belligerents, which, together, form what we call the Peace Charles VI., the new Emperor, held out obstinately. He did not wish for peace, and was of Utrecht. very angry with the allies, especially with the English, that they were not willing to continue fighting his battles. But what could he do, single-handed? He held out for nearly one year longer, but Villars vigorously turned his forces against him, and seized a town or two. Then, in the following spring, the Emperor accepted the peace, which he could have enjoyed earlier. Rastadt, The peace between France and the Emperor personally was called after the town Rastadt, that between the French and the Empire after that of Baden. Peace of 1714. The Spanish monarchy-the main point in disputetogether with the vast American possessions, was left in the hands of Philip V. If the allies had The Spanish monarchy. been fighting to take it from him, they had missed their object. Solemn renunciation was, however, made by the King of Spain of all his claim to the French Crown, at least as long as he retained the Spanish Crown. Both Lewis and Philip swore that the Crowns of France and of Spain should never be united. Lewis swore, 'on the faith, word, and honour of a king,' that he would acknowledge Queen Anne and the Protestant succession, and that he would give no further assistance to the Pretender, but induce him to leave France. He agreed also to demolish the fortifications and to fill up the harbour of Dunkirk. Though the English seem to have regarded Dunkirk as a standing menace to their commerce, and to have eagerly desired this article, it was never carEngland's gain. ried out. England was to keep Gibraltar and Minorca, but she promised that they should not be a place of refuge either for Moor or Jew. England also gained from France certain ice-bound territories in North America, which France did not value-the Hudson's Bay Territory, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia. They were valuable as fishing grounds, and also for the fur-hunters; but the French reserved in the treaty the right to fish. There had been, indeed, as many English as French settlements in these places, and perhaps more English settlers. The possession of the first two had been long in dispute; but Nova Scotia-called by the French Acadia-had been formally ceded to the French in the reign of Charles II. It is important to notice that, in this article, England was commencing a policy of colonial aggrandisement which brought later wars on her. England further obtained from Spain the Assiento contract, which France had before enjoyed, viz. the privilege of importing 4,800 negro slaves into America within thirty years. In addition to these treaties there was further proposed a treaty of commerce between England and France, but the House of Commons threw it out. It shows how enlightened a statesman Bolingbroke could prove himself, for it would have established free trade between England and France. Neither of the nations were to tax each other's manufactures, and each was to grant to the other whatever privileges it conferred on the most favoured nation. France, it may be seen, suffered little by the treaty, for she lost no territory, and was left with the same boundaries that she had reached in the year of the English Revolution. Spain lost her possesSpain's loss. sions in Italy and in the Netherlands, of which Milan, the kingdom of Naples, and the Netherlands fell to Austria, while Sicily, which was afterwards exchanged for Sardinia, fell to the Duke of Savoy, who was further indulged with the title of King. The Elector of Bavaria, France's luckless ally, was reinstated in his dominions, and at the same time the Elector of Hanover was fully and finally recognised. Prussia, which a month before the treaty of Utrecht passed under the rule of its second king, famous in history as the eccentric father of Frederick Prussia. the Great, secured its own recognition as a kingdom by the King of France. Moreover, its territory of Orange was exchanged for land that lay more convenient in Guelderland. On the death of our William III. without children, his claim to Orange had passed to his sister, who married the first King of Prussia. The little principality of Orange was surrounded entirely by France, into which it was manifestly more convenient that it should now be swallowed up. Whether it belonged to a king of England or a king of Prussia, the French could at once overrun it with troops in case of war. Dutch. Lastly, the Dutch obtained certain towns, and had the satisfaction of seeing the Netherlands in the hands of Austria, a barrier between them and France. It was not a very substantial result of all their efforts, but, if the English would not go on fighting, it was not in the power of the Dutch to obtain better terms. Holland, however, learnt the futility of engaging in wars like this, and henceforth pursued a policy of non-interference, and her influence declined in Europe. The Peace of Utrecht has been often criticised, and generally in a sense hostile to its promoters-the English ministry. It may be as well to express shortly the arguments on both sides. Arguments for Peace of Those who supported it said that the war was becoming a great burden upon England; that her national debt was growing to such an enorUtrecht. mous size that posterity would not be able to pay it; that in consequence of the peculiar spirit of the Castilians, Spain could never be conquered nor taken from Philip except at a terrible cost, and that Englishmen who did not want the Pretender had no right to force a king upon reluctant Spain; that the terms of the treaty secured Europe from the danger of a union of the Crowns of France and Spain, indeed, that a similar danger was more to be feared on the other side, for the Grand Alliance was intended to prevent the union of the Spanish Crown with that of any other first-rate power, and that the Austrian claimant was now Emperor. France, therefore, being humbled and threatening no danger to Europe, if England continued to fight, she would be fighting the battles of her allies, not her own. Arguments against it. To these arguments answer was made: Debt or no debt, commerce flourishes. France, which has been for half a century a source of danger, is now at our mercy. Her fortresses are broken down, and Marlborough has cleared his road to Paris. Let us bind her now, so that she never can be dangerous again. It will never be safe to have France and Spain under kindred kings. The Bourbons are all of a piece, and this Philip may yet succeed his grandfather. In such case renunciations are valueless; we know that France always regards them as invalid. After all Marlborough's victories, the allies are wrong not to secure results more substantial. As the Peace of Utrecht ends the war, this is the right place to ask the question-was this a just and necessary war? And the answer must be that General consideration on the war. it was. We must place ourselves in the position of the statesmen who knew Lewis and his ambition, or of the people who had suffered and seen others suffer from his encroachments. Even after the Peace of Ryswick, there can be no doubt that he was dangerous to the liberties of Europe. But as decidedly the war should have been ended earlier. Peace ought to have been made after the battle of Ramillies. The war would then have lasted four years instead of eleven, and much would have been saved. It was the heartfelt mistrust of Lewis that made Marlborough, Eugene, and Heinsius, the Whig ministers in England, and the Dutch statesmen, refuse to treat. But they could then have obtained the same terms that they secured afterwards, or better. From that time forward the allies were in the wrong, and at each negotiation, at the Hague and at Gertruydenburg, they plunged more deeply into it. After the disaster at Villa Viciosa, all claim on Spain should have been surrendered. The allies asked too much, and they were forced to take too little. For, that Bolingbroke and Oxford granted terms too easily, and mismanaged the negotiations, there is no manner of doubt. When peace was proclaimed in London there was a grand Te Deum in St. Paul's Cathedral, Handel's music probably being played. But the Te Deum Te Deum. raised by Lewis and his courtiers should have been louder, for in the Peace of Utrecht Lewis gained the most. Earlier CHAPTER XVI. THE UNION WITH SCOTLAND. Section I.-The Union itself. ONE of the most important works of Queen Anne's reign Iwas the Union with Scotland. Until that was carried out, Great Britain was divided into two unequal kingdoms, with the same sovereign, but in every other respect distinct. There was attempts at union. |