Pitt (the Elder), William, 1st Earl of Chatham

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Pitt (the Elder), William, 1st Earl of Chatham (1708–78) British statesman, known as ‘the Great Commoner’. He entered Parliament in 1735. Pitt was noted for his opposition to the foreign policies of prime ministers Walpole and Carteret and King George II. The crisis of the Seven Years' War (1756–63) made him effective head of the government. Widespread criticism of Pitt's dismissal (1757) brought about his reappointment as head of the government in coalition with the Duke of Newcastle. His ministry was a brilliant one, preserving and consolidating Britain's old empire and gaining a new one. Pitt placed his main efforts on successful attempts to conquer Canada and India. In 1761, he resigned after George III refused to declare war on Spain. After the war, he spoke out against the prosecution (1763) of John Wilkes and the imposition of the Stamp Act (1765) on the American colonies. The ministry he nominally headed from 1766 to 1768 was a confused and divided one. Created Earl Chatham in 1766, he retired to the House of Lords in 1768. There he spoke out against repression of the American colonies and in favour of any peace settlement that stopped short of granting independence.

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