the English fhips in their paffage to their own colonies, and not only made prize of them, but treated their crews with the greatest inhumanity. The court of SPAIN, on the other hand, alleged, that the British merchants, in violation of folemn treaties, had, for many years, carried on a clandeftine trade with the Spanish colonies in AMERICA, by which the commerce of SPAIN had been greatly prejudiced; that SPAIN was, therefore, greatly interested in putting a stop to fuch an illicit traffic, and that those who were feized in carrying it on could not justly complain of

any injury.

BOTH nations infifted loudly on the injuries they had received; but each evaded giving any fatisfaction as to those injuries which their respective fubjects had committed. The Spaniards, indeed, amufed the English with hopes of redrefs; they sent orders to their commanders in AMERICA to ceafe hoftilities; yet they connived at the breach of those orders; and returned evasive answers to all representations that were made to them on that head. Their prefumption was not fo much owing to a confidence in their own ftrength, as to their opinion of the paffiveness of the British miniftry, and their knowledge of the violent contentions between the different parties in this island.

IT was certainly the intereft of both parties to avoid coming to extremities; but the Spaniards not acting with fincerity, even in their negotiations for a peaceable accommodation of all differences, and aiming by the famous convention concluded in the beginning of the following year, to quiet the complaints, without having the causes of them fully difcuffed, the court of LONDON was at length provoked to iffue letters of reprizals against the Spaniards, their veffels and effects. This ftep was foon followed by declarations of war at LONDON and MADRID, and both nations began hoftilities with great animofity. The Spaniards at first made confiderable advantages by the capture of great numbers of English fhips; but they were foon alarmed with the news of the lofs of PORTO BELLO, which was taken in the beginning of December 1739, by Admiral VERNON. About the fame time, they fuffered very confiderably by the ravages of the Barbary corfairs

on their coafts, and were threatened with the lofs of their richest provinces in AMERICA, by a confpiracy formed by one CORDOVA, who pretended to be defcended from the antient Incas of PERU. The confpiracy however was happily difcovered before it took effect, and the author of it put to death.

THE following year the Spaniards fent a fleet of 18 fhips of the line to the WEST-INDIES, with a defign, as it was fuppofed, of attacking JAMAICA. The French likewife, though they ftill profeffed a neutrality, fent two fquadrons to the American seas, to act defensively in favour of the Spaniards, being bound by treaty to guarantee their territories. The English, in the mean time, blind to their own internal ftrength, fuffered themfelves most abfurdly to be alarmed with the rumour of an invafion from SPAIN, and neglected fending fuccours to Admiral VERNON, who had bombarded CARTHAGENA, and taken CHAGRE, a town on the river of that name, the head of which is but a few miles diftant from PANAMA, on the South Sea.

ABOUT the fame time, General OGLETHORPE, Governor of GEORGIA, attacked Fort ST. AUGUSTINE, the capital of Spanish FLORIDA; but, after lying fome weeks before the place, he was obliged to withdraw, with lofs. In the end of OCTOBER 1740, the English, at length, fent out a moft powerful fleet, as a reinforcement to Admiral VERNON, who, the following year, in the month of March, invested CARTHAGENA by fea and land, with a fleet of 29 fhips of the line, and an army of about 12,000 men. The Spaniards, however, by the dilatorinefs of the English ministry, having had leifure to reinforce the garrison, and the season of the year being very unfavourable to troops in the field, the English, after a fiege of fome weeks, were obliged to retire, with the lofs of feveral thousand men. The neglect of timeously supporting Admiral VERNON was very fortunate for SPAIN, for, if he had commanded but half that force the preceding year, when he made the first attack upon CARTHAGENA, he would, in all probability, have reduced that city as well as CHAGRE; and, as the paffage from this last place to

d 2

PA

PANAMA is but very short, the land troops might also have reduced that town, which would have enabled them to co-operate with Commodore ANSON, who had failed round CAPEHORN, and this year began to act offensively against the Spanish fettlements on the South Sea.

THE bad fuccefs of the English arms in the WEST-INDIES occafioned great joy in SPAIN; and PHILIP, as a reward for the bravery of the Marquis de ESLABA, Governor of CARTHAGENA, promoted him to the rank of Captain-general, and created him Viceroy of PERU. PHILIP, fome months before, had published a memorial, claiming the fucceffion of the hereditary dominions of his rival CHARLES VI. who had died at VIENNA in the month of October, and was fucceeded by his eldest daughter, MARIA THERESA, who took the title of Queen of HUNGARY. All that the Catholic King aimed at by this claim, was the fecuring of LOMBARDY for his third fon, Don PHILIP, which, he thought, would, at this time, be an easy prize, as the Queen of HUNGARY was unexpectedly attacked by the King of PRUSSIA, and alfo by the Elector of BAVARIA, who was affifted by the Kings of FRANCE and POLAND. However while thefate of CARTHAGENA depended, the Spaniards made not the least efforts against their new enemy; but, upon receiving the news of the repulfe of the English, they affembled a body of forces at BARCELONA, which failed for NAPLES in the month of November, under the command of the Duke de MONTEThose troops were reinforced the following year 1742 from SPAIN, and, being joined by the Neapolitans, formed an army of about 60,000 men, MONTEMAR then advanced through the ecclesiastical state as far as the Bolognese: but the King of SARDINIA declaring for the Queen of HUNGARY, and joining the Auftrian army, the Spaniards were obliged to retreat, in the end of fummer, to the kingdom of NAPLES, where, foon after their arrival, they loft their Neapolitan allies, Don CARLOS being forced to agree to a neutrality, by an English fquadron, which threatened to bombard his capital. This was a great difappointment to the Spaniards, for they depended upon being fuperior in ITALY before the end of the campaign, as Don PHI

MAR.

LIP, after marching through FRANCE at the head of 30,000 men, had now entered SAVOY, and taken poffeffion of CHAMBERRY. PHILIP expected to conquer this dutchy, while the King of SARDINIA was oppofing MONTEMAR; but, to his great furprize, the Piedmontefe, who had left pursuing MonTEMAR, quickly attacked him, and obliged him to retreat to FRANCE.

THE Spaniards, notwithstanding the bad fuccefs of their arms, were still bent upon pursuing their ambitious views in ITALY, where they supported their armies at a great expence for several campaigns, the detail of which is of no great importance. The Count de GAGES, and their other generals, instead of having any profpect of making, conquests in that country, found themselves every year obliged to ftruggle with new obftacles; and any flattering fucceffes they met with were more than counterbalanced by the advantages gained by their enemies. Their perseverance in the unfuccefsful war in ITALY was chiefly owing to the Queen, who having gained a great afcendancy over her husband, prevailed him to facrifice every thing to procure a fettlement for her fon PHILIP; and her views were feconded by the prime minister, the Marquis ENSENADA, who having been first raised from an obfcure ftation, by the favour of the Count de GAGES, was very active and zealous in furnishing him with supplies, which, however, were feldom adequate to the neceffities of the army..

upon

FORTUNATELY for SPAIN, the attention of the English was alfo drawn off to an unnational object, which exhausted their revenues, and prevented them from profecuting the war in AMERICA with any vigour. King GEORGE, who had efpoufed the caufe of the Queen of HUNGARY, not only affifted her by large fubfi-. dies, but most imprudently tranfported his troops to FLANDERS,. and maintained a large army on the continent, at an immense expence, while naval armaments were almoft wholly neglected. Because one enterprize in AMERICA had proved unfuccessful, the English feemed to conclude, that it would be in vain to hope for fuccefs in any other. Admiral VERNON, after his return from CARTHAGENA, made a defcent upon. CUBA near ST. JAGO; but the:

troops

troops, instead of attacking that place, were fuffered to remain feveral months inactive in their camp, where the greatest part of them were cut off by fickness.

In the beginning of this year, a small reinforcement arriving at JAMAICA, Admiral VERNON again failed for POR TO BELLO, General WENTWORTH, who commanded the land troops, propofing to crofs the ifthmus, and attack PANAMA: but when they arrived at the Spanish coaft, it was agreed, that the enterprize was impracticable. They accordingly failed back to JaMAICA, and in the end of the year returned to ENGLAND. The Spaniards at St. AUGUSTINE in the mean time had made an attempt upon GEORGIA, with two frigates and 30 other veffels, on board of which were 3000 land-forces: but General OGLETHORPE quickly obliged them to retire.

THE following year, 1743, the Spaniards were fo intent upon fupporting their arms in ITALY, that they wholly omitted profecuting the war againft ENGLAND, unless by their privateers, who made a great many prizes both in EUROPE and AMERICA. The affairs of the empire in the mean time chiefly engroffed the attention of the English, who marched into GERMANY under the command of the Earl of STAIR; and after King GEORGE had joined them, defeated the French at DETTINGEN on the 27th of June. One of their fquadrons, under the command of Commodore KNOWLES, made an attack upon LA GUIRA and PORTO CAVALLO, two fortreffes on the north coast of SOUTH-AMERICA; but were repulfed by the Spaniards with confiderable loss.

THE Spaniards were chiefly annoyed by the English squadron in the Mediterranean under Admiral MATTHEWS, who greatly difturbed their trade, and rendered it extremely difficult for them to fend fupplies to their armies in ITALY. The following year, on the 11th of February, that admiral attacked the Spanish and French fleets united off TOULON; this engagement was prevented from becoming general, by the French declining to come into the line, on one hand, and the backwardnefs of admiral LESTOCK on the other; but the Spanish fhips that engaged were defeated by

the