LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Duke of Marlborough: Spanish Netherlands
built 615 days ago
The death of Queen Mary brought about Earl of Marlborough’s return to favour, but William bestowed no further post of trust upon him until 1698, when he became Governor of the little Duke of Gloucester, who died in 1700. In 1701, he was appointed to command the troops in Holland. Queen Anne's accession made Marlborough the most powerful man in England, Commander-in-Chief, Master-General of the Ordnance and a Knight of the Garter. By means of his wife's domineering influence, he was able to impose his views upon the Queen and to carry on the War of Spanish Succession with little fear of opposition at home. He became Commander-in-Chief of the Allied forces and, after his first campaign, was promoted to a Dukedom (14th December 1702). His army was a motley force which he could only control by exercising the most unfailing courtesy and the most delicate tact, while at critical moments his dispositions were liable to be utterly frustrated by the timorous obstinacy of the Dutch deputies.
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It was originally thought that the ewer and basin were presented to the Duke of Marlborough by the city of Lille to ensure his protection. However, recent searches in the Lille archives have found no evidence for this. In the notebooks kept by Marlborough's French secretary Adam Cardonnel, the only gifts recorded are tulip bulbs presented by the Netherlands and a horse presented by the King of Prussia.
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(May 23, 1706), victory won by Allied (Anglo-Dutch) forces led by the Duke of Marlborough over the French during the War of the Spanish Succession. The victory led to the Allied capture of the whole north and east of the Spanish Netherlands.
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Though the Spanish Netherlands were officially being claimed in the name of Archduke Charles, the Austrian Empire's candidate for the succession of the Spanish throne, they needed to be governed until the end of the war. At one point Marlborough was offered their governorship, but he knew he had to decline or risk becoming unpopular with his allies in the Netherlands.
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Spanish Netherlands