Robert Harley Chancellor of the Exchequer by Kneller

{{short description, Event in British politics Harley's Dozen were twelve new

peerages A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Bel ...

created in December 1711 by the British

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

government of Robert Harley which was struggling to gain a majority in the Whig-dominated

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. This came at a time when the government were negotiating peace terms to end the ongoing

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

, which were unlikely to pass the Lords where opposition Whigs and some Tories had joined together to block them under the slogan "

No Peace Without Spain No Peace Without Spain was a popular British political slogan of the early eighteenth century. It referred to the ongoing War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) in which Britain was a leading participant. It implied that no peace treaty cou ...

Creation

Two of the men, Lord Bruce and Lord Compton, were heirs to existing

earldoms Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form '' jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particula ...

and were advanced to the house in their own right using their father's baronies. Others included Harley's son-in-law George Hay as well as George Granville, Thomas Mansel, Thomas Trevor, Thomas Foley all of whom were close political allies of the First Minister. Most controversial was that of Samuel Masham, the husband of Queen Anne's favourite

Abigail Hill Abigail Masham, Baroness Masham (née Hill; 6 December 1734), was an English courtier. She was a favourite of Queen Anne, and a cousin of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. Life Early life Abigail Hill was the daughter of Francis Hill, a London m ...

, a cousin and ally of Harley. While Bruce's

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

were dated 31 December 1711, the other creations all took place on the subsequent day 1 January 1712. When Parliament resumed on 2 January they took their seats. Because their numbers resembled that of a

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartiality, impartial verdict (a Question of fact, finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty o ...

, the Whig

Lord Wharton Baron Wharton is a title in the Peerage of England, originally granted by letters patent to the heirs male of the Thomas Wharton, 1st Baron Wharton, 1st Baron, which was forfeited in 1729 when the last male-line heir was declared an outlaw. The B ...

mockingly asked if they were going to speak individually or elect a foreman to do so.

Aftermath

Despite the controversy Harley was able to subsequently pass the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne o ...

in 1713. However, the narrow Tory majority in the Lords disappeared in 1714 following the

Hanoverian Succession The Act of Settlement is an Act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants, which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became a Roman Catholic, or who married one, bec ...

when the Tory government was replaced by

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George I of Antioch (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgor ...

. Harley's alleged abuse of royal power and the violation of the constitution were part of the articles of

impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

against him, when he was prosecuted by Parliament in 1715.Jones p.84 In 1719 partly in a response to Harley's earlier creations, the Whig government of James Stanhope proposed a

Peerage Bill {{short description, Proposed British law of 1719 The Peerage Bill was a 1719 measure proposed by the British Whig government led by James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope and Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland which would have largely halted the ...

which would have largely limited further expansion of the House of Lords. However, this was defeated and the size of the Lords continued to grow during the eighteenth century.

Full list of the new peers

* Allen Bathurst, created

Baron Bathurst Earl Bathurst, of Bathurst in the County of Sussex, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. The medieval English word was Botehurst, thought to date at least from the 13th century. Bote is the origination of Battle, although the family m ...

* Charles Bruce, Viscount Bruce of Ampthill, created Baron Bruce by acceleration * James Compton, Lord Compton, created

Baron Compton Baron Compton is an abeyant title in the Peerage of England, meaning that inheritance of the title stopped because there was no legal priority as to which daughter would inherit the title. The title was created in 1572 for the Tudor politician, ...

by acceleration * Thomas Foley, created

Baron Foley Baron Foley is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Great Britain, both times for members of the same family. The first creation came in 1712 in favour of Thomas Foley, who had earlier represented Stafford in the House of Co ...

* George Granville, created Baron Landsdowne * George Hay, Viscount Dupplin, created Baron Hay * Sir Thomas Mansel, 5th Baronet, created

Baron Mansel Baron Mansel, of Margam in the County of Glamorgan, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created on 1 January 1712 for Sir Thomas Mansel, 5th Baronet, previously Member of Parliament for Cardiff and Glamorganshire. His ancestor ...

* Samuel Masham, created

Baron Masham Baron Masham is a title that has been created three times, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was first created in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1712 when the courtier Samuel Masham was ma ...

* Henry Paget, created

Baron Burton Baron Burton, of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore in the County of Stafford, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1897 for the prominent brewer, philanthropist and Liberal politician Michael Bass, 1st Baron Burto ...

* Thomas Trevor, created

Baron Trevor Baron Trevor is a title that has been created three times. It was created first in 1662 in the Peerage of Ireland along with the viscountcy of Dungannon. For information on this creation, which became extinct in 1706, see Viscount Dungannon. T ...

* Sir Thomas Willoughby, 2nd Baronet, created

Baron Middleton Baron Middleton, of Middleton in the County of Warwick, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain, created in December 1711 for Sir Thomas Willoughby, 2nd Baronet, who had previously represented Nottinghamshire and Newark in Parliament. It wa ...

Thomas Windsor, 1st Viscount Windsor Lieutenant-General Thomas Windsor, 1st Viscount Windsor (8 June 1738), styled The Honourable Thomas Windsor until 1699, was a British Army officer, landowner and Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1685 and ...

, created

Baron Mountjoy The titles of Baron Mountjoy and Viscount Mountjoy have been created several times for members of various families, including the Blounts and their descendants and the Stewarts of Ramelton and their descendants. The first creation was for Walter ...

( Viscount Windsor was a title in the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

, which did not entitle its holder to a seat in the British House of Lords.)

References

Bibliography

* Colley, Linda. ''In Defiance of Oligarchy: The Tory Party 1714-60''. Cambridge University Press, 1985. * Hill, Brian W. ''Robert Harley. Speaker, Secretary of State and Premier Minister''. Yale University Press, 1998. * Jones, Clyve. ''Pillar of the Constitution: The House of Lords in British Politics, 1640-1784''. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2010. * Rogers, ''The Life and Times of Thomas, Lord Coningsby: The Whig Hangman and His Victims''. A&C Black, 2011. 1711 in Great Britain