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General Conditions in the Eighteenth Century 415 Joseph II, who succeeded Maria Theresa in 1780 as ruler of the Austrian realms, was the only one of the benevolent despots who undertook sweeping reforms. He tried to make the scattered and heterogeneous possessions of the Hapsburgs into a consoli- dated, well-organized, modern state ; he freed the serfs and de- prived the nobles of their privileges. He seized the Church property and appointed the bishops himself. In spite of his good intentions he met opposition on all hands, and after his death, in 1790, few of his reforms left any permanent results. IV. THE ENGLISH LIMITED MONARCHY AND GEORGE III 723. Limited Monarchy of England. In striking contrast to the absolute rule of the "benevolent despots" on the Continent, the island of Britain was, as we have seen, governed by its Par- liament. There the king, from the Revolution of 1688 on, had owed his crown to Parliament and admitted that he was limited by the constitution, which he had to obey. This did not prevent at least one English king from trying to have his own way in spite of the restrictions placed upon him, as we shall presently see. 724. Whigs and Tories. There were two great political parties in England : the Whigs, successors of the Roundheads, who ad- vocated the supremacy of Parliament and championed toleration for the Dissenters ; and the Tories, who, like the earlier Cavaliers (606), upheld the divine right of kings and the supremacy of the Anglican, or Established, Church. After the death of Anne many of the Tories favored calling to the throne the son of James II (popularly called "the Old Pretender"), whereupon the Whigs succeeded in discrediting their rivals by denouncing them as traitors. They made the new Hanoverian king, George I, believe that he owed everything to the Whigs, and for a period of nearly fifty years, under George I and George II, they were able to control Parliament. 725. Robert Walpole, Prime Minister (1721-1742). George I himself spoke no English, was ignorant of English politics, and was much more interested in Hanover than in his new kingdom.