History Of England By H.W. Dulcken. PHD.Published By Ward lock & Co., Limited

THE Princess Anne, second daughter of James II., by his first wife, Ann Hyde, ascended the throne by virtue of the Act of Settlement. Her inclinations were towards the Tory party, from whom she chose her chief ministers on succeeding to the throne. Anne was strongly influenced by her intimacy with the Countess of Marlborough, and with the earl. The countess, already before her marriage, had been on terms of familiar correspondence with Anne, the two taking respectively the signatures of "Mrs. Morley" and "Mrs. Freeman." The Marlboroughs were Whigs
Marlborough, of whose talents William had the highest opinion, had already been entrusted by that king with the task of negotiating the Grand Alliance, and had been appointed captain-general of the troops to be employed in the war, which was declared against France on the 15th of May, 1702.

Immediately after the declaration of war, operations commenced. Marlborough commenced his successes in Flanders by the capture of Venloo, Ruremonde, and Liege. he was advanced to the rank of a duke in the peerage; and £5,000 a year was granted to him for life by the queen, out of the revenue of the post-office. At a later period the duke's pension was made perpetual.

An expedition was despatched against Cadiz, commanded by the Duke of Ormonde and Sir George Rooke. Time was lost in disputes and deliberations which enabled the Spanish commander to close the harbour with a boon, and to provision the city. Divided councils prevented the striking of any great blow; and after a time the whole enterprise against Cadiz was abandoned. Receiving intelligence that the Spanish silver fleet of Cadiz had put into Vigo Bay, the commanders resolved to save the reputation of the campaign by attacking and capturing it. Six galleons and seven ships of war were taken, The Spaniards were compelled to set fire to others of their ships, after throwing the cargoes into the sea. A booty of four millions of dollars fell into the hands of the English. Admiral Benbow, a brave and rough sea-dog of the old school, with a squadron of ten ships, in the West Indies, came up with a force superior in number, under the Count de Grasse. A running fight was maintained for several days, but Benbow's captains refused to second him, and he was at last left with only two ships, and having had his leg broken by a chain shot, was compelled to give up the chase. Soon afterwards he died of his wounds at Kingston, in Jamaica, but not before he had brought his refractory captains to a court-martial, and two of them were shot for disobedience of orders.
No great battle marked the campaign of 1703; Marlborough was continually cramped in his action by the dilatoriness and over-caution of his Dutch allies ; but the King of Portugal and the Duke of Savoy joined the Grand Alliance, and the Archduke Charles of Austria assumed the title of King of Spain. This year was signalized by a great storm, the only one that in England equaled the fury of a tropical tornado. It began on the 26th of November, 1703. In London alone, the damage amounted to over £1,000,000. Great trees and solid buildings were blown down, and among the mansions destroyed was the episcopal palace at Wells.

The year 1704 was a most eventful one. Marlborough, in conjunction with Prince Eugene of Savoy, laid down a masterly plan for the conduct of the campaign. While Eugene acted along the line of the Upper Rhine, Marlborough made his way to the Danube, and in conjunction with an imperial army under the Duke of Baden , took Donanwerth, after forcing the lines of the Bavarians with great slaughter at Schellenburg, on the 2nd of July. Then the army of the Upper Rhine, under Eugene, came to reinforce his army, while the Bavarians, on their part, formed a junction with the French forces under Marshal Tallard, and took up their position at Hochstadt, near the village of Blenheim, in Bavaria, on the banks of the Danube. Here they were suddenly attacked by Marlborough and Eugene, who had marched at two o'clock in the morning of the 2nd of August, to take them by surprise. The forces on each side exceeded 50,000 men, but the French-Bavarian army was the stronger by some 5,000 men. From one o'clock in the day, until nightfall, the struggle 'was maintained with great obstinacy. The result was a complete victory for the allied army. The loss on the French side, in killed, prisoners, and missing, amounted to 40,000 men; the allies themselves lost some 13,000 men. The one day of Blenheim completely changed the aspect of affairs in Europe, and overthrew the schemes of dominion the French court had been pursuing throughout many years. Another most important achievement of this great year 1704 was the capture by Admiral Rooke of the strong fortress of Gibraltar, which has ever since remained in the hands of the English.

In the next year, Marlborough was employed in holding Flanders against the French. He was, however, prevented by the tardiness and timidity of his Dutch allies from fighting a great battle. The most notable exploits of the campaign of 1705 were in Spain, whither Mordaunt, Earl of Peterborough, was joined by the Duke of Darmstadt, and by the Archduke Charles. Peterborough conducted his operations in defiance of all the received rules and principles of warfare, and his audacity bewildered his employers as much as it alarmed his foes. Seeing the weakness and slothfulness of Philip of Anjou, he was for making a bold dash at Madrid; but the Archduke and the Prince of Hesse were both opposed to this exploit. They insisted, against the advice of Peterborough, on laying siege to Barcelona, which was in a good state of defence, and was held by a large garrison. A strong fortress, called Monjuist, commanded the town. Of this fortress Peterborough obtained possession by a bold and masterly stratagem ; and Barcelona fell into his hands. All Catalonia and Valencia rose in insurrection against Philip of Anjou, and espoused the cause of the Archduke Charles, or, as he was now styled, Charles III. of Spain.
Marlborough continued his career of victory in Flanders. On May 23rd, 1706, Villeroy encountered Marlborough at Ramilies. Each army was about 60,000 strong. The French were utterly defeated, with a loss of 13,000 men an enormous number of standards and trophies fell into the hands of the victors, their loss being about 35,000 in killed, wounded, and prisoners. Brussels, Ghent, Oudenarde, and Antwerp thereupon surrendered.

Everything seemed to be now proceeding in favour of the allies Barcelona, which had been invaded by an army in the service of Philip, held out bravely until the siege was raised by an English fleet bringing troops to reinforce it. An Anglo-Portuguese army, under Lord Galway, occupied Madrid. Eugene had driven the French from Italy. The pride of Louis XIV. was humbled. He made offers for an accommodation but his proposals were refused. In Flanders the tide of victory still ran high for the allies. Marlborough increased his fame by the glorious victory Battle of Oudenarde, July 11th, 1703, in which the French army was saved by the approach of night from the most disastrous rout. They retreated under cover of the darkness, after losing 10,000 men. The capture of Lille was the result of this victory.

Again King Louis sued for peace, in the beginning of 1710; and again his overtures were rejected, the triumphant allies insisting that he should send troops against his own grandson, Philip. The old king declared with dignity that if he was forced to continue the war, it should be to fight for his children, not against them. Marlborough and Eugene marched against Mons, the chief town of Hainault, and Marshal Villars marched with his army to its relief. At Malplaquet, on September 11th, 1710, was fought the bloodiest battle the war had yet witnessed. The allies attacked Villars, who was posted in a position so strong as to be almost impregnable. Out of an army of 90,000 the allies lost 20,000 in killed and wounded, while the French, who were compelled to retreat, lost only 14,000. This was the last of the great victories of Marlborough in the war.

In Spain the English met with continued success. The Government sent out an experienced veteran, Lord Galway. At Almanza, on April 5th, 1707, Galway encountered James, Duke of Berwick, and sustained a complete defeat, leaving 4,000 men dead on the field, and losing all his baggage and artillery. Almanza proved fatal to the cause of the Archduke Charles in Spain. A change seemed to be effected for a time in 1710, when some important successes were gained by the English general Stanhope, and the Austrian Stahremberg, at Almenaca, and at Lerida, which last victory enabled Charles to enter Madrid. But the face of things changed again on the arrival of the great commander Marshal Vendome, who, on the 9th of December, surrounded Stanhope's force, and obliged him to surrender, and on the following day encountered Stahremberg at Villa Viciosa. Stahremberg could not maintain himself in the country, but was compelled to retreat to Barcelona, The Castilians clung to the cause of Philip with indomitable courage and fidelity, it was found impossible to maintain the rule of Charles in Spain, and the position was entirely changed by his unexpected succession to the dignity of Emperor of Germany ; the union of the kingdom of Spain with the empire would be more dangerous than the rule of Philip of Anjou in Spain alone.

In 1704, the Scottish had declared, that if the queen died without issue, the Estates should appoint a member of the royal line as king, hut not the same person who ruled in England. In the Scottish parliament, in 1705, a treaty of union with England was, by judicious management, carried, in spite of strenuous opposition. The succession was to remain vested in the Electress Sophia and her Protestant heirs. Scotland was to be represented in the English parliament by sixteen peers, and by forty-five members in the House of Commons. Scotland was to raise £48,000 in land-tax for every £2,000,000 raised in England. The customs and excise in both countries were to be the same and a sum of nearly £400,000 was to be paid to Scotland as a kind of compensation for the excise and customs. At first there was violent opposition, but the reasonableness of the proposed union of the two countries was so palpable that finally the measure was passed on the 1st of May, 1707.

The queen herself was at heart a Tory, and disliked the Whigs. The Tories were strong enough to cause their opponents much trouble. Marlborough wavered between the two parties. The Duchess of Marlborough, who at that time possessed almost unlimited influence with the queen, was anxious that her husband should join the Whigs. Robert Harley became secretary of state and Henry St. John secretary at war. But the Tories were divided among themselves, while the Whigs stood firmly together. They were, however, secretly attacked by one of their own colleagues. The Duchess of Marlborough had procured the place of bedchamber woman to the queen for an impoverished relative of her own, Abigail Hill, who was married privately, in 1708, to Mr. Masham, an officer in the queen's household, in the presence of Anne herself, over whom her influence became greater day by day. Of that influence Harley availed himself to undermine the power of Godolphin and Marlborough, who had kept aloof from both parties. Marlborough demanded of Anne the dismissal of Harley. Anne refused to give up Harley, who, however, seeing the difficulty of his own position, prudently resigned, and St. John and others followed his example, their places being filled by advanced Whigs.

The position of Godolphin and Marlborough was now a very difficult one. It was evident that the french king sincerely desired peace; and a rumour gained ground that Marlborough was needlessly prolonging the contest.
Accordingly, the triumph of the Whigs was short. Among the London clergy was a certain Dr. Henry Sachevered. He made use of an opportunity of preaching at St. Paul's, on the 5th of November, 1709, a violent tirade, declaiming against the Dissenters, occasional conformity, and toleration making a personal attack upon Godolphin, whom he stigmatized as Volpone (the fox). Godolphin resolved on impeaching Sacheverell, who was brought to trial on the 27th of February, 1710. "High Church and Sacheverell" became a popular cry, echoed by thousands who would have been puzzled to explain the meaning of the words. Even the queen's sedan chair was on several occasions stopped by the populace, who anxiously hoped her majesty was for Dr. Sacheverell." The doctor was found guilty of libel and sedition, forbidden to exercise his office for three years, and sentenced, moreover, to have his sermon burnt by the common hangman. But he received a valuable living, and was even recommended for a bishopric. But these evidences of the public temper emboldened the queen gradually to get rid of the ministry she secretly disliked ; Harley replaced the Marquess of Kent. Sunderland and Godolphin himself were next dismissed.

An entire change of ministry was brought about, Harley and Henry St. John having the chief influence, as chancellor of the exchequer and secretary of state respectively, the tone being decidedly Tory. The passing of time Schism Act, and of the act against occasional conformity, were among its first measures. Marlborough had the mortification of seeing a vote of thanks accorded to Peterborough while a similar honour was denied to himself. His wife, the duchess, was dismissed from all her offices; and it was only at the urgent solicitation of Godolphin, seconded by that of the leading Whigs, that Marlborough refrained from resigning his command.

A Frenchman named Guiscard was retained in government pay, Guisord's receiving £500 a year. This salary was reduced at the Attempt to instigation of Harley; and Guiscard, angry at this, proceeded to indemnify himself by selling state secrets to the King of France. Detected in this, he was summoned before the council, and, suddenly and treacherously stabbed Harley. Several of the members drew upon the would-be assassin, who was carried off, desperately wounded, to Newgate, where he died shortly afterwards.

Louis XIV. had again made overtures for peace; but the Whigs had rejected them. Now the aspect of affairs had changed; and though in 1711, Marlborough surpassed himself and with consummate skill forced the lines which Villars had drawn from Bouchain on the Scheldt to Arras, peace had already been determined on the English cabinet. Secret negotiations were opened at the beginning of the year with the French minister, De Torcy. But when these proceedings became known, much indignation was excited, for many considered that any peace which allowed a Bourbon to possess Spain, and abandoned the interests of Charles of Austria, would be dishonorable. In May, 1711, Harley became Earl of Oxford, and in the following year secretary St. John was made Viscount Bolingbroke. Marlborough was considered the great obstacle to an accommodation. On New Year's Day, 1712, Anne dismissed the duke from all his employments, and presently he was charged with having illegally received large sums from the contractors who supplied the army with bread. Soon afterwards, Marlborough quitted England. He was succeeded in the command in Flanders by the Duke of Ormond, while Prince Eugene directed the whole army of the allies. Eugene hoped to penetrate even to Paris itself. But negotiations were being carried on at Utrecht for peace, and Ormond received directions to abstain from offensive operations. The allies were indignant there was rage and sorrow in the English camp, and the genius of Villars restored the fortunes of France.

On the 31st of March, 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht was signed between France and the allies, with the exception of the Emperor of Germany, Charles VI. Philip of Anjou, acknowledged as King of Spain, gave up all prospective claims to the throne of France ; the Netherlands, Naples, and Milan were to be , given to the Emperor of Germany, Sardinia to the Ejector of Bavaria, and Sicily to the Duke of Savoy. Holland was to have some towns in Flanders, including Namur and Louis himself received Franche Comte, in return for ceding part of Gueldres to the King of Prussia Lille was also restored to him. England was to receive Acadia in North America, the name of which province was changed to Nova Scotia; while the capital, Port Royal, was called Annapolis, in honour of the queen. St. Christopher, Gibraltar, and Minorca were also ceded to her. Finally, the title of Queen Anne and the Protestant succession were to be formally acknowledged by France.

The bond that united Harley and Bolinghroke had never been one of cordial friendship. The death of Godolphin dissolved the one cause they had for alliance, and from that time each intrigued against the other. Harley was anxious to preserve the Protestant succession, but was too timid and cautious to act boldly. Bolingbroke knew the predilections of the queen towards the Tories, and her secret wish that her half-brother, James Francis, should succeed her ; and he accordingly turned his efforts towards bringing about a return of the exiled branch of the Stuarts. Lady Masham was among the most zealous of his partisans, while Lady Somerset was equally earnest on the other side; and Anne was in a state of doubt and irresolution.
Harley and Bolinghroke were now enemies, and the influence of the former declined rapidly. The Tories themselves were divided into two factions - the Whimsicals," who were for the maintenance of the Act of Succession, and the Jacobites, who wished to see the son of James II. placed on the throne The Electress-dowager Sophia died in the month of June, aged eighty-three ; and St. John now proceeded more openly with the design of forming a Tory cabinet and upsetting the Hanoverian succession. Harley was deprived of his office of lord treasurer, and Bolingbroke was in active correspondence with the exiled court at St. Germains. But presently a change came over the aspect of affairs. The queen's illness assumed an alarming character towards the end of July; and suddenly the Whig dukes of Argyll and Somerset appeared uninvited in the privy council. Under their influence the treasurer's staff was given by the dying queen to the Duke of Shrewsbury, and the Hanoverian succession was secured. Anne died two days afterwards, on the 1st of August, 1714 Immediately on the queen's demise, the elector was proclaimed. Bolingbroke, confounded by the rapid march of events, had not the heart to make any opposition

The character of Anne ;was of a negative kind. Indolent and self indulgent, she early allowed herself to be led by any one of strong will and ambitious temper who would take the trouble to assert influence over her, and thus became successively the tool of Sarah Jennings and of Abigail Hill. As a wife and mother, her conduct was irreproachable, and she is said to have suffered remorse for her desertion of her father.

Her reign has been called the Augustan age of English literature; Swift, Addison, Pope, Prior, Gay, Tickell, and others, commenced their career in her time.