George III
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| - | '''George III''', King of Great Britain, was born in 1738 and came to the throne in 1760 on the death of his grandfather George II, his father Frederick Prince of Wales having died nine years previously. Noted for his frugality, his active interest in agriculture and the sciences and his strong patriotic feeling, George was an unassuming, conscientious and essentially kindly man, though he had a vein of narrow-mindedness which led him to take an inflexible attitude towards the growing unrest over taxation in America - unrest which resulted in the war of 1776-83 and the independence of the [[United States of America|United States]]. He worked closely with Sir [[Joseph Banks]] in establishing the [[Merino sheep]] in [[Britain]], a matter which is mentioned in the [[Australia|Australian]] scenes of '' | + | '''George III''', King of Great Britain, was born in 1738 and came to the throne in 1760 on the death of his grandfather George II, his father Frederick Prince of Wales having died nine years previously. Noted for his frugality, his active interest in agriculture and the sciences and his strong patriotic feeling, George was an unassuming, conscientious and essentially kindly man, though he had a vein of narrow-mindedness which led him to take an inflexible attitude towards the growing unrest over taxation in America - unrest which resulted in the war of 1776-83 and the independence of the [[United States of America|United States]]. He worked closely with Sir [[Joseph Banks]] in establishing the [[Merino sheep]] in [[Great Britain|Britain]], a matter which is mentioned in the [[Australia|Australian]] scenes of ''[[The Nutmeg of Consolation (novel)|The Nutmeg of Consolation]]''. He placed a high value on the [[Royal Navy]] and was said at one time to know the name of every naval vessel. |
| - | In October 1788 George suffered the first of several attacks of what appeared to be a form of mania, now widely diagnosed as a case of the blood disease porphyria. During this time he was put under the care of Dr Thomas Willis, a specialist in mental disorders, whom [[Stephen Maturin]] at one time thinks of consulting about his daughter [[Brigid Maturin|Brigid]]. The king recovered but suffered relapses in 1801 (as a result of his anxiety about the incorporation of [[Ireland]] within the United Kingdom), in 1804 and finally in 1811; troubled by failing sight, he had already withdrawn to a great extent from public affairs after the death of [[William Pitt]] in 1806. His eldest son, also George, was appointed [[Prince Regent]] and the old king spent his remaining years in seclusion. He died in 1820 and the Prince Regent succeeded as George IV. | + | In October 1788 George suffered the first of several attacks of what appeared to be a form of mania, now widely diagnosed as a case of the blood disease porphyria. During this time he was put under the care of Dr Thomas Willis, a specialist in mental disorders, whom [[Stephen Maturin]] at one time thinks of consulting about his daughter [[Brigid Maturin|Brigid]]. The king recovered but suffered relapses in 1801 (as a result of his anxiety about the incorporation of [[Ireland]] within the [[United Kingdom]]), in 1804 and finally in 1811; troubled by failing sight, he had already withdrawn to a great extent from public affairs after the death of [[William Pitt]] in 1806. His eldest son, also George, was appointed [[Prince Regent]] and the old king spent his remaining years in seclusion. He died in 1820 and the Prince Regent succeeded as George IV. |
[[Category:Historical people]] | [[Category:Historical people]] | ||
Revision as of 15:21, 13 November 2007
George III, King of Great Britain, was born in 1738 and came to the throne in 1760 on the death of his grandfather George II, his father Frederick Prince of Wales having died nine years previously. Noted for his frugality, his active interest in agriculture and the sciences and his strong patriotic feeling, George was an unassuming, conscientious and essentially kindly man, though he had a vein of narrow-mindedness which led him to take an inflexible attitude towards the growing unrest over taxation in America - unrest which resulted in the war of 1776-83 and the independence of the United States. He worked closely with Sir Joseph Banks in establishing the Merino sheep in Britain, a matter which is mentioned in the Australian scenes of The Nutmeg of Consolation. He placed a high value on the Royal Navy and was said at one time to know the name of every naval vessel.
In October 1788 George suffered the first of several attacks of what appeared to be a form of mania, now widely diagnosed as a case of the blood disease porphyria. During this time he was put under the care of Dr Thomas Willis, a specialist in mental disorders, whom Stephen Maturin at one time thinks of consulting about his daughter Brigid. The king recovered but suffered relapses in 1801 (as a result of his anxiety about the incorporation of Ireland within the United Kingdom), in 1804 and finally in 1811; troubled by failing sight, he had already withdrawn to a great extent from public affairs after the death of William Pitt in 1806. His eldest son, also George, was appointed Prince Regent and the old king spent his remaining years in seclusion. He died in 1820 and the Prince Regent succeeded as George IV.
