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Marlborough, John Churchill, 1st duke of (märl`bərə, môl`–), 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 James II, 1633–1701, king of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1685–88); second son of Charles I, brother and successor of Charles II .

Early Life

..... Click the link for more information. ) and entered (1667) the army. He rose rapidly under York's patronage and c.1678 married Sarah Jennings (see Marlborough, Sarah Churchill, duchess of Marlborough, Sarah Churchill, duchess of, 1660–1744, confidante of Queen Anne of England. Born Sarah Jennings, she was a childhood friend of Princess Anne. In 1677 she married John Churchill, later 1st duke of Marlborough.
..... Click the link for more information. ), attendant and friend of Princess (later Queen) Anne Anne, 1665–1714, queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1702–7), later queen of Great Britain and Ireland (1707–14), daughter of James II and Anne Hyde; successor to William III.
..... Click the link for more information. . Under James II he was active in crushing the rebellion (1685) of the duke of Monmouth Monmouth, James Scott, duke of (mŏn`məth)
..... Click the link for more information. 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 3)), William was able to drive the French out of the Netherlands. He made peace with England in 1674 and finally with France in 1678. Thereafter he endeavored to build up a European coalition to prevent further French aggression.
..... Click the link for more information. ) 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 Spanish Succession, War of the, 1701–14, last of the general European wars caused by the efforts of King Louis XIV to extend French power. The conflict in America corresponding to the period of the War of the Spanish Succession was known as Queen Anne's War
..... Click the link for more information. . His personal efforts long held together the anti-French alliance. He and Prince Eugene of Savoy Eugene of Savoy, 1663–1736, prince of the house of Savoy, general in the service of the Holy Roman Empire. Born in Paris, he was the son of Eugène, comte de Soissons of the line of Savoy-Carignano, and Olympe Mancini, niece of Cardinal Mazarin .
..... Click the link for more information. 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 Godolphin, Sidney Godolphin, 1st earl of (gədŏl`fĭn)
..... Click the link for more information. , 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 Harley, Robert, 1st earl of Oxford, 1661–1724, English statesman and bibliophile. His career illustrates the power of personal connections and intrigue in the politics of his day.
..... Click the link for more information. in 1708 and were momentarily paramount in politics. The duchess, however, quarreled with Anne, who came under the influence of Abigail Masham Masham, Abigail, Lady (măsh`əm), d. 1734, favorite of Queen Anne of England. Her maiden name was Abigail Hill.
..... Click the link for more information. , Harley's cousin; the war was costly, and Marlborough was accused of prolonging it for his personal glory; the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell Sacheverell, Henry (səshĕ`vərəl)
..... Click the link for more information. was unpopular; and in 1710 the Whigs fell, yielding power to Harley and Henry St. John St. John, Henry, Viscount Bolingbroke (sĭn jŭn, bŏl`ĭngbr
..... Click the link for more information. (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).