William was succeeded by his sister-in-law, ANNE, second daughter of
the late James II; a princess now thirty-eight years of age, and
chiefly remarkable for her zealous attachment to the church of
England. The movement against the king of France had not been confined
to Great Britain; it was a combination of that power with the emperor
of Germany and the states of Holland. Queen Anne found it necessary to
maintain her place in the Grand Alliance, as it was termed; and the
Duke of Marlborough was sent over to the continent with a large army
to prosecute the war in conjunction with the allies. Now commenced
that career of military glory which has rendered the reign of Anne and
the name of Marlborough so famous. In Germany and Flanders, under this
commander, the British army gained some signal successes, particularly
those of Blenheim and Ramillies; in Spain, a smaller army, under the
chivalrously brave Earl of Peterborough, performed other services of
an important kind. The war, however, was one in which Britain had no
real interest――for it has been seen that Spain has continued under a
branch of the House of Bourbon without greatly endangering other
states.
A party, consisting chiefly of Tories, endeavored, in 1706, to put an
end to the war; and France was so much reduced in strength, as to
concede all the objects for which the contest had been commenced. But
the people were so strongly inspired with a desire of humiliating
France, which in commerce and religion they considered their natural
enemy, that some ambitious statesmen of a contrary line of politics
were enabled to mar the design of a treaty. Among these was the Duke
of Marlborough, who, being permitted to profit not only by his pay,
but by perquisites attached to his command, wished the war to be
protracted, merely that he might make his enormous wealth a little
greater. It was in consequence of these unnecessary interferences with
continental politics, urged chiefly by the people, and by a class of
statesmen popular at the time, that the first large sums of the
national debt were contracted.