1710

Tory impeached

Tory preacher Henry Sacheverell was impeached for anti-Whig sermons. He spoke in front of the Corporation of London expressing his views against the Glorious Revolution and the Whig ministry. He was arrested for seditious libel and found guilty. His punishment was suspension from preaching (a light sentence for the crime). His case caused a groundswell of public support for the Tories and was embarrassing to the Whig administration.

Tory power

The Whig ministry, which had dominated Parliament and a driving force behind Britain's involvement with the War of the Spanish Succession, was dismissed by Queen Anne in October. The Whig administration became unpopular as the war and associated taxation dragged on.

The Tories came into power led by Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, and Henry St John, Viscount Bolingbroke.