ed in the hands of queen Elizabeth, for the money den's Hift.of general, and two Englishmen whom the queen should hame, fhould be admitted into the council of the estates. (a) Accordingly Elizabeth fent the earl of Leicester to (a) Camtheir aid, had the towns put into her hands, and her go- Elizab. Q vernor had a place among the States-general; whereby in compleat the English had a share in their councils, and they were Hift. Vol.II. kept in dependance on them. 'Tis well known with what P. 508. valour and conduct the Dutch refifted the Spaniards, and by the help of their auxiliaries, rose themselves to an admired and envied state of power, wealth and liberty. Spain weary with endeavouring to enflave them, was contented to treat with them as Free-States, and concluded a truce at Antwerp, March 29, 1609. 'Twas then Holland lifted high it's head, and looking on the cautionary towns as manacles and fhackles on them, and fearing that James, whofe meanness of spirit, connexion with the Spaniards, and great want of money were known, might one day deliver them into their enemies hands, as by them he had been requested; 'twas then, I say, that they determined if poffible to get them from him, but upon the easiest terms. But this was not to be done in a hurry, they took time, and acted after fuch a manner, as fully accomplished their purpose. Tho' the towns were garrifoned by the English, the garrifon was paid by the Dutch. In order therefore to bring about what they had in view, they ceafed, all at once, to pay the English garrifon, as by treaty they were obliged. Complaints were hereupon made to Sir Noel Caron, the Dutch ambaffador at London. He excufed it by the poverty of his mafters; but withal infinuated as from himself, that if his Britannic majefty would defire it of the States, they, out of their regard for him,' would take up money at high interest, and at once difcharge the whole debt due to the crown of England. James liftened to the proposal, and wrote about it to the States. By them Barnevelt was fent over, who negotiated fo ably, that the king agreed to deliver up the M 2 towns (b) See money fhe had from time to time expended on towns for less than three millions of florins, in lieu of eight millions that were due, and about 18 years interest. (b) This was in May 1616. What the opinion of the Rushworth, world was on this affair, will appear from part of a letter from Sir Thomas Edmondes, written from Paris the 206. fame month, to Sir Ralph Winwood. In it he observes Acta Regia, that the agreement for the reftoring the cautionary Coke, Vol, towns, was thought ftrange by the principal perfons in Vol. I. p. 3. Cabala, p. P. 523 I. p. 52. the French council, and particularly by Monf. Villeroy, who was of opinion, "that no confideration of utility "ought to have made his majefty quit fo great an in1715, 8vo. " tereft as he had, for the retaining that people, by letters, p. 16. Lond. "that means, in devotion to him; alledging for ex"ample that they here, without any fuch gages, do dif"burfe yearly unto the States, the fum of 200,000 << crowns, befides the abfolute remittal of twelve or thir"teen millions of livres, which they had disbursed for "them in the last wars, only to draw that people to a 66 like dependence on this ftate, as they do on his ma"jefty. Adding alfo thereunto, that his majesty having ordinarily a greater power over the affections of that "people, by the more natural love which they bare un"to him, than they here can promise themselves, but 66 only in respect of the prefent great faction, which "they have made by the means of Mons. Barnevelt ; it "feemeth, by the course which we have now taken, that "we abfolutely quit the advantage to them. Sir Thomas "then adds, that those who be his majesty's zealous "servants, are forry to see such a divorce, as they in"terpret it, between his majesty and that people and "after mentioning the negotiation for a match with (c) Birch's Spain, he concludes with faying, I am forry, that our negotiations neceffities (if that be the caufe) should carry us to thefe "extremities." (c) Coke, and Burnet in fpeaking of this affair are guilty of a great mistake. The former fuppofes it was contrary to the feventh article of the peace made with the Spaniards in the year 1604: (d) of Sir Tho. Edmondes, (d) Coke, Vol. I. P. 53. And t on her troops in their fervice, for comparatively a trifling fum; and thereby loft the dependence 1 And the other fays, that James, after his coming to the crown of England, had entered into fecret treaties with Spain, in order to the forcing the States to a peace; one article of which was, that if they were obftinate, he would deliver thefe places to the Spaniards. (e) But in (e) Barnet, fact there is just nothing at all in this. The Spaniards, Vol. I. in making the treaty in 1604, infifted on having the R 17. cautionary towns delivered up to them, upon payment of the moneys due from Holland. This was ftiffly denied. Whereupon fays fecretary Cecyll, in a letter to Mr. Winwood, dated June 13, 1604, They are de"fcended to content themselves with fome modification, "which we have delivered in form of an article, "(which may be seen in Coke ;) wherein, as we do for"bear (at their motion) to exprefs that his majesty "meaneth not to deliver the faid cautionaries, to any "other but the states united, fo if the modification be "well examined, you fee it cannot any wife prejudice "either his majesty in honor, or the States in their 66 intereft in the towns; for as long as the election of "good and reasonable conditions for the States pacifica❝tion, is referred to his majesty's judgment, there can arife no inconveniency of it; it being always in his "majefty's hands, to allow or difallow of that, which "fhall not be agreeable to the concurrency of his affairs "with the united provinces." (f) Thus fpeaks lord (ƒ) WinCecyll who had the chief hand in this treaty; and wood, Vol. upon a careful perufal of the article referred to, I am II. p. 23. perfuaded he is right; and confequently the above-cited hiftorians, as I faid, are greatly mistaken. The following remark was communicated to me by the reverend Dr. Birch. The account given by Burnet, vol. I. p. 15. Rapin, &c. of Barnevelt's coming over to England to negotiate the purchase of the cautionary towns from king James I. in 1616, is abfolutely falfe as I cannot find the leaft trace of it in a series of M. S. letters, M 3 e; dependence those provinces before had on the English crown. Nor did the cruelties exercifed letters, which I have read between Sir Dudley Carleton, who went over ambaffador to Holland, in March 1615-16, and the two fecretaries of state, Sir Ralph Winwood, and Sir Thomas Lake. The former, Sir Ralph Winwood, in his letters from Whitehall to the embaffador, of the 10th of April 1616, mentions, that the lords had delivered their refolutions to the king, that it was more for his majesty's service upon honourable conditions, to render up the towns, than ftill to retain them; and that his majesty had taken fome days to advise of it. Sir Dudley Carleton in his letter to Sir Rich, Winwood from the Hague, of May 3d, complains, that a matter of that great confequence (tho' " it had, says he, the beginning, before my coming hither, yet fince my arrival, hath had fome fubject of further "treaty) is altogether managed by the minifter of this "ftate, (Sir Noel Caron) refident with his majefty, "without my having any hand therein." The king's commiffion to the lords to treat with Sir Noel Caron concerning the furrender of the cautionary towns, is dated May 21, 1616, and that to Sir Horace Vere, to deliver up the Brill, on the 22d.-Sir R. Winwood, in a letter to Sir Dudley, from Greenwich, on the 23d of May, gives him a particular relation of the proceedings in this treaty, that fome years before, during his employment in Holland, Sir Noel Caron, in the name of his fuperiors, made an overture to the king for the reddition of these towns, upon feasonable and honest compofition; which being not hearkened unto, it lay asleep, until the month of December, 1615, at which time, Sir Noel being newly returned from his fuperiors, revived that motion with earnest instance, and for that purpose expressly demanded audience of his majesty. It happened at the self-fame time, that the governor of these towns delivered to Sir Ralph Winwood, to be exhibited to the lords, a complaint, that the garrison had not received cised by the Dutch on the English, at Amboyna, [000] and the depriving them of their fhare received their pay for many weeks: the danger whereof the lords taking into their confideration, the queftion was moved by a great counsellor of eminent place, whether it were not better for his majefty's fervice to render thefe towns, than still to hold them at fo great a charge.. Report being made to the king at the rifing of the lords, that this question had been moved in council, he acquainted them with the inftance of Sir Noel, and then gave them charge to advise and confult thereof, to deliver to him their judgment and refolutions; with which he, after the deliberations of 10 or 12 days, concurred for the fale of the towns. This account is abfolutely inconfiftent with the suppofition of Barnevelt's journey to England, on the affair of the purchase. Sir Thomas Lake mentions the result of the treaty, in a letter to Sir Dudley, from Greenwich, of the 28th of May, in these words: "We have now determined of the return of the cau"tionary towns, a matter vulgarly ill taken here, and "with many of the best. of the beft. But neceffity is of the coun❝cil. I think your lordship will hear of it by those that have more hand in it than I." [000] The cruelties exercised by the Dutch on the English at Amboyna, &c.] Amboyna is an island in the Eaft-Indies, and is the principal place where nutmegs, mace, cinnamon, cloves and fpice grow. In the year 1619, a treaty was concluded between James and the Dutch, with regard to the trade of the Eaft-Indies, in confequence whereof, the English enjoyed part of the fpice trade, and greatly enriched themfelves. This made them envied by the Dutch, who were determined, if poffible, to deprive them of the advantages they reap A plot therefore was pretended, in which the English, with the affiftance of a few Japonese foldiers, M 4 were |