The Conduct of the Allies facts for kids
The Conduct of the Allies and of the Late Ministry in Beginning and Carrying on the Present War was a powerful book, written like a long essay, by Jonathan Swift. In this book, he strongly criticized Britain's friends (called allies) during a big conflict known as the War of the Spanish Succession. The book was released to the public on November 27, 1711.
About the Book
This book was written to share Swift's strong opinions about how Britain was fighting a major war. It was a way for him to explain why he thought the war was being handled badly. The book became very popular and helped change what people thought about the war.
Why the Book Was Written
Britain had been fighting France for many years. First, there was a war from 1689 to 1697. Then, another war started in 1702. Britain was part of a large group of countries called the Grand Alliance, which included the Dutch.
In the summer of 1711, an important government official named Lord Bolingbroke started secret talks with France to make peace. These first peace agreements were signed on September 27. However, a political group called the Whigs did not want peace. They tried to get people to oppose the peace treaty with their famous saying, "No Peace Without Spain". Lord Bolingbroke actually helped Jonathan Swift write this book.
What the Book Said
The book starts with an introduction and then has five main parts.
- First, it talks about the history and ideas behind the war.
- Second, it explains the immediate reasons why the war began.
- Third, this is the biggest part, where Swift explains his main arguments. He even suggests that Britain should make peace with France on its own.
- Fourth, the book criticizes the previous Whig government. It also explains why a new government, made up of the Tory party, was chosen in 1710.
- Fifth, Swift discusses the Whigs' main goal for the war. They wanted to stop the French king's grandson from becoming the ruler of Spain.
Swift was very critical of the Duke of Marlborough, who was a famous general. Swift wrote that the war was really about making one family (the Churchills) more powerful. He said it was "a War of the General [Marlborough] and the Ministry [the Whigs], and not of the Prince or People." This meant Swift believed the war was for the benefit of a few powerful people, not for the Queen or the regular citizens.
See also
- List of books with anti-war themes
