ABSTRACT
Two years after Minorca had capitulated at the beginning of the Seven Years’ War, John Wesley entered into his diary eight tactical errors made by the army defending that island. By chance, Wesley met a soldier who was there and concluded that ‘one great man is shot’ - Admiral John Byng - and another ‘made a Lord’ - William Blakeney, the general in charge of the island’s defence. Wesley solved a dynamic political riddle: who was to blame for losing Minorca? Of peerage, the fourth son of Viscount Torrington, John Byng’s family was politically involved and esteemed in Whig circles. His naval career proved Byng a problem solver, more than capable of ingenuity upon demand. But in March 1756, Byng accepted orders that delivered his undoing, his family’s legacy unable to save him. Much has been written about John Byng’s execution. From Voltaire (1759) to the twenty-first century, scrutinisation of Byng’s execution is largely along political and military histories. The microhistorical account is different. Here it is asked, what was England like the moment Byng was recalled, arrested, and placed on trial? What else lent a hand in ensuring that Byng pay the ultimate price for the mistakes of others?
