King of
Great Britain; son of the preceding and
Sophia Dorothea; born in
Hanover, Oct. 20, 1683.
In his childhood and youth he was neglected by his father, and was brought up by his grandmother, the
Electress Sophia.
In 1705 he married a daughter of the Margrave of
Brandenburg-Anspach, a woman of superior character and ability.
He was made a peer of
England the next year, with the chief title of
Duke of
Cambridge.
He was a brave soldier under the
Duke of
Marlborough.
In 1714 he accompanied his father to
England, and was proclaimed
Prince of
Wales Sept. 22.
The prince and his father hated each other cordially, and he was made an instrument of intrigue against the latter.
The Princess of
Wales was very popular, and the father also hated her. At one time the
King proposed to send the prince to
America, there to be disposed of so that he should have no more trouble with him. He was crowned
King Oct. 11, 1727.
His most able minister was
Walpole (as he was of George I.), and he and the clever
Queen ruled the realm for fourteen years. He, in turn, hated his son Frederick,
Prince of
Wales, as bitterly as he had been hated by his father.
It was during the later years of the reign of George II.
that the
War of the
Austrian Succession and the
French and Indian War (in which the
English-American colonies were conspicuously engaged) occurred.
During that reign
England had grown amazingly in material and moral strength among the nations.
The wisdom of
William Pitt had done much towards the acquirement of the fame of
England, which had never been greater than in 1760.
George died suddenly, like his father, in Kensington Palace, Oct. 25, 1760.
He had never been popular with the
English people.
There had been peace between
France and
England for about thirty years after the death of Queen Anne, during which time the colonists in
America had enjoyed comparative repose.
Then the selfish strifes of
European monarchs kindled war again.
In March, 1744,
France declared war against
Great Britain, and the colonists cheerfully prepared to begin the contest in
America as King George's War; in
Europe, the
War of the Austrian
[
46]
Succession.
A contest arose between
Maria Theresa, Empress of
Hungary, and the Elector of
Bavaria, for the Austrian throne.
The
King of
England espoused the cause of the empress, while the
King of
France took part with her opponent.
This caused
France to declare war against
Great Britain.
The
French had built the strong fort of
Louisburg, on the island of Cape Breton, after the treaty of
Utrecht, and, because of its strength, it was called the Gibraltar of
America.
When the war was proclaimed,
Governor Shirley, of
Massachusetts, perceiving the importance of that place in the coming contest, plans for its capture were speedily laid before the Massachusetts legislature.
That body hesitated, but the measure was finally agreed upon by a majority of only one vote.
Rhode Island,
New Hampshire, and
Connecticut furnished their proper quota of troops.
New York sent artillery, and
Pennsylvania provisions.
Commodore Warren was in the
West Indies with a fleet, and was expected to join the provincials in the expedition.
After waiting some time, the colonial forces, under
Sir William Pepperell, sailed, April 4, 1745, for
Louisburg.
Warren joined them at
Canso early in May, and on the 11th the combined land forces, 4,000 strong, debarked at
Gabarus Bay, a short distance from the fortress.
The first intimation the
French had of danger near was the sudden appearance of this formidable armament.
Consternation prevailed in the fort and the town.
A regular siege was begun on May 31.
Other English vessels of war arrived, and the combined fleet and army prepared for attack on June 29.
Unable to make a successful resistance, the fortress, the town of
Louisburg, and the island of Cape Breton were surrendered to the
English on the 28th.
This event mortified the pride of
France, and the following year the
Duke d'anville was sent with a powerful naval armament to recover the lost fortress, and to destroy English settlements along the seaboard.
Storms wrecked many of his vessels, sickness swept away hundreds of his men, and D'Anville abandoned the enterprise without striking a blow.
Anchoring at Chebucto (now
Halifax), D'Anville died there by poison, it is believed.
With the capture of
Louisburg the war ended in the colonies.
By a treaty made at Aix-la-Chapelle, all prisoners and property seized by either party were restored.
The struggle had been costly, and fruitless of good except in making a revelation of the strength of the colonists.
