George Grenville (14 October 1712 – 13 November 1770)
was a British Whig statesman who rose to the position ofPrime
Minister of Great Britain. Grenville was born into an influential political family and first
entered Parliament in 1741 as an MP for Buckingham. He emerged as one of Cobham's Cubs, a group of young members of
Parliament associated with Lord
Cobham.
In 1754 Grenville became Treasurer
of the Navy,
a position he held twice until 1761. In October 1761 he chose to stay in
government and accepted the new role of Leader
of the Commons causing a rift with his brother-in-law and political ally William
Pitt who had resigned. Grenville was subsequently made Northern Secretary and First
Lord of the Admiraltyby the new Prime Minister Lord Bute. On 8 April 1763, Lord Bute resigned, and
Grenville assumed his position as Prime Minister. His government tried to bring public spending under control and pursued
an assertive foreign policy. His best known policy is the Stamp Act, a common tax in Great Britain onto
the colonies in America, which provoked widespread opposition in Britain's American
colonies and was later repealed. Grenville had increasingly strained relations
with his colleagues and the King and in 1765 he was dismissed by George
III and replaced by Lord Rockingham. For the last five years of his life Grenville
led a group of his supporters in opposition and staged a public reconciliation
with Pitt.
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