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stand for reelection. This practice lasted until 1926. Patronage was an essential part of government, but by the end of the 18th century it was being reduced, and by the middle of the 19th century it began to be superseded by a pro-

fessional CIVIL SERVICE.

Plaid Cymru

The Party of Wales, established in 1925, first as an effort to protect Welsh language and culture and then as a political movement for Welsh independence. Plaid Cymru’s first successful parliamentary candidate was Gwynfor Evans in 1966. By 1974 it had three seats and was behind the DEVOLUTION measure adopted by the LABOUR PARTY in 1979. But the referendum of that year was a blow, with only 20 percent of those voting supporting a WELSH ASSEMBLY. The party continued to press for language education and other measures, somewhat increasing its number of seats in the 1990s and seeing a Welsh Assembly become a reality in 1999.

plantation

Term used to describe the deliberate settlement of English and Scottish colonists in IRELAND in the 16th century. The aim was to neutralize or remove the cultural and religious influence of the native Irish and the gaelicized anglo-Irish. The earliest attempts in the 1540s (Leix and Offaly) were followed under MARY I with the creation of Queen’s County and King’s County. ELIZABETH I’s efforts in Munster and Leinster continued the policy. Finally, the ULSTER plantation under JAMES VI AND I (1608–12) was the largest concerted settlement plan, and it was accompanied by smaller efforts in Wexford, Longford, and Westmeath. Later in the 17th century, there were further introductions of English and Scots, as soldiers claimed lands promised to them during the civil wars.

The colonial plantations were a natural borrowing of the term from the late TUDOR period (Roanoke, Virginia, and Plymouth). Thus it was also natural that the PRIVY COUNCIL’s agency for

overseeing these ventures in the 17th century was called the BOARD OF TRADE and Plantations.

Plunkett, St. Oliver (1629–1681) archbishop of Armagh

A Roman Catholic prelate, Plunkett had a good relations with the VICEROYs of IRELAND. He had managed to improve conditions for his flock, but after the TEST ACT (1673), he went into hiding. During the POPISH PLOT he was arrested in DUBLIN, taken to LONDON, tried for treason, and executed. It was alleged that he was preparing to support a French invasion of Ireland, but there was no reliable evidence of any such plot. He was canonized in 1975.

pluralism

The holding of more than one church benefice (post) at a time, a practice which was often encountered where the value of the livings was small or the venality of church leaders was great. Pluralism was prohibited by ACTS OF PARLIAMENT from 1529, the most effective one being passed in 1838. It is also a product of a shortage of clergy, which has been the typical problem of the 20th century.

poet laureate

A poet chosen by the Crown, receiving a nominal salary as a member of the royal household. Originally he was responsible for writing odes for the Court. The first poet laureate in the modern era was Ben JONSON. Others have included William WORDSWORTH and Alfred, Lord

TENNYSON.

Pole, Reginald (1500–1558) cardinal, archbishop of Canterbury

Pole was the son of Sir Richard Pole and his wife Margaret, countess of Salisbury and niece of EDWARD IV. Pole thus carried the Yorkist claim to the English throne. He was educated at Magdelen College, OXFORD UNIVERSITY; and the

University of Padua. An opponent of HENRY VIII’s ROYAL SUPREMACY, he went abroad in 1532. He wrote an attack on the king’s policies in 1536, and he received the cardinal’s hat. These events caused his family to be in great danger, and several of them were executed. He returned when MARY I came to the throne, and

he became ARCHBISHOP of CANTERBURY. He died

within hours of the queen.

Pole, William de la, fourth earl and first duke of Suffolk (1396–1450)

royal councillor

Pole served HENRY VI, fought in the wars in France, returned, and became a great manager of royal PATRONAGE. He was deeply involved in intrigues among court factions, was impeached and banished by the king, and captured and beheaded while attempting to cross the English Channel.

police

Law enforcement was the job of local and private CONSTABLEs and parish watchmen down to the 19th century. Constables were usually accountable to JUSTICES OF THE PEACE, who might have more or less ability to control public order, but there were few incentives and no guidelines. In 1829 Robert PEEL (who had created a paid constabulary in IRELAND in 1822) introduced legislation to create the Metropolitan London Police, and a centralized force of 1,000 was formed. Other towns and counties adopted similar measures in the 1830s and ’40s, and in 1856 an act required all districts to have a police force. These were organized under chief constables who were locally accountable. Various powers were given to the HOME OFFICE (a Criminal Investigation Department in 1878, a SPECIAL BRANCH in the 1880s). General reorganization by the Police Act of 1964 began the consolidation of 200 police forces into 42 regional authorities. With much independence and some supervision by the Home Office, they remain a decentralized force.

poll tax

A tax levied on every person. One such was the immediate cause of the Peasants’ Revolt in 1381. In 1989 the government of Margaret THATCHER announced a similar tax, called a “community charge,” which was to consolidate the sources of funding for local government. Its introduction in SCOTLAND brought protests and riots which contributed to her removal from office.

polytechnics

Schools of higher education that were begun in the 1960s, with technical and practical curricula. The distinction between the polytechnics and the UNIVERSITIES was eliminated in 1993.

poor law

The general system of public support for relief of poor and indigent persons, replacing the TITHEs and alms of PARISH members by a state-mandated system. The poor law’s most familiar form dates from the time of Queen ELIZABETH I. Each parish, under the supervision of JUSTICES OF THE PEACE (JPs), collected rates and these were managed by overseers of the poor. The system was susceptible to error: the poor migrating to wealthier parishes; the JPs, overseers, or ratepayers failing in their duties; and the forces of economic distress or development placing undue burdens on all parties. There were innumerable experiments within the system: combining parishes into (more affluent) unions; revising the organization and regulation of workhouses and houses of correction; rewriting laws on vagrancy; and, in times of great distress, allowing the overseers to dispense aid directly to the poor (“outdoor relief”). The latter was an object of great complaint as the total expenditure on poor rates soared in the early 19th century. The answer was found in the 1834 enactment of a new poor law that cracked down on outdoor relief and required residence and labor in deliberately unappealing workhouses. This drew scornful and hostile reactions from workers, particularly in large industrial towns, and especially when the

business cycle put many out of work. The poor laws were thoroughly investigated at the beginning of the 20th century, and in 1929 the old system was ended. Local councils were responsible for the poor, but already a new trend was visible with the old-age pensions act of 1908, the NATIONAL INSURANCE Act of 1911, and increased unemployment benefits from the 1920s. In 1945 a new national system of relief and assistance was created under the WELFARE STATE.

Pope, Alexander (1688–1744) poet

The son of a Roman Catholic, Pope suffered from curvature of the spine due to tuberculosis. A selfeducated man, his poetry gained him an entry into the circles of literary figures. His Pastorals (1709) gave him the first taste of fame. He wrote Essay on Criticism in 1711 and Rape of the Lock in 1712. He was an associate of Jonathan SWIFT and John Gay, and he became adept at political satire, which was particularly pungent in The Dunciad (1728).

popish plot

In 1678 Titus OATES and others swore to the existence of a plot to kill King CHARLES II and place his brother (the future JAMES VII AND II) on the throne. There was already some amount of fear over the king’s own religious faith, the known Catholicism of his brother, and rumors of French invasion or intervention. The London MAGIS- TRATE who took the depositions was later found murdered, and the plotters’ stories suddenly became more believable. The HOUSE OF COMMONS resolved that there was “a damnable and hellish plot” and proceeded to examine witnesses. A number of trials produced convictions and 35 executions, notably Lord Stafford and Oliver PLUNKETT. Oates was later exposed as a liar, convicted of perjury, and imprisoned (1685).

Porteous riots (1736)

After the execution of a smuggler in EDINBURGH, the town guard was pelted with stones, and

troops fired on the crowd, killing six people. Captain John Porteous insisted that he had not ordered them to fire, but he was arrested, tried, and sentenced to death. The LONDON government granted a reprieve, and a mob of several thousand broke into the jail and lynched Porteous. An official inquiry ordered sanctions against the city (1737), and Robert WALPOLE found himself dealing with an aroused Scottish opposition in PARLIAMENT. The incident was one of a number of examples of tension in the early years of the Anglo-Scottish UNION.

Poynings’ laws (1494)

Sir Edward Poynings (1459–1521) was the lord deputy sent to IRELAND by HENRY VII in 1494. The laws he put through the Irish PARLIAMENT stated

(1) that English law applied to Ireland, and (2) that a meeting of an Irish parliament or any law enacted therein had to have prior approval of the king’s COUNCIL. These measures were modified in their impact over time, but they were stoutly restated in the DECLARATORY ACT of 1720, which was repealed in 1782 but effectively reenacted by the UNION of 1801.

praemunire

Laws which forbade the exercise of papal jurisdiction in ENGLAND without royal license. They were first enacted in 1351 to prevent the use of papal decrees to void the acts of royal courts, usually in cases of the disposition of clerical benefices. The word is a corruption of praemonere (“to foreworn”).

prerogative, royal

The powers and rights, theoretically unlimited, pertaining to the Crown. Lawyers hesitated to suggest any limits to these powers, and the TUDOR and STUART sovereigns encouraged the belief that there were few or none. The result of the strife of the 17th century, however, was to place the king, lords, and commons in a balanced constitution, one which clearly implied

that the still extensive prerogative powers were in fact limited and exercised by the joint authority of the “king in parliament.”

Presbyterian

A Protestant faith that disputes the biblical authority for BISHOPs. The Calvinist view was that church government was meant to be by a hierarchy of courts: kirk session, presbytery, synod, and GENERAL ASSEMBLY. Theologically, the church consists of God’s elect, those who are predestined to be saved. The Presbyterian church was stron-

gest in SCOTLAND and later in NORTHERN IRELAND.

A number of followers in ENGLAND hoped that the joint action during the 1640s, particularly the

SOLEMN LEAGUE AND COVENANT (1643) and the

WESTMINSTER ASSEMBLY (1643), would produce a joint Anglo-Scottish Presbyterian establishment. The RESTORATION in 1660 was followed by talks on church settlement in the SAVOY CONFERENCE (1661), but there was no agreement. In 1690 the establishment of the CHURCH OF SCOTLAND on a Presbyterian model was confirmed.

press gang

The Crown had an ancient right to conscript men into sea service, noted in statutes as early as the 14th century and as a corollary to the power to commandeer merchant vessels for royal service. The work of rounding up seamen was done by groups of sailors from warships and, late in the 18th century, by an Impress Service. The practice declined in the 19th century, as the NAVY retained personnel on longer terms of service.

Price, Richard (1723–1791) dissenter, economist

The son of a Welsh Calvinist minister, Price was educated in dissenting academies. He became an important contemporary author, with works on moral questions, economics, and politics. The latter area drew the most attention, especially in his Observations on the Nature of Civil Liberty, the

Principles of Government, and the Justice and Policy of War with America (1776). His sermon before the Revolution Society (“On the Love of our Country,” 1789) commended the radicals in France and drew the withering reply of Edmund

BURKE’s Reflections on the Revolution in France.

Pride’s purge (1648)

Colonel Thomas Pride led a detachment of troops that prevented the army’s opponents from taking their seats in the HOUSE OF COMMONS in December 1648. This act created the RUMP

PARLIAMENT.

Priestley, Joseph (1733–1804) scientist, dissenter, radical author

Son of a Yorkshire cloth dresser, Priestley attended a grammar school and a dissenting academy, but he was largely self-taught. He was a PRESBYTERIAN minister for a time, but his faith moved toward the UNITARIAN position. An amateur investigator, he identified the properties of oxygen and he experimented with electricity. In religion he challenged conventional views in works such as the History of the Corruptions of Christianity (1782) and History of Early Opinions concerning Jesus Christ (1786). His political views were expressed in his Essay on the First Principles of Government (1768) and The Present State of Liberty in Great Britain and Her Colonies (1769). A sympathizer with the French revolution, he wrote a response to Edmund BURKE, and afterward his house and laboratory in Birmingham were destroyed by an angry mob (1791). He emigrated to Philadelphia, where he spent the rest of his life.

prime minister

The king’s advisory COUNCILS were often dominated by a single minister, though there was no formal acknowledgment of such a position. With the major changes after 1688—the reliance on the HOUSE OF COMMONS for financial support, the corresponding need for annual sessions of PAR-

LIAMENT, and the concurrent emergence of political parties—there was a new political landscape. A minister, especially one who could manage finances and could put together an effective majority in the Commons, could control affairs. But the idea of such individual power was not yet acceptable. Thus Robert WALPOLE, often regarded as the first prime minister (1721–42), objected to being called one. By the end of the century, William PITT (1783–1801, 1804–06) was equally effective and not shy about his title. The prime minister from this point on took over more and more powers formerly exercised by the sovereign: the power to install and remove ministers, to call elections, and to prepare the political agenda.

The prime minister is almost always the party leader of the majority party, the principal exceptions occurring during periods of coalition government. In early days party leadership was obtained by consultation among leaders and with the Crown. Now it is by election—the CON- SERVATIVE PARTY by election of MPs since 1965; the LABOUR PARTY, once by election of MPs but now through an electoral college (MPs, union leaders, and constituency parties) since 1981.

Primrose, Archibald See ROSEBERY,

ARCHIBALD PRIMROSE, EARL OF.

prince of Wales

The earliest use of this title by Welsh princes appears to be in the middle of the 13th century. When Edward I (1272–1307) conquered WALES, he deemed it advisable to display his power through the creation of his eldest son as Prince of Wales, and the title was bestowed in 1301. Since then, the title has usually been given to the heir apparent to the English throne.

privateer

Owner or captain of a private vessel commissioned to attack enemy shipping. The WARRANT

for such operation was a royal authority called a letter of marque. When the ship captured another, the prize was shared with the government. This activity was widespread in the 18th and early 19th centuries, but it was banned by the Peace of Paris in 1856.

privy council

The royal council consisted of members who were in daily contact doing the king’s business, as well as those who were of a certain rank and hence entitled to attend the king. It was natural for this body to expand, and therefore it became less efficient. In the early TUDOR period, a smaller body emerged, called the privy (i.e. private) council. By 1540 it had a clerk and a minute book, and its functions were vital for the next century and a half. By then it too was growing in size, and it was superseded by a cabinet council, and then the modern CABINET. The privy council and its committees (Trade and Plantations, Judicial Committee, etc.) were effective until the 19th century. Although it still retains some important powers, it has now become largely a formal body.

privy seal

The private seal of the monarch, used in lieu of the GREAT SEAL to authenticate documents of more limited or private nature. A keeper of the privy seal, later lord privy seal, was its custodian. Thomas CROMWELL inaugurated the use of the seal on the documents of the PRIVY COUNCIL.

proclamation

A royal declaration, issued in writing, which had the force of law but was not superior to STATUTE. Proclamations were widely used during the reigns of the TUDORS and STUARTS, but their legal status was clarified in 1610 when it was settled that they could not create new offenses. Through the rest of the century the power of statute became clearly superior, but the use of proclamations was still valuable. Today they are used for summoning or