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The Duke of Marlborough                                    April 2012

John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough, Prince of Mindelheim is sometimes referred to as the greatest general in English history, primarily due to his performance in the War of the Spanish Succession. For the 17^th century, Louis XIV of France had continually expanded his territory and power, so that by the turn of the 18th century, France was by far the predominant power in all of Europe. William III had spent his entire career keeping the Netherlands free from the French, and the Hapsburg Empire had been continually losing ground since the Thirty Years War. When the Spanish throne fell into the hands of the Bourbon monarchs, all of
Europe felt threatened. Into this theatre, Marlborough, along with his Hapsburg ally Eugene of Savoy entered, and each won stunning victories against the French entirely due to their excellent military skills.

Marlborough’s long career as an
English soldier began shortly after the restoration when he was assigned as a
lowly page at the court of the House of Stuart. He loyally served James, Duke of York, through the 1870s and early 1680s, earning military and political advancement with his courage and diplomatic skill.

Churchill’s role in defeating the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685 helped secure James on the throne, yet just three
years later he abandoned his Catholic patron for the Protestant Dutchman, William of Orange. Honoured for
his services at Williams’ coronation with earldom of Marlborough, he served with further distinction in the
early years of the Nine Years’ War, but persistent charges of Jacobitism brought about his fall from office and temporary imprisonment in the Tower. It wasn’t until the accession of Queen Anne in 1702 that Marlborough reached the zenith of his powers and secured his fame and fortune.

His marriage to hot-tempered Sarah Jennings-Anne’s intimate friend-ensured his rise, first to the Captain-Generalcy of British forces, then to a dukedom. Becoming de facto leader
of Allied forces during the War of
the Spanish Succession, his victories on the fields of battle ensured his place in history as one of Europe’s
great generals. But his wife’s stormy relationship with the Queen, and her subsequent dismissal from court,
was central to his own fall. Incurring Anne’s disfavour and caught between Tory and Whig factions, Marlborough, who had brought glory and success to Anne’s reign, was forced from office and went into self-imposed exile. He returned to England and to influence under the House of Hanover with the accession of George I to the British throne in 1714, but following a series of strokes in later years, his health gradually deteriorated, and he died on June 16, 1722, at Windsor Lodge.

 ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Churchill,_1st_Duke_of_Marlborough
 http://www.heritage-history.com}

MARLBOROUGH BRAND PROOF-INNER EX 7 $475
LA FLOR DE CHURCHILL-INNER VF 6 $200
LA FLOR DE CHURCHILL-OUTER EX 7 $125    

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