CHAP. LI.] LORD NORTH RESIGNS. 285 in 1779. In Europe they succeeded in recovering the important Island of Minorca. The Duke de Crillon landed with a Spanish. army, August 23rd, and laid siege to St. Philip. He endeavoured to bribe the Commandant, General Murray, with 100,000l. and the offer of lucrative employment in the Spanish or French service; which proposals were indignantly rejected. After a long siege, in which the Spaniards were aided by a French detachment, sickness and want of provisions compelled General Murray to capitulate, February 5th, 1782, but on honourable terms. The defeat of Lord Cornwallis, the loss of Minorca, to which was soon added the news of the capture of St. Kitts, Nevis, and Montserrat, by De Grasse (February, 1782), occasioned the downfall of the English Ministry. Lord North, finding himself in a minority, was compelled to retire, March 20th, and was succeeded by the Rockingham Administration, including Fox and Lord Shelburne, the last of whom, on the death of the Marquis of Rockingham in June, became Prime Minister. The views of the new Ministry were directed to peace. One of their first measures, the recall of Admiral Rodney, to whom they had conceived an antipathy, was very unfortunate and unpopular. Before Admiral Pigot, who had been appointed to succeed him, could arrive in the West Indies, Rodney achieved one of the most splendid vic- tories of the war, by defeating the Count de Grasse near Dominica, April 12th, 1782. The French were endeavouring to form a junction with the Spanish fleet at St. Domingo, which, had it been effected, must have resulted in the loss of all the English West India colonies. Five French ships of the line were captured on this occasion, including the Admiral's, and De Grasse was brought prisoner to London. This year was remarkable by the efforts of the enemy to obtain possession of Gibraltar. Encouraged by their success at Minorca, the Spaniards converted the blockade of Gibraltar, which had lasted three years, into a vigorous siege, directed by the Duke de Crillon, who, including a French division, commanded more than 40,000 men, while the bay was blockaded by more than forty Spanish and French ships of the line. The eyes of all Europe were directed on General Elliot's admirable defence. Two French. princes, the Count d'Artois and the Duke of Bourbon, hastened to view this imposing spectacle, and enjoy the anticipated triumph. On September 13th, ten floating batteries, heavily armed, ingeniously constructed by the French Colonel d'Arçon and thought to be fireproof, were directed against the place, but 286 SIEGE OF GIBRALTAR. [CHAP. LI. they were destroyed with red-hot shot. About a month afterwards Admiral Howe, in face of the greatly superior force of the enemy, which, however had been damaged by a storm, contrived to revictual Gibraltar, and fling in a reinforcement of 1,400 men. The combined fleet subsequently pursued and came up with him near Cadiz, October 20th, when a combat of a few hours had no result. The siege of Gibraltar was now again converted into a blockade. During this year the Dutch concluded with the Americans the treaty of commerce projected in 1778. They had gradually lost all their settlements on the coasts of Malabar and Coromandel. Trincomalee, in Ceylon, surrendered to the English January 11th, 1782, but was retaken by Suffren in the following year. That commander also achieved several victories over Admiral Hughes. The English Ministry was now earnestly bent on effecting a peace. France had declined the offers of Austria and Russia to mediate, because Great Britain had required as an indispensable base, that France should abandon the American cause. Lord North, a little before his resignation, had attempted direct negotiations at Paris, and this course was also followed by Lord Shelburne. Several envoys were successively despatched to Paris, and on the side of the French, M. Rayneval was sent with a secret commission to London. This eagerness to negotiate increased the demands of France. Vergennes proposed a scheme essentially at variance with the Peace of 1763, and calculated to ruin the commerce and naval power of England. All the captured French colonies were to be restored, while France was to retain many which she had taken. It was also demanded that England should acquiesce in the principles of the Armed Neutrality. These demands could not be conceded; but at length, in October, 1782, conferences for a definite peace were opened at Paris, under the ostensible mediation of the Emperor and the Czarina, though, in fact, those Sovereigns had no voice in them. The general negotiations were nearly upset by the signing of a secret treaty between Great Britain and America. The discovery of Vergennes' duplicity had produced this result. The French Ministry were, in fact, alarmed at the magnitude of the new Power which they had conjured up in America, and even seem to have apprehended a future league between that For this famous siege, see Drink. water, Account of Siege of Gibraltar; Coxe, Spanish Bourbons, ch. lxxiv.; D'Arçon, Mém. pour servir à l'histoire de CHAP. LI.] PEACE BETWEEN ENGLAND AND AMERICA. 287 country and Great Britain, though such an event was highly improbable. Hence, while pretending conciliation, Vergennes endeavoured to sow dissension between the two countries, as well as to weaken the new Republic. With this view he secretly instigated the Americans to claim, and the English to withhold, a share in the Newfoundland Fishery. But what induced the Americans to conclude with Great Britain was a despatch of Marbois, the French agent at Philadelphia, to his Government, in which, at their desire, he had drawn up an elaborate plan for dividing and weakening the new Republic. This despatch being intercepted by an English cruiser, was forwarded by the Government to Mr. Oswald, a merchant and shipowner whom Lord Shelburne had employed to negotiate with the American Commissioners at Paris. The production of this despatch filled them with such indignation that, as the English Government had now resolved to concede American independence, they signed the preliminaries of a peace with Great Britain without the knowledge of M. de Vergennes, November 30th, 1782.1 The French Minister, on being acquainted with this step, bitterly reproached the American Commissioners, who excused themselves by protesting that the treaty should not be definitive till France and Spain had also terminated their arrangements with England. The English Cabinet used the advantage they had obtained to press on France the necessity for a speedy conclusion of the negotiations: the financial condition of that country rendered a peace desirable; and on January 20th, 1783, preliminaries were signed at Versailles between Great Britain, France, and Spain. The Dutch, who, from the forms of their constitution, moved very slowly, and who had refused to enter into separate negotiations with England, were thus left without help, though a suspension of arms was agreed upon, and Louis XVI. promised to use his good offices that the Republic might obtain an honourable peace. After the ratification of the peace between Great Britain and America in August, Vergennes, however, told the Dutch Ministers that the definitive treaty between France, Spain, and Great Britain could no longer be delayed, and the States-General were compelled to sign preliminaries with the last-named Power on the terms which she had demanded (September 2nd). The definitive treaties of the PEACE OF VERSAILLES, Coxe, Spanish Bourbons, vol. v. p. 137 sqq.; House of Austria, vol. ii. p. 603 note (ed. 1807). The American Commissioners were John Adams, Benj Franklin, John Jay, and Henry Laurens. Franklin, who entertained a bitter animosity towards Great Britain, at first objected, but was overruled. 2 Martens, t. ii. p. 457. 288 PEACE OF VERSAILLES. [CHAP. LI. between Great Britain, the United States of America, France, and Spain, were signed on the following day. By the treaty with America, Great Britain recognized the thirteen United States as sovereign and independent. The second article, defining boundaries, comprised vast regions inhabited by unsubjected races, which belonged to neither of the contracting parties. The American loyalists were rewarded with lands in Nova Scotia, or pensions in Great Britain.1 The loss of the American colonies to the mother-country was rather apparent than real. They contributed nothing to the British treasury; and though the commercial monopoly was lost, the trade between the two countries actually went on increasing after the peace of Versailles, as the agricultural population of America could not dispense with British manufactures. By the definitive treaty with France that country acquired Tobago (assigned to Great Britain by the peace of 1763), as well as the establishments on the Senegal. All other conquests were restored on both sides. France was delivered from the commissaries residing at Dunkirk since the Peace of Utrecht, and her political consideration seemed placed on a better footing than at the peace of 1763. But, on the other hand, she had rendered the disorder of her finances irretrievable, and thus hastened the catastrophe of the Revolution. She not only abandoned the Dutch, but also her ally, Tippoo Saib, Sultan of Mysore, the son and successor of Hyder Ally. It was stipulated that the Peace of Versailles should be followed by a commercial treaty between France and England, which was accordingly concluded at Paris, September 26th, 1786. By the 20th Article it was established that the neutral flag covers the cargo, except, of course, contraband of war. Spain was the greatest gainer by the peace, the best she had made since that of St. Quintin. She recovered Minorca and the two Floridas; but she was reluctantly compelled to abandon Gibraltar. Count d'Aranda, the Spanish Plenipotentiary, displayed great violence on this subject. He declared that his Sovereign would never consent to a peace without the restoration of that fortress, and he was encouraged in this course by Vergennes and Franklin. At an early period of the negotiations Lord Shelburne had seemed disposed to cede Gibraltar, but became alarmed on finding how much the heart of the English Jenkinson (Lord Liverpool), Collection of Treaties, vol. ii. p. 410; Martens, t. ii. p. 497. CHAP. LI.] THE DIAMOND NECKLACE. 289 people was set upon that rock, now doubly endeared to it by Elliot's glorious defence; and its retention became a sine quâ non with the British Ministry, though Spain showed a disposition to give Porto Rico and Oran in exchange for it.1 The definitive treaty between Great Britain and the StatesGeneral was not signed till May 20th, 1784. Negapatam was ceded to England; but a more important concession was, that British navigation should not be molested in the Indian seas, where the Dutch had hitherto maintained an exclusive commerce.2 The Peace of Versailles was received with loud murmurs in England. Lord Shelburne was driven from the helm, and was succeeded by the Duke of Portland and the Coalition Ministry. Yet, on the whole, considering the extent and power of the combination formed against her, England seems to have escaped better than might have been anticipated. France, meanwhile, in spite of her apparently advantageous peace, was rapidly sinking both at home and abroad. We have seen in the preceding chapter that in the affairs between Holland, her protégée, and the Emperor, Joseph II., she no longer ventured to assume that haughty tone to which she had formerly been accustomed. The French people were shocked by the payment of a sum of money to Joseph on that occasion; which was ascribed to the Austrian influence of Marie Antoinette, and increased her unpopularity. The character of Marie Antoinette, which bore a considerable resemblance to that of her brother Joseph II., made her the easy victim of malice. Lively and impetuous, governed by her feelings rather than by reflection, badly educated and of unregulated judgment, she exposed herself from the first day of her entry into France to the calumnies of her enemies. These were chiefly to be found in the party of Madame du Barri, and among the ex-Jesuits, who regarded her marriage as the work of Choiseul. Among them was her own brother-in-law, the Count of Provence, afterwards Louis XVIII. The celebrated affair of the diamond necklace, which happened about the time of the Dutch Treaty, also contributed to injure her in the public opinion. This necklace, worth 1,600,000 francs, had been ordered by the Cardinal de Rohan, as he affirmed, for the Queen, by order of the Countess de La Motte Valois; but the Queen, when applied to by the jeweller for payment, denied all knowledge of the matter. It is impossible for us to enter into all the particulars of this mysterious transaction, which would demand 1 Coxe, Spanish Bourbons, vol. v. p. 140 sq. 2 The treaties are in Jenkinson, vol. iii. p. 334; Martens, t. ii. p. 462, and p. 520. |