lowing year, at his folicitation, contracted a double alliance with the branches of the houfe of BOURBON in FRANCE. The Infanta of SPAIN, tho' then only three years of age, was fent to FRANCE as future queen to LEWIS XV. and two of the daughters of the Duke of ORLEANS arrived in SPAIN, to.be married to the Prince of ASTURIAS and the Infant Don CARLOS. The fucceffion of this laft to the Dutchies of PARMA and TUSCANY feemed now to be the chief object of the court of SPAIN. This point and many others were to be fettled at CAMBRAY; but as the Emperor, who had no inclination to gratify the Spaniards, purposely delayed the congrefs, PHILIP this year concluded a particular treaty with the court of GREAT BRITAIN, who having the affiento, or contract of fupplying the Spanish colonies with negroes, renewed, agreed to reftore the ships taken off SICILY.

NOTHING memorable happened in SPAIN during the two following years; but in the beginning of the year after, 1724, PHILIP aftonished all EUROPE, by publicly abdicating his crown in favour of his eldeft fon Don LEWIS, Prince of ASTURIAS, who was then in the feventeenth year of his age. PHILIP himself, tho' he had not reached his fortieth year, had long been fick of regal grandeur. From a weakness of body and mind, the leaft application to bufiness had for fome years given him a disgust; his mind was continually filled with religious fcruples, which rendered him timorous and indecifive in every thing; and he falfely imagined that a sceptre was incompatible with a life of integrity.

THE Spaniards expreffed great joy upon the acceffion of LEWIS I. who was endeared to them, not only by being born among them, but by his generofity, affability, and many other virtues. The public joy, however, was foon turned into mourning, by the unexpected death of the King, who died of the fmall-pox, univerfally regreted, in the eighth month of his reign.

UPON the death of LEWIS, PHILIP was perfuaded to refume the reins of government, and the year following furprised all the powers of EUROPE, by concluding a particular treaty with the Emperor, upon which the different princes recalled their pleni

potentiaries

potentiaries from CAMBRAY, where they had trifled away three years merely in feasting and entertainments. By the treaty of V1ENNA, which was with the utmost secrecy negotiated by the famous RIPERDA, PHILIP refigned all pretenfions to NAPLES, SICILY, the Low-COUNTRIES, and the MILANESE; CHARLES, on the other hand, renounced all claim to SPAIN and the INDIES, and befides, promised to grant the inveftiture of PARMA and TusCANY to Don CARLOS. PHILIP foon after entered into an offenfive and defenfive alliance with the court of VIENNA; to counterbalance which, the courts of GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE and PRUSSIA Concluded a mutual alliance at HANOVER.

THE fyftem of EUROPE by these treaties feemed again changed, especially as PHILIP was at this time greatly irritated against FRANCE, on account of their fending back the Infanta, and now connected himself most closely with the court of VIENNA. The bad understanding betwixt SPAIN and FRANCE was foon followed with a rupture betwixt that court and GREAT BRITAIN. RIPERDA, by concluding the treaty of VIENNA, rose so high in PHILIP's favour, that he was created a Duke and Grandee of SPAIN, and was entrusted with the departments of war, of the marine, the finances, and the INDIES. He enjoyed those honours and offices, however, only a few months; for the different regulations he propofed were fo difguftful to the lazy Spaniards, that he was accused of mal-administration, and not only difgraced, but perfecuted. To fave himself, he took refuge in the house of Mr. STANHOPE, the English ambassador; but the court was fo exafperated against him, that they took him from thence by force, and fent him prisoner to the castle of SEGOVIA. The ENGLISH Ambassador, in refentment for the breach of his privileges, protested against their violence, and left MADRID.

THE Emperor, who was offended with the oppofition he had met with from GREAT BRITAIN, in establishing an Eaft-India company at OSTEND, fomented the differences betwixt this court and SPAIN, and was fo fuccessful at MADRID, that the year following, 1727, in the end of February, the Spaniards laid fiege to GI

BRALTAR. They foon found the enterprize, however, above their Atrength, and, after four months of open trenches, were obliged to retire with disgrace. The bishop of FREJUS, afterwards so well known by the name of Cardinal FLEURI, was at this time labour-ing to establish a general pacification among the powers of Eu-. ROPE, and had prevailed on the Emperor and King of GREAT, BRITAIN, and the States-General to agree with FRANCE in figning the preliminaries for a peace. The Spaniards, who wanted a fair pretence to withdraw from GIBRALTAR, foon after acceded to thefe preliminaries. A general congrefs being then appointed to be held at SOISSONS, PHILIP fent three plenipotentiaries thither, and foon after sent an ambassador for the first time to RUSSIA, who concluded a treaty of commerce between the two nations. As the negotiations at Soissons met with many interruptions, on account of the various claims of the different princes who had fenttheir plenipotentiaries thither, PHILIP, the following year, 1729, concluded a particular treaty at SEVILLE, with GREAT BRITAIN and FRANCE, to which the States General afterwards acceded. By this treaty PHILIP promised no longer to countenance the OSTENDcompany; and the other powers, in return, engaged to guarantee the fucceffion of Don CARLOS to the dutchies of TUSCANY, PARMA, and PLACENTIA, and to affift in introducing 6000 Spaniards into these territories. The Emperor, who could not bear the thoughts of feeing Spanish troops in ITALY, was greatly offended with. this treaty, and endeavoured, by artifice, to render it ineffectual. Accordingly, two years after, when the fucceffion to PARMA and PLACENTIA opened to Don CARLOS by the death of the last Duke of the Farnese family, the Emperor's troops took poffeffion of several fortified places in those dukedoms, under pretence that the widow of the late Duke had been left with child by him. CHARLes however, seeing no way of fecuring those dutchies by negotiation, and being fenfible that the cheat would foon be detected, agreed at length to fuffer 6000 Spaniards to accompany Don CARLOS into ITALY, and alfo engaged to fupprefs the OSTEND-company, which had given fo much offence: GREAT BRITAIN, on the other hand, promifing to guarantee his dominions in ITALY. Soon after, an English fleet joined that of SPAIN, and conducted the

Infant Don CARLOS to LEGHORN, who quietly at length took poffeffion of PARMA, which had been destined to him as his inheritance ever fince his birth.

THE fettlement of Don CARLOS being accomplished, the court of SPAIN turned their views to the recovery of ORAN. An army of 25,000 men was accordingly fent to AFRICA under the command of the Count de MONTEMAR, who totally defeated the Moorish army, and in less than a month made himself master of the place, tho' it was defended by a garrison of 10,0co men.

THE recovery of their African poffeffions was far from fatisfying the ambition of the Spanish court; who now eagerly embraced an opportunity of breaking with the Emperor, and thereby extending their dominions in ITALY. The throne of POLAND becoming vacant, by the death of the Elector of SAXONY, the greatest part of the POLES elected STANISLAUS, who had formerly been their King; but a few of the most powerful chofe the new Elector of SAXONY, and the son of their late King. STANISLAUS was fupported by his fon-in-law, LEWIS XV. of FRANCE, who, on this occafion, entered into an offenfive and defenfive alliance with the Kings of SPAIN and SARDINIA. The Emperor CHARLES, and the Czarina zealously espoused the cause of the other competitor.

THE war which enfued was very favourable to the Spaniards, who, in one campaign, made an entire conqueft of the kingdom of NAPLES. The year following, 1735, Don CARLOS completed the conqueft of SICILY, and was crowned as King of the Two SICILIES in PALERMO, the capital city of the island. The Emperor, in the mean time, being driven out of almost all his poffeffions in LOMBARDY and TUSCANY, and being alfo unable to oppofe the French armies on the RHINE, folicited the mediation of the maritime powers, who by threatning to take part in the war, prevailed on the contending parties to agree to a fufpension of arms in the beginning of winter. As the Elector of SAXONY was by this time fecurely fixed upon the throne of POLAND, and the interceffion of the maritime powers cut off all hopes from the French and Spaniards of enlarging their conquefts in ITALY and GERMANY,

they were obliged to continue the armiftice, and to negotiate a

peace.

THE preliminary articles of the treaty which were fettled by the courts of VIENNA and PARIS, being published in the beginning of the year 1736, were far from being fatisfactory to the court of SPAIN, because, tho' they were allowed to keep NAPLES and SICILY, it was propofed they should restore PARMA and PLACENTIA to the Emperor, and renounce all claim to TUSCANY. The maritime powers, however, acquiefcing in the difpofition that had been made, SPAIN was obliged to fubmit, and the year following upon the death of JOHN GASTON DE MEDICIS, the laft male defcendant of that illuftrious family, the Spanish troops evacuated TUSCANY, which by the treaty then negotiating, was given to the Duke of LORRAIN and BAR, who in the beginning of the preceding year had married the Arch-Dutchefs MARIATHERESA, the heirefs of the family of AUSTRIA.

THE peace, which had been negotiating near three years, was at length concluded at VIENNA in the month of November 1738. By this treaty, PARMA and PLACENTIA were ceded in full propriety to the Emperor; and his fon-in-law was declared Duke of TUSCANY; the Duke, in return, ceding his dutchies of BAR and LORRAIN, to the exiled King STANISLAUS, upon whose death they were to be annexed to the crown of FRANCE. The fiefs of the FORTONESE and VIGEVANCSA were detached from the MILANESE in favour of the King of SARDINIA, and Don CARLOS was left in poffeffion of the kingdoms of NAPLES and SICILY, with fome places on the coaft of TUSCANY.

THE treaty of VIENNA was hardly ratified, when SPAIN was threatened with a new war with GREAT BRITAIN, on account of the disputes, which, for fome time, had subfifted between the two courts, about the freedom of commerce in AMERICA. The British court had, for fome years, made loud complaints of the piracies and hostilities committed in the American feas, by the Spa-, nish guarda-costas, who, on trifling and false pretences, feized

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