Transcription
In 1743, King George II became the last British king ever to lead his troops in person on the battlefield. "Now, boys,…!" he said, "fire, and be brave, and the French will soon run!" [Gunshot] The battle was Dettingen, here in Germany, and the enemy was Britain's old adversary: France. George had reached the ripe old age of 59. Some of the British thought that the aging King's military enthusiasm had got the better of him! But when they tried to shuffle the King off the battlefield, for his own safety,… …he said, "Don't tell me of danger, I'll be even with them!" [Gunshot]
Now, George II was undeniably brave! But was he really acting in the best interests of Britain? German George II was a warrior King. He was using the power of Britain to protect his other realm,… …his native Hanover. But the British were more interested in ruling the waves, than fighting continental wars.
For this series, I've been given access to the Royal Collection,… …as pieces are brought together for an exhibition about the first Georgian Kings,… …at the Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace. This was a new dynasty, who found themselves fighting the French,… …the Jacobites,… …and each other, all at the same time! It's remarkable that these Hanoverian Kings didn't weaken the monarchy! They strengthened it! They helped transform Britain into a global superpower.
What was George II doing on this foreign battlefield? This is exactly where his artillery was positioned. Well, this was part of the war of the Austrian Succession. It was a gallant cause: it was the defense of the rights of Maria Teresa of Austria… …to inherit her father's throne, even though she was a woman. But George had ulterior motives. He wanted to contain the French threat,… …and protect the interests of Hanover's near neighbour, Austria.
Although he was nearly 60, George II was determined to lead from the front! A cannonball went whizzing within half a yard of his head,…! …and his son, the Duke of Cumberland, got shot in the leg! But, despite these close brushes with death, the battle was a success!
You'd think that George II would be riding high, after thrashing the French,… …but some of his British subjects weren't happy! On the battlefield of Dettingen, George had worn the yellow sash of Hanover. All the King's enemies at home seized upon the fact… …that he'd charged into battle wearing Hanoverian colours, not British! Some people went so far as to say that George was defending Hanover… …with the blood of proud Englishmen! It became such a PR problem that when this portrait was painted,… …George was portrayed wearing a sash that was tactfully – and Britishly – blue.
Unsurprisingly, George's opponents sought to capitalise on this controversy. On the one side were the king's own supporters, who wanted to defend the white horse of Hanover. This lot wanted a strong British army to get involved in Continental wars,… …to protect Hanover's interests. On the other hand, though, we have the patriots, represented by the British lion! Roar! This lot thought that Hanover was a chink in Britain's defenses. "Forget Hanover…", they said, "…Britain is an island nation, defended by the sea!"
The patriots were a charismatic group of politicians and poets. They counted both Whigs, and Tories, among their number. They were the original Eurosceptics. The patriots believed Britain should go it alone,… …ignore Continental disputes,… …build a strong navy, and gain more colonies, in America, and round the world. "This was the way,…" – they argued –, "…for Britain to secure international dominance."
Now, this lot needed a leader, and they settled upon the King's eldest son, Prince Frederick,… …who by this point had become something of a professional activist. George II had always considered his eldest son Frederick to be the black sheep of the family. As people said, "It ran in the blood of these Georgian monarchs…" "…to hate their eldest son." George II and Frederick had always had their petty feuds and squabbles. But now, the King was really worried: Frederick was gaining political momentum.
In 1740, Frederick was the inspiration for a new song,… …that was to be the theme tune for these rebellious patriots. Halt! Ready! It was so scandalous, that it had to be performed privately! So, you might be surprised to learn that you know it already! [Rule Britannia]
Today, people think "Rule Britannia", on the last night of the Proms, is a cheery celebration of Britishness. But this song was, in fact, an open revolt against King George II,… …as I suggested to the historian Dr Oliver Cox. I mean, when it's first performed, it's a royal revolt. It's a song for a Prince, against his father, and against his father's Prime Minister. Rule Britannia, as we sing it now, is: "Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves." It's a statement of present fact. When it's first performed, in 1740, it's "rule the waves". It's a command! It's an expectation… …that, if we follow the patriots policies, "Britain WILL rule the waves". The song goes on, and on, and on, about this concept of "Liberty". What does that mean, in the 18th century?
One of the problems with the 1730s, as far as the patriots are concerned,… …is that liberty to choose their own representatives in Parliament,… …the liberty to have… …to be protected from external invaders, the liberty to trade as they want to,… …uh,… is threatened and endangered,… …and what the patriots thought needed to happen was an emphasis on English liberty,… …the navy, and trade. You've got these 3… …important… …tenon… tenons, that really bind everything, that they stay together.
Frederick, obviously, is born, and grows up, in Hanover. He's the family's main representative there, for the first part of his life. But then, later on, he becomes awfully English, doesn't he? Yeah, he sort of rebrands himself. And,… …whether it's a clever piece of… sort of opportunistic politicking,… …in the sense that, by acting far more English,… …he's able to bring in a sort of disparate group of the disaffected politicians and poets,… …who may, one day, be able to help him… …conceive of a coherent opposition policy to his father.
Does he do all this, then, just to annoy his dad? I think a lot of the difficulties,… …and the issues that we see throughout the 1730s and 1740s is Frederick,… …you know,… …sticking his middle finger up at his dad! Frederick was "the King in Waiting", and he was frankly getting impatient for power. He now had his own rival court,… …and he began to tussle with his father, George II,… …over foreign policy, and how best to tackle the French threat.
Patriot William Pitt was just one politician who fought for Frederick's manifesto in Parliament. He felt that the Electorate of Hanover was Britain's weak link. Pitt was a notoriously good orator! This is one wonderful speech that he made in the Houses of Parliament,… …complaining that "the Hanoverian tail was wagging the British dog". "Britain", he said, "this great,…!" "…this powerful, this formidable country,…!" "…is treated merely as the province of a despicable Electorate!" Clearly, this wasn't going to win him any favors with George II,… …and throughout the 1740s, Pitt was a lone voice in the wilderness,… …like Churchill before World War II. He was calling for more British self–confidence… …and aggression towards France,… …the seizing of French colonies in America. But nobody was listening.
Pitt was right: the French were always looking for ways to destabilise Britain,… …and so they conspired with Jacobite plotters. George II's exiled rival, the Pretender, James Stuart,… …had a good blood claim to the British crown,… …but he'd been excluded for his Catholicism. This "would–be" King James III, and his Jacobite supporters… …had been twiddling their thumbs in exile, in Rome. But the French, now, threw them a lifeline! Military backing, to attempt a coup in Britain.
On the 23rd of July, 1745, James III's son, Charles Edward Stuart,… …landed on the coast of Scotland, and sounded the rallying cry. Charles, who was basically an Italian, was here to challenge George, a German, to the British throne. And here, at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, is the man of the hour,…! …Prince Charles Edward Stuart, aka the Young Pretender!
Charles Stewart had been brought up in Rome,… …and he'd always been told that the British throne was rightfully his, if only he could go out and get it! This portrait is like a recruiting poster for the Prince's supporters. He's saying here, "Your Prince needs you!" And what a dashing and handsome young Prince he is! He's looking very martial in his armour. He's looking very official, and respectable, in his blue sash of the Order of the Garter. But, on top of that, he's wearing the green ribbon,… …with the Cross of Saint Andrews of the Order of the Thistle, the Scottish order. And this is designed to appeal to his richest source of potential support: the Scots. The Stuarts had been Scottish kings long before they'd inherited the English throne in the 17th century. And many Scots, particularly in the Highlands, rallied to Charles Stuart's cause.
George II's popularity was at a low point. His decision to go on fighting that war, the Austrian Succession,… …was seen as a pointless drain on British resources. It was mainly the old Protestant dislike and mistrust of Catholicism… …that was keeping King George II on the throne, and the exiled Stuarts off it.
Edinburgh should have been a stronghold for George II. But, with a sword in one hand, and a cross in the other,… …the Young Pretender simply strolled with his forces into the Scottish capital, and took control. He got a riotous reception,… …particularly from two sections of the crowd: … …firstly, the so-called "common people",… …and, secondly, the ladies! All the women got out their handkerchiefs,…! …and threw them into the street, in front of him! And it was on this occasion that a new nickname was heard for Charles Stuart. People were shouting out, "The Bonnie Prince Charlie!"
By now, Charles Stuart had got together an army of between 11 and 14 000 troops. His advisors encouraged him to seize the hour. To march on London, to take the Big Prize: … …the British throne. Charles Stuart set up government here, at the palace of Holyroodhouse, for 5 weeks. While he was here, he issued "The Declaration of King James",… …on behalf of his exiled father. This declaration appealed – very cleverly –, to the self–interest of the British. It said that their German Kings had been involving them in irrelevant foreign wars,… …wasting their resources, disrupting trade,… …and – anyway! –, nobody wants to be ruled by a foreigner! You can see how this touched a nerve amongst Prince Frederick's group of patriots. Charles Stuart was being rather clever here. He knew that running down Hanover would appeal to the British public. Indeed, Sir Robert Walpole, when he was Prime Minister,… …had remarked that they would have been better off making Charles Stuart Elector of Hanover, because… …"the public will never fetch another King from there!".
During the weeks of Charles Stuart's advance south, into England,… …tensions mounted in the Georgian court. George II, bursting for a fight, as usual, was ready to get on his horse and lead the charge. Instead, though, his younger son, the rotund Duke of Cumberland,… …was hurriedly brought back from the war of the Austrian Succession,… …and sent north, to face the Jacobite threat. There was no love lost between the sons of George II. That's Frederick, the Prince of Wales, and his younger brother, the Duke of Cumberland. They really were "chalk and cheese". Frederick was thin, and liked music,… …whereas Cumberland was as fat as a Cumberland sausage,… …and he was a career soldier.
Frederick was right to worry about the threat his younger brother represented. George II had even talked about a plan… …where Frederick would be shuffled out of the line of succession,… …and given Hanover as a consolation prize. And the crown of Great Britain would be placed firmly on the head of the King's favourite son, Cumberland, instead. Cumberland now marched north, for a showdown with the Jacobite army, at Carlisle Castle. Meanwhile, his brother Frederick had Carlisle Castle… …recreated in spun sugar, for a rather quirky dinner party rebellion.
The Duke of Cumberland had liberated the city of Carlisle from the Jacobites,… …but Frederick wasn't very impressed by this. He decided to make a mockery out of it. One day, for dessert, he ordered a model of the citadel of Carlisle to be made out of sugar,… …and, after dinner, he bombarded it with sugar plums! Now, this must have been quite hilarious for Frederick's guests, and it may seem a little bit trivial,… …but, actually, members of the Royal Family couldn't come right out, and openly criticize each other! They had to express their opinions obliquely,… …and that's why their politics could be expressed through things like their puddings. Frederick was also making a bigger, humanitarian point. He was a gentler character than his brother, and abhored Cumberland's brutal approach to warfare.
As Charles Stuart and the Jacobites retreated back north into Scotland,… …the Duke of Cumberland was beginning to pursue them with real ferocity. The struggle for the British throne came to a head here, at Culloden,… …a battlefield that would become a byword for cruelty and bloodshed. This was the last battle ever to be fought on British soil. It was to be decided by 2 men in their twenties: … …Bonnie Prince Charlie was 25, and Cumberland's 25th birthday was the day before the battle.
Kate Heard, Royal Collection Trust's Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings,… …believes this watercolour is the closest we have to a visual first–hand account of Culloden. This picture sort of takes us to a "ringside seat" at the battle, doesn't it? How is the artist able to do that? We know that the artist was at… um… the battle. He was working for the Duke of Cumberland, as one of his draftsmen and surveyors,… …so we know that he was an eyewitness to the battle. Well, it looks like this side are winning, because they're always all coming forward. – But that's not actually what's happening, isn't it? – No. You're absolutely right, in that they are appearing to advance. It's that they are advancing. It's the Jacobite troops, on the right. They are doing this "Highland charge", which is their characteristic means of fighting. And it had been very successful for them. They'd won the battle of Prestonpans just earlier,… …in the same… the same manner. But what they are facing is devastating fire from the… – …the government troops. – They've got better guns. They've got better guns, and they've loaded them with canister shot, which scatters shot across the field. There's the Duke of Cumberland, sitting there watching. Was he a good commander, do you think? He had a lot to prove at this point. He'd recently suffered a really, um,… …humiliating defeat against the French, on the Continent, at the battle of Fontenoy,… …and he'd come to deal with the Jacobite threat. We know that he sent spies… …to the Jacobite camp the night before, so he was forewarned… …of what was about to happen,… …and he also had the advantage,… …in that the Jacobites had attempted a night raid which had failed,… …so the soldiers were tired, in a way that his soldiers weren't.
It's very distressing, actually, because you've got all of these poor highlanders,… …running forwards, with what looks – like a pitchfork, in his hand? –… …and these… these guys are just shooting cannons on them. It was clearly a horrific battle, of… a great sort of toll. But there was another factor in the fall of the Jacobites. They'd been abandoned by their French allies. Things were now going well for the French on the Continent. They no longer needed to employ diversionary tactics in Scotland.
I met Dr Tony Pollard, a battlefield historian,… …who believes that Bonnie Prince Charlie… …didn't have any choice, but to turn and face Cumberland's forces. Tony, why did Bonnie Prince Charlie have to stand and fight here, or why did he feel that he had to? There are a number of reasons, really. It… for the Jacobites, it's the last roll of the dice, and the option is either to fight here,… …or disappear,… …into the mountains, and basically fight a guerrilla war. Wouldn't they have been really good at that? I'm sure they would have been given the… the Highland backbone to the army. But the thing is,… …that Charles is a Prince,… – …and princes do not fight guerrilla wars. – Ah! It's a matter of masculine pride. There's very much a matter of pride. So, Bonnie Prince Charlie has his last great gamble. It fails…
Just how bad was the defeat? For him personally, it seems to've been catastrophic. He can't deal with the fact that this was it. But there are still men out there, desperate to continue the fight, but he doesn't want to,… …and he disappears off into the heather, famously,… …and so,… …the Jacobite cause bleeds to death on Culloden moor.
What sort of reprisals did Cumberland start to take, then? This is where things get very nasty. Almost as soon as the gun smoke has cleared, the reprisals on the field begin,… …and wounded Jacobites are executed. Men are taken away, and imprisoned temporarily,… …then executed. Civilians are kept away from the battlefield,… …so,… …it beggars belief what might have gone on here. Now, some people have used the words "ethnic cleansing" to talk about these atrocities. – Do you think that that's fair? – Very much so! There is a concerted campaign,… …particularly in the Highlands, basically to wreak havoc, and to take revenge! And there are some terrible stories! And Cumberland himself, at one point, wanted to exile most of the population of the Highlands…! …to the Americas, so they couldn't cause more trouble! So,… it's an understandable response to these events! Mass killings, and mass graves. Unspeakable atrocities were witnessed at Culloden. And, in Scotland, the Duke is still known as "Butcher" Cumberland.
Back in London, though,… …he was fêted as "the man who'd saved Britain". Handel's oratorio, "Judas Maccabaeus",… …including the words, "See, the conquering hero comes!",… …was composed in his honour, and rang out at St Paul's Cathedral. King George II had finally vanquished the Stuart threat. A visitor to his crowded court reported: … …"I never saw anyone in such glee as the King!" You could also buy a little bit of the Hanoverian victory, to take home with you,…! …in the form of these commemorative medals, in gold or silver,… …celebrating the Duke of Cumberland. And this is such a divisive image, isn't it? So, the Hanoverian supporters in London, they would have seen here… …a conquering hero, a fine figure of a man! If you show this image of the Duke, with his jowls, to a Scottish person, even today,…! …they're likely to spit on it!
And the Hanoverians weren't done with the Highlanders yet! George II got Parliament to pass the "Dress Act",… …that made it ILLEGAL to wear tartan,… …and banned the bagpipes! Frederick disagreed with this heavy–handed treatment,… …but, again, he displayed his rebellion in quite a cunning way. He commissioned a painting of his son, the future George III,… …containing a coded message. People, at the time, thought that there was something very strange about this picture. It was painted only months after the battle of Culloden; and yet, the little boy is wearing tartan. This could have been family politics. This is Frederick, and his children,… …having a go at Frederick's brother, the Duke of Cumberland, the victor of Culloden. Maybe Frederick is saying: "I have some sympathy for the vanquished jacobites!" And I'd like to think that this is Frederick trying to assimilate the style of the Scots,… …back into Great Britain. It would eventually work very well. Tartan would become a symbol of romanticism, rather than rebellion.
Myth and romance swirl around our image of the brave Scots, with their pitchforks,… …being cut down by a high–tech army. In reality, though, Scotland was just as sophisticated as society as England. The Jacobites may have been in love with the past,… …wanting to turn back time to the days when kings had divine rights. But Scotland also boasted more progressive people,…! …such as a group of new thinkers,… …who were much more interested in shaping the future,… …the men of the Scottish Enlightenment. From Poetry to Pathology,… …Enlightenment thinking flowed out into all sorts of channels, including Architecture. Those behind it, thought that their future lay within the Union. So, a competition to create a whole new quarter of Edinburgh… …was won by a design that featured a Union Flag. George Street links the grand thoroughfares of Hanover Street and Frederick Street. But, just why did the Scottish capital teem with innovation? The answer was education,… …and education,… …and education! By 1750, the Scots were the most literate nation in Europe! 75% of them knew how to read! And they also had 5 universities, as opposed to just 2 in England. At the Scottish universities, the fees were relatively low,… …and the social mix was relatively broad. Scottish people liked to joke that there were the same number of universities in the whole of England… …as there were in just the city of Aberdeen! There was also a practical bent to education in Scotland. Poor, but ambitious Scots, armed with useful skills,… …found plenty of opportunity abroad,… …in Britain's trade networks and new colonies. The Scots had failed to beat the English,… …so now it seemed like time to join them, and make a profit!
Professor Tom Devine believes that, while the English ruled Britain's colonies,… …the Scots actually ran them. What were the practical effects of the Scottish Enlightenment, when these… …well–educated Scottish people were going aboard the sort of practices in other countries? The… the impact is significant across the Atlantic, in the mid to late 18th century period. Because these new colonies, the North American colonies, what became the USA, is looking for ideas,… …is looking, for example, it's looking for a kind of intellectual toolkit,… …you know, from European thinking,… …in order to… in order to build up its institutions, virtually from scratch. And, to a significant degree, it gets them from Scotia. The most, uh,… remarkable example,… …was what was called the College of New Jersey, better known now as Princeton. Princeton was the
Seminary for the first generation of statesmen in the USA,… …and Princeton's President was John Witherspoon. A Scot,… …a Scottish cleric of the Enlightenment period.
Do you think it's fair to say that the Scottish Enlightenment was a sort of engine,… …driving the expansion of the British Empire? Uh,… well, it certainly was, in terms of… of thinking,… …and it certainly was, in terms of the tremendous regard that, during the Enlightenment, Scotland developed… …for… almost a reverence… for learning. And… and that was very important, because not all… …immigrants into the Empire, in this period, were literate. Scots had this particular advantage of literacy, and numeracy. I mean, don't forget, you get Scottish stereotypes aplenty! The Scottish doctor,… …the Scottish physician, the Scottish engineer – "Beam me up, Scotty".
So, you've got these intelligent, well–educated, rational, commercially successful Scots,… And greedy! But they're not making their own society fairer, oh no! They're going off across the world, to get rich elsewhere! It's important to recognise that… …a… among this range of influences, if you like, the intellectual engine of Enlightenment,… …I would argue, the primary em… engine, is… …is materialistic. That the… the reason why… …Scottish doctors went in their large numbers to the Caribbean,… …umm,… was not simply to study disease,…! …or to provide support,…! …or healing! It was to make lots and lots of filthy lucre! Heh, heh, heh, heh!
One settlement that provided these kinds of opportunities… …was the new American colony of Georgia, named after King George II. In exchange for bringing education to the Native American population,… …Britain gained fertile territory for growing new Empire products, like tobacco. In 1734, the Kings of this New World came to pay their respects to the King of the Old. A party of Chiefs from the Cherokee nation came here, to this room in Kensington Palace,… …to pay their respects to the King of Britain. Their leader was called Tomochichi. He came with his war captains,… …and their faces were painted in red and black. The British thought it looked like they were wearing masks. As part of the welcome ceremony, Tomochichi was introduced to the ladies of the British court,… …and he was asked to judge which of them he thought was the most beautiful. Tomochichi gave what I think is a very diplomatic answer. He said: "I can't possibly tell, because all you white folk look the same to me".
The race was on to colonise the New World. And again, George II's Scottish subjects… were helping to win it. Protecting Georgia's lucrative frontier lands against the Spanish in Florida,… …and the French in the Alabama basin,… …were Scottish Highlanders, who'd emigrated as soldier settlers. One of the first towns they founded was New Inverness, named after the home they'd left behind.
Transporting the products of the Empire safely back to Britain was not without risk. Vessels faced the hazards of piracy and shipwreck. Prince Frederick, still banging his patriot drum,… …believed that a strong Navy to protect the trade routes was vital,… …and he said so, on a visit to Bristol. When Frederick was entertained here, at the Merchant's Hall,… …it was very lavishly, with a hundred dishes on the table,… …and he was mobbed by the wives of 500 merchants. He made a speech that was all about the importance of the Navy… …to protect the ships of all of these people, carrying their cotton, and their sugar. And this went down very well, as you might expect. He finished with a few rousing words on the importance of the advancement of Trade,… …"which has a valuable effect on the liberty and happiness of our nation!". Cheers!
All sorts of new Empire goods were now available in Britain,… …and keen consumers were to be found in the growing middling rank of society. Crucially, the Georgians now had a reliable system of credit. You could order goods now, and pay for them later. People could now buy, not only what they needed,… …but what they wanted! The British went mad for the so–called Empire products: … …tea from China, and textiles from India,… …and they also loved the 18th century phenomenon known as the "toy shop". We're not talking here about toys for kids,… …but for adults; little knick–knacks, and table decorations, that sort of thing. Dr Johnson defined a toy as "something for show, rather than use". "A petty commodity, a trifle."
It was during this era that "luxury" became something of a buzz word. Paul Bertrand ran a fashionable "toy shop" for adults in Westminster,… …where Frederick, Prince of Wales, extravagantly spent over £700 in a single visit,… …on knick–knacks. His purchases ranged from a silver corkscrew,… …to a selection of antique porcelain. Frederick was desperate to look up–to–date,… …because, for the first time,… …the Royal Court was NOT associated with all that was fashionable. Ypu can see this, in a very striking way, if you look at what women were wearing at Court.
One of the most incredible dresses to have survived from the Georgian period… …is the Rockingham Mantua. Joanna Marschner, Curator of the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection,… …believes that this glittering relic… …– was a fabulous creation, YES –, BUT,… out of step with modern society. So, Joanna, this is a dress fit to be worn at the Georgian Court. You can just see, this is the flashiest dress that you can even begin to imagine. And it was really, really expensive. It is made out of the most precious textile. It's called an Orris (???) tissue, woven with real silver. There was something a bit "uniform–like" about it too, wasn't there? You had to wear something like this, if you were going to appear at Court? The absolute courtly giveaway… …is, that you wore it with a petticoat, and the petticoat… …stemmed out from here, and you can do the same thing on the other side,…! – …and it is enormous! – ???? – It would have come down like this,… – Yes,… …and it stood out like a piece of pasteboard. It really was a bit like a billboard. This gives a sense of… …how impractically vast it is, doesn't it? It must have been really difficult to walk in, but that's… that's,… sort of the point of this type of dress, isn't it? This is a style of dress for a person who will go to one of these lovely gatherings,… …and you would have stood there, just looking glamorous and glorious. And as this style falls away in fashionable circles,… …in the Court, it gets ever more entrenched.
Now: yes, these dresses are spectacular, and they're otherworldly! But, as the reign of George II goes on, they're getting increasingly out of step with contemporary society. At Court, they're still wearing a type of dress… …that had been fashionable in the real world 60 years before. And there's a brilliant description, from the very late Georgian period,… …of this elderly Court beauty, going to the Palace… …in one of these dresses, wearing a bit too much makeup. She's traveling by sedan chair, and through its glass window… …she looks like a specimen from a Natural History collection. She looks like "the fetus of a hippopotamus, pickled in a bottle of brandy".
The Court was turning into an outsized bauble. Ornamentally important, yet increasingly separate from the serious business of getting ahead. The drivers of taste were now the merchants, the middling sort. And they had a fresh passion: …! …the novel! The 18th century saw the birth of this new literary genre,… …which was driven by a growing, and increasingly literate, middle rank in society. But many novelists were keen on attacking the luxury enjoyed by their readers! They believed that Empire products were corrupting the British.
One of the most vociferous critics of luxury was the Scottish writer Tobias Smollett. In this novel, Humphry Clinker, there's a sort of an anti–hero, called Matthew Bramble. And Matthew Bramble goes on this great voyage, or adventure, all around Britain,… …and everywhere,…! he finds debauchery, and con men, and pimps! And, particularly, the "nouveau riche"! Smollett is very down on their empty glitter and glare! Now, Tobias Smollett and Matthew Bramble are practically the same person,… …and can claim to be the original "grumpy old man". Smollett had such a pessimistic and negative view of life… …that his rival writers called him "snail fungus". Smollett ridiculed the super–rich, in their mock Palladian palaces. "Behind the façades of these lah–dih–dah Georgian townhouses", he said,… "…lay dirty secrets". Smollett thought that Georgian cities were the grand sources of luxury and corruption,… …and that their inhabitants were controlled by the demons of licentiousness. Smollett was just one of many writers… …who revealed that the engine driving much of Britain's economic success… …was far less palatable than tea or sugar
Professor James Wolven has made the slave trade his life's study. He believes that slavery seeped into every pore of Britain's emerging Empire. So, how does this trade actually work? How…? What other goods are involved? We… we talk of it as a "triangular" trade. It's much more complex, geographically, than that; but nonetheless, that's the basic core of it. It's ships that leave here: Bristol, Liverpool, London,… …packed to the gunnels with produce from the hinterland: … …metal goods,… but, above all, textiles, for West Africa. And, in West Africa, those goods are traded for Africans. And they're traded with other African traders, you know. Africans, providing the Africans, for the slave ships. And then they're shipped across in huge numbers. The largest enforced movement of people ever. To the plantations of the Americas. The last leg is the… the leg that brings back the produce that the slaves had grown. Uh,… It's tobacco,… it's sugar,… – …it's dye… dyestuffs,… – Aha… Rice, which we use for the starch. 18th century clothing, ladies fashionable clothing, starched and beautiful;… …where does the starch come from? It comes from rice! And who grows the rice? Africans, in South Carolina.
What impact do you think that the… the slave trade had on Britain's economy? And was it central to it? Really, historians have been arguing about this, now, for 50, 60 years. Uh,… How central is the slave trade in the emergence of… British economy? It's very hard to pin down to numbers! The… the knock–on effect of the slave trade is… …is extraordinary. Who thinks, if you're looking at small textile villages in Yorkshire,…? …that this is, somehow, rather driven by the slave trade? Who thinks of the trade in textiles from India, that this has got something to do with the slave trade? But Africans, in Jamaica, and Barbados,… …are clothed in cool fitting cotton,… …uh,… cotton goods from Gujarat. Uh,… The ramifications of it are extraordinary; not merely in Britain, but globally. You're actually looking at a form of globalization,… …in a world that doesn't use the word.
Do you think people were aware of this sort of… …dirty secret, behind their economic success, or was it a case of "out of sight, out of mind"? The British have traditionally not thought of slavery as something that's to do with them. It's something to do with Africa,… or the Atlantic,… or the Americas. Whereas, in fact, it's British ships that take them over. It's British money that makes it possible, it's Britain that profits from its,… …uh,… from slave work! So, that it's very easy to think of yourself as being… …committed to freedom, and liberty,… …and not remember that, actually,… …all of your material well–being is bound up with… …something quite different; that is, the enslavement of millions of Africans!
Britain was helped in becoming the biggest slave trading nation in the world… …because it had a strong navy. Prince Frederick's supporters, singing "Rule Britannia",… …claimed that "Britons never shall be slaves". They were praising Britain's extraordinary liberties,… …but, by policing British trade routes,… …the Royal Navy was helping to enslave millions of Africans. The irony was lost, not just on Frederick, but on the majority of the British people.
His patriot faction had never been more influential. King George II felt that he was losing the PR battle to his son,… …and relations between them were as bad as ever. There was still no love lost between father and son. George II was overheard saying that he cared for his son "no more than a louse",… …and that when Frederick succeeded, he'd ruin everything. But the King was wrong about this! When Frederick was only 44, he quite unexpectedly died. He'd been out in the rain, he'd caught a cold,… …but what actually killed him was a clot of blood on the lungs. The news reached George II one evening, when he was playing at cards, with a whole load of courtiers. Now they all turned to look at him,… …and they were closely watching him for further evidence that he hated his son,… …and they thought that they'd found it,… …because he didn't react at all, his face was impassive. This could have been cold–heartedness,… …or it could have been that the King was just following rigid royal etiquette,… …never to express emotion in public. So, we were never to have King Frederick the First,… …described by his supporters as "the greatest King we never had".
Frederick had been the most popular member of the Royal Family,… …but his funeral here at Westminster Abbey was marred by disorganisation,… …heavy rain,… …and a lack of refreshments. It confirmed everything Frederick's friends believed about George II… …and his favoritism towards his younger son, the Duke of Cumberland.
The death of his son got the King thinking about his own mortality,… …and he now made a new will. He designated his grandson, the future George III, as his successor. The King's first idea had been to say that his second and favourite son, the Duke of Cumberland,… …should be Regent, if necessary. But this wouldn't wash: "Butcher" Cumberland was just too unpopular. In fact, when Frederick died, people on the street were heard to say: … "Aaahhh!" "We wish it had been his brother!"
Frederick's death threw his patriot supporters into turmoil. Those who had hoped to rise to power in his reign were extremely disappointed. Their promised peerages had gone up in smoke. But, in the wake of Frederick's death, it was his widow, Augusta, who reacted the most decisively. One of the reasons that we don't fully understand the character of Prince Frederick,… …is because his wife burnt his papers. And she did it to control his lasting reputation, so that no hint of scandal would get out. I think that this shows that Augusta was quite a politically savvy person. And it also demonstrates a certain "steeliness". She would now devote the rest of her life… …to looking after the interests of Frederick's son, AND hers,… …the little boy who was her route to power, the future King George III. Augusta was worried that if she antagonised King George II,… …he could take her son away from her, just as George I had taken Princess Caroline's children. Augusta had lost her husband,… …she didn't want to lose her children as well! But she knew that she had to act cleverly, and with subtlety.
Desmond Shawe–Taylor, Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures,… …believes that this portrait is Augusta's "manifesto"… …for becoming the matriarch of the Georgian dynasty. What do you think Augusta's motivation was, getting all this put together? First of all, this is a portrait of a widow, painted in the same year that her husband has died. They're looking quite cheerful! And I think it's difficult immediately to understand that, except I think that the… …the idea is that you wear a black veil, of course, for form's sake,… …but your duties of looking after… …your children, and looking after the… …uh,… …realm, continue, and you might as well undertake them in a cheerful way. Is she saying, "Look, he may be dead, but his work continues"? I… I'm sure that's exactly the message! That "I'm carrying the flame". It makes me think, almost, of a piece of propaganda for an election! – This is the team! Vote for us! – Exactly! On one side you have the role of the monarch,… …represented here by the late heir to the throne, Frederick, Prince of Wales,… …and on the other side you have Britannia, that… that being the Constitution. And what's going on underneath Britannia? – That's all very significant! – That's… that's the key, I think, to the… to… …to the entire allegory. There are some scales and, exactly balanced in the scales, are the Crown, and the Cap of Liberty. The emblem of Britain, the lion, is holding another Cap of Liberty. So, if you want to take away the liberty of the British people,… …you've got a lion to fight with! The mere fact of presenting the Royal Family in this ingratiating fashion… …is an expression of British liberty.
What is the significance of the activities of the children, then? They're doing things that make Britain great, aren't they? – Yes! In this era, there was a convention that naval power was protective of liberty,… …whereas… umm,… the power of a standing army was sometimes thought to threaten liberty. So that they… I think it is important that they're engaged in… …in the defense of the realm,… …but it's specifically in the naval defense of the realm. Augusta was continuing Frederick's legacy,… …promoting the patriot philosophy of liberty… and a strong Navy. Controlled here, from the headquarters of the Admiralty. Britain was now the largest naval power in the world. But this was turning us into a nation greedy for territory and conquests. Our continued skirmishes with the French built towards a new and global conflict: the Seven Years War.
Britain was Empire building: we weren't content with our 13 colonies in the Americas. We wanted MORE! And this wasn't just a land grab: it was a war over trade, and trading routes. I'm not exaggerating when I say that the question at stake here was "global dominance". By the British,… or by the French. So the fighting was played out in America,… …but also in Africa, and India, and down here, in the Philippines, with the battle of Manila. Winston Churchill came up with a good name for this conflict, the Seven Years War. He called it, "the First World War".
Ever the old soldier, the King went into battle mode,… …coordinating army tactics with his favorite lieutenant, the Duke of Cumberland. He took to shuffling around the Palace, in the same old coat he'd worn at the battle of Dettingen. And he sent an army into Europe, to face the French. But… it went badly. George II was out of touch. Wars were no longer won by Kings on horseback, leading from the front. What was happening in Europe was a bit of a sideshow. This statue shows George II dressed as a Roman Emperor,… …and this was the context in which he used the word "Empire"… …when he was talking about History, when he was talking about the Romans. The politician William Pitt, on the other hand,… …understood that Britain could aspire to have an Empire in the present day. Pitt knew that what was happening in Europe was important, but it wasn't the most important thing. What was at stake was domination of the globe.
Here's William Pitt, Secretary of State,… …at home, at Chatham House. He was to become Earl of Chatham. Never short of confidence, Pitt took military strategy firmly in hand. His opening gambit was,… "I'm sure I can save this country, and no one else can". During this time, poor old William Pitt was ill, so he had to stay at home, here at Chatham House. And all the Great and the Good came trooping up to his bedroom, to discuss strategy. There's a really nice picture of William Pitt being tucked up in bed,… …and the room was very cold, so the Prime Minister, the Duke of Newcastle,… …got into another bed, on the other side of the room,… …and together the two of them lay there, shaping British foreign policy. It was here that Pitt came up with his master stroke: to use both the Army AND the Navy. He sent the British troops to the Continent, to tie down the French troops, to keep them busy. And, meanwhile, he sent the British Navy all around the globe, snapping up French colonies.
Oddly, it was only in the last gasp of George II's reign that these 2 elements,… …the Army of the King, and Frederick's Navy,… …managed to come together, to coalesce in this defining war with the French. 1759 was the year of military miracles. With the triumph of all Pitt's plans, Britain effectively became a world superpower. George II was by now deaf, and blind in one eye,… …but the old King provided an excellent focus for national celebration,… …in what became known as the "annus mirabilis", the miraculous year. And yet, his new Empire was of little consolation to George personally. In his youth, George II had suffered from these terrible temper tantrums. His rage had given him energy! But, as time went on, his friends started to die off;… …his children were dying one by one, predeceasing him. As he grew older, he grew wiser, and more contemplative. And, ironically, this happened at the very same time that Britain grew ever more powerful and successful. His beloved wife, and 5 of his 8 children, were dead. His famous military zeal was ebbing away,… …and he regretted his former harshness and aggression.
George II's Empire, as it stood, would not exist for long. A generation later, Britain would have to deal with the next conflict, and the loss of America. We had denied our colonies the liberty we so highly valued. But Americans would want it badly enough to fight for it. this was a war George II would not live to see. He died on October the 25th, 1760,… …the last of the German–born Georgian Kings,… …who came over from Hanover to plug Britain's dynastic gap. The King who succeeded him couldn't have been more different. George II's grandson, George III, would reject everything his grandfather stood for,… …to become the patriotic British King his own father, Frederick, had never had the chance to be.
This coach was designed for the coronation of George III,… …but unfortunately it's so fancy that it wasn't finished in time. It has been used at every coronation since. It weighs 4 tons, and it takes 8 horses to pull it. But it isn't just a vehicle,
It's also a sort of "rolling manifesto" for the British monarchy. George III's coach, in the Royal Mews, at Buckingham Palace, depicts Britain's naval victories at the precise moment of her greatest triumph, in the Seven Years War. If you want to see what "Ruling the Waves" looks like, here it is, in all of its gilded glory. Even Neptune and his 4 tritons are on the side of the British.
By the time we get to George III, the process of transplantation from Hanover to Britain is pretty much complete. And George III emphasized this. In his first public speech, he distanced himself from his father and his grandfather. "I was born and educated in this country," he said, "I glory in the name of Briton!"
Beyond all the bling, and the bombast, this Royal Coach was saying that Britain's new King belonged to a confident and deep-rooted royal dynasty. The Hanoverians had seen off every single threat to their survival. The Georgian Kings were like successful stepfathers to the nation. They'd been brought in, and grafted on; and yet, people began to accept them as part of the family, because of their killer advantages: their Protestantism, and the support of Parliament.
People today often overlook the first two Georges. But, actually, they were pretty successful as rulers. Under them, Britain went from being a bit of a provincial backwater, to a global superpower. And this coach stands for Britain's self-confidence in 1760. The Hanoverian dynasty was now secure.
But isn't it funny to think that the British monarchy was "Made in Germany"? Zadok! The Priest! And Nathan! The Prophet! Anointed! Solomon! King!