Impeachment of Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford
event in British politics
The Impeachment of Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford was a legal process in the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1715 when the former First Minister Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford was impeached and sent to the Tower of London. Harley was accused of a number of crimes including high treason during his time in office, with charges particularly focusing on his role in the 1713 Peace of Utrecht which ended the War of the Spanish Succession.
His arrest coincided with the Jacobite rebellion of 1715, which was led in Scotland and directed from France by former members of Harley's administration John Erskine, Earl of Mar and Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke. After two years of imprisonment, in 1717 a motion was brought by the Opposition that the government should either bring Harley to trial or release him. Harley, benefiting from the Whig Split that had divided his enemies into factions, was acquitted and released. This remains the last time a head of government was impeached in Britain.
Background
A former Whig, Harley had come to power in 1710, leading a Tory government which was increasingly aware of the anti-war mood of the country in contrast to the pro-war Whigs. The Tories won a decisive victory at the 1710 general election. Harley and the Secretary of State Lord Bolingbroke opened covert peace negotiations with France.
The Captain General, the Duke of Marlborough, was dismissed in late 1711 and replaced by the Tory Duke of Ormonde.
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