George Canning

For other people named George Canning, seeGeorge Canning (disambiguation).

The Right Honourable George Canning FRS
Portrait byThomas Lawrence,c. 1822
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 12 April 1827 – 8 August 1827
Monarch	George IV
Preceded by	The Earl of Liverpool
Succeeded by	The Viscount Goderich
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office 20 April 1827 – 8 August 1827
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	F. J. Robinson
Succeeded by	John Charles Herries
Foreign Secretary
In office 16 September 1822 – 30 April 1827
Prime Minister	The Earl of Liverpool; Himself
Preceded by	The Marquess of Londonderry
Succeeded by	The Viscount Dudley and Ward
In office 25 March 1807 – 11 October 1809
Prime Minister	The Duke of Portland
Preceded by	Viscount Howick
Succeeded by	The Earl Bathurst
Leader of the House of Commons
In office 16 September 1822 – 20 April 1827
Prime Minister	The Earl of Liverpool; Himself
Preceded by	The Marquess of Londonderry
Succeeded by	William Huskisson
President of the Board of Control
In office 20 June 1816 – 16 January 1821
Prime Minister	The Earl of Liverpool
Preceded by	The Earl of Buckinghamshire
Succeeded by	Charles Bathurst
British Ambassador to Portugal
In office October 1814 – June 1815
Appointed by	The Prince Regent
Preceded by	Sir Charles Stuart
Succeeded by	Thomas Sydenham
Treasurer of the Navy
In office 14 May 1804 – 23 January 1806
Prime Minister	William Pitt the Younger
Preceded by	George Tierney
Succeeded by	Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Paymaster of the Forces
In office 5 July 1800 – 26 March 1801
Prime Minister	William Pitt the Younger
Preceded by	Dudley Ryder
Succeeded by	The Lord Glenbervie
Personal details
Born	(1770-04-11)11 April 1770 Marylebone,Middlesex,England
Died	8 August 1827(1827-08-08)(aged 57) Chiswick,Middlesex,England
Resting place	Westminster Abbey
Political party	Tory
Spouse	Joan Scott ​ (m.1800)​
Children	4 (includingCharles Canning, 1st Earl Canning)
Parents	George Canning Sr. Mary Ann Costello
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford
Signature

George CanningFRS(/ˈkænɪŋ/;11 April 1770 – 8 August 1827) was aBritish Torystatesman. He held various senior cabinet positions under numerous prime ministers, including two important terms as foreign secretary, finally becomingPrime Minister of the United Kingdomfor the last 119 days of his life, from April to August 1827.

The son of anactressand a failedbusinessmanandlawyer,Canning was supported financially by his uncle, Stratford Canning, which allowed him to attendEton CollegeandChrist Church, Oxford.Canning entered politics in 1793 and rose rapidly. He wasPaymaster of the Forces(1800–1801) andTreasurer of the Navy(1804–1806) underWilliam Pitt the Younger.Canning wasforeign secretary(1807–1809) under theDuke of Portland.Canning was the dominant figure in the cabinet and directed theBattle of Copenhagen,the seizure of the Danish fleet in 1807 to assure Britain's naval supremacy overNapoleon.In 1809, he was wounded in aduelwith his rivalLord Castlereaghand was shortly thereafter passed over as a successor to the Duke of Portland in favour ofSpencer Perceval.He rejected overtures to serve as foreign secretary again because of Castlereagh's presence in Perceval's Cabinet and he remained out of high office until after Perceval was assassinated in 1812.

Canning served under the new prime minister theEarl of LiverpoolasBritish Ambassador to Portugal(1814–1816),President of the Board of Control(1816–1821) and foreign secretary andLeader of the House of Commons(1822–1827). KingGeorge IVdisliked Canning and there were efforts to frustrate his foreign policies. Canning gained much public support for his policies. The historianPaul Hayesargues that he achieved several diplomatic coups in relations with Spain and Portugal, by helping to guarantee the independence of the American colonies ofPortugalandSpain.His policies ensured a major trading advantage for British merchants and supported the AmericanMonroe Doctrine.The historianG. M. Trevelyanwrote

For five years England had been guided by the genius of Canning, and seldom have so much brilliancy and so much wisdom combined to produce such happy results. The constitutional medium through which that genius worked was the loyal friendship of the prime minister, Lord Liverpool.

When Lord Liverpool resigned in April 1827, Canning was chosen to succeed him as prime minister, ahead ofthe Duke of Wellingtonand SirRobert Peel.Both of them declined to serve under Canning and the Tories split between Peel and Wellington'sUltra-Toriesand theCanningites.Canning then invited severalWhigsto join his cabinet. His health collapsed, and he died of pneumonia at Chiswick House on 8 August 1827, whilst still in office. His tenure of 119 days in office made him theshortest-serving prime minister in history,a title he held for 195 years untilLiz Truss' premiership in 2022, which lasted 49 days.

Early life

Canning was born into anAnglo-Irishfamily at his parents' home in Queen Anne Street,Marylebone,London. Canning described himself as "an Irishman born in London".His father,George CanningofGarvagh,County Londonderry,inUlster,the northernprovinceinIreland,was a gentleman of limited means, a failed wine merchant and lawyer, who renounced his right to inherit the family estate in exchange for payment of his substantial debts. George Sr. eventually abandoned the family and died in poverty on 11 April 1771, his son's first birthday, in London. Canning's mother,Mary Ann Costello,who was alsoIrish,took work as a stage actress, a profession not considered respectable at the time.Indeed, when in 1827 it looked as if Canning would become prime minister,Lord Greyremarked that "the son of an actress is,ipso facto,disqualified from becoming Prime Minister ".

Because Canning showed unusual intelligence and promise at an early age, family friends persuaded his uncle, London merchant Stratford Canning (father of the diplomatStratford Canning), to become his nephew's guardian. George Canning grew up with his cousins at the home of his uncle, who provided him with an income and an education. Stratford Canning's financial support allowed the young Canning to study atHyde Abbey School,Eton CollegeandChrist Church, Oxford.Canning came out top of the school at Eton and left at the age of seventeen.His time at Eton has been described as "a triumph almost without parallel. He proved a brilliantclassicist,came top of the school, and excelled at public orations ".

Canning struck up friendships with the futureLord Liverpoolas well as withGranville Leveson-GowerandJohn Hookham Frere.In 1789 he won a prize for his Latin poemThe Pilgrimage to Meccawhich he recited in Oxford Theatre. Canning began practising law after receiving his BA from Oxford in the summer of 1791, but he wished to enter politics.

Entry into politics

Stratford Canning was aWhigand would introduce his nephew in the 1780s to prominent Whigs such asCharles James Fox,Edmund Burke,andRichard 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 in a Whig party whose political ranks were led mostly by members of the wealthy landed aristocracy in league with the newly richindustrialistclasses. Regardless, along with Whigs such as Burke, Canning himself would become considerably moreconservativein the early 1790s after witnessing the excessiveradicalismof theFrench Revolution."The political reaction which then followed swept the young man to the opposite extreme; and his vehemence for monarchy and the Tories gave point to a Whig sarcasm,—that men had often turned their coats, but this was the first time a boy had turned his jacket."

So when Canning decided to enter politics, he sought and received thepatronageof the leader of the "Tory"group,William Pitt the Younger.In 1793, thanks to the help of Pitt, Canning became a member of parliament forNewtownon theIsle of Wight,arotten borough.In 1796, he changed seats to a different rotten borough,Wendoverin Buckinghamshire. He was elected to represent severalconstituenciesduring his parliamentary career.

Canning rose quickly in British politics as an effective orator and writer. His speeches in Parliament as well as his essays gave the followers of Pitt a rhetorical power they had previously lacked. Canning's skills saw him gain leverage within the Pittite faction that allowed him influence over its policies along with repeated promotions in the Cabinet. Over time, Canning became a prominent public speaker as well, 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 to himself a circle of supporters who would become known as theCanningites.Conversely though, Canning had a reputation as a divisive man who alienated many.

He was a dominant personality and often risked losing political allies for personal reasons. He once reduced Lord Liverpool to tears with a long satirical poem mocking Liverpool's attachment to his time as a colonel in the militia.

Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs

On 2 November 1795, Canning received his first ministerial post:Under Secretary of Statefor Foreign Affairs. In this post he proved a strong supporter of Pitt, often taking his side in disputes with theforeign secretary,Lord Grenville.At the end of 1798 Canning responded to a resolution byGeorge TierneyMP for peace negotiations with France:

I for my part still conceive it to be the paramount duty of a British member of parliament to consider what is good for Great Britain... I do not envy that man's feelings, who can behold the sufferings of Switzerland, and who derives from that sight no idea of what is meant by the deliverance of Europe. I do not envy the feelings of that man, who can look without emotion at Italy – plundered, insulted, trampled upon, exhausted, covered with ridicule, and horror, and devastation – who can look at all this, and be at a loss to guess what is meant by the deliverance of Europe? As little do I envy the feelings of that man, who can view the peoples of the Netherlands driven into insurrection, and struggling for their freedom against the heavy hand of a merciless tyranny, without entertaining any suspicion of what may be the sense of the word deliverance. Does such a man contemplate Holland groaning under arbitrary oppressions and exactions? Does he turn his eyes to Spain trembling at the nod of a foreign master? And does the word deliverance still sound unintelligibly in his ear? Has he heard of the rescue and salvation of Naples, by the appearance and the triumphs of the British fleet? Does he know that the monarchy of Naples maintains its existence at the sword's point? And is his understanding, and his heart, still impenetrable to the sense and meaning of the deliverance of Europe?

Pitt called this speech "one of the best ever heard on any occasion".

He resigned his position at the Foreign Office on 1 April 1799.

The Anti-Jacobin

Canning was involved in the founding of theAnti-Jacobin,a newspaper which was published every Monday from 20 November 1797 to 9 July 1798. Its purpose was to support the government and condemn revolutionary doctrines through news and poetry, much of it written by Canning.Canning's poetry satirised and ridiculed Jacobin poetry.Before the appearance of theAnti-Jacobinall the eloquence (except for Burke's) and all the wit and ridicule had been on the side of Fox and Sheridan. Canning and his friends changed this.A young Whig,William Lamb(the future Lord Melbourne, Prime Minister) wrote an 'Epistle to the Editors of theAnti-Jacobin',which attacked Canning:

Who e'er ye are, all hail! – whether the skill
Of youthful CANNING guides the ranc'rous quill;
With powers mechanic far above his age,
Adapts the paragraph and fills the page;
Measures the column, mends what e'er's amiss,
Rejects THAT letter, and accepts of THIS;

Subsequent offices

In 1799 Canning became a commissioner of the Board of Control for India. Canning wrote on 16 April: "Here I am immersed in papers, of which I do not yet comprehend three words in succession; but I shall get at their meaning by degrees and at my leisure. No such hard work here as at my former office. No attendance but when I like it, when there are interesting letters received from India (as is now the case) or to be sent out there".

Canning was appointedPaymaster of the Forces(and therefore to the Privy Council as well) in 1800.In February 1801, Pitt resigned as prime minister due to George III's opposition toCatholic Emancipation.Canning, despite Pitt's advice to stay in office, loyally followed him into opposition. The following day, Canning wrote to Lady Malmesbury: "I resignbecause Pittresigns. And that is all ".

Backbenches

Canning disliked being out of office, and wrote on toJohn Hookham Frerein summer 1801: "But the thought will obtrude itself now and then that I am not where I should be –non-hoc pollicitus."He also claimed that Pitt had done "scrupulously and magnanimouslyrightby everyonebutme ".At the end of September 1801 Canning wrote to Frere, saying of Pitt: "I do love him, and reverence him as I should a Father – but a Father should not sacrifice me, with my good will. Most heartily I forgive him, But he has to answer to himself, and to the country for much mischief that he has done and much that is still to do."Pitt wished for Canning to enterHenry Addington's government, a move which Canning looked on as a horrible dilemma but in the end, he turned the offer down.

Canning opposed the preliminaries of thePeace of Amienssigned on 1 October. He did not vote against it due to his personal devotion to Pitt.He wrote on 22 November: "I would risk my life to be assured of being able to act alwayswith Pin a manner satisfactory to my own feelings and sense of what is right, rather than have to seek that object in separation from him. "On 27 May 1802 in the Commons Canning requested that all grants of land in Trinidad (captured by Britain from Spain) should be rejected until Parliament had decided what to do with the island. The threat that it could be populated by slaves like other West Indian islands was real. Canning instead wanted it to have a military post and that it should be settled with ex-soldiers, free blacks and creoles, with the Native American population protected and helped. He also asserted that the island should be used to test the theory that better methods of cultivation in land would lessen the need for slaves. Addington acceded to Canning's demands and the Reverend William Leigh believed Canning had saved 750,000 lives.

At a dinner to celebrate Pitt's birthday in 1802, Canning wrote the song "The Pilot that Weathered the Storm", performed by a tenor from Drury Lane,Charles Dignum:

And oh! if again the rude whirlwind should rise,
The dawnings of peace should fresh darkness deform,
The regrets of the good and the fears of the wise
Shall turn to the Pilot that weathered the Storm.

In November Canning spoke out openly in support of Pitt in the Commons. One observer thought that Canning made incomparably the best speech and that his defence of Pitt's administration "one of the best things, either argumentatively as to matter, or critically and to manner and style" that he could ever remember.On 8 December Sheridan spoke out in defence of Addington and denied that Pitt was the only man who could save the country. Canning replied by criticising the Addington government's foreign policy and claimed that the House should recognise the greatness of the country and Pitt, who ought to be its leader. He argued against those, such asWilliam Wilberforce,who held that Britain could safely maintain a policy of isolation: "Let us consider the state of the world as it is, not as we fancy it ought to be. Let us not seek to hide from our own eyes... the real, imminent and awful danger which threatens us." Also, he objected to the notion that Britain could choose between greatness and happiness: "The choice is not in our power. We have... no refuge in littleness. We must maintain ourselves what we are, or cease to have a political existence worth preserving." Furthermore, he openly declared for Pitt and said: "Away with the cant of 'measures, not men., the idle supposition that it is the harness and not the horses that draw the chariot along." Kingdoms rise and fall due to what degree they are upheld "not by well-meaning endeavours... but by commanding, over-awing talents... retreat and withdraw as much as he will, he must not hope to efface the memory of his past services from the gratitude of his country; he cannot withdraw himself from the following of a nation; he must endure the attachment of a people whom he has saved."In private Canning was fearful that if Pitt did not return to power, Fox would: "Sooner or later hemustact or the country is gone. "

Canning approved of the declaration of war against France on 18 May 1803. Canning was angered by Pitt's desire not to proactively work to turn out the ministry but support the ministry when it adopted sound policies.However, in 1804, to Canning's delight, Pitt began to work against the Addington government. After Pitt delivered a stinging attack on the government's defence measures on 25 April, Canning launched his own attack on Addington, which made Addington furious. On 30 AprilLord Eldon,the Lord Chancellor, asked Pitt to submit a new administration to the King.

Treasurer of the Navy

Canning returned to office in 1804 with Pitt, becomingTreasurer of the Navy.In 1805 he offered Pitt his resignation after Addington was given a seat in the Cabinet. He wrote to Lady Hester to say he felt humiliated that Addington was a minister "and I am – nothing. I cannot help it, I cannot face the House of Commons or walk the streets in this state of things, as I am".After reading this letter Pitt summoned Canning to London for a meeting, where he told him that if he resigned it would open a permanent breach between the two of them as it would cast a slur on his conduct. He offered Canning the office ofChief Secretary for Irelandbut he refused on the grounds that this would look like he was being got out of the way. Canning eventually decided not to resign and wrote that "I am resolved to 'sink or swim' with Pitt, though he has tied himself to such sinking company. God forgive him".Canning left office with the death of Pitt; he was not offered a place in Lord Grenville's administration.

Foreign secretary

George Canning

Canning was appointed foreign secretary in the new government of theDuke of Portlandin 1807. Given key responsibilities for the country's diplomacy in theNapoleonic Wars,he was responsible for planning theattack on Copenhagenin September 1807, much of which he undertook at his country estate,South Hill ParkatEasthampsteadin Berkshire.

After the defeat of Prussia by the French, the neutrality of Denmark looked increasingly fragile. Canning was worried that Denmark might, under French pressure, become hostile to Britain.On the night of 21/22 July 1807 Canning received intelligence directly fromTilsit(where Napoleon and TsarAlexander I of Russiawere negotiating atreaty) which appeared "to rest on good authority" that Napoleon had proposed to the Tsar a great naval combination against Britain, of which Denmark and Portugal would be members.

On 30 July a military force 25,000 strong set sail for Denmark, with Francis Jackson travelling the day after. Canning instructed Jackson that his overriding aim was to secure the possession of the Danish navy by offering the Danes a treaty of alliance and mutual defence whereby they would be given back their fleet at the end of the war. On 31 July Canning wrote to his wife: "The anxious interval between this day and the hearing the result of his [Jackson's] expedition will be long and painful indeed. Long, I mean, infeeling.In fact, it will be about a fortnight or three weeks... I think we have made success almost certain. But the measure is a bold one and if it fails – why we must be impeached I suppose – and dearest dear will have a box at the trial ".The day after he wrote that he had received a letter the previous night which provided an "account of the French beingactuallyabout to do that act of hostility, the possibility of which formed the groundwork of my Baltic plan. My fear was that the French mightnotbe the aggressors – and then ours would have appeared a strong measure, fully justifiable I think and absolutely necessary, but without apparent necessity or justification. Now the aggression will justify us fully... I am therefore quite easy as to the morality and political wisdom of our plan ".Napoleon had on 31 July instructed his foreign minister,Talleyrand,to inform the Danes that if they did not wish for Holstein to be invaded and occupied byJean Bernadottethey must prepare for war against Britain. Canning wrote to his wife on 1 August: "Now for the execution and I confess to my own love, I wake an hour or two earlier than I ought to, thinking of this execution. I could not sleep after asses' milk today, thought I was not in bed till 1/2 p. 2". On 25 August he wrote toGranville Leveson-Gower:"The suspense is, as you may well imagine, agitating and painful in the extreme; but I have an undiminished confidence as to the result, either by force or by treaty. The latter however is so infinitely preferable to the former that the doubt whether it has been successful is of itself almost as anxious as if the whole depended on it alone".

On 2 September, after Jackson's negotiations proved unsuccessful, the British fleet began bombardingCopenhagenuntil when at 7 pm on 5 September the Danes requested a truce. On 7 September the Danes agreed to hand over their navy (18 ships of the line, 15 frigates and 31 smaller ships) and naval stores and the British agreed to evacuate Zealand within six weeks. On 16 September Canning received the news with relief and excitement: "Did I not tell you we would savePlumsteadfrom bombardment? "he wrote to the Reverend William Leigh. On 24 September he wrote toGeorge Rose:"Nothing was ever more brilliant, more salutary or more effectual than the success [at Copenhagen]".On 30 September he wroteLord Boringdonthat he hoped Copenhagen would "stunRussia into her sense again ".Canning wrote to Gower on 2 October 1807: "Wearehated throughout Europe and that hate must be cured by fear ".After the news of Russia's declaration of war against Britain reached London on 2 December, Canning wrote to Lord Boringdon two days later: "The Peace of Tilsit you see is come out. We did not want any morecasefor Copenhagen; but if we had, this gives it us ".

On 3 February 1808, the opposition leaderGeorge Ponsonbyrequested the publication of all information on the strength and battle-worthiness of the Danish fleet sent by the British envoy at Copenhagen. Canning replied with a speech nearly three hours long, described byLord Palmerstonas "so powerful that it gave a decisive turn to the debate". Lord Grey said his speech was "eloquent and powerful" but that he had never heard such "audacious misrepresentation" and "positive falsehood".On 2 March the opposition moved a vote of censure over Copenhagen, defeated by 224 votes to 64 after Canning gave a speech, in the words ofLord Glenbervie,so "very witty, very eloquent and very able".

In November 1807, Canning oversaw thePortuguese royal family's flightfrom Portugal to Brazil.

Duel with Castlereagh

In 1809 Canning entered into a series of disputes within the government that were to become famous. He argued with theSecretary of State for War and the Colonies,Lord Castlereagh,over the deployment of troops that Canning had promised would be sent to Portugal but which Castlereagh sent to the Netherlands. The government became increasingly paralysed in disputes between the two men. Portland was in deteriorating health and gave no lead, until Canning threatened resignation unless Castlereagh were removed and replaced byLord Wellesley.Portland secretly agreed to make this change when it would be possible.

Castlereagh discovered the deal in September 1809 and challenged Canning to aduel.Canning accepted the challenge and it was fought on 21 September 1809 onPutney Heath.Canning, who had never before fired a pistol, widely missed his mark. Castlereagh, who was regarded as one of the best shots of his day, wounded his opponent in the thigh. There was much outrage that two cabinet ministers had resorted to such a method. Shortly afterwards the ailing Portland resigned as prime minister, and Canning offered himself toGeorge IIIas a potential successor. The King appointedSpencer Percevalinstead, and Canning left office once more. He took consolation in the fact that Castlereagh also stood down.

UponPerceval's assassinationin 1812, the new prime minister,Lord Liverpool,offered Canning the position of foreign secretary once more. Canning refused, as he also wished to beLeader of the House of Commonsand was reluctant to serve in any government with Castlereagh.Castlereagh was appointed foreign secretary by Liverpool, replacing Wellesley who had resigned. Castlereagh remained in the post until his suicide in 1822, overseeing British participation in the final years of theNapoleonic Warsand theCongress of Viennawhich redrew the map of Europe.

Move to Burbage

In April 1811, George moved the family from Castle Hill House inHinckleyto the nearby village ofBurbage,where he took up residence in a house along Church Street, which in later years the house would become ‘Burbage Constitutional Club’.

Ambassador to Lisbon

In 1814 Canning became the British Ambassador toPortugal,recently liberated from the French by Wellington's forces. He returned to Britain the following year.He received several further offers of office from Liverpool.

President of the Board of Control

In 1816 he becamePresident of the Board of Control.

Canning resigned from office once more in 1820, in opposition to the treatment ofQueen Caroline,estranged wife of the new KingGeorge IV.Public opinion strongly supported the Queen and thereby Canning was strengthened.

On 16 March 1821 Canning spoke in favour of William Plunket's Catholic Emancipation Bill.Liverpool wished to have Canning back in the Cabinet but the King was strongly hostile to him due to his actions over the Caroline affair. The King would only allow Canning back into the Cabinet if he did not have to deal personally with him. This required the office of Governor-General of India. After deliberating on whether to accept, Canning initially declined the offer but then accepted it.On 25 April he spoke in the Commons againstLord John Russell's motion for parliamentary reform and a few days later Canning moved for leave to introduce a measure of Catholic Emancipation (for lifting the exclusion of Catholics from the House of Lords). This passed the Commons but was rejected by the Lords.

Foreign secretary and Leader of the House

Canning by Richard Evans,circa1825

In August 1822, Castlereagh committed suicide. Instead of going to India, Canning succeeded him as both foreign secretary and Leader of the House of Commons.He gave support to the growing campaign for the abolition of slavery. Canning continued many of Castlereagh's foreign policies, such as the view that the powers of Europe (Russia, France, etc.) should not be allowed to meddle in the affairs of other states. This policy enhanced public opinion of Canning as a liberal. He also prevented the United States from opening trade with the British West Indies.

Southeast Asia

Canning signed theAnglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824which resolved outstanding matters fromthe previous treatyintended to redistribute colonies formerly administered by theDutch East India Companyin the East Indies, which had been seized during theNapoleonic Warsby theBritish East India Companyowing to Britain's position in the wake of the Napoleonic conquest of the Netherlands of recognising its holdings as hostile territory; the most violent conquest resulting from this policy was the 1811invasion of Javaled byStamford Raffles.After the war, Raffles' extra-legal establishment of a trading post inSingapore,a vassal of the Dutch-backedJohor Sultanate,formed the flashpoint for the 1824 renegotiation.

This treaty's impact has lasted until the present day, with the established borders essentially being those between the modern nation-states ofMalaysiaandIndonesia;Singaporealso was ruled directly by the EIC from that point on, with the former arrangement of equal control betweenSultan Hussein Shah,TemenggongAbdul Rahman andResident of SingaporeWilliam Farquhardeclared null and void in its aftermath.

Latin America

During his first period in the Foreign Office (1807–1809), Canning became deeply involved in the affairs of Spain, Portugal and Latin America. 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 helped guarantee the independence of Brazil and the Spanish colonies, thereby acting in support of theMonroe Doctrineand aiding British merchants to open new markets across South and Central America.

Britain had a strong interest in ensuring the demise of Spanish colonialism, and opening the newly independent Latin American colonies to its trade. The Latin Americans received a certain amount of unofficial aid – arms and volunteers – from outside, but no outside official help at any stage from Britain or any other power. Britain refused to aid Spain and opposed any outside intervention on behalf of Spain by other powers. Royal Navy veterans were a decisive factor in the struggle for independence of certain Latin American countries.

In 1825 Mexico, Argentina and Colombia were recognised by means of the ratification of commercial treaties with Britain. In November 1825 the first minister from a Latin American state, Colombia, was officially received in London. "Spanish America is free," Canning declared, "and if we do not mismanage our affairs she is English... the New World established and if we do not throw it away, ours." Also in 1825, Portugal recognised Brazil (thanks to Canning's efforts, and in return for a preferential commercial treaty), less than three years after Brazil's declaration of independence.

On 12 December 1826, in the House of Commons, Canning was given an opportunity to defend the policies he had adopted towards France, Spain and Spanish America, and declared: "I resolved that if France had Spain it should not be Spain with the Indies. I called the New World into existence to redress the balance of the Old."

By granting recognition to Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Brazil he brought these new states into the European system of trade and diplomacy, while blocking further colonization. Recognition was greeted with enthusiasm throughout Latin America. Canning was the first British foreign secretary to devote a large proportion of his time and energies to the affairs of Latin America (as well as to those of Spain and Portugal) and to foresee the important political and economic role the Latin American states would one day play in the world.

At the Pan-American Centennial Conference of 1926 which took place inPanama Cityand celebrated the centenary of the South American movement to Independence, it was declared that:

Great Britain lent to the liberty of Spanish America not only the support of its diplomacy, represented by Canning, but also an appreciable contingent of blood and it may be asserted that there was no battlefield in the War of Independence in which British blood was not shed.

In 1826 he was elected aFellow of the Royal Society.

Prime minister

Further information:Canningite government, 1827–1828

Premiership of George Canning 12 April 1827 – 8 August 1827
Monarch	George IV
Cabinet	Canning ministry
Party	Tory
Seat	10 Downing Street
Coat of arms of HM Government

A worn copper-alloy medal depicting Canning

In 1827, Liverpool was forced to stand down as prime minister after suffering a severe stroke. He died the following year. Canning, as Liverpool's right-hand man, was chosen by George IV to succeed him, in preference to theDuke of Wellingtonor SirRobert Peel.Neither man agreed to serve under Canning, and they were followed by five other members of Liverpool's Cabinet and 40 junior members of the government. The Tory party was now heavily split between the "High Tories" (or"Ultras",nicknamed after thecontemporary partyin France) and the moderates supporting Canning, often called "Canningites".Consequently Canning found it difficult to form a government, and chose to invite a number of Whigs to join his Cabinet, includingLord Lansdowne.The government agreed not to discuss the difficult question ofparliamentary reform,which Canning opposed but the Whigs supported.

However, Canning's health by this time was in steep decline: at the funeral ofFrederick, Duke of York,which was held during a January night atSt George's Chapel, Windsor Castle,he became so ill that it was thought he might not recover.He died fromtuberculosislater that year, on 8 August 1827, in the room whereCharles James Foxhad died 21 years earlier. Canning's total period in office was 119 days, the shortest of anyprime minister of the United Kingdomwho had formed a government untilLiz Truss,forced to resign after 49 days in 2022.His last words were "Spain and Portugal."Canning is buried inWestminster Abbey.

Legacy

Statue of CanninginParliament Square,London, by SirRichard Westmacott.Erected in 1832.

Canning has come to be regarded as a "lost leader", with much speculation about what his legacy could have been had he lived. His government of Tories and Whigs continued for a few months underLord Goderichbut fell apart in early 1828. It was succeeded by a government under theDuke of Wellington,which initially included someCanningitesbut soon became mostly "High Tory" when many of the Canningites drifted over to the Whigs. Wellington's administration would soon go down in defeat as well. Some historians have seen the revival of the Tories from the 1830s onwards, in the form of theConservative Party,as the overcoming of the divisions of 1827. What would have been the course of events had Canning lived is highly speculative.

Blue plaque at George Canning's home

Rory Muir has described Canning as "the most brilliant and colourful minister, and certainly the greatest orator in the government at a time when oratory was still politically important. He was a man of biting wit and invective, with immense confidence in his own ability, who often inspired either great friendship or deep dislike and distrust... he was a passionate, active, committed man who poured his energy into whatever he undertook. This was his strength and also his weakness... the government's ablest minister".Grevillerecorded of Canning on the day after his death:

He wrote very fast, but not fast enough for his mind, composing much quicker than he could commit his ideas to paper. He could not bear to dictate, because nobody could write fast enough for him; but on one occasion, when he had gout in his hand and could not write, he stood by the fire and dictated at the same time a despatch on Greek affairs toGeorge Bentinckand one on South American politics toHoward de Walden,each writing as fast as he could, while he turned from one to the other without hesitation or embarrassment.

Canning was the arch-enemy of theConcert of Europesystem set up by the conservative powers at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Hayes says that in terms of foreign affairs:

His most important achievement was the destruction of the system of the neo-Holy Alliance which, if unchallenged, must have dominated Europe. Canning realized it was not enough for Britain to boycott conferences and congresses; it was essential to persuade the Powers that their interests could not be advanced by a system of intervention based upon principles of legitimacy,anti-nationalismand hostility to revolution.

Temperley summarises his policies, which formed the basis of British foreign policy for decades:

non-intervention; no European police system; every nation for itself, and God for us all; balance of power; respect for facts, not for abstract theories; respect for treaty rights, but caution in extending them... a republic is as good a member of the comity of nations as a monarch. "England not Europe". "Our foreign policy cannot be conducted against the will of the nation." "Europe's domain extends to the shores of the Atlantic, England's begins there."

The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, negotiated by himself andCharles Williams-Wynn,is responsible for the borders of the modern nation-states of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Places named after Canning

Britain

• TheCanning Club,agentlemen's clubincentral London.Founded in 1911 as the Argentine Club forexpatriatebusinessmen, it was renamed in 1948 as the club extended its remit to the rest of Latin America, in honour of Canning's strong ties to the region. The club currently shares the premises of theNaval and Military ClubinSt. James's Square.
• Canning HouseinBelgraviais the seat of the Hispanic and Luso Brazilian Council. It houses a research library and is used for a range of cultural and educational events.
• There are pubs (public houses) named after him. One inBrixton,on the corner of Effra Road and Brixton Water Lane, bore his name until it became the Hobgoblin in the late 1990s and the Hootenanny in 2008. Another inCamberwell,on Grove Lane near Denmark Hill station, is still called the George Canning.
• Canning Circus is an area at the top of Zion Hill inNottingham.Canning Terracewas erected as almshouses and a gatehouse to the adjacent cemetery.
• Canningis a district of Liverpool also known as the Georgian Quarter and includes Canning Street. Canning Place inLiverpool Onewas the site of theLiverpool Sailors' Home.Canning DockandCanning Half Tide Dockon theRiver Merseyare also named after Canning.
• Canning Street in Belfast is named after George Canning.
• Canning Crescent,Oxford.
• Canning's View,Cliveden.
• Canning Street,Hinckley.

Australia

• TheCanning Riverin Western Australia, which flows into theSwan Riversouth ofPerth.A number of districts on its banks are named after the river, rather than Canning himself; for exampleCanningtonandCanning Vale.
• InQueensland,Canning Creek(the watercourse, the locality and the pastoral run) were all named after him.
• Elsewhere in Australia, there is a street inCarlton Northnamed after him.

Canada

• The village ofCanningin the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia
• Cannington, Ontario,is a small village in Brock Township.

South America

• In Buenos Aires, Argentina,a street has been on-and-off named after Canningsince 1893, changing away from the name in 1985. There is also a neighbourhood in southwestern Buenos Aires named after Canning, it started as a station and today is occupied by many 'country clubs' where richer people live.
• In Montevideo, Uruguay, there is a street named Jorge Canning, the location of the British Residence.
• There is also a street named after him in the district ofIpanema,Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• InSantiago,Chilethere are two streets called Jorge (Spanish for George) Canning, one in the commune of San Joaquin and a smaller one in the commune of Ñuñoa.

Greece

• A square in downtownAthens,Greece, is named after Canning (Πλατεία Κάνιγγος,Plateía Kánningos,Canning Square), in appreciation of his supportive stance toward theGreek War of Independence(1821–1830).

Places named after other Cannings

• Fort Canning,a hill in Singapore, is actually named after Canning's sonViscount Charles Canning,although many mistakenly believe that it was named after George Canning himself. The hill was previously known simply asGovernment Hilland earlier asBukit Larangan(Malayfor Forbidden Hill) as it was once the seat forMalay royalty.Having served as an administrative centre for the British colonial administration in Singapore, it was then converted into a fort during theFirst World Warbut was not used until theSecond World War.It is currently one of Singapore's oldesturban parks.
• Canning Townin London is often thought of as being named after George Canning, but was in fact named after his sonCharles Canning, 1st Earl Canning,Governor-General of India during theIndian Mutiny.

Family

Canning marriedJoan Scott(later1st Viscountess Canning) (1776–1837) on 8 July 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 fromconsumption
• William Pitt Canning (1802–1828), died from drowning inMadeira,Portugal
• Harriet Canning (1804–1876), marriedUlick de Burgh, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde
• Charles John Canning(later 2nd Viscount Canning and 1st Earl Canning) (1812–1862)

Canning's Government, April–August 1827

• George Canning –First Lord of the Treasury,Chancellor of the ExchequerandLeader of the House of Commons
• Lord Lyndhurst–Lord Chancellor
• Lord Harrowby–Lord President of the Council
• The Duke of Portland–Lord Privy Seal
• William Sturges Bourne–Secretary of State for the Home Department
• Lord Dudley–Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
• Lord Goderich–Secretary of State for War and the ColoniesandLeader of the House of Lords
• William Huskisson–President of the Board of TradeandTreasurer of the Navy
• Charles Williams-Wynn–President of the Board of Control
• Lord Bexley–Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• Lord Palmerston–Secretary at War
• Lord Lansdowne–Minister without Portfolio

Changes

• May 1827 –Lord Carlisle,theFirst 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,theMaster of the Mint,enters the cabinet

See also

• British Blue Book
• List of statues and sculptures in Liverpool
• Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffehis protege

Further reading

• Bailey, Frank E. "The Economics of British Foreign Policy, 1825–50."Journal of Modern History12.4 (1940): 449–484.online
• Beales, Derek. 'Canning, George (1770–1827)',Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed 1 May 2010.
• Brock, M. G. "George Canning"History Today(Aug 1951) 1#8 pp 33–40
• Campbell, John(2009).Pistols at Dawn: Two Hundred Years of Political Rivalry from Pitt and Fox to Blair and Brown.London: Vintage Books.ISBN978-1-84595-091-0.
• Cecil, Algernon.British Foreign Secretaries 1807–1916(1927) pp 53–88.online
• Dixon, Peter.George Canning: Politician and Statesman(London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1976).
• Hibbert, Christopher. "George IV and Canning."History Today(Sept 1973), 23#9, pp 607–617 online
• Hinde, Wendy.George Canning(London: Collins, 1973).
• Hunt, Giles.The Duel: Castlereagh, Canning and Deadly Cabinet Rivalry(London, I.B. Tauris, 2008).
• Lee, Stephen M.George Canning and Liberal Toryism, 1801–1827(Woodbridge, Boydell & Brewer, 2008).
• Marshall, Dorothy.The Rise of George Canning(London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1938).
• Muir, Rory.Britain and the Defeat of Napoleon(Yale University Press, 1996).
• Perkins, Bradford. "George Canning, Great Britain, and the United States, 1807–1809,"American Historical Review(1957) 63#1 pp. 1–22in JSTOR
• Seton-Watson, R. W.Britain in Europe, 1789–1914.(1938); pp 67–120.online
• Temperley, H.W.V.The Foreign Policy of Canning, 1822–1827: England, the Neo-Holy Alliance, and the New World(1925)online
• Temperley, Harold and L.M. Penson, eds.Foundations of British Foreign Policy: From Pitt (1792) to Salisbury (1902)(1938), primary sourcesonline
• Ward, A. W.;Gooch, G. P.,eds. (1922).The Cambridge History of British Foreign Policy, 1783–1919: Volume 1: 1783–1815.Cambridge University Press.

External links

• Family tree^[usurped]
• Hansard1803–2005:contributions in Parliament by George Canning
• More about George Canningon the Downing Street website.
• Royal Berkshire History: George Canning (1770–1827)
• "Archival material relating to George Canning".UK National Archives.
• Portraits of George Canningat theNational Portrait Gallery, London
• Works by George CanningatProject Gutenberg
• Works by or about George Canningat theInternet Archive
• Works by George CanningatLibriVox(public domain audiobooks)