338. Louis XIV to Tallard (Versailles, May 29, 1698) First plan of division The letter which you wrote me on the 22d of this month informs me of what passed at the private audience which you had with the king of England. . . . To reconcile my sentiments and his, I have made a new project. I have always followed the same principle of forming two alternatives, my only view being to propose what appears to me to be the best calculated to preserve the peace of Europe, and, at the same time, to indemnify, as far as possible, the legitimate heirs for the just claims which they sacrifice to this sole consideration. I even leave to the king of England the choice of these alternatives. He will decide in favor of that which he shall believe to be most conformable to the interests of the English and the Dutch, and, consequently, that which will most promote the conclusion of the treaty. By the first of these alternatives one of my grandsons would have Spain, the Indies, the islands, countries, and places which belong at present to that monarchy, with the exception of the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, and Milan, which the archduke would have for his share, on condition that they should never be united to the imperial crown; the Low Countries, in the state in which they now are, would be ceded to the electoral prince of Bavaria. Though England and Holland cannot pretend to have any claim to share in this partition, I would nevertheless consent, out of regard to the king of England, to leave to those two nations, by this first alternative, Ceuta and Oran, for the security of their commerce. Lastly, whatever reasons there may be for preserving to the crown of Spain all that it now possesses in the Indies, without detaching from it the smallest portion, you may add to this alternative that I would consent that the Dutch should become masters of that part of the island of St. Domingo which belongs to Spain. Jamaica, which the English already possess, added to this part of the island of St. Domingo, would give them a very considerable establishment in the West Indies, would secure their commerce, and other nations would not so much fear to see theirs interrupted as they would do if the port of the Havannah were in the hands of the English and the Dutch. . . . of division With respect to the second alternative, you have already Second plan shown to the king of England that the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, with the places on the coast of Tuscany, were too unequal a portion to indemnify my son for his legitimate right to the whole Spanish succession. I consider the cession of these kingdoms as a continued source of expense and embarrassment; it cost France but too dear to preserve them, and experience proves the indispensable necessity of always maintaining troops there, of continually sending men-of-war, and, also, how vain all these efforts proved. I therefore do not make a demand of the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily in this second part of the alternative. On this basis you will propose that the electoral prince of Bavaria shall have the kingdom of Spain, and all that depends at present on that monarchy, with the reserve of what is contained in the following exceptions, namely, the kingdom of Navarre, the towns of Fontarabia and St. Sebastian, and the duchy of Luxemburg, which should be given to the Dauphin; Milan and the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily to the archduke. It appears to me that the rights of my son cannot be reduced to smaller demands. I was contented with stipulating for him the restitution of a kingdom which ought to belong to me, which the Spaniards have always unjustly retained, and which the kings, my predecessors, have never ceded. I require the duchy of Luxemburg only for the security of my frontiers. Lastly, at the same time that I thus limit the just claims of my son, I consent that the archduke shall enjoy the greater part of Italy, and may, perhaps, soon become master of it, from the situation of the states which he will possess in it. But if the king of England should still make the same diffi- Still a third culties on the cession of the duchy of Luxemburg, I consent plan that you shall propose to him a new alternative. The electoral prince of Bavaria should have the monarchy of Spain, and what now depends upon it, with the exception of the kingdom of Navarre, which should be ceded to my son, with Milan, Final, and the places on the coast of Tuscany; the archduke should have the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily. 339. Marlborough to his wife By this last alternative I ask nothing which can cause the slightest jealousy to England and Holland. The power of the archduke would be an object of less suspicion to Italy, and yet a considerable share would be left to him. Of all these alternatives I should prefer that which shall be judged the best calculated to preserve the general tranquillity. I shall expect the answer of the king of England to these proposals; and they must show the desire which I have to prevent all occurrences which might interrupt the general peace. II. THE REIGN OF ANNE The battle of Blenheim signalized the second year of the war which now broke out, and almost immediately raised the English commander, the duke of Marlborough, to the position of one of the most eminent men in Europe. He speaks of the battle and of the political complications of the time in the following letters to his wife. I have not time to say more, but to beg you will give my duty to the queen, and let her know her army has had a glorious victory. M. Tallard and two other generals are in my August 13, coach, and I am following with the rest. The bearer, my aid-de-camp, Colonel Parke, will give her an account of what has passed. I shall do it in a day or two, by another more at large. MARLBOROUGH. 1704 August 14, 1704 Before the battle was quite done yesterday I writ to my dearest soul to let her know that I was well, and that God had blessed her Majesty's arms with as great a victory as has ever been known; for prisoners I have the Marshall de Tallard, and the greatest part of his general officers, above 8000 men, The French and near 1500 officers. In short, the army of M. de Tallard, which was that which I fought with, is quite ruined; that of the Elector of Bavaria and the Marshall de Marsin, which Prince Eugene fought against, I am afraid has not had much loss, for I cannot find that he has many prisoners. As soon as army scattered the Elector knew that Monsieur de Tallard was like to be beaten, he marched off, so that I came only time enough to see him retire. As all these prisoners are taken by the troops I command, it is in my power to send as many of them to England as her Majesty shall think for her honor and service. My own opinion in this matter is that the Marshall de Tallard, and the general officers, should be sent or brought to her Majesty when I come to England; but should all the officers be brought, it would be a very great expense, and I think the honor is in having the marshal and such other officers as her Majesty pleases. But I shall do in this, as in all things, that which shall be most agreeable to her. I am so very much out of order with having been seventeen hours on horseback yesterday, and not having been able to sleep above three hours last night, that I can write to none of my friends. However, I am so pleased with this action that I can't end my letter without being so vain as to tell my dearest soul that within the memory of man there has been no victory so great as this; and as I am sure you love me entirely well, you will be infinitely pleased with what has been done, upon my account as well as the great benefit the public will have. For had the success of Prince Eugene been equal to his merit, we should in that day's action have made an end of the war. The religious organization of England by the time of Queen Anne had reached a somewhat settled condition. But the mingled feelings of hostility and contempt on the part of the established church and of most persons of the ruling classes toward the Dissenters was still an important element in the political and social organization. This feeling is reflected in the two following selections, the first from a well-known description of England that appeared in many successive editions, the second from a contemporary pamphlet. The greatest blemish to religion amongst us is the deplorable number of Dissenters from the established church, some from Cham- 340. Extracts prejudiced by education, some by sensuality, some by interest, and some few by a misguided zeal; who, having repented of their former ill courses, whilst they called themselves members of the Church of England, they think they cannot thoroughly change their lives without changing their religion too, becoming like stray sheep, an easie prey to the next seducer [and learning to hold various strange doctrines]. Papists Baptists All Protestant Dissenters from the church (except Antitrinitarians) are tolerated, so long as they live peaceably and conformably in the state; and every man in England doth now enjoy a free liberty of conscience, and use of what religion best pleases him. The Dissenters from the Church of England are of these five sorts, principally Libertines, Papists, Anabaptists, Independents, and Presbyterians. . . ... Papists we have many; yet not so many but that in a late government, when they all appear'd publickly, it was, and it is, a wonder how the designs of that handful of men could put the whole nation into such convulsions. Anabaptists are of two sorts; first, those who go vulgarly by that name; and, secondly, those who are distinguished by the name of Quakers. The Anabaptists which go by that name are a more reasonable sort here in England than those of Flanders and Germany; very few of ours are so wild, extravagant, and enthusiastical as those abroad: these submit themselves to .civil government, and the chief article of their dissent in religion is concerning pædobaptism, which they hold unreasonable. Yet there is in many other things some of the Flemish leaven still amongst them, as accounting themselves the only pure church; are envious at the establish'd church; abhor paying of tithes ; and affect parity but that which is worst of all, some of them have strange notions concerning our Blessed Saviour and his incarnation, the Holy Trinity, the soul of man, etc. Some of these, as well as Quakers, are great admirers of Jacob Behmen and his sort of cant; and many of them are closely wrapt up in Rosicrucian divinity; they look upon all liturgy and ceremonies as popish, allow that laymen may administer sacraments, expect an universal monarchy of Christ here on earth. : |