3 - Walpole

Summary

Robert Walpole's imperial policy merited Edmund Burke's later caricature of ‘salutary neglect’, except perhaps when it came to patronage. To the extent that he busied himself with foreign affairs, it was European diplomacy which attracted his attention. Walpole especially favored the language of international affairs (as opposed to empire) when considering Hanover's relationship to Britain. Walpole and his circle were the first to elaborate the personal union thesis first introduced by James Drake. But where the theory of England's and Hanover's countervailing sovereignties had allowed Drake and his heirs to separate the two countries legally and institutionally, it functioned to unite the two morally under Walpole. Indeed, Walpole's reputation for hostility to Hanover is greatly exaggerated. He became more sympathetic to the electorate once the foreign policy initiative shifted from Hanover to Britain in the years surrounding 1720. Personal union went from shielding Britain against Hanoverian influence to protecting the electorate from British enemies. Britain's leaders never admitted a legal responsibility, but felt morally obliged, to insulate Hanover from their adversaries’ allegedly incorrect interpretation of the two countries’ relationship. Walpole's problem was that while he took Hanover's initial independence for granted, his assistance to the electorate could inculcate dependence on Britain. Indeed, some of his publicists revived previous generations’ arguments for empire over Hanover. These horrified some opponents, who feared that continental obligations might ensue. Finally, other anti-Hanoverians remained loyal to the older diagnosis of Hanoverian empire over Britain. These were Britain's perspectives upon Hanover until the latter concluded a separate neutrality in 1741 to avoid French invasion. The neutrality ended discussions of empire over Hanover, by illustrating the electorate's independence from Britain. But while the separate peace vindicated Walpole's personal union thesis, it also made both unpopular leading up to the government's collapse in early 1742.

It has been seen that Hanoverian influence between 1714 and 1719 pushed most non-Jacobites into support for personal union. But this position was poorly defined, more often implied than explained. This changed with circumstances during the 1720s. Having used Britain's navy to secure Bremen and Verden for Hanover, George I began to privilege the interests of his kingdom even when this policy might endanger the electorate.