and the French memorial alluded to of July 15th was accompanied with another relating to Spain. Several Spanish demands and alleged grievances against England were brought forward for settlement, as the restitution by Great Britain of some prizes under the Spanish flag; the liberty of Spanish subjects to fish at Newfoundland; and the destruction of English establishments on Spanish territory in the Bay of Honduras; and in order that the future peace might not be disturbed by the quarrels of these two countries, it was proposed that the King of Spain should guarantee the peace between England and France. Pitt naturally rejected such a proposal with surprise and indignation; he expressed his astonishment that disputes between friends should be submitted to the mediation of an enemy; and that they should be brought forward by a French envoy, while the ambassador of his Catholic Majesty was entirely silent upon the subject! The French minister, in his subsequent correspondence, dropped, indeed, all mention of Spain; but the reply to the application which the British Cabinet now deemed it prudent to make to that of Spain, showed a perfect understanding between the two Bourbon courts. The Spanish minister, Wall, declared to Lord Bristol, who had succeeded Sir B. Keene as English ambassador at Madrid, that the French memorial concerning Spain had been presented with the entire consent of his Catholic Majesty; that nothing would induce his sovereign to separate his counsels from those of France, nor deter him from acting in perfect harmony with that country. An unsatisfactory answer was also returned to Lord Bristol's inquiries respecting the warlike preparations in the Spanish ports. 8 Shortly afterwards was signed at Paris the celebrated treaty between France and Spain, known, like two former ones, as the FAMILY COMPACT (August 15th 1761). This measure had been carried through by the Duke de Choiseul and the Marquis de Ossuna, the Spanish ambassador at Paris, in spite of the opposition of Wall. The lures held out to Spain were, as before, the restoration of Minorca and the recovery of Gibraltar. In the preamble of the treaty, the motives of it were said to be the ties of blood and reciprocal esteem. The two Bourbon monarchs agreed in future to consider the enemy of one as the enemy of both. They mutually guaranteed each other's dominions when they should next be at peace with all the world-for Spain did not undertake to reconquer the possessions lost by France during the war-and stipulated the amount of reciprocal succours. French wars, on account of the Coxe, Spanish Bourbons, vol. iv. p. 261. 430 FRENCH ULTIMATUM. [BOOK VI. Peace of Westphalia, as well as those arising out of the alliances oʻ France with German princes, were excepted from the operation the treaty unless some maritime Power should take part in iem, or France should be invaded by land. The King of the Two Sicilies was to be invited to accede to the treaty, but none but a Bourbon prince was to be admitted into the alliance. the King of Naples nor the Duke of Parma acceded to it. But neither On the same day a particular Convention was signed by the two Powers by which Spain engaged to declare war against Great Britain on May 1st 1762, if a peace had not been concluded at that date. Louis XV. undertook to include Spanish interests in his negociations with England; to assign Minorca to Spain on May 1st following, and to endeavour that it should be assured to her at the peace. Portugal was to be invited to join in the war, it being declared unjust that she should remain neuter in order to enrich herself.10 This Convention related only to the present war, while the Treaty was to be perpetual. These treaties were to be kept secret, in order to afford time for the American treasure-vessels to arrive in Spain; but the English Government obtained intelligence of them. Such a league of. course overthrew all hopes of a peace; yet the French Cabinet continued the negociations, and in its last memorial of September 9th repeated its offers of large concessions, though with the renewed intimation that it could not evacuate Wesel, Gelders, and the Prussian possessions in Westphalia, nor consent that Great Britain should lend any succour to the King of Prussia after the peace." Pitt, with that high sense of national honour which distinguished him, and which forms so favourable a contrast to the subsequent conduct of Lord Bute, would not for a moment entertain the thought of thus deserting an ally. He did not even condescend to reply to the French memorial, but instructed Lord Stanley, who had conducted the negociations at Paris, to apply for his passports, which were accordingly granted, September 20th, and the negociations were thus terminated. The Congress of Augsburg had also no result. The King of Prussia objected that any Imperial ambassador should appear at it, as he denied that he was at war with the Empire; nor could Martens, Recueil des principaux Traités depuis 1761, t. i. p. 1; Wenck, Codex Juris Gent. rec., t. iii. p. 278. 10 Flassan, Diplomatie Franç., t. vi. p. 314 sq. and 322 sqq.; Garden, Hist. des Traités de Paix, t. iv. p. 79 sq. Coxe does not mention this Convention, but the Emperor obtain from the Diet at Ratisbon authority to conclude a peace, on account of the dissensions between the Catholic and Protestant members. The Empress-Queen was for continuing the war; and her party prevailed at the Russian Court, while Sweden was in the hands of France. The King of Poland, whose Saxon dominions suffered terribly by the war, was sincerely desirous of peace; but by himself he had little weight, and, for fear of offending his powerful allies, he hardly ventured to display his peaceable inclinations.12 The war had continued during these negociations. In February 1761, Prince Ferdinand penetrated into Hesse, but being repulsed by the French, under Broglie, near Grünsberg, March 21st, was compelled to evacuate the Landgraviate. During the remainder of the campaign he remained on the defensive on the banks of the Lippe. The French, under Soubise and Broglie, attacked his right wing near Wellinghausen, July 15th, but were repulsed, and the campaign had no results, though Ferdinand had not half the forces of his opponents. The Austrians in Silesia under Loudon, assisted by a large Russian force, marched on Breslau; whilst another Russian army, supported by the Russian and Swedish fleets, besieged Colberg. Frederick covered Schweidnitz and Breslau by establishing a fortified camp, first at Kunzendorf, near Freiburg, where he lay six or seven weeks, and then at Bunzelwitz. Here his small army was surrounded by 140,000 Austrians and Russians; the latter, however, were not anxious to fight for the benefit of the Austrians, and retired in September into Poland. After their departure Frederick marched to attack Loudon, who had encamped near Freiburg; when the Austrian commander took advantage of his departure to surprise Schweidnitz in the night of September 30th, and made the garrison prisoners, to the number of 3600 men. This action, and the capture of Colberg by the Russians, December 16th, are the only memorable events of the campaign in this quarter. Frederick's brother, Prince Henry, succeeded in maintaining himself against Marshal Daun in Saxony. The year 1762 threatened to open under gloomy auspices for the Alliance of Hanover. Spain was now added to the opposite side. After the conclusion of the Family Compact, Pitt had counselled an immediate declaration of war against Spain, before her preparations should be completed; but his opinion being overruled by Lord Bute and the King, the great minister resigned (October 5th 12 Stenzel, Gesch. des Preuss. Staats, B. v. S. 266 f. 432 SPAIN DECLARES WAR. [Book VI. 1761). He was succeeded by the Earl of Egremont, but Bute was the virtual director of the English Cabinet. The event showed the wisdom and justice of Pitt's advice. The Cabinet of London demanded, at first in measured terms, that Spain should communicate the treaty which she had concluded with France. Wall evaded this inquiry till the treasure had arrived from America, and then spoke out more boldly, while the English demands also became more peremptory. There were now no motives to check the explosion of Castilian pride. The passports of the English ambassador were made out and delivered to him in December; on January 2nd 1762, England declared war against Spain; to which the Cabinet of Madrid replied by a manifesto of the 18th of the same month. If matters looked threatening for England, they were still more. menacing for the King of Prussia. The retirement of Pitt had deprived him of his best friend. Bute and the Tories denounced the foreign policy of that minister, and prepared to withdraw the subsidies which Frederick had hitherto enjoyed. The King of Prussia, they alleged, neither had done, nor could do, anything for Hanover or England, and all the resources of the country would be required for the war with Spain. Bute was not unwilling to sacrifice Frederick for the sake of peace, and he made a proposition to that effect in 1761 to the Austrian Court; but Kaunitz, who took the offer for a snare to embroil him with the Court of Versailles, rejected it with the more disdain, as the prospects of the EmpressQueen were then so brilliant that she confidently anticipated the conquest of Silesia.13 Nay, so sure was she of an easy victory, that she reduced her army by 20,000 men. Frederick's own dominions were exhausted, and he knew not where to look for help. The only gleam of hope arose from the uncertain expectation of Turkish aid. He had negociated a treaty with the Porte and with the Khan of Tartary, and he was not without hopes that they might be induced to make a diversion in his favour by invading Hungary. But such an expectation was little more than the straw clutched by the drowning man. Frederick's situation seemed truly desperate. He expressed his gloomy forebodings, his almost utter despair, in his correspondence with the Marquis d'Argens at this period; thoughts of suicide again took possession of his mind, and he is said to have carried about with him the poison which was to end his miseries.14 But in this extremity of misfortune he was 13 Garden, t. iv. p. 194; Frederick II., Guerre de Sept Ans., ch. xiii.; Schlosser, Gesch. des 17ten Jahrh., B. ii. S. 396 f. 14 Preuss, Lebensgesch. Friedrichs II., B. ii. S. 315. rescued by the death of the Russian Empress, Elizabeth, January 5th 1762; an event which more than compensated him for the change of ministry in England. Abandoned to sensual indulgence of every kind, Elizabeth fell a victim to her intemperance. Her extravagance was as unbounded as her idleness and aversion to business. She is said to have left between 15,000 and 16,000 dresses, few of which had been worn more than once, besides whole chest-loads of ribbands and silk stockings. She would neglect all business for months together, and could with difficulty be persuaded to affix her signature even to letters of necessary politeness to the highest potentates.15 The change of policy adopted by the Czar, Peter III., after his accession, was the result of private friendship, just as Elizabeth's hostility to Frederick had been the effect of personal hatred, without any regard to objects of State policy. Peter, who carried his admiration of Frederick and of everything Prussian to a ridiculous extent, communicated his aunt's death to Frederick in an autograph letter written on the very evening that it occurred, and desired a renewal of their friendship. 16 He also ordered an immediate suspension of hostilities between the Russian and Prussian armies. Peter had formed the design of recovering that part of Schleswig and Holstein which Denmark had gained through the Northern War; for which purpose he meant to employ the troops opposed to the Prussians. A truce with Prussia was accordingly signed at Stargard, in Pomerania, March 16th 1762, and on May 5th a formal peace was concluded at St. Petersburg, by which the Czar promised to restore within two months all the Prussian territories that had been conquered. It was also agreed that a treaty for an alliance should be prepared, the conditions of which are not known, except that each Power was to succour the other with 15,000 men. Lord Bute had endeavoured to prevent this alliance by proposing to the Czar to choose for himself any part of Prussia that he might desire. 18 Sweden, which had suffered nothing but losses in her war with Prussia, followed the example of Russia in reconciling herself with that country. The war had cost Sweden, the poorest country in Europe, eight million dollars. Adolphus Frederick, had he been so inclined, might easily have overthrown the ruling oligarchy, to 15 She left the reply to Louis XV.'s announcement of the birth of his grandson unsigned for three years! Schlosser, Gesch, des 18ten Jahrh. B. ii. S. 406. 16 Biographie Peters III., B. ii. S. 38 f. VOL. III. FF ap. Stenzel, B. v. S. 289. 17 Wenck, t. iii. p. 299. 18 Lord Dover, Life of Frederick II, vol. ii. p. 259. |