NEGOTIATION FOR A QUADRUPLE ALLIANCE.
Thus Bremen and Verden were secured in the house of Hanover; an acquisition towards which the English nation contributed by her money, as well as by her arms; an acquisition made in contradiction to the engagements into which England entered when king William became guarantee for the treaty of Travendahl; an acquisition that may be considered as the first link of a political chain by which the English nation were dragged back into expensive connexions with the continent. The king had not yet received the investiture of the duchies; and, until that should be procured, it was necessary to espouse with warmth the interests of the emperor. This was another source of misunderstanding between Great Britain and Spain. Prince Eugene gained another complete victory over a prodigious army of the Turks at Belgrade, which was surrendered to him after the battle. The emperor had engaged in this war as an ally of the Venetians, whom the Turks had attacked and driven from the Morea. The pope considered it as a religious war against the infidels, and obtained repeated assurances from the king of Spain that he would not undertake any thing against the emperor while he was engaged in such a laudable quarrel. Philip had even sent a squadron of ships and galleys to the assistance of the Venetians. In the course of this year, however, he equipped a strong armament, the command of which was bestowed on the marquis de Lede, who sailed from Barcelona in July, and landing at Cagliari in Sardinia, which belonged to the emperor, made a conquest of the whole island. At the same time, the king of Spain endeavoured to justify these proceedings by a manifesto, in which he alleged that the archduke, contrary to the faith of treaties, encouraged and supported the rebellion of his subjects in Catalonia, by frequent succours from Naples and other places; and that the great inquisitor of Spain had been seized, though furnished with a passport from his holiness. He promised however to proceed no further, and suspend all operations, that the powers of Europe might have time and opportunity to contrive expedients for reconciling all differences, and securing the peace and balance of power in Italy; nay, he consented that this important affair should be left to the arbitration of king George and the states-general. These powers undertook the office. Conferences were begun between the ministers of the emperor, France, England, and Holland; and these produced, in the course of the following year, the famous quadruple alliance. In this treaty it was stipulated, that the emperor should renounce all pretensions to the crown of Spain, and exchange Sardinia for Sicily with the duke of Savoy; that the succession to the duchies of Tuscany, Parma, and Placentia, which the queen of Spain claimed by inheritance as princess of the house of Farnese, should be settled on her eldest son, in case the present possessors should die without male issue. Philip, dissatisfied with this partition, continued to make formidable preparations by sea and land. The king of England and the regent of France interposed their admonitions to no purpose. At length his Britannic majesty had recourse to more substantial arguments, and ordered a strong squadron to be equipped with all possible expedition. [206] [See note 2 H, at the end of this Vol.]