George Canning

George Canning (1770-1827), British statesman, a Tory, who entered the House of Commons in 1794 as the protégé and supporter of Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger. He was born in London, and educated in law at the University of Oxford. In 1796 Canning was made undersecretary of state for foreign affairs. In 1801, when Pitt resigned, Canning left his post on the Privy Council. When Pitt again became prime minister in 1804, Canning was appointed treasurer of the navy, an office he held until the death of Pitt in 1806.

In 1807 Canning became foreign minister. His resignation three years later was prompted by his continuing feud with the secretary of war, Viscount Castlereagh. This feud was both personal and professional. Personally, the two men fought a duel in 1809. Canning was wounded and both men resigned from their posts. Professionally, Canning and Castlereagh held different views on both domestic and foreign policy. Canning approved of government reform and supported the needs of the working class. In contrast, Castlereagh was not sympathetic to the working class and favored repression over reform. He also supported an alliance among European nations to fight for oppressed nations; Canning supported a more isolationist policy.

Canning held a series of minor offices until 1822, when he succeeded Castlereagh as foreign secretary and leader of the House of Commons. From then until his death, Canning guided the foreign affairs of Britain. He supported nationalist movements throughout Latin America, discouraging foreign intervention in American affairs, a policy that accorded with the Monroe Doctrine of the United States; he aided Portugal against Spanish aggression and aided the Greeks in their struggle against the Ottoman Empire. At home, Canning worked for emancipation of Roman Catholics. When the British prime minister Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd earl of Liverpool, left office in 1827, Canning succeeded him as prime minister, but his ministry lasted only until his death four months later.