GEORGE II

GEORGE II. (1683-1760), king of Great Britain from 1727 to 1760, and Elector of Hanover, born in Hanover, son of George I; in 1705 he married Caroline of Anspach, and in 1714 was declared Prince of Wales; he joined his father in the struggle with Louis XIV., and distinguished himself on the side of the Allies at the battle of Oudenarde; the period of his reign is one of considerable importance in English history; Walpole and subsequently Pitt were the great ministers of the age; war was waged against Spain and France; the last Jacobite rising was crushed at Culloden (1746); English power was established in Canada by the brilliant victory of Wolfe at Quebec (1759); an empire was won in India by Clive; the victory of Minden (1759) was gained in the Seven Years' War; Methodism sprang up under Wesley and Whitfield; while a great development in literature and art took place; against these, however, must be set the doubling of the National Debt, mainly due to the Seven Years' War, and a defeat by the French at Fontenoy (1745).