The papers that were exchanged between Leibniz and Samuel Clarke during the last year of Leibniz's life constitute perhaps the most famous and influential of all philosophical correspondences. A neglected ancillary correspondence, from which that more noted correspondence was to emerge, had begun a year earlier between Leibniz and his erstwhile companion and student in Hanover – Caroline, the newly established Princess of Wales. As I will try to show, the correspondence with Caroline is important for understanding how and why the correspondence with Clarke arose and developed as it did, and it provides valuable insight into the personal, political, and philosophical issues that occupied Leibniz during the last two years of his life, especially the struggle against Newton and his followers that had been precipitated by the priority dispute concerning the discovery of the calculus. After briefly describing the events that set the stage for Leibniz's correspondence with Caroline after her arrival in England, I discuss its evolution in three phases: (1) Caroline's first year in England (December 1714–November 1715), (2) the beginning of the correspondence with Clarke (November 1715–January 1716), and (3) from Caroline's apostasy to Leibniz's death (January 1716–November 1716).

SETTING THE STAGE

Leibniz in Vienna

At the beginning of August 1714, Leibniz was residing in Vienna. He had been there for more than a year and a half, moonlighting at the court of Emperor Karl VI, where, with the reluctant permission of his employer, Elector Georg Ludwig of Hanover, he had recently obtained a position as imperial privy counselor.