Appointment In 1724, Newcastle was chosen by Walpole to be
Secretary of State for the Southern Department in place of
Lord Carteret, a move largely engineered by Townshend. He had been for some time considered the third most important man in the government, behind Walpole and Townshend, which was confirmed by his new position. Newcastle had for several years been growing increasingly interested in foreign affairs and had been educating himself on the subtle details of diplomacy and the
European State System. However, his first few years in the office had him defer control of British foreign policy to the other Secretary of State, Townshend, and Newcastle effectively served as his deputy. Walpole was generally happy to allow Townshend to control foreign affairs, as he agreed with him on most issues.
The French Alliance Since the
Treaty of Utrecht, which had ended the
last major European war, Britain had been an ally of France, a strong reversal in policy, as France had previously been considered the premier enemy of Britain. The reasons for the alliance were complex, and many had doubted the détente could last long, but when Newcastle became Secretary of State, they had been allies for nearly a decade. By 1719, they had become part of a wider Quadruple Alliance, which was by far the most powerful force in European politics, as had been demonstrated during the
War of the Quadruple Alliance, a largely-naval war in the Mediterranean by which the powers had defeated a Spanish attempt to reclaim lost territory in Italy. The alliance was unpopular, however, with many in Parliament and in the country, which continued to consider France to be Britain's natural enemy. in the
Walpole ministry Newcastle had been joined in government by his young brother,
Henry Pelham. The two brothers got on well but were prone to have intractable disputes. One constant source of tension between them was Newcastle's poor handling of the family fortune, which was being constantly depleted through his out-of-control spending. Pelham was also considered by many to be the abler of the two brothers, but it was the Duke who was initially more successful in politics. In spite of their differences, they remained firm political allies.
Domestic crisis The administration faced a crisis in 1727, when
George I died unexpectedly, and his son
George II succeeded to the throne. The new king had previously had exceptionally bad relations with Walpole and Newcastle and, during one altercation between them, George's poor English had made Newcastle think that he had challenged him to a duel. Their relationship had not improved in recent years, and many anticipated the imminent replacement of the government. Instead, Walpole made himself extremely useful to George II, who soon became convinced of his competence and retained him in his post. The thawing of relations was helped by the friendship between Newcastle and George's daughter
Amelia, leading many to speculate, without substantive evidence, that they were having an affair. By November 1727, Walpole and Newcastle's positions were both safe once more, boosted by an election victory that saw them gain 430 seats to the opposition's 128 in the
House of Commons. In 1729, a rift broke out in the government over the direction of Britain's foreign policy. Townshend was convinced that Britain's principal enemy was now
Austria. Walpole and Newcastle saw Spain as the main threat to British power because of its large navy and colonial interests. Eventually, Walpole had his way, forcing Townshend from office, and replacing him with
Lord Harrington. From then on, Newcastle served as the senior Secretary of State and largely controlled British foreign policy himself. Newcastle was saddened by the demise of his relative and former patron although their partnership had become increasingly strained and the new situation offered enormous possibilities to him personally.
Peace policy Together, Newcastle and Walpole managed to drive a wedge between Spain and Austria, making an ally of the latter and directing their future efforts against Spain. Subsequently, however, it turned out that Britain's long-term major rival was neither but France, which had been considered a close ally. The increasingly-confrontational actions of the French Chief Minister,
Cardinal Fleury, soon convinced them that they had been wrong. This misjudgment was later used by the
Patriot Whigs to castigate the ministry for their lack of preparation against the French threat. , who reigned from 1727 to 1760. Despite their initial violent hatred of each other, he and Newcastle grew to have a very productive relationship, which lasted for over three decades. In general, Newcastle shared Walpole's abhorrence of war and wished to prevent Britain from getting dragged into major wars on the continent. Notably, Britain did not become embroiled in the
War of the Polish Succession and indeed tried to prevent it from breaking out. Newcastle attempted to throw both the French and Austrians off-guard by being cagey about Britain's response if war broke out, but that did not stop the conflict. Once the war had started, George II tried to push for Britain to honour its commitment to assist Austria, but he was blocked by Walpole, who insisted that Britain should not join the war. Newcastle broadly supported the same position as the king, but he accepted the decision. Newcastle's brother
Henry Pelham had now attained the lucrative position of
Paymaster General and had effectively replaced Townshend as the third man of the government. The three men continued what had become dubbed as the
Norfolk Congress by meeting regularly at
Houghton Hall, Sir Robert Walpole's
country house in Norfolk. The three men would hold private meetings, draw up wide-ranging policies on foreign and domestic issues and then present them to parliament for their seal of approval, which their vast majority allowed them to do. Slowly, however, Newcastle and his brother were moving out of the shadow of Walpole and being more assertive. Newcastle was particularly annoyed both by what he saw as the abandonment of Austria and by the suggestion that Walpole no longer trusted him. By 1735, Newcastle had largely assumed control of colonial affairs, further increasing the amount of patronage he controlled. A devout Anglican, he was also given control over ecclesiastical matters, especially the appointment of bishops and lucrative positions in the Church of England. Newcastle's growing independence from Walpole was helped by the support of his brother and his best friend,
Hardwicke, who had become Lord Chancellor. During the latter half of the decade, his job was increasingly dominated by managing relations with Spain, which included trade disputes and objections to the controversial founding of the American colony of
Georgia in 1733. The longstanding peace policy was now beginning to look extremely fragile. He also acted as a mediator in the
War of the Polish Succession, helping to bring the conflict to an end in 1738.
Jenkins' Ear and Spanish America The growing tension between Britain and Spain came to a head in 1731 during an incident known as
Jenkins' Ear, when a British merchant captain was captured for illegal trading off the coast of
Cuba by a Spanish privateer, and in punishment for his alleged breach of the strict laws forbidding foreign commerce with Spanish colonies, he had an ear cut off. The incident shocked Britain not so much because of its brutality but because many saw it as an outrage that Spain should have the temerity to harm a British subject simply for trading, which many held to be a legitimate occupation despite the legal prohibition in force. In 1738, Jenkins appeared in Parliament to testify about his treatment. Other merchants sent petitions, and the powerful
South Sea Company mobilised popular opinion. To many, the
Spanish Empire was crumbling, and its South American possessions were ripe for the picking. A vociferous group in Parliament demanded war with Spain. Walpole was adamantly opposed to such a policy and became a target for unprecedented attacks. Newcastle too came under intense pressure but initially considered the demands for Britain to declare war with Spain a dangerous step, and in spite of his increasingly bellicose statements, he still considered the idea of an Anglo-Spanish alliance as late as 1739. He tried to negotiate a solution to the crisis with the
Convention of Pardo, which agreed a sum of compensation to be paid to British merchants, but British public opinion had shifted, and Walpole felt that there was no option but to declare war in December 1739. . The two men formed a formidable political partnership following the fall of Walpole, and together dominated British politics until Henry's death in 1754. The British opened the war with a victory,
capturing Porto Bello in Panama. That led to an outbreak of patriotic fervour, and further increased the pressure on Walpole and Newcastle for their perceived unwilling prosecution of the war. Newcastle tried to combat that by cultivating a reputation as the leading "patriot" of the cabinet. He took on additional military responsibilities and, for the first two years of war, served as a
de facto Minister of War. One of his most notable suggestions during the period was the recruitment of large numbers of troops drawn from the
American colonies, whose growing manpower had previously gone largely untapped. In 1741, the main British campaign against Spain was a combined amphibious attack on the South American city of
Cartagena, which had experienced considerable delays. Command was awarded to
Admiral Edward Vernon, the victor of Porto Bello, who was given a force of 31,000 soldiers and sailors to take the city. The
siege proved to be a total disaster for the British, who lost thousands of men before being forced to withdraw. Although Newcastle had issued the orders and overseen the organisation of the expedition, much of the blame for the disaster fell on the shoulders of the ailing prime minister, Walpole.
Fall of Walpole In the wake of the Cartagena disaster, Britain held
a general election. The result reduced Walpole's former dominance of the House to an unworkable majority. Within months, he had been forced out of office and succeeded by
Lord Wilmington. Though Newcastle stayed with Walpole to the end, he was later accused by many of Walpole's supporters of having undermined him.
Horace Walpole, his son, continued to attack Newcastle's behaviour for years to come. Newcastle continued in office after Walpole's fall and became more powerful on his younger brother
Henry Pelham becoming prime minister in 1743. Together, the two brothers and their supporters known as the 'Old Whigs' made a coalition with the '
New Whigs', previous opponents of the Walpole government. However, there remained a strident opposition, led vocally by men like
William Pitt and
Lord Sandwich.
War of the Austrian Succession and advocated aid to the country during the
War of the Austrian Succession. After the war, he built his system for retaining peace around the alliance with Austria, only for it to collapse spectacularly in 1756. In 1740, shortly after the declaration of war with Spain, a separate war had broken out simultaneously in Europe into which the War of Jenkins' Ear soon became submerged. In a dispute over the throne of Austria, both France and Prussia had invaded Austria and planned to remove
Empress Maria Theresa and replace her with their own claimant. Austria's longstanding alliance with Britain required the latter to declare war. It was also considered by many that a French victory would leave the French too strong in Europe. However, Britain soon found itself dragged into this wider war despite the reluctance of its government. Initially, Britain's involvement was limited to financial subsidies and diplomacy in support of Austria, but by 1742, it was apparent that a more substantial commitment would be needed if the alliance were not to end in defeat. In the same year, 16,000 British troops were sent to the continent. Newcastle was a staunch
Austrophile and strongly supported aid to the Austrians. He had long thought that the only way Britain could defeat France was in alliance with Austria, a view sharply at odds with many other leading politicians such as Walpole and Pitt. Newcastle's position had briefly been threatened by
Carteret, a royal favourite, but by 1743, Newcastle and his brother were firmly in control of British policy until 1756. Newcastle now set about drawing up a fresh scheme to enhance British power on the continent, including an attempt to persuade the
Dutch Republic into the anti-French alliance and mediating the dispute between Austria and Prussia, which led to the
Treaty of Dresden in 1745. He also approved plans for a
colonial raid against Louisbourg in 1745, which was successful. Along with the defeat of a
Spanish Invasion of Georgia in 1742, this strengthened the British position in North America.
Jacobite Rising In 1745, the Jacobite Rising broke out in Scotland and soon spread to
northern England. Newcastle feared an attack from the north by
Bonnie Prince Charlie, who had already gathered 5,000 men in
Derby, and a French invasion of southern England. In the panic, a number of false rumours circulated around London, including news that Newcastle had fled to the Continent for fear that all was lost. He was forced to show himself to a crowd that had gathered outside
Newcastle House to prove that he was still there. Nonetheless, his position was threatened since if the Jacobites were triumphant his estates would likely have been confiscated and he would have been forced into exile. Newcastle awoke to the threat posed by the Jacobites much faster than George II and many of his colleagues, who dismissed the rebellion as a farce. Newcastle organised a response, and by late 1745, he had rallied all of the southern militias and regular forces. The Jacobites withdrew to northern Scotland where they were defeated at
Culloden in 1746.
Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle On the Continent, the British continued the war effort, but they were now under pressure from the Dutch Republic to make peace with the French. The Dutch feared that the French would soon launch a devastating onslaught and overrun their country. Newcastle considered that any peace that would be made would be extremely disadvantageous to Britain, and he tried to keep the anti-French coalition strong through constant diplomacy and offers of
financial subsidies. Talks for a peace settlement were convened in the city of
Breda in 1746. Newcastle was instrumental in securing the appointment of
Lord Sandwich as the British representative at the talks, as his views were very close to his own. Sandwich's principal instructions were to delay the talks until a significant British victory allowed them to negotiate from a position of strength. The
Congress of Breda did not progress well initially because the participants were not yet fully committed to peace. The Allies continued to do badly by suffering severe defeats at
Bergen op Zoom and
Lauffeld. Newcastle's brother, Henry, was now strongly advocating peace, but Newcastle firmly rejected that since he was still convinced a major Allied victory was imminent. In 1747, Newcastle was involved in organising a coup to put the
Prince of Orange in power in the Netherlands. Orange wanted to continue the war with the French but soon had to apply to the British for a massive loan. Newcastle, now aware of how close the Dutch were to collapsing altogether, reluctantly turned towards seeking a peaceful accommodation with France. He berated himself for his "ignorance, obstinacy and credulity" and half expected his misjudgment in putting so much faith in the Dutch to result in his dismissal, but both the king and the rest of the cabinet retained their faith in him. To oversee the peace settlement, Newcastle switched across to the position of
Northern Secretary. He secured Sandwich's promotion to
the Admiralty although he had wanted Sandwich to succeed him as
Southern Secretary. During the summer of 1748, Newcastle made his first ever trip outside Britain when he visited
Hanover and was received with a rapturous reception wherever he went. When the talks got underway, they went far more smoothly, and in October 1748, the
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle was formally concluded. Britain would give back
Louisbourg to France in exchange for the return of
Madras and a full French withdrawal from the Low Countries. The issue of free trade for which Britain had gone to war with Spain in 1739 was not mentioned at all. Newcastle was immediately attacked by his opponents for giving up Louisbourg, but many of them failed to realise just how weak the British position on the Continent had become. Austria was also deeply unhappy as they felt the British had abandoned them and had not tried enough for
Silesia to be returned. Nonetheless, Newcastle was happy with the terms that had been gained, and observers on the continent were full of praise on how he had overturned such a disadvantageous situation.
Newcastle System Following the peace, Newcastle began to put into practice a policy that he had been developing for a very long time. He believed that the
stately quadrille, which had seen states continually shifting alliances, had been unstable and led to repeated wars. He wanted instead to use vigorous diplomacy to create a lasting peace that would be built around a strong and stable British alliance with Austria. Like many Whigs he saw maintaining the European balance of power, as essential. He described the process as "restoring the Old System", but it was popularly known as the Newcastle System. He came under continuous attack from Pitt and the
Patriot Whigs, who despised his European policy because of their belief that the previous war had shown that North America was increasingly the most important theatre of war. They mocked Newcastle for his perceived lack of vision and ignored the complex nature of European politics and Britain's relationship with Hanover and the fact that as early as 1740 Newcastle had been aware of the expanding power of the
American colonies. Newcastle remained extremely attentive to the Austrian Alliance. He spent several years trying to secure the election of
Maria Theresa's son, the future Emperor
Joseph II, as
King of the Romans, a title of the
Holy Roman Empire that carried enormous prestige but little real power, only to see the scheme fail because of Austrian indifference. There were a number of warning signs that all was not well with the alliance, but Newcastle ignored most of them since he was convinced that neither Austria or Britain had any other serious potential allies to turn to. Referring to the election, Newcastle believed that if his scheme failed, "France and Prussia will dictate to all the world". He managed to broker a compromise at a
Congress of Hanover to secure the election of Joseph. His triumph at the Congress was soon undermined by his failure to secure Austrian backing. He managed to outmanoeuvre the
Duke of Bedford by engineering his resignation and the dismissal of Lord Sandwich, whom Newcastle had now begun to consider a dangerously ambitious rival. The ease with which he did so demonstrated his total control of British politics, as Bedford led a strong faction. He had, however, made a significant enemy, who would later try to undermine Newcastle. In 1752 he made a rare trip abroad by accompanying George II on his annual trip to
Hanover. During the visit, Newcastle made an attempt to cultivate
Lord North, a future prime minister, as an ally into his political faction. He was unsuccessful although both became good friends, and North later spoke out in defence of Newcastle. In July 1753 Pelham advised Newcastle to ignore the opposition weekly
The Protester and its editor
James Ralph, remarking that the attacks “gave [him] not the least concern” and that “the less notice is taken of him the better.” By November, however, Newcastle had pressed for a settlement, and Pelham acquiesced in terms—arranged via
Lord Hartington after an introduction by
David Garrick—to grant Ralph a Treasury pension of £300 per annum with £200 down on condition that he cease political writing. == Prime minister ==