Further memoirs of the Whig party, 1807-1821 : with some miscellaneous reminiscences

"Further memoirs of the Whig party, 1807-1821" by Baron Henry Richard Vassall Holland is a political memoir written in the early 19th century. It offers an insider Whig account of British politics from the Grenville “Talents” ministry’s fall through the Regency era, interweaving the Peninsular War with court maneuvering and party negotiations. The focus is on little-known incidents, candid character sketches, and intra-party tensions, supplemented by literary and scientific reminiscences from a central Whig figure. The opening of this memoir sets out the editor’s case for publishing the long-shelved manuscripts and clarifies the scope: a Whig-sided record of 1807–1821 that adds anecdotes and intrigues absent from standard histories, plus a “Miscellaneous Reminiscences” chapter. It sketches Lord Holland’s life, connections to Fox, and moderate creed—toleration, reform, anti-slavery—while noting his biases (notably against Wellington and the Regent). The narrative then turns to 1807–1810: the Portuguese court’s flight to Brazil, a sharp attack on Lord Strangford’s self-serving dispatches, the 1808 Spanish rising and Britain’s hesitant response, Sir Arthur Wellesley’s Vimiero and the Cintra Convention, and Sir John Moore’s troubled advance and retreat to Coruña—assessed with logistical detail and sober praise mixed with critique. In London, it recounts the Duke of York–Mrs. Clarke scandal, the Walcheren fiasco and the Canning–Castlereagh duel, Perceval’s futile outreach to Grey and Grenville, shifting offices (including Wellesley’s rise), fractious privilege battles (Gale Jones and Burdett), the death of Windham, the O.P. theatre riots, and it closes this opening stretch with the King’s renewed mental illness, heralding the Regency crisis. (This is an automatically generated summary.)