Queen Anne`s Cabinet of Ministers During the Rage of Parties in the 1702-1714s.

This study examines the phenomenon of the independent Cabinet during the reign of Queen Anne Stuart (1702-1714). This period was defined by the “rage of parties”, when party division and conflicts between Whigs and Tories gained more strength and relevance when ever before. The given period was also defined by the Crown’s attempts to establish a Cabinet that would be independent from parliamentary parties and free in determining and implementing its own political course. The main goal of the study was to answer what was the place of the independent Cabinet in the political system of England in 1702-1714. To answer that question, the study examines evolution of the idea of the independent Cabinet and compares Crown’s attempts to implement it. The study also analyzes the context of the era, which allows tracing the causes and consequences of the evolution of the idea of an independent Cabinet, as well as the similarities and differences in the realization of that idea. Thus, the three periods of Queen Anne’s reign were analyzed: 1) 1702-1705, when the idea of the independent cabinet was shaped; 2) 1705-1710, when the independent cabinet was led by the duumvirs John Marlborough and Sidney Godolphin; 3) 1710-1714, when the independent Cabinet was led by Robert Harley. As a conclusion, it is suggested that, despite the fundamental differences between duumvirs and Harley, their Cabinets had a number of key similarities caused by the situation in Parliament and in Court. Both Harley and the duumvirs saw only two ways to make the independent Cabinet viable: first was to gain support of the party and second was to the create the Crown party in the House of Commons. Since one of these methods was impossible due to the situation in parliament, while the second one was impossible because of the Queen’s political views, the main conclusion of the given study is that in 1702-1714 there was no place in the political system of England for the independent Cabinet.