come settlers in Nova Scotia. On account of this cold and barren spot, the English and French renewed the war, which soon after spread with such terrible devastation over every part of the globe. The possession of this country was reckoned necessary to defend the English colonies to the north, and to preserve their superiority in the fisheries in that part of the world. The French, however, who had been long settled in the back parts, resolved to use every method to dispossess the new comers, and urged the Indians to begin hostilities. Another source of dispute also sprung up soon after, in the same part of the world. The French, pretending to have first discovered the mouth of the Mississippi, claimed the whole adjacent country towards New Mexico on the east, to the Apalachian Mountains. In order to assert their claims, they dispossessed several English settlers of their homes, and built such forts as would command the country. Negociations, and mutual accusations, first took place between the two powers; at length, in 1756, four operations were undertaken by the British in America at once. Colonel Monkton had orders to drive the French from their encroachments upon the province of Nova Scotia. General Johnson was sent against Crown Point; general Shirley against Niagara, to secure the forts on the river; and general Braddock against Fort du Quesne. In these expeditions, Monkton was successful; Johnson also was victorious, though he failed in taking the fort against which he was sent; Shirley was thought to have lost the season of operation by delay; and Braddock was defeated and killed. In reurn for this ill success, the British made reprisals at sea; so that the French navy was unable to recover itself during the continuance of the war. Once more, at this period, the French renewed the threat of an invasion. Several bodies of troops were sent down to the coast opposite the British shores; and were instructed in the manner of embarking and relanding from flatbottomed boats. The number of men thus trained amounted to 50,000. The British ministry were greatly alarmed. But when they applied to the Dutch for 6000 men, which they were by treaty obliged to furnish in case of an invasion, this supply was refused; the Dutch alleging that their treaty was to send the troops in case of an actual, not a threatened, invasion. Upon this, 10,000 Hessians and Hanoverians were brought over, which occasioned great discontent. The ministry were upbraided for such disgraceful condescension, as if the nation was unable to defend itself. The invasion, however, never took place; but a French army landed in Minorca, and invested the citadel of St. Philip, reckoned the strongest in Europe; but the garrison was weak, and no way fitted to stand a siege. To raise this siege, therefore, admiral Byng was despatched with a squadron of ten men of war. His orders were to relieve Minorca, or, at any rate, to throw a body of troops into the garrison. On arriving at the island, he considered this last too hazardous an undertaking. Soon after, a French fleet appeared nearly equal in force to his own; but the admiral resolved to act only upon the defensive. The French ad

vanced; a slight engagement ensued with pan of the English fleet; after which the enemy slowly sailed away, and another opportunity never occurred of coming to a close engagement. It was now resolved in a council of war to return to Gibraltar to refit, and that the relief of Minorca was impracticable. For this conduct Byng was brought home under arrest, tried, and sentenced to be shot. He suffered with the greatest resolution, after delivering a paper filled with protestations of his innocence, and was evidently a sacrifice to party. After the conquest of Minorca, the French declared that they would revenge all injuries they should sustain in their colonies, on the king of Britain's dominions in Germany. Upon this, the court of London, eager to preserve Hanover, entered into a treaty with Russia, by which it was stipulated, that a body of 50,000 Russians should be ready to act in the British service, in case Hanover should be invaded. For this the czarina was to receive £100,000 annually, to be paid in advance.

This treaty was opposed by the king of Prussia. He had long considered himself as guardian of the interests of Germany, and was therefore alarmed at a treaty which threatened to deluge the empire with an army of barbarians. Besides, he was already apprised of an agreement between the Austrians and Russians, by which the latter were to enter the empire and strip him of his late conquest of Silesia. He therefore declared that he would not suffer any foreign forces to enter the empire either as auxiliaries or principals. The king of Great Britain now therefore found himself obliged to drop his Russian connexion, and conclude a treaty with Prussia. As both monarchs wished only to prevent the invasion of Germany, they soon came to an agreement mutually to assist each other; and from this alliance a new combination took place among the European powers. Britain opposed France in America, Asia, and on the ocean. France attacked Hanover; which the king of Prussia undertook to protect, while Britain promised him troops and money to assist his operations. Austria had her eye on the dominions of Prussia, and drew the elector of Saxony into the same designs. In these views the Austrians were seconded by France, Sweden, and Russia, who had hopes of acquiring a settlement in the west of Europe. Thus the king of Prussia launched into the tumult of war, having only Great Britain for his ally, while the most potent states of Europe were his antagonists. The British ministry, in order to procure a diversion in his favor, planned an unsuccessful enterprise against the coast of France. It ended in seizing the little island of Aix, an easy and an useless conquest. By this miscarriage the ministry were so discouraged that they had thoughts of abandoning the king of Prussia to his fate; but success, which had long fled from the British arms, now dawned upon them from the east. For a particular account of the operations alluded to, see HINDOSTAN. Their conquests in the western world, too, were about this time equally splendid. An expedition was set on foot against Cape Breton, under general Amherst and admiral Boscawen; another, under general Abercromby,,

against Crown Point and Ticonderago; and a third, under brigadier general Forbes, against Fort du Quesne. The fortress of Louisburg, which defended the island of Cape Breton, was very strong both by nature and art; the garrison was numerous, the commander vigilant, and every precaution had been taken to prevent a landing. But the activity of the British surmounted every obstacle; the place was surrendered by capitulation, and its fortifications were demolished. The expedition against Fort du Quesne was equally successful; but that against Crown Point once more miscarried. General Abercromby attacked the French in their entrenchments, was repulsed with great slaughter, and obliged to retire to his camp at Lake George. But, though in this respect the British arms were unsuccessful, yet, upon the whole, the campaign of 1758 was greatly in their favor. The taking of Fort du Quesne served to remove from their colonies the terror of the incursions of the Indians; while it interrupted that correspondence, along a chain of forts, with which the French had environed the British settlements in America. In 1759 it was also resolved to assault the French in several parts of their empire. General Amherst, with a body of 12,000 men, was commanded to attack Crown Point; General Wolfe was to undertake the siege of Quebec; while general Prideaux and Sir William Johnson were to attempt a French fort near the cataracts of Niagara. This last expedition was the first that succeeded. The siege was begun with vigor, and promised an easy conquest; but Prideaux was killed in the trenches by the bursting of a mortar, so that the whole command devolved on general Johnson. A body of French troops attempted to relieve it, but were defeated and dispersed; soon after which the garrison surrendered prisoners of war. On his arrival at the forts of Crown Point and Ticonderago, general Amherst found them deserted and destroyed. There now remained, therefore, but one decisive blow to reduce all North America under the British dominions; and this was the taking of Quebec, the capital of Canada. See QUEBEC. This expedition was commanded by admiral Saunders and general Wolfe. The enterprise was attended with difficulties which appeared insurmountable; but all were overcome by the conduct of Wolfe, and the bravery of his men. He engaged and put to flight the French under Montcalm; but, to the great regret of the nation, was killed in the action. The surrender of Quebec was the consequence of this victory, which was soon followed by the cession of all Canada. The following season, indeed, the French made a vigorous effort to recover the city; but the resolution of governor Murray, and the appearance of a British fleet under the command of lord Colvil, obliged them to abandon the enterprise. The whole province was soon after reduced by general Amherst, and it has since remained annexed to the British empire. About the same time the island of Guadaloupe was reduced by commodore More and general Hopson.

The British affairs in Germany had at the beginning of the war worn a very unfavorable as

pect. The Hanoverians were commanded by the duke of Cumberland, who was greatly outnumbered by the enemy. He was driven beyond the Weser, the passage of which might have been disputed, but the French were suffered to pass it unmolested. The Hanoverians were driven from one part of the country to another, till at length they made a stand near Hastenbeck, where it was hoped the numbers of the enemy would have the least opportunity of being used to advantage. The Hanoverians, however, left the field to the French, after a faint resistance. Their enemies pursued, and the duke retired towards Stade. Here, unable either to escape or advance, he was compelled to sign a capitulation, by which the whole army laid down their arms, and were dispersed into different quarters of cantonment. By this remarkable capitulation, which was called the capitulation of Closter Seven, Hanover was obliged to submit quietly to the French, who were now determined to turn their arms against the king of Prussia. But soon after both sides began to complain that the treaty was not observed. The Hanoverians exclaimed against the rapacity of the French general and the brutality of his soldiers. The French, retorting the charge, accused them of insolence and insurrection; and, being sensible of their own superiority, resolved to bind them strictly to their terms of agreement. The Hanoverians only wished for a pretence to take arms, and a general to head them. Neither was long wanting. The oppressions of the taxgatherers, whom the French had appointed, were considered as so severe, that the army rose to vindicate the freedom of their country, while Ferdinand, prince of Brunswick, put himself a their head. As soon as this was known in Britain large supplies were granted, both for the service of the king of Prussia and to enable the Hanoverian army to act vigorously in conjunction with him. A small body of British forces was sent over to join prince Ferdinand under the duke of Marlborough. After some inconsiderable successes at Crevelt, the duke of Marlborough dying, the command of the British forces devolved on lord George Sackville. A misunderstanding arose, however, between him and prince Ferdinand, which appeared at the battle of Minden that was shortly after fought. Lord George pretended that he did not understand the orders sent him by the prince, and of consequence did not obey them; and, although the allies gained the victory, it would have been more decisive had the British commander obeyed his orders. He was soon after recalled, tried by a court-martial, found guilty of disobedience, and declared incapable of serving in any military command. After this victory it was imagined that one reinforcement more, of British troops, would terminate the war in favor of the allies: and this was quickly sent. The British army in Germany was augmented to upwards of 30,000 men and sanguine hopes of conquest were entertained. These hopes, however, were soon seen to be ill founded. The allies were defeated at Corbach; but retrieved their honor at Exdorf. A victory at Warbourgh followed shortly after, and another at Ziernberg: but they suffered a defeat at Compen; after which both sides re

fired into winter quarters. On the 25th of October, 1760, king George II. died. He had risen at his usual hour, and observed to his attendants that, as the weather was fine, he would take a walk in the gardens of Kensington, where he then resided. In a few minutes after, being left alone, he was heard to fall down upon the floor; and, the noise bringing his attendants into the room, he desired, with a faint voice, that the princess Amelia might be sent for; but, before she could reach the apartment, he expired, in the seventy-seventh year of his age, and thirty-third of his reign. An attempt was made to bleed him, but without effect; and the surgeons afterwards, upon opening him, discovered that the right ventricle of the heart was ruptured, and a great quantity of blood discharged through the aper

ture.

6. Great Britain under the reign of George III. until the revolt of the American Colonies. Our late excellent sovereign, George III., ascended the throne amidst the greatest successes both by sea and land. At this time, indeed, the efforts of Britain, in every quarter of the globe, were truly astonishing. The king of Prussia received a subsidy; a large body of English forces commanded the extensive peninsula of India; another army of 20,000 men confirmed their conquests in North America; 30,000 men were employed in Germany; and many more were dispersed in garrisons in different parts of the world but all this was surpassed by the good fortune of our naval force, which carried command wherever it came, and had totally annihilated the French maritime power.

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When the young king met his parliament, which was opened November 18th, 1760, he confirmed the hopes of his allies, and gave assurances of his intentions to prosecute the war with vigor. By this time, however, the people were in some measure weary of conquests in Germany, from which they could never hope for any solid advantage. For some time, however, no change took place in the method of carrying on the war. But in 1761, proposals of peace being made between the belligerent powers, Mr. Stanley was sent to Paris to negociate a peace, and Mr. Bussey to London; but the French court, hoping to draw Spain into a confederacy, was not sincere in its professions, and the treaty came to nothing. An enterprise was projected at this time against the island of Belle-isle, near the coast of France, which was conducted by commodore Keppel and general Hodgson. See BELLE-ISLE. The place was taken, with the loss of 1800 men killed and wounded; and, though it was a conquest of no great moment, the rejoicings on account of it were great. In Germany the campaign was unsuccessful on the part of the allies. At first, indeed, they drove the French out of the territory of Hesse, and laid siege to the city of Cassel; but, being defeated at Stangerod, they were forced to raise the siege, retire behind the Dymel, and again abandon Hesse. Here they were followed and attacked by the French; who, though defeated in that attempt, were with difficulty prevented from making themselves masters of Munster and Brunswick. All this time an appearance of ne

gociation had been carried on; until the French, at last, having brought their designs with the court of Spain to an issue, Mr. Bussey delivered to Mr. Pitt a memorial, signifying that, in order to establish the peace on a lasting foundation, the king of Spain might be induced to guarantee the treaty: and, to prevent the differences which then subsisted between Britain and Spain from producing a fresh war in Europe, he proposed that, in this negociation, the three points which had been disputed between the crowns of England and Spain_might be finally settled:-1. The restitution of some captures made upon the Spanish flag; 2. The privilege of the Spanish nation to fish upon the banks of Newfoundland; 3. The demolition of the English settlements made in the bay of Honduras. Mr. Pitt in reply, however, declared that it would be considered as an affront to the dignity of his master, and incompatible with the sincerity of negociation, to make any farther mention of such a proposal; and, being now thoroughly convinced of the sinister designs of Spain, he proposed immediately to declare war against that kingdom. On this proposal being rejected, he resigned: after which he was created earl of Chatham, and had a pension of £3000 per annum settled upon him for three lives.

Soon after this, however, the new administration found it necessary to declare war against Spain. This involved our ally, Portugal; the French and Spaniards resolving to attack that kingdom, which was then in no capacity to defend itself. Joseph, the Portuguese monarch, was, by the most haughty memorials, commanded to accede to the confederacy against Britain, and threatened with the vengeance of France and Spain in case of refusal. In vain he promised to observe a strict neutrality, and urged the obligations he was under to the king of Britain; this moderate and reasonable reply only drew on more haughty and insulting answers. This prince, however, continued to reject their proposals in the most resolute manner; and concluded his final declaration by observing that it would affect him less, though reduced to the last extremity, of which the great Judge is the sole arbiter, to let the last tile of his palace fall, and to see his faithful subjects spill the last drop of their blood, than to sacrifice the honor of his crown, and to submit, by such extraordinary means, to become an unheard of example to all pacific powers.' As the design of the courts of France and Spain, in making war with Portugal, was professedly to deprive Great Britain of the military and commercial use of the ports of that kingdom, their principal efforts were directed against the two great ports of Oporto and Lisbon. With this view three inroads were made into that country, one to the north, another more to the south, and the third in the middle provinces. The first body of troops was commanded by the marquis of Savria; and entered the north-east angle of Portugal, marching towards Miranda; where, a powdermagazine having been blown up by accident, the Spaniards entered on the 9th of May by the breaches made by the explosion. Thence they marched to Braganza, which surrendered six days after Miranda. Moncorvo was taken in like manner:

every thing was clear before them to the banks of the Douro; and they became masters of almost the whole extensive province of Tralos Montes. Oporto was now considered as lost, and the admiralty prepared transports to carry off the effects of the British merchants. On the banks of the Douro, however, the career of the enemy was stopped. The peasants, animated and guided by some British officers, seized a difficult pass, and drove the enemy back to Moncorvo. The second body of Spaniards entered the province of Beira, at the villages called Val de Mulo and Val de Coelha, and laid siege to Almeida, the strongest and best provided place on the frontiers of Portugal. This place was defended with sufficient resolution; but was obliged to surrender on the 25th of August. The Spaniards then over-ran the whole territory of Castel Branco, a principal district of Beira, making their way southward to the banks of the Tagus. During their whole progress, and indeed during the whole of the campaign, the allied troops of Great Britain and Portugal had nothing that could be called an army in the field. All that could be done was by the defence of passes, and skirmishes. The third Spanish army had assembled on the frontiers of Estremadura, with a design to invade the province of Alentejo. To prevent this, brigadier general Burgoyne was despatched to attack an advanced body on the frontiers, in the town of Valentia de Alcantara. On the 27th of August the town was surprised; the Spanish general taken, who was intended to command in the invasion, together with one colonel, two captains, and seventeen subaltern officers; one of the best regiments in the Spanish service was also entirely destroyed. Colonel Lee harassed their subsequent attempts in this directions: until, the season being far advanced, immense quantities of rain fell; the roads were destroyed, and the Spaniards, having seized no advanced posts, where they could maintain themselves, and being unprovided with magazines, every where fell back into Spain.

No less successful were the British arms in America and the East Indies. From the French were taken the islands of Martinico, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Granada; from the Spaniards the strong fortress of Havannah, in Cuba. By the acquisition of the first mentioned islands, the British became the sole and undisturbed possessors of all the Carribees; and that chain of innumerable islands which extend from the eastern point of Hispaniola to the continent of South America. The conquest of the Havannah cost a number of brave men, but more were destroyed by the climate than the enemy. Nine of the enemy's men of war, with four frigates, were taken here; three of their capital ships were sunk in the harbour at the beginning of the siege, and two more on the stocks, in great forwardness, were destroyed. In money and valuable merchandise, the plunder did not fall short of £3,000,000 sterling. To this success in the western part of the world may be added the capture of the Spanish register-ship, called Hermione, supposed to be worth £1,000,000 sterling, by the Active and Favorite, king's ships. This happened on the 21st of May, 1762, just as she

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was entering one of the ports of Old Spain. the East Indies an expedition was undertaken against the Philippine Islands, which was committed to colonel Draper, who arrived for this purpose at Madras in the end of June 1762. The seventy-ninth regiment was the only regular corps that could be spared for this service. Every thing was conducted with the greatest celerity and judgment. The British forces landed on Manila on the 24th of Sept.; on the 6th of October the governor surrendered at discretion; and soon after the galleon bound from Manilla to Acapulco, laden with rich merchandise to the value of more than half a million, was taken by the Argo and Panther frigates. By the conquest of Manilla, fourteen considerable islands fell into the hands of the British; which, from their extent, fertility, and convenience of commerce, furnished the materials of a great kingdom. By this acquisition, also, joined to our former successes, we secured all the avenues of the Spanish trade, and interrupted all communication be tween the parts of their vast but unconnected empire. The conquest of the Havannah had cut off in a great measure the intercourse of their wealthy continental colonies with Europe: the reduction of the Philippines excluded them from Asia; while the plunder taken was far more than sufficient to indemnify the charges of the expeditions. All this time the war in Germany had been prosecuted with the utmost vigor; the allies under prince Ferdinand had continued to give the highest proofs of their valor, but no decisive advantage could be obtained against the French. It was, therefore, no longer the interest of Britain to continue a destructive war; and the French and Spaniards were desirous of a peace which was at length concluded at Paris on the 10th of February, 1763. The terms granted the enemy were but too favorable. The principal were, That the French king should relinquish all claims to Nova Scotia; that he should likewise give up all Canada; and that, for the future, the boundary betwixt the British and French dominions in America should be fixed by a line drawn along the middle of the river Mississippi, from its source to the river Ibberville; and thence by a line along the middle of this river, and the lakes Manrepas and Pontchartrain, to the sea. The islands of St. Pierre, Miquelon, Martinico, Guadaloupe, Marigalante, Desirade, St. Lucia, and Belle-isle, were restored to France; Minorca, Granada, and the Grenadines, St. Vincent, Dominica, and Tobago, were ceded to Britain. In Africa, the island of Goree was restored to France; and the river Senegal, with all its forts and dependencies ceded to Great Britain. In the East Indies, all the forts and factories taken from the French were restored. In Europe, the fortifications of Dunkirk were to be destroyed; and all the countries, fortresses, &c., belonging to the elector of Hanover, the duke of Brunswick, and the count of La Lippe Buckeburg, restored. With regard to Spain, the British fortifications on the Bay of Honduras were to be demolished; and the Spaniards were to desist from their claim of a right to fish on the Newfoundland bank. The Havannah was restored; in consequence of which, Florida, St.