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Why did Jonathan Swift return to Ireland after Queen Anne died?
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Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift, detail of an oil painting by Charles Jervas, c. 1718; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Jonathan Swift returned to Ireland following the death of Queen Anne in August 1714 because the political landscape in England had shifted dramatically. With the accession of George I, the Tory partyâwith which Swift had become closely aligned as a chief pamphleteerâwas effectively ruined. Consequently, his career in England came to an end, prompting his withdrawal to Ireland, where he spent the remainder of his life.12