romikgosai/squad_modified huggingface dataset:
Richard Hurd believed that Burke's imitation was near-perfect and that this defeated his purpose: an ironist "should take care by a constant exaggeration to make the ridicule shine through the Imitation. Whereas this Vindication is everywhere enforc'd, not only in the language, and on the principles of L. Bol., but with so apparent, or rather so real an earnestness, that half his purpose is sacrificed to the other". A minority of scholars have taken the position that, in fact, Burke did write the Vindication in earnest, later disowning it only for political reasons.

Questions and answers:
["
Q: Who thought that Burke's imitation was too perfect to be effective ridicule?
A: Richard Hurd", "
Q: Why did a few scholars think Burke hadn't intended his book as a satire yet later claimed it was a satire?
A: political reasons", '
Q: Whose principles did Burke imitate?
A: L. Bol.']
On 25 February 1757, Burke signed a contract with Robert Dodsley to write a "history of England from the time of Julius Caesar to the end of the reign of Queen Anne", its length being eighty quarto sheets (640 pages), nearly 400,000 words. It was to be submitted for publication by Christmas 1758. Burke completed the work to the year 1216 and stopped; it was not published until after Burke's death, being included in an 1812 collection of his works, entitled An Essay Towards an Abridgement of the English History. G. M. Young did not value Burke's history and claimed that it was "demonstrably a translation from the French". Lord Acton, on commenting on the story that Burke stopped his history because David Hume published his, said "it is ever to be regretted that the reverse did not occur".

Questions and answers:
['
Q: When did Burke sign a contract for a history of England?
A: 25 February 1757', "
Q: How many words long was Burke's history of England contracted to be?
A: nearly 400,000", "
Q: How many pages long was Burke's history of England contracted to be?
A: 640 pages", "
Q: When was Burke's history of England published?
A: 1812", "
Q: Which author's history of England being published before Burke's might have dissuaded Burke from continuing his?
A: David Hume"]
During the year following that contract, with Dodsley, Burke founded the influential Annual Register, a publication in which various authors evaluated the international political events of the previous year. The extent to which Burke contributed to the Annual Register is unclear: in his biography of Burke, Robert Murray quotes the Register as evidence of Burke's opinions, yet Philip Magnus in his biography does not cite it directly as a reference. Burke remained the chief editor of the publication until at least 1789 and there is no evidence that any other writer contributed to it before 1766.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: What publication did Burke found?
A: Annual Register', '
Q: The Annual Register covered international events of what type?
A: political', '
Q: Burke was the only known writer for the Register until what year?
A: 1766', '
Q: Burke was the chief editor for the Register until at least what year?
A: 1789', '
Q: Who wrote a biography of Burke?
A: Philip Magnus']
At about this same time, Burke was introduced to William Gerard Hamilton (known as "Single-speech Hamilton"). When Hamilton was appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, Burke accompanied him to Dublin as his private secretary, a position he held for three years. In 1765 Burke became private secretary to the liberal Whig statesman, Charles, Marquess of Rockingham, then Prime Minister of Great Britain, who remained Burke's close friend and associate until his untimely death in 1782. Rockingham also introduced Burke as a Freemason.

Questions and answers:
["
Q: What was William Gerard Hamilton's nickname?
A: Single-speech Hamilton", "
Q: Who was William Gerard Hamilton's private secretary?
A: Burke", "
Q: When did Burke become the Prime Minister's private secretary?
A: 1765", '
Q: Who invited Burke to join the Freemasons?
A: Charles, Marquess of Rockingham', '
Q: What political party was Charles, Marquess of Rockingham in?
A: Whig']
Burke took a leading role in the debate regarding the constitutional limits to the executive authority of the king. He argued strongly against unrestrained royal power and for the role of political parties in maintaining a principled opposition capable of preventing abuses, either by the monarch, or by specific factions within the government. His most important publication in this regard was his Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents of 23 April 1770. Burke identified the "discontents" as stemming from the "secret influence" of a neo-Tory group he labelled as, the "king's friends", whose system "comprehending the exterior and interior administrations, is commonly called, in the technical language of the Court, Double Cabinet". Britain needed a party with "an unshaken adherence to principle, and attachment to connexion, against every allurement of interest". Party divisions "whether operating for good or evil, are things inseparable from free government".

Questions and answers:
['
Q: Who did Burke want constitutional limits on the power of?
A: the king', '
Q: What type of institution did Burke think could offer opposition to abuses of power?
A: political parties', '
Q: What type of group were the "king\'s friends"?
A: neo-Tory', "
Q: What was Burke's most important publication about limiting royal power?
A: Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents of 23 April 1770"]
In May 1778, Burke supported a parliamentary motion revising restrictions on Irish trade. His constituents, citizens of the great trading city of Bristol, however urged Burke to oppose free trade with Ireland. Burke resisted their protestations and said: "If, from this conduct, I shall forfeit their suffrages at an ensuing election, it will stand on record an example to future representatives of the Commons of England, that one man at least had dared to resist the desires of his constituents when his judgment assured him they were wrong".

Questions and answers:
['
Q: What country did Burke propose restricting trade with?
A: Ireland', '
Q: What city did Burke represent in parliament?
A: Bristol', '
Q: When did Burke make a motion to restrict Irish trade?
A: May 1778', "
Q: What was Bristol's most important industry?
A: trading"]
Burke was not merely presenting a peace agreement to Parliament; rather, he stepped forward with four reasons against using force, carefully reasoned. He laid out his objections in an orderly manner, focusing on one before moving to the next. His first concern was that the use of force would have to be temporary, and that the uprisings and objections to British governance in America would not be. Second, Burke worried about the uncertainty surrounding whether Britain would win a conflict in America. "An armament", Burke said, "is not a victory". Third, Burke brought up the issue of impairment; it would do the British Government no good to engage in a scorched earth war and have the object they desired (America) become damaged or even useless. The American colonists could always retreat into the mountains, but the land they left behind would most likely be unusable, whether by accident or design. The fourth and final reason to avoid the use of force was experience; the British had never attempted to rein in an unruly colony by force, and they did not know if it could be done, let alone accomplished thousands of miles away from home. Not only were all of these concerns reasonable, but some turned out to be prophetic – the American colonists did not surrender, even when things looked extremely bleak, and the British were ultimately unsuccessful in their attempts to win a war fought on American soil.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: Where was Burke worried Britain might not win a war?
A: America', '
Q: How many reasons against violence did Burke present?
A: four', '
Q: How far away was the potential conflict Burke argued against?
A: thousands of miles', '
Q: What area could the American colonists retreat to?
A: the mountains']
Among the reasons this speech was so greatly admired was its passage on Lord Bathurst (1684–1775); Burke describes an angel in 1704 prophesying to Bathurst the future greatness of England and also of America: "Young man, There is America – which at this day serves little more than to amuse you with stories of savage men, and uncouth manners; yet shall, before you taste of death, shew itself equal to the whole of that commerce which now attracts the envy of the world". Samuel Johnson was so irritated at hearing it continually praised, that he made a parody of it, where the devil appears to a young Whig and predicts that in short time, Whiggism will poison even the paradise of America!

Questions and answers:
['
Q: When did Lord Bathurst die?
A: 1775', '
Q: When did an angel supposedly speak to Bathurst?
A: 1704', '
Q: What political position did Samuel Johnson say would soon poison America?
A: Whiggism', '
Q: When was Lord Bathurst born?
A: 1684', "
Q: In Samuel Johnson's writing, who appeared to a Whig?
A: the devil"]
The administration of Lord North (1770–1782) tried to defeat the colonist rebellion by military force. British and American forces clashed in 1775 and, in 1776, came the American Declaration of Independence. Burke was appalled by celebrations in Britain of the defeat of the Americans at New York and Pennsylvania. He claimed the English national character was being changed by this authoritarianism. Burke wrote: "As to the good people of England, they seem to partake every day more and more of the Character of that administration which they have been induced to tolerate. I am satisfied, that within a few years there has been a great Change in the National Character. We seem no longer that eager, inquisitive, jealous, fiery people, which we have been formerly".

Questions and answers:
['
Q: When did Lord North take office?
A: 1770', '
Q: When did Lord North leave office?
A: 1782', '
Q: Which victories against the Americans did the British celebrate?
A: New York and Pennsylvania', '
Q: How did Burke feel about the British celebrating victories against the Americans?
A: appalled', '
Q: When was the American Declaration of Independence issued?
A: 1776']
The Paymaster General Act 1782 ended the post as a lucrative sinecure. Previously, Paymasters had been able to draw on money from HM Treasury at their discretion. Now they were required to put the money they had requested to withdraw from the Treasury into the Bank of England, from where it was to be withdrawn for specific purposes. The Treasury would receive monthly statements of the Paymaster's balance at the Bank. This act was repealed by Shelburne's administration, but the act that replaced it repeated verbatim almost the whole text of the Burke Act.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: Where had Paymasters been able to get money from directly until 1782?
A: HM Treasury', "
Q: After 1782, where would money from Paymasters' withdrawal requests go?
A: the Bank of England", '
Q: Whose administration repealed the Paymaster General Act?
A: Shelburne', '
Q: When was the Paymaster General Act passed?
A: 1782']
Burke was a leading sceptic with respect to democracy. While admitting that theoretically, in some cases it might be desirable, he insisted a democratic government in Britain in his day would not only be inept, but also oppressive. He opposed democracy for three basic reasons. First, government required a degree of intelligence and breadth of knowledge of the sort that occurred rarely among the common people. Second, he thought that if they had the vote, common people had dangerous and angry passions that could be aroused easily by demagogues; he feared that the authoritarian impulses that could be empowered by these passions would undermine cherished traditions and established religion, leading to violence and confiscation of property. Third, Burke warned that democracy would create a tyranny over unpopular minorities, who needed the protection of the upper classes.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: What type of government did Burke think would be inept?
A: democratic', '
Q: For how many reasons did Burke oppose democracy?
A: three', "
Q: What did Burke think could arouse common people's dangerous passions?
A: demagogues", "
Q: What type of impulses did Burke think could gain power through commoners' passions?
A: authoritarian", '
Q: Who did Burke think protected unpopular minorities?
A: the upper classes']
For years Burke pursued impeachment efforts against Warren Hastings, formerly Governor-General of Bengal, that resulted in the trial during 1786. His interaction with the British dominion of India began well before Hastings' impeachment trial. For two decades prior to the impeachment, Parliament had dealt with the Indian issue. This trial was the pinnacle of years of unrest and deliberation. In 1781 Burke was first able to delve into the issues surrounding the East India Company when he was appointed Chairman of the Commons Select Committee on East Indian Affairs—from that point until the end of the trial; India was Burke's primary concern. This committee was charged "to investigate alleged injustices in Bengal, the war with Hyder Ali, and other Indian difficulties". While Burke and the committee focused their attention on these matters, a second 'secret' committee was formed to assess the same issues. Both committee reports were written by Burke. Among other purposes, the reports conveyed to the Indian princes that Britain would not wage war on them, along with demanding that the HEIC recall Hastings. This was Burke's first call for substantive change regarding imperial practices. When addressing the whole House of Commons regarding the committee report, Burke described the Indian issue as one that "began 'in commerce' but 'ended in empire.'"

Questions and answers:
['
Q: When was Warren Hastings impeached?
A: 1786', '
Q: Where was Hastings formerly the governor?
A: Bengal', "
Q: How long before Hastings's trial had Britain been dealing with Indian unrest?
A: two decades", '
Q: What was Burke made chairman of in 1781?
A: the Commons Select Committee on East Indian Affairs', "
Q: When Burke said the Indian problems 'began in commerce', where did he say the problems ended in?
A: empire"]
On 4 April 1786, Burke presented the Commons with the Article of Charge of High Crimes and Misdemeanors against Hastings. The impeachment in Westminster Hall, which did not begin until 14 February 1788, would be the "first major public discursive event of its kind in England", bringing the morality and duty of imperialism to the forefront of public perception. Burke already was known for his eloquent rhetorical skills and his involvement in the trial only enhanced its popularity and significance. Burke's indictment, fuelled by emotional indignation, branded Hastings a 'captain-general of iniquity'; who never dined without 'creating a famine'; whose heart was 'gangrened to the core', and who resembled both a 'spider of Hell' and a 'ravenous vulture devouring the carcasses of the dead'. The House of Commons eventually impeached Hastings, but subsequently, the House of Lords acquitted him of all charges.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: When did Burke charge Hastings for impeachment?
A: 4 April 1786', '
Q: What was the impeachment formally called?
A: Article of Charge of High Crimes and Misdemeanors', '
Q: Which house acquitted Hastings?
A: House of Lords', '
Q: Which house impeached Hastings?
A: House of Commons', "
Q: Like what creature did Burke say Hastings was 'devouring the dead'?
A: ravenous vulture"]
Initially, Burke did not condemn the French Revolution. In a letter of 9 August 1789, Burke wrote: "England gazing with astonishment at a French struggle for Liberty and not knowing whether to blame or to applaud! The thing indeed, though I thought I saw something like it in progress for several years, has still something in it paradoxical and Mysterious. The spirit it is impossible not to admire; but the old Parisian ferocity has broken out in a shocking manner". The events of 5–6 October 1789, when a crowd of Parisian women marched on Versailles to compel King Louis XVI to return to Paris, turned Burke against it. In a letter to his son, Richard Burke, dated 10 October he said: "This day I heard from Laurence who has sent me papers confirming the portentous state of France—where the Elements which compose Human Society seem all to be dissolved, and a world of Monsters to be produced in the place of it—where Mirabeau presides as the Grand Anarch; and the late Grand Monarch makes a figure as ridiculous as pitiable". On 4 November Charles-Jean-François Depont wrote to Burke, requesting that he endorse the Revolution. Burke replied that any critical language of it by him should be taken "as no more than the expression of doubt" but he added: "You may have subverted Monarchy, but not recover'd freedom". In the same month he described France as "a country undone". Burke's first public condemnation of the Revolution occurred on the debate in Parliament on the army estimates on 9 February 1790, provoked by praise of the Revolution by Pitt and Fox:

Questions and answers:
['
Q: Who did Parisian women want to return to Paris?
A: King Louis XVI', "
Q: What was Burke's son's name?
A: Richard Burke", '
Q: Who requested that Burke support the French Revolution?
A: Charles-Jean-François Depont', '
Q: When did Burke first publicly condemn the French Revolution?
A: 9 February 1790']
In January 1790, Burke read Dr. Richard Price's sermon of 4 November 1789 entitled, A Discourse on the Love of our Country, to the Revolution Society. That society had been founded to commemorate the Glorious Revolution of 1688. In this sermon Price espoused the philosophy of universal "Rights of Men". Price argued that love of our country "does not imply any conviction of the superior value of it to other countries, or any particular preference of its laws and constitution of government". Instead, Price asserted that Englishmen should see themselves "more as citizens of the world than as members of any particular community".

Questions and answers:
['
Q: When did Richard Price give a sermon to the Revolution Society?
A: 4 November 1789', '
Q: What was the Revolution Society commemorating?
A: the Glorious Revolution of 1688', '
Q: Who did Price think should see themselves as citizens of the world?
A: Englishmen', '
Q: What philosophy did Price support?
A: universal "Rights of Men"']
Immediately after reading Price's sermon, Burke wrote a draft of what eventually became, Reflections on the Revolution in France. On 13 February 1790, a notice in the press said that shortly, Burke would publish a pamphlet on the Revolution and its British supporters, however he spent the year revising and expanding it. On 1 November he finally published the Reflections and it was an immediate best-seller. Priced at five shillings, it was more expensive than most political pamphlets, but by the end of 1790, it had gone through ten printings and sold approximately 17,500 copies. A French translation appeared on 29 November and on 30 November the translator, Pierre-Gaëton Dupont, wrote to Burke saying 2,500 copies had already been sold. The French translation ran to ten printings by June 1791.

Questions and answers:
["
Q: Which of Burke's writings was inspired by Price's sermon?
A: Reflections on the Revolution in France", '
Q: When did Burke publish his Reflections on the Revolution in France?
A: 1790', '
Q: How many copies did Reflections on the Revolution in France sell in 2 months?
A: 17,500', "
Q: Who translated 'Reflections on the Revolution in France' into French?
A: Pierre-Gaëton Dupont", "
Q: When was the tenth printing of the French translation of 'Reflections on the Revolution in France'?
A: June 1791"]
Burke put forward that "We fear God, we look up with awe to kings; with affection to parliaments; with duty to magistrates; with reverence to priests; and with respect to nobility. Why? Because when such ideas are brought before our minds, it is natural to be so affected". Burke defended this prejudice on the grounds that it is "the general bank and capital of nations, and of ages" and superior to individual reason, which is small in comparison. "Prejudice", Burke claimed, "is of ready application in the emergency; it previously engages the mind in a steady course of wisdom and virtue, and does not leave the man hesitating in the moment of decision, skeptical, puzzled, and unresolved. Prejudice renders a man's virtue his habit". Burke criticised social contract theory by claiming that society is indeed, a contract, but "a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born".

Questions and answers:
['
Q: Who did Burke say we look up to with awe?
A: kings', '
Q: Who did Burke say we look to with affection?
A: parliaments', '
Q: Who did Burke say we look to with reverence?
A: priests', '
Q: How did Burke say we look towards nobility?
A: with respect', '
Q: How did Burke say we look towards magistrates?
A: duty']
The most famous passage in Burke's Reflections was his description of the events of 5–6 October 1789 and the part of Marie-Antoinette in them. Burke's account differs little from modern historians who have used primary sources. His use of flowery language to describe it, however, provoked both praise and criticism. Philip Francis wrote to Burke saying that what he wrote of Marie-Antoinette was "pure foppery". Edward Gibbon, however, reacted differently: "I adore his chivalry". Burke was informed by an Englishman who had talked with the Duchesse de Biron, that when Marie-Antoinette was reading the passage, she burst into tears and took considerable time to finish reading it. Price had rejoiced that the French king had been "led in triumph" during the October Days, but to Burke this symbolised the opposing revolutionary sentiment of the Jacobins and the natural sentiments of those who shared his own view with horror—that the ungallant assault on Marie-Antoinette—was a cowardly attack on a defenceless woman.

Questions and answers:
["
Q: Who was featured in the most well-known part of Burke's Reflections?
A: Marie-Antoinette", "
Q: Who said Burke wrote 'pure foppery' about Marie-Antoinette?
A: Philip Francis", "
Q: Who adored Burke's chivalry?
A: Edward Gibbon", "
Q: How did Marie-Antoinette react to Burke's writing about her?
A: she burst into tears"]
Louis XVI translated the Reflections "from end to end" into French. Fellow Whig MPs Richard Sheridan and Charles James Fox, disagreed with Burke and split with him. Fox thought the Reflections to be "in very bad taste" and "favouring Tory principles". Other Whigs such as the Duke of Portland and Earl Fitzwilliam privately agreed with Burke, but did not wish for a public breach with their Whig colleagues. Burke wrote on 29 November 1790: "I have received from the Duke of Portland, Lord Fitzwilliam, the Duke of Devonshire, Lord John Cavendish, Montagu (Frederick Montagu MP), and a long et cetera of the old Stamina of the Whiggs a most full approbation of the principles of that work and a kind indulgence to the execution". The Duke of Portland said in 1791 that when anyone criticised the Reflections to him, he informed them that he had recommended the book to his sons as containing the true Whig creed.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: Who re-translated the Reflections into French?
A: Louis XVI', "
Q: Which British ministers disagreed with Burke's Reflections?
A: Richard Sheridan and Charles James Fox", '
Q: What political party was Charles James Fox?
A: Whig', '
Q: What political party was Earl Fitzwilliam?
A: Whigs', '
Q: What political party was Richard Sheridan?
A: Whig']