John Churchill 1st duke of Marlborough

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John Churchill Marlborough, 1st duke of , 1650–1722, English general and statesman, one of the greatest military commanders of history. A great strategist and a shrewd diplomat, he has been criticized for inordinate love of wealth and power and for inconstant loyalties in politics.

Under James II and William III

The son of an impoverished squire, he became (1665) a page of the duke of York (later James II ) and entered (1667) the army. He rose rapidly under York's patronage and c.1678 married Sarah Jennings (see Marlborough, Sarah Churchill, duchess of ), attendant and friend of Princess (later Queen) Anne . Under James II he was active in crushing the rebellion (1685) of the duke of Monmouth and was raised to the peerage and made a major general.

Nevertheless, fearing the religious policies of the Roman Catholic king, and concerned about his own career, he corresponded with William of Orange (later William III ) and supported him against James in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. He was created earl of Marlborough at William's coronation (1689). Marlborough was successful as a military commander in 1689 and 1690, but William's poor treatment of Anne offended him, and William began to resent Marlborough's ambition and ability. When Marlborough began secret communication with the exiled James II, he was discovered and lost royal favor (1692–98).

Power and Dismissal under Anne

In 1702, when Anne ascended the throne, Marlborough reached the fullness of his power. His military genius and remarkable gift for foreign diplomacy were given wide scope in the War of the Spanish Succession . His personal efforts long held together the anti-French alliance. He and Prince Eugene of Savoy together won such victories as Blenheim (1704), Oudenarde (1708), and Malplaquet (1709), and he alone is credited with Ramillies (1706) and countless other triumphs.

Marlborough, made a duke in 1702, also enjoyed political ascendancy, largely as a result of his wife's influence over the queen. Marlborough and his friend Sidney Godolphin , as well as the queen, although earlier bound by personal and religious ties to the Tories, turned to the Whigs, who favored the war while the Tories opposed it. They secured the dismissal of Robert Harley in 1708 and were momentarily paramount in politics. The duchess, however, quarreled with Anne, who came under the influence of Abigail Masham , Harley's cousin; the war was costly, and Marlborough was accused of prolonging it for his personal glory; the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell was unpopular; and in 1710 the Whigs fell, yielding power to Harley and Henry St. John (later Viscount Bolingbroke).

The duke was falsely charged with misappropriating public funds and was dismissed (1711) from office. He returned to England from self-imposed exile upon the accession of George I in 1714 and was given chief command of the army again, but he took little further part in public affairs.

Bibliography

See the duke's letters and dispatches (ed. by Sir George Murray, 1845); the exhaustive biography of him by his descendant Winston S. Churchill (1933–38, repr. 1982) and a short one by M. P. Ashley (1939, repr. 1957); studies by C. T. Atkinson (1921), F. Taylor (1921), I. F. Burton (1968), D. G. Chandler (1973), and D. W. Jones (1988).

Marlborough, John Churchill, 1st duke of (1650–1722). The most successful general of his age, Marlborough was from 1704 until 1710 the leading European statesman. From page he became confidential emissary to the duke of York (the future James II) and in 1685 after playing a decisive part in defeating Monmouth's rebel army he became a major‐general. After 1683 he and his wife Sarah also developed a lasting connection with the future queen Anne.

Churchill made a massive contribution to the success of the Glorious Revolution by organizing a network of officers who defected to William. As reward he became earl of Marlborough. He organized and led a combined operation that took Cork and Kinsale in southern Ireland (1690), but by championing Anne against her sister Mary he provoked his dismissal from all posts (1692).

After 1700, faced with an impending European war, William designated Marlborough to command the British forces in the Low Countries. In 1702 Marlborough manœuvred the French out of territories bordering on the Dutch Republic. Anne made him duke. But in 1704 French armies in Bavaria threatened to force the German allied princes to capitulate, isolating Britain's other major ally, the emperor. Marlborough marched his army to the Danube where at Blenheim (13 August) he inflicted the greatest defeat the French had suffered for 150 years.

In 1705 Marlborough failed in an invasion of France up the Moselle valley, but in 1706 he won a second massive victory at Ramillies. In 1708 he totally defeated a French counter‐offensive at Oudenarde, took the fortress of Lille, and planned a final invasion of France. The expensive victory of Malplaquet September 1709) prevented this and convinced a war‐weary Britain that Marlborough was committed to an endless war. Dismissed by the Tory government in December 1711 Marlborough exiled himself. Reinstated by George I as captain‐general, he supervised suppression of the Jacobite rebellion in 1715.

Marlborough, John Churchill, 1st Duke of (1650–1722) English general. Churchill helped James II defeat Monmouth (1685), but switched allegiance in support of the Protestant Glorious Revolution (1688). Partly due to his wife's friendship with Queen Anne, he was appointed Captain-General of Allied armies in the War of the Spanish Succession. His strategic skill gained great victories at Blenheim (1704), Ramillies (1706), Oudenaarde (1708), and Malplaquet (1709). Churchill was rewarded with a dukedom and Blenheim Palace. When his wife lost the Queen's favour and the Tories regained power, Malborough was dismissed (1711) and went into exile.

Marlborough, John Churchill, 1st Duke of (1650–1722) English general. He was appointed commander of British and Dutch troops in the War of the Spanish Succession and won a series of victories over the French armies of Louis XIV, most notably BLENHEIM (1704), RAMILLIES (1706), OUDENARDE (1708), and MALPLAQUET (1709), which effectively ended Louis's attempts to dominate Europe. The building of Blenheim Palace, Marlborough's seat at Woodstock in Oxfordshire, was funded by Queen Anne as a token of the nation's gratitude for his victory.