1702

__About //The London Gazette// __   In 1702, // The London Gazette // was a biweekly publication, printed by Edward Jones, in the Savoy. It was a serious newspaper, mainly dealing with national politics and foreign affairs from an English standpoint. The newspaper published news articles, which were titled by the place from which they were dispatched and date it was received (i.e. “St. James, March 24”), monarch proclamations, addresses to the monarch, (which in 1702 were mostly “To the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty,” Queen Anne), as well as ads and classifieds.  Although between 1640 and the Restoration, roughly 30,000 “newsletters” and “newspapers” were printed, in 1702, // The London Gazette // got a competitor. On March 11, // The Daily Currant //, was published for the first time, as the first regular English-language daily newspaper, covering only foreign news. It did, however, provide the managers of the two playhouses, // Drury Lane // and // Lincoln’s Inn Fields //, a means of advertising their productions, something they did not take advantage of in the year 1702.

**__THEATER STAGE __**  **Comedy on Stage, Drama off Stage **  According to //The London Stage//, the season of 1701-1702 was bountiful with “a great many new plays.” However, because the managers of the two playhouses did not supplement newspapers like //The Daily Currant // with playbills to take advantage of this means of theatrical publicity provided to them, in terms of records, this season was the “scantiest.”  This season was also plagued by controversy over the continued allegations of theater being immoral. Actors were even prosecuted for “using indecent expressions on stage.” At the height of the season, playhouses were forbidden to act from the beginning of March until the end of April, for the mourning of King William III, and this propelled the companies into financial troubles. //“None will suffer by the King’s death but the poor players, who are ready to starve; neither are they to act till the Coronation… ////I accidentally met yesterday the boxkeeper, who swore to me he had not drunk all day, for… none will trust them so much as for a pot of ale.” // Sir John Perceval March 11, 1702 <span style="color: #0070c0; display: block; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; text-align: justify;"> William Wycherley’s famous comedy // The Country Wife // returned to Drury Lanes during this season, though it is only recorded to have played in October of 1701 and not mentioned at all in 1702. Productions in 1702 include William Burnaby’s // The Modish Husband //, John Dennis’ // The Comical Gallant; or, The Amours of Sir John Falstaffe // , both at Drury Lanes, and female playwright Susanna Centlivre’s // The Beau’s Duel; or, A Soldier for the Ladies // , at Lincoln’s Inn Fields.

<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt;">__**WORLD STAGE**__ <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;">**Real-Life Tragedy with the Death of a King** <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: start;"> In 1702, the sitting monarchs were King William III and Queen Mary II. William, who by birth was the sovereign Prince of Orange, ascended to the English throne after he and his Dutch fleet and army successfully invaded England. The invasion had been secretly requested by seven noble Englishmen known as the “Immortal Seven,” who along with other disgruntled Protestants, wanted King James II deposed after rumors that James’ newborn (and allegedly fraudulent) son was going to be raised Catholic. Mary, William’s wife, was King James II’s eldest daughter, and therefore had a viable claim to the throne. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">The king and queen, whose joint rule of England, Scotland and Ireland began in February of 1689, were also first-cousins, and their joint reign inspired the name “William and Mary.” Queen Mary II died in late 1694 after contracting smallpox. According to historians, William was devastated, as he had grown increasingly close to her, and relied on her both as wife and co-ruler. Wil <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5;">liam and Mary had no children and therefore no heir to the throne. <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">In the 1690s, allegations of the king’s homosexual leanings, spurred by his having constant male companionship and only one mistress, led to a variety of satirical pamphlets about the king, published by his detractors. Most modern biographers deny the allegations, deeming them nothing more than the imagination of the king’s enemies. <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">On February 20, 1702, King William III fell from his horse and sustained a broken collarbone. The injuries sustained might not normally have been so serious; however, rumors had been abound regarding the king’s failing health, and on March 8, King William died of pneumonia stemming from complications of his fall. According to a source, “when his remains were laid out, it was found that he wore next to his skin a piece of silk ribbon. It contained a gold ring and a lock of the hair of Mary.” <span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Upon William’s death, Mary’s sister, Anne Stuart, became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland, though Anne was already being referred to as “Queen” by //The// //London Gazette// prior to his death. Anne was raised Protestant by her Catholic father as instructed by King James’ brother King Charles II.

**__<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt;">WORKS CITED __** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Avery, Emmett. //<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;">The London Stage: 1660 - 1800; A Calendar of Plays, Entertainments & // //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5;">Afterpieces Together ////<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5;">with ////<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5;">Casts, //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5; text-align: start;">//Box-//   <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5; text-align: start;"> //Receipts and Contemporary Comment, Compiled from the Playbills, Newspapers and Theatrical Diaries of// //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5; text-align: start;">the Period //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: start;">: Part 2, 1700-1729. [1st ed.]. Carbondale, Ill: Southern Illinois University Press, 1960. Print. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hammerton, Sir John Alexander. //Outline of Great Books//: Volume 1. New York: Wise & <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5;">Company, 1937. Print. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Jones, Edward, ed. //<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;">The London Gazette // 1702, 3771-3822. //<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;">17th and 18th Century // //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5;">Burney ////<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5;">Collection Newspapers //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: start;">. Web. 4  <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: start;"> August 2013. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Troost, Wout. //William III, The Stadholder-King: A Political Biography//: [1st English ed.]. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5;">Burlington, VT. : Ashgate, 2005. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;"> Print. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif; font-size: 12pt;">[]