In his instructions to Auckland of August 14, referred to above, Leeds had suggested that with a slight additional expense the Dutch and English fleets could be used to give weight to the representations already made by England for bringing about a pacification in the north and east of Europe. The Dutch Government assented that the general state of Europe, as well as the Spanish negotiations, warranted a continuance of their armament.
The relation between the Nootka Sound negotiations and the questions uppermost in eastern and northern Europe is more than incidental. In a dispatch of June 14 Theremin, the Prussian chargé at Madrid, wrote his Government that in case of a breach between England and Spain the latter would certainly join Russia and Austria.[348] The situation of the powers was such that this would have been perfectly natural. Russia and Austria were waging a common war against the Porte. The former was also engaged in war with Sweden, and the latter had just been deprived of her control in the Netherlands by the Belgian revolution. England and the Netherlands were trying to quiet the storm and induce all parties to make peace on the basis of the status quo ante bellum. Prussia, the third member of the triple alliance, was not in harmony with the other two in this matter. On the contrary, she was attempting to increase the confusion in the hope of gaining something in the turmoil. She was attempting to force Galicia from Austria that she might restore it to Poland and receive as compensation Dantzig and Thorn. She was fostering the Belgian revolution so that in the end she might be able to return the Flemish provinces to Austria to compensate that power for the loss of Galicia. She had actually made a treaty with the Porte looking to this end, and had won the partial support of Poland. If Prussia had succeeded in dragging the other two members of the triple alliance with her into war and Spain had at the same time broken with England on the Nootka question, it would inevitably have thrown Spain into the arms of the imperial courts. The opponents, then, would have been Prussia, England, the Netherlands, and Turkey, with probably Poland and Sweden, against Russia, Austria, and Spain, with possibly Denmark. France had for a time been thought of as a fourth member of the proposed alliance between Spain and the imperial courts, but the disturbances in that country had, for the present, made her almost a negligible quantity.
The conference at Reichenbach, which closed in August, affected materially the state of Europe. The pacific efforts of England and the Dutch Republic had already succeeded in curbing somewhat the warlike passions of Prussia, and at this conference won a further triumph for the peace principle by inducing Leopold of Austria to make peace with Turkey. But Russia still persisted for a time in her war with the Porte, and the English-Spanish dispute over Nootka Sound was almost as far from settlement as ever.[349]
Chapter X.
AMERICA’S RELATIONS TO THE CONTROVERSY.
Attention was called above to the repeated conferences between Pitt and the South American agitator, Miranda. The fact was pointed out that these conferences occurred at the critical periods of the English-Spanish negotiations.[350] To repeat briefly: The first was on February 14, just after the receipt of the first Spanish communication on the Nootka affair, and before the British Court had formulated its reply. Miranda had previously proposed his “grand plan” for the advantage of England united with South America. At this conference the plan was admitted to be beneficial. It was decided that it should be put into execution in case of a war with Spain. In consequence of Pitt’s request, Miranda presented, some three weeks later, a written statement of the commercial and military resources of South America. Again, on May 6, when the war excitement in London was at its highest, the great minister and the South American had a conference on the same subject. Pitt was on his way to a cabinet council and was taking with him for consideration at the council the papers which Miranda had presented. Grenville was present at the interview. The conversation was on the prospect of war with Spain, and on the disposition of the people of South America toward joining England in order to gain independence. Various interviews took place at Pitt’s house while the Spanish negotiations were in progress.[351]
At some time during the year Miranda’s plan was presented in the form of a draft of a constitution for the Spanish-American colonies after they should have gained their independence. The proposed new empire was to include all of South America, except Brazil and Guiana, and the portion of North America west of the Mississippi River and south of the forty-fifth parallel. Cuba was to be included as the key to the Gulf of Mexico. The government was to be modeled in a general way on that of Great Britain. The executive power was to be lodged in an inca, under the title of “emperor,” with hereditary succession. The upper chamber was to be composed of members nominated for life by the inca. Further details of the government were worked out.[352] Miranda reminded Pitt that the latter had seemed pleased with his ideas and had asked him to leave the draft for further perusal. Plans for carrying on the war were discussed, and the most favorable point for attack in South America was considered. Means were devised for enlisting the interest of Jesuits in Italy who were natives of South America and had been exiled by the King of Spain. Accounts of recent insurrections in Spanish America were given to show how ready the people were for emancipation. Later, a detailed plan of attack was presented, with maps to illustrate it. At Pitt’s request a plan of the defenses of Havana was left with him.
This shows what extended plans the British Cabinet was considering. It was to be expected that England would persist in her demands, for if Spain would not yield there was much to expect from a war. Secret agents at various places in America were collecting information looking toward military operations to carry out these schemes. Besides the overtures to the United States through Canada, to be discussed presently, there were secret emissaries at Charleston and New York, and information was being collected concerning New Orleans, the Floridas, and the Mississippi country. The feasibility of marching troops from New Orleans to Mexico was considered, and reports were made by men who were familiar with the country. Some of the secret employees were enthusiastic over the possibility of making a great English colony out of the Floridas and the Mississippi Valley. Agents of the Creek and Cherokee Indians were negotiating for a friendly connection with England. The plan, as far as it had taken shape, seems to have been for England to seize the heart of North America for herself and erect the remainder of Spanish America into a client state.[353]