1711. time in putting the British troops into the best condition he could; but ftill no remittances came. The enemy had marched out of their quarters fome time before, and were advancing towards the Urgel; fo it was thought high time for our army to be in motion, to oppose their progress. As no money came, the duke was obliged to borrow ten thoufand pounds on his own credit, which was but of little fervice.

Vendofme's army was in fo ill a condition, that Staremberg, if he had been fupported, promised himself great advantages. He marched towards the enemy with the Spaniards and the Germans, and the duke of Argyle with the English. The confiderable pass of Prato del Rey was the scene of action this campaign; it was regularly and warmly attacked by the duke of Vendofme, and as vigorously defended by our generals. At last, the enemy was obliged to retire, and leave us in poffeffion of the pass. The duke of Argyle was foon after seized with a violent fever, and obliged to return to Barcelona, where it was a long time before he was perfectly recovered. In the beginning of June, Sir John Jennings, with a fleet, arrived before Barcelona, and fuperfeded Sir John Norris, who failed back to England.

The duke of Vendofme ordered the caftles of Venafque, Arens, and Cardona, to be invefted, but without fuccefs. The fiege of Cardona was obftinately perfifted in. This caftle ftands upon a high hill near the mountains. The garrifon being foon reduced to great extremities, Staremberg ordered a convoy of provifions to be got ready, and five hundred grenadiers, fupported by fome regiments, to see it fafe into the caftle. The command of the grenadiers fell upon colonel Edward Stanhope, who attacked part of a French brigade that was pofted in the way to the gate of the caftle; and, having routed them, faw all the provifions delivered into the place. After which, the colonel drew his grenadiers upon a rifing ground on the fide of the castle, to refresh them, and going too near the eminence, under which the enemy had retired, a foldier fhot him through the body, of which wound he foon after died (g). By the help of this convoy, the garrifon held out till the end

(g) The famous town of Manciffa, to which he was carried before he expired, out of refpect to his name, fuffered his body to be interred in the hofpital

burying-ground, a favour allowed to no other proteftant officer, during the feven years our author was in Spain. M. S.

of

of December, when Staremberg fent fome bodies to raife the 1711. fiege, who fucceeded fo well in their attempt, that they killed two thousand of the befiegers, and forced their camp; fo that they not only raised the siege, but made themselves mafters of the enemy's artillery, ammunition, and baggage; and the duke of Vendofme's army was fo diminished, that, if Staremberg had received the affistance, which he expected from England, he would have penetrated far into Spain. But nothing was done, after all the zeal exprefied by the parliament and ministry, for retrieving matters on that fide. The duke of Argyle wrote over heavy complaints, that he was not supported, by the failing of the remittances he had expected. Notwithstanding these complaints, when he afterwards came over, he was very filent, and seemed in a good understanding with the minifters.

Charles to

The emperor's death, as it immediately opened to king The elecCharles the fucceffion to the hereditary dominions, fo a dif- tion of king pofition appeared unanimoufly, among all the electors, to be emperor. chufe him emperor. However, he ftaid in Barcelona till Burnet, September, and then leaving his queen there, to fupport his affairs in Spain, he failed over to Italy. He staid some weeks at Milan, where the duke of Savoy came to him; and it was faid, that all matters in debate were adjusted between them. It was hoped this campaign would have produced fomething in those parts advantageous to the common cause, upon the agreement made before the emperor Jofeph's death, who, a few days before he was taken ill, granted to the duke of Savoy the poffeffion of the fiefs in Montferrat. And Mr. St. John, when he moved in the house of commons for the fubfidies to the duke of Savoy, said, all our hopes of fuccefs this year lay in that quarter, for in Flanders we could do nothing. The duke indeed took the field, forced his way into Savoy, and penetrated as far as the Rhine; but, upon what views it was not then known, he ftopped his course, and, after a fhort campaign, re-paffed the mountains.

The election of the emperor came on at Francfort, where fome electors came in perfon, others fent their deputies. Some weeks were fpent in preparing the capitulations; great applications were made to them, to receive deputies from the electors of Bavaria and Cologne; but they were rejected, for they were under the Ban of the empire: nor were they pleafed with the interpofition of the pope's nuncio, who gave them much trouble in that matter; but they perfifted in refufing to admit them. Francfort lay fo near VOL. XVII. Bb

the

1711. the frontier of the empire, that it was apprehended, the French might have made an attempt that way; for they drew fome detachments from their army in Flanders, to increase their forces on the Rhine, as hath been related. This it was that obliged the court of Vienna to send orders to prince Eugene to march with a detachment from Flanders towards the Rhine. He came in good time to secure the electors at Francfort; who, being now fafe from the fear of any infult, went on flowly in all that they thought fit to propofe, previous to an election; and concluded unanimoufly to chufe Charles, who was now declared emperor, by the name of Charles the Sixth: he went from Milan to Infpruck, and from thence to Francfort, where he was crowned with the ufual folemnity. Thus that matter was happily ended, and no action happened on the Rhine all this campaign.

The king of

Pruffia

preffes the

The endeavours used to adjust the difputes about the fucceffion of the late king William were rendered unsuccessful fettling the by a fatal accident. An accommodation was attempted in fucceflion of the beginning of the spring; and the king of Pruffia repairking Wil- ing to the Hague foon after, to prefs the conclufion of that Hift. of Eur, affair, the prince of Naffau-Friefeland, the other party, was

liam.

of Naffau

drowned.

earnestly defired by him to come thither alfo. The prince complied, though not without fome reluctance to leave the confederate army in the middle of the campaign. But, upon the 14th of June, N. S. being come to Moerdyke in his way to the Hague, and being obliged to ferry over the Ames, by reafon of the fatigue of his journey, and the rain, which fell in great abundance, he chofe to continue in his coach with Mr. Hilken, his mafter of horfe, and colonel of his The prince guards. A funden tempeftuous wind arofe, with which, and the disturbance of the water occafioned by it, the horses were fo frighted, that they immediately leaped overboard, and dragged the coach into the Ames; fo that the prince and his companion were foon drowned, notwithstanding all the endeavours of one of his fervants, who loft his life in attempting to fave his mafter's. The death of this prince, who was eminent for his bravery and great qualities, was univerfally lamented by the ftates, and the inhabitants of the United Provinces, and particularly by the army, who had been eye-witnefies of his conduct and resolution in the memorable fieges of Lifle, Doway, and Mons, the battle of Oudenarde, and chiefly in that of Blaregnies.

Affairs in Turkey, Burnet

The war between the Turks and the czar came to a quick end. The czar advanced with his army fo far into Molda

via, that he was cut off from his provifions. An engagement followed, in which both fides pretended they had the advantage. It is certain, the czar found he was reduced to great extremities; for he proposed, in order to a peace, to furrender Azoph, with fome other places, and demanded, that the king of Sweden might be fent home to his own country. The grand vizier was glad to obtain fo speedy a conclufion of the war; and, notwithstanding the great oppofition made by the king of Sweden, he concluded a peace with the Muscovites, not without fufpicion of his being corrupted by money. The king of Sweden, being highly offended at this, charged the grand vizier with neglecting the great advantages he had over the czar, fince he and his whole army were at mercy; and he prevailed fo far at the Porte, that upon it the grand vizier was depofed, and there was an appearance of a war ready to break out the next year; for the czar delayed the rendering Azoph, and the other places agreed to be delivered up; pretending, that the king of Sweden was not fent home, according to agreement; yet, to prevent a new war, all the places were at length given up.

1711.

merania.

Towards the end of this year, the Danes and Saxons and in Pobroke in by concert upon Pomerania, refolving to befiege Stralfund; but every thing neceffary for a fiege came fo flowly from Denmark, that no progrefs was made, though the troops lay near the place for fome months; and in that time the Swedes landed a confiderable body of men in the ifle of Rugen. At laft the befiegers, being in want of every thing, were forced to raise the fiege, and to retire from that neighbourhood in the beginning of January. They fat, down next before Wismar; but that attempt likewife mifcarried, which rendered the conduct of the king of Denmark very contemptible, who thus obftinately carried on a war, at a time, that the plague fwept away a third part of the people of Copenhagen, with as little conduct as fuccefs.

to Brafil.

No action happened at fea this year, for the French fitted The French out no fleet. All they did this fummer was the fending a expedition fquadron of fourteen or fifteen men of war under the command of Du Guay Trouin in America, where they already had another squadron, commanded by Du Caffe. Du Guay's expedition was for fome time kept fecret; but at laft it was known, that, having entered the bay of Rio de Janeiro in Brafil, he obliged the Portuguese to run afhore, and fet on fire their men of war in that port; after which he made Bb 2 himself

1711.

The Canada

himself mafter of the town of St. Sebaftian; and, having kept poffeffion of it two months, failed from thence the 13th of November, carrying away fix hundred ten thousand crufadoes, befides a great quantity of fugar, and other rich plunder, which they valued at seven millions of livres, and pretended, that the whole lofs fuftained by the Portuguese amounted to five and twenty millions. On the other hand, the French made this year fome unsuccessful attempts on the Leeward Islands; and, about the fame time, commodore Littleton took a Spanish galleon, and another ship of twentyfix guns, richly laden, in the Weft-Indies.

An expedition was defigned by fea for taking Quebec and expedition. Placentia in North-America. This defign was formed by Hist, of Eur. colonel Nicholfon, who had taken poffeffion of Nova Scotia,

put a garrifon into Port-Royal, and called it Annapolis. The four Indian chiefs, whom the colonel had brought over with him in the fpring of the year 1710, had alfo promoted it, by reprefenting the dangers our fettlements on the continent of America were threatened with from that quarter. Indeed the driving the French out of thofe parts would have driven them alfo out of the Newfoundland trade entirely, and been a very great fecurity to New-England and NewYork. To execute this defign, troops were fent for from Flanders, and, with others in England, put on board tranfports under the command of brigadier Hill, brother to Mrs. Masham, the new favourite, confifting of about five thoufand men (h). A ftrong fquadron of men of war under Sir Hovendon Walker, was ordered to convey the transport fleet (i). They all failed from Plymouth the 4th of May, and arrived at Bofton in New-England the 4th of June. General Hill and admiral Walker going afhore, a council of war was held, in which it was refolved to land the troops, the provifions which they expected to be furnished with at Bofton not being in any readinefs. The fleet, upon their arrival here, confifted of twelve men of war, forty transportfhips, and fix ftore-fhips, with all manner of warlike ftores, and a fine train of artillery, with forty horfe for the use of the fame, commanded by colonel King, with proper officers.

(h) The regiments of Kirk, Hill, Clayton, Wadnefs, Seymour, Defannay, and a battalion of marines commanded by colonel Charles Churchill.

(i) The Edgar, Monmouth,

Devonshire, Humber, Swiftfure, Kingston, Sunderland, Moun tague, and Dunkirk. Thofe were to be reinforced by other ships in the Weft-Indies.

On