A.D. Page Adventurers of the London Company, under Chriftopher Newport, land in the bay of Chesapeak, and build James-Town in Virginia, [A. D. 1606,] 529 Rapid progress of that colony 530 1632 Settlement of Maryland ibid. of New England 531 Different governments formed in New England ibid. View of the English fettlements in the West Indies 532 1551 Navigation A& ibid. Its beneficial confequences 533 Great increase of the English colony-trade 534 The French colonies yet in their infancy ibid. Thofe of Spain continue to flourish, and fupply all Europe with the precious metals 535 THE THE HISTORY O F MODERN EUROPE. PART I. From the RISE of the MODERN KINGDOMS to the PEACE of WESTPHALIA, in 1648. A general View of the Tranfactions of EUROPE, from the Death of CHARLES IX. in 1574, to the Acceffion of HENRY IV. the first King of the Branch of BOURBON, to the Throne of FRANCE, in 1589; including the Rife of the REPUBLIC of HOLLAND, the unhappy Cataftrophe of DON SEBASTIAN King of PORTUGAL, the Execution of MARY Queen of SCOTS, and the Defeat of the SPANISH ARMADA. A PARTICULAR detail of the many great and fingular events, which the period before us contains, would rather perplex the memory than inform the judgment. I fhall therefore, my dear Philip, content myself with offering you a general Survey. Confequences are chiefly to be noted. VOL. III. B THE LETTER PART I. A. D. 1574. A. D. 1575. THE death of Charles IX. though the fubject of rejoicing among the Hugonots, was far from healing the wounds of France, yet bleeding from the late maffacres. His brother, the duke of Anjou, who fucceeded him under the name of Henry III. and who, as I have already obferved, had been elected king of Poland, whence he eloped with the fecrefy of a felon, found the kingdom in the greateft diforder imaginable. The people were divided into two theological factions, furious from their zeal, and mutually enraged from the injuries which they had committed or fuffered. Each party had devoted itself to leaders, whofe commands were of more weight than the will of the fovereign; even the catholics, to whom the king was at tached, being entirely guided by the counfels of the duke of Guife and his family. HENRY, by the advice of the queen-mother, whe had governed the kingdom till his arrival, laid a scheme for reftoring the royal authority, by acting as umpire between the parties; by moderating their differences, and reducing both to a dependence upon himself. He poffeffed all the diffimulation neceffary for the execu tion of this delicate plan; but being deficient in vigour, application, and found understanding, infteac of acquiring a fuperiority over both factions, he loft the confidence of both, and taught the partizans of each to adhere more clofely to their feveral leaders. MEANWHILE, the Hugonots were not only ftrength. ened by the acceffion of the duke of Alençon, the king's brother, afterwards duke of Anjou, and by the arrival of a German army, under the prince of Condé, but by the presence of the gallant king of Navarre, who had alfo made his escape from court, and placed himself at 5 their LXIX. their head. Henry, in profecution of his moderating LETTER scheme, entered into treaty with them; and, defirous of preferving a balance between the factions, granted A.D. 157. peace to the proteftants on the moft advantageous conditions. They obtained the public exercife of their religion, except within two leagues of the court; party-chambers, confifting of an equal number of proteftants and catholics, were erected in all the parlia ments of the kingdom, for the more equitable admiDiftration of juftice; all attainders were reverfed, and eight cautionary towns were put into their hands'. THIS treaty of pacification, which was the fifth concluded with the Hugonots, gave the higheft difguft to the catholics, and afforded the duke of Guife the defired pretence of declaiming against the conduct of the king, and of laying the foundation of that famous LEAGUE, projected by his uncle, the cardinal of Lorrain; an af fociation which, without paying any regard to the royal authority, aimed at the entire fuppreflion of the new do&rines. In order to divert the force of the League. from the throne, and even to obstruct its efforts against the Hugonots, Henry declared himself at the head of A.D. 1577that feditious confederacy, and took the field as leader of the catholics; but his dilatory and feeble meatures discovered his reluctance to the undertaking, and fome unfuccessfulenterprizes brought on a new peace, which, though less favourable than the former to the protef tants, gave no fatisfaction to the followers of the ancient religion. The animofity of party, daily whetted by theological controverfy, was become too keen to admit of toleration: the king's moderation appeared criminal to one faЯtion, and fufpicious to both; while the plain, PART I. direct, and avowed conduct of the duke of Guife on A. D. 1577. one fide, and of the king of Navarre on the other, engaged by degrees the bulk of the nation to enlift themfelves under one or other of thofe great leaders. Religious hate fet at nought all civil regulations, and every private injury became the ground of a public quarel *. THESE Commotions, though of a domestic nature, were too important to be overlooked by foreign princes. Elizabeth queen of England, who always confidered her interefts as connected with the profperity of the French proteftants, and the depreffion of the house of Guife, had repeatedly supplied the Hugonots with confiderable fums of money, notwithstanding her negociations with the court of France. Philip II. of Spain, on the other hand, had declared himself protector of the League, had entered into the closest correspondence with the duke of Guife, and employed all his authority in fupporting the credit of that factious leader. The fubjection of the Hugonots, he flattered himself, would be followed by the fubmiffion of the Flemings; and the fame political motives which induced Elizabeth to affift the French reformers, would have led her to aid the diftreffed proteftants in the Low Countries; but the mighty power of Philip, and the great force which he maintained in thofe mutinous provinces, had hitherto kept her in awe, and made her ftill preferve fome appearance of friendship with that monarch 3. ELIZABETH, however, had given protection to all the Flemish exiles, who took shelter in her dominions; and as many of thefe were the moft induftrious inhabitants of the Netherlands, then fo celebrated for its 2. Thuanus. Davila. 3. Camden. manu |