The Examiner (1710–1714)

The Examiner (originally titled Examiner, or Remarks upon Papers and Occurrences)[1] was a newspaper commenced on 3 August 1710[1] and edited by Jonathan Swift from 2 November 1710 to 1714. It promoted a Tory perspective on British politics, at a time when Queen Anne had replaced Whig ministers with Tories.[2]

The newspaper was founded by John Morphew and it was launched by the Tories to counter the press of the Whig party. Among its first editors were philosopher and politician Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, Francis Atterbury, chaplain of King William III, and the poet and diplomat Matthew Prior. Another notable contributor was Delarivier Manley.

In 1711, Swift published the political pamphlet The Conduct of the Allies, attacking the Whig government for its inability to end the prolonged war with France. The incoming Tory government conducted secret (and illegal) negotiations with France, resulting in the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) ending the War of the Spanish Succession.

References

  1. ^ a b Chisholm, Hugh (1911). "Newspapers" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 554.
  2. ^ Frank H. Ellis, "Arthur Mainwaring as Reader of Swift's 'Examiner'" The Yearbook of English Studies, Vol. 11, Literature and Its Audience, II Special Number (1981), pp. 49-66


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