#english_history 

## George I
Ruled 1714-1727

## George II
Ruled 1727-1760

## George III
Ruled 1760-1820. He was the first Hanoverian to be born in Britain, and had little interest in Hanover, wanting to take a more active part in Governing Britain.
### Politics

Parliament under George III still represented only a very small amount of people. The voters were often controlled by a number of affluent property owners, sometimes acting together as a "borough corporation", so it was not difficult for the powerful people to make sure that the right man was elected to Parliament. ^09e01b

There was, however, one MP, John Wilkes, who was a Whig and did not like the new government of George III. He believed that politics should be open to free discussion by everyone. When 1763 George made peace with France without telling his ally Prussia, Wilkes printed a strong attack on the government in his own newspaper, *"The North Briton"*. He was arrested and imprisoned, but won the court. His victory established principles of the greatest importance: the freedom of the individual is more important than the interests of the state. ^9d384c

Under George III the amount of newspapers increased. These were read by the enormous number of literate people who could not vote, but who were interested in politics. The age of public opinion had arrived. ^0ae77a

## George IV
Ruled 1820-1830

## William IV
Ruled 1830-1837

## Victoria
Ruled 1837-1901 - [[Society and industry in the 19th century|"Victorian" age]]