1814 BOOK IV. love of independence, for which they had obtained credit while resisting the tyranny of CHAP. XXVII. Bonaparte, rouse them to resist the tyranny of Ferdinand, or loudly to express their disapprobation of his proceedings? Far from it: they in general applauded all his measures, and hailed the suppression of the cortes, and the re-establishment of the inquisition, with as much fervour as they had displayed on the restoration of their king. To complete the ingratitude of Ferdinand, he imputed the schisms of his subjects to the "sojournment of foreign troops of different sects among them," and interposed all the obstacles in his power against the introduction of British produce and manufactures into his kingdom. Such conduct, though revolting to every generous and enlightened mind, may not be without its advantages; the Spanish colonies in South America. are advancing in their way to independence, and it is scarcely probable that they should surrender their infant liberties into the hands of such a government as that established in the mother country by King Ferdinand. Hitherto the Prince of the Brazils has not returned to Portugal; but in the mean time, that country under the regency government, seems disposed to derive benefit from her past sufferings; and the Brazils are advancing, though with a slow and hesitating step, in political and commercial importance. In the grand settlement of Europe, which became the object of the allied powers, after they had expelled from his throne the person whose ambitious plans had so long been employed in overthrowing all former barriers, there were few points more important than the adjustment of the future condition of the ten Belgic provinces, usually distinguished by the name of the Catholic Netherlands. Modern history is filled with the wars and negociations of which the disputed possession of these rich and fertile countries formed the source; they were among the first conquests of the French from the house of Austria in the revolutionary wars; and they had been declared integral parts of the French empire. When France was to be reduced to her former limits, and Holland restored to its pristine independence, the disposal of the Catholic Netherlands became a matter of immediate urgency. On the principle of restitution there could be no doubt but that they reverted to the Austrian dominion; and provisional possession of them was confided to an Austrian general, as military governor. 66 But the Emperor Francis, like his imperial predecessor, wished to divest himself of a detached territory which had long been rather a burthen than an advantage, and the future defence of which could only be secured by a strong and expensive line of fortresses. It is therefore probable that a change in the occupation of these provinces had come early under deliberation in the councils of the allied powers, and on the 1st of August a proclamation was put forth by Baron de Vincent, the Austrian governor, by which the people were informed that Belgium was to be given up into the hands of the Sovereign Prince of the Netherlands. "This union, says the general, cemented as it is by a common origin, and a reciprocity of interests, and secured by the firmest guarantees that human power can impart, will be rendered indissoluble." The same sentiments were reiterated in a proclamation issued by the Prince of Orange, who assured his new subjects that the destination of these provinces was only a part of a system by which the allied sovereigns intended to insure to the nations of Europe a long period of prosperity and repose. country as far as the Maese was now evacuated by the Russian and Prussian troops. English corps, and Germans in British pay, poured into Brussels and the principal towns of the Netherlands; and it became manifest that Great Britain meant to take upon herself the chief share in securing the Belgian frontier till the final adjustment of the affairs of Europe. In the course of the same month, a treaty was formed by the plenipotentiaries of the Prince Regent of England and the Sovereign Prince of the Netherlands, by which it was stipulated that Great Britain should retain the Cape of Good Hope, Demarara, Essequibo, and Berbice; and that Batavia, and all the rest of the conquests made from the Dutch, during the late war, namely, Surinam, Curaçoa, and St. Eustatia, should be restored to them. Ceylon, as being ceded to England before the war, to remain in her possession. The To consummate the important history of the year 1814-one of the most momentous epochs in the annals of the world, peace was concluded on the 24th of December between Great Britain and America, and for the first time during a period of a quarter of a century, with the exception of the feverish truce of Amiens, a general peace prevailed in both hemispheres, and the temple of Janus was for the present closed. BOOK IV. love of indep tained credit 1814 CHAP. XXVII. Bonaparte, r of such a g returned to In the became the were amon BOOK V. CHAP. I. AMERICAN WAR: Naval and Military Force of the United States at the Commencement of the War-State of Parties-Outrage at Baltimore-Preparations for the Invasion of CanadaSurrender of General Hull-Defeat and Surrender of General Wadsworth-Naval Campaign: Engagement between the American Frigate, Constitution, and the British Frigate, Guerriére-Capture of the Brig Frolic-Re-taken by the Poictiers-Capture of the Macedonian Frigate-Capture of the Java, after a desperate Engagement-Re-election of Mr. Madison to the Office of President of the United States-Negociations for an Armistice— Conflicting Views of the Relations between America and Great Britain taken by the President of the United States in his Message to the Congress, and the Prince Regent of England in his Speech to Parliament. AT a period when hostilities raged in Europe to an extent almost unexampled,* the demon of war extended his dominions to the western hemisphere; and his sceptre, after an interval of nearly thirty years, was again swayed over the flourishing regions of North America. Disputes, coeval with the wars of the French revolution, had terminated in a formal declaration of war against Great Britain by the congress of the United States,† passed on the 18th of June, and carried in the senate by a majority of nineteen to thirteen voices, and in the house of representatives by a majority of seventy-nine to forty-nine voices. The causes of this decision, it has been already seen, resolved themselves into four: The search of American ships-the impressment of American seamen * In the year 1812. NAVAL OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AT THE Rated. Constitution 44 guns. 1812 the unlimited extension of the system of blockade BOOK V. At the moment when America ventured to 56 guns. Capt. Hull. CORVETTE, 18 WAR, Hornet 18 Siren 16 Lieut. Caroll. New York 36 44 Argus 16 Crane. |