Grenville, William Wyndham, 1st Lord
In January 1789 Grenville agreed to become Speaker of the House of Commons in order to help Pitt in the midst of the Regency crisis, but he craved a cabinet post and when the crisis was over was appointed home secretary. By this time he was recognized as Pitt's ‘second in command’ and in 1790 was elevated to the Lords to oversee the government's business there. He was translated to the foreign secretaryship in 1791 and for ten years was responsible for British policy in the French Revolutionary War. Grenville found the post uncongenial and his successes were few. In 1801 he resigned with Pitt over the king's refusal to grant catholic relief, but unlike Pitt he determined not to take office again unless the king withdrew his veto. Accordingly he did not return with Pitt in 1804 but formed an alliance with the Foxite Whigs, with whom he served in the ‘Ministry of all the Talents’ in 1806–7.
As prime minister, Grenville achieved little beyond the abolition of the slave trade. The government collapsed when George III thwarted their attempt to smuggle concessions to the Irish catholics past his protestant conscience. For the next ten years Grenville and Grey, Fox's successor, led the opposition to Portland, Perceval, and Liverpool but neither found the position agreeable. The alliance ended in 1817 when they disagreed over the government's suspension of habeas corpus to deal with radical agitation. Grenville then retired from political life, devoting his remaining years to classical scholarship.
Grenville was a diligent administrator and a conscientious politician but the glittering prizes eluded him. He lacked warmth, imagination, and leadership qualities. His forbidding manner earned him the nickname of ‘Bogey’ and he seemed remote and insensitive except to his circle of family and friends.
E. A. Smith
Bibliography
Jupp, P. , Lord Grenville (1985).
Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.
-
MLA
-
Chicago
-
APA
"Grenville, William Wyndham, 1st Lord." The Oxford Companion to British History. . Encyclopedia.com. 21 Feb. 2019 <https://www.encyclopedia.com>.
"Grenville, William Wyndham, 1st Lord." The Oxford Companion to British History. . Encyclopedia.com. (February 21, 2019). https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/grenville-william-wyndham-1st-lord
"Grenville, William Wyndham, 1st Lord." The Oxford Companion to British History. . Retrieved February 21, 2019 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/grenville-william-wyndham-1st-lord
Citation styles
Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA).
Within the “Cite this article” tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list.
Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. Therefore, it’s best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publication’s requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites:
Modern Language Association
The Chicago Manual of Style
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html
American Psychological Association
Notes:
- Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Refer to each style’s convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates.
- In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list.
Grenville, William Wyndham Grenville, Baron
William Wyndham Grenville Grenville, Baron, 1759–1834, British statesman; youngest son of George Grenville. He was foreign secretary in the ministry of his cousin William Pitt from 1791 to 1801. During the French Revolutionary Wars, Grenville led the British war party and favored Pitt's repressive internal measures. He was also a champion of free trade and of Catholic Emancipation. In 1806 he formed the "ministry of all the talents," which abolished (1807) the slave trade.
Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.
-
MLA
-
Chicago
-
APA
"Grenville, William Wyndham Grenville, Baron." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. . Encyclopedia.com. 21 Feb. 2019 <https://www.encyclopedia.com>.
"Grenville, William Wyndham Grenville, Baron." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. . Encyclopedia.com. (February 21, 2019). https://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/grenville-william-wyndham-grenville-baron
"Grenville, William Wyndham Grenville, Baron." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. . Retrieved February 21, 2019 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/grenville-william-wyndham-grenville-baron
Citation styles
Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA).
Within the “Cite this article” tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list.
Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. Therefore, it’s best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publication’s requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites:
Modern Language Association
The Chicago Manual of Style
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html
American Psychological Association
Notes:
- Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Refer to each style’s convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates.
- In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list.