The ‘Septennial Act,’ 1716.which said there shall be a new parliament every seven years, instead of every three years. Abroad there is nothing interesting either. France, which had been very hard hit by the war, only wanted peace. The new King of Spain occasionally growled at our holding Gibraltar, and twice tried to take it from us; which was unlucky for him, as we blew his fleet into the air.
George ll, 1727–60; his character.George I died in 1727, and the first few years of the reign of his son, George Il, were almost as quiet as the late reign had been. The new King was a shrewd, short, red-faced person, with great goggle-eyes. He cared as little for England and as much for Hanover as his father; but he had fought bravely in Marlborough's wars when he was young, and was always longing to fight somebody. He at least knew how to swear in English, and he was rather too fond of swearing. Sir Robert Walpole, Prime Minister, 1721–42; his neglect of army and navy.His Prime Minister, till 1742, was Sir Robert Walpole, who had ruled his father since 1721. This man, though he shockingly neglected the army and the navy, managed money matters remarkably well; and the result was that our trade increased enormously.
But the price of his neglect of the fighting services had soon to be paid. France, when she had recovered from Marlborough's wars, made a close alliance with Spain, and in 1737 Spain began to attack our trade in America. War with Spain, 1739, and France, 1740.Sorely against his will, Walpole had to declare war on Spain to defend that trade. France came to Spain's assistance and the war then grew much more serious. It was in fact a struggle for power and empire both in America and India and lasted for eight or nine years; and, as our old Austrian and Dutch allies were also attacked by France, we had to send soldiers to Germany and Flanders as well, though we