The classic view of the struggle between George III. and the Whig aristocracy, which had its climax and catastrophe in the years 1783–4, is given with great force in Sir George Trevelyan's ‘History of the American Revolution.’ ‘By the time,’ he writes, ‘George III. had been on the throne ten years, there were no two opinions about the righteousness and wisdom of the Revolution of 1688. To hear them talk they were all Whigs together, but meanwhile, under their eyes and with their concurrence, a despotism of subtle and insidious texture was being swiftly and deftly interwoven into the entire fabric of the constitution. The strong will, the imperious character and the patient unresting industry of the King, working through subservient Ministers on a corrupt Parliament, had made him master of the State as effectively and far more securely than if his authority had rested on the support of an army of foreign mercenaries.’