who were provided on each part with fufficient autho rity, in the form and words following:

Whereas it has pleafed the Supreme Ruler of all things, after a moft grievous war, which for fo many years has laid defolate almoft the whole Chriftian world with blood and flaughter, of his divine clemency to difpofe the minds of the Princes engaged in the dispute to the thoughts of peace and concord, after they had been fo long inflamed with the rage and fury of arms: and whereas the Moft Serene and Moft Mighty Lady Anne, by the grace of God, Queen of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, &c. and the Moft Serene and Moft Mighty Prince Philip the Fifth, by the grace of God, Catholic King of Spain, &c. wifh for nothing more heartily, and endeavour nothing more earnestly, than that the ancient bonds of alliance and friendship between the British and Spanish nations should not only be renewed, but also more strongly knit together by fresh engagements of amity and intereft on both fides, and tranfmitted indiffoluble to all pofterity; in order at last to finish happily fo wholesome and fo very defirable a work, they have nominated on each fide their ambaffadors extraordinary and plenipotentiaries, and have inftructed them with fufficient orders; that is to fay, the Queen of Great Britain on her part, the Right Reverend John, by divine permiffion, Bishop of Bristol, keeper of the privy feal of England, privy counsellor to her Royal Majefty, dean of Windfor, and register of the most noble Order of the Garter; and the most noble, most illustrious, and moft excellent Lord Thomas Earl of Strafford, Vifcount Wentworth of Wentworth Woodhouse, and of Staineborough, baron of Raby, privy counsellor to her Royal Majefty, her ambaffador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the High and Mighty Lords the States General of the United Provinces, colonel of her Majefty's royal regiment of dragoons, lieutenant general of her Majesty's armies, firft commiffioner of the admiralty of Great Britain and Ireland, and knight of the most noble Order of the Garter. And the Catholic

King

King on his part, the most illuftrious and moft excellent Lord Francis Maria de Paula, Tellez, and Giron, Duke of Offuna, Count of Urvegna, Marquis of Pennafiel, grandee of Spain of the firft clafs, high chamberlain of the King, great notary of the kingdoms of Caftile, one of the commanders, and grand clavero of the Order of Callatrava, and likewife commander of the Order of St. Jago, one of the grandees of the chamber to the Catholic King Philip the Fifth, general commander in his armies, and captain of the fift troop of his Majesty's life guards; and the most illuftrious and moft excellent Lord Ifidore Cazado de Azevedo de Rofalez, Marquis of Monteleone, Viscount of Alcazar Real, counsellor of his Catholic Majefty in the fupreme council, one of the honourable chamberlains of the King: which ambaffadors extraordinary and plenipotentiaries have confented and agreed to the following conditions of peace and friendship, to the fame effect as thofe which were made at the courts of London and Madrid, by minifters on each fide.

I. That there be a Chriftian univerfal peace, and a perpetual and true fiiendship, between the Moft Serene and Moft Mighty Princess Anne, Queen of Great Britain, and the Moft Serene and Moft Mighty Prince Philip the Fifth, Catholic King of Spain, and their heirs and fucceffors, and alfo the kingdoms, ftates, dominions, and provinces of both parties, wherefoever fituated, and their fubjects; and that the fame be fo fincerely preferved and cultivated, that neither party do, under any colour whatever, endeavour to attempt any thing to the deftruction or detriment of the other, or yield any aid, by what name foever it be called, to those who attempt the fame, or who endeavour to do any damage, neither may or ought they to help them by any means. On the contrary, their Royal Majefties fhall be obliged the one to promote the advantage, honour, and intereft of the other, and to direct their councils to that end with all care, that by mutual proof of friendship, the peace which is now made may daily receive new additions of ftrength.

II. But

II. But whereas the war which is fo happily ended by this peace, was at the beginning undertaken, and was carried on for fo many years with the utmost force, at immenfe charge, and with almoft infinite flaughter, because of the great danger which threatened the liber

ty and fafety of all Europe, from the too close conjunction of the kingdoms of Spain and France. And whereas to take away all uneafinefs and fufpicion, concerning fuch conjunction, out of the minds of people, and to fettle and eftablish the peace and tranquillity of Christendom by an equal balance of power (which is the best and most folid foundation of a mutual friendship, and of a concord which will be lafting on all fides) as well the Catholic King as the Most Christian King have confented, that care fhould be taken by fufficient precautions, that the kingdoms of Spain and France fhould never come and be united under the fame dominion, and that one and the fame perfon fhould never become King of both kingdoms. And to this end his Catholic Majefty has for himself, his heirs, and fucceffors, moft folemnly renounced all manner of right, title, and pretenfion to the crown of France, in the form and words following:

The KIN G.

Whereas on the 5th of November in this present year 1712, before Don Manuel of Vadillo and Velafco, my fecretary of ftate, and chief notary of the kingdoms of Caftille, and Leon, and witneffes, I delivered, fwore to, and figned a public inftrument of the tenor following, which is, word for word, as here enfues.

DON PHILIP, by the grace of God, King of Castille, Leon, Arragon, the Two Sicilies, Jerufalem, Navarre, Granada, Toledo, Valentia, Galicia, Majorca, Seville, Sardinia, Corduba, Corfica, Murcia, Jaen, the Algarves, Algezira, Gibraltar, the Canary Islands, the East and West Indies, the islands and terra firma of the ocean, Archduke of Auftria, Duke of Burgundy,

Brabant,

Brabant, and Milan, Count of Habfpurg, Flanders, Tirol, and Barcelona, Lord of Biscay and Molina, &c. By the account and information of this inftrument and writing of renunciation and relinquishment, and that it may remain for a perpetual remembrance, I do make known and declare to kings, princes, potentates, commonwealths, communities, and particular perfons, which now are, and shall be in future ages: That it being one of the principal pofitions of the treaties of peace, depending between the crowns of Spain and of France, with that of England, for the rendering it firm and lafting, and proceeding to a general one, on the maxim of fecuring for ever the univerfal good and quiet of Europe, by an equal weight of power, fo that many being united in one, the balance of the equality defired, might not turn to the advantage of one, and the danger and hazard of the reft; it was proposed, and infifted on by England, and it was agreed to on my part, and on that of the King my grandfather, that for avoiding at any time whatever the union of this monarchy with that of France, and the poffibility that it might happen in any cafe, reciprocal renunciations fhould be made by me, and for all my defcendants, to the poffibility of fucceeding to the monarchy of France, and on the part of thofe princes, and of all their race, prefent and to come, to that of fucceeding to this monarchy; by forming a proper project of abdication of all rights which might be claimed by the two royal houses of this, and of that monarchy, as to their fucceeding mutually to each other; by feparating, by the legal means of my renunciation, my branch from the royal ftem of France, and all the branches of France from the ftem of the blood royal of Spain; by taking care at the fame time, in purfuance of the fundamental and perpetual maxim of the balance of power in Europe, which perfuades and juftifies the avoiding, in all cafes imaginable, the union of the monarchy of France with that of Spain, that the inconvenience fhould likewife be provided againft, left, in default of my iffue, the cafe fhould hap

pen

pen that this monarchy fhould devolve again to the House of Auftria, whofe dominions and dependencies, even without the union of the empire, would make it formidable; a motive which at other times made it juftifiable to feparate the hereditary dominions of the House of Austria from the body of the Spanish monarchy; it being agreed and fettled to this end by England with me, and with the King my grandfather, that in failure of me, and of my iffue, the Duke of Savoy, and his fons and defcendants, being males, born in conftant lawful marriage, are to enter upon the fucceffion of this monarchy; and in default of his male line, the Prince Amadeo of Carignan, and his fons and defcendants, being males, born in conftant lawful marriage; and in default of his line, Prince Thomas, brother of the Prince of Carignan, his fons and defcendants, being males, born in conftant lawful marriage, who, as defcendants of the Infanta Donna Catharina, daughter of Philip the Second, and being expressly called, have a clear and known right, fuppofing the friendship and perpetual alliance, which the Duke of Savoy, and his defcendants, are to folicit and obtain from this crown; it being to be believed, that by this perpetual and never-ceafing hope, the needle of the balance may remain invariable, and all the powers, wearied with the toil and uncertainty of battles, may be amicably kept in an equal poife; it not remaining in the difpofal of any of the parties to alter this federal equilibrium by way of any contract of renunciation, or retroceffion, fince the fame reafon, which induced its being admitted, demonftrates its permanency, a fundamental conftitution being formed, which may fettle by an unalterable law the fucceffion of what is to come. In confequence of what is abovefaid, and for the love I bear to the Spaniards, and from the knowledge I have of what I owe to them, and the repeated experience of their fidelity, and for making a return to Divine Providence, by this refignation to its destiny, for the great benefit of having placed and maintained me on the

throne,