George Canning

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Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Rt Hon. George Canning

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office April 10, 1827 – August 8, 1827
Preceded by	The Earl of Liverpool
Succeeded by	The Viscount Goderich
In office January 31, 1823 – April 20, 1827
Preceded by	Frederick John Robinson
Succeeded by	Charles Abbott

Born	April 11, 1770 Marylebone, London
Died	August 8, 1827 Chiswick, Middlesex
Political party	Tory

George Canning (April 11, 1770 – August 8, 1827) was a British politician who served as Foreign Secretary and, briefly, Prime Minister.

1 Early life
2 Entry into Politics
3 Political style
4 Elevation to office
5 Duel with Castlereagh
6 Return to government
7 Another return
8 Prime Minister
9 Legacy
10 Family
11 Trivia
12 George Canning's Government, April 1827 - August 1827
13 References

[edit] Early life

Canning was born in Marylebone, London. His father, George Canning Sr. of Garvagh, County Londonderry was a failed wine merchant and lawyer and was of limited means who had renounced his right to inherit the family estate in exchange for having his debts paid. George Sr. abandoned the family and died in poverty in London. His mother, Mary Ann Costello, moved to London with Geroge Jr. and took work there as a stage actress, a profession not considered respectable at the time and one at which she was not particularly successful.

Because Canning showed unusual intelligence and promise at an early age, family friends persuaded his wealthy uncle, Stratford Canning, to become his nephew's guardian and provide him with an income and an education. Stratford Canning's financial support allowed the young Canning to study at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford.

While at school, Canning achieved renown for his skill at writing and debate. He struck up friendships with Lord Liverpool, Granville Leveson-Gower, and John Hookham Frere. After receiving his BA from Oxford in the summer of 1791, Canning became a lawyer. He wanted to become a politician.

[edit] Entry into Politics

Image:George Canning statue.jpg Stratford Canning was a Whig and he introduced his nephew in the 1780s to Whigs such as Charles James Fox, Edmund Burke, and Richard Brinsley Sheridan (George Canning's friendship with Sheridan would last for the remainder of Sheridan's life).

George Canning's impoverished background and limited financial resources, however, made unlikely a bright political future with the Whigs, who were led by those members of the wealthy landed aristocracy in opposition to the Crown. Along with Whigs such as Burke, Canning himself became considerably more conservative in the early 1790s in reaction to the radicalism of the French Revolution.

When Canning decided to enter politics, then, he sought and received the patronage of the leader of the Crown party, William Pitt the Younger. In 1793, thanks to the help of Pitt, Canning became a Member of Parliament for Newtown on the Isle of Wight, a rotten borough. In 1796, he changed seats to a different rotten borough, Wendover in Buckinghamshire.

[edit] Political style

Canning rose quickly in British politics, mainly because of his effectiveness as an orator and writer. His speeches in Parliament and his essays gave the Pittites a rhetorical power they had previously lacked. Canning's skills saw him gain leverage within the Pittite faction that allowed him to influence its policies and to get himself promoted within the Cabinet. Over time, Canning became a prominent public speaker as well as a parliamentary speaker, and was one of the first politicians to campaign heavily in the country.

As a result of his charisma and promise, Canning early on drew to himself a circle of supporters who would become known as the Canningites. Conversely though, Canning had a reputation as a divisive man who alienated many others.

[edit] Elevation to office

On November 2, 1795, Canning received his first ministerial post: Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. In this post he proved a strong supporter of Pitt, often taking his side in disputes with the Foreign Secretary Lord Grenville. He resigned this post on 1 April 1799.

In 1799 Canning became a commissioner of the Board of Control, followed by Paymaster of the Forces in 1800. When Pitt resigned in 1801, Canning loyally followed him into opposition and again returned to office in 1804 with Pitt, becoming Treasurer of the Navy.

Canning left office with the death of Pitt but was appointed Foreign Secretary in the new government of the Duke of Portland the following year. Given key responsibilities for the country's diplomacy in the Napoleonic Wars, he was responsible for planning the outmanoeuvring of Napoleon Bonaparte at Copenhagen.

[edit] Duel with Castlereagh

In 1809 Canning entered into a series of disputes within the government that were to become famous. He argued with the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, Lord Castlereagh, over the deployment of troops that Canning had promised would be sent to Portugal, but which Castlereagh sent to Holland. The government became increasingly paralysed in disputes between the two men. Portland was in deteriorating health and gave no lead, until Canning threatened resignation unless Castlereagh was removed and replaced by Lord Wellesley. Portland secretly agreed to make this change when it would be possible.

Castlereagh discovered the deal in September, 1809, and was furious, demanding redress. He challenged Canning to a duel, which was fought on September 21, 1809. Canning had never before fired a pistol. In the duel Canning missed; Castlereagh wounded his opponent in the thigh. There was much outrage that two cabinet ministers had resorted to such a method. Shortly afterwards Portland resigned as Prime Minister because of ill health and Canning offered himself to George III as a potential successor. However, Spencer Perceval was appointed instead and Canning left office once more. He did take consolation that Castlereagh also stood down.

[edit] Return to government

Upon Perceval's assassination in 1812, the new Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool offered Canning the position of Foreign Secretary once more. However Canning refused as he also wished to be Leader of the House of Commons and was reluctant to serve in any government with Castlereagh. In 1814 he became the British Ambassador to Portugal, returning the following year. He received several further offers of office from Liverpool and in 1816 he became President of the Board of Control.

Canning resigned from office once more in 1820, on this occasion in opposition to the treatment of Queen Caroline, wife of the new King George IV who had become estranged from her husband. Canning and Caroline were personal friends and are believed to have had a brief affair.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Another return

In 1822, Castlereagh, now Marquess of Londonderry, committed suicide. Canning succeeded him as both Foreign Secretary and Leader of the House of Commons. In his second term of office he sought to prevent South America from coming into the French sphere of influence and in this he was successful. He also gave support to the growing campaign for the abolition of slavery.

[edit] Prime Minister

Liverpool retired as Prime Minister in 1827, and Canning was chosen to succeed him, in preference to both the Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert Peel. Neither man agreed to serve under Canning and they were followed by five other members of Liverpool's Cabinet as well as forty junior members of the government. The Tory Party was now heavily split between the "High Tories" (or "Ultras", nicknamed after the contemporary party in France) and the moderates supporting Canning - often called 'Canningites'. As a result Canning found it hard to form a government and chose to invite a number of Whigs to join his Cabinet, including Lord Lansdowne. The government agreed not to discuss the difficult question of parliamentary reform, which Canning opposed but the Whigs supported.

However Canning's health by this time was in steep decline. On August 8 1827 he died in the very room as Fox had, 21 years earlier. Canning holds the dubious record of having served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for the shortest total period - a mere 119 days. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. [1]

[edit] Legacy

Canning has come to be regarded as a "lost leader", with much speculation about what would have happened had he lived. His government of moderate Tories and Whigs continued for a few months under Lord Goderich but fell apart in early 1828. It was succeeded by a government under the Duke of Wellington, which initially included some Canningites but soon became mostly "High Tory" when many of the Canningites drifting over to the Whigs. Wellington's administration would soon go down in defeat as well. Some historians have seen the revival of the Tories from the 1830s onwards, in the form of the Conservative Party as the overcoming of the divisions of 1827. What would have been the course of events had Canning lived is highly speculative.

To some later Conservatives, most prominently Benjamin Disraeli, Canning came to be regarded as the forerunner of liberal One Nation Conservatism, providing a contrast to Sir Robert Peel, whom Disraeli attacked bitterly.

[edit] Family

Canning married Joan Scott (later 1st Viscountess Canning) (1776-1837) on July 8, 1800, with John Hookham Frere and William Pitt the Younger as witnesses.

George and Joan Canning had four children:

George Charles Canning (1801-1820), died from consumption
William Pitt Canning (1802-1828), died from drowning in Madeira, Portugal
Harriet Canning (1804-1876), married the 1st Marquess of Clanricarde
Charles Canning (later 2nd Viscount Canning and 1st Earl Canning) (1812-1862)

[edit] Trivia

Canning was one of the first prominent politicians of the era to openly use the label "Tory", which came into use in the 1790s as a term for the Pittites. Later, in 1824, he was one of the first to use the term "Conservative".

In honour of the role he played in the Greek War of Independence, Canning's name was given to one of the central squares in downtown Athens (Πλατεία Κάνιγγος).

A subway station in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Line D was originally named after Canning. The station was renamed in 1973 by the administration of populist Argentine President Juan Perón in honor of the famed Argentine writer Scalabrini Ortiz.

Canning is the namesake of the Oxford Canning Club.

The George Canning is a Bar/Brasserie on Grove Lane, SE5 in Denmark Hill in South East London. There is also a George Canning pub on the corner of Water Lane and Effra Road in Brixton although in recent years it has been renamed the Hobgoblin.

He also gives his name to the area Canning and Canning Dock in Liverpool.

A number of places in Western Australia are named after Canning, due to his government facilitating the expedition of Admiral James Stirling to establish the Swan River colony. These places include a tributary of the Swan River, the Canning River, the Perth suburbs of Cannington and Canning Vale, as well as the Local Government area of Perth the City of Canning.

[edit] George Canning's Government, April 1827 - August 1827

Changes

May, 1827 - Lord Carlisle, the First Commissioner of Woods and Forests, enters the Cabinet.
July, 1827 - The Duke of Portland becomes a minister without portfolio. Lord Carlisle succeeds him as Lord Privy Seal. W.S. Bourne succeeds Carlisle as First Commissioner of Woods and Forests. Lord Lansdowne succeeds Bourne as Home Secretary. George Tierney, the Master of the Mint, enters the cabinet.

Political offices
Preceded by: Dudley Ryder and Thomas Steele	Paymaster of the Forces 1800–1801 (jointly with Thomas Steele)	Succeeded by: Thomas Steele and The Lord Glenbervie
Preceded by: George Tierney	Treasurer of the Navy 1804–1806	Succeeded by: Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Preceded by: Viscount Howick	Foreign Secretary 1807–1809	Succeeded by: The Earl Bathurst
Preceded by: The Earl of Buckinghamshire	President of the Board of Control 1816–1821	Succeeded by: Charles Bathurst
Preceded by: The Marquess of Londonderry	Leader of the House of Commons 1822–1827	Succeeded by: William Huskisson
Preceded by: The Marquess of Londonderry	Foreign Secretary 1822–1827	Succeeded by: The Viscount Dudley and Ward
Preceded by: Frederick John Robinson	Chancellor of the Exchequer 1827	Succeeded by: John Charles Herries
Preceded by: The Earl of Liverpool	Prime Minister 1827	Succeeded by: The Viscount Goderich
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by: Sir John Barrington, Bt Sir Richard Worsley	Member of Parliament for Newtown (Isle of Wight) with Sir John Barrington, Bt 1793–1796	Succeeded by: Sir Richard Worsley Charles Shaw Lefevre
Preceded by: John Barker Church Hugh Seymour-Conway	Member of Parliament for Wendover with John Hiley Addington 1796–1802	Succeeded by: Charles Long John Smith
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by: Arthur Moore	Member of Parliament for Tralee 1802–1806	Succeeded by: Maurice Fitzgerald
Preceded by: Owen Wynne	Member of Parliament for Sligo 1806–1813	Succeeded by: Joshua Spencer
Preceded by: Sir John Nicholl Sir William Middleton	Member of Parliament for Hastings with Sir Abraham Hume, Bt 1807–1812	Succeeded by: Sir Abraham Hume, Bt James Dawkins
Preceded by: Hylton Jolliffe Booth Grey	Member of Parliament for Petersfield with Hylton Jolliffe 1812	Succeeded by: Hylton Jolliffe George Canning
Preceded by: Isaac Gascoyne Banastre Tarleton	Member of Parliament for Liverpool with Isaac Gascoyne 1812–1823	Succeeded by: Isaac Gascoyne William Huskisson
Preceded by: Nicholas Vansittart Charles Bragge Bathurst	Member of Parliament for Harwich with John Charles Herries 1823–1826	Succeeded by: John Charles Herries Nicholas Conynham Tindal
Preceded by: Charles Duncombe John Stuart	Member of Parliament for Newport (Isle of Wight) with William Henry John Scott 1826–1827	Succeeded by: William Henry John Scott Hon. William Lamb

[edit] References

Image:Wikisource-logo.svg

Wikisource has original works written by or about:

George Canning

Dixon, Peter. George Canning: Politician and Statesman. New York : Mason/Charter, 1976.
Deane, Ciarán The Guinness Book of Irish Facts & Feats. Guinness Publishing 1994 ISBN 0-85112-793-2

Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom

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