As Sophia, Electress of Hanover, had died two months before Queen Anne's death in August 1714, Sophia's eldest son George, Elector of Hanover, inherited the throne under the Act of Settlement of 1701. He was the first British monarch of the House of Hanover. The economic crisis, known as the South Sea Bubble, made George and his ministers extremely unpopular. In 1717 Townshend was dismissed, and Walpole resigned from the Cabinet over disagreements with their colleagues;[48] Stanhope became supreme in foreign affairs, and Sunderland the same in domestic matters. "[26], George's mother, the Electress Sophia, died on 28 May 1714[d] at the age of 83. 147–155 and Williams, p. 177, Erleigh, p. 129; Hatton, p. 255 and Williams, p. 176, Black, pp. The following year, George was invested as an Imperial Field Marshal with command of the imperial army stationed along the Rhine. [34], Within a year of George's accession the Whigs won an overwhelming victory in the general election of 1715. [50], Greater problems arose over financial speculation and the management of the national debt. [45] The clansmen dispersed into the Highlands, and the Spaniards surrendered. [67] Claims that George had received free stock as a bribe[68] are not supported by evidence; indeed receipts in the Royal Archives show that he paid for his subscriptions and that he lost money in the crash. The following year, Frederick Augustus was informed of the adoption of primogeniture, meaning he would no longer receive part of his father's territory as he had expected. The invasion never posed any serious threat to George's government. His claim was challenged by James Stuart, Roman Catholic son of James II, who landed in Scotland in 1715, [17] In the same year, George's surviving uncle died and he inherited further German dominions: the Principality of Lüneburg-Grubenhagen, centred at Celle. Spain supported a Jacobite-led invasion of Scotland in 1719, but stormy seas allowed only about three hundred Spanish troops to reach Scotland. [13] His court in Hanover was graced by many cultural icons such as the mathematician and philosopher Gottfried Leibniz and the composers George Frideric Händel and Agostino Steffani. George died of a stroke on a trip to Hanover. George I (1714-27) was magnificently unsuited to rule England. [71], George, although increasingly reliant on Walpole, could still have replaced his ministers at will. [32] His treatment of his wife, Sophia Dorothea, became something of a scandal. Updates? [82] John H. Plumb noted that: Some historians have exaggerated the king's indifference to English affairs and made his ignorance of the English language seem more important than it was. In 1710 he was granted the dignity of Arch-Treasurer of the Empire,[21] an office formerly held by the Elector Palatine; the absence of the Elector of Bavaria allowed a reshuffling of offices. Threatened with the scandal of an elopement, the Hanoverian court, including George's brothers and mother, urged the lovers to desist, but to no avail. After the deaths in 1714 of his mother and his second cousin Anne, Queen of Great Britain, George ascended the British throne as Anne's closest living Protestant relative under the Act of Settlement 1701. Save 50% off a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. George's life and reign were re-explored by scholars such as Beattie and Hatton, and his character, abilities and motives re-assessed in a more generous light. The subsequent War of the Quadruple Alliance involved the same issue as the War of the Spanish Succession. [84][85][86], In addition to Melusine von der Schulenburg, three other women were said to be George's mistresses:[90][91], King of Great Britain, Elector of Hanover, Throughout George's life, Great Britain used the, The story that George I died in the same room as that in which he was born at. He attempted diligently, however, to fulfill his obligations to his new kingdom. Abroad, Britain’s involvement in the War of the Spanish…. Corrections? As a result, George was forced to give Walpole and Townshend a free hand in the ministry. [3], For the first year of his life, George was the only heir to the German territories of his father and three childless uncles. With her father's agreement, George had Sophia Dorothea imprisoned in Ahlden House in her native Celle, where she stayed until she died more than thirty years later. His management of the South Sea crisis, by rescheduling the debts and arranging some compensation, helped the return to financial stability.