In LORD CHURCHILL’S COUP, Stephen Saunders Webb further advances his revisionist interpretation of the British Empire in the seventeenth century. Having earlier demonstrates that the Anglo=American empire was classic in its form, administered by an army, committed to territorial expansion, and motivated by crusading religion, Webb now argues that both England and its American social experiments were the underdeveloped elements of an empire emerging on both sides of the Atlantic and that the pivotal moment of that empire, the so-called “Glorious Revolution,” was in fact a military coup driven by religious fears. In a vigorous narrative, Webb populates this formative period of the Anglo-American past with colorful and commanding characters. At the center is John Churchill. We see him rise from page boy to earl of Marlborough, winning battlefield glory, influence, and promotion; and his corresponding rise from ensign of the English army taking control of the destiny of the later Stuart monarchs of Britain and America. Webb shows us Churchill increasingly alarmed by the Catholicizing course of his patron, James II, and becoming instrumental in the organization of a successful coup to protect Anglicanism and the constitution. We see the resulting alliance with William of Orange, the Protestant champion of Europe, quickly turn sour as William makes himself king; and we see Churchill, now transformed into imperial politician, once again in power—able to secure the succession of Queen Anne and negotiate the terms of resumption of war against France. Throughout, Webb makes it clear that at the heart of Churchill’s ascent and actions is his vision of America as a decisive factor in the world war between England and France for impersonal supremacy. As the book ends, Churchill’s American agenda thus becomes central to the war aims of the Grand Alliance.

Webb further advances his revisionist interpretation of the British Empire in the 17th century by arguing that both England and its American social experiments were the underdeveloped elements of an empire emerging on both sides of the Atlantic. He further shows that the so-called Glorious Revolution was in fact a military coup driven by relgious fears. Illustrations.

20 illustrations in text.

Andros also made significant attempts to increase the population and improve the economy of New York."--Cover.

Describes the influence of Britain's Glorious Revolution of 1688 and 1689 on America's founding fathers, detailing the impact of the era on the evolution of representative government and the concept of individual liberty.

For more than two centuries, Edward Hyde, Viscount Cornbury--royal governor of New York and New Jersey from 1702 to 1708--has been a despised figure, whose alleged transgressions ranged from raiding the public treasury to scandalizing his subjects by parading through the streets of New York City dressed as a woman. Now, Patricia Bonomi offers a challenging reassessment of Cornbury. She explores his life and experiences to illuminate such topics as imperial political culture; gossip, Grub Street, and the climate of slander; early modern sexual culture; and constitutional perceptions in an era of reform. In a tour de force of scholarly detective work, Bonomi also reappraises the most "conclusive" piece of evidence used to indict Cornbury--a celebrated portrait, said to represent the governor in female dress, that hangs today in the New-York Historical Society. Stripping away the many layers of "the Cornbury myth," this innovative work brings to life a fascinating man and reveals the conflicting emotions and loyalties that shaped the politics of the First British Empire. "A tour de force of historical detection.--Tim Hilchey, New York Times Book Review "Bonomi's book is more than an exoneration of Cornbury. It is a case study of what she aptly calls the politics of reputation." --Edmund S. Morgan, New York Review of Books "A fascinating, authoritative glimpse into the seamy underside of imperial politics in the late Stuart era.--Timothy D. Hall, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography "An intriguing detective story that....casts light upon the operation of political power in the past and the nature of history writing in the present.--Alan Taylor, New Republic For more than two centuries, Edward Hyde, Viscount Cornbury--royal governor of New York and New Jersey from 1702 to 1708--has been a despised figure whose alleged transgressions ranged from looting the colonial treasury to public cross dressing in New York City. Stripping away the many layers of "the Cornbury myth," Patricia Bonomi offers a challenging reassessment of this fascinating figure and of the rough and tumble political culture of the First British Empire--with its muckraking press, salacious gossip, and conflicting imperial loyalties. -->

Scholars of British America generally conclude that the early eighteenth-century Anglo-American empire was commercial in economics, liberal in politics, and parochial in policy, somnambulant in an era of “salutary neglect,” but Stephen Saunders Webb here demonstrates that the American provinces, under the spur of war, became capitalist, coercive, and aggressive, owing to the vigorous leadership of career army officers, trained and nominated to American government by the captain general of the allied armies, the first duke of Marlborough, and that his influence, and that of his legates, prevailed through the entire century in America. Webb’s work follows the duke, whom an eloquent enemy described as “the greatest statesman and the greatest general that this country or any other country has produced,” his staff and soldiers, through the ten campaigns, which, by defanging France, made the union with Scotland possible and made “Great Britain” preeminent in the Atlantic world. Then Webb demonstrates that the duke’s legates transformed American colonies into provinces of empire. Marlborough’s America, fifty years in the making, is the fourth volume of The Governors-General.