Events from the year 1702 in England. This year sees a change of monarch. Incumbents Monarch – William III (until 8 March), Anne (starting 8 March) Parliament – 6th of King William III (until 2 July), 1st of Queen Anne (starting 20 August) Events 20 February – William III falls from his horse, Sorrel, in Richmond Park after it stumbles on a molehill and breaks his clavicle. 8 March (19 March N.S.) – William III dies of complications following his accident; his sister-in-law Anne Stuart, Princess of Denmark, becomes Queen Anne of England. 11 March (22 March N.S.) – the first regular English language national newspaper, The Daily Courant, is published for the first time in Fleet Street in the City of London by Elizabeth Mallet; it covers only foreign news. 23 April – coronation of Queen Anne in Westminster Abbey. 4 May (14 May N.S.) – War of the Spanish Succession: England, the Dutch Republic and the Holy Roman Empire declare war on France as part of the Grand Alliance. 8 May – Lord Godolphin becomes Lord High Treasurer at the urging his friend and political ally John Churchill, Earl of Marlborough establishing the Godolphin–Marlborough ministry which will remain in power until 1710. June – War of the Spanish Succession: Queen Anne's Captain-General Marlborough forces the surrender of Kaiserswerth on the Rhine. July – general election results in victory for the Tories. September – War of the Spanish Succession: Churchill forces the surrender of Venlo on the River Meuse. 27 October – English troops plunder St. Augustine in Florida. October – War of the Spanish Succession: George Rooke fails to take Cádiz, but captures a Spanish treasure fleet and destroys French and Spanish warships. 23 October – War of the Spanish Succession: Churchill forces the surrender of Liège. At the Battle of Vigo Bay, the Anglo-Dutch fleet defeats that of France and Spain. December – Daniel Defoe publishes his satiric pamphlet The Shortest Way with the Dissenters (anonymously). 14 December – John Churchill is created Duke of Marlborough. Undated Castle Howard in Yorkshire completed, to the design of John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. George Sorocold erects machinery at Cotchetts' silk spinning mill in Derby, making it one of the earliest examples of a factory. Richard Bentley at Cambridge introduces the first written (as opposed to oral) competitive examinations in a Western university. Ripon Obelisk designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, triggering