Daniel Parke

rdf:langString Daniel Parke

rdf:langString Daniel Parke Jr.

rdf:langString Daniel Parke Jr.

rdf:langString * War of the Spanish Succession ** Battle of Schellenberg ** Battle of Blenheim

rdf:langString Daniel Parke Sr.

rdf:langString Rebecca Evelyn

rdf:langString Military officer, planter, politician, colonial administrator

rdf:langString Jane Ludwell

rdf:langString Colonel Daniel Parke Jr. (1664 – December 7, 1710) was an American military officer, planter, politician and colonial administrator who served as the governor of the Leeward Islands from 1706 until 1710, when he was lynched by a mob in Antigua. Best known for his military service in Europe under John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough during the War of the Spanish Succession, Parke was the only governor in British America to be murdered. Born on 1664 in the colony of Virginia into a prominent colonial family, Parke was sent to England at a young age before returning to English North America in 1674. In 1685, he married Jane Ludwell, the daughter of colonial official Philip Ludwell. After another stay in England, Parke returned to Virginia and pursued a career in politics, being elected to the House of Burgesses in 1693 and appointed to sit on the Governor's Council in 1695. In 1701, Parke again moved to England, and began serving as an aide-de-camp to the Duke of Marlborough in 1702 after the War of the Spanish Succession broke out. After the 1704 Battle of Blenheim, he personally delivered the duke's dispatch to Queen Anne, for which he was generously rewarded. However, Parke's attempt to become Virginia governor failed, though he accepted the governorship of the Leeward Islands in 1706 instead. Parke travelled to Antigua in 1706, focusing his efforts on improving colonial fortifications and suppressing smuggling. Popular discontent against his rule resulted in two assassinations attempts against Parke. In December 1710, tensions came to a head between Parke and the island's colonists as a mob of militia attacked his house, overpowering and killing Parke. After his death, Parke's estates and debts were divided between his five children.