From that time Party Government, as we now understand it, has
generally prevailed.
3. POWER OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS AND THE MINISTERS
Anne was good-natured, and not disposed to give herself too much
trouble, which made it possible for her ministers to wield more power
over the country and its destinies. Nevertheless, the Queen had a will
of her own, and made her influence felt, especially in Church matters.
On the whole, however, Parliament and the Ministers gained in
importance and influence during the reign. Marlborough, Harley, St.
John, Rochester, Nottingham, were some of the leading ministers, and
towards the end of the reign Sir Robert Walpole is first heard of as a
politician.
4. THE QUESTION OF THE SUCCESSION TO THE SPANISH THRONE
When Philip of Bourbon, the grandson of Louis XIV, was proclaimed as
Philip V of Spain, England, Holland, and some other nations felt that
the peace of Europe, or rather the freedom of the rest of it, were
threatened by the union of two such mighty powers. Accordingly the
Allies set up in opposition the Archduke Charles of Austria, and it
was in support of the claims of Charles to the throne of Spain that
all the wars of Anne's reign were waged. When at length Charles became
Emperor, the Allies had no farther reason for fighting, as it would
have been equally adverse to the interests of the rest of the
Continent to combine Spain and the Empire.
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