Pitt–Newcastle ministry

Pitt (top) and Newcastle (bottom)

Between 1757 and 1762,^[1] at the height of the Seven Years' War, the Pitt–Newcastle ministry governed the Kingdom of Great Britain. It was headed by Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, serving in his second stint as prime minister. The most influential and famous minister, however, was William Pitt the Elder, Secretary of State.

History

The ministry ended a period of political instability in which Great Britain had struggled in the war. Pitt was a strong war leader but lacked the support in Parliament necessary to provide effective leadership. Newcastle provided this, as he had a solid support base in the House of Commons. They divided duties between each other; Pitt directed the defence and foreign policies, while Newcastle controlled the nation's finances and patronage.

The ministry led Britain to many victories in the war, particularly in the so-called Annus Mirabilis of 1759, which put the country in a strong position by 1761; that year, however, Pitt resigned over a dispute concerning the entry of Spain into the war. Since King George II died in 1760, the ministry had been under pressure by the accession of George III, who disliked both Pitt and Newcastle and favoured John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute. Bute, a Tory, was made Northern Secretary in March 1761, and following Pitt's resignation, the ministry is otherwise referred to as the Bute–Newcastle coalition.^[2]

In 1762 Newcastle was forced to resign, with his followers (the "Pelhamites") dismissed by Bute in what became known as the "Massacre of the Pelhamite Innocents";^[3]^[4] this is traditionally considered to have been the moment the ministry collapsed.^[5]

Ministry

It is unclear who was a member of the Cabinet.


Portfolio	Minister	Took office	Left office
First Lord of the Treasury^[6] Leader of the House of Lords	The Duke of Newcastle (head of ministry)	1757 (1757)	1762 (1762)
Chancellor of the Exchequer^[7] Second Lord of the Treasury	Henry Bilson-Legge	1757 (1757)	1761 (1761)
Chancellor of the Exchequer^[7] Second Lord of the Treasury	The Viscount Barrington	1761 (1761)	1762 (1762)
Lord Chancellor^[8] (after 1761) Lord Keeper of the Great Seal (before 1761)	The Lord Henley	1757 (1757)	1762 (1762)
Lord President of the Council^[9]	The Earl Granville	1757 (1757)	1762 (1762)
Lord Privy Seal^[10]	The Earl Temple	1757 (1757)	1761 (1761)
	In commission	1761 (1761)	1761 (1761)
	The Duke of Bedford	1761 (1761)	1762 (1762)
Leader of the House of Commons	William Pitt (head of ministry)	1757 (1757)	1761 (1761)
Leader of the House of Commons Treasurer of the Navy	George Grenville	1761 (1761)	1762 (1762)
Secretary of State for the Southern Department^[11]	William Pitt (head of ministry)	1757 (1757)	1761 (1761)
Secretary of State for the Southern Department^[11]	The Earl of Egremont	1761 (1761)	1762 (1762)
Secretary of State for the Northern Department^[11]	The Earl of Holderness	1757 (1757)	1761 (1761)
Secretary of State for the Northern Department^[11]	The Earl of Bute	1761 (1761)	1762 (1762)
Master-General of the Ordnance^[12]	The Duke of Marlborough	1757 (1757)	1758 (1758)
	Vacant	1758 (1758)	1759 (1759)
	The Viscount Ligonier	1759 (1759)	1762 (1762)
First Lord of the Admiralty^[13]	The Lord Anson	1757 (1757)	1762 (1762)
Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland^[14]	The Duke of Argyll	1757 (1757)	1761 (1761)
Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland^[14]	The Duke of Queensberry	1761 (1761)	1762 (1762)
Lord Chamberlain of the Household^[15]	The Duke of Devonshire	1757 (1757)	1762 (1762)
Lord Steward of the Household	The Duke of Rutland	1757 (1757)	1761 (1761)
Lord Steward of the Household	The Earl Talbot	1761 (1761)	1762 (1762)
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster^[16]	The Lord Edgcumbe	1757 (1757)	1758 (1758)
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster^[16]	The Earl of Kinnoull	1758 (1758)	1762 (1762)
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland	The Duke of Bedford	1757 (1757)	1761 (1761)
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland	The Earl of Halifax	1761 (1761)	1762 (1762)
Master of the Horse^[17]	The Earl Gower	1757 (1757)	1760 (1760)
	The Earl of Huntingdon	1760 (1760)	1761 (1761)
	The Duke of Rutland	1761 (1761)	1762 (1762)
Paymaster of the Forces	The Lord Holland	1757 (1757)	1765 (1765)

Notes

^ Cook & Stevenson 1980, p. 11
^ Cook & Stevenson 1980, p. 12 ; Namier & Brooke 1985, p. 539
^ Roberts, Roberts & Bisson 2016, p. 311 ; Kelch 1974, p. 178
^ Bloy, Marjorie (12 January 2016), "The Massacre of the Pelhamite Innocents", A Web of English History, retrieved 16 August 2017
^ Middleton 1985, p. 209
^ Haydn 1851, p. 112
^ Haydn 1851, p. 168
^ Haydn 1851, p. 105
^ Haydn 1851, p. 119
^ Haydn 1851, p. 147
^ ^a ^b Haydn 1851, p. 172
^ Haydn 1851, p. 192
^ Haydn 1851, p. 160
^ Haydn 1851, p. 401
^ Haydn 1851, p. 206
^ Cook & Stevenson 1988, p. 45
^ Haydn 1851, p. 209

References

Browning, Reed (2004), "Holles, Thomas Pelham-, duke of Newcastle upon Tyne and first duke of Newcastle under Lyme (1693–1768)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.), Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/21801 (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
Cook, Chris; Stevenson, John (1980), British Historical Facts, 1760–1830, Springer (published 2016), ISBN 978-1-137-06465-3
——; Stevenson, John (1988), British Historical Facts: 1688–1760, Palgrave Macmillan UK, ISBN 978-1-349-02369-1
Haydn, Joseph (1851), The Book of Dignities, London: Longmans, Brown, Green, and Longmans
Kelch, Ray A. (1974), Newcastle; A Duke Without Money: Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1693–1768, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0-520-02537-0
Middleton, Richard (1985), The Bells of Victory: The Pitt-Newcastle Ministry and the Conduct of the Seven Years' War, 1757–1762, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-26546-0
Namier, Lewis; Brooke, John, eds. (1985), The House of Commons, 1754–1790, Boydell & Brewer, ISBN 978-0-436-30420-0
Roberts, Clayton; Roberts, David F.; Bisson, Douglas (2016), A History of England, Volume 2: 1688 to the Present, Routledge, ISBN 978-1-315-50960-0

Preceded by Caretaker ministry	Government of Great Britain 27 June 1757 – 26 May 1762 (1757-06-27 – 1762-05-26)	Succeeded by Bute ministry

[FOOTNOTECookStevenson1980<span_class="plainlinks">[httpsbooksgooglecombooksideE0BDgAAQBAJpgPA11_11]</span>_<span_style="position:relative;_top:_-2px;">[[File:Closed_Access_logo_transparent.svg|9px|link=Paywall|closed_access_publication_–_behind_paywall|alt=Closed_access_icon]]</span>-1] Cook & Stevenson 1980, p. 11

[FOOTNOTECookStevenson1980<span_class="plainlinks">[httpsbooksgooglecombooksideE0BDgAAQBAJpgPA12_12]</span>_<span_style="position:relative;_top:_-2px;">[[File:Closed_Access_logo_transparent.svg|9px|link=Paywall|closed_access_publication_–_behind_paywall|alt=Closed_access_icon]]</span>NamierBrooke1985539-2] Cook & Stevenson 1980, p. 12 ; Namier & Brooke 1985, p. 539

[FOOTNOTERobertsRobertsBisson2016<span_class="plainlinks">[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidUoqTDAAAQBAJpgPA311_311]</span>_<span_style="position:relative;_top:_-2px;">[[File:Closed_Access_logo_transparent.svg|9px|link=Paywall|closed_access_publication_–_behind_paywall|alt=Closed_access_icon]]</span>Kelch1974<span_class="plainlinks">[httpsarchiveorgdetailsnewcastledukewit0000kelcpage178_178]</span>_<span_style="position:relative;_top:_-2px;">[[File:Open_Access_logo_PLoS_transparent.svg|9px|link=Open_access|open_access_publication_–_free_to_read|alt=Open_access_icon]]</span>-3] Roberts, Roberts & Bisson 2016, p. 311 ; Kelch 1974, p. 178

[4] Bloy, Marjorie (12 January 2016), "The Massacre of the Pelhamite Innocents", A Web of English History, retrieved 16 August 2017

[FOOTNOTEMiddleton1985209-5] Middleton 1985, p. 209

[FOOTNOTEHaydn1851<span_class="plainlinks">[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidbuoKAAAAYAAJpgPA112_112]</span>_<span_style="position:relative;_top:_-2px;">[[File:Lock-green.svg|9px|link=Open_access#Free_access|Free_to_read|alt=Free_access_icon]]</span>-6] Haydn 1851, p. 112

[FOOTNOTEHaydn1851<span_class="plainlinks">[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidbuoKAAAAYAAJpgPA168_168]</span>_<span_style="position:relative;_top:_-2px;">[[File:Lock-green.svg|9px|link=Open_access#Free_access|Free_to_read|alt=Free_access_icon]]</span>-7] Haydn 1851, p. 168

[FOOTNOTEHaydn1851<span_class="plainlinks">[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidbuoKAAAAYAAJpgPA105_105]</span>_<span_style="position:relative;_top:_-2px;">[[File:Lock-green.svg|9px|link=Open_access#Free_access|Free_to_read|alt=Free_access_icon]]</span>-8] Haydn 1851, p. 105

[FOOTNOTEHaydn1851<span_class="plainlinks">[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidbuoKAAAAYAAJpgPA119_119]</span>_<span_style="position:relative;_top:_-2px;">[[File:Lock-green.svg|9px|link=Open_access#Free_access|Free_to_read|alt=Free_access_icon]]</span>-9] Haydn 1851, p. 119

[FOOTNOTEHaydn1851<span_class="plainlinks">[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidbuoKAAAAYAAJpgPA147_147]</span>_<span_style="position:relative;_top:_-2px;">[[File:Lock-green.svg|9px|link=Open_access#Free_access|Free_to_read|alt=Free_access_icon]]</span>-10] Haydn 1851, p. 147

[FOOTNOTEHaydn1851<span_class="plainlinks">[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidbuoKAAAAYAAJpgPA172_172]</span>_<span_style="position:relative;_top:_-2px;">[[File:Lock-green.svg|9px|link=Open_access#Free_access|Free_to_read|alt=Free_access_icon]]</span>-11] Haydn 1851, p. 172

[FOOTNOTEHaydn1851<span_class="plainlinks">[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidbuoKAAAAYAAJpgPA192_192]</span>_<span_style="position:relative;_top:_-2px;">[[File:Lock-green.svg|9px|link=Open_access#Free_access|Free_to_read|alt=Free_access_icon]]</span>-12] Haydn 1851, p. 192

[FOOTNOTEHaydn1851<span_class="plainlinks">[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidbuoKAAAAYAAJpgPA160_160]</span>_<span_style="position:relative;_top:_-2px;">[[File:Lock-green.svg|9px|link=Open_access#Free_access|Free_to_read|alt=Free_access_icon]]</span>-13] Haydn 1851, p. 160

[FOOTNOTEHaydn1851<span_class="plainlinks">[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidbuoKAAAAYAAJpgPA401_401]</span>_<span_style="position:relative;_top:_-2px;">[[File:Lock-green.svg|9px|link=Open_access#Free_access|Free_to_read|alt=Free_access_icon]]</span>-14] Haydn 1851, p. 401

[FOOTNOTEHaydn1851<span_class="plainlinks">[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidbuoKAAAAYAAJpgPA206_206]</span>_<span_style="position:relative;_top:_-2px;">[[File:Lock-green.svg|9px|link=Open_access#Free_access|Free_to_read|alt=Free_access_icon]]</span>-15] Haydn 1851, p. 206

[FOOTNOTECookStevenson1988<span_class="plainlinks">[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidFomvCwAAQBAJpgPA45_45]</span>_<span_style="position:relative;_top:_-2px;">[[File:Closed_Access_logo_transparent.svg|9px|link=Paywall|closed_access_publication_–_behind_paywall|alt=Closed_access_icon]]</span>-16] Cook & Stevenson 1988, p. 45

[FOOTNOTEHaydn1851<span_class="plainlinks">[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidbuoKAAAAYAAJpgPA209_209]</span>_<span_style="position:relative;_top:_-2px;">[[File:Lock-green.svg|9px|link=Open_access#Free_access|Free_to_read|alt=Free_access_icon]]</span>-17] Haydn 1851, p. 209

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Current ministry

History

Ministry

See also

Notes

References