Hanoverian Tories were

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

supporters of the

Hanoverian Succession The Act of Settlement ( 12 & 13 Will. 3. c. 2) is an act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants, which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became a Roman Catho ...

of 1714. At the time many Tories favoured the exiled Jacobite

James Francis Edward Stuart James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs (British political party), Whigs or the King over the Water by Jacobitism, Jacobites, was the House of Stuart claimant to the thrones of Ki ...

to take the British and Irish thrones, while their arch rivals the Whigs supported the candidacy of George, Elector of Hanover.

Background

Following the

Act of Settlement The Act of Settlement ( 12 & 13 Will. 3. c. 2) is an act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants, which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became a Roman Cathol ...

of 1701, the throne was intended to pass to the

House of Hanover The House of Hanover ( ) is a European royal house with roots tracing back to the 17th century. Its members, known as Hanoverians, ruled Hanover, Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Empire at various times during the 17th to 20th centurie ...

following the death of Queen Anne. However during the Tory government of Robert Harley after 1710, serious consideration was given by senior cabinet ministers led by Henry St. John to secure the throne for James instead. In preparation, army officers suspected of being pro-Hanover were purged from the service including both Whigs and Tories such as

Henry Lumley General Henry Lumley ( – 18 October 1722) was a British Army officer and Governor of Jersey. Military career Henry Lumley was the second son of John Lumley and Mary Compton, and younger brother of Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough. H ...

. The

Duke of Marlborough General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was a British army officer and statesman. From a gentry family, he ...

, former Captain General and a moderate Tory, went into exile on the continent following his dismissal in 1711. Tied up with the ongoing debate about the future of the throne, was a dispute over the end of the

War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish ...

. Pro-war Whigs joined with Hanoverian Tories under the banner "

No Peace Without Spain No Peace Without Spain was a popular British political slogan of the early eighteenth century. It referred to the ongoing War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) in which Britain was a leading participant. It implied that no peace treaty cou ...

", opposing the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...

. As

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

was a key ally of Britain in this conflict, and resented what was regarded as this abandonment, it naturally led George to prefer the Whigs. In spite of having about forty members in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

in early 1714, these were very unpredictable and could not be completely relied on by the Whigs in their challenge to the Harley government.

Hanoverian Succession

As Anne grew increasingly weak in 1714, both Jacobites and pro-Hanoverians prepared to take measures to seize the throne if necessary by armed force. Hanoverian Tories worked with Whigs led by General James Stanhope to secure the country for George. In the event the Hanoverian Succession followed on relatively peacefully following Anne's death in August 1714, although George's coronation did provoke riots across the country which then continued into the following year. Whigs and Hanoverian Tories provided a solid bloc in Parliament to vote through the Succession. It has been suggested that many Tory figures wavered between the two factions at the Succession.

Aftermath

Despite George I's distrust of the Tories, the first government of the new reign included Pro-Hanoverians such as Lord Nottingham. This continued after the failed 1715 Jacobite Uprising, although the

Duke of Argyll Duke of Argyll () is a title created in the peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. The earls, marquesses, and dukes of Argyll were for several centuries among the most powerful noble families in Scotlan ...

a Whig with strong connections with the Hanoverian Tories was replaced as army commander in Scotland because it was considered he had been insuffienctly committed to defeating the Jacobites despite his victory at Sheriffmuir. However, gradually the government began to be completely dominated by staunch Whigs, leading to the Whig Oligarchy. Tories were in opposition for several decades, and the name was often used as a synonym for Jacobite by their rivals. Nonetheless in 1727, when George I died, Hanoverian Tories again supported the succession of his son George II rather than the continued claims of James. In 1730 they were still active as a faction when

Spencer Compton Spencer Compton may refer to: *Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of Northampton (1601–1643), British politician *Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington (1673–1743), British statesman and Prime Minister *Spencer Compton, 8th Earl of Northampton (1738– ...

tried to organise a coalition between them and opposition

Patriot Whigs The Patriot Whigs, later the Patriot Party, were a group within the British Whig Party, Whig Party in Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1725 to 1803. The group was formed in opposition to the government of Robert Walpole in the Britis ...

in order to replace the long-standing Prime Minister

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford (; 26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745), known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British Whigs (British political party), Whig statesman who is generally regarded as the ''de facto'' first Prim ...

.Black p.69 Hanoverian Tories were active in the attempts to acquit former leader Robert Harley during his

impeachment trial An impeachment trial is a trial that functions as a component of an impeachment. Several governments utilize impeachment trials as a part of their processes for impeachment. Differences exist between governments as to what stage trials take place ...

in 1715 and subsequent imprisonment in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

. He was eventually acquitted in 1717.

Notable figures

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough General (United Kingdom), General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was a Briti ...

, former Captain-General *

Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, 7th Earl of Winchilsea PC (2 July 16471 January 1730) was an English Tory politician and peer who supported the Hanoverian Succession in 1714. Known as Lord Nottingham until 1729, then as Lord Winchilsea. ...

, Cabinet Minister *

Sir Thomas Hanmer, 4th Baronet Sir Thomas Hanmer, 4th Baronet (24 September 1677 – 7 May 1746) was Speaker of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1714 to 1715, discharging the duties of the office with conspicuous impartiality. His second marriage was the subject o ...

, Speaker of the House of Commons * William Bromley, Speaker and Cabinet Minister *

, General *

Charles Trelawny Major General Charles Trelawny, also spelt 'Trelawney', (1653 – 24 September 1731) was an English soldier from Cornwall who played a prominent part in the 1688 Glorious Revolution, and was a Member of Parliament for various seats between 1685 ...

, General and politician * Henry Withers, General and former MP * Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge, politician

References

{{Reflist

Bibliography

* Jeremy Black. ''British Politics and Foreign Policy, 1727-44''. Ashgate Publishing, 2014. * Eveline Cruickshanks. ''Ideology and conspiracy: aspects of Jacobitism, 1689-1759''. John Donald, 1982. * Andreas Gestrich & Michael Schaich. ''The Hanoverian Succession: Dynastic Politics and Monarchical Culture''. Routledge, 2016. * Geoffrey Holmes. ''British Politics in the Age of Anne''. A&C Black, 1987. Toryism Political party factions in the United Kingdom 1710s in Great Britain Tory MPs (pre-1834)