Sidney Godolphin Servant of the State
, by Sundstrom, Roy A.
- ISBN: 9780874134384 | 0874134382
- Cover: Hardcover
- Copyright: 11/1/1992
From 1702 to 1713 England engaged in the final struggle to prevent Louis XIV of France from imposing his will on Europe, ending England's Protestant monarchy, and fundamentally altering her constitution.
The ultimate victory of England and her allies was largely the work of two extraordinary men. While John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, led the armies of the Grand Alliance on the Continent, Sidney Godolphin, Queen Anne's Lord High Treasurer from 1702 to 1710, raised the money required to finance the war.
Despite his vital contributions to the war effort, historians have left Godolphin (1645-1712) lurking in Marlborough's shadow and have limited their studies to his political activities and to his implementation of the public credit system. Even then, their efforts have been incomplete: they have not explained how Godolphin was able to secure vitally needed revenue legislation from Parliament, and how he revamped the Treasury and its financial strategy.
This book shows Godolphin to have been a force in his own right as well as one of the most important politicians in modern English history. This is evident from the conclusions that emerge from the first scholarly biography of Godolphin in one hundred years. First, he secured the huge amounts required to keep the armies of the Queen in the field through a network of political operatives in Parliament. Because of the immense confidence that the Bank of England had in his ability, the Lord Treasurer was then able to borrow the funds required to fuel the war. Second, these efforts, his relationship with Queen Anne, and his function as a conduit between the Cabinet Council, Parliament, and the Queen, made Godolphin a minister whose power exceeded that of any of his predecessors. He was, as his contemporaries recognized, the Queen's prime minister. Third, Godolphin undertook a massive and successful overhauling of the Treasury and the public credit system after years of chaos under William III. This book explains for the first time what changes Godolphin made in the credit system and their impact.
Fourth, Godolphin was far more involved in diplomatic strategy than was previously realized. His control of the public purse strings gave him considerable leverage in pressing England's diplomatic agenda on her allies. Godolphin was not shy about using the subsidies that the Crown paid to its allies to harry them into line at critical times. His ability to raise the funds necessary for the war and his unique relationship with Marlborough also allowed the Lord Treasurer to become intimately involved in military strategy. When Marlborough returned each autumn from campaigning on the Continent, he and Godolphin huddled over how much money would be required for the next campaign and what strategy they would follow. This provided Godolphin with an opportunity to put forth his own views on strategy.
In writing this biography, Professor Sundstrom has mined all English and Dutch sources relevant to the subject.
The ultimate victory of England and her allies was largely the work of two extraordinary men. While John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, led the armies of the Grand Alliance on the Continent, Sidney Godolphin, Queen Anne's Lord High Treasurer from 1702 to 1710, raised the money required to finance the war.
Despite his vital contributions to the war effort, historians have left Godolphin (1645-1712) lurking in Marlborough's shadow and have limited their studies to his political activities and to his implementation of the public credit system. Even then, their efforts have been incomplete: they have not explained how Godolphin was able to secure vitally needed revenue legislation from Parliament, and how he revamped the Treasury and its financial strategy.
This book shows Godolphin to have been a force in his own right as well as one of the most important politicians in modern English history. This is evident from the conclusions that emerge from the first scholarly biography of Godolphin in one hundred years. First, he secured the huge amounts required to keep the armies of the Queen in the field through a network of political operatives in Parliament. Because of the immense confidence that the Bank of England had in his ability, the Lord Treasurer was then able to borrow the funds required to fuel the war. Second, these efforts, his relationship with Queen Anne, and his function as a conduit between the Cabinet Council, Parliament, and the Queen, made Godolphin a minister whose power exceeded that of any of his predecessors. He was, as his contemporaries recognized, the Queen's prime minister. Third, Godolphin undertook a massive and successful overhauling of the Treasury and the public credit system after years of chaos under William III. This book explains for the first time what changes Godolphin made in the credit system and their impact.
Fourth, Godolphin was far more involved in diplomatic strategy than was previously realized. His control of the public purse strings gave him considerable leverage in pressing England's diplomatic agenda on her allies. Godolphin was not shy about using the subsidies that the Crown paid to its allies to harry them into line at critical times. His ability to raise the funds necessary for the war and his unique relationship with Marlborough also allowed the Lord Treasurer to become intimately involved in military strategy. When Marlborough returned each autumn from campaigning on the Continent, he and Godolphin huddled over how much money would be required for the next campaign and what strategy they would follow. This provided Godolphin with an opportunity to put forth his own views on strategy.
In writing this biography, Professor Sundstrom has mined all English and Dutch sources relevant to the subject.
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