The Dreadful Death of Daniel Parke
The Dreadful Death of Daniel Parke
Antigua, an English colony in the Caribbean, was the site of an Anglo-American counterrevolution. Military panic, political murder, and provincial insurrection were prevalent. The horrible murder of Daniel Parke, one of the duke of Marlborough's aides-de-camp, was considered an emblem of the latter's decline. Marlborough's failing prestige or diminished power could not save a favorite officer. Parke was killed on December 7, 1710, along with most of his bodyguard, the grenadiers of the 38th Regiment, by the militiamen of Antigua. The incident was overheated by war. Parke tried to regulate the garrison regiment, modernize the island militia, and fortify the capital, St. John's. Each of his proposed regimental reforms was resisted by the regiment's new commander, James Jones, who was commissioned to spite Marlborough and undercut Parke. Marlborough learned of the murder but could not immediately avenge his aide because he was in exile, but made sure that no implicated officer ever served again.
Keywords: murder, Antigua, Daniel Parke, duke of Marlborough, 38th Regiment, militia, James Jones, counterrevolution
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