Soon after Walpole returned to the Cabinet, Britain was swept by a wave of over-enthusiastic speculation which led to the
South Sea Bubble. The Government had established a plan whereby the South Sea Company would assume the national debt of Great Britain in exchange for lucrative bonds. It was widely believed that the company would eventually reap an enormous profit through international trade in cloth, agricultural goods, and
slaves. Many in the country, including Walpole himself, frenziedly invested in the company. By the latter part of 1720, however, the company had begun to collapse as the price of its shares plunged. or "Screenmaster-General". The resignation of Sunderland and the death of Stanhope in 1721 left Walpole as the most important figure in the administration. Walpole's
de facto tenure as "prime minister" is often dated to his appointment as First Lord of the Treasury in 1721, though he himself rejected that title (it was originally a term of abuse), stating in 1741: "I unequivocally deny that I am sole and prime minister." His brother-in-law Lord Townshend served as Secretary of State for the Northern Department and controlled the nation's foreign affairs. The two also had to contend with the Secretary of State for the Southern Department,
Lord Carteret. Townshend and Walpole were thus restored to power and "annihilated the opposing faction".
First term Under the guidance of Walpole,
Parliament attempted to deal with the financial crisis brought on by the South Sea Bubble. The estates of the directors of the
South Sea Company were used to relieve the suffering of the victims, and the stock of the company was divided between the
Bank of England and
East India Company. The crisis had gravely damaged the credibility of the King and of the Whig Party, but Walpole defended both with skilful oratory in the House of Commons. Walpole's first year as prime minister was also marked by the discovery of a
plot formed by
Francis Atterbury, the
bishop of Rochester. The exposure of the scheme crushed the hopes of the
Jacobites whose previous attempts at rebellion (most notably the
risings of 1715 and
1719) had also failed. The Tory Party was equally unfortunate even though Lord Bolingbroke, a Tory leader who fled to
France to avoid punishment for his Jacobite sympathies, was permitted to return to Britain in 1723. calling upon Sir Robert Walpole to Speak in the
House of Commons by
William Hogarth During the remainder of George I's reign, Walpole's ascendancy continued; the political power of the monarch was gradually diminishing and that of his ministers gradually increasing. In 1724 the primary political rival of Walpole and Townshend in the Cabinet, Lord Carteret, was dismissed from the post of Southern Secretary and once again appointed to the lesser office of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. In
Ireland, Lord Carteret used his power to secretly aid in the controversy over
Wood's Halfpence and support ''
Drapier's Letters'' behind the scenes and cause harm to Walpole's power. Walpole was able to recover from these events by removing the patent. However, Irish sentiment was situated against the English control. Townshend, working with the King, helped keep Great Britain at peace, especially by negotiating a
defensive alliance with France and
Prussia in 1725. Walpole was not consulted and stated that Townshend was "too precipitate" in his actions. Great Britain, free from Jacobite threats, from war, and from financial crises, grew prosperous, and Robert Walpole acquired the favour of George I. and in 1726 was made a
Knight of the Garter, earning him the nickname "Sir Bluestring". His eldest son was granted a barony.
Second term Walpole's position was threatened in 1727 when George I died and was succeeded by
George II. For a few days it seemed that Walpole would be dismissed but, on the advice of Queen
Caroline, the King agreed to keep him in office. Although the King disliked Townshend, he retained him as well. Over the next years Walpole continued to share power with Townshend but the two clashed over British foreign affairs, especially over policy regarding
Austria. Gradually Walpole became the clearly dominant partner in government. His colleague retired on 15 May 1730 and this date is sometimes given as the beginning of Walpole's unofficial tenure as prime minister. Townshend's departure enabled Walpole to conclude the
Treaty of Vienna, creating the
Anglo-Austrian alliance.
Opposition Walpole, a polarising figure, had many opponents, the most important of whom were in the
Country Party, such as Lord Bolingbroke (who had been his political enemy since the days of Queen Anne) and
William Pulteney (a capable Whig statesman who felt snubbed when Walpole failed to include him in the Cabinet). Bolingbroke and Pulteney ran a periodical called
The Craftsman in which they incessantly denounced the Prime Minister's policies. Walpole was also satirised and parodied extensively; he was often compared to the criminal
Jonathan Wild as, for example,
John Gay did in his farcical ''
The Beggar's Opera''. Walpole's other enemies included
Jonathan Swift,
Alexander Pope,
Henry Fielding, and
Samuel Johnson.
Support , by
Stephen Slaughter Walpole secured the support of the people and of the House of Commons with a policy of avoiding war. He used his influence to prevent George II from entering the
War of the Polish Succession in 1733, because it was a dispute between the
Bourbons and the
Habsburgs. He boasted, "There are 50,000 men slain in Europe this year, and not one Englishman." By avoiding wars, Walpole could lower taxes. He reduced the national debt with a sinking fund, and by negotiating lower interest rates. He reduced the land tax from four
shillings in 1721, to 3s in 1728, 2s in 1731 and finally to only 1s in 1732. His long-term goal was to replace the land tax, which was paid by the local gentry, with excise and customs taxes, which were paid by merchants and ultimately by consumers. Walpole joked that the landed gentry resembled hogs, which squealed loudly whenever anyone laid hands on them. By contrast, he said, merchants were like sheep, and yielded their wool without complaint. The joke backfired in 1733 when he was defeated in a major battle to impose
excise taxes on wine and tobacco. To reduce the threat of smuggling, the tax was to be collected not at ports but at warehouses. This new proposal, however, was extremely unpopular and aroused the opposition of the nation's merchants. Walpole agreed to withdraw the bill before Parliament voted on it, but he dismissed the politicians who had dared to oppose it in the first place. Thus, Walpole lost a considerable element of his Whig Party to the Opposition. However, despite these great occasions, Walpole's broader popularity had begun to wane. In 1736 an increase in the tax on gin inspired riots in London. The even more serious
Porteous riots broke out in Edinburgh after the King pardoned a captain of the guard (
John Porteous) who had commanded his troops to shoot a group of protesters. Though these events diminished Walpole's popularity, they failed to shake his majority in Parliament. Walpole's domination over the House of Commons was highlighted by the ease with which he secured the rejection of Sir
John Barnard's plan to reduce the interest on the national debt. Walpole was also able to persuade Parliament to pass the
Licensing Act 1737 under which London theatres were regulated. The act revealed a disdain for Swift, Pope, Fielding, and other literary figures who had attacked his government in their works. While the "
country party" attacked Walpole relentlessly, he subsidised writers and lesser-known journalists such as
William Arnall and Bishop
Benjamin Hoadly as well as two men he named to the role of
poet laureate,
Laurence Eusden and
Colley Cibber. They defended Walpole from the charge of evil political corruption by arguing that corruption is the universal human condition. Furthermore, they argued, political divisiveness was also universal and inevitable because of selfish passions that were integral to human nature. Arnall argued that government must be strong enough to control conflict, and in that regard, Walpole was quite successful. This style of "court" political rhetoric continued through the 18th century.
Decline , alluding to his reluctance to engage Spain and France militarily , solicitor to the Treasury, and his refusal to answer questions from the Committee of Secrecy enquiring into the conduct of Robert Walpole The year 1737 saw the death of Walpole's close friend Queen
Caroline. Though her death did not end his personal influence with George II, who had grown loyal to the Prime Minister during the preceding years, Walpole's domination of government continued to decline. His opponents acquired a vocal leader in
Frederick, Prince of Wales who was estranged from his father, the King. Several young politicians including
William Pitt the Elder and
George Grenville formed a faction known as the "
Patriot Boys" and joined the Prince of Wales in opposition. Walpole's failure to maintain a policy of avoiding military conflict eventually led to his fall from power. Under the
Treaty of Seville (1729), Great Britain agreed not to trade with the
Spanish colonies in North America. Spain claimed the right to board and search British vessels to ensure compliance with this provision. Disputes, however, broke out over trade with the
West Indies. Walpole attempted to prevent war but was opposed by the King, the House of Commons, and by a faction in his own Cabinet. In 1739 Walpole abandoned all efforts to stop the conflict and commenced the
War of Jenkins' Ear (so called because
Robert Jenkins, a Welsh mariner, claimed that a Spaniard inspecting his vessel had severed his ear). Walpole's influence continued to dramatically decline despite the capture of
Portobelo (20–22 November 1739) a revenge of the 1727 to 1729 Anglo-Spanish War, when the British attempted to take Portobelo but retreated after heavy losses from disease. On 22 November 1739, the Admiral Vernon attacked the port with six ships of the line; it fell within twenty-four hours and the British occupied the town for three weeks before withdrawing, having first destroyed its fortifications, port and warehouses. But the most significant operation of the war was a failed British attack on
Cartagena de Indias in 1741, which resulted in heavy casualties and was not repeated. In the
1741 general election his supporters secured an increase in votes in constituencies that were decided by mass electorates but failed to win in many
pocket boroughs (constituencies subject to the informal but strong influence of patrons). In general, the government made gains in England and Wales but this was not enough to overturn the reverses of the
1734 election and further losses in
Cornwall where many constituencies were obedient to the will of the Prince of Wales (who was also
Duke of Cornwall). These constituencies returned members of parliament hostile to the Prime Minister. Similarly, the influence of
John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll secured the election of members opposed to Walpole in some parts of Scotland. Walpole's new majority was difficult to determine because of the uncertain loyalties of many new members, but contemporaries and historians estimated it as low as fourteen to eighteen. In the new Parliament, many Whigs thought the ageing Prime Minister incapable of leading the military campaign. Moreover, his majority was not as strong as it had formerly been, his detractors – such as William Pulteney, Earl of Bath, and
Lord Perceval – being approximately as numerous as his supporters. Behind these political enemies were opposition Whigs, Tories and Jacobites. Walpole was alleged to have presided over an immense increase in corruption and to have enriched himself enormously whilst in office. Parliamentary committees were formed to investigate these charges. In 1742 when the House of Commons was prepared to determine the validity of a by-election in
Chippenham, Walpole and others agreed to treat the issue as a
motion of no confidence. As Walpole was defeated on the vote, he agreed to resign from the Government. The news of the naval disaster against Spain in the
Battle of Cartagena de Indias also prompted the end of his political career. King George II wept on his resignation and begged to see him frequently. As part of his resignation the King agreed to elevate him to the House of Lords as the
Earl of Orford, Viscount Walpole and
Baron Walpole of Houghton in the County of Norfolk, this occurred on 6 February 1742. Five days later he formally relinquished the seals of office. Although no longer First Lord of the Treasury, Walpole remained politically involved as an advisor. His former colleagues were still pleased to see him, perhaps in part because he retained the King's favour. After his resignation, his main political roles were to support the government by means of advice, to dole out some patronage and to speak on the ministry's behalf in the Lords. ==Later life==