the bill in the Commons in April, followed by Robert Peel's tender of resignation, finally persuaded Liverpool that he should retire. When Canning made a formal proposal that the cabinet should back the bill, Liverpool was convinced that his administration had come to its end. George Canning then succeeded him as Prime Minister. Catholic emancipation however was not fully implemented until the major changes of the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 under the leadership of the Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert Peel, and with the work of the Catholic Association established in 1823.^[22]

Later life: 1827-1828

Retirement and death

Jenkinson's first wife, Louisa, died at 54. He married again on 24 September 1822 to Mary Jenkinson, Countess of Liverpool.^[23] Jenkinson finally retired on 9 April 1827 after suffering a severe cerebral hemorrhage at his Fife House residence in Whitehall two months earlier,^[24] and asked the King to seek a successor. He suffered another minor stroke in July, after which he lingered on at Coombe, Kingston upon Thames until a third attack on 4 December 1828 from which he died.^[25] Having died childless, he was succeeded as Earl of Liverpool by his younger half-brother Charles Jenkinson, 3rd Earl of Liverpool. Jenkinson was buried in Church of St Mary, Hawkesbury beside his father and his first wife.

Legacy

Robert William Seton-Watson sums up Jenkinson's strengths and weaknesses:

No one would claim Liverpool as a man of genius, but he had qualities of tact, firmness and endurance to which historians have rarely done full justice: and thus it came about that he held the office of Premier over a period more than twice as long as any other successor of Pitt, long after peace had been restored to Europe. One reason for his ascendancy was that he had an unrivalled insight into the whole machinery of government, having filled successively every Secretaryship of State, and tested the efficiency and mutual relations of politicians and officials alike.... He had a much wider acquaintance with foreign affairs than many who have held his high office.^[26]

John W. Derry says Jenkinson was:

[A] capable and intelligent statesman, whose skill in building up his party, leading the country to victory in the war against Napoleon, and laying the foundations for prosperity outweighed his unpopularity in the immediate post-Waterloo years.^[27]

Jenkinson was the first British Prime Minister to regularly wear long trousers instead of breeches. He entered office at the age of 42 years and one day, making him younger than all of his successors. Liverpool served as Prime Minister for a total of 14 years and 305 days, making him the longest-serving Prime Minister of the 19th century. As of 2022, none of Liverpool's successors has served longer.

Streets named after a Lord Liverpool

InLondon, Liverpool Street and Liverpool Road, Islington, are named after Lord Liverpool. The Canadian town of Hawkesbury, Ontario, the Hawkesbury River and the Liverpool Plains, New South Wales, Australia, Liverpool, New South Wales, and the Liverpool River in the Northern Territory of Australia were also named after Lord Liverpool.^[28]

Trivia

Lord Liverpool, as Prime Minister to whose government Nathan Mayer Rothschild was a lender, was portrayed by American actor Gilbert Emery in the 1934 movie, The House of Rothschild.

Lord Liverpool's ministry (1812–1827)

• Lord Liverpool – First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Lords
• Lord Eldon – Lord Chancellor
• Lord Harrowby – Lord President of the Council
• Lord Westmorland – Lord Privy Seal
• Lord Sidmouth – Secretary of State for the Home Department
• Lord Castlereagh (Lord Londonderry after 1821) – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the House of Commons
• Lord Bathurst – Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
• Lord Melville – First Lord of the Admiralty
• Nicholas Vansittart – Chancellor of the Exchequer
• Lord Mulgrave – Master-General of the Ordnance
• Lord Buckinghamshire – President of the Board of Control
• Charles Bathurst – Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• Lord Camden – minister without portfolio

Changes

• Late 1812 – Lord Camden leaves the Cabinet
• September 1814 – William Wellesley-Pole (Lord Maryborough from 1821), the Master of the Mint, enters the Cabinet
• February 1816 – George Canning succeeds Lord Buckinghamshire at the Board of Control
• January 1818 – F. J. Robinson, the President of the Board of Trade, enters the Cabinet
• January 1819 – The Duke of Wellington succeeds Lord Mulgrave as Master-General of the Ordnance. Lord Mulgrave becomes minister without portfolio
• 1820 – Lord Mulgrave leaves the cabinet
• January 1821 – Charles Bathurst succeeds Canning as President of the Board of Control, remaining also at the Duchy of Lancaster
• January 1822 – Robert Peel succeeds Lord Sidmouth as Home Secretary
• February 1822 – Charles Williams-Wynn succeeds Charles Bathurst at the Board of Control. Bathurst remains at the Duchy of Lancaster and in the Cabinet
• September 1822 – Following the suicide of Lord Londonderry, George Canning becomes Foreign Secretary and Leader of the House of Commons
• January 1823 – Vansittart, elevated to the peerage as Lord Bexley, succeeds Charles Bathurst as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. F. J. Robinson succeeds Vansittart as Chancellor of the Exchequer. He is succeeded at the Board of Trade by William Huskisson
• 1823 – Lord Maryborough, the Master of the Mint, leaves the Cabinet. His successor in the office is not a Cabinet member

Arms

Coat of arms of Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool

Crest A Seahorse assurgent Argent maned Azure supporting a Cross Pattée Gules Escutcheon Azure a Fess wavy Argent charged with a Cross Pattée Gules in chief two Estoiles Or and as an augmentation of honour granted to his father the 1st Earl of Liverpool, upon a Chief wavy of the Second a Cormorant Sable beaked and legged of the Third holding in the beak a Seaweed (orLiver) branch inverted Vert (for Liverpool) Supporters On either side a Hawk wings elevated and inverted Proper beaked legged and belled Or charged on the breast with a Cross Pattée Gules Motto Palma non-sine pulvere ("Dare to try")

References

Further reading

• Brock, W. R. (1943). Lord Liverpool and Liberal Toryism 1820 to 1827. CUP Archive. p. 2.
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Liverpool, Earls of" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 804. This contains an assessment of his character and achievements.
• Cookson, J. E. Lord Liverpool's administration: the crucial years, 1815–1822 (1975)
• Gash, Norman. Lord Liverpool: The Life and Political Career of Robert Banks Jenkinson, Second Earl of Liverpool 1770–1828 (1984)
• Gash, Norman. "Jenkinson, Robert Banks, second earl of Liverpool (1770–1828)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004); online ed. 2008 accessed 20 June 2014 doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/14740
• Gash, Norman. "Lord Liverpool: a private view," History Today (1980) 30#5 pp 35–40
• Hay, William Anthony. Lord Liverpool: A Political Life (The Boydell Press, 2018).
• Hilton, Boyd. A Mad, Bad, and Dangerous People? England 1783–1846 (New Oxford History of England) (2006) scholarly survey
• Hilton, Boyd. "The Political Arts of Lord Liverpool." Transactions of the Royal Historical Society (Fifth Series) 38 (1988): 147–170. online
• Hutchinson, Martin. Britain's Greatest Prime Minister: Lord Liverpool (Cambridge, The Lutterworth Press, 2020).
• Petrie, Charles. Lord Liverpool and His Times (1954)
• Plowright, John. Regency England: The Age of Lord Liverpool (Routledge, 1996) "The Lancaster Pamphlets".
• Sack, James J. The Grenvillites, 1801–29: Party Politics and Factionalism in the Age of Pitt and Liverpool (1991)
• Seton-Watson, R. W. Britain in Europe (1789–1914): A Survey of Foreign Policy (1937) online free

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool.

Wikisource has the text of the 1885–1900 Dictionary of National Biography's article about Jenkinson, Robert Banks.

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Liverpool
• Earl of Liverpool Prime Minister's Office
• "Earl of Liverpool" by Prime Minister's Office
• Portraits of Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool at the National Portrait Gallery, London
• "Archival material relating to Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool". UK National Archives.