What is the central idea of this passage?
George William Frederick was born before his due date on June 4, 1738. The sickly prince wasn't expected to live. At the time, it seemed unlikely he would one day become King George III.
Young George was educated by private tutors. By age 8 he could speak several languages and enjoyed learning about the natural sciences. George was a very shy boy. He was strongly influenced by his primary teacher, Scottish nobleman John Stuart, Third Earl of Bute. The earl helped the young prince overcome his shyness and advised him on many matters.
When George's father died in 1751, George inherited the title Duke of Edinburgh. Three weeks later the 12-year-old was made Prince of Wales by his grandfather, George II. This put him in line to inherit the throne.
Shy And Inexperienced, George Becomes King
In 1760, George's grandfather suddenly died. The 22-year-old became king. A year later, he married Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg-Strelitz on the day they met. Though they didn't know each other well in the beginning, the couple still enjoyed a 57-year marriage and had 15 children together.
Besides the crown, George also inherited an ongoing world war, religious strife and changing social issues. Since 1754, Britain and France had been in a border fight along the frontier in North America. It eventually became the Seven Years' War. During that time George III was closely advised by his prime minister Lord Bute. He kept the young, inexperienced king isolated from key members of Parliament. However, Bute believed in King George III's holy right to rule. For this, Bute was criticized by other members of Parliament. He was eventually forced to quit.
In 1763, George Grenville succeeded Bute as King George's prime minister. At the end of the Seven Years' War the empire was deeply in debt. So, Grenville looked to the American colonies as a source of income. British troops were in North America protecting the colonists. So, he believed the colonists should pay for British debt. King George agreed and supported the Sugar Act of 1764 and the Stamp Act in 1765.
But in the colonies, the Stamp Act was met with outrage and sometimes violence. Claims of "no taxation without representation!" rang out in colonial cities such as Boston, Massachusetts.
The American Revolution
King George III standing in an army redcoat
Image 2. Portrait by Sir William Beechey around 1799 or 1800. Photo from: Wikipedia.
The Stamp Act was repealed. However, Parliament passed the Declaratory Act in 1766. It stated the colonies were subject to British Law. Parliament then proceeded to pass more tax laws. As the protests in the colonies spread, some key British officials opposed taxing the colonies. They argued that the distance and difficulty in making collections was too great.
By 1775, many colonists had had enough of Parliament's overreach. Inspired by Enlightenment philosophers John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau, the colonists formed the Second Continental Congress and wrote a declaration of independence. The king was the sole target of the colonists' displeasure.
By 1779, it was clear to many British officials that the war was a lost cause. Still, the king insisted it had to be fought to avoid rewarding disobedience. On October 19, 1781, combined French and American forces surrounded the British Army at Yorktown. This ended any chance for a British victory. The Treaty of Paris, in 1783, secured America's independence.
Glory And Insanity
King George III was bitter over the loss of the colonies for many years. He fell out of favor with the British public for extending the war. Yet, in 1783, he was able to turn disaster into triumph at home. Powerful ministers in Parliament hoped to reform the East India Company. This group of merchants carried out British business interests in other lands before eventually taking them over. Though the king originally supported changes to the company, he soon saw the reform as a way to continue Parliament's corrupt behavior. He let it be known that any minister who supported this plan would become his enemy. The bill was ultimately defeated. King George regained some of his popularity with the British people as a result.
In 1788, however, the king experienced bouts of severe mental illness. King George III recovered the following year. In partnership with his prime minister, William Pitt the Younger, he navigated another war with France as well as the rise and fall of Napoleon. George also oversaw Ireland's addition to the United Kingdom.
Death
By 1811, personal family tragedies and the pressures of ruling caused King George's mental illness to return. He could no longer lead. Parliament passed the Regency Act, meaning the fate of the empire fell on his oldest son, Prince George. George III died on January 29, 1820.
Answers
Answer:
King George III ruled the British kingdom through some turbulent times including the American Revolutionary War after which the colonies gained independence. Until Queen Victoria, he was Great Britain’s longest reigning monarch.
Synopsis
A member of the Hanover dynasty, which ruled England for almost two centuries, George III was king of Great Britain during some of the nation’s most tumultuous years, including those of the American Revolutionary War. In 1788, illness brought on a mental breakdown, but he briefly recovered, regaining popularity and admiration for his virtue and steady leadership through the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. Ultimately, recurring bouts of insanity led Parliament to enact regency to his son, and George III lived his final years with sporadic periods of lucidity, until his death in 1820.
Early Life
Born premature on June 4, 1738, to Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, the sickly prince wasn’t expected to live and was baptized the same day. At the time, it seemed unlikely that George William Frederick would one day become King George III, the longest-ruling monarch English before Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II.
Young George was educated by private tutors, and by age 8 he could speak English and German and would soon learn French. Instructed in a wide range of subjects, he showed a particular interest in the natural sciences. Acutely shy and reserved in his youth, George was strongly influenced by his primary mentor, Scottish nobleman John Stuart, Third Earl of Bute, who helped the young prince overcome his shyness and advised him on many personal and political matters.
When George’s father died in 1751, George inherited the title Duke of Edinburgh. Three weeks later the 12-year-old was made Prince of Wales by his grandfather, George II, putting him in line to inherit the throne. When George turned 18, his grandfather invited him to live at St. James Place, but Lord Bute convinced him to stay at home to live with his domineering mother, who instilled in him her strict moral values.
Shy and Inexperienced, George Becomes King
In 1760, George's grandfather suddenly died, and the 22-year-old became king. A year later, he married Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Though wed on the day they met, the couple enjoyed a 50-year marriage and had 15 children together.
But in addition to the crown, George inherited an ongoing world war, religious strife and changing social issues. Since 1754, Britain and France had been engaged in a border skirmish along the frontier in North America that began when a British colonial militia, let by Lieutenant George Washington, attacked French Fort Duquesne. During the resulting Seven Years' War, George III was closely advised by his prime minister Lord Bute, who kept the young, inexperienced monarch isolated from key members of Parliament. However, due to his Scottish background and belief in King George III's divine right to rule, Bute was maligned by other members of Parliament and eventually forced to resign due to strong criticism from the press and his purported involvement in a sex scandal involving George’s mother.
In 1763 George Grenville succeeded Bute as King George’s prime minister. With the Empire deeply in debt at the end of the Seven Years' War, Grenville looked to the American colonies as a source of revenue. He reasoned that since the colonies had benefited from the outcome of the war and British troops were needed in North America to protect them, they should pay for it. King George agreed with the reasoning and supported the Sugar Act of 1764 and the Stamp Act in 1765. But in the colonies, the Stamp Act was met with outrage, contempt and, for some tax collectors, violence. Claims of “no taxation without representation!” rang out in Boston, Massachusetts, and eventually other colonial cities.
The American Revolution
Though the Stamp Act was repealed, Parliament passed the Declaratory Act in 1766, stating the colonies were subordinate to Parliament and subject to British Law. Parliament then proceeded to pass more tax laws. As the protests in the colonies spread, Lords Edmund Burke and William Pitt the Elder expressed opposition to taxing the colonies as impractical, arguing that the distance and difficulty in making collections was too great. Amidst all this political dissent, King George III pushed Parliament to pass the Royal Marriages Act. A devout Anglican, the king was appalled by the behavior of his adulterous brother, Prince Henry, and the act made it illegal for a member of the royal family to marry without permission of the monarch.