126-397: [REDACTED] Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800) The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army , which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry which was again amalgamated, in 1968, with
252-669: A Power and Jurisdiction to examine, correct and amend" judgements of the Irish courts and declared that as the Kingdom of Ireland was subordinate to and dependent upon the crown of Great Britain, the King , through the Parliament of Great Britain, had "full power and authority to make laws and statutes of sufficient validity to bind the Kingdom and people of Ireland". The Act was repealed by
378-662: A clear Protestant heir and endangered the line of succession , with the laws of succession differing in the two kingdoms and threatening a return to the throne of Scotland of the Roman Catholic House of Stuart , exiled in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The resulting kingdom was in legislative and personal union with the Kingdom of Ireland from its inception, but the Parliament of Great Britain resisted early attempts to incorporate Ireland in
504-521: A considerable part of his reign abroad. These visits were also occasions both for significant negotiations and for the exchange of information and opinion....The visits to Hanover also provided critics with the opportunity...to argue that British interests were being neglected....George could not speak English, and all relevant documents from his British ministers were translated into French for him....Few British ministers or diplomats...knew German, or could handle it in precise discussion." George I supported
630-685: A decisive Allied victory at the Battle of Minden . The victory over the French navy at the Battle of Lagos and the decisive Battle of Quiberon Bay ended threats of a French invasion, and confirmed Britain's reputation as the world's foremost naval power. The Treaty of Paris of 1763 marked the high point of the First British Empire. France's future in North America ended, as New France (Quebec) came under British control. In India,
756-469: A growing evangelical, revivalist faction in the "Low Church". Its leaders included William Wilberforce and Hannah More . It reached the upper class through the Clapham Sect . It did not seek political reform, but rather the opportunity to save souls through political action by freeing slaves, abolishing the duel, prohibiting cruelty to children and animals, stopping gambling, and avoiding frivolity on
882-562: A larger economy, and the Scots began to provide soldiers and colonial officials to the new British forces and Empire. However, one notable difference at the outset was that the new Scottish members of parliament and representative peers were elected by the outgoing Parliament of Scotland, while all existing members of the Houses of Commons and Lords at Westminster remained in office. During the War of
1008-567: A little more tolerance for Protestant Dissenters. He avoided controversy and high-intensity disputes, as his middle way attracted moderates from both the Whig and Tory camps. H.T. Dickinson summed up his historical role: Walpole was one of the greatest politicians in British history. He played a significant role in sustaining the Whig party, safeguarding the Hanoverian succession, and defending
1134-455: A major battle to impose excise taxes on wine and tobacco . To reduce the threat of smuggling, the tax was to be collected not at ports but at warehouses. This new proposal, however, was extremely unpopular with the public, and aroused the opposition of the merchants because of the supervision it would involve. Walpole was defeated as his strength in Parliament dropped a notch. Historians hold Walpole's record in high regard, though there has been
1260-554: A major war and keep the peace. Both sides wanted peace, which allowed both countries enormous cost savings, and recovery from expensive wars. Henry Pelham became prime minister in 1744 and continued Walpole's policies. He worked for an end to the War of the Austrian Succession . His financial policy was a major success once peace had been signed in 1748. He demobilised the armed forces, and reduced government spending from £12 million to £7 million. He refinanced
1386-678: A man and was killed. The Allied centre was now attacked on three sides; using his remaining cavalry, Galway successfully withdrew some of his troops but 13 battalions lost contact with the rest of the army. Pursued by the Spanish cavalry, they took up a defensive position some 8 miles (12 km) from the battlefield but surrendered the next morning; according to Henry Kamen, allied casualties were 4,000 killed or wounded and 3,000 captured, with Franco-Spanish losses around 5,000 killed or wounded. French military historian Périni claimed Franco-Spanish casualties totalled around 2,000 killed or wounded, with
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#17327973710041512-435: A master of the effective use of patronage, as were Pelham and Lord Newcastle. They each paid close attention to the work of bestowing upon their political allies high places, lifetime pensions, honours, lucrative government contracts, and help at election time. In turn the friends enabled them to control Parliament. Thus in 1742, over 140 members of parliament held powerful positions thanks in part to Walpole, including 24 men at
1638-787: A new Territorial Force , organised into 14 infantry divisions, liable for service in wartime. In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former merging with the Yeomanry to become the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve ; the regiment now had one Reserve and two Territorial battalions. The regiment's name was again changed to the Prince Albert's (Somerset Light Infantry) in 1912. The Regiment saw active service in
1764-578: A number of exiled Irish regiments . Before beginning his advance on Valencia , Berwick detached 8,000 men to besiege Xàtiva , prompting the Earl of Peterborough , Allied commander in Spain, to consolidate his forces in Catalonia, rather than combine with the 16,500 troops led by Galway and Minas . This left them badly outnumbered when they moved to intercept Berwick. On 22 April, Berwick halted outside
1890-400: A recent tendency to share credit more widely among his allies. W. A. Speck wrote that Walpole's uninterrupted run of 20 years as Prime Minister is rightly regarded as one of the major feats of British political history... Explanations are usually offered in terms of his expert handling of the political system after 1720, [and] his unique blending of the surviving powers of the crown with
2016-449: A reverse for the British forces, battle honours and campaign medals were awarded. The conduct of the 13th at Jalalabad was officially rewarded on 26 August 1842, when Prince Albert offered his patronage to the regiment and permitted his name to be used in its title, becoming the 13th (1st Somersetshire) (Prince Albert's Light Infantry) Regiment of Foot . At the same time, the regimental facings were changed from yellow to (royal) blue, and
2142-645: A series of minor victories along the Spanish-Portuguese border, offset by the British capture of Gibraltar ; attempts to retake it were defeated at the naval Battle of Málaga in August 1704, with a land siege being abandoned in April 1705. The 1705 'Pact of Genoa' between English and Catalan representatives opened a second front in the north-east; the Allied capture of Barcelona and Valencia left Toulon as
2268-650: A short artillery exchange. His infantry successfully drove back the Bourbon centre but a gap opened between them and Portuguese troops on the right, under the 63-year-old Marquess of Minas . Seeing this, the Franco-Spanish cavalry attacked; Berwick's account states the Portuguese fought bravely for some time but eventually collapsed and fled. Their retreat was covered by a few squadrons under Das Minas' personal command, including his mistress, who fought dressed as
2394-738: A single unified parliament. Ireland remained formally separate, with its own parliament, until the Acts of Union 1800 took effect. The Union of 1707 provided for a Protestant-only succession to the throne in accordance with the English Act of Settlement of 1701 ; rather than Scotland's Act of Security of 1704 and the Act anent Peace and War 1703 , which ceased to have effect by the Repeal of Certain Scotch Acts 1707 . The Act of Settlement required that
2520-497: A small cadre ; the regiment was re-raised and returned to Spain. The unit fought at the Battle of Almanza (1707), the Battle of La Caya (1709), the Battle of Tortosa (1711) and the Battle of St Mateo (1711). In 1711, the regiment started a long period of garrison duty at Gibraltar. In 1715, they became Cotton's Regiment of Foot when Stanhope Cotton succeeded Barrymore. When war broke out with Spain in 1727 , Cotton's were part of
2646-528: A small German state that was opposed to Prussian supremacy. George I and George II saw a French alliance as the best way to neutralise Prussia. They forced a dramatic reversal of British foreign policy, which for centuries had seen France as England's greatest enemy. However, the bellicose King Louis XIV died in 1715, and the regents who ran France were preoccupied with internal affairs. King Louis XV came of age in 1726, and his elderly chief minister Cardinal Fleury collaborated informally with Walpole to prevent
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#17327973710042772-588: A superb Royal Navy, which not only protected the British colonies but threatened the colonies of the other empires, and sometimes seized them. Thus the Royal Navy captured New Amsterdam (later New York City ) in 1664. The colonies were captive markets for British industry, and the goal was to enrich the mother country. During the 1760s and 1770s, relations with the Thirteen Colonies turned from benign neglect to outright revolt, primarily because of
2898-664: A territory under British protection. War was formally declared on 5 March 1824, and the 13th took part in the campaign that lasted until February 1826, when a treaty was signed, with the King of Ava agreeing to cede territory and pay compensation to the British East India Company . The 13th Light Infantry returned to garrison duty in India. From 1826 to 1838, they were stationed in Baharampur , Danapur , Agra and Karnal . In 1837, Persian troops, allied to
3024-667: A thirty-year period of garrison service in England, Ireland, Gibraltar and Minorca. In 1775, the American Revolutionary War broke out, widening into war with France from 1778 and Spain in 1779. The 13th Foot sailed for the West Indies , arriving in Barbados . They saw little active service, returning to England in 1782, moving on to Ireland in 1783. It was at this time that the regiment's link to Somerset
3150-464: A wider European conflict that became known as the Nine Years' War . In 1692, Hastings' Regiment sailed to Flanders and, in 1694, took part in the disastrous amphibious assault at Camaret on the French coast. In 1695, Colonel Fernando Hastings was found guilty of extortion, and dismissed. Sir John Jacob became the colonel, and it was as Jacob's Regiment of Foot that they returned to England at
3276-524: Is the least criminal part of his ministry. For what is the loss of allies to the alienation of the people from the government, or the diminution of trade to the destruction of our liberties? Walpole's allies defeated a censure motion by a vote of 209 to 106, but Walpole's coalition lost seats in the election of 1741, and by a narrow margin he was finally forced out of office in early 1742. Walpole secured widespread support with his policy of avoiding war. He used his influence to prevent George II from entering
3402-434: The 13th (1st Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot (the 40th Foot becoming the "2nd Somersetshire"). The attempt to link regimental areas to specific counties was found to be impractical, with regiments preferring to recruit from major centres of population. By June 1783, each regiment was again recruiting throughout the country, although the county names were to remain. In 1790, the regiment sailed to Jamaica . In 1793, Britain
3528-664: The Acts of Union 1707 , which united the kingdoms of England (including Wales ) and Scotland to form a single kingdom encompassing the whole island of Great Britain and its outlying islands, with the exception of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands . The unitary state was governed by a single parliament at the Palace of Westminster , but distinct legal systems— English law and Scots law —remained in use. The formerly separate kingdoms had been in personal union since
3654-582: The Acts of Union 1800 , enacted by Great Britain and Ireland, under George III , to merge with it the Kingdom of Ireland . The name Britain descends from the Latin name for the island of Great Britain, Britannia or Brittānia , the land of the Britons via the Old French Bretaigne (whence also Modern French Bretagne ) and Middle English Bretayne , Breteyne . The term Great Britain
3780-682: The American War of Independence , it also had dominion over the Thirteen Colonies . From 1787, Britain began the colonisation of New South Wales with the departure of the First Fleet in the process of penal transportation to Australia . Britain was a leading belligerent in the French Revolutionary Wars . Great Britain was merged into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801, with
3906-690: The BBC , and others, including the Historical Association , refer to the state created on 1 May 1707 as the United Kingdom of Great Britain . Both the Acts and the Treaty describe the country as "One Kingdom" and a "United Kingdom", leading some publications to treat the state as the "United Kingdom". The term United Kingdom was sometimes used informally during the 18th century to describe
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4032-1031: The British Parliament 's insistence on taxing colonists without their consent to recover losses incurred protecting the American Colonists during the French and Indian War (1754–1763). In 1775, the American Revolutionary War began at the Battles of Lexington and Concord , and the Americans then trapped the British Army in Boston in the Siege of Boston and suppressed the Loyalists who supported The Crown . Battle of Almanza The Battle of Almansa took place on 25 April 1707, during
4158-534: The Church of England gained strength in the late 18th and early 19th century. The movement challenged the traditional religious sensibility that emphasized a code of honour for the upper class, and suitable behaviour for everyone else, together with faithful observances of rituals. John Wesley (1703–1791) and his followers preached revivalist religion, trying to convert individuals to a personal relationship with Christ through Bible reading, regular prayer, and especially
4284-769: The Earl of Sunderland , and Robert Walpole . Many Tories were driven out of national and local government, and new laws were passed to impose greater national control. The right of habeas corpus was restricted; to reduce electoral instability, the Septennial Act 1715 increased the maximum life of a parliament from three years to seven. During his reign, George I spent only about half as much of his time overseas as had William III, who also reigned for thirteen years. Jeremy Black has argued that George wanted to spend even more time in Hanover: "His visits, in 1716, 1719, 1720, 1723 and 1725, were lengthy, and, in total, he spent
4410-631: The First World War , with battalions involved on the Western Front , Mesopotamia (now Iraq ) and Palestine . Altogether, 18 battalions existed during the war. One of the new battalions was formed by the conversion of the West Somerset Yeomanry, a Territorial Force Cavalry Regiment; the rest were formed by the duplication of the existing Territorial Force units or by the formation of new "service" battalions. Following
4536-722: The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry , the King's Shropshire Light Infantry and the Durham Light Infantry to form The Light Infantry . In 2007, however, The Light Infantry was amalgamated further with the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment , the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment and the Royal Green Jackets to form The Rifles . The regiment was one of nine regiments of foot raised by James II when he expanded
4662-555: The Kingdom of Valencia . Over the course of 1706, Allied victories in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy forced the French onto the defensive and Galway sought to take advantage by launching a new offensive in 1707. To counter this, James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick , was appointed commander of Bourbon forces in North-East Spain, a total of 33,000 men, split equally between French and Spanish troops, with
4788-591: The Repeal of Act for Securing Dependence of Ireland Act 1782 . The same year, the Irish constitution of 1782 produced a period of legislative freedom. However, the Irish Rebellion of 1798 , which sought to end the subordination and dependency of the country on the British crown and to establish a republic, was one of the factors that led to the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. The deeper political integration of her kingdoms
4914-815: The Russians , occupied the Herat region of Afghanistan . The British, who feared Russian intervention in the area, decided to remove the emir of Afghanistan, Dost Muhammad , and to replace him with a pro-British monarch, Shuja Shah Durrani . Accordingly, an expeditionary force, known as the "Army of the Indus", was formed. The 13th Light Infantry formed part of the invasion force, joining the other units in November 1838. The army passed into Afghanistan in March 1839, taking Kandahar in April without resistance. The 13th took part in
5040-475: The Siege of Alexandria . In 1802, the regiment was awarded the badge of a sphinx superscribed "Egypt" for display on the regimental colours in commemoration of the campaign. A temporary end to hostilities with France came in March 1802, with the signing of the Treaty of Amiens . The 13th Foot left Egypt in that month, sailing to Malta , where they were stationed for a year, before moving to Gibraltar. In 1805,
5166-657: The War of the Polish Succession in 1733, because it was a dispute between the Bourbons and the Habsburgs. He boasted, "There are 50,000 men slain in Europe this year, and not one Englishman." Walpole himself let others, especially his brother-in-law Lord Townshend , handle foreign policy until about 1726, then took charge. A major challenge for his administration was the royal role as simultaneous ruler of Hanover,
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5292-525: The War of the Spanish Succession . It was fought between an army loyal to Philip V of Spain , Bourbon claimant to the Spanish throne, and one supporting his Habsburg rival, Archduke Charles of Austria . The result was a decisive Bourbon victory that reclaimed most of eastern Spain for Philip. The Bourbon army was commanded by the Duke of Berwick , illegitimate son of James II of England , while Habsburg forces were led by Henri de Massue, Earl of Galway , an exiled French Huguenot . This makes it "probably
5418-447: The third Carnatic War had left France still in control of several small enclaves , but with military restrictions and an obligation to support the British client states, effectively leaving the future of India to Great Britain. The British victory over France in the Seven Years' War therefore left Great Britain as the world's dominant colonial power, with a bitter France thirsting for revenge. The evangelical movement inside and outside
5544-577: The 13th Foot returned to England in July of that year. The regiment spent the next few years on garrison duty in Jersey , Guernsey , England, Scotland and Ireland. In September 1822, the 13th Foot was moved to Chatham in Kent , where it was brought up to strength for service in India . While there, it was reconstituted as a light infantry regiment in December and was retitled as the 13th (1st Somersetshire) Regiment (Light Infantry) . The 13th Light Infantry arrived in Kolkata in May and June 1823. Soon after arrival, Burmese forces attacked Cachar ,
5670-427: The 1603 " Union of the Crowns " when James VI of Scotland became King of England and King of Ireland . Since James's reign, who had been the first to refer to himself as "king of Great Britain", a political union between the two mainland British kingdoms had been repeatedly attempted and aborted by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland . Queen Anne ( r. 1702–1714 ) did not produce
5796-477: The 1870s, which gave it a depot at Jellalabad Barracks in Taunton from 1873, or by the Childers reforms of 1881 – as it already possessed two battalions, there was no need for it to amalgamate with another regiment. Under the reforms the regiment became the Prince Albert's Light Infantry (Somersetshire Regiment) on 1 July 1881. As the county regiment of Somersetshire, it also gained the county's militia and rifle volunteer battalions, which were integrated into
5922-407: The 1st Battalion. The 2nd Battalion of the 13th Light Infantry was raised at Winchester in January 1858. The two battalions, while sharing a depot, operated as separate units. The 1st Battalion saw active service in South Africa after 1875, fighting in the Bapedi campaign against Sekukuni in 1878 and Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. The regiment was not fundamentally affected by the Cardwell Reforms of
6048-459: The 36 men honoured were peers and members of parliament who would provide him with useful connections. Walpole himself became enormously wealthy, investing heavily in his estate at Houghton Hall and its large collection of European master paintings. Walpole's methods won him victory after victory, but aroused furious opposition. Historian John H. Plumb wrote: Walpole's policy had bred distrust, his methods hatred. Time and time again his policy
6174-566: The Allies losing 5,000 casualties and 10,000 prisoners, but from a larger force than 16,500 men. Périni also accepts the bulk of the cavalry escaped, some 3,500 men. According to Gaston Bodart , the Franco-Spanish lost 2,000 men from an army of 21,000 and the allies 12,000 men (5,000 killed or wounded and 7,000 captured) from a force of 16,000. Finally, according to Joaquim Albareda , the Bourbon forces lost 1,500 men, whereas total allied losses were around 7,000. Almansa has been described as "the single most important battle fought in Spain during
6300-421: The Americas. The First British Empire, based upon the English overseas possessions , was enlarged. From France, Great Britain gained Newfoundland and Acadia , and from Spain Gibraltar and Menorca . Gibraltar became a major naval base which allowed Great Britain to control the entrance from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. The war marks the weakening of French military, diplomatic and economic dominance, and
6426-404: The British Army and had exposed the weakness of the militia and volunteers as an effective reserve force. In 1907–1908, Richard Haldane , Secretary of State for War reorganised these second-line units of the army as part of a larger series of reforms. The existing militia was reduced in size and redesignated as the "Special Reserve", while the Volunteer Force was merged with the Yeomanry to form
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#17327973710046552-464: The Company at a par value of £100—the idea was that they would profit by the rising price of their stock. Everyone with connections wanted in on the bonanza, and many other outlandish schemes found gullible takers. South Sea stock peaked at £1,060 on 25 June 1720. Then the bubble burst, and by the end of September it had fallen to £150. Hundreds of prominent men had borrowed to buy stock high; their apparent profits had vanished, but they were liable to repay
6678-441: The Crimean War, while the mutiny in India had led to the responsibility for providing a garrison in the subcontinent from the Honourable East India Company to the Crown forces. Accordingly, there was a need for an expansion and reorganisation of the existing regiments. Rather than raising new infantry regiments, the senior regiments of foot were each ordered to raise a second battalion, with the existing regiment being redesignated as
6804-399: The Name of Great Britain", and as such "Great Britain" was the official name of the state, as well as being used in titles such as "Parliament of Great Britain". . The term Great Britain had been in use in some official contexts for a century, such as at the proclamation of Charles I 's acession to the throne in 1625 as "King of Great Britain". The websites of the Scottish Parliament ,
6930-448: The Philippines, and coastal Africa. The results were highly favourable for Britain, and a major disaster for France. Key decisions were largely in the hands of William Pitt the Elder . The war started poorly. Britain lost the island of Minorca in 1756 , and suffered a series of defeats in North America. After years of setbacks and mediocre results, British luck turned in the "miracle year" ("Annus Mirabilis") of 1759. The British had entered
7056-528: The Sabbath; evangelicals read the Bible every day. All souls were equal in God's view, but not all bodies, so evangelicals did not challenge the hierarchical structure of English society. The first British Empire was based largely in mainland North America and the West Indies, with a growing presence in India. Emigration from Britain went mostly to the Thirteen Colonies and the West Indies, with some to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Few permanent settlers went to British India , although many young men went there in
7182-452: The Scottish Enlightenment had a major impact on British, American, and European thinking. As a result of Poynings' Law of 1495, the Parliament of Ireland was subordinate to the Parliament of England , and after 1707 to the Parliament of Great Britain. The Westminster parliament's Declaratory Act 1719 (also called the Dependency of Ireland on Great Britain Act 1719) noted that the Irish House of Lords had recently "assumed to themselves
7308-426: The Spanish Succession (1702–14) England continued its policy of forming and funding alliances, especially with the Dutch Republic and the Holy Roman Empire against their common enemy, King Louis XIV of France. Queen Anne , who reigned 1702–1714, was the central decision maker, working closely with her advisers, especially her remarkably successful senior general, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough . The war
7434-479: The area after the ending of hostilities in February 1856, subsequently sailing to South Africa . In May 1857, the Indian Mutiny broke out. Reinforcements were requested, and the 13th arrived at Kolkata in October 1857. They took part in some minor actions. The 1st Battalion saw active service in South Africa from 1877 to 1879, in the Bapedi (Sekukuni) campaign of 1878 to 1879, and in the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. The British Army had been shown to be overstretched by
7560-414: The armistice ending the First World War, the war-raised battalions were rapidly disbanded. The regular battalions returned to the pre-war system of alternating home and foreign stations. The 1st Battalion was stationed in Northern Ireland and England, before being stationed in Egypt (1926–1928), Hong Kong (1928–1930) and India from 1930. The 2nd Battalion, which had spent the entire war in India, fought in
7686-406: The arrival on the world scene of Britain as a major imperial, military and financial power. British historian G. M. Trevelyan argued: In the 18th century England, and after 1707 Great Britain, rose to become the world's dominant colonial power , with France as its main rival. The pre-1707 English overseas possessions became the nucleus of the First British Empire . "In 1714 the ruling class
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#17327973710047812-401: The badge of a mural crown with a scroll inscribed "Jellalabad" was granted for display on the colours and uniform of the regiment. The unit was also honoured with the firing of a twenty-one gun salute at each army station it passed on its return to India. The 13th Light Infantry returned to England in 1845 after 23 years of foreign service. Presented with new colours at Portsmouth in 1846,
7938-419: The battalion spent two years broken up into small groups pacifying the inhabitants of the country. While the unit lost only 17 men in combat, 150 were to die from disease. During its period in India, the 1st Battalion was mainly stationed in the North West Frontier Province , and took part in First Mohmand Campaign of 1897. The battalion was posted at Rawalpindi until late 1902 when it moved to Peshawar near
8064-430: The brief Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, seeing active service in Afghanistan and on the North-West Frontier. Returning to India in 1920, the battalion moved to the Sudan in 1926 and England in 1927. The Territorial Force was reorganised to become the Territorial Army in 1920, and the 4th and 5th Battalions were reconstituted. At the same time, the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion was placed in "suspended animation", and
8190-483: The colonelcy of the regiment, which accordingly became Hastings's Regiment of Foot . Hastings's Regiment first saw action at the Battle of Killiecrankie , where they failed to halt the advance of Jacobite rebels, although they were later defeated at the Battle of Dunkeld . The regiment accompanied William to Ireland in the following year, fighting in the decisive Williamite victories at the Boyne and Cork . The Jacobite struggles in Scotland and Ireland were part of
8316-433: The decisive victory at Ghazni in July 1839. The British initially achieved their objective of enthroning Shuja in August 1839. The 13th formed part of the occupation force that attempted to enforce the rule of the new monarch; but, in October 1841, a popular uprising against Shuja broke out. The 13th found itself engaged in operations against the rebels who had overthrown Shuja and taken the capital, Kabul . In November 1841,
8442-455: The defeated forces at the Battle of Falkirk in January 1746. Three months later, they took part in the final defeat of the Jacobites in Culloden . Following the ending of the Jacobite rising, Pulteney's Regiment returned to Flanders, where they fought at the Battle of Rocoux (October 1746) and the Battle of Lauffeld or Val (July 1747). In both cases, the allied forces were defeated by the French. The regiment returned to England in 1747, and
8568-413: The disproportionately large number of Scottish peers were permitted to send only sixteen Scottish representative peers , elected from amongst their number for the life of each parliament. Similarly, the members of the former English House of Commons continued as members of the British House of Commons, but as a reflection of the relative tax bases of the two countries the number of Scottish representatives
8694-451: The end of the war in 1697. After a period of garrison duty in Ireland, Jacob's Regiment returned to Flanders in 1701. In the following year, the colonelcy again changed, with Sir John Jacob choosing to retire. He sold the colonelcy to his brother-in-law, Lieutenant-General James Barry, 4th Earl of Barrymore , for 1,400 guineas . With the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession , the Earl of Barrymore's Regiment of Foot saw action at
8820-569: The expulsion of the Tories from power; they remained in the political wilderness until his great-grandson George III came to power in 1760 and began to replace Whigs with Tories. George I has often been caricatured in the history books, but according to his biographer Ragnhild Hatton : ...on the whole he did well by Great Britain, guiding the country calmly and responsibly through the difficult postwar years and repeated invasions or threatened invasions... He liked efficiency and expertise, and had long experience of running an orderly state... He cared for
8946-456: The failure of the South Sea Company , an early joint-stock company . The campaigns of Jacobitism ended in defeat for the Stuarts' cause in 1746 . The Hanoverian line of monarchs gave their names to the Georgian era and the term " Georgian " is typically used in the contexts of social and political history for Georgian architecture . The term " Augustan literature " is often used for Augustan drama , Augustan poetry and Augustan prose in
9072-443: The following terms: My Lord, The very great deficiency of men in the regiments of infantry being so very detrimental to the public service, the king has thought proper to give the names of the different counties to the old corps, in hopes that, by the zeal and activity of the principal nobility and gentry in the several counties, some considerable assistance may be given towards recruiting these regiments". The regiment duly became
9198-534: The following year was part of the joint British, Hanoverian and Austrian force that secured a victory over the French at the Battle of Dettingen in June 1743. In May 1745, the situation was reversed when they were part of the allied army closely defeated at the Battle of Fontenoy . In 1745, Pulteney's Regiment returned to Britain, moving to Scotland to suppress the Jacobite rising of 1745 . They formed part of
9324-653: The force that invaded and occupied the French colony of Martinique in January and February 1809. In 1812, the war had widened to include the United States of America . In the following year, the 13th Foot left Martinique for Quebec , from whence they proceeded to protect the frontiers of Upper Canada . The regiment crossed the Saint Lawrence River and took part in minor actions around Plattsburgh and Lake Champlain . The war concluded in 1815, and
9450-505: The force that resisted the Spanish Siege of Gibraltar . The regiment returned to England in the following year. It remained there until 1742, with the name changing with the colonelcy: Kerr's Regiment of Foot ( Lord Mark Kerr ) in 1725, Middleton's Regiment of Foot (Brigadier-General John Middleton) in 1732 and Pulteney's Regiment of Foot (General Harry Pulteney ) in 1739. In 1742, Pulteney's Regiment sailed to Flanders, and in
9576-747: The full amount of the loans. Many went bankrupt, and many more lost fortunes. Confidence in the entire national financial and political system collapsed. Parliament investigated and concluded that there had been widespread fraud by the company directors and corruption in the Cabinet. Among Cabinet members implicated were the Chancellor of the Exchequer , the Postmaster General , and a Secretary of State, as well as two other leading men, Lord Stanhope and Lord Sunderland . Walpole had dabbled in
9702-600: The heir to the English throne be a descendant of the Electress Sophia of Hanover and not a Roman Catholic; this brought about the Hanoverian succession of George I of Great Britain in 1714. Legislative power was vested in the Parliament of Great Britain , which replaced both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland . In practice, it was a continuation of the English parliament, sitting at
9828-572: The historic Khyber Pass on the border to Afghanistan. In October 1899, war broke out between British Empire and the Boer Republics of South Africa . The 2nd Battalion landed in the Cape in December 1899, and was part of the British forces defeated at the Battle of Spion Kop in January 1900. In February of the same year, the battalion helped to relieve the siege of Ladysmith . They spent
9954-487: The hope of making money and returning home. Mercantilism was the basic policy imposed by Great Britain on its overseas possessions. Mercantilism meant that the government and the merchants became partners with the goal of increasing political power and private wealth, to the exclusion of other empires. The government protected its merchants—and kept others out—by trade barriers, regulations, and subsidies to domestic industries to maximise exports from and minimise imports to
10080-645: The increasing influence of the Commons. He was a Whig from the gentry class, who first arrived in Parliament in 1701, and held many senior positions. He was a country squire and looked to country gentlemen for his political base. Historian Frank O'Gorman said his leadership in Parliament reflected his "reasonable and persuasive oratory, his ability to move both the emotions as well as the minds of men, and, above all, his extraordinary self-confidence." Julian Hoppit has said Walpole's policies sought moderation: he worked for peace, lower taxes, growing exports, and allowed
10206-585: The leaders were executed, many others dispossessed of their lands, and some 700 prominent followers deported to forced labour on sugar plantations in the West Indies. A key decision was the refusal of the Pretender to change his religion from Roman Catholic to Anglican, which would have mobilised much more of the Tory element. The Whigs came to power, under the leadership of James Stanhope , Charles Townshend ,
10332-399: The margin of three votes he saved several key government officials from impeachment. Stanhope and Sunderland died of natural causes, leaving Walpole alone as the dominant figure in British politics. The public hailed him as the saviour of the financial system, and historians credit him with rescuing the Whig government, and indeed the Hanoverian dynasty, from total disgrace. Walpole was
10458-497: The national debt, dropping the interest rate from 4% p.a. to 3% p.a. Taxes had risen to pay for the war, but in 1752 he reduced the land tax from four shillings to two shillings in the pound: that is, from 20% to 10%. By avoiding wars, Walpole could lower taxes. He reduced the national debt with a sinking fund, and by negotiating lower interest rates. He reduced the land tax from four shillings in 1721, to 3s in 1728, 2s in 1731 and finally to only 1s (i.e. 5%) in 1732. His long-term goal
10584-476: The only battle in history in which the English forces were commanded by a Frenchman, the French by an Englishman." Campaigning in Spain and size of the armies involved were limited by logistics to a greater extent than Flanders or Italy . Reliance on local sources for forage and other supplies limited operations in arid areas like Northern Spain, that until the advent of railways in the 19th century, goods and supplies were largely transported by water. Control of
10710-572: The only major port available to the Bourbons in the Western Mediterranean. An attempt in May 1706 by Philip V of Spain to retake Barcelona failed, while his absence allowed an Allied force to capture Madrid and Zaragossa but they could not be resupplied so far from their bases and were forced to withdraw. By November 1706, Philip controlled the Crown of Castile , Murcia and parts of
10836-786: The period 1700–1740s. The term "Augustan" refers to the acknowledgement of the influence of classical Latin from the ancient Roman Empire . Victory in the Seven Years' War led to the dominance of the British Empire , which was to become the foremost global power for over a century. Great Britain dominated the Indian subcontinent through the trading and military expansion of the East India Company in colonial India . In wars against France , it gained control of both Upper and Lower Canada , and until suffering defeat in
10962-400: The political union. The early years of the newly united kingdom were marked by Jacobite risings , particularly the Jacobite rising of 1715 . The relative incapacity or ineptitude of the Hanoverian kings resulted in a growth in the powers of Parliament and a new role, that of " prime minister ", emerged in the heyday of Robert Walpole . The "South Sea Bubble" economic crisis was brought on by
11088-467: The principles of the Glorious Revolution (1688) ... He established a stable political supremacy for the Whig party and taught succeeding ministers how best to establish an effective working relationship between Crown and Parliament. The Seven Years' War , which began in 1756, was the first war waged on a global scale and saw British involvement in Europe, India , North America, the Caribbean,
11214-605: The process, which removed all 33 company directors and stripped them of, on average, 82% of their wealth. The money went to the victims. The government bought the stock of the South Sea Company for £33 and sold it to the Bank of England and the East India Company, the only other two corporations big enough to handle the challenge. Walpole made sure that King George and his mistresses were not embarrassed, and by
11340-470: The quality of his ministers and his officers, army and naval, and the strength of the navy in fast ships grew during his reign... He showed political vision and ability in the way in which he used British power in Europe. Robert Walpole (1676–1745) was a son of the landed gentry who rose to power in the House of Commons from 1721 to 1742. He became the first "prime minister", a term in use by 1727. In 1742, he
11466-516: The realm. The government had to fight smuggling—which became a favourite American technique in the 18th century to circumvent the restrictions on trading with the French, Spanish or Dutch. The goal of mercantilism was to run trade surpluses, so that gold and silver would pour into London. The government took its share through duties and taxes, with the remainder going to merchants in London and other British ports. The government spent much of its revenue on
11592-479: The regiment as numbered battalions. Within months the regiment had been retitled to Prince Albert's (Somersetshire Light Infantry) . On formation, the regiment had the following battalions: The two regular battalions continued the system of alternating between home and foreign stations: The 2nd Battalion took part in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of 1885 to 1887. Following an initial invasion,
11718-703: The regiment moved to Ireland in the following year, remaining there until 1850, before spending a year in Scotland. From 1851–1854, they were stationed in Gibraltar. In 1854, the regiment was brought up to full strength and, in June of the following year, landed in the Crimea as part of the Anglo-French forces conducting a campaign against the Russians. They took part in the Siege of Sevastopol , and remained in
11844-426: The regiment returned to England. After occupying various stations in the south of the country, the 13th sailed for Ireland in May 1807. The regiment was brought up to full strength by an intake of volunteers from the Irish militia and sailed to Bermuda , arriving in March 1808. The regiment lost large numbers of men to disease while on the island. War had again broken out with France, and the 13th Foot formed part of
11970-570: The regiment was forced to retreat to the fortified town of Jalalabad . The town was soon encircled, leading to a lengthy siege . In April of the following year, the garrison, under the command of Sir Robert Sale of the 13th, broke the siege and defeated the Afghan forces under Akbar Khan . Although the war, which ended in October 1842 with the return of the Army of the Indus to India, was essentially
12096-572: The remainder of the conflict taking part in a number of minor actions. The 4th (2nd Somerset Militia) Battalion was embodied in December 1899, and 415 officers and men embarked in the SS ; Kildonan Castle in early March 1900 for service in South Africa . A large contingent of the men returned home in May 1902 on the SS Sicilia . The Boer War had severely stretched the resources of
12222-642: The revival experience. Wesley himself preached 52,000 times, calling on men and women to "redeem the time" and save their souls. Wesley always operated inside the Church of England, but at his death, it set up outside institutions that became the Methodist Church . It stood alongside the traditional nonconformist churches, Presbyterians, Congregationalist, Baptists, Unitarians and Quakers. The nonconformist churches, however, were less influenced by revivalism. The Church of England remained dominant, but it had
12348-578: The royal court, 50 in the government agencies, and the rest with sinecures or other handsome emoluments, often in the range of £500 – £1000 per year. Usually there was little or no work involved. Walpole also distributed highly attractive ecclesiastical appointments. When the Court in 1725 instituted a new order of chivalry, the Order of the Bath , Walpole immediately seized the opportunity. He made sure that most of
12474-619: The same location in Westminster, expanded to include representation from Scotland. As with the former Parliament of England and the modern Parliament of the United Kingdom , the Parliament of Great Britain was formally constituted of three elements: the House of Commons , the House of Lords , and the Crown . The right of the English peers to sit in the House of Lords remained unchanged, while
12600-528: The seas allowed the Allies to successfully conduct short-term offensives outside the coastal areas but lack of popular support meant they could not hold territory. The Grand Alliance secured an operations base in Lisbon when Peter II of Portugal changed sides in May 1703, and the following March, Archduke Charles of Austria arrived to head a land campaign. The Bourbon alliance between France and Spain won
12726-476: The sieges or battles of Kaiserwerth , Venlo , Roermond , Huy , Limburg and Liège . In 1704, Barrymore's Regiment moved to the Iberian Peninsula taking part in the defence of the recently-captured Gibraltar (1704–05) and the Siege of Barcelona (1705) . In 1706, the bulk of the regiment was converted into a regiment of dragoons due to a shortage of cavalry. Barrymore returned to England with
12852-524: The size of the army in response to the Monmouth Rebellion . On 20 June 1685, Theophilus Hastings, 7th Earl of Huntingdon was issued with a warrant authorising him to raise a regiment, and accordingly the Earl of Huntingdon's Regiment of Foot was formed, mainly recruiting in the county of Buckinghamshire . The regiment remained in existence when William III came to the throne in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Ferdinando Hastings took over
12978-497: The speculation himself but was not a major player. He rose to the challenge, as the new First Lord of the Treasury , of resolving the financial and political disaster. The economy was basically healthy, and the panic ended. Working with the financiers he successfully restored confidence in the system. However, public opinion, as shaped by the many prominent men who had lost so much money so quickly, demanded revenge. Walpole supervised
13104-473: The state. The kingdoms of England and Scotland, both in existence from the 9th century (with England incorporating Wales in the 16th century), were separate states until 1707. However, they had come into a personal union in 1603, when James VI of Scotland became king of England under the name of James I . This Union of the Crowns under the House of Stuart meant that the whole of the island of Great Britain
13230-486: The town of Almansa , from where he could threaten supply lines for the Allied garrison in Valencia. The Allies broke camp early on 25 April and reached Almansa after a long and tiring march. Berwick had drawn up his army in two lines, just in front of the town, his infantry in the centre and the French and Spanish cavalry on the wings. Although Galway was clearly outnumbered, he commenced his attack in mid-afternoon after
13356-433: The two kingdoms into a kingdom called Great Britain. Anne became the first monarch to occupy the unified British throne, and in line with Article 22 of the Treaty of Union Scotland and England each sent members to the new House of Commons of Great Britain . The Scottish and English ruling classes retained power, and each country kept its legal and educational systems, as well as its established Church. United, they formed
13482-435: The very term "patriot". The opposition Country Party attacked Walpole relentlessly, primarily targeting his patronage, which they denounced as corruption. In turn, Walpole imposed censorship on the London theatre and subsidised writers such as William Arnall and others who rejected the charge of political corruption by arguing that corruption is the universal human condition. Furthermore, they argued, political divisiveness
13608-446: The war was formally ended by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. By the late seventeenth century, each regiment of the standing army had been allotted a "rank" in the order of precedence. These numbers came to be increasingly used until a royal warrant of 1751 decreed that regiments should in future be known by their numbers only. Accordingly, Pulteney's Regiment became the 13th Regiment of Foot . The redesignated 13th Foot entered
13734-547: The war". Berwick's tactics were admired by many, Frederick the Great later describing it as the most impressive battle of the century. Victory confirmed Philip's control of North-East Spain and Valencia , while by the end of 1707 the Allies were once again restricted to Catalonia and the Balearic Islands . The Franco-Spanish army followed up their success by besieging Xàtiva ; when it surrendered in June, much of
13860-775: The year anxious about a French invasion , but by the end of the year, they were victorious in all theatres. In the Americas, they captured Fort Ticonderoga (Carillon) , drove the French out of the Ohio Country , captured Quebec City in Canada as a result of the decisive Battle of the Plains of Abraham , and captured the rich sugar island of Guadeloupe in the West Indies. In India, the John Company repulsed French forces besieging Madras . In Europe, British troops partook in
13986-441: Was a financial drain, for Britain had to finance its allies and hire foreign soldiers. Stalemate on the battlefield and war weariness on the home front set in toward the end. The anti-war Tory politicians won control of Parliament in 1710 and forced a peace. The concluding Treaty of Utrecht was highly favourable for Britain. Spain lost its empire in Europe and faded away as a great power, while working to better manage its colonies in
14112-518: Was a foreign prince and had a small English standing army to support him, with military support from his native Hanover and from his allies in the Netherlands. In the Jacobite rising of 1715 , based in Scotland, the Earl of Mar led eighteen Jacobite peers and 10,000 men, with the aim of overthrowing the new king and restoring the Stuarts. Poorly organised, it was decisively defeated. Several of
14238-407: Was a key policy of Queen Anne , the last Stuart monarch of England and Scotland and the first monarch of Great Britain. A Treaty of Union was agreed in 1706, following negotiations between representatives of the parliaments of England and Scotland, and each parliament then passed separate Acts of Union to ratify it. The Acts came into effect on 1 May 1707, uniting the separate Parliaments and uniting
14364-511: Was a new phenomenon, not well understood, except for the strong gossip among financiers that fortunes could be made overnight. The South Sea Company, although originally set up to trade with the Spanish Empire, quickly turned most of its attention to very high risk financing, involving £30 million, some 60 per cent of the entire British national debt. It set up a scheme that invited stock owners to turn in their certificates for stock in
14490-503: Was again at war with France , this time with the revolutionary régime. The 13th Foot landed in the French colony of Saint-Domingue , where the Haitian Revolution was in progress. Returning to Ireland in 1797 and England in 1799, the 13th were next engaged in a series of minor coastal assaults on the Spanish coast in 1800. In 1801, the regiment sailed to Egypt to help repel the French invasion force . The 13th took part in
14616-595: Was also universal and inevitable because of selfish passions that were integral to human nature. Arnall argued that government must be strong enough to control conflict, and in that regard Walpole was quite successful. This style of "court" political rhetoric continued through the 18th century. Lord Cobham , a leading soldier, used his own connections to build up an opposition after 1733. Young William Pitt and George Grenville joined Cobham's faction —they were called "Cobham's Cubs". They became leading enemies of Walpole and both later became prime minister. By 1741, Walpole
14742-518: Was created Earl of Orford and was succeeded as prime minister by two of his followers, Henry Pelham (1743–1754) and Pelham's brother the Duke of Newcastle (1754–1762). Clayton Roberts summarizes Walpole's new functions: He monopolized the counsels of the King, he closely superintended the administration, he ruthlessly controlled patronage, and he led the predominant party in Parliament. Corporate stock
14868-441: Was facing mounting criticism on foreign policy—he was accused of entangling Britain in a useless war with Spain—and mounting allegations of corruption. On 13 February 1741, Samuel Sandys , a former ally, called for his removal. He said: Such has been the conduct of Sir Robert Walpole, with regard to foreign affairs: he has deserted our allies, aggrandized our enemies, betrayed our commerce, and endangered our colonies; and yet this
14994-611: Was first formed. On 21 August 1782, the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces , Henry Seymour Conway , issued a regulation giving an English county designation to each regiment of foot other than those with a royal title or highland regiments. The intention was to improve recruitment during the unpopular war, and the Secretary at War , Thomas Townshend issued a circular letter to the lieutenants of each county in England in
15120-441: Was first used officially in 1474. The use of the word "Great" before "Britain" originates in the French language, which uses Bretagne for both Britain and Brittany . French therefore distinguishes between the two by calling Britain la Grande Bretagne , a distinction which was transferred into English. The Treaty of Union and the subsequent Acts of Union state that England and Scotland were to be "United into One Kingdom by
15246-694: Was fixed at 45. Newly created peers in the Peerage of Great Britain , and their successors, had the right to sit in the Lords. Despite the end of a separate parliament for Scotland, it retained its own laws and system of courts, as also its own established Presbyterian Church and control over its own schools. The social structure was highly hierarchical, and the same ruling class remained in control after 1707. Scotland continued to have its own universities, and with its intellectual community, especially in Edinburgh,
15372-522: Was never again embodied. On 1 January 1921, the regimental title was changed a final time, becoming The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) . Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain , officially known as Great Britain , was a sovereign state in Western Europe from 1707 to the end of 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by
15498-430: Was now ruled by a single monarch, who by virtue of holding the English crown also ruled over the Kingdom of Ireland . Each of the three kingdoms maintained its own parliament and laws. Various smaller islands were in the king's domain, including the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands . This disposition changed dramatically when the Acts of Union 1707 came into force, with a single unified Crown of Great Britain and
15624-556: Was so bitterly divided that many feared a civil war might break out on Queen Anne's death", wrote historian W. A. Speck . A few hundred of the richest ruling class and landed gentry families controlled parliament, but were deeply split, with Tories committed to the legitimacy of the Stuart "Old Pretender" , then in exile. The Whigs strongly supported the Hanoverians, in order to ensure a Protestant succession. The new king, George I
15750-599: Was successful in Parliament only because of the government's absolute control of the Scottish members in the Commons and the Bishops in the Lords. He gave point to the opposition's cry that Walpole's policy was against the wishes of the nation, a policy imposed by a corrupt use of pension and place. The opposition called for "patriotism" and looked at the Prince of Wales as the future "Patriot King". Walpole supporters ridiculed
15876-407: Was to replace the land tax, which was paid by the local gentry, with excise and customs taxes, which were paid by merchants and ultimately by consumers. Walpole joked that the landed gentry resembled hogs, which squealed loudly whenever anyone laid hands on them. By contrast, he said, merchants were like sheep, and yielded their wool without complaint. The joke backfired in 1733 when he was defeated in
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