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Why did Henry Fielding ridicule Robert Walpole in Historical Register for the Year 1736?

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Henry Fielding, frontispiece to Fielding's Works (1st ed., 1762), engraving by James Basire after a drawing by William Hogarth — Henry Fielding Henry Fielding, frontispiece to Fielding's *Works* (1st ed., 1762), engraving by James Basire after a drawing by William Hogarth

Henry Fielding ridiculed Sir Robert Walpole in his play Historical Register, For the Year 1736 primarily because he was a staunch critic of the political corruption he associated with Walpole’s administration.12

During this period, many writers and politicians—including those in the opposition camp—viewed Walpole as an enemy of liberty who had arrogated too much power to himself. Fielding, who was essentially a satirist, frequently targeted the political corruption of the times in his works. In the Historical Register, he represented the prime minister in a manner that was practically undisguised and mercilessly ridiculed.21

This was not the first time Fielding had used his pen to attack Walpole, and his persistent satire ultimately led Walpole to push the Licensing Act through Parliament in 1737. This act required all new plays to be approved and licensed by the lord chamberlain before production, effectively ending Fielding’s career as a playwright.1