ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses British politics and the nascent public opinion associated with a new press culture in the winter of 1710–11, just when the Tories regained dominance in a context of war-weariness. The new Tory government, led by Robert Harley, soon undertook to blame the previous Whig government for the war in Spain. The duke of Marlborough and Treasurer Godolphin, who had dominated domestic and foreign politics from the beginning of reign of Queen Anne and the war of the Spanish Succession, as well as their protégés, were targeted. The chapter analyses how, in this tense political context, Ruvigny, earl of Galway and previously commander-in-chief of the troops in Spain, faced a motion of censure in the House of Lords, while another commander, the earl of Peterborough, was given a vote of thanks. The printed propaganda of the time consisted of pamphlets championing either Galway or Peterborough. These pamphlets are examined in detail. The main argument of the chapter is that Galway’s motion of censure was the trial of the Whigs by proxy, which is confirmed by the fact that he survived it unscathed and returned to high office in 1715.
