Queen Anne: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 15:26, 17 April 2019

6 February, 1665 – 1 August, 1714. Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland (1702-1714). Last Stuart Monarch.

Anne was born the second daughter of James II and Anne Hyde. In 1683 she married George, Prince of Denmark. During her marriage she became pregnant 17 times but only one child, Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, survived the early years of childhood. Due to the number of pregnancies and miscarriages her health was badly affected up to her death.

The Act of Settlement had established a new line of succession in 1701. It excluded more than 50 Catholics from the succession to the throne. Since Anne was raised a Protestant, she fulfilled the conditions determined in the Act of Settlement. She refrained from making her husband king. He did not show any will to play a bigger political role anyways. Anne on the other hand, showed great political ambition and visited cabinet meetings regularly (Panzer 166).

In questions of domestic and foreign politics Queen Anne followed the example of her predecessor and brother-in-law William III: she supported war, in her case: the War of Spanish Succession, which ended profitably for Britain in the Treaties of Utrecht (1713/1714).

Anne’s closest friend and confidante was first Sarah Churchill, whose husband, the Duke of Marlborough, was considered a war hero after the War of Spanish Succession. During the beginning of Anne’s reign Sarah was her lady in waiting. In 1710/1711 the friendship between the women ended due to strong conflicts and Sarah was dismissed from her office. Lady Abigail Masham, a distant relative of Sarah Churchill and a supporter of the Tories, succeeded in this office.

The last years of Anne’s reign were influenced by the question of succession. The Whigs supported the House of Hanover, the Tories did not really take sides and Anna herself did not like her Hanoverian relatives, while at the same time rumors started every time Anne became ill that her half-brother, the Old Pretender was about to come back to London. When Sophia of Hanover, the great granddaughter of James I and therefore the next successor of the trone, died in June 1714, her son George got the prospective entitlement to the British throne. Anne died only two months later. As soon as possible George was declared the new king of Great Britain.

Anne’s reign was considered rather successful. Politically she created a period of security. However, many poor people remained poor, while merchants and traders became richer and richer. On the other hand she was famous for her strict Protestant religious streak. Besides there is a style of furniture named after Queen Anne.

References

"Anne (1702-14 AD)." Britannia, http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon52.html.

Jordan, Ulrike. "Anna (1702-1714)". Englische Könige und Königinnen. Ed. Peter Wende. München: Verlag C.H. Beck, 1998. 176-187.

Panzer, Marita A. Englands Königinnen: Von den Tudors zu den Windsors. München: Piper, 2009.

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-== '''Biography''' ==
+February, 1665 – 1 August, 1714. Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland (1702-1714). Last Stuart Monarch.
+Anne was born the second daughter of [[James II]] and [[Anne Hyde]]. In 1683 she married George, Prince of Denmark. During her marriage she became pregnant 17 times but only one child, Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, survived the early years of childhood. Due to the number of pregnancies and miscarriages her health was badly affected up to her death.
+The [[Act of Settlement]] had established a new line of succession in 1701. It excluded more than 50 Catholics from the succession to the throne. Since Anne was raised a Protestant, she fulfilled the conditions determined in the Act of Settlement. She refrained from making her husband king. He did not show any will to play a bigger political role anyways. Anne on the other hand, showed great political ambition and visited cabinet meetings regularly (Panzer 166).
-'''Queen Anne I (*1665 - † 1714)'''
+In questions of domestic and foreign politics Queen Anne followed the example of her predecessor and brother-in-law [[William III]]: she supported war, in her case: the [[War of Spanish Succession]], which ended profitably for Britain in the Treaties of Utrecht (1713/1714).
-Queen Anne was born in 1665. She was the daughter of James II and his first wife.
+Anne’s closest friend and confidante was first [[Sarah Churchill]], whose husband, the [[Duke of Marlborough]], was considered a war hero after the War of Spanish Succession. During the beginning of Anne’s reign Sarah was her lady in waiting. In 1710/1711 the friendship between the women ended due to strong conflicts and Sarah was dismissed from her office. Lady Abigail Masham, a distant relative of Sarah Churchill and a supporter of the [[Tories]], succeeded in this office.
-She was a Protestant and married to George, Prince of Denmark. Even though she was pregnant
-times she only gave birth to five children, none of them survived to inherit the throne.
-In 1702 she succeeded her brother in law William III. She died in 1714 and passed the throne on to her cousin the Hanoverian Prince Georg Louis. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/anne_queen.shtml)
-== '''Reign (1702-1714)''' ==
+The last years of Anne’s reign were influenced by the question of succession. The [[Whigs]] supported the House of Hanover, the Tories did not really take sides and Anna herself did not like her Hanoverian relatives, while at the same time rumors started every time Anne became ill that her half-brother, the [[James Francis Edward Stuart|Old Pretender]] was about to come back to London. When Sophia of Hanover, the great granddaughter of [[James I]] and therefore the next successor of the trone, died in June 1714, her son George got the prospective entitlement to the British throne. Anne died only two months later. As soon as possible George was declared the new king of Great Britain.
+Anne’s reign was considered rather successful. Politically she created a period of security. However, many poor people remained poor, while merchants and traders became richer and richer. On the other hand she was famous for her strict Protestant religious streak. Besides there is a style of furniture named after Queen Anne.
-The reign of Queen Anne was dominated by war and political and religious changes.
-The War of Spanish Succession was of great importance. It was an alliance between England, Scotland, the Netherlands and Portugal to fight against Louis XIV of France and his allies Spain and Bavaria. (Maurer, p.240) “A series of military victories by John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, strengthened England’s negotiating position at the end of the war.” (http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensoftheUnitedKingdom/TheStuarts/Anne.aspx) In 1713 the Treaty of Utrecht was signed in which Louis XIV had to acknowledge Anne’s title and exile her brother James Edward. (Maurer, p.240) “Unter Anna erreichte die englische Arme eine Stärke von durchschnittlich 120000 Mann. Auch die englische Flotte wurde in den Jahrzehnten kontinuierlich ausgebaut. Sie galt 1714 bereits als stärkste der Welt.“ (Maurer, p.239)
-The Church and its political influence were an important issue during the time of Queen Anne I. Religion and political powers were strongly connected. There was the division of the church in two major parts, the ''High Church'' and the ''Low Church''. Both churches were supported by a political party. The ''Tories'' supported the ''High Church'', the ''Whigs'' the ''Low Church''. The connection of politics and religion resulted in the different opinions of how much influence the church should have. Supporters of the ''High Church'' wanted a great connection between the state and the church, while the supporters of the ''Low Church'' tried to divide the State from the church in terms of political power. The final decision was made after Queen Anne I died. (Maurer, p.237+238) “Als dann die Hannoveraner auf dem Thron waren, stützten sie sich hauptsächlich auf die Whigs, die sie auf diesen Thron gebracht hatten.“ (Maurer, p.238)
+== References ==
+"Anne (1702-14 AD)." ''Britannia'', http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon52.html.
+Jordan, Ulrike. "Anna (1702-1714)". ''Englische Könige und Königinnen''. Ed. Peter Wende. München: Verlag C.H. Beck, 1998. 176-187.
+Panzer, Marita A. ''Englands Königinnen: Von den Tudors zu den Windsors''. München: Piper, 2009.
-== '''Literature''' ==
-Maurer, Michael. ''Kleine Geschichte Englands''. Reclam: Stuttgart 1997, p.236-241.
-http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/anne_queen.shtml
-http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensoftheUnitedKingdom/TheStuarts/Anne.aspx