XII. 1559. with such indefatigable zeal and industry, repairing al- BOOK ternately to the courts of Paris and Brussels, in order to obviate or remove every difficulty, that all points in dispute were adjusted at length in such a manner, as to give entire satisfaction in every particular to Henry and Philip, and the last hand was ready to be put to the treaty between them. gard to the The claims of England remained as the only obstacle Difficulties to retard it. Elizabeth demanded the restitution of Calais with rein the most peremptory tone, as an essential condition of claims of her consenting to peace; Henry refused to give up that England. important conquest; and both seemed to have taken their resolution with unalterable firmness. Philip warmly supported Elizabeth's pretensions to Calais, not merely from a principle of equity towards the English nation, that he might appear to have contributed to their recovering what they had lost by espousing his cause, nor solely with a view of soothing Elizabeth by this manifestation of zeal for her interest, but in order to render France less formidable, by securing to her ancient enemy this easy access into the heart of the kingdom. The earnestness, however, with which he seconded the arguments of the English plenipotentiaries soon began to relax. During the course of the negociation, Elizabeth, who now felt herself firmly seated on her throne, began to take such open and vigorous measures, not only for overturning all that her sister had done in favour of popery, but for establishing the protestant church on a firm foundation, as convinced Philip that his hopes of an union with her had been from the beginning vain, and were now desperate. From that period, his interpositions in her favour became more cold and formal, flowing merely from a regard to decorum, or from the consideration of remote political interests. Elizabeth, having reason to expect such an alteration in his conduct, quickly perceived it. But as nothing would have been of greater detriment to her people, or more inconsistent with her schemes of domestic administration, than the continuance of war, she saw the necessity of XII. 3559. BOOK submitting to such conditions as the situation of her affairs imposed, and that she must reckon upon being deserted by an ally who was now united to her by a very feeble tie, if she did not speedily reduce her demands to what was moderate and attainable. She accordingly gave new instructions to her ambassadors; and Philip's plenipotentiaries acting as mediators between the French and them, an expedient was fallen upon, which, in some degree, justified Elizabeth's departing from the rigour of her first demand with regard to Calais. All lesser articles were settled without much discussion or delay. Philip, that he might not appear to have abandoned the English, insisted that the treaty between Henry and Elizabeth should be concluded in form, before that between the French monarch and himself. The one was signed on the second day of April, the other on the day following. Articles of reace be tween The treaty of peace between France and England contained no articles of real importance, but that which reFrance and spected Calais. It was stipulated, that the king of England. France should retain possession of that town, with all its dependencies, during eight years; that at the expiration of that term, he should restore it to England; that in case of non-performance, he should forfeit five hundred thousand crowns, for the payment of which sum, seven or eight wealthy merchants, who were not his subjects, should grant security; that five persons of distinction should be given as hostages until that security were provided; that, although the forfeit of five hundred thousand crowns should be paid, the right of England to Calais should still remain entire, in the same manner as if the term of eight years were expired; that the king and queen of Scotland should be included in the treaty; that if they, or the French king, should violate the peace by any hostile action, Henry should be obliged instantly to restore Calais; that, on the other hand, if any breach of the treaty proeeeded from Elizabeth, then Henry and the king and Forbes, i, 59. BOOK XII. queen of Scots were absolved from all the engagements which they had come under by this treaty. 1559. these. Notwithstanding the studied attention with which so The views many precautions were taken, it it evident that Henry did of both parties not intend the restitution of Calais, nor is it probable that with reElizabeth expected it. It was hardly possible that shespect to could maintain, during the course of eight years, such perfect concord both with France and Scotland, as not to afford Henry some pretext for alleging that she had violated the treaty. But, even if that term should elapse without any ground for complaint, Henry might then choose to pay the sum stipulated, and Elizabeth had no method of asserting her right but by force of arms. However, by throwing the articles in the treaty with regard to Calais into this form, Elizabeth satisfied her subjects of every denomination: she gave men of discernment & striking proof of her address, in palliating what she could not prevent; and amused the multitude, to whom the cession of such an important place would have appeared altogether infamous, with the prospect of recovering in a short time that favourite possession. dien: which pro peace Spain. The expedient which Montmorency employed, in or An expe der to facilitate the conclusion of peace between France and Spain, was the negociating two treaties of marriage: motes one between Elizabeth, Henry's eldest daughter, and between Philip, who supplanted his son, the unfortunate Don France and Carlos, to whom that princess had been promised in the former conferences at Cercamp; the other between Margaret, Henry's only sister, and the duke of Savoy. For, however feeble the ties of blood may often be among princes, or how little soever they may regard them when pushed on to act by motives of ambition, they assume on other occasions the appearance of being so far influenced by these domestic affections, as to employ them to justify measures and concessions which they find to be necessary, but know to be impolitic or dishonourable. Such was the use Henry made of the two marriages to which he gave XII. BOOK his consent. Having secured an honourable establishment for his sister and his daughter, he, in consideration of these, granted terms, both to Philip and the duke of Savoy, of which he would not, on any other account, have ventured to approve. The terms of pacifica tion; The principal articles in the treaty between France and Spain were, that sincere and perpetual amity should be established between the two crowns and their respective allies; hat the two monarchs should labour, in concert, to procure the convocation of a general council, in order to check the progress of heresy, and restore unity and concord to the Christian church; that all conquests made by either party, on this side of the Alps, since the commencement of the war in one thousand five hundred and fiftyone, should be mutually restored; that the duchy of Savoy, the principality of Piedmont, the country of Bresse, and all the other territories formerly subject to the dukes of Savoy, should be restored to Emanuel Philibert, immediately after the celebration of his marriage with Margaret of France, the towns of Turin, Quiers, Pignerol, Chivaz, and Villanova excepted, of which Henry should keep possession, until his claims to these plaees, in right of his grandmother, should be tried and decided in course of law; that as long as Henry retained these places in his hands, Philip should be at liberty to keep garrisons in the towns of Vercelli and Asti; that the French king should immediately evacuate all the places which he held in Tuscany and the Sienese, and renounce all future preten ions to them; that he should restore the marquisate of Montferrat to the duke of Mantua; that he should receive the Genoese into favour, and give up to them the towns which he had conquered in the island of Corsica; that none of the princes or states, to whom these cessions were made, should call their subjects to account for any part of their conduct while under the dominion of their enemies, but should bury all past transactions in oblivion. The pope, the emperor, the kings of Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Portugal, the king and queen of Scots, and al most every prince and state in Christendom, were comprehended in this pacification, as the allies either of Henry or of Philip. BOOK XII. 1559 establishes rope. Thus, by this famous treaty, peace was re-established which rein Europe. All the causes of discord which had so long tra quelliembroiled the powerful monarchs of France and Spain, y Euthat had transmitted hereditary quarrels and wars from Charles to Philip, and from Francis to Henry, seemed to be wholly removed, or finally terminated. The French alone complained of the unequal conditions of a treaty, into which an ambitious minister, in order to recover his liberty, and an artful mistress, that she might gratify her resentment, had seduced their too easy monarch. They exclaimed loudly against the folly of giving up to the enemies of France an hundred and eighty-nine fortified places, in the Low Countries, or in Italy, in return for the three insignificant towns of St Quintin, Ham, and Catelet. They considered it as an indelible stain upon the glory of the nation, to renounce in one day territories so extensive, and so capable of being defended, that the enemy could not have hoped to wrest them out of its hands, after many years of victory. france and fied. But Henry, without regarding the sentiments of his The peace people, or being moved by the remonstrances of his coun-between cil, ratified the treaty, and executed, with great fidelity, natiwhatever he had stipulated to perform. The duke of Savoy repaired, with a numerous retinue, to Paris, in order to celebrate his marriage with Henry's sister. The duke of Alva was sent to the same capital, at the head of a splendid embassy, to espouse Elizabeth in the name of his master. They were received with extraordinary magnificence by the French court. Amidst the rejoicings and Death of festivities on that occasion, Henry's days were cut short Henry. by a singular and tragical accident. His son, Francis II. a prince under age, of a weak constitution, and of a mind still more feeble, succeeded him. Soon after, Paul ended his violent and imperious pontificate, at enmity with * Recueil des Traitez, tom. ii, 287. |