Page The ships of his squadron touch at the Moluccas, or Spice- ibid. 1522 Juan Sebastian del Cano, one of his captains, returns to Europe by the Cape of Good-Hope The Spanish merchants eagerly engage in a trade with the Moluccas ibid. Jealousy of the Portuguese Trade between those islands and the Spanish settlements How conducted A. D. ibid. Extent of the Portuguese dominions in the East-Indies ibid. ibid. ibid. Corruption of the Oriental government 1572 The Indian princes confederate against them 1580 Portugal falls under the dominion of Spain Fatal effects of that Revolution 1594 Philip II. prohibits all intercourse betweeen Consequences of that prohibition The dutch being shut out from the markets 1595 Voyage of Cornelius Houtman thither 1597 Of Van Neck, who trades with the inhabitants of the Moluc- cas, and establishes factories in several of the islands 464 1602 Incorporation of the Dutch East-India Company ibid. Admiral Warwick sails to the East with fourteen ships 1619 Peace between the two companies War between the Portuguese and Dutch in the East- They also make themselves masters of the Portuguese settle- ments in Brazil, which they hold till the year 1654 466 Rise of the English East-India Company [.D. 1600.] ibid. Indies ibid. 1616 They send thither ships of force Erect forts, and establish factories, in the islands of The Dutch endeavour to dispossess them Bloody engagements in the Indian-Ocean ibid. - English East-India Company obliged to abandon the trade of Low state of their trade during the reign of Charles I. ibid. Early discoveries of the English in North America ibid. Sir Walter Raleigh projects the settlement of Vir- Adventurers of the London Company, under Christo- pher Newport, land in the bay of Chesapeake, and build James-Town, in Virginia [A. D. 1606] Rapid progress of that colony Different governments formed in New-England View of the English settlements in the West-Indies ibid. OF MODERN EUROPE. PART I. FROM THE RISE OF THE MODERN KINGDOMS TO THE PEACE OF WESTPHALIA, IN 1648. LETTER LXIX. A GENERAL VIEW OF THE TRANSACTIONS OF EUROPE, FROM THE DEATH OF CHARLES IX. IN 1574, TO THE ACCESSION OF HENRY IV. THE FIRST KING OF THE BRANCH OF BOUR BON, TO THE THRONE OF FRANCE, IN 1589; INCLUDING THE RISE OF THE REPUBLIC OF HOLLAND, THE UNHAPPY CATASTROPHE 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 singular events, which the period before us contains, would rather perplex the memory than inform the judg ment. I shall therefore, my dear Philip, content myself with offering you a general survey. Consequences are chiefly to be noted. The death of Charles IX. though the subject of rejoicing among the Hugonots, was far from healing the wounds of France, yet bleeding from the late His brother, the duke of Anjou, who succeed A D. 1574. massacres. ed ed him under the name of Henry III. and who, as I have already observed, had been elected king of Poland, whence he eloped with the secrecy of a felon, found the kingdom in the greatest disorder imaginable. The people were divided into two theological factions, furious from their zeal, and mutually enraged from the injuries which they had committed or suffered. Each part had devoted itself to leaders, whose commands were of more weight than the will of the sovereign; even the Catholics, to whom the king was attached, being entirely guided by the counsels of the duke of Guise and his family. Henry, by the advice of the queen-mother, who had governed the kingdom till his arrival, laid a scheme for restoring the royal authority, by acting as umpire between the parties; by moderating their differences, and reducing both to a dependence upon himself. He possessed all the dissimulation necessary for the execution of this delicate plan; but being deficient in vigour, application, and sound understanding, instead of acquiring a superiority over both factions, he lost the confidence of both, and taught the partizans of each to adhere more closely to their several leaders. Meanwhile the Hugonots were not only strengthened by the accessions of the duke of Alençon, the king's brother, afterwards duke of Anjou, and by the arrival of A. D. 1575. a German army, under the prince of Condé, but by the presence of the gallant king of Navarre, who had also made his escape from court, and had placed himself at their head. Henry, in prosecution of his moderating scheme, entered into treaty with them: and, desirous of A. D. 1576. preserving a balance between the factions, granted peace to the Protestants on the most advantageous conditions. They obtained the public exercise of their religion, except within two leagues of the court; party-chambers, consisting of an equal number of Protestants and Catholics, were erected in all the Parliaments of the kingdom, for the more equitable administration of. |