William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne

He was born William Fitzmaurice in Dublin in Ireland, the first son of John Fitzmaurice, who was the second surviving son of the 1st Earl of Kerry. Lord Kerry had married Anne Petty, the daughter of Sir William Petty, Surveyor General of Ireland, whose elder son had been created Baron Shelburne in 1688 and (on the elder son's death) whose younger son had been created Baron Shelburne in 1699 and Earl of Shelburne in 1719. On the younger son's death the Petty estates passed to the aforementioned John Fitzmaurice, who changed his branch of the family's surname to "Petty" in place of "Fitzmaurice", and was created Viscount Fitzmaurice later in 1751 and Earl of Shelburne in 1753 (after which his elder son John was styled Viscount Fitzmaurice). His grandfather Lord Kerry died when he was four, but Fitzmaurice grew up with other people's grim memories of the old man as a "Tyrant" whose family and servants lived in permanent fear of him.

Fitzmaurice spent his childhood "in the remotest parts of the south of Ireland,"[lower-alpha 1] and, according to his own account, when he entered Christ Church, Oxford, in 1755, he had "both everything to learn and everything to unlearn". From a tutor whom he describes as "narrow-minded" he received advantageous guidance in his studies, but he attributes his improvement in manners and in knowledge of the world chiefly to the fact that, as was his "fate through life", he fell in "with clever but unpopular connexions".[4]

Shelburne served with distinction during the Seven Years' War participating in engagements such as the Battle of Minden in 1759.

Shortly after leaving the university he served in 20th Foot regiment commanded by James Wolfe during the Seven Years' War.[4] He became friends with one of his fellow officers Charles Grey whose career he later assisted.[5] In 1757 he took part in the amphibious Raid on Rochefort which withdrew without making any serious attempt on the town. The following year he was sent to serve in Germany and distinguished himself at Minden and Kloster-Kampen. For his services he was appointed aide-de-camp to the new King, George III, with the rank of colonel.[6] This brought protests from several members of the cabinet as it meant he was promoted ahead of much more senior officers.[7] In response to the appointment the Duke of Richmond resigned a post in the royal household.[8] Though he had no active military career after this,[9] his early promotion as colonel meant that he would be further promoted through seniority to major-general in 1765,[10] lieutenant-general in 1772[11] and general in 1783.[12]

On 2 June 1760, while still abroad, Fitzmaurice had been returned to the British House of Commons as member for Wycombe. He was re-elected unopposed at the general election of 1761,[13] and was also elected to the Irish House of Commons for County Kerry.[14] However, on 14 May 1761, before either Parliament met, he succeeded on his father's death as 2nd Earl of Shelburne in the Peerage of Ireland and 2nd Baron Wycombe in the Peerage of Great Britain.[13] As a result, he lost his seat in both Houses of Commons and moved up to the House of Lords, though he would not take his seat in the Irish House of Lords until April 1764.[9] He was succeeded in Wycombe by one of his supporters Colonel Isaac Barré who had a distinguished war record after serving with James Wolfe in Canada.

Shelburne, who was a descendant of the father of laissez faire economics, William Petty, displayed a serious interest in economic reform, and was a proselytizer for free trade. He consulted with numerous English, Scottish, French and American economists and experts. He was on good terms with Benjamin Franklin and David Hume. He met in Paris with leading French economists and intellectuals.[15] By the 1770s Shelburne had become the most prominent British statesmen to advocate free trade.[16] Shelburne said his conversion from mercantilism to free trade ultimately derived from long conversations in 1761 with Adam Smith.[17] In 1795 he described this to Dugald Stewart:

I owe to a journey I made with Mr Smith from Edinburgh to London, the difference between light and darkness through the best part of my life. The novelty of his principles, added to my youth and prejudices, made me unable to comprehend them at the time, but he urged them with so much benevolence, as well as eloquence, that they took a certain hold, which, though it did not develop itself so as to arrive at full conviction for some few years after, I can fairly say, has constituted, ever since, the happiness of my life, as well as any little consideration I may have enjoyed in it.[18]

Ritcheson is dubious on whether the journey with Smith actually happened, but provides no evidence to the contrary. There is proof that Shelburne did consult with Smith on at least one occasion, and Smith was close to Shelburne's father and his brother.[19]

Shelburne's new military role close to the King brought him into communication with Lord Bute, who was the King's closest advisor and a senior minister in the government. In 1761 Shelburne was employed by Bute to negotiate for the support of Henry Fox. Fox held the lucrative but unimportant post of Paymaster of the Forces, but commanded large support in the House of Commons and could boost Bute's powerbase. Shelburne was opposed to Pitt, who had resigned from the government in 1761. Under instructions from Shelburne, Barré made a vehement attack on Pitt in the House of Commons.

During 1762 negotiations for a peace agreement went on in London and Paris. Eventually a deal was agreed but it was heavily criticised for the perceived leniency of its terms as it handed back a number of captured territories to France and Spain. Defending it in the House of Lords, Shelburne observed "the security of the British colonies in North America was the first cause of the war" asserting that security "has been wisely attended to in the negotiations for peace".[20] Led by Fox, the government was able to push the peace treaty through parliament despite opposition led by Pitt. Shortly afterwards, Bute chose to resign as Prime Minister and retire from politics and was replaced by George Grenville.

Shelburne joined the Grenville ministry in 1763 as First Lord of Trade. By this stage Shelburne had changed his opinion of Pitt and become an admirer of him. After failing to secure Pitt's inclusion in the Cabinet he resigned office after only a few months. Having moreover on account of his support of Pitt on the question of John Wilkes's expulsion from the House of Commons incurred the displeasure of the King, he retired for a time to his estate.[4]

Lord Shelburne by Sir Joshua Reynolds.

In March 1782 following the downfall of the North Government Shelburne agreed to take office under Lord Rockingham on condition that the King would recognise the United States. Following the sudden and unexpected death of Lord Rockingham on 1 July 1782 Shelburne succeeded him as Prime Minister. Shelburne's appointment by the King provoked Charles James Fox and his supporters, including Edmund Burke, to resign their posts on 4 July 1782.[21] Burke scathingly compared Shelburne to his predecessor Rockingham. One of the figures brought in as a replacement was the 23-year-old William Pitt, son of Shelburne's former political ally, who became Chancellor of the Exchequer. That year, Shelburne was appointed to Order of the Garter as its 599th Knight.

Downfall

Shelburne, Charles James Fox and Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford by James Gillray (1783)

Fox's departure led to the unexpected creation of a coalition involving Fox and Lord North which dominated the Opposition. In April 1783 the Opposition forced Shelburne's resignation. The major achievement of Shelburne's time in office was the agreement of peace terms which formed the basis of the Peace of Paris bringing the American War of Independence to an end.

His fall was perhaps hastened by his plans for the reform of the public service. He had also in contemplation a Bill to promote free trade between Britain and the United States.[4]

When Pitt became Prime Minister in 1784, Shelburne, instead of receiving a place in the Cabinet, was created Marquess of Lansdowne. Though giving a general support to the policy of Pitt, he from this time ceased to take an active part in public affairs.[4] He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1803.[24] A personal act of 1797 relieved him from "from disabilities in consequence of his having sat and voted in the House of Lords without having made the necessary oaths and declarations".[25]

Lord Lansdowne was twice married:

First to Lady Sophia Carteret (26 August 1745 – 5 January 1771), daughter of the 1st Earl Granville, through whom he obtained the Lansdowne estates near Bath. They had at least one child:

• John Henry Petty, 2nd Marquess of Lansdowne (6 December 1765 – 15 November 1809), who sat in the House of Commons for twenty years as member for Chipping Wycombe before inheriting his father's marquessate. He married Mary Arabella Maddox (died 24 April 1833), the daughter of Rev. Hinton Maddox and the widow of Duke Gifford, on 27 May 1805; they had no sons.

Secondly, to Lady Louisa FitzPatrick (1755 – 7 August 1789), daughter of the 1st Earl of Upper Ossory. They had at least two children:

• Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne (1780–1863), who succeeded his half-brother in the title.
• Lady Louisa Fitzmaurice (born bef. 1789)

Lord Lansdowne's brother, The Hon. Thomas Fitzmaurice (1742–1793) of Cliveden, was also a Member of Parliament.

• Lansdowne portrait

• Cannon, John. "Petty, William, second earl of Shelburne and first marquess of Lansdowne (1737–1805)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, (Oxford University Press, 2004); online edn, Sept 2013 accessed 16 Nov 2014 doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/22070
• Fitzmaurice, Edmond. Life of William, Earl of Shelburne. Macmillan & Co. (2nd ed., 1912 [1st ed. 1875], reprinted 2006). OCLC 3220064 (complete list of all editions).
• Fleming, Thomas. The Perils of Peace: America's Struggle for Survival After Yorktown. First Smithsonian books, 2008.
• Middleton, Charles. The Bells of Victory: The Pitt-North Ministry and the Conduct of the Seven Years' War, 1757–1762. Cambridge University Press, 1985.
• Nelson, Paul David. Sir Charles Grey, First Earl Grey: Royal Soldier, Family Patriarch. Associated University Presses, 1996.
• Norris, John. Shelburne and Reform. Macmillan, 1963. online
• Ritcheson, Charles R. "The Earl of Shelbourne and Peace with America, 1782–1783: Vision and Reality." International History Review (1983) 5#3 pp: 322–345. online
• Schweizer, Karl W. (ed.) Lord Bute: Essays in Reinterpritation. Leicester University Press, 1998.
• Simpson, W. O. "Lord Shelburne and North America." History Today (Jan 1960) 19#1 pp 52-62.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne.

• Works written by or about William Petty-Fitzmaurice at Wikisource
• More about William Petty, Earl of Shelburne on the Downing Street website.
• William Petty, 1st Marquis of Lansdowne, 2nd Earl of Shelburne papers, William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan.