Spanish Succession, War of 6
Sparry, Mrs 25
Spencer, Earl 150, 344, 357, 368, 401–2, 405, 411, 422, 474, 478, 533, 540
Spirit of Laws (Montesquieu) 294
Stäel, Madame de 135n
Stafford, Marquis of 286–7, 357, 538, 542
Stamp Act 15, 20, 34
Stanhope, 3rd Earl, Lord Charles see Lord Mahon
Stanhope, 5th Earl 17, 42, 64, 150, 163, 405, 518, 534, 590
Stanhope, Lady Hester (Pitt’s niece) 129, 205, 308, 387, 393, 492, 508, 518–20, 522, 534, 538, 554, 573, 575–7, 580–1
Stanhope, James 534, 573, 575, 578
Stanley, Hans 55
Stapleton, Mrs 219
Steele, Thomas 71, 151, 201, 203–4, 208, 209, 308, 426, 498, 511
Stormont, Lord 121
Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III (Namier) 57
Sun newspaper 322
Surrey, Lord 82
Suvorov, General Aleksandr 444–5, 447, 449
Sweden 4, 250, 274–5, 282, 284–5, 369, 445, 449
alliance with Britain (1804–05) 538, 555, 561
League of Armed Neutrality 461
Switzerland 420, 444, 445, 447, 457, 500, 511
Sydney, Viscount 97, 113, 114, 123, 151, 154, 170, 182, 187, 202, 206, 249, 271, 297, 299
Talleyrand-Périgord, Charles Maurice de 451
Temple, Richard, Earl 13, 20, 42, 44, 49–50, 52
and George III 125, 127, 132–3, 135, 137, 273–4
India Bill 142–5, 149
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 273
Marquis of Buckingham 273–4
Secretary of State 150–1
Test Act 238–239, 464
Thatched House Tavern, St James’s 90
Thatcher, Margaret 194, 479n
Thelwall, John 353
Thugut, Baron Franz 422, 447
Thurlow, Lord 84, 100, 115, 116, 121, 124, 125, 132, 135, 142–3, 147, 151, 168, 192, 206, 231, 234, 243, 248, 249, 253, 255, 257, 260–1, 266, 283, 285–6, 297, 308, 314, 316–17, 407, 446, 464
Tierney, George 424–7, 452, 482, 497–8, 511, 540
Times, The 496, 502
Tipu Sultan 432
Tobago 108
Tomline, Bishop, see George Pretyman
Tooke, Horne 353, 364
Tory Party 8, 9–10, 40, 56, 59, 197
Toulon 340, 342, 344, 372, 423, 429, 548
Townshend, Thomas see Lord Sydney
Trafalgar, Battle of 561, 564–7, 570
Treasonable Practices Bill 378
Treaty of Paris 20
Trincomalee (Ceylon) 108
Trinity College Hall 492
Trotter, Alexander 546–7
Turcoing, Battle of 350
Turkey 274–5, 284–5, 287, 432, 443, 449, 461
Turner, Joseph 23, 26
Twining, Richard 181, 200
Ulm surrender 564
Villeneuve, Admiral 560
Villiers, J.C. 29
Vorontsov, Count 245, 286
Wakefield, Corporation of 161
Walcheren 456
Waldegrave, 2nd Earl 9
Walpole, Sir Edward 162
Walpole, Horace 44n, 60, 67, 289
Pitt as PM 115, 122, 154
on Pitt’s speeches 67, 69, 78, 85
satirical axiom 228
year of victory xxii
Walpole, Sir Robert 7, 60, 211n
Walpole, Thomas 76
Ward, John 512–13
Wardle, Colonel 548
Warren, Dr 252–4, 256–7, 261–2
Washington, George 59, 72, 74
Waterloo, Battle of 432, 457, 590
Wealth of Nations, The (Smith) 187, 292
Wedgwood, Josiah 189, 195, 299
Wellesley, Sir Arthur (later Duke of Wellington) 457, 563, 565–6, 570, 582, 590
Wellesley, Lord Richard (later Marquis) see Lord Mornington
Wentworth Woodhouse 91, 357
Wesley, John 294
West Indies 92, 335, 338, 340, 349, 357, 362, 366, 369, 371, 375, 380, 383, 495, 499, 524, 538, 560
Westminster Abbey: Chatham’s funeral xxi, xxiii–xxv
Pitt’s funeral 578–9
Westminster Association 87
Westmorland, Earl of 29, 274, 359, 361, 435, 466, 533
Weymouth, Lord 154
Whig Party 8, 9–10, 38, 40, 56, 61, 76, 83–4, 90, 91, 96, 98, 254–60, 262, 264–5, 287, 289, 310–15, 317, 323–4, 331, 348, 354–5, 442, 474
Whitbread, Samuel 380, 546–7
White’s Club 166, 206, 266
Whitfield, George 102
Wilberforce, William 29, 33, 47, 54, 71, 185, 201, 208
Evangelical Christianity 216–19, 237–8, 308
in France 133–4
general election 168, 170, 171, 177
Hastings’ impeachment 232
loyal address 379
naval financial irregularities 547, 551
parliamentary reform 192–3
peace negotiations 109, 365, 369, 451
Pitt’s character 127–9, 134–5, 151–2, 199, 205, 210–11, 215, 244, 283, 341, 345, 373, 381, 404, 413, 437–8, 446, 464, 481, 487, 488, 546
Pitt’s debts 581
Pitt’s duel 427
Pitt’s funeral 579
Pitt’s return to office 504, 541
slave trade 219, 271, 273, 291–304, 446, 536, 554
war (1803) 511
Wilkes, John 20, 37, 48, 165
William III 38, 168
William V, King of Holland 242, 244–5
Willis, Dr Francis 84, 254, 257, 260, 261, 263, 266, 481
Wilson, Edward 15, 17, 23, 26, 201
Wimbledon 126, 127–8, 130, 132, 135, 209, 218, 219, 493
Windham, William 205, 304, 344, 357, 362, 369, 374, 411, 459, 474, 480, 494–5, 509, 521, 533, 540, 580
Wolfe, General James 61
Wraxall, Sir Nathaniel 66, 69, 77–8, 85, 93, 113, 123, 126–8, 137, 150, 156, 164, 177, 180, 190, 223, 227, 235, 264
Wray, Sir Cecil 171, 173
Wyvill, Revd Christopher 87, 88, 90, 106, 130, 188, 191, 194, 200, 379
Yonge, Sir George 151
York, Duke of 252, 267, 336, 339–40, 350, 354–5, 363, 445, 448–9, 468
Yorke, Charles 525, 566
Yorkshire Association 87, 106
Yorktown siege 74–5, 76, 230
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The writing of this book has been a hugely enjoyable process, and that is largely due to the many people who have been so ready to assist me with their time and knowledge.
I am particularly grateful to Christopher Wright and his staff at the British Library in the Manuscripts reading room, as well as their counterparts in the Rare Books reading room and the newspaper library, who have been so unfailingly efficient in finding any source I have wished to consult. I have benefited similarly from the work of the staff at Cambridge University Library, the House of Commons Library and the Public Record Office at Kew. Further afield, I particularly enjoyed the time I spent in the William L. Clements Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where John Dann, Brian Dunnigan and John Harriman made me especially welcome. Giles Adams, descendant of Pitt’s last private secretary, William Dacres Adams, was extremely enthusiastic about my consultation of the many letters in his possession. He ensured that the time I spent at his home was enlivened by a flow of gastronomic and alcoholic refreshment of which Pitt would have heartily approved.
There were others who entered into the spirit of the research in similar vein. Simon Berry and his colleagues at Berry Brothers and Rudd held a convivial lunch for me at which Hugh Johnson’s great knowledge of the history of wine was thoroughly tapped, and the capacity of eighteenth-century bottles closely examined. The late Roy Jenkins, Lord Jenkins of Hillhead, gave me valuable advice about the writing of such a book in the highly appropriate surroundings of Brooks’s Club. It was thanks to his advice that I started writing when I did, in July 2002. It is sad
that his death in 2003 means that his generous counsel is no longer available to others.
Everyone associated with the places at which Pitt had resided, in life or death, has been most welcoming. In particular I am grateful to Sir Roger Tomkys, the Master of Pembroke College Cambridge, Dr Tony Trowles at Westminster Abbey, Rowena Shepherd of English Heritage and Sally Mewton-Hynds, the Head Custodian at Walmer Castle. Stuart Macmillan, Head of Planning at Bromley Borough Council, explained the many layers of development which have taken place at or around Pitt’s former house at Holwood. I am grateful to the developers of the site, Taylor Woodrow, for giving me access to the gardens.
Thanks are also due to John Black and Chris Russell, Council Members of the Royal College of Surgeons, who analysed for me the symptoms shown by Pitt during his many periods of illness, and produced fresh and clear advice on the likely cause of his death. Philip Mould’s encyclopaedic knowledge of art has been of great assistance in assembling the illustrations and cover of the book. Among historians, I am grateful to Gregory Fremont-Barnes for reading and correcting the early manuscript, to Michael Duffy for his valuable comments on the text, and perhaps above all to John Ehrman, who encouraged this project from the outset but whose magnificent three-volume work The Younger Pitt, produced over a period of thirty years, will continue to stand as a definitive account of Pitt’s life and times. Without the existence of John Ehrman’s volumes, which guided me to so many fruitful sources, I could not have written my own book in such a relatively short time.
The enthusiasm of my agent, Michael Sissons, and my editors at HarperCollins, Richard Johnson and Robert Lacey, has been unflagging. So has the assistance of Sue Townsend, who typed much of the manuscript. I have received indispensable assistance from Susie Black and Mark Parsons, who despite being employed full-time in other duties on my behalf took on additional work in helping me to organise and check a multitude of sources and material. I owe further thanks for assistance or reading to Elana Cheah, George Osborne and Susi Ashcroft.
I pay tribute to my wife, Ffion, who has shown no trace of impatience at my immersion in the affairs of the eighteenth century so soon after being released from those of the present day. She has endured many meal times and weekends when I have been so preoccupied with events of the past that I must often have seemed to have been living in it, and yet has offered constant encouragement and insight, reading and commenting on each chapter as it emerged.
Many other people have written to me with suggestions or snippets of history. While I have not been able to incorporate into the book all of the material I have been sent, I am grateful to them for taking so much trouble. Finally, I should make clear that, even after receiving so much help, any errors, omissions or misconceptions are entirely my own responsibility.
William Hague
March 2004
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
WILLIAM HAGUE has served as Leader of the Opposition, Secretary of State for Wales and Minister for Disabled People. He has been Member of Parliament for Richmond, Yorkshire, since 1989, and lives in his constituency with his wife, Ffion. This is his first book.
PRAISE
‘Hague deserves an accolade for redressing our ignorance … he has written a serious, detailed and thoughtful study of one of Britain’s greatest prime ministers’
SHIRLEY WILLIAMS, Guardian
‘What makes the book such an engrossing and stimulating read is the author’s passion for and understanding of politics’
Sunday Times
‘Narrated with a finely attuned sense of the politically dramatic’
ANDREW ROBERTS, Evening Standard
‘A first-class work of history; informative, well written and captivating’
The Times
‘Not only a shrewd political biography, but also a sensitive portrait of one of our most enigmatic heroes’
SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE, Daily Telegraph
‘One of the most enjoyable biographies for years … if you buy only one political biography this year, make it this one’
JOHN MAJOR, Mail on Sunday
‘For those who want a reliable and readable account of an unusual politician and a tragic life, Hague’s book will do nicely’
Spectator
‘William Hague has done Pitt proud with this fine, fair and readable book … its strength lies in the sheer zest for political intrigue and Commons cut and thrust that biographer and subject share’
Literary Review
‘A fascinating account’
CHRISTOPHER FOYLE, Books of the Year, Mail on Sunday
‘Adds usefully to the literature’
MATTHEW PARRIS, Books of the Year, The Times
OTHER WORKS
Also by this author
William Wilberforce: The Life of the Great
Anti-Slave Trade Campaigner
P.S.
Ideas,
interviews & features …
About the Author
Enduring Achievements: Louise Tucker talks to William Hague
Life at a Glance
Top Ten Pieces of Music
A Saturday in the Life of William Hague
About the Book
The Immortal Memory by William Hague
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Enduring Achievements
Louise Tucker talks to William Hague
In Parliament speeches are often written by speechwriters or with their advice whereas writing a book is essentially a solitary pursuit. Was it daunting to face writing alone?
It was a joy! There is a wonderfully Creative sensation to being able to decide alone on the tone and style of your own writing. After years heavily engaged in politics, I found a sense of release in being able to describe things exactly as I wished without having to agree the terminology with a long list of colleagues.
There are many similarities between yourself, as perceived as a public figure, and William Pitt, not least your youth, wit and early political ambition. Were the similarities the inspiration for the biography?
To some extent, yes. I felt that Pitt was a crucial figure in British history who had been neglected for some time, but I certainly also believed that the similarities between me and him would help me to understand and explain him. I say this in all humility he was dramatically more successful than me!
Both Pitt the Elder and Younger were renowned for their oratory, as are you and Tony Blair, and Pitt trained his rhetorical skills through translating Latin, Greek and French out loud. How important is it as a skill in government and how did you train, if at all?
It is still important to be able to hold your own on the floor of the House of Commons, although an advantage in this respect is no longer as decisive as it was in Pitt’s day. I am afraid I was not trained by anybody, but I did spend years debating at school and in the Oxford Union – habits which were not open to an aspiring politician in Pitt’s day.
Pitt learned very early on from his relationship with his father that ‘there need be no limit to his ambition’: what inspired yours and when did you first know you wanted to be in Parliament?
I think it was the State of the country in the 1970s which pushed me into politics. There were quite a large number of young people who joined the Conservative Opposition when Margaret Thatcher became the Leader of it. I would have been about 15 when I decided I wanted to be an MP, an old man by Pitt’s standards.
* * *
‘After years heavily engaged in politics, I found a sense of release in being able to describe things exactly as I wished without having to agree the terminology with a long list of colleagues.’
* * *
Pitt also had a very clear sense of his future career; not going into politics would have been anathema to him. Could you ever imagine leaving your seat?
Since I stood down as a party leader, I have certainly been able to imagine a life without political invo
lvement: literary, musical and sporting pursuits could easily keep me fully occupied. Perhaps irrationally, I have no current intention of adopting this wonderful lifestyle and am committed to carrying on in Parliament.
LIFE at a Glance
BORN
In Rotherham in 1961, an only son with three older sisters
EDUCATED
The village primary school, the local comprehensive school, and Magdalen College Oxford; later at the European Business School in Fontainebleau
CAREER
Five years at the management consultants, McKinsey & Co., before being unexpectedly elected to Parliament in a by-election at Richmond, Yorkshire, at the age of 27. Since then, has served as Pensions Minister, Minister for Disabled People, Secretary of State for Wales, and Leader of the Opposition. Since resigning the latter post, has enjoyed writing, broadcasting, after-dinner speeches, and business.
FAMILY
Married to Ffion
LIVES
In Catterick, North Yorkshire, and in Westminster, London
Pitt’s reign of 19 years as prime minister is yet to be beaten. Blair is starting a third term, Maggie did the same. Do you think a long reign is good for politics, government or the country, or do you think that we should have limited terms of office as they do in the US to prevent problems, such as those of long-term power corrupting?
Term limits are not applicable to Britain since a parliament can last for anything from six months to five years. However, the life of Pitt certainly demonstrates that there is some limit to the vitality of any political career. Long-serving prime ministers inevitably suffer from the problems I described in the penultimate chapter of this book: ‘Too Many Enemies’.
Pitt’s health and other interests suffered because of his choice of career and being a politician is inevitably stressful and tiring. Do you think this is still an issue?
This is certainly still an issue. It is not long after an election before the people who have lost it start to look much healthier and livelier than the people who won it. If there is a weakness in your constitution, frontline politics will find it out, and in Pitt’s case it killed him in his mid-forties. Personally, I have felt a tremendous improvement in health and wellbeing since stepping back from the political front line.
William Pitt the Younger: A Biography Page 79