218. Surprised by the man of no suprises

An Admiral’s career reaches a sticky end as he’s shot to encourage the others to do better. A remarkable politician, denied advancement repeatedly, finally breaks through to power. Another war spreads across the world but, with fine leadership, this time Britain will spend the money necessary to make sure it’s truly decisive. It’s the beginning of the Seven Years’ War and the time of William Pitt the Elder. Illustration: William Pitt the Elder in 1754, from the studio of William Hoare National Portrait Gallery 1050 Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License

6 Aug 202114min

In the uneasy peace between the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War, Britain set about securing its growing imperial power. Central to it was its position in North America, as many visionaries saw, not least the then committed supporter of the Empire, Benjamin Franklin, in Pennsylvania. But that meant dealing with the French stranglehold around the British Colonies in what is now the United States. Three attempts, first manned and led by Americans (George Washington's first and defeated command), and then directed by Brits (to no better success), all failed spectacularly, demonstrating nothing so much as the incompetence of the British military whether colonial or from the mother country. On the other hand, British force did well in another appalling and shameful act of ethnic cleansing, very much in the spirit of the Duke of Cumberland's actions towards the Scottish Highlanders, up in Nova Scotia, present-day Canada. Illustration: At one time a visionary for the British Empire: Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Wilson, in 1759. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License

30 Juli 202112min

While the British army was on the European continent, putting up a pretty useless fight against the French in the Austrian Netherlands, Charles Edward Stuart launched a new uprising - or possibly rebellion, depending on your point of view - back in Britain. Known as Bonnie Prince Charlie to some, his uprising - the final attempt to put the Stuarts with their absolutist views of monarchy back on the throne - was far from bonnie in its consequences for the people of Scotland. Partly because he turned out to be a less attractive character than one might believe, but even more because of the programme of ethnic cleansing run in the Highlands by the Duke of Cumberland, who came to be known as 'Butcher Cumberland', the king's younger son and a hopeless general against armies, but highly effective against disorganised insurgents and civilians. Nothing bonnie about this ugly episode in the history of the British nations. Illustration: Not so bonnie in later life. Prince Charles Edward Stuart by Hugh Douglas Hamilton, circa 1785 National Portrait Gallery 376 Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License

23 Juli 202113min

There was no real problem with a woman inheriting the Austrian throne. But it could be a useful pretext for war by nations keen on advancing their own interests militarily. Frederick II of Prussia was quick to go to war - the Philosopher Prince became a Military King when he had the power to - and he seized the rich Austrian province of Silesia (which is actually Polish, but neither the Austrians nor the Prussians cared about that). Britain kept fighting the War of Jenkins' Ear against the Spanish, but then it got subsumed into the War of Austrian Succession, which it joined on the Austrian side as it had in the War of Spanish Succession. It did badly in the land war, under George II who, at Dettingen, became the last British sovereign to appear on a battlefield, and his younger son, the Duke of Cumberland, who proved pretty hopeless. They fought the French in America, chiefly through the Massachusetts colonists, and in India, through the East India Company. Most gains were handed back at the end of the fighting, except that Prussia hung on to Silesia. With British backing. Which annoyed Austria a lot, and that had consequences for the next war. A war that was bound to come, since this one had sorted out very little, apart from allowing Maria Theresa to mount the Austrian throne after all. Illustration: Empress Maria Theresa, portrait by Martin van Meytens, 1759. Public domain (published anywhere (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before 1926 and public domain in the U.S.) Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License

16 Juli 202114min

Ah, those were the days. When Britain went to war over a sea captain who'd had an ear cut off. And taught the Spanish a thing or two. Except, of course, that Britain didn't go to war for that reason. And they taught Spain nothing. In fact, the Spanish taught the British a lesson, though we shall discover later that it wasn't listening. It took Britain eight years to decide to go to war with Spain, ostensibly over the outrage of Jenkins' Ear. That delay shows how little the war had to do with the atrocity. In reality, it was about bringing Walpole down, on the one hand, and looking for new business opportunities, on the other, with war as the means to break the stranglehold of competitor nations. Besides, despite a promising start with a famous if trivial victory for which all the Portobellos in Britain are called, Admiral Vernon went on to massive defeat at Cartagena. Though, oddly enough, that has a monument too, in a place that is certainly iconic, but in American rather than British history. Proving once more that history is full of ironies. Illustration: Robert Jenkins hands a dismissive Prime Minister Robert Walpole his severed ear, as his companions lift off his wig to show the scar; one of Walpole's associates displays total indifference, preferring to converse with a lady. Satirical Cartoon, 1738, British Museum, London. Public domain Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License

9 Juli 202114min

Britain, its idealists claimed, was launching an Empire of Freedom. The reality, sadly, was rather different. Europeans, with Brits in the forefront, had developed a love of tobacco, and above all a sweet tooth. They wanted sugar for their cakes and pastries, but above all for their coffee, chocolate and, that new British institution, tea. But sugar production requires backbreaking work under terrible conditions. This was work, and in conditions of heat, humidity and disease, few Europeans felt they could handle. And so Africans were brought in to do it instead. Not voluntarily. The British Empire of Freedom was built, and from early in its existence, on a foundation of slavery. Illustration: William Clark, Slaves cutting sugar cane. Held and digitised by the British Library, and uploaded to Flickr Commons. Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License

3 Juli 202114min

'Robin', or Robert Walpole, Britain's first and longest-serving Prime Minister, came to be known as 'Cock Robin'. Possibly because people around him felt his success had made him cocky. The regime over which he presided was termed the 'Robinocracy'. It was an era of peace, stability and improving government finances. Not enough to save him ultimately from his adversaries, dissident Whigs such as George Grenville and William Pitt the Elder - in other words, members of his own party. He'd given them peace, but they wanted war. Specifically, they wanted Britain's voice to be heard on the world stage. We're on the verge of Britain becoming an imperial power, which we'll be finding out more about in coming episodes. But to make that possible we needed to be a lot more warlike than Cock Robin wanted. So the Robinocracy had to end. Illustration: The Stature of a Great Man or the English Colossus". Satire of Sir Robert Wapole alluding to his "extreme reluctance to engage in war...to resist the aggressions of Spain and France". Caption reads: "Why Man, he doth bestride of narrow World Like a Colossus, and we petty Men – Walk under his huge Legs, & peep about To find ourselves, dishonourable Graves Men at some times are Masters of their fates: The fault, dear P––y is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are Underlings —Shakespear [sic]". Public domain picture, from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cph.3b03411. Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License

27 Juni 202110min

The title 'Prime Minister' used to be a term of abuse. To be honest, depending on the holder of the office, plenty of people would maintain it still is. The first person of whom it was used as a real title in Britain, even if still not officially, was Robert Walpole. We've already met him, as a man who did rather well out of the South Sea Bubble, if more by good luck than by good judgement. That and the support he offered some powerful people in the wake of the scandal around the bubble, above all the king himself, helped him into office: he was seen as a safe pair of hands. A reputation he did much to nurture and generally deserved. Illustration: Robert Walpole, First Earl of Oxford, by Arthur Pond, 1742 National Portrait Gallery 6085 Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License

22 Juni 202111min