Abstract
This chapter looks at the effects of the Revolution of 1688 on the political life of Britain. It traces the way in which the constitutional problems of the seventeenth century were gradually resolved during the reigns of William III, Queen Anne and George I, and how this made possible the political stability presided over by Sir Robert Walpole from 1720 to 1742. Walpole’s grip on the country was so firm that his ministry became known as the Robinocracy, after his first name. Prime Minister Robin, a bluff, blunt, shrewd and ambitious Norfolk squire, seemed to personify his own stable regime in his portly, overweight figure.
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Further reading
Overviews: J.R. Jones, Country and Court: England 1658–1714 (1976); W.A. Speck, Stability and Strife: England 1714–1760 (1977). Special studies: Linda Colley, In Defiance of Oligarchy: The Tory Party 1714–1760 (1982); J.P. Kenyon, Revolution Principles: The Politics of Party 1689–1720 (1977); B. Lenman, The Jacobite Risings in Britain 1689–1759 (1980); J.H. Plumb, The Growth of Political Stability in England 1675–1725 (1967); J. Black, editor, Britain in the Age of Walpole (1985).
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© 1986 London Weekend Television
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Speck, W. (1986). Revolution to Robinocracy. In: Smith, L.M. (eds) The Making of Britain. The Making of Britain. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-18167-4_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-18167-4_8
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-40602-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-18167-4
eBook Packages: Palgrave History CollectionHistory (R0)