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William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC (15 November 1708 – 11 May 1778) was a British statesman of the Whig group who led the government of Great Britain twice in the middle of the 18th century. Historians call him Pitt or Chatham, or William Pitt the Elder to distinguish from his son, William Pitt the Younger, who also was a prime minister. Pitt was also known as The Great Commoner, because of his long-standing refusal to accept a title until 1766. Pitt was a member of the British cabinet and its informal leader from 1756 to 1761 (with a brief interlude in 1757), during the Seven Years' War (known as the French and Indian War in the United States). He again led the ministry, holding the official title of Lord Privy Seal, between 1766 and 1768. Much of his power came from his brilliant oratory. He was out of power for most of his career and became well known for his attacks on the government, such as those on Walpole's corruption in the 1730s, Hanoverian subsidies in the 1740s, peace with France in the 1760s, and the uncompromising policy towards the American colonies in the 1770s.〔Jeremy Black, "William Pitt the Elder" (1998)〕 Pitt is best known as the wartime political leader of Britain in the Seven Years' War, especially for his single-minded devotion to victory over France, a victory which ultimately solidified Britain's dominance over world affairs. He is also known for his popular appeal, his opposition to corruption in government, his support for the colonial position in the run-up to the American War of Independence, his advocacy of British greatness, expansionism and colonialism, and his antagonism toward Britain's chief enemies and rivals for colonial power, Spain and France.〔Black (1992)〕 Peters argues his statesmanship was based on a clear, consistent, and distinct appreciation of the value of the Empire.〔Marie Peters, "The Myth of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, Great Imperialist: Part One, Pitt and Imperial Expansion 1738–1763," ''Journal of Imperial & Commonwealth History,'' Jan 1993, Vol. 21 Issue 1, pp 31–74〕 British parliamentary historian, Peter D.G. Thomas, (2003) argues that Pitt's power was based not on his family connections but the extraordinary parliamentary skills by which he dominated the House of Commons. He displayed a commanding manner, brilliant rhetoric, and sharp debating skills that cleverly utilized broad literary and historical knowledge.〔Peter D.G. Thomas, "'The Great Commoner': The Elder William Pitt as Parliamentarian," ''Parliamentary History,'' July 2003, Vol. 22 Issue 2, pp 145–63〕 ==Early life== Pitt was the grandson of Thomas Pitt (1653–1726), the governor of Madras, known as "Diamond" Pitt for having discovered and sold a diamond of extraordinary size to the Duke of Orléans for around £135,000.〔Brown pp. 15–16〕 This transaction, as well as other trading deals in India, established the Pitt family fortune. After returning home the Governor was able to raise his family to a position of wealth and political influence: in 1691 he purchased the property of Boconnoc in Cornwall, which gave him control of a seat in Parliament. He made further land purchases and became one of the dominant political figures in the West Country controlling seats such as the rotten borough of Old Sarum. William's father was Robert Pitt (1680–1727), the eldest son of Governor Pitt, who served as a Tory Member of Parliament from 1705 to 1727. His mother was Harriet Villiers,〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.stanford.edu/group/auden/cgi-bin/auden/individual.php?pid=I3347&ged=auden-bicknell.ged )〕 the daughter of Edward Villiers-FitzGerald and the Irish heiress Katherine FitzGerald.〔Black pp. 1–2〕 Both William's paternal uncles Thomas and John were MPs, while his aunt Lucy married the leading Whig politician and soldier General James Stanhope. From 1717 to 1721 Stanhope served as effective First Minister in the Stanhope–Sunderland Ministry〔Turner, p. 1〕 and was a useful political contact for the Pitt family until the collapse of the South Sea Bubble, a disaster which engulfed the government. William Pitt was born at Golden Square, Westminster, on 15 November 1708.〔Brown pp. 17–18〕 His older brother Thomas Pitt had been born in 1704. There were also five sisters: Harriet, Catherine, Ann, Elizabeth, and Mary. From 1719 William was educated at Eton College along with his brother. William disliked Eton, later claiming that "a public school might suit a boy of turbulent disposition but would not do where there was any gentleness".〔Brown, p. 26〕 It was at school that Pitt began to suffer from gout. In 1726 Governor Pitt died, and the family estate at Boconnoc passed to William's father. When he died the following year, Boconnoc was inherited by William's elder brother, Thomas Pitt of Boconnoc. In January 1727, William was entered as a gentleman commoner at Trinity College, Oxford. There is evidence that he was an extensive reader, if not a minutely accurate classical scholar. Demosthenes was his favourite author. William diligently cultivated the faculty of expression by the practice of translation and re-translation. In these years he became a close friend of George Lyttelton,〔Black pp. 5–9〕 who would later become a leading politician. In 1728 a violent attack of gout compelled him to leave Oxford University without finishing his degree. He then chose to travel abroad. He spent some time in France and Italy on the Grand Tour and from 1728 to 1730 he attended Utrecht University in the Dutch Republic.〔Black p. 5〕 He had recovered from the attack of gout, but the disease proved intractable, and he continued to be subject to attacks of growing intensity at frequent intervals until his death. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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