Robert Walpole was a Whig from the gentry class who was first elected to Parliament in 1701 and held many senior positions.
69 Facts About Robert Walpole
2.
Robert Walpole was a country squire and looked to country gentlemen for his political base.
3.
Hoppit says Robert Walpole's policies sought moderation, he worked for peace, lower taxes and growing exports and allowed a little more tolerance for Protestant Dissenters.
4.
Robert Walpole mostly avoided controversy and high-intensity disputes as his middle way attracted moderates from both the Whig and Tory camps, but his appointment to Chancellor of the Exchequer after the South Sea Bubble stock-market crisis drew attention to perceived protection of political allies by Walpole.
5.
Robert Walpole played a significant role in sustaining the Whig party, safeguarding the Hanoverian succession, and defending the principles of the Glorious Revolution.
6.
Robert Walpole entered Eton College in 1690 where he was a King's Scholar.
7.
Robert Walpole had planned to become a clergyman but as he was now the eldest surviving son in the family, he abandoned the idea.
8.
However, Robert Walpole had bought at the bottom and sold at the top, adding greatly to his inherited wealth and allowing him to create Houghton Hall as seen today.
9.
Robert Walpole left Castle Rising in 1702 so that he could represent the neighbouring borough of King's Lynn, a pocket borough that would re-elect him for the remainder of his political career.
10.
In 1705, Robert Walpole was appointed by Queen Anne to be a member of the council for her husband, Prince George of Denmark, Lord High Admiral.
11.
Robert Walpole's abilities were recognised by Lord Godolphin and he was appointed to the position of Secretary at War in 1708; for a short period of time in 1710 he simultaneously held the post of Treasurer of the Navy.
12.
Harley had first attempted to entice him and then threatened him to join the Tories, but Robert Walpole rejected the offers, instead becoming one of the most outspoken members of the Whig Opposition.
13.
Robert Walpole effectively defended Lord Godolphin against Tory attacks in parliamentary debate, as well as in the press.
14.
In 1712, Robert Walpole was accused of venality and corruption in the matter of two forage contracts for Scotland.
15.
Robert Walpole was impeached by the House of Commons and found guilty by the House of Lords; he was then imprisoned in the Tower of London for six months and expelled from Parliament.
16.
Robert Walpole became a Privy Councillor and rose to the position of Paymaster of the Forces in a Cabinet nominally led by Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, but actually dominated by Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend and James Stanhope.
17.
Robert Walpole was appointed chairman of a secret committee formed to investigate the actions of the previous Tory ministry in 1715.
18.
Halifax, the titular head of the administration, died in 1715 and by 1716 Robert Walpole was appointed to the posts of First Commissioner of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer.
19.
Robert Walpole was a member of the Board of General Officers established in 1717 to investigate the abuse of pay.
20.
Robert Walpole became an adviser and close friend of the Prince of Wales's wife, Caroline.
21.
Robert Walpole continued to be an influential figure in the House of Commons.
22.
Robert Walpole was especially active in opposing one of the Government's more significant proposals, the Peerage Bill, which would have limited the power of the monarch to create new peerages.
23.
Robert Walpole brought about a temporary abandonment of the bill in 1719 and the outright rejection of the bill by the House of Commons.
24.
Aislabie was found guilty and imprisoned, but the personal influence of Robert Walpole saved both Stanhope and Sunderland.
25.
Townshend and Robert Walpole were thus restored to power and "annihilated the opposing faction".
26.
Under the guidance of Robert Walpole, Parliament attempted to deal with the financial crisis brought on by the South Sea Bubble.
27.
The crisis had gravely damaged the credibility of the King and of the Whig Party, but Robert Walpole defended both with skilful oratory in the House of Commons.
28.
Robert Walpole was able to recover from these events by removing the patent.
29.
Robert Walpole was not consulted and stated that Townshend was "too precipitate" in his actions.
30.
Great Britain, free from Jacobite threats, from war, and from financial crises, grew prosperous, and Robert Walpole acquired the favour of George I In 1725 he persuaded the king to revive the Knighthood of the Bath and was himself invested with the order, and in 1726 was made a Knight of the Garter, earning him the nickname "Sir Bluestring".
31.
Robert Walpole's position was threatened in 1727 when George I died and was succeeded by George II.
32.
Townshend's departure enabled Robert Walpole to conclude the Treaty of Vienna, creating the Anglo-Austrian alliance.
33.
Robert Walpole, a polarising figure, had many opponents, the most important of whom were in the Country Party, such as Lord Bolingbroke and William Pulteney.
34.
Robert Walpole was satirised and parodied extensively; he was often compared to the criminal Jonathan Wild as, for example, John Gay did in his farcical Beggar's Opera.
35.
Robert Walpole secured the support of the people and of the House of Commons with a policy of avoiding war.
36.
Robert Walpole used his influence to prevent George II from entering the War of the Polish Succession in 1733, because it was a dispute between the Bourbons and the Habsburgs.
37.
Robert Walpole reduced the national debt with a sinking fund, and by negotiating lower interest rates.
38.
Robert Walpole reduced the land tax from four shillings in 1721, to 3s in 1728,2s in 1731 and finally to only 1s in 1732.
39.
Robert Walpole joked that the landed gentry resembled hogs, which squealed loudly whenever anyone laid hands on him.
40.
Robert Walpole agreed to withdraw the bill before Parliament voted on it, but he dismissed the politicians who had dared to oppose it in the first place.
41.
Robert Walpole maintained both his parliamentary supremacy and his popularity in Norfolk, his home county.
42.
Robert Walpole was able to persuade Parliament to pass the Licensing Act of 1737 under which London theatres were regulated.
43.
Arnall argued that government must be strong enough to control conflict, and in that regard, Robert Walpole was quite successful.
44.
Robert Walpole's opponents acquired a vocal leader in the Prince of Wales who was estranged from his father, the King.
45.
Robert Walpole attempted to prevent war but was opposed by the King, the House of Commons, and by a faction in his own Cabinet.
46.
In 1739 Walpole abandoned all efforts to stop the conflict and commenced the War of Jenkins' Ear.
47.
Robert Walpole's influence continued to dramatically decline even after the war began.
48.
Robert Walpole was alleged to have presided over an immense increase in corruption and to have enriched himself enormously whilst in office.
49.
Robert Walpole advised Pelham to make use of his seat in the Commons to serve as a bridge between the King and Parliament, just as Walpole had done.
50.
Frederick, Prince of Wales, usually hostile to Robert Walpole, warmly received him at his court the next day, most likely because his father's throne, and the future of the whole Hanoverian dynasty, was at risk from the Stuart Pretender.
51.
Robert Walpole had spent much money in the 1720s and 1730s in building up a collection of Old Masters from all over Europe.
52.
Robert Walpole's earldom passed to his eldest son Robert who was in turn succeeded by his only son George.
53.
Robert Walpole exercised a tremendous influence on the politics of his day.
54.
Robert Walpole relied primarily on the favour of the King, rather than the support of the House of Commons.
55.
Robert Walpole's power stemmed from his personal influence instead of the influence of his office.
56.
Robert Walpole managed to secure the position of the Hanoverian Dynasty, and effectively countervailed Jacobitism.
57.
The Jacobite threat ended, soon after Robert Walpole's term ended, with the defeat of the rebellion of 1745.
58.
Robert Walpole was an honorable man and a sound Whig.
59.
Robert Walpole was not, as the Jacobites and discontented Whigs of his time have represented him, and as ill-informed people still represent him, a prodigal and corrupt minister.
60.
Robert Walpole loved peace; and he helped to communicate the same disposition to nations at least as warlike and restless as that in which he had the chief direction of affairs.
61.
Robert Walpole had a coarse wit, which he was too free of for a man in his station, as it is always inconsistent with dignity.
62.
Robert Walpole was very able as a Minister, but without a certain elevation of mind.
63.
Robert Walpole was both the ablest Parliament man, and the ablest manager of a Parliament, that I believe ever lived.
64.
Robert Walpole has attracted attention from heterodox economists as a pioneer of protectionist policies, in the form of tariffs and subsidies to woollen manufacturers.
65.
Robert Walpole is immortalised in St Stephen's Hall, where he and other notable Parliamentarians look on at visitors to Parliament.
66.
Robert Walpole built Houghton Hall in Norfolk as his country seat.
67.
Robert Walpole left behind a collection of art which he had assembled during his career.
68.
Robert Walpole was described as "a woman of exquisite beauty and accomplished manners".
69.
Robert Walpole considered her "indispensable to his happiness", and her loss plunged him into a "deplorable and comfortless condition", which led to a severe illness.