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George Canning

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{{Infobox PM | name=The Right Honourable The Rt Hon George Canning | image=canning.jpg | country=the United Kingdom | term=April 10, 1827 – August 8, 1827 | before=Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool The Earl of Liverpool | after=Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich The Viscount Goderich | date_birth=April 11, 1770 | place_birth=Marylebone, London | date_death=August 8, 1827 | place_death=Chiswick, Middlesex | party=Tory }} '''George Canning''' (April 11, 1770 - August 8, 1827) was a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Foreign Secretary and, briefly, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Prime Minister.

Early life
Canning was born in London. His father was a gentleman of limited means, having renounced his right to inherit the family estate in exchange for having his debts paid. When Canning was one year old, his father died, and his mother took work as a stage actress, a profession then not considered respectable by society. Because Canning showed unusual intelligence and promise at an early age, family friends persuaded his wealthy uncle, Stratford Canning, to become his nephew's guardian and provide him with an income and an education. Stratford Canning's financial support allowed the young Canning to study at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford. While at school, Canning achieved renown for his skill at writing and argument. He struck up friendships with Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool Lord Liverpool, Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville Granville Leveson-Gower, and John Hookham Frere. After receiving his BA from Oxford in the summer of 1791, Canning became a lawyer, but wanted to become a politician.

Entry into Politics
Stratford Canning was a Whig, and he introduced his nephew in the 1780s to Whigs such as Charles James Fox, Edmund Burke, and Richard Brinsley Sheridan (George Canning's friendship with Sheridan would last for the remainder of Sheridan's life). George Canning's impoverished background and limited financial resources, however, made unlikely a bright political future with the Whigs, who were led by those members of the wealthy landed aristocracy in opposition to the Crown. Also, Canning became more conservative in early 1790s in reaction to the radicalism of the French Revolution. When Canning decided to enter politics, then, he sought and received the patronage of the leader of the Crown party, William Pitt the Younger. In 1793, thanks to the help of Pitt, Canning became a Member of Parliament for Newtown, Isle of Wight Newtown on the Isle of Wight, a rotten borough. In 1796, he changed seats to a different rotten borough, Wendover in Buckinghamshire.

Political Style
Canning rose quickly in British politics, mainly because of his effectiveness as an orator and writer. His speeches in Parliament and his essays gave the Pittites a rhetorical power they had previously lacked. Canning's skills gave him leverage within the Pittite faction that allowed him to influence its policies and to get himself promoted within the Cabinet. Over time, Canning became a prominent public speaker as well as a parliamentary speaker, and was one of the first politicians to campaign heavily in the country. As a result of his charisma and promise, Canning early on drew around himself a circle of supporters, later known as the Canningites. However, Canning was also an arrogant and divisive man who alienated many actual and potential supporters.

Elevation to Office
On November 2, 1795, Canning received his first ministerial post: Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. In this post he proved a strong supporter of Pitt, often taking his side in disputes with the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Foreign Secretary William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville Lord Grenville. He resigned this post on 1 April 1799. In 1799 Canning became a commissioner of the Board of Control, followed by Paymaster of the Forces in 1800. When Pitt resigned in 1801, Canning loyally followed him into opposition and again returned to office in 1804 with Pitt becoming Treasurer of the Navy. When Pitt died in 1806, Canning left office but the next year he was appointed Foreign Secretary in the new government of the William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland Duke of Portland. Given key responsibilities for the country's diplomacy in the Napoleonic Wars, he was responsible for planning the outmanoeuvring of Napoleon I of France Napoleon Bonaparte at Copenhagen.

Duel with Castlereagh
In 1809 Canning entered into a series of disputes within the government which were to become famous. He entered into arguments with the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh Lord Castlereagh, over the deployment of troops which Canning had promised would be sent to Portugal but Castlereagh sent to Holland. The government became increasingly paralysed in disputes between the two men, with most Cabinet ministers siding with one or the other. Portland was in deteriorating health and gave no lead, until Canning threatened resignation unless Castlereagh was removed, hopefully replacing him with Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley Lord Wellesley. Portland agreed to make this change when it was possible and kept the agreement secret. Castlereagh discovered the deal in September, 1809, and was furious, demanding redress. He challenged Canning to a duel, which was fought on September 21, 1809. Canning had never before fired a pistol. In the conflict Canning missed whilst Castlereagh wounded his opponent in the thigh. There was much outrage that two Cabinet Ministers had resorted to such a method. Shortly afterwards Portland resigned as Prime Minister due to his health and Canning offered himself to George III of the United Kingdom George III as a potential successor. However he was not chosen, with Spencer Perceval instead being appointed, and Canning left office once more. He had, however, achieved a Pyrrhic victory as Castlereagh also left office.

Return to government
Upon Perceval's assassination in 1812 the new Prime Minister, Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool Lord Liverpool offered Canning the position of Foreign Secretary once more. However Canning refused as he also wished to be Leader of the House of Commons and was reluctant to serve in government with Castlereagh. In 1814 he became the British Ambassador to Portugal, returning the following year. He received several further offers of office from Liverpool and in 1816 he became President of the Board of Control. Canning resigned from office once more in 1820, on this occasion in opposition to the treatment of Caroline of Brunswick Queen Caroline, wife of the new King George IV of the United Kingdom George IV who had become estranged from her husband. Canning and Caroline were personal friends and are believed to have had a brief affair.

Another return
In 1822, Castlereagh, now Marquess of Londonderry, committed suicide and Canning succeeded him as both Foreign Secretary and Leader of the House of Commons. In his second term of office he sought to prevent South America from coming into the French sphere of influence and in this he was successful. He also gave support to the growing campaign for the abolition of slavery.

Prime Minister
Image:George-Canning-arms.PNG thumb|right|150px|Arms of George Canning Liverpool retired as Prime Minister in 1827, and Canning was chosen to succeed him, in preference to both the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert Peel. Neither man agreed to serve under Canning and they were followed by five other members of Liverpool's Cabinet as well as forty junior members of the government. The Tory Party was now heavily split between the "High Tories" (or "Ultras", nicknamed after the contemporary party in France) and the moderates supporting Canning - often called 'Canningites'. As a result Canning found it hard to form a government and recoursed to inviting a number of Whigs to join his Cabinet, including Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne Lord Lansdowne. The government agreed not to discuss the difficult question of parliamentary reform, which Canning was opposed to but the Whigs supported. However Canning's health was already in decline and on August 8 1827 he died in the very room as Fox had done so, 21 years earlier. Canning holds the dubious record of having served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for the total shortest period - a mere 119 days. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.

Legacy
Canning has come to be regarded by some as a "lost leader", with much speculation about what would have happened had he lived. His government of moderate Tories and Whigs continued for a few months under Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich Lord Goderich but fell apart at the start of 1828. It was succeeded by a government headed by the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Duke of Wellington, initially including some Canningites but which rapidly became a "High Tory" rump, with many of the Canningites drifting over to the Whigs, and which soon went down to massive defeat. Some historians have seen the revival of the Tories from the 1830s onwards, in the form of the Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party as the overcoming of the divisions of 1827. What would have been the course of events had Canning lived is highly speculative. To some later Conservatives, most prominently Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield Benjamin Disraeli, Canning came to be regarded as the forerunner of liberal One Nation One Nation Conservatism, providing a contrast to Sir Robert Peel, who Disraeli attacked bitterly.

Family
Canning married Joan Canning, 1st Viscountess Canning Joan Scott (later Earl Canning 1st Viscountess Canning) (1776-1837) on July 8, 1800, with John Hookham Frere and William Pitt the Younger as witnesses. George and Joan Canning had four children: *George Charles Canning (1801-1820), died from consumption *William Pitt Canning (1802-1828), died from drowning in Madeira, Portugal *Harriet Canning (1804-1876), married the Ulick de Burgh, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde 1st Marquess of Clanricarde *Charles John Canning, 1st Earl Canning Charles Canning (later 2nd Viscount Canning and 1st Earl Canning) (1812-1862)

Trivia
Canning was one of the first prominent politicians of the era to openly use the label "Tory", which came into use in the 1790s as a term for the Pittites. Later, in 1824, he was almost the first to use the term "Conservatism Conservative". In honour of the role he played in the Greek War of Independence, Canning's name was given to one of the central squares in downtown Athens (Πλατεία Κάνιγγος). A subway station in Buenos Aires, Argentina on '''Line D''' was originally named after Canning. The station was renamed in 1973 by the administration of Argentine President Juan Perón in honor of the famed Argentine writer Scalabrini Ortiz. Canning is the namesake of the Oxford Canning Club. The George Canning is a Bar/Brassiere on Grove Lane, SE5 in South East London.

George Canning's Government, April 1827 - August 1827
*George Canning - First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons *John Copley, 1st Baron Lyndhurst Lord Lyndhurst - Lord Chancellor *Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby Lord Harrowby - Lord President of the Council *William Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland The Duke of Portland - Lord Privy Seal *William Sturges Bourne - Secretary of State for the Home Department *John William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley Lord Dudley - Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs *Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich Lord Goderich - Secretary of State for War and the Colonies and Leader of the House of Lords *William Huskisson - President of the Board of Trade and Treasurer of the Navy *Charles Watkin Williams-Wynn Charles Williams-Wynn - President of the Board of Control *Nicholas Vansittart, 1st Baron Bexley Lord Bexley - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster *Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston Lord Palmerston - Secretary at War *Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne Lord Lansdowne - Minister without Portfolio '''Changes''' *May, 1827 - George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle Lord Carlisle, the First Commissioner of Woods and Forests, enters the Cabinet. *July, 1827 - The Duke of Portland becomes a minister without portfolio. Lord Carlisle succeeds him as Lord Privy Seal. W.S. Bourne succeeds Carlisle as First Commissioner of Woods and Forests. Lord Lansdowne succeeds Bourne as Home Secretary. George Tierney, the Master of the Mint, enters the cabinet. {{start box}} {{succession box | title=Paymaster of the Forces .html">Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby Dudley Ryder '''and''' Thomas Steele (politician) Thomas Steele | after=Thomas Steele (politician) Thomas Steele '''and''' Sylvester Douglas, 1st Baron Glenbervie The Lord Glenbervie | years=1800 – 1801
''(jointly with '''Thomas Steele (politician) Thomas Steele''')''}} {{succession box | title=Treasurer of the Navy .html">George Tierney after=Richard Brinsley Sheridan | years=1804 – 1806}} {{succession box | title=Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Foreign Secretary | before=Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey Viscount Howick | after=Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst The Earl Bathurst | years=1807 – 1809}} {{succession box | title=President of the Board of Control .html">Robert Hobart, 4th Earl of Buckinghamshire The Earl of Buckinghamshire | after=Charles Bathurst | years=1816 – 1821}} {{succession box one to two| title1=Leader of the House of Commons .html">Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Foreign Secretary | before=Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh The Marquess of Londonderry | after1=William Huskisson .html">John William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley The Viscount Dudley and Ward | years1=1822 – 1827 | years2=1822 – 1827}} {{succession box | title=Chancellor of the Exchequer .html">Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich Frederick John Robinson | after=John Charles Herries | years=1827}} {{succession box | title=Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Prime Minister | before=Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool The Earl of Liverpool | after=Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich The Viscount Goderich | years=1827}} {{end box}}

References
* Dixon, Peter. ''George Canning: Politician and Statesman''. New York : Mason/Charter, 1976. {{UKPrimeMinisters}} {{Chancellor of the Exchequer}} Category:1770 births Canning, George Category:1827 deaths Canning, George Category:Londoners Canning, George Category:British Secretaries of State Canning, George Category:Chancellors of the Exchequer Canning, George Category:Freemasons Canning, George Category:Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom Canning, George Category:Members of the Privy Council Canning, George de:George Canning fr:George Canning sv:George Canning uk:Каннінг Джордж

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