John Leake

[[Knight Bachelor|Knighted]] in February 1704, Leake served as Second-in-Command to Admiral [[George Rooke]] at the [[Capture of Gibraltar]] in August 1704 and he commanded the vanguard in the [[Battle of Málaga (1704)|Battle of Málaga]] later in the month.Campbell, p. 86 In October 1704 Field Marshal [[Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt]] sent a message to Leake at Lisbon requesting his urgent assistance after the appearance of French ships in the [[Bay of Gibraltar]]. Leake set sail at once, bringing more supplies for the defenders who were caught in what became known as the [[twelfth siege of Gibraltar]].Jackson, p. 107 Leake arrived with twenty ships and, in the [[Battle of Cabrita Point|subsequent naval engagement]], three French ships were captured and two others destroyed.{{cite book |last1=Clowes |first1=William Laird |author-link1=William Laird Clowes |title=The Royal Navy: A History From the Earliest Times to the Present |url=https://archive.org/details/royalnavy04clow |access-date=11 February 2013 |volume=II |date=1898 |publisher=Sampson Low, Marston & Company |location=London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/royalnavy04clow/page/406 406]–407 }} With Gibraltar safe for the moment, Leake left for Lisbon in January 1705 with the sick and wounded members of the garrison aboard his ships.Jackson, p. 109 He became Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet in later that month and returned to Gibraltar with a combined English, Dutch and Portuguese force of 35 ships and defeated [[Bernard Desjean, Baron de Pointis|Baron de Pointis]] at the [[Battle of Cabrita Point]] in March 1705.Jackson, p. 111 The combined French and Spanish Fleet under [[René de Froulay de Tessé|Marshal Tessé]] gave up the siege as hopeless following an order from King [[Louis XIV]] of France in April 1705.Alexander, p. 64

[[Knight Bachelor|Knighted]] in February 1704, Leake served as Second-in-Command to Admiral [[George Rooke]] at the [[Capture of Gibraltar]] in August 1704 and he commanded the vanguard in the [[Battle of Málaga (1704)|Battle of Málaga]] later in the month.Campbell, p. 86 In October 1704 Field Marshal [[Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt]] sent a message to Leake at Lisbon requesting his urgent assistance after the appearance of French ships in the [[Bay of Gibraltar]]. Leake set sail at once, bringing more supplies for the defenders who were caught in what became known as the [[twelfth siege of Gibraltar]].Jackson, p. 107 Leake arrived with twenty ships and, in the [[Battle of Cabrita Point|subsequent naval engagement]], three French ships were captured and two others destroyed.{{cite book |last1=Clowes |first1=William Laird |author-link1=William Laird Clowes |title=The Royal Navy: A History From the Earliest Times to the Present |url=https://archive.org/details/royalnavy04clow |access-date=11 February 2013 |volume=II |date=1898 |publisher=Sampson Low, Marston & Company |location=London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/royalnavy04clow/page/406 406]–407 }} With Gibraltar safe for the moment, Leake left for Lisbon in January 1705 with the sick and wounded members of the garrison aboard his ships.Jackson, p. 109 He became Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet in later that month and returned to Gibraltar with a combined English, Dutch and Portuguese force of 35 ships and defeated [[Bernard Desjean, Baron de Pointis|Baron de Pointis]] at the [[Battle of Cabrita Point]] in March 1705.Jackson, p. 111 The combined French and Spanish Fleet under [[René de Froulay de Tessé|Marshal Tessé]] gave up the siege as hopeless following an order from King [[Louis XIV]] of France in April 1705.Alexander, p. 64

Leake served under Sir Cloudesley Shovell and the [[Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough|Earl of Peterborough]] at the [[Siege of Barcelona (1705)|Siege of Barcelona]] and was present at the capitulation of the city by French and Spanish forces in October 1705. A further [[Siege of Barcelona (1706)|siege]] took place between in April 1706 when a Franco-Spanish army led by [[Philip V of Spain|Philip V]] of Spain laid siege to [[Barcelona]] in an attempt to recapture it. The Franco-Spanish army abandoned the siege when Leake arrived in May 1706. On the way back, he supported operations to capture [[Cartagena, Spain|Cartagena]] in May 1706, [[Alicante]] in July 1706, [[Ibiza]] in September 1706 and [[Majorca]] later that month.Campbell, p. 93 Leake was promoted to full [[admiral]], appointed Commander in Chief of the [[Mediterranean Fleet]] and given authority to fly the flag of an [[Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)|Admiral of the Fleet]] on 8 January 1708.

Leake served under Sir Cloudesley Shovell and the [[Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough|Earl of Peterborough]] at the [[Siege of Barcelona (1705)|Siege of Barcelona]] and was present at the capitulation of the city by French and Spanish forces in October 1705. A further [[Siege of Barcelona (1706)|siege]] took place between in April 1706 when a Franco-Spanish army led by [[Philip V of Spain|Philip V]] of Spain laid siege to [[Barcelona]] in an attempt to recapture it. The Franco-Spanish army abandoned the siege when Leake arrived in May 1706. On the way back, he supported operations to capture [[Cartagena, Spain|Cartagena]] in May 1706, [[Alicante]] in July 1706, [[Ibiza]] in September 1706 and [[Mallorca]] later that month.Campbell, p. 93 Leake was promoted to full [[admiral]], appointed Commander in Chief of the [[Mediterranean Fleet]] and given authority to fly the flag of an [[Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)|Admiral of the Fleet]] on 8 January 1708.

Leake was appointed a member of the council of the Lord High Admiral (an office vested at that time in [[Prince George of Denmark]]) in June 1708 and elected [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Harwich (UK Parliament constituency)|Harwich]] in May 1708 and Member of Parliament for [[Rochester (UK Parliament constituency)|Rochester]] in July 1708. He could not represent both seats and chose to represent the latter.{{cite web|url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1690-1715/member/leake-sir-john-1656-1720|title=Leake, Sir John (1656–1720), of Mile End, Stepney, Middlesex and Beddington, Surrey|publisher=History of Parliament|access-date=24 May 2015}}

Leake was appointed a member of the council of the Lord High Admiral (an office vested at that time in [[Prince George of Denmark]]) in June 1708 and elected [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Harwich (UK Parliament constituency)|Harwich]] in May 1708 and Member of Parliament for [[Rochester (UK Parliament constituency)|Rochester]] in July 1708. He could not represent both seats and chose to represent the latter.{{cite web|url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1690-1715/member/leake-sir-john-1656-1720|title=Leake, Sir John (1656–1720), of Mile End, Stepney, Middlesex and Beddington, Surrey|publisher=History of Parliament|access-date=24 May 2015}}