British Colonial Expansion, Revolution and War

In 1783 the king turned power over to William Pitt the Younger, who was only 24 when he became prime minister. Pitt, the son of a former prime minister, immediately set about repairing the damage that had been done to the colonial empire by the recent losses. The India Act of 1784 removed the administration of India from the English East India Company and placed it directly under the control of the British government. Pitt’s greatest concern was to reduce the huge debt acquired from nearly a half century of warfare. He encouraged the resumption of trade with the United States. Pitt also created a fund to pay government creditors and to accumulate the money necessary to repay long-term loans. This strategy might have resulted in financial stability had it not been for developments in France.