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Home Foreign Policy, 1649-1688, and the Beginnings of Greater Britain, 1603-1688 1603-1688; Part 4 |
1603-1688; Part 4Meantime the commercial ambitions of Holland and England, especially in Africa and the East Indies, led to continual disputes between the ships of the rival nations and to attacks upon each other's commerce (Two English companies—the Turkish Company and the East India Company—estimated their losses, in consequence of Dutch depredations, at ,£700,000). The desire for war grew, and finally war was declared against Holland in 1665. In this war France was nominally in alliance with Holland, though she took no prominent part in the military operations, which were nearly all at sea. The war was interesting not only because of the toughness of the battles, but because of the part played in them by fire ships—the torpedo boats of that time. The king's brother, James, Duke of York, won a great battle off Lowestoft, in which, with the loss of one ship and with one thousand casualties, he inflicted on the Dutch a loss of some five thousand men and twelve ships (After the battle James went to bed, and, as a consequence of misunderstood orders, the Dutch fleet was not pursued). In the next year (1666) Monck and Rupert, no longer generals on land but "generals at sea", unfortunately separated their fleets, and Monck was defeated in a battle lasting for four days, though his ships behaved well and " fought", it was said, " like a line of cavalry handled according to rule". In 1667 an indelible disgrace was inflicted upon England. Lack of money caused Charles to lay up his ships (No doubt Charles's personal extravagance was partly responsible for the lack of money, but the chief reason was that the war cost much more than was anticipated, while the taxes which Parliament had voted brought in a good deal less). The Dutch, taking advantage of this, sailed up the Medway as far as Chatham, and captured or destroyed sixteen ships. England was lucky to be able, only six weeks later, to make a peace at Breda, by which she obtained, in North America, New Jersey and New Amsterdam—afterwards called, in honour of the duke, New York.Barely a year later (1668) the Peace of Breda developed into a Triple Alliance of England, Holland, and Sweden, with the object of opposing Louis XIV. The Alliance was a popular one in England, but there is reason to suppose that Charles had only consented to it in order later to bring upon the Dutch (Charles disliked the Dutch: " stinking Dutchmen " he was once rude enough to call them) the wrath of the French king. At all events, within a week of the formation of the Alliance, he was intriguing with Louis XIV, and long negotiations, in which the Duchess of Orleans took a prominent part, finally ended in the disgraceful Treaty of Dover (1670). By that treaty, first, Holland was to be partitioned, and Charles, in return for his military support, was to receive a subsidy: secondly, Charles was to declare himself a Roman Catholic "at a convenient opportunity", and, on making the declaration, was to receive from Louis an additional grant of money, and, if necessary, a force of soldiers, in order to be able to repress any disturbance that might occur. Of this latter portion of the treaty only two ministers (Clifford and Arlington, both Roman Catholics, and both members of the "Cabal" ministry) in England were informed; but, in order to deceive the other ministers and the nation, a "sham treaty'7 was drawn up, which had reference only to the proposed war with the Dutch. With the Treaty of Dover the creditable portion of Charles's foreign policy terminates. In the war which followed in 1672 the Dutch made an heroic resistance. They cut their dykes and surrendered part of their land to the sea, in order to preserve it from the French; and their fleet, though defeated off Southwold Bay, more than held its own in the latter portion of the war. In 1674 England was glad to make peace. The power of Holland, however, was broken, and gradually a large portion of her trade fell into English hands. |
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