pence of the houfe of Orange, to whom they

merchants fhould enjoy liberty of confcience in the worship of God in their own houfes and aboard their hips, enjoying alfo the ufe of English Bibles, and other good books, taking care, that they did not exceed this liberty.' This article does honor to the humanity of Cromwell. But the King of Portugal, who was under the influence of superftition and her priests, ftuck at confirming a treaty fo contrary to their maxims and views. Upon fending Mr. Meadows, fays the protector, unlefs we will agree to fubmit this article to the determination of the Pope, we cannot have it ; whereby he would bring us to an owning of the Pope, which we hope, whatever befall us, we fhall not, by the grace of God, be brought unto. And upon the fame iffue is that article put, whereby it is provided and agreed by his ambaffador, that any fhips coming to that harbour, any of whofe company, if they fhall run from their faid fhips fhall be brought back again by the magiftrate, and the commanders of the faid fhips not required to pay the faid runaways their wages, upon pretence that they are turned Catholiques, which may be colour for any knave to leave his duty, or for the Roman Catholiques to feduce our men, which we thought neceffary to be provided against ; 6 yet to this alfo, as I faid before, they would not con* fent without the approbation of the Pope, although it was agreed alfo by their anıbaffador. Upon the whole matter, we find them very falfe to us, who intended nothing but what was fimply honest.'-To treat farther with men of this caft of mind, Oliver, I fuppofe, thought was bootlefs. He knew the right way to go to work with them; and he took it. This appears from the instructions he gave, May 6, 1656, to the generals Blake, and Mountague, in the following words: Whereas the King of Portugal doth refufe to ratify the treaties lately made with this commonwealth by his extraordinary ambaffador here, or to perform any

.

⚫ part

they were in a great measure indebted for

.

their

part thereof, either in what relates to the ftate, or to the people and merchants; and by his proceedings gives ground to believe, that nothing is lefs in his intentions, than to give just satisfaction therein; wherefore we do hereby authorize and require you, as it ' will confift with the prefent condition of the fleet un<der your command, and with your other principal inftructions, to use your best endeavours, by the fleet, or fuch part thereof as you fhall judge neceflary, to take, arrest, and feize upon the fleet or fleets belonging to the King of Portugal, or any of his fubjects, • with their guns, cash,' goods and merchandizes whatever, now expected from the Eaft and West Indies, and to keep and deteyne the fame without breaking of • bulk or embezilment, towards fuch fatisfaction for the wrongs and damages, which this ftate hath fuffered from Portugal, and to give notice forthwith of what C you fhall do therein. And in cafe any of the fhips of the faid King or his people fhall make any refiftance, you have hereby power to fight with, kill, and destroy, and to feek for, and burn all fuch as fhall so resist. • Nevertheless, if Mr. Philip Meadows, our envoy with the King of Portugal, hall before any feizure or act of hoftility as aforefaid, give you affurance, that fa⚫tisfaction is obtained upon the faid treaties, that this (5) Thurloe, inftruction fhall be void (s).' The admirals on the receipt hereof failed towards Lifbon, and made known their orders to the English agent, who informing the court, obtained a fpeedy figning of the treaty by the King, and a very large fum of money for fatisfaction; which was shipped on board the fleet, and fent to Eng- (t) Id. vol. land (t). Mountague indeed feems not to have been well V. P. 123, pleased with the peace. He thought they had now Portugal at mercy, and fhould have impofed more rigorous terms. You have, fays he, (in a letter to Thurloe, dated June 17, 1656) at this time the Portugal upon his knees, and if we had authority to make farther • de

A

a 4

vol. iv. p.

769.

124, 125.

their independency, and freedom.

The

prin

demands, we might afk what we would, (almost) and he durft not but perform it, or his country would be all in rebellion. But this is to no purpose, the season being paft.' Men of fuch spirit and refolution as thefe, were capable of executing any commands. We may fuppofe an action like this must have infpired Cromwell's neighbours with a fear of offending!-After what has been related in this note, the following paffages from Burnet well eafily find credit, efpecially as feveral of them may be authenticated by incontestable vouchers. • Cromwell's maintaining the honor of the nation in all foreign countries, gratifyed the vanity which is very natural to English men; of which he was fo careful, that though he was not a crowned head, yet his ambaffadors had all the respect paid them which our Kings ambassadors ever had. He faid the dignity of the crown was upon the account of the nation, of which the King was only the reprefentative head, fo the nation being ftill the fame, he would have the fame regards paid to his minifters.An⚫ other inftance of this pleafed him much. Blake with the fleet hap pened to be at Malaga, before he made war upon Spain: and fome of his feamen went on fhore, and met the hoftie carried about; and not only paid no refpect to it, but laughed at those that did. So one of the priests put the people on refenting this indignity; and they fell upon them and beat them feverely. When they returned to their fhip they complained of this ufage: and upon that Blake fent a trumpet to the viceroy, to demand the priest who was the chief inftrument in that ill ufage. The Viceroy ⚫ answered he had no authority over the priest, and so could not difpofe of him. Blake upon that fent him word, that he would not enquire who had the power to fend the priest to him, but if he were not sent within three hours he would burn their town: and they, being in no condition to refift him, sent the priest

principal articles of it, I fhall mention below,

<

கமு

man

to him, who juftified himself upon the petulant behaviour of the feamen. Blake answered, that if he had fent a complaint to him of it, he would have punished them feverely, fince he would not fuffer his men to affront the established religion of any place • at which he touched: but he took it ill, that he fet on the Spaniards to do it; for he would have all the world to know, that an Englishman was only to be punished by an Englishman. So he treated the priest civilly, and fent him back, being fatisfied that he had him at his mercy. Cromwell was much delighted with this, and read the letters in council with great fatif<faction; and faid, he hoped, he should make the name of an Englishman as great as ever that of a Rohad been.- The ftates of Holland were in fuch dread of him, that they took care to give him no fort of umbrage: and when at any time the King or his brothers came to fee their fifter, the Princefs Royal, within a day or two after they used to fend a deputation to let them know that Cromwell had required of the States that they fhould give them no harbour. King Charles, when he was feeking for colours for the war with the Dutch in the year 1672, urged it for one, that they fuffered fome of his rebels to live in their provinces. Borel, then their ambaffador, anfwered, that it was a maxim of long standing among them, not to enquire upon what account ftrangers came to live in their country, but to receive them all, unless they had been concerned in confpiracies against the perfons of Princes. The King told him upon that, how they had ufed both himself and his bro⚫ther. Borel, in great fimplicity, anfwered: Ha! • Sire, c'étoit une autre chofe: Cromwell etoit un grand homme, & il fe faifoit craindre & par terre & par mer. This was very rough. The King's anfwer was: Je me ferai craindre auffi à mon tour: but he was scarce as good as his word.All Italy trembled at the

(u) Vol. i. P. 126, & feq. See alfo Thurloe,

low (BBB), for the information of my readers,

• name of Cromwell, and feemed under a pannick fear as long as he lived. His fleet fcoured the Mediterranean: and the Turks durft not offend him; but delivered up Hide, who kept up the character of an ambaffador from the King there, and was brought over vol. iii. p. 6. and executed for it (u). Many more proofs might be brought of Cromwell's being courted and feared by the nations around him. But thefe poffibly may be deemed fufficient: if not, many things will be found in the following notes more fully to confirm it.

† Gefta Bri

tannorum,

(BBB) The principal articles of the peace I shall mention below.] In the note (MM) I have given an account of the commencement of the Dutch war, and the nego tiations for peace until the interruption of the parliament by the power of Cromwell. From this change in the government, the enemy expected many advantages. But they foon found themselves miftaken; for the preparations for war were carried on with equal diligence as before, and the Dutch found to their coft that they had people of like fpirit and refolution to deal with. For notwithstanding the ridicule with which the little parliament is almoft conftantly treated, they fhewed bravery in carrying on the war; justice, generosity and good policy in rewarding the gallantry of their admirals, and inferiour commanders; and a regard to the honor of the nation in the terms they infifted on to make peace. In the year 1653*, a bloody battle was fought between Van Tromp and the English admirals • Dean and Moncke, wherein the Dutch were worsted, which occafioned tumults in Holland: and the fame year in Auguft, there was another bloody engagement, wherein the Dutch were again defeated, and Van Tromp flain in the action. The reft of the fleet being by this time cruelly broken and fhattered, dif

This fea-fight was on the 2d and 3d of June, the next on the 29th and 30th of July following t. So that Mr. Burchett was negligent and Lond. 1659. mistaken,

6 Cour