By early in 1710 it had become obvious that the Whig Ministry of Sidney Godolphin was unable or unwilling to negotiate an end to the long, expensive, and consequently, unpopular war with France. The quarrel between Queen Anne and her confidante, the Duchess of Marlborough, smoldered until, on 6 April 1710, the breach between them became final. Atalantis Major is a thinly veiled allegory describing the November 1710 election of the representative Scottish peers. The circumstances which surrounded this election were produced by the outcome of the previous month's General Election -- a landslide for the Tories -- and, to understand these circumstances, the impact of that Tory victory must be seen within the context of the political events of 1710. . . . From John J. Perry's Introduction