An idle question, based upon reading about the American Revolution.
I get the impression that by 1775, George pretty much had turned Parliament into a rubber stamp; using an enormous budget given to him by Parliament, he could basically bribe people at will, and the opposition was basically a rump (which, in its more fanatic moments, saw its position so bad that Fox was making contingency plans to flee the country).
So in short, whatever George III or his proxies wanted, happened. This convenient system seemed to blow apart during the Revolution and once George III started going temporarily insane, but it seems to me that if the Revolution had ened in 1776 or so (say, a disaster at Long Island) then George's control of Parliament would only be solidified.
Thoughts?
I get the impression that by 1775, George pretty much had turned Parliament into a rubber stamp; using an enormous budget given to him by Parliament, he could basically bribe people at will, and the opposition was basically a rump (which, in its more fanatic moments, saw its position so bad that Fox was making contingency plans to flee the country).
So in short, whatever George III or his proxies wanted, happened. This convenient system seemed to blow apart during the Revolution and once George III started going temporarily insane, but it seems to me that if the Revolution had ened in 1776 or so (say, a disaster at Long Island) then George's control of Parliament would only be solidified.
Thoughts?