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QUEEN ANNE 1702 - 1714
Prince George of Denmark.
At her accession as under William III. |
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| Born 1665. - Married George, son of Frederick III. of Denmark; she bore her husband many children, all of whom died in infancy, except one son, the Duke of Gloucester, who died at the age of twelve. | ||
| Began to reign,1702. - Reigned 12 years. - Died 1714. |
PRINCIPAL EVENTS.
War declared against France and Spain, 1702, great victories over the French and their allies by land and sea,1704.
Most of the principal event. of her reign are connected with the war of the Spanish Succession .The only important
acquisition that England made by it was Gibraltar, which was captured in 1704. Victory of Ramilies, 1706. Another
very important event of this reign was the union of England and Scotland under the name of Great Britain, which
was accomplished in 1707. Victory of Malplaquet,1709. The treaty of Utrecht: peace with France 1713 .
The reign of Anne was distinguished not only by the brilliant successes of the British arms, but also on account of the number of admirable and excellent writers who flourished at this time - among whom were Pope, Swift and Addison.
Anne, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, was born at Twickenham, near London, 6th February, 1664. She was the second daughter of James II., then Duke of York, and Anne, his wife, daughter of the Earl of Clarendon. With her fathers permission she was educated according to the principles of the English Church. In 1683 she was married to Prince George, brother to King Christian V. of Denmark On the arrival of the Prince of Orange in 1688, Anne wished to remain with her father; but she was prevailed upon by Lord Churchill (afterwards Duke of Marlborough) and his wife to join the triumphant party.
After the death of William III. in 1702 she ascended the English throne. Her character was essentially weak, and she was governed first by Marlborough and his wife, and afterwards by Mrs. Masham. She seems to have long cherished the wish of securing the succession to her brother James but this was frustrated by the internal dissension's of the cabinet. Grieved at the disappointment of her secret wishes, she fell into a state of weakness and lethargy, and died, July 20, 1714.
WARS
The great war of the Spanish Succession occupies
the greater part of Anne's reign. The Alliance comprised England, Holland, the Emperor, the Electors of Brandenburg
and Hanover, the Elector Palatine, the Duke of Baden, some lesser German Princes, the King of Denmark, and after
a short time Portugal and the Duke of Savoy. The Allies also had the sympathies of the Catalans in Spain, and of
some of the Aragonese who were jealous of Castile.
On the side of France were the Castilians and most of the Spaniards, the Electors of Bavaria and Cologne.
The avowed object of the Allies at the beginning of the war was to carry out the principles of the Partition Treaties,
giving the throne of Spain to the Austrian candidate, the Archduke Charles, and extensive compensations to the
French and their candidate, Philip Duke of Anjou. The French tried to grasp the whole Spanish Monarchy for the
Duke of Anjou. As the war progressed favourably for the Allies they tried to grasp the whole for the Archduke,
falling into the same mistake as the French in aiming at too much. The war ended in a recognition of the principle
of a Partition, though not as originally agreed.
The real objects of the war, however, so far as England was concerned, were to punish Louis for recognizing the
son of James II., contrary to the Peace of Ryswick, generally to check French power, and to prevent the grant by
the Spaniards of exclusive trade privileges to the French in America. These objects were fully attained.
1702 - 3 The war was confined to sieges in the Netherlands and on the Lower Rhine, but the French in 1703 were
victorious on the Upper Rhine and in Bavaria.
1704. The Duke of Marlborough marched from the Netherlands into Bavaria, defeated the Bavarians at Sehellenberg
on July 2, and in concert with Prince Eugene, the Emperor's general, completely routed the French and Bavarians
at Blenheim, Aug. 2. Sir George Rooke took Gibraltar, July 23, and defeated the French fleet off Malaga, Aug. 13.
1705. Barcelona taken, Oct. 4, and the east of Spain overrun by the Allies.
1706. Marlborough defeated the French at Ramilies, May 12. The Allies occupied Madrid, but retired again. Prince
Eugene defeated the French at Turin, Sept. 7.
1707. The Miles completely defeated at Almanza, in Spain, by the Duke of Berwick, April 14. Naples conquered by
the Emperor's troops, who however unsuccessfully invaded southeast France. The French successful on the Upper Rhine.
1708. The French seized part of Flanders, but were defeated by Marlborough at Oudenarde July 11. Lille taken by
Marlborough Dec. 29. Sardinia and Minorca taken by an English fleet
1709. Marlborough and Eugene defeated the French at Malplaquet, Sept. 11, with heavy loss on their own side.
1710. A war of sieges on the north-east frontier of France. In Spain the Allies won Almenara and Saragossa, but
were destroyed by the Duc do Vendome at Brihuega, Dec.10, and Villa Viciosa, Dec. 20.
1711. A war of posts and sieges on the French frontier. Marlborough deprived of his command.
1712. Eugene, deserted by the English, was defeated by Villars at Denain, in France, and the latter re-captured
the late conquests of the Allies within the French frontier.
MINISTERS
In the reign of Anne the system of homogeneous party
Ministries may be said to have established itself, owing to the difficulty of working the government, when Ministers
belonged to different parties, under a sovereign whose sex and want of great capacity prevented her from presiding
as effectually as William had done.
In 1702 the Ministry was considered to be one of moderate Tories.
Lord Keeper, Sir Nathan Wright 1702 - 1705.
Lord Treasurer, Earl of Godoiphin, 1702 - 1710.
Lord President of the Council, Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, 1702 - 1708.
Secretaries of State, Earl of Nottingham, 1702 - 1704; Sir Charles Hedges, 1702 - 1706; Robert Harley, afterwards
Earl of Oxford, 1704 - 1708.
Secretary at War, Henry St. John, afterwards Viscount Bolingbroke, 1704 - 1708.
Generalissimo of the Allied Forces, Master General of the Ordnance. Privy Councillor, John Duke of Marlborough,
1702 - 1711.
The Ministry, engaged in a war which was more popular with the Whigs than with the Tories, inclined towards the
former party, and began to drop its more pronounced Tory Members about 1704 and onwards, taking in Whig leaders
in their place.
Lord Keeper, Earl Cowper, 1705 - 1707, became Lord Chancellor, 1707 - 1710.
Lord President Lord Somers 1708 - 1710.
Secretaries of State, Earl of Sunderland, 1706 - 1710; Henry Boyle, afterwards Lord Carleton, 1708 - 1710.
Secretary at War, Robert Walpole, 1708 - 1710.
In 1710 - 1711 a strongly Tory Ministry succeeded.
Lord Keeper Sir Simon Harcourt, 1710 - 1713.
Lord Chancellor as Lord Harcourt, 1713 - 1714.
Lord Treasurer, Earl Poulett, 1710 - 1711.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Robert Harley, 1710 - 1711.
Lord Treasurer, Harley Earl of Oxford, 171 l - 1714.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Robert Benson, afterwards Lord Bingley, 1711 - 1714.
Lord President Earl of Rochester, 1710 - 1711; Duke of Normanby and Buckinghamshire, 1711 - 1714.
Lord Privy Seal, John Robinson, Bishop of Bristol, afterwards of London, 1711 - 1714. Plenipotentiary at Utrecht,1712
- 1713.The last prelate to fill high civil office in England. Secretaries of State, Earl of Dartmouth, 1710 - 1713,
and Henry St. John, Viscount Bolingbroke, 17l0-17l4 ; William Bromley, vice Earl of Dartmouth, 1713 - 1714.
Secretary at War, Sir William Wyndham, 1712 - 1714.
Commander of the Forces, Duke of Ormonde, 1712 - 1714.The Tory Ministry becoming Jacobite under Bolingbroke's guidance,
the Earl of Oxford was deprived of the Treasury, but the Duke of Shrewsbury was appointed Lord High Treasurer,
July 29, 1714, three days before the Queen's death, and the Dukes of Argyle and Somerset, acting on their right
as Privy Councillors, attended the meeting of the Council to range for the accession of George I
ACTS AND DOCUMENTS
1703. Methuen Treaty with Portugal, a commercial
treaty to induce Portugal to support the Allies. Noticeable as the cause of what became the national habit of port
wine drinking to the neglect of French wines.
1703. First Fruits restored by the Crown to the Church by letters Patent see Henry VIII. 26, c. 3. The foundation
of Queen Anne's Bounty, confirmed by Act of Parliament, Anne 2 and 3, c. 20.
Anne 6, c. 11. The Union with Scotland. A complete Parliamentary and Commercial Union between the two kingdoms,
leaving the domestic law of each unaltered. The maintenance of the Episcopal Church in England, including Wales,
and of the Presbyterian Church in Scotland, made integral articles of the Union.
Such an Act had become inevitable since the Revolution of 1688 - 89 had transferred reel supremacy in government
to the two parliaments in their respective countries. One crown had been a kind of guarantee of common action in
the two countries, while the crown was the real depository of power. Whenever formerly, as in 1638 and 1648 - 49,
and when now, this had ceased to be the case, the two countries tended rapidly towards separation. The Scotch Act
of Security, 1704, had pointed to a possibly different monarch in Scotland and England after the death of Queen
Anne.
The same arguments were not yet applicable to the case of Ireland; for from its unpopular composition, and from
Poyning's Act (see Henry VII.. 1494), the Irish Parliament was completely dependent upon the English Government.
One of the greatest effects of the Act of Union was the increase of English commercial and Colonial enterprise
by the admission of the poor and energetic Scotch men to share in it. This was especially felt in the forthcoming
development of our Indian Empire.
Anne 9, c. 5. A high property qualification established for Members of the House of Commons. Repealed Victoria
21 and 22, c. 26.
Anne 10, c. 2. An Act against Occasional Conformity, to punish Dissenters who should qualify for office by taking
the Communion in Church, and should afterwards frequent conventicles.
It was repealed under George the First but is important as the great index of Whig and Tory leanings in this reign.
It was several times passed by the House of Commons, and thrown out by the House of Lords, but was carried before
the creation of 12 new Tory Peers, Dee. 31, 1711, to swamp the Whig Majority in the Upper House.
1713. The Treaty of Utrecht, ending the War of the Spanish Succession. The Duke of Anjou was left in possession
of the throne of Spain, which he actually held, and where the sympathies of the population, except in Catalonia,
were unmistakably for him. The Austrian candidate had become Emperor, which in itself would have been an argument
for reverting to the Partition scheme and for not giving him the whole Monarchy. He was amply compensated in the
Netherlands and Italy. A barrier of garrisons was secured for the Dutch in the Netherlands.
England acquired considerable Colonial possessions, see on Dominion, and the right of carrying on the slave trade
and some general trade in the Spanish colonies, from which France was excluded. This trade was easily in effect
expanded into a considerable illicit trade, especially between the English and Spanish colonies in America, which
led to much future trouble.
The new king of Spain was barred from the French succession, the Protestant succession guaranteed in England, and
the interests of the Regent in France, who took up the government in 1715, enlisted on the side of the maintenance
of the Treaty and of the Protestant succession, for he and Philip of Spain were likely to be rival heirs in France
in the event of Louis XV. dying as a child, which seemed likely.
Above all, the events of the war had prevented France from being a real menace to Europe for another eighty years.
The manner of obtaining the Treaty, behind the backs of the Allies, can only be palliated by the fact of the Emperor
having tried to do the same first
The Treaty is printed in Dumont, viii 339,The Acts given above are printed in the Statutes.
