There was rampant corruption in British politics as well. One American observer, while studying in England, wrote concerning the common practice of buying votes: "Few people can refrain from laughing while they take [the oath of office]."
Not only was the lower class shut out of power, they suffered in dire poverty. According to Fleming: "Tens of thousands struggled for survival in gin-soaked city slums that were degrading beyond belief." Often, the struggling masses rose up in revolt. According to Fleming, there were just under 160 major riots in England between 1740 and 1775.
The advent of new inventions and innovative entrepreneurs in the 1750s and 60s helped conditions slightly, but government officials knew full well that internal taxation would not be sufficient to bring down their enormous debt derived from the Seven Years' War. And then there was still the matter of the ongoing expenses of administering the empire - an empire larger now thanks to their victory over the French.
Complicating matters even more was the intrigue and tug-of-war of British politics. When George III assumed the throne upon the death of his grandfather in 1760, he received direct and succinct advice from his mother: "Be a king, George!" Third in line in a weak Germanic dynasty, George III hoped for a return to the days of monarchical supremacy. Those days had ended with the Glorious Revolution of the last century, but George III planned a comeback. He would not be a mere ceremonial figurehead or spectator. He intended to be relevant. He intended to lead.
Hovering over the young king was his mother, Princess Augusta, and his mentor, John Stuart, Earl of Bute. George III immediately moved to secure a place in the government for Bute and began to ease Secretary of State William Pitt out. Eventually, Pitt obliged the new king by resigning in protest over Bute's growing power over and interference in affairs that Pitt was supposedly responsible for.
