George Canning was born in London on 11th
April, 1770. George's father died when he was one year old leaving
the family in poor financial circumstances. George was helped by his
mother's brother, who paid for him to be educated at Eton
College. A star pupil, George went to Christ Church, Oxford
before becoming a lawyer in 1790.
George Canning's uncle, a reformer, arranged for him to meet leading
Whig politicians such as Charles
Fox. After a period under the influence of Fox, George Canning
met the Tory, William
Pitt. The two men became friends and in 1793 Pitt helped Canning
become MP for the rotten borough of Newtown
in the House of Commons.
In 1796 William Pitt appointed Canning as
secretary of state for Foreign Affairs. This was the first of a series
of posts held under Pitt that included: commissioner of the board
of control (1799-1800), paymaster-general (1800-1801) and treasurer
of the navy (1801). After Pitt resigned in 1801, Canning joined the
opposition to Henry Addington's government. Over the next few years
Henry Addington suffered from Canning's
parliamentary attacks. Canning was especially critical of Addington's
refusal to accept Catholic Emancipation.
In May 1804 William Pitt returned to power
and Canning was once again given the post of treasurer of the navy.
After Pitt's death in 1806, Canning became foreign minister in the
Duke of Portland's government. Canning played an important role in
planning the war against France. It was Canning's idea to seize the
Danish Fleet. This severely weakened Napoleon's forces and was a a
contributing factor to his eventually defeat. Canning promised to
send more troops to the Duke of Wellington
who was fighting in Portugal. Canning was furious when he discovered
that the secretary of war, Lord Castlereagh,
sent the troops to Holland instead. A bitter argument took place and
eventually Castlereagh challenged Canning to a duel on Putney Heath
on 21st September, 1809. The two men missed with their first shots
but eventually Castlereagh wounded Canning in the thigh.
Canning
left government and for the next few years Canning concentrated on
writing. He contributed to the Anti-Jacobin Review and with
Sir Water Scott helped to establish the Quarterly
Review. Canning contributed several articles on political
subjects including the need for full political and religious rights
for Catholics. However, Canning was a strong opponent of any increase
in the number of people who could vote in parliamentary elections.
In 1812 Canning became MP for Liverpool.
Canning was invited by the new prime minister, Lord
Liverpool, to become foreign minister. Canning refused office
because he was unwilling to serve in the same government as Lord
Castlereagh. Liverpool approached Canning on several occasions
to join his government and eventually he changed his mind and in 1816
became president of the board of control. After Castlereagh committed
suicide in 1822, Canning replaced him as foreign minister. George
Canning held the post of foreign minister for the next five years.
When Lord Liverpool resigned in 1827
King George IV interviewed Robert
Peel, the Duke of Wellington and
George Canning for the post of prime minister. When the king appointed
Canning, Wellington, Peel and several other leading Tories
resigned from the government. Canning was forced to rely on the support
of the Whigs to hold on to power. Those Whigs
who accepted government posts had to promise not to raise the issue
of parliamentary reform.
Canning first concern was to tackle the problem of the Corn
Laws. On 1st March, 1827, Canning introduced the proposal that
foreign wheat should be admitted at a 20s. duty when the price had
fallen to 60s. This new sliding scale enabled the duty to fall as
the price rose, and to rise as the price fell. The Duke
of Wellington led the fight against this measure and although
passed by the House of Commons, it was
defeated in the House of Lords.
Even before being appointed prime minister, George Canning's health
was in decline. The strain of office made matters worse and on 29th
July he informed George IV that he was
seriously ill. Canning was taken to the home of the Duke of Devonshire
and on 8th August, 1827, he died in the same room in which, twenty-one
years before, his first political influence, Charles
Fox, had passed away.
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