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| King George III |
The King of England was not above being flattered by his grateful colonies that playfully declared George III the Sovereign King of America. The colonies however, were as yet not pressed by political or economic responsibilities. He regarded the hard-working Americans as strange oddities that in time would be reined in. It was never a question that the colonies would expect a voice in parliament. Both Pitt and North had a more realistic appraisal.
King George III:
I do believe the Americans adore me. It is more than I can say about many
members of Parliament who sneer behind my back. Would you not say that in this
glorious year of Our Lord 1763 that we have achieved the goals we have set out
for ourselves?
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| Frederick North Prime Minister of Great Britain |
Our colonies are prosperous and obedient, France and Spain
seem to have accepted our supremacy and our empire in the east has brought
wealth into the coffers of the Crown.This is indeed a period of prosperity unknown to any former
age.
King George: Do
you know that, from all I’ve heard, the Americans want me as their own monarch
with complete subservience to their king without the interference of
Parliament. Should the day come, I may take up residence on the green
fields of Virginia. For this well-being we have William Pitt to thank.
Lord North: The
thought nagging in the back of my mind is that too similar to Rome we have
become. We should not forget that the Senate in Rome became greedy and
complacent. Corruption was rampant and …
King George: Stop
there before you compare me to the abusing Caesars. We have the Magna Carta and
since then any number of controls give our citizens their rights, as they
perceive them.
Lord North: Let
us pray that the generation that sees Great Britain reach it highest peak of
dominance will not be the same generation the becomes witness to its decline.
For the present American colonists had developed their own economic
system within British mercantilism. The colonists still acknowledged they were
under British law, and still proud to be Englishmen. English colonists had
more advantages than French or Spanish colonists. American colonists benefited
from “Salutary Neglect.”
King George: The
decline of Great Britain is a sobering thought indeed. Tell me now what you
think of this man Alexander Hamilton?
It was perhaps
Hamilton’s ploy to exalt the king and in so doing weaken the power of
Parliament. And who could have predicted that William Pitt, responsible for
raising Great Britain to its zenith, would die in the House of Lords fifteen
years later? Or that even as these
two men were speaking, economic conditions in the British Empire would begin to
make necessary the turning to the colonies for sorely needed funds. In 1763,
these matters were not yet of concern.
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