Editing John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (section)

=== Appointment ===
{{further|Bute ministry}}
{{see also|Great Britain in the Seven Years' War}}
[[File:Coat of arms of John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, KG, PC.png|thumb|right|Coat of arms of John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, KG]]
Because of the influence he had over his pupil, Bute expected to rise quickly to political power following George's accession to the throne in 1760, but his plans were premature. It would first be necessary to remove both the incumbent prime minister (the [[Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle|Duke of Newcastle]]) and arguably the even more powerful Secretary of State for the Southern Department ([[William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham|William Pitt the Elder]]).{{sfn|Browning|1975|page=271}} The Government of the day, buoyed by recent successes in the [[Seven Years' War]], was popular, however, and did well at the general election which, as was customary at the time, took place on the accession of the new monarch.{{sfn|Browning|1975|pp=272-274}}

Supported by the King, Bute manoeuvred himself into power by first allying himself with Newcastle against Pitt over the latter's desire to declare war on Spain. Once thwarted in his designs against Spain by Bute and Newcastle, Pitt resigned his post as Secretary of State for the Southern Department. Next, Bute forced Newcastle's resignation as prime minister when he found himself in a small minority within the government over the level of funding and direction of the Seven Years' War.{{sfn|Browning|1975|pp=275-288}} Re-elected as a Scottish representative peer in 1760, Bute was appointed the ''de facto'' prime minister after the resignations of Pitt and Newcastle, thus ending a long period of [[British Whig Party|Whig]] dominance. {{Citation needed|date=March 2019}}

The [[Anglo-Prussian Alliance (1756)|Anglo-Prussian Alliance]], which was established in 1756 was dissolved in 1762. [[Frederick the Great]] accused Bute of a plot to destroy the Prussian monarchy.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dorn |first=Walter L. |date=1929 |title=Frederic the Great and Lord Bute |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1871099 |journal=The Journal of Modern History |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=529–560 |doi=10.1086/235519 |jstor=1871099 |issn=0022-2801}}</ref>

Bute's premiership was notable for the negotiation of the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)]] which concluded the Seven Years' War. In so doing, Bute had to soften his previous stance in relation to concessions given to France in that he agreed that the important fisheries in Newfoundland be returned to France without Britain's possession of Guadeloupe in return.{{sfn|Schweizer|1988|pages=27-29}}

After peace was concluded, Bute and the King decided that Britain's military expenditure should not exceed its prewar levels, but they thought a large presence was necessary in America to deal with the French and Spanish threat. They therefore charged the colonists for the increased military levels, thus catalysing the resistance to taxes which led to the [[American Revolution]].{{sfn|Schweizer|1988|pp=17-35}} Bute also introduced a [[cider tax]] of four shillings per hogshead in 1763 to help finance the Seven Years' War.<ref name="auto1"/>

The journalist [[John Wilkes]] published a newspaper, ''[[The North Briton]]'', in which both Bute and the Dowager Princess of Wales were savagely satirised. Bute resigned as prime minister shortly afterwards, although he remained in the House of Lords as a Scottish representative peer until 1780.