George I of Great Britain

"So you'd like to see the world, eh? Well, Cutler, if you were Jonathan Junior, or Bartholomew, strong, tall, strapping lads, I could purchase you a good commission in the service of the king. But I think you'll agree that that's not a practical idea, Cutler."

- Jonathan Beckett to Cutler Beckett

George I (George Louis; German: Georg Ludwig; 28 May 1660 – 11 June 1727) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698.

Biography
George was born in Hanover, and inherited the titles and lands of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg from his father and uncles. A succession of European wars expanded his German domains during his lifetime, and in 1708 he was ratified as prince-elector of Hanover. At the age of 54, after the death of Queen Anne of Great Britain, George ascended the British throne as the first monarch of the House of Hanover. Although over fifty Roman Catholics bore closer blood relationships to Anne, the Act of Settlement 1701 prohibited Catholics from inheriting the British throne. George, however, was Anne's closest living Protestant relative. In reaction, Jacobites attempted to depose George and replace him with Anne's Catholic half-brother, James Francis Edward Stuart, but their attempts failed.

During the Queen Anne's War, George I dispensed many privateers to raid Spanish merchant shipping, but his decision to withdraw all Letters of Marque when the war ended, forced many of them (particularly Edward Teach) to turn to piracy. During George's reign the powers of the monarchy diminished and Britain began a transition to the modern system of cabinet government led by a prime minister. Towards the end of his reign, actual power was held by Sir Robert Walpole, Britain's first de facto prime minister. George died on a trip to his native Hanover, where he was buried.

Apparances

 * Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom