1708. Charles's demand, a legate a latere, to compliment his royal confort in her paffage through Italy, and to treat her as queen of Spain, having given a fresh difguft to the courts of Vienna and Barcelona, the imperial troops, commanded by monfieur de Bonneval, in conjunction with those of the duke of Modena, invaded the duchy of Ferrara, and took poffeffion of Comachio, a fea-port town on the Adriatic sea, Lugo, Argenta, Canale, Prefnero, Magnavacca, Condegoro, Pampofa, Bagnecavallo, and fome other small places, on pretence of their being allodial ftates, belonging to the duke of Modena, and fiefs of the emperor, to which the holy fee had no lawful claim, and which were exprefly excepted in the treaty between Clement the eighth and Cæfar of Efte. At the fame time the viceroy of Naples forbid, on pain of death and banishment, the remitting any money to Rome, or any other part of the territories of the church; and the council of the kingdom drew up a long memorial of the pretenfions of his catholic majesty against the court of Rome, which ftruck at the very foundations of the temporal power of the pope. Upon the firft alarm of the Imperialists marching into the Ferrarefe, the pope wrote a letter to the emperor, wherein he remonftrated, "That these things were attempted by the abuse of his imperial majesty's name, against all juftice, equity, and reverence due to "the Roman pontiff, and the rights of the church: that "they were contrary to the divine and human laws, and re"pugnant to the title of the defender of the church, which "his famous ancestors had taken as a great honour and glory." The pope declared withal, "That he would af-. "fert this caufe, though he fhould be fure to lose his life C's upon that account.' But, before his letter reached Vienna, general Bonneval had put his orders in execution; and, when received, it rather exafperated than allayed the refentment of the emperor, who thereby plainly faw that the pope was so far from offering any fatisfaction, that, on the contrary, he threatened him both with his fpiritual and temThe pope poral arms. poral arms. And, indeed, the pope refolved to repel force by force; and, for that purpose, began to raise an army, the command of which he gave to count Marfigli, who was formerly difmiffed the emperor's fervice, for not performing his duty at the fiege of Brifac. At the fame time the pope's minifters revived the project, which they had fet on foot three years before, of a league of the princes and ftates of Italy, for their mutual fecurity, which was defeated by the terror of the confederate fleet. Nor had his holiness's ear railes an army. neft application to the French king for fuccours better fuccefs, that prince having, at this juncture, too much work upon his own hands, and his country lying, befides, at too great a distance from the ecclefiaftical state. Notwithstanding these disappointments, the court of Rome went on with their new levies, which were increased by the troops fent from Avignon. But though the pope's fubjects drew the first blood in the Ferrarese, and forced the Germans to quit feveral pofts; yet the emperor, chufing rather the way of negotiation than of the fword, fent orders to the marquis de Prié, a Piedmontese lord, to purfue his journey to Rome, to know from the pope himfelf, whether he could have peace or war? in the mean time, his imperial majefty, and the duke of Savoy, by their interceffion with the queen of Great Britain, suspended the execution of the orders fent to Sir John Leake for bombarding and destroying Civita Vecchia. The pope's officers being exhaufted, he held a confistory on the 24th of September, N. S. at which affifted forty-two cardinals, whom he acquainted, "That he was obliged to "have recourse to extraordinary means, and therefore thought, that part of the three millions of golden crowns, depofited by Sixtus the fifth in the caftle of St. Angelo, "ought to be employed in these preffing neceffities of the church." His propofal appeared extraordinary to some cardinals, who reprefented, that this treafure was facred, and never to be made ufe of, but when all other means failed: that the prefent cafe of the church was indeed difficult enough, yet far from being defperate, fince they had to deal with the first chriftian prince, who could not have in view the deftruction of the church: that this difpute might be made up in a pacific way, instead of being decided by the fword. And therefore they exhorted the pope to confider seriously the fa-` tal confequences of a rafh rupture with the emperor, and to ftand on his guard against the fuggeftions of fome fiery perfons, who were altogether for war, in hopes to better their fortunes during the confufions of it. But this representation had little effect upon the pope, who was too partial to hearken to any advice, that was not for the intereft of France; and, moft of the cardinals there present being of the French and Spanish factions, they refolved to take out of the treafury of the caftle of St. Angelo five hundred thousand golden crowns, upon a folemn promife made by the pope, that the like fum fhould be again deposited in the fame place as foon as the war was over. The pope was so highly elated with his fuccefs in this. important debate, that he declared he would not hearken to F 3 any 1708. S. 1708. any proposals made on the part of the emperor, nor receive any envoy or minifter from him, till the imperial forces were withdrawn from Comachico, and other parts of the ecclefiaftical ftate; which rafh refolution was probably fuggefted to him by the marshal de Teffé, who was lately come to Rome Sept. 13. N. with the character of the French king's ambaffador extraordinary, in order to inflame the rupture, and encourage the pope with great afluranees of fupport. He was ordered likewife to try, whether the grand duke of Tuscany, and the republics of Venice and Genoa, could be engaged in an alliance against the Imperialifts. The emperor bore all the pope's threats with great patience, till the [duke of Savoy ended the campaign, when the imperial troops, that had been commanded by that duke, were ordered to march into the pope's territories, and were joined by fome more forces drawn out of the Milanefe and the Mantuan. The pope's troops began the war in a very barbarous manner; for, while they were in a fort of a ceffation, they surprised a body of the Imperialifts, and without mercy put them to the fword. But, as the imperial army advanced, the Papalins, or, as the Italians in derifion called them, the Papagallians fled every where before them, even when they were three to one. As they came on, the pope's territories and places were all caft open to them. Bologna, the most important and richest of them all, capitulated, and receive them without the leaft refiftance. The people at Rome were uneafy at the pope's proceedings, and at the apprehenfions of a new fack from a German army. They fhewed this fo openly, that tumults there were much dreaded, and many cardinals declared openly against the war. Upon this the pope declared, that he was ready to receive the marquis de Prié, who arrived at Rome on the 24th of October, N. S. however many days paffed before the pope would admit him to his audience, upon a pun&ilio about the ceremonial, becaufe he had no other character than of plenipotentiary of the emperor, which, it was pretended, was not admitted at the papal court. This diffi culty being at last removed by the pope's fignifying to the marquis, that he would receive him with the fame ceremonies, as were obferved at the audience of count Martinitz, when he went through Rome for Naples, to take poffeffion of the dignity of viceroy of that kingdom, that minifter went to his audience, on the 10th of November, N. S. and, in a few days after, delivered his propofals for an accommodation, importing in fubftance, " 1. That the pope fhould difband his new "levies, 2. Give winter-quarters to the imperial troops in his "his territories. 3. And the inveftiture of Naples to 1708. "Charles III, and acknowledge him as king of Spain. "And, 4. That he should allow the Imperialists paffage 66 through his dominions, as often as there fhould be occa- The pope "fion.' The pope was amazed at these high terms, but fubmits. there was no remedy left. The ill ftate of affairs in France was now fo vifible, that no regard was had to the great promifes, which Teffé was making, nor was there any hopes of drawing the princes and states of Italy into an alliance for his defence. In conclufion the pope, after he had delayed yielding to the emperors demands long enough to give the Imperialifts time to eat up his country, at laft fubmitted to every thing; yet he delayed acknowledging king Charles for fome months, though he then promised to do it; upon which the emperor drew his troops out of his territories. The pope turned over the manner of acknowledging king Charles to a congregation of cardinals; but they had no mind to take the load of this upon themselves, which would draw an exclufion upon them from France in every conclave, and therefore left it to the pope, who affected delays; so it was not done till the 15th of January, 1709, N. S. Burnet, With regard to the campaign in Germany, the elector of Campaign in Bavaria had been fent to command on the Upper Rhine. Germany. The true reason was believed, that he might not pretend to continue in the chief command in Flanders. He was put in hopes of being furnished with an army fo ftrong, as to be able to break through into Bavaria. The elector of Hanover again undertook the command of the army of the empire, Both armies were weak, but they were fo equally weak, that they were not able to undertake any thing on either fide; and therefore, after fome months, in which there was no confiderable action, the forces on both fides went into winter-quarters. The affairs in Hungary continued in the fame ill ftate, in Affairs in which they had been for fome years. The emperor did not Hungary, grant the demands of the diet, that he had called; nor did he redrefs their grievances; and he had not a force ftrong enough to reduce the malecontents; fo that his council could not fall on methods, either to fatisfy or fubdue them, Poland continued ftill to be a scene of war and mifery, and in PoTo other calamities they had the addition of a plague, which land. laid fome of their great towns wafte. The Party formed a gainst Stanislaus continued ftill to oppofe him, though they had no king to head them. The king of Sweden's warlike humour poffeffed him to fuch a degree, that he refolved ta F 4 march 1708. march into Mufcovy. The czar tried, how far fubmiffions and interceffions could foften him; but he was inflexible. He marched through the Ukrain, but made no great progrefs. The whole Mufcovite force fell on one of his generals, who had about him only a part of the total defeat, most of his horfe being cut off. Affairs at fea. Commodore army, and gave him a The elector Palatine was this year restored to the posseffion of the Upper Palatinate, with the title and rank, which had been vefted in the houfe of Bavaria by the treaty of Munfter. And the elector of Brunfwick Lunenburg was at laft acknowledged as fuch by the electoral college. The duke of Savoy received the inveftiture of the Mantuan, Montferrat, and other adjacent countries; and the ban of the empire was, on the 30th of June, N. S. published against the duke of Mantua, which probably haftened his death, which happened five days after. The mediation of GreatBritain did not a little contribute towards the pacifying of the inteftine divifions of the city of Hamburgh. But though, at the defire of the king of Sweden, the queen had readily accepted the guaranty of the treaty of Alt-Ranftadt, yet the reformed in Silefia received no benefit from her majefty's earneft interpofition in their favour; the court of Vienna, now freed from the dread of the king of Sweden's resentment, pretending, that the Lutherans only, and not the Calvinifts, were included, both in that treaty, and in that of Weftphalia. Our affairs at fea were lefs unfortunate this year, than they had been formerly. The merchants were better served with convoys, and no confiderable loffes were fuftained. Commodore Wager gained a fignal advantage against the Spanish galleons in the Weft-Indies. He had, on the 22d of December, 1707, returned to Jamaica, from the coast of Hifpaniola, upon fome advices of the arrival of monfieur Du Caffe, with a French fquadron of great force, in order, as it was fuppofed, to make fome attempt upon Jamaica. The next day the commodore, being then with his fquadron in Port-Royal harbour, held a council of war, to confider of the feveral advices he had received. During the month of January, he fent out feveral fhips to cruize, and to get intelligence of the enemy; and, on the 5th of February, it was refolved, in a council of war, to go over to the Spanish coaft. Accordingly, the commodore failed in a few days after to the kevs, where he was joined by feveral other fhips and floops. Upon advice, that the Spanish galleons were gone from Carthagena for Porto-Bello, the commodore failed with fuch |