Fresh Light on the Fall of Townshend
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8959352 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jeremy Black (Durham University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1986 |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 41-64 |
| Publication date | 1986-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Historical Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0018-246X • E-ISSN: 1469-5103 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0018246x00018616 |
| OpenAlex | W2136666140 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 10 |
The resignation in May 1730 of Charles, second Viscount Townshend (1674–1738), as Secretary of State for the Northern Department, is an event that has attracted little attention. Aware of Sir Robert Walpole's determination to get rid of Townshend, scholars have tended to treat Walpole's success as inevitable. The major study of British political history in these years, that contained within Professor Plumb's valuable biography of Walpole, is disappointingly brief in its treatment of the crisis. This reflects the general tendency of the work to concentrate on domestic politics and to devote less attention to the interrelationship between them and foreign policy. As a result Plumb's treatment of Townshend's departure is less probing and comprehensive than most of his book. The failure of scholars to study the ministerial crisis of 1729–30is far from exceptional, for the years of Walpole's ascendancy have escaped the same degree of scrutiny by political historians that has marked the reigns of Anne and George III. A host of major figures lack scholarly biographies: George II; William Stanhope, who succeeded Townshend and was ennobled as Lord Harrington in 1730; the earl of Chesterfield, Townshend's principal supporter in the ministry in 1729–30; William Pulteney, the leader of the opposition Whigs; Lord Wilmington, the duke of Dorset and George Dodington, ministerial opponents of Walpole; and Queen Caroline
Ancient history · Art history · Biography · Christian ministry · Genealogy · George (robot · Opposition (politics · Political science · Politics · Queen (butterfly · Scrutiny · Supporter · Classics · Historical Art and Culture Studies · Historical Economic and Social Studies · History · Law · Scottish History and National Identity
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |