II. p. 221. the ill treatment they received. But James's pacific the merchants effects, and fending the mariners whom he took in the Indies to the gallies; Lerma very fharply anfwered," that Firardo fhall be called to account for (d) Winthat he did not inftantly execute them." (d) In wood, Vol. fhort, fuch was the ill-treatment the fubjects of the British Crown received from the Spaniards, that Sir Henry Nevile, in a letter to Mr. Winwood, dated June 4, 1606, writes, "that upon Sunday laft divers mer"chants and merchants wives were at the court, and "made grievous complaint unto the king, the one of "their fervants, and the other of their husbands, im"prisoned and put to the gallies in Spain, and of much injuftice and oppreffion done there to our nation; befides fome particular contumely to the king perfonally; "the like complaint was made before to the lords. I "hear it hath moved much, and this I will affure you, "that the kingdom generally wishes this peace broken, "but Jacobus Pacicfius I believe will scarce incline to "that fide." (e) At length the patience of the merchants began to fail. They faw no relief from James, and therefore applied to the house of commons, to be a means for them to obtain letters of mart. (e) Id. p. 217. The com mons received favourably their address, and defired the affistance of the upper houfe. But this was refused. Tho' this gave occafion, fays lord Salisbury, in a letter to Sir Charles Cornwallis, dated July 15, 1607, "to "the lords of the council yefterday, to call the mer"chants before them, and to acquaint them with the "fubftance of thefe anfwers fent from Spain; and to "advise them (if they find fuch a general ill ufage in "Spain as they complain of) to be more moderate in "their trade thither, and to withdraw their stock and "factors from thence, that fo his majefty might grant "them letters of reprisal, without prejudice to others "that have large ftocks there. Otherwise it would prove a moft prepofterous course, to grant letters of "Marte, where the king of Spayne hath fo great occa"fion to revenge himself upon, and we scarfe a fhip or ❝ man pacific difpofition continued; nor could the diftreffes wood, Vol. "man to requite him in it." (ƒ) But letters of Mart (f) Winand reprisal were never granted; tho' the Spaniards con- I. p. 326. tinued to treat the English extreamly ill, even when they pretended great friendship. For Sir Walter Raleigh fpeaks of it as a known fact, in a letter to king James himself, "that the Spaniards murthered twenty-fix Eng"lishmen, tying them back to back, and then cutting "their throats, when they had traded with them a whole "month, and came to them on the land, without fo "much as one fword." (g)-Surely the Spaniards muft (g) Raleigh's have had a very great reliance on the pacific difpofition of works, Vol. II. p. 376. James, to act after this manner, in their circumstances ! and most amazing is it, that the national spirit had not exerted itself, in its own defence, more than it did.— Before I leave this fubject, I cannot help remarking that almost all our treaties with Spain, seem to have been but badly obferved by her. This firft arofe from the negligence of James, in making the peace. He contented himself with concluding a treaty of amity, and mutual trade to each others dominions; but trade and commerce being denied to the east and west Indies, and the Spaniards looking on all America as their own, it came to pass that they feized all veffels they found in thofe feas, though going only to thofe colonies which were indifputably difcovered by the English. So that there was a continual war there, when there was peace in Europe. In 1668, and 1671, treaties were again made with that nation, whereby the right of commerce and navigation, and the bounds of the feveral territories. poffeffed by the two crowns in America, were fixed. But these treaties were but ill obferved likewife; and (b) See the great complaints were made by the English, of the hard- reprefentafhips they fuffered from the Spaniards. (b) In 1713, a new tion of the treaty was made at Utrecht. But this was observed trade to K: like the others. Complaints foon followed it; as they George I. in did that made at Seville, in 1729. The reprefentation Torbuck's of our merchants with regard to their ill-treatment by parliamenta the Spanish guarda coflas; the imprisonment of our Vol. IX. brave P. 414. L3 board of ry debates, (i) Vir. E. 3.1.108. fa) Win. P diftreffes of his only daughter, and her numerous progeny, excite him to enter into a war LLLL] for their defence: But he suffered them brave failors to the number of feventy; the cutting off Jenkins's ear, and many other things ftill fresh in memory brought on the late war, which was ended by the peace at Aix la Chappelle, the effect of which must be left to time to difcover.- What can be the reafon that our treaties with Spain have been thus ineffectual for the maintenance of peace and friendship? Are they more false than others, or we more incroaching in order to obtain those riches they fo carefully guard from us? are not the treaties fufficiently plain and explicit? da they admit of different senses, and bear divers conftructions? or have we not capacity fufficient to negotiate advantageously with them?-These things must be determined by those who have opportunities and abilities for their difcuffion. For my own part, I must fay Non noßrum tantas componere lites. (i) TRAPP. LLL] Nor could the diftreffes of his only daughter, and her numerous progeny, excite him to enter into a war. &c.] This his daughter was Elizabeth, married to Frederick the fifth, elector Palatine, Feb. 14, 1613, N. S. to the great joy of all true proteftants. (a) The wood, Vol. marriage was celebrated with great pomp, and the 11. p. 434 prince gained the love and good will of the English by (4) Id. p. his affability and great generofity. (b) The Spanish ambaffador, and the ambaffador from the arch-dukes, were not present at the marriage, being greatly enraged at it, "fearing indeed thereby, fays Mr. Trumbull to "Sir Ralph Winwood, that we do aim at wresting the "empire out of the Auftrians hands, which they say "frall never be effected, so long as the conjoined forces "of all the catholiques in Christendom, fhall be able to "maintain them in that right, which now they have 421. in them to lose their territories, and be exiles in a fo 1. p. 12. "in a manner gotten by prescription!" (c) But they (c) Id. p. had no reason for this their fear, for James fo far from thinking to wreft the empire out of the Auftrians hands, - did not fo much as feriously refolve to fupport his own daughter, and her children, in their poffeffions.-I need not enter into a detail of the reasons which induced the Bohemians to fhake off the Auftrian yoke, and affert their own juft privileges by electing Frederick for their king, Aug. 28, 1619. Our hiftorians will fatisfy the curiofity of fuch as want information in this matter. Let it fuffice to fay, that after the elector of Saxony, and the duke of Savoy, had refused the kingdom of Bohemia, Frederick accepted of it, without waiting the advice of James, his father-in-law, which, by his ambaffador, he had asked, (d) Rush(d) In confequence of this he was crowned king of Bo-worth, Vol. hemia, and at firft met with great fuccefs. For Silefia, Moravia, Lufatia, and Auftria had taken up arms against the emperor Ferdinand; as did likewife Bethlem Gabor, a prince of great credit at the Ottoman porte, valiant, courageous, and already mafter of the greatest part of Hungary.-But his fuccefs did not laft long. On November 8, 1620, was the battle of Prague fought, which proved fatal to Frederick, and his brave Bohemians. His army was fcattered and routed; himself and queen obliged to fly with precipitation from that country; and his people were fubjected to all the infults and cruelties of an enraged conqueror, and a bigotted prince; and withal he was cenfured for having engaged in an affair, without probability of fuccefs, the confequence of which was like to be fatal to him. at this cenfure seems to have been ill founded. Things turned out very different from what might have been reasonably expected, and therefore though the elector Palatine was unfortunate, he was not to be deemed unwife. "For who could have believed that the proteftants of "Germany would have abandoned him, they who "under the name of correfpondents had engaged from "the year 1609, to maintain liberty and the proteftant L 4 is religion a foreign land, to the great amazement of ftrangers, "religion in the empire? They who believed that the "emperor was an enemy to both? They, in fhort, "who having been confulted by Frederick, their chief, દઃ in the affembly held at Rottenburgh, Septem. 12, 1619, anfwered that he ought to accept the crown of “Bohemia, not only as being a new dignity, but also as what was neceffary for the public good of Germany, and that of their allies, and advised him to set out "immediately for Bohemia? Who could have believed "that France, which in thofe times exclaimed fo loud❝ly against princes that are too powerful, and folicited all Europe to make leagues against the houfe of Auftria, "would neglect fo favourable an opportunity of weakening it? who would have believed that France would "fide with Ferdinand, against those who aimed at depriving him of a part of his power? who could have "believed that Bethlem Gabor, after fuch fortunate beginnings, after all the reputation he had acquired, and all the intereft he had with the Türk, would be of no fervice to the Palatine? Let us therefore fay, "that Frederick was deceived by a train of events fo fingular, that the moft refined prudence could never have fufpected it. Let us not believe thofe who pre"tend that the vanity of the duke of Bovillon, his un"cle, joined with that of the electrefs, threw him into "an imprudent undertaking. They fay, that the duke "wrote to his friends at Paris, that while the king of "France was making knights at Fountainbleau, he was "making kings in Ger He might have faid fo; "but as he was one e abeft men of his age, it is "not probable that he would have advised his nephew to accept a crown, if he ought in prudence to have re"fufed it." (e) But let us return to our hiftory.No fooner had Frederick loft the battle of Prague, and with it the kingdom of Bohemia, but almost all his allies forfook him. He now found himself profcribed by the bis dictio emperor, attacked by the Spaniards in his own country, nary,p. 678. the Palatinate, and had at length the misfortune to (e) Bayle's of the laft edition of become |