This week, two-hundred and thirty-eight years ago, America’s last king proclaimed that his American colonies were in open rebellion against his government. This king was none-other-than, King George the Third of England.
After several months of fighting in the Massachusetts Bay colony, King George declared on August 23, 1775, a Proclamation of Rebellion and ordered officials of the British Empire “to use their utmost endeavors to withstand and suppress such rebellion”.
King George the Third, was born in London in 1738 into the House of Hanover. He succeeded his father in 1760, upon his father’s death as next in line to the British Crown. He was the grandson of George the Second, and was the first in the House of Hanover to be born and educated as an Englishman. His family was originally from Germany. King George the Third was the longest reigning king in British history. He was king from 1760 to 1820.
George the Third’s long reign was marked by a series of military conflicts involving his kingdom and much of the rest of Europe. During his reign, Britain became the dominant European power in North America and India, after the defeat of France in 1763. However, King George lost his American colonies in 1776, with the birth of The United States.
Later his kingdom became involved in a series of wars against revolutionary and Napoleonic France and he fought one more conflict with The United States in the War of 1812.
Tragically, the last American king became blind and suffered from bouts of mental illness in his old age and was never able to fully recover his mental abilities.
This week, two-hundred and thirty-eight years ago, America’s last king proclaimed that his American colonies were in open rebellion against his government. This king was none-other-than, King George the Third of England.
