PART ing into Bohemia, on the 10th of September the II. King of Pruffia invefted Neifs, which furrender ed on honourable terms the 20th of October; 1741. and there being then no fufficient army to oppofe his progrefs, he became abfolute mafter of all Silefia, and returned to Breslau, where he received homage, from the whole states of the duchy of Silefia, on the 9th of November, in an affembly of about 400 deputies. As the proteftant religion is the most predomi nant in Silefia, this induced the inhabitants the more readily to acknowledge their fubmiffion to the King of Pruffia; his majesty released them from all rents and fervices impofed on them by the Romish clergy, and his refufal of a free gift of 100,000 crowns offered him by the states, together with his mild treatment and endeavours to gain the affections of the people, effectually procured him their regard and esteem; and his majefty, after re-establishing the public tranqui lity, returned to Berlin, and in his way paid a vifit to the court of Drefden. AFTER the taking of Neifs, his Prussian majefty detached Count Leopold de Deffau with 12,000 men, to join the Elector of Bavaria in Bohemia, who in his way befieged the city of Glatz, the capital of that country, fituated at the foot of the mountains which divide Bohemia from Silefia, 100 miles eaft of Prague, and had the town furrendered to him on the 9th of Janu ary, but the castle held out till the 27th of April, when the garrifon obtained an honourable capitulation, and were conducted to the Auftrian army. The king, on his departure from the army to Breslau, left the remainder of his troops to the command of Count Schwerin, who entered the duchy of Moravia without oppofition, and and on the 15th of December laid fiege to Ol- CHAP. mutz, the capital city, fituated on the river Mo- IV. raw, 75 miles N. of Vienna, which being furrendered on honourable terms, the garrifon re- 1741. tired to Brinn, a ftrong town 30 miles S. W. of Olmutz, which was foon after invested by the Saxons. THE rigour of the feafon inviting the confederate forces to retire into winter quarters, the French cantoned themselves along the Muldaw to the confines of Auftria, and the Saxons and Pruffians about Brinn, and Znaim, a town thirty-five miles N. W. of Vienna, and twenty miles S. of Brian in Moravia. As the campaign terminated with an auspicious profpect, in favour of the Queen of Hungary against the confederate army, it will be now requifite to fee what danger fhe was expofed to in her Italian dominions. As foon as the King of Spain had published his pretenfions to the Auftrian fucceffion, the Hungarian minifter at Rome, about the middle of January, demanded a paffage through the ecclefiaftical territories for 5000 of the Queen of Hungary's troops, to march from the Milanefe to Tuscany; which his holinefs not only agreed to, but granted her majefty permiffion to levy a tenth on the revenues of the clergy, and to make use of all the church plate in her dominions, for fupporting her in her diftreffed circumstances. THE Spaniards made early preparations in the fpring to fend a body of troops into Italy from Barcelona, where a great number of veffels were ready to transport them; but this project met with feveral difficulties, and feemed to be entirely VOL. I. Kk neglected PART neglected till October; for as foon as the court of II. Madrid had received intelligence of the Hanover neutrality, the expedition was refumed, nineteen 1741. battalions of foot, and 1,200 horse, being about 15,000 men, commanded by the Duke de Montemar, Captain-General of Spain, arrived at Barcelona, and were conveyed by 200 fail of tranfports, under the convoy of fix Spanish Gallies and three French men of war, for the coaft of Italy but being dispersed by a storm, they were drove into the French ports of Provence and Languedoc; however the fleet fuftained no lofs, and being in a few days united, they proceeded on their voyage, and arrrived at Orbitello on the coaft of Tuscany, where the army was fafely landed without any interruption from the British fleet, at that time lying in the bay of Gibraltar; and were in expectation of being reinforced by a body of French. THE King of the two Sicilies, awed by the British fleet, had hitherto profeffed a neutrality, but being evidently attached to the Spanish intereft, privately refolved to affift Spain against the Queen of Hungary. THE Minifters of France and Spain had been very follicitous at the court of Turin, to influence the King of Sardinia in the alliance against her Hungarian majefty, and by their extensive promifes, had even engaged him to publish a manifefto, declaring his rights to the duchy of Milan; but he foon faw through the artifice; and jealous of the Spaniards gaining any fettlement in Italy, he determined to efpouse the caufe of the house of Auftria: to this he was the more inclined, as his queen was fifter to the Grand Duke of Tufcany, who, for his affiftance, had made him an offer offer of the cities of Pavia, Voghera, and Vige- CHAP. vano, with their respective districts, in the Mi- IV. lanese, which lay very convenient to his dominions. Though his Sardinian majefty had an army 1741. of 60,000 men ready to take the field, his finances were too poor to fet him in a condition of commencing hoftilities against the enemies of the house of Austria, till he could procure a fubfidy to enable him to fupport his forces: in the mean time he absolutely refufed a paffage to any of the Spanish troops through his dominions, and formed two camps on his frontiers, in each of which he affembled 10,000 men, and refolved to oppose the entrance of the Spaniards into this country, which compelled them to run the hazard of their troops in an embarkation; and when the French ambaffador demanded a paffage through Piedmont for 15,000 troops to join the Spaniards, his majefty alfo refufed it, declaring "would employ all his forces in oppofing the "He attempts of any power that fhould endeavour "to disturb the repofe of Italy;" in which he nobly adhered, with a refolution fuperior to the frowns of fortune, manifefting a magnanimity worthy the line of Eugene, and exerting all the bravery, conduct, and honour, of a valiant hero, and worthy prince. THE Ecclefiaftical and Venetian states, however disposed to affift the Queen of Hungary, adhered to a strict neutrality; but the republic of Genoa, though they had not yet declared their fentiments, were too much influenced by the councils of France to refufe an implicit conformity to the will and pleasure of that court, who had but lately affifted the republic in reducing the revolted Corficans to their obedience. PART BUT it was too late in the year for the Spani II. ards to commence any military defigns; they got into winter quarters, waiting for a reinforcement 1741. from Spain, and the return of fpring, before they attempted any thing farther to disturb the repofe of her Hungarian majefty's Italian domi nions. SECOND |