caricatured North (on his knees) and his allies as incompetent tinkers of the National Kettle. George III cries out in rapture in the rear.
Appointment When the Duke of Grafton resigned as Prime Minister, North formed a government on 28 January 1770. His ministers and supporters tended to be known as Tories, though they were not a formal grouping and many had previously been Whigs. He took over with Great Britain in a triumphant state following the
Seven Years' War, which had seen the
First British Empire expand to a peak by taking in vast new territories on several continents. Circumstances forced him to keep many members of the previous cabinet in their jobs, despite their lack of agreement with him. In contrast to many of his predecessors, North enjoyed a good relationship with George III, partly based on their shared
patriotism and desire for decency in their
private lives.
Falklands Crisis North's ministry had an early challenge with the
Falklands Crisis in 1770. Great Britain faced a Spanish attempt to remove the British settlement at
Port Egmont on the
Falkland Islands, nearly provoking a war. For around a week, the city was in the control of the mob until the military was called out and
martial law imposed. Public opinion, especially in middle-class and elite circles, repudiated anti-Catholicism and violence, and rallied behind the North government. Demands were made for a London police force. Britain's fortunes in the war in America had temporarily improved following the failure of a
Franco-American attack on Newport and the prosecution of a Southern strategy that saw
the capture of Charleston, South Carolina and its garrison. During 1780 and 1781, the North government gained strength in the House of Commons. In October 1781, a British army under
Lord Cornwallis surrendered at the conclusion of the
siege of Yorktown. When the news reached North, he took it "as he would have taken a ball in his breast", and exclaimed repeatedly "Oh God! It is all over!"
Resignation North was the second British prime minister to be forced out of office by a
motion of no confidence; the first was Sir
Robert Walpole in 1742. North resigned on 20 March 1782 on account of the British defeat at
Yorktown the year before. In an attempt to end the war, he proposed the Conciliation Plan, in which he promised that Great Britain would eliminate all disagreeable acts if the colonies ended the war. The colonies rejected the plan, as their goal had become full independence. In April 1782 it was suggested in cabinet by
Lord Shelburne that North should be brought to public trial for his conduct of the American War, but the prospect was soon abandoned. Ironically, the war began to turn in Great Britain's favour again in 1782 through naval victories, owing largely to policies adopted by Lord North and the Earl of Sandwich. The British naval victory at the
Battle of the Saintes took place after the government's fall. Despite predictions that
Gibraltar's fall was imminent,
that fortress managed to hold out and was relieved. Great Britain was able to make a much more favourable peace in 1783 than had appeared likely at the time when North had been ousted. In spite of this, North was critical of the terms agreed by the Shelburne government which he felt undervalued the strength of the British negotiating position. == Post-premiership ==