Frederick North, Lord North

Uncommon card · No. 111597

Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (13 April 1732 – 5 August 1792), styled The Honourable Frederick North before 1752 and Lord North between 1752 and 1790, being best known to history by the latter title, was a British statesman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. Aligned with the Whigs from 1754, he had developed strong Tory sympathies by the time he became Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1767. North is most often remembered for losing the 13 colonies in the American Revolutionary War. The war ended in 1783 with the Treaty of Paris, as part of which Britain recognised American independence. North's reputation among historians has varied wildly, reaching its lowest point in the late 19th century, when he was depicted as a creature of King George III and an incompetent who lost the American colonies. In the early 20th century a revised view emerged which emphasised his strengths in administering the Treasury, handling the House of Commons, and in defending...

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