Maria Ferdinand

Maria Theresa

Francis I., of

2.-NEGOTIATIONS RELATING TO THE SPANISH
SUCCESSION.

55. Claimants to the Spanish Throne.-The chief motive which induced Louis XIV. to conclude the Treaty of Ryswick, was the question of the Spanish Succession. The empire of Spain had now fallen from its high estate, and its political influence was as feeble as its dominions were populous and extensive. But the fate of such an empire, was a matter of the utmost concern to the rest of Europe; and as Charles II., the reigning sovereign, was childless, and was now supposed to be at the point of death, the question of his succession threatened to disturb the future quiet of Christendom.

Three competitors for the succession stood pre-eminent.

The Dauphin of France, whose pretensions were derived from his mother, Maria Theresa, the eldest sister of Charles II. His right would have been undoubted, had not his mother, on her marriage with Louis XIV., formally renounced for herself and her children, all title to the succession. This renunciation was confirmed by the will of Philip IV. her father, by the Spanish Cortes, and was also ratified by Louis himself.

2. These pretensions being set aside, the next in order of inheritance was Joseph Ferdinand, the Electoral Prince of Bavaria, the grandson of Margaret Theresa, the younger sister of Charles. His mother, Marie Antoinette, had also made a renunciation of her claims; but this was considered invalid, since it had not been ratified by the Cortes.

3. The third claimant was the Emperor Leopold, who was not fettered by any contracts. He based his claim on the fact that he was the only remaining descendant of the male line from Philip and Joan, the parents of the Emperor Charles V.; and next on the right of his mother, Mary Anne, daughter of Philip III., who was the legitimate heiress, in virtue of the renunciations named above.*

of Power

in danger.

56. The two Partition Treaties.-The point of view from which the European maritime States regarded this imporThe Balance tant question, was that of the maintenance of the Balance of Power. This principle lay at the foundation of all foreign politics in those days, and it was held to be an axiom, that the union of the whole of the Spanish monarchy with Austria or France, would destroy the equilibrium; particularly if the two crowns should be united in the person of one monarch. To calm apprehensions on this point, Louis offered to transfer the claims of the Dauphin, to Philip of Anjou, the younger son of that

Coxe's House of Austria, II., 461.

1698

prince; but at the same time, the Emperor also declared himself ready to surrender his rights to his younger son, the Archduke Charles.

Intrigues of

While these offers were publicly made, each sovereign exerted his utmost efforts to secure supreme influence in the Court of Madrid, and extract from the unhappy monarch, Louis XIV. a will in his own favour. To conceal his designs, Louis secretly applied to William, and proposed an expedient, which seemed calculated to allay the general alarm, but was really meant to amuse the maritime States, and prevent the renewal of the Grand Alliance against France.

Secret

William's

The preliminary negotiations which followed, were conducted by William and the Duke of Portland, without the knowledge of the English Ministers at home; but when the terms of negotiations the treaty were drawn up and approved of, it became unknown to necessary to impart them to the Chancellor, and one of the ministers. Secretaries of State. These officials were authorised to take into their counsel three other Ministers, namely, Shrewsbury, Orford, and Montague; the joint opinions of all were then to be conveyed to the King, and the Chancellor was directed to put the Great Seal to blank powers, for the appointment Somers puts of commissioners to conclude the treaty. For this the seal to a unconstitutional proceeding, as well as for afterwards mission. sealing the ratification of a treaty, on which he had not been properly consulted, the Lord Chancellor was afterwards impeached.

blank com.

The arrangement concluded (11th October, 1698) under these circumstances between Louis, William, and the United Provinces, bears the name of the First Partition Treaty. Spain itself, the Netherlands and the Colonial Possessions, were assigned to the Electoral Prince of Bavaria; Milan, to the Archduke Charles; Naples and the Two Sicilies, with the rest of the Spanish dominions in Italy, and the province of Guipuscoa, to the Dauphin. If the Electoral Prince died without issue, after his accession to the Spanish throne, his share was to be entailed on his father.

The contracting parties agreed to maintain the strictest silence with regard to these terms, except that William was to communicate them to the Emperor, for the purpose of obtaining his assent. But the French monarch betrayed the intended partition to the Louis reveals Court of Madrid, and urged the King to throw himself the terms of under the protection of France, as the only means of preventing the dismemberment of his monarchy. French influence, however, was not yet paramount in Spain; and Charles II., resolved upon frustrating the objects of the treaty, at once

F

the First

Treaty.

CHAP. I. declared the Electoral Prince successor to the whole of his dominions. The death of this prince, within four months afterwards (5th of February, 1699), upset all these arrangements; but new negotiations were opened, and a Second Partition Treaty was concluded between the same powers on the 25th March, 1700.

By this new compact, the Archduke Charles was to receive Spain, the Netherlands, and the Colonies; and the Dauphin, in addition to the former territories, was to have Milan, or the duchies of Lorraine and Bar as an equivalent. It was also stipulated that the Crown of Spain was not to be united either with that of France or the Empire, and conditions were agreed upon for securing this object.

Intelligence of this second treaty, was again artfully disclosed to Spain, where it produced greater sensation than before. Cardinal Portocarrero, archbishop of Toledo, was now the principal adviser of the Spanish monarch, and he was a strong advocate for the interests of France. Under his direction Charles II. again made a will (2nd of October, 1700), for preservthe Treaty. ing the integrity of his dominions; but his successor named on this occasion was Philip of Anjou, the second son of the Dauphin.*

Charles II. makes a will

which upsets

A general election.

Party cries.

57. Dismissal of the Dutch Guards.-During the negotiations for the first Partition Treaty, England had been going through the excitement of a general election. The enemies of the Government raised three party cries, namely, No Standing Army, No grants of Crown Property, and No Dutchmen, all of which gave rise to heated discussions in the new parliament. When the members assembled (6th of December, 1698), the King, in his opening speech, called upon the two houses to consider what forces by land and sea ought to be maintained, for the safety and honour of the country; and what means should be adopted for discharging the debts contracted by the war. The Commons met these exhortations with unusual discourtesy; they voted no address in answer to the speech; and they passed a resolution, moved by Harley, the leader of the Tory party, that the army should be reduced to 7,000 men for England, and 12,000 for Ireland, and that all these forces should be natural born subjects of the realm. This resolution, which involved the dismissal of the Dutch guards and the Huguenots, was but feebly resisted by the Ministry; and the King, bitterly mortified, seriously medi.

retiring to the continent, and abandoning the government

it's Popular History, V., 220-236; Coxe's Austria, II., Chap. 67; Dyer's Europe, III., 165-172.

1698-99

threatens to

The crisis was imminent; and Louis, who was craftily William observing every change in English politics, and was leave the shrewdly suspected of stimulating this factious opposi- country. tion, by the old system of bribes, actually suggested to his

ambassador Tallard, that William himself should be offered such means as would enable him to do" without the assistance of parliament." But the ambassador knew William's character too well to insult him with such a proposal.

When the King had overcome his first vexation, he went down to the House of Lords, and calmly gave his assent to the Disbanding Bill, pointing out, however, to the assembled members, the great danger to which they were thus exposing the country. His remarks somewhat mollified the Commons, and they presented an address assuring him of their attachment and support; but nothing would induce them to withdraw from their resolution, and the Dutch guards left the country.t

3.-DECLINE OF THE POWER OF THE WHIGS.

of a Com

58. Resumption of the Irish Forfeitures.-The reduction of the army, and an investigation into the management of the navy, occupied so much of this session, that little time was left for considering the resumption of the Crown grants in Ireland, and the furnishing of supplies. A commission of seven was, however, appointed to inquire into the Irish forfeitures, and the Appointment Commons tacked the names to a money bill, so that the mission. commission could not be discussed by the Lords, or rejected by the King. In the following session (November, 1699) these commissioners presented their report, but some parts of it were drawn up in such strong and disrespectful language, that three of the commissioners refused to subscribe their names, and they presented a separate memorial. There was no dispute, however, as to the main facts.

It appeared that an area equal in extent to the counties of Middlesex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Huntingdonshire, had been forfeited during the late troubles in Ireland. The Its report. value of this large territory was estimated, by those who were well acquainted with the subject, at about £400,000. One fourth part had been restored to the ancient proprietors, in conformity with the Treaty of Limerick; about one seventh of the remainder had been also given back to others, who, though they could not plead the letter of the treaty, had been

Knight's Popular History, V., 232; quoting the original letters., 304.
+ Macaulay, VIII., 144-178; Knight, V., 230-234 Hallamı, II.