Georgian Britain: The Hanoverian Dynasty and Party Politics

Posted on Nov 4, 2025 in History

Revolution and Georgian Britain (1789-1837)

1. Introduction

This period saw the reign of the House of Hanover, including:

  • George I (1714-1727)
  • George II (1727-1760)
  • George III
  • George IV
  • William IV

Queen Victoria was the last of the Hanoverian monarchs. This era was marked by a significant loss of monarchical powers, leading to the rise of cabinet governments and Prime Ministers.

The Whigs vs. The Tories

The Whigs

The term Whig is a complex and ambiguous political designation. It was originally applied to those who opposed, on religious grounds, the succession of the Roman Catholic James, Duke of York, to the throne of England. After the Glorious Revolution in 1688, the Whig Party adhered, at least in theory, to the following principles:

  1. They advocated for personal freedom.
  2. They maintained that the king governed at the people’s consent.
  3. They argued that sovereignty rested, ultimately, with the people.
  4. They were strong supporters of William III and his wife Mary, maintaining a virtual monopoly of political power during their reign.

Although their leadership was aristocratic, the Whigs were also the party of the new financial and mercantile interests. They were adherents of the Hanoverians when that dynasty succeeded to the throne and reigned supreme from 1714 until 1760. Between 1760 and 1800, the party, which had become increasingly corrupt and dependent upon political patronage, disintegrated into a number of smaller groups and would not return to power until 1830.

The Tories

During the 18th century, the term Tory was applied to conservatives who insisted upon:

  • The constituted authority of the Church of England.
  • The divine right of kingship.
  • Parliamentary privilege based on the ownership of land.

The Tories represented the old landed interests and opposed the growing middle classes, who were often taxed to support the same wars. Less well-organized as a political party than their opponents, the Whigs, the Tories fell into disarray after the Glorious Revolution in 1688. They remained a significant power in parliament through the reigns of William and Mary and Queen Anne, with a sizable block of members bound together by mutual adherence to:

  • Anglicanism.
  • Hostility to Dissenters.
  • A continued insistence upon the principle of the Divine Right of Kings.

The Tories came to power briefly during Anne’s reign but were undone in 1714 by their manifestly Jacobite tendencies. After the French Revolution, the Tories were increasingly seen as a party of reaction. In the 1830s, Sir Robert Peel attempted to modernize the Tory party based on new principles, renaming it the Conservative Party. Although that remains the party’s official title, its members are still popularly known as Tories.

2. The Creation of the United Kingdom

The Union of the Crowns in 1603 united the kingdoms of England and Scotland in a personal union. This eventually led to the Treaty of Union in 1706 and the Acts of Union in 1707, which ratified the treaty.

In 1707, the Acts of Union received Royal Assent, thereby abolishing the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland to create a unified Kingdom of Great Britain with a single parliament.

Following the union, disaffection grew within Scotland, and its politicians at Westminster attempted to terminate the treaty. The major beneficiaries of this political disaffection were the Jacobites. Jacobitism was the political movement dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, and the Kingdom of Ireland.