How Did William Pitt Influence American Politics

William Pitt became Prime Minister in 1783 at just 24 years old. He came to power soon after the American War of Independence (1776-1783). Britain's status as a superpower had been undermined by this loss, and she was now isolated in Europe. The war had left Britain with huge national debt, and the dramatic fall in exports to America meant that her finances were also in an awful state. It was in this climate of political instability that Pitt became Prime Minister of Britain. He faced huge opposition in the House of Commons at the start of his rule. His was nicknamed the 'Mince Pie Administration' because people thought that it would be over by Christmas. Far from this, he went on to rule Britain for over ten years. It has since been keenly
British politics at the time was highly corrupt. People were sent to parliament on the basis of their wealth and connections rather than actual ability. Patronage was commonplace. This was the process by which an MP was sent to parliament by recommendation of an influential contact. The person making the recommendation would be under some pressure to choose good people (in terms of their own reputation) but the process was wholly undemocratic. The existence of rotten boroughs also shows the dishonest nature of politics at the time. These were deserted towns that still sent an MP to parliament from times when their populations were larger. It was easy for a politician to bribe the inhabitants of such a town, since votes were cast publicly on noisy stages called hustings. Pitt's family connections were therefore key to his political success. His alliance with the King was also highly valuable to him. Without George III Pitt could never have gotten into power. His dependency on the King was reflected in his actions over the Regency Crisis. In late 1788 George III became mentally ill. Fox quickly went to the Prince Regent for support (in order that he could gain power through royal patronage, of which he had always claimed to be a fierce critic) and hoped to get into office since the current King was no longer fit to rule. However the Prince was unpopular
Between 1783 and 1790, the value of Britain's imports doubled to £20 million whilst exports rose from £12.5 million in 1782 to over £20 million in 1790. With the new, more effective taxes this also increased government revenue. Industry and trade flourished under Pitt, and his commercial improvements were a major achievement. However the United States was becoming a threat to Britain's commercial supremacy. Pitt's proposal to reduce trade barriers was rejected by the Committee of Trade so instead he re-enforced the Navigation Acts. Imports and exports between Britain and America were to be transported by British ships. American shipping was excluded from the West Indian islands in 1783, and trade with America via French and Spanish islands was made illegal. This enabled Britain to maintain her commercial domination. After losing the American War of Independence, the government had looked to India and the East for potentially large markets. Pitt introduced the East India Act 1784, which split the control of India between the East India Company and a committee which sat in London, and would report to parliament. In 1783, Britain was isolated in Europe. There were important commercial reasons to end this, so Pitt entered talks with other European countries about free trade. The Eden Treaty 1786 meant that French wine would be sold at the same price as Portuguese. France also reduced their tariffs on