Editing William Pitt the Younger (section)

== Second Premiership (1804–1806)==
===Reappointment<span class="anchor" id="Second premiership"></span><!-- linked from redirects [[Second premiership of William Pitt the Younger]], [[Second prime ministership of William Pitt the Younger]] -->===
{{Further|Second Pitt ministry}}
[[File:Uncorking-Old-Sherry-Gillray.jpeg|thumb|upright|In ''[[Uncorking Old Sherry]]'' (1805), Gillray caricatured Pitt uncorking a bottle of [[Richard Brinsley Sheridan|Sheridan]] that is bursting out with puns and invective.]]

Pitt finally returned to the premiership on 10 May 1804. He had originally planned to form a broad coalition government, with both the Tories and Whigs under one government.<ref name="victorianwebb">{{cite web | url=https://victorianweb.org/history/pms/pitt.html | title=William Pitt the Younger (1759-1806) }}</ref> But Pitt faced the opposition of George III to the inclusion of Fox, due to the king's dislike. Moreover, many of Pitt's former supporters, including the allies of Addington, joined the Opposition. Thus, Pitt's second ministry was considerably weaker than his first.{{sfn|Hague|2005|pp=529–533}}

Nevertheless, Pitt formed [[Second Pitt ministry|a second government]] which consisted of largely [[Tories (British political faction)|Tory]] members with some former ministers of the previous ministry. These include [[John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon|Lord Eldon]] as [[Lord Chancellor]], former Foreign Secretary [[Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool|Lord Hawkesbury]] as [[Secretary of State for the Home Department|Home Secretary]], [[Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby|Lord Harrowby]] as [[Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (UK)|Foreign Secretary]], former prime ministers [[William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland|Duke of Portland]] and Addington as [[Lord Privy Seal]] and [[Lord President of the Council]], with Pitt's prominent allies [[Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville|the Viscount Melville]] and [[Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh|Lord Castlereagh]] as [[First Lord of the Admiralty]] and [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]], respectively.<ref name="victorianwebb"/>

=== Second government ===
==== Resuming war ====
By the time Pitt became prime minister in 1804, the war in Europe had been escalating for sometime since the [[Treaty of Amiens|peace of Amiens]] in 1801 and in 1803 the [[War of the Third Coalition]] began.<ref name="victorianwebb"/> Pitt's new government resumed the war effort yet again to confront the French and to defeat Napoleon. Pitt had initially allied Britain with [[Austria]], [[Prussia]] and [[Russia]] and now renewed the alliance with Austria Prussia and Russia against [[Napoleonic France]] and its allies.
 
The British government began placing pressure on the French Emperor, [[Napoleon I]]. By imposing sanctions, putting up a blockade across the [[English Channel]] and undermining French naval activities, Pitt's efforts proved a success and thanks to his efforts, the United Kingdom joined the [[Third Coalition]], an alliance that included Austria, Russia, and [[Sweden]].<ref name="victorianwebb"/> In October 1805, the British Admiral [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson]], won a crushing victory in the [[Battle of Trafalgar]], ensuring British naval supremacy for the remainder of the war. At the annual [[Lord Mayor of London|Lord Mayor]]'s Banquet toasting him as "the Saviour of Europe", Pitt responded in a few words that became the most famous speech of his life:
:I return you many thanks for the honour you have done me; but Europe is not to be saved by any single man. England has saved herself by her exertions, and will, as I trust, save Europe by her example.{{sfn|Hague|2005|p=565}}

Nevertheless, the Coalition collapsed, having suffered significant defeats at the [[Battle of Ulm]] (October 1805) and the [[Battle of Austerlitz]] (December 1805). After hearing the news of Austerlitz, Pitt referred to a map of Europe, "Roll up that map; it will not be wanted these ten years."{{sfn|Stanhope|1862|p=369}}

====Finances====
Pitt was an expert in finance and served as [[chancellor of the exchequer]].<ref>O'Brien, Patrick; "Political Biography and Pitt the Younger as Chancellor of the Exchequer"; ''History'' (1998) Vol. 83, No. 270, pp. 225–233.</ref> Critical to his success in confronting Napoleon was using Britain's superior economic resources. He was able to mobilise the nation's industrial and financial resources and apply them to defeating France.

With a population of 16 million, the United Kingdom was barely half the size of France, which had a population of 30 million. In terms of soldiers, however, the French numerical advantage was offset by British subsidies that paid for a large proportion of the Austrian and Russian soldiers, peaking at about 450,000 in 1813.{{sfn|Kennedy|1987|pp=128–129}}

Britain used its economic power to expand the Royal Navy, doubling the number of frigates and increasing the number of the larger [[ships of the line]] by 50%, while increasing the roster of sailors from 15,000 to 133,000 in eight years after the war began in 1793. The British national output remained strong, and the well-organised business sector channelled products into what the military needed. France, meanwhile, saw its navy shrink by more than half.{{sfn|Briggs|1959|p=143}} The system of smuggling finished products into the continent undermined French efforts to ruin the British economy by cutting off markets.

By 1814, the budget that Pitt in his last years had largely shaped had expanded to £66 million,{{efn|about £{{inflation|UK-GDP|0.066|1814|fmt=c}} billion today}} including £10 million for the Navy, £40 million for the Army, £10 million for the Allies, and £38 million as interest on the national debt. The national debt soared to £679 million,{{efn|about £{{inflation|UK-GDP|0.679|1814|fmt=c}} billion today}} more than [[Debt-to-GDP ratio|double the GDP]]. It was willingly supported by hundreds of thousands of investors and tax payers, despite the higher taxes on land and a new income tax.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cooper |first=Richard |title=William Pitt, Taxation, and the Needs of War |journal=Journal of British Studies |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=94–103 |date=1982 |doi=10.1086/385799 |jstor=175658|s2cid=144666348 }}</ref>

The whole cost of the war came to £831 million. The French financial system was inadequate and Napoleon's forces had to rely in part on requisitions from conquered lands.{{sfn|Halévy|1924|pp=205-228}}{{sfn|Knight|2014|p={{pn|date=August 2023}}}}{{sfn|Watson|1960|pp=374–277, 406–407, 463–471}}
[[File:The huge monument to William Pitt the Younger, Guildhall, London.JPG|thumb|upright=1.0|The monument to William Pitt the Younger by [[J. G. Bubb]] in the [[Guildhall, London]], faces an equally huge monument to his father, [[William Pitt the Elder]], in a balanced composition.]]

===Death===
The setbacks took a toll on Pitt's health. He had long suffered from poor health, beginning in childhood, and was plagued with [[gout]] and "[[biliousness]]", which was worsened by a fondness for [[port wine|port]] that began when he was advised to consume it to deal with his chronic ill health.<ref>{{cite web |author=Marjie Bloy |date=4 January 2006 |title=William Pitt the Younger (1759–1806) |url=http://www.victorianweb.org/history/pms/pitt.html |website=The Victorian Web |access-date=11 September 2011}}</ref> On 23 January 1806, Pitt died at Bowling Green House on [[Putney|Putney Heath]], probably from [[peptic ulcer]]ation of his stomach or [[duodenum]]; he was unmarried and left no children.{{sfn|Hague|2005|p=578}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Bowling Green House, Putney Heath |work=The Private Life of William Pitt (1759-1806) |url=http://www.theprivatelifeofpitt.com/2013/11/bowling-green-house-putney-heath.html |date=13 November 2013 |access-date=31 August 2014 |archive-date=25 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725145250/http://www.theprivatelifeofpitt.com/2013/11/bowling-green-house-putney-heath.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Pitt's debts amounted to £40,000 ({{Inflation|UK|40000|1806|r=-5|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}) when he died, but Parliament agreed to pay them on his behalf.<ref name="histparl">{{cite web |title=PITT, Hon. William (1759–1806), of Holwood and Walmer Castle, Kent |url=http://www.histparl.ac.uk/volume/1790-1820/member/pitt-hon-william-1759-1806|website=The History of Parliament |access-date=1 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=William Pitt the Younger |website=Regency History |url=http://www.regencyhistory.net/2012/07/william-pitt-younger-1759-1806.html?m=1 |access-date=1 July 2016}}</ref> A motion was made to honour him with a public funeral and a monument; it passed despite some opposition. Pitt's body was buried in [[Westminster Abbey]] on 22 February, having lain in state for two days in the [[Palace of Westminster]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Fitzwilliam Museum |year=1978 |title=Cambridge Portraits from Lely to Hockney |publisher=Cambridge University Press |series=Exhibition catalogs, No. 86 |isbn=9780521223119}}</ref>

Pitt was succeeded as prime minister by his first cousin [[William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville]], who headed the [[Ministry of All the Talents]], a coalition which included Charles James Fox.{{sfn|Hague|2005|p=581}}