France, mediaeval and modern : a history
10 IK- U> (ri O _ >- 73 If lU J^ <3 M w -^,w~ ■-' r- m w O o II > u n ^ >> § Ta 11 c S-5 X PI 3 M Cj 1-1 a 3 C « i^ t^ M 2 164 The Age of Louis XIV of Cologne, Portugal, through fear of Spain, was the ally of Louis, and so too was Savoy, whose alliance could not be regarded as of much value. Till the battle of Blenheim in 1704 the French losses were fairly well balanced by suc- cesses. Thus, in October 1702 Villars defeated the Impe- rialists at Friedlingen, while in the same month Boufflers suffered a reverse in the Netherlands, and in Vigo Bay the Spanish galleons were destroyed and the combined French and Spanish fleets were defeated. In 1703 the alliance of France with Bavaria enabled Villars to plan a march on Vienna which would probably, if undertaken, have been successful. For Hungary was in revolt and Marlborough was fully occupied in the Netherlands, Fortunately for the Emperor, Maximilian of Bavaria was intent upon operations in the Tyrol, and the chance was lost, one result being that Villars quarrelled violently with Maximilian and was recalled. Before the famous march on Vienna in 1704 had been under- taken,France had lost the alliance with Savoy, which had joined the Emperor, thus rendering a French attack on Austria, such as was carried out by Napoleon in 1796 and 1797, impossible. Nevertheless, Tallard, full of confidence, began his march. On August 13, however, he suffered a disastrous defeat at Blenheim, from Marlborough and Prince Eugene — ^\^ienna was saved, Bavaria was overrun, and its Elector escaped to France. Meanwhile Portugal had joined the Allies, and nine days before Blenheim Gibraltar had been taken by Rooke, With Portugal as a base, the Allies were now able to invade Spain, the government of which was, in 1 705, directed by Amelot, the French envoy, and the Princesse des Ursins, In March 1706 the French army under Villeroi suffered a disastrous defeat at Ramillies, with the result that all Brabant, most of Flanders, The Age of Louis XIV 165 and Ostend fell into Marlborough's hands. Moreover, in August the battle of Turin was followed by the expulsion of the French from Piedmont. In 1707 Louis wisely resolved to evacuate Italy, with the exception of Savoy and Nice, and in March the Convention of Milan secured North Italy for the Allies. Louis was now able to concentrate all his forces in Spain, Flanders, and on the Rhine. The results of the year 1706 had been so satisfactory for the Allies, that Louis had, in October, made overtures for peace. But the English ministers would not accept his proposal for a partition of the Spanish monarchy, and were supported by the Em- peror. Louis, however, had his revenge, for the year 1707 was disastrous to the Allies, though Marlborough was re- assured as to the designs of Charles XII of Sweden. Never- theless, the death of Louis of Baden in January 1707, the failure of the invasion of Provence by Eugene and Victor Amadeus, and the defeat of the Allies at Almanza, which battle assured the throne of Spain to the Bourbons — all these events were in striking contrast to the successes of 1706. Nevertheless, in December 1707 the House of Lords decided that no peace could be honourable or safe which allowed the House of Bourbon to retain any part of the Spanish monarchy, and the events of the following year seemed to justify their confidence. For in 1708 an expedition to Scotland in favour of James Edward ended in failure, and the battle of Oudenarde, fought on July II, resulted in the submission of the whole of Flanders to the Allies, and in the capture in December of the citadel of Lille after a brilliant defence by Boufflers. It was not surprising, therefore, that proposals of peace were laid before Marlborough at The Hague by Torcy , the French Agent in Holland. While willing to make considerable concessions. i66 The Age of Louis XIV Louis refused to aid the Allies in compelling Philip to renounce the Spanish crown. The war therefore continued. Louis made a stirring appeal to the patriotism of the French nation, and on September 1 1, 1709, the famous battle of Malplaquet was fought. Though it was lost by Villars, his ' army could fairly claim to have shared the honours ' with their opponents. In February 17 10 negotiations were opened at Gertruyden- berg, but again failed, as Philip would not agree to the pro- posals of the Allies. He was justified, for before the end of the year the Allies were defeated at Brihuega (December 10) and at Villaviciosa (December 20), and Philip's position was assured. Meanwhile, the Whig Government in England had been replaced by the Tories under Harley and St. John, who before many months were over showed a readiness to enter upon negotiations. The Archduke Charles succeeded to the Austrian throne early in 171 1, and it was then obviously im- possible for the Allies to desire the restoration of the Habsburg Empire of Charles V. Negotiations were at once set on foot, and in October preliminaries of peace were drawn up ; but none the less hostilities continued through the year 171 1, and Marlborough took Bouchain on September 13. Before, however, he could advance into France he was recalled, and on December 31 dismissed from all his employments. On January i, 171 2, the Congress of Utrecht was opened, though no armistice was arranged, and on July 24 Villars defeated the Dutch at Denain, and raised the prestige of the French arms by his capture of Quesnoy and Bouchain. In July Philip V con- sented to renounce his claim on the French throne, and in April 1713 the Peace of Utrecht was signed. It consisted) of a number of treaties. To Great Britain France gave Newfoundland, Acadia, and Hudson's Bay, recognized the] The Age of Louis XIV 167 Protestant Succession in England, and promised to dismantle Dunkirk. Her share in the fisheries north of Cape Bonavista and her right to cure fish on the shore of Newfoundland were allowed, and Cape Breton Island and the other islands at the mouth of the St. Lawrence were ceded to her. It was also settled that the Spanish Netherlands should be given to Austria ; that a Barrier should be set up between France and the United Netherlands ; and that France should receive certain towns. France not only made peace with Great Britain and Holland : she also signed treaties with Prussia, Savoy, and Portugal, From Spain Great Britain obtained Gibraltar, Minorca, and the Assiento (a contract which gave England the monopoly of supplying the Spanish colonies in America with negro slaves) ; and, most important of all, the renunciation by Philip of his claims, and those of his succes- sors, to the throne of France. The real cause of the war had been the danger of the union of the crowns of Spain and France. The Emperor, however, refused to make peace till March 6, 1 7 14, when the Treaty of Rastadt closed the war between Austria and France ; while in September the Treaty of Baden established peace with the Empire. The reign of Louis XIV ended somewhat sadly. On May 1 1, 1714, the Duke of Berry died, and the son of the late Duke of Burgundy — a child of four — alone stood between the Duke of Orleans and the succession. In spite of his age and the calamities which the late war had brought upon France, Louis showed a re- markable activity in religious as well as political matters. For by the advice of his confessor, Le Tellier, he had in 1710 caused Port-Royal to be destroyed and its inmates scattered. In 171 3 he supported the Bull Unigenitus which Clement XI had fulminated against the Jansenists, and he was busy supporting the Jacobites when he died on September i, 1715. Louis XV and Failures in India and Canada, 171J-176J After an interval of four years following the conclusion of the Peace of Utrecht the relations of France and England became friendly, and remained more or less so till the opening of the Austrian Succession War in 1740. Nevertheless, a constant source of friction existed between the two countries, owing to their rivalry on the American continent and in India. The results of the Spanish Succession War, as far as England was concerned, w^ere seen to be mainly colonial and commercial : for not only did England obtain Acadia (Nova Scotia) — with its 16,000 French inhabitants — and Newfound- land, but France was compelled to yield all her pretensions to the settlements held by the Hudson's Bay Company. The founders of that Company were two Frenchmen, Chouart and Radisson. Chouart, the son of a Breton pilot, emi- grated to Quebec in 1641, and shortly afterwards took the name of Grosseilliers. In Canada he was joined by Radisson, a Huguenot, and after several expeditions they made, in 1661, a famous one to the North- West. They clearly perceived an opportunity of establishing a rich fur trade, but in Paris they found no support. In 1667, however, Grosseilliers and Radisson had interviews with Prince Rupert in London. In 1668 Grosseilliers returned to Canada, and in August 1669 his ship conveyed to England a cargo of furs. On May 2, 1670, Prince Rupert obtained from Charles II a charter for the Hudson's Bay Company. In 1685 tlic Louis XV and India and Canada, 1715-1763 169 French had dislodged the Company from all its possessions except Port Nelson, but in 171 3 the Company was restored to its former position. Though France had suffered losses in the Spanish Succession War, the period from the Peace of Utrecht to the opening of the Seven Years' War was one of prosperity for the French colonies. France, during many years of that period, definitely aimed at carrying out the policy of Louis XIV in America, her constant object being to hem in the English colonists by a chain of settlements extending from the mouth of the Mississippi to Canada ; in other words, to connect Canada and Louisiana. Moreover, during the pacific ministries of Fleury and Walpole French trade flourished and the French East India Company, with Pondicherry as its chief centre, progressed. With the out- break of war between England and France in 1743 a critical period for the French settlements in India and Canada opened, which twenty years later ended in disaster for France. From 1 71 3 till 1740, as has been stated, France and England were at peace, the period being an interlude in the second Hundred Years' War, which opened in 1689 and closed in 181 5. ForFrance the death of Louis XIV in 171 5 marked the close of a great era in its history ; and till the outbreak of the Revolu- tion, in spite of its apparent strength, the monarchy steadily declined. While on the surface the most striking feature of eighteenth-century Europe would seem to be the attempts made to preserve the ' balance of power ', it is probably true to say that the more important side of European history during the century is the course of that movement which culminated in the French Revolution. And during the century the political opposition to the despotism of the Crown was over and over again demonstrated by the conflicts between the Court and the Parlements. At the same time, 170 Louis XV and Failures in it must be remembered that till the outbreak of the Seven Years' War French foreign policy had been on the whole successful, while in Canada and India the prospects seemed bright. The contrast between the unrest at home and the strong position held by France in Europe from the close of the War of the Spanish Succession to the opening of the Seven Years' War is very striking. On the death of Louis XIV, in 1715, the Duke of Orleans became Regent, and remained so till 1723. In that year, Louis XV was proclaimed of age, and at the end of the year Orleans died. Orleans, who was a man of considerable intelligence, held liberal views, and had no sympathy with the traditions of the late regime. But he was essentially indolent, and only occasionally acted with vigour. The first years of his rule were marked by a reaction in all directions. The Parlement of Paris set aside Louis XIV's will, in which he had placed the government in the hands of a Council, and was reinvested with the right of remonstrance which the late King had taken from it. Orleans then formed six Councils, composed mainly of nobles, to assist in carrying on the government. In restoring the Parlement of Paris to its ancient privileges Orleans was unwittingly dealing the monarchy a blow from which it never recovered. The Parlement and the twelve ipr ow'mcial Parlements were judicial bodies, with two political rights — that of remonstrance against the royal edicts, and that of veto upon legislation. In the various courts of judicature which formed the Parle- me7it of Paris some 40,000 persons were employed. At times during the century it acted as a constitutional check upon the monarchy ; at other times, as in Louis XVI's reign, it opposed all attempts at reform. Nevertheless, owing to the fact that the States-General was not summoned, the Parlement of Paris India and Canada, 171 5-1763 171 was regarded by the nation as the only means of ventilating grievances. Thus it acquired an influence and an importance which were in great measure undeserved. Till 1 718 all seemed to go well, and all parties supported the Regent. In 1717 Dubois brought about the famous Triple Alliance between France, England, and Holland, and thus inaugurated a period of peace with England which continued till the opening of the Austrian Succession War. In 171 8, however, difficulties at home arose. The grand schemes of John Law, by which the paper currency of the country was multiplied disastrously, were sanctioned by the Regent in spite of the opposition of the Parlemetit of Paris. The year 1718 marked in various ways the return of the Government to absolutism ; in that year the Departmental Councils were abolished, and next year the resistance of Brittany to the demand for a subsidy ended in the suppression of the last genuine provincial liberties in France. In 1718 the Cel- lamare conspiracy had been discovered, and the Duke and Duchess of Maine imprisoned. Thus at home the position of Orleans was secure, while the Triple Alliance had been strengthened by the adhesion of the Emperor, Charles VI, in August. It thus became the Quad- ruple Alliance, and proved easily able to defeat the aims of Alberoni, who had already conquered Sardinia and Sicily for the King of Spain, and, till his fall in December 1719, never relaxed his opposition to the members of the Alliance. In January of that year France declared war upon Spain, and a French army besieged Fuenterrabia. But the war closed in February 1720, and in March 1721 marriages were arranged between the two countries — Mile de Montpensier was to marry Don Luis, the Prince of the Asturias, a marriage which took place in 1722 ; and Louis XV was to marry the 172 Louis XV and Failures in Infanta, who arrived in Paris in March of that year. The later years of the Regency were marked by the supremacy of Dubois (now a Cardinal), by the close of the liberal reaction of the period following the death of Louis XIV, and by the gigantic failure of Law's schemes. Under the Regency many of the reforms which were later associated with the name of Turgot were set on foot. Road- making was carried out, interprovincial restrictions were removed, colonies were encouraged. In 1723, however, the death of Dubois in August, followed by that of Orleans in December, brought the Regency to a close. Till June ii, 1726, the Duke of Bourbon and his mistress, Madame de Prie, who supported the Jesuits, practically governed the country, their main object being apparently to overthrow the influence of Fleury, Louis XV's old tutor, and to provide Louis with a wife so that, by the birth of an heir, the chance of tlie young Duke of Orleans becoming King of France might be lessened. Consequently the Infanta, who was then seven years old, was sent back to Spain, and on September 4, 1725, Louis married Maria Leszczynska. In that month France, allied with England and Prussia, was on the verge of war with Spain and Austria ; the latter Powers had come together in April, and in the following November made a secret treaty aimed chiefly at England and France. Though Russia joined Austria in the following year no war took place. That peace was preserved was partly due to the efforts of Fleury, who in June 1 726, on the fall of the Duke of Bourbon, had become First Minister ; partly to the death of Catherine of Russia in May 1727; partly to the realization of Elizabeth Farnese that the Austrian alliance was of little value, and that Spanish finances could not bear a war. The Convention of the Pardo in March 1728 prepared the way for the Congress of Soissons, India and Canada, 1715-1763 ^73 which met on June 14 and sat for a year. Fleury, who desired above all things the continuance of peace, devoted all his energies to separating Spain and Austria from each other, and decided to maintain the alliance with England. His policy was successful, and on November 9, 1729, Spain joined England and France in the Treaty of Seville. The guarantee of the succession of Don Carlos (the son of Philip V of Spain) to the Duchy of Parma, by England and France, led to the rupture of relations between Austria and Spain. War was, however, averted by the promise of the maritime Powers to guarantee the Pragmatic Sanction, by which Charles VI bequeathed his states to his daughter, Maria Theresa, and in 1732 Don Carlos entered into quiet possession of Parma. In bringing the settlement about France had taken no share. Fleury, not intending to fight for Don Carlos, had shown such irresolution that in January 1731 a state of extreme tension existed between the two Bourbon Courts, only partly healed when the War of the Polish Succession broke out in August 1733- The electric situation in Europe before the outbreak of that war had at any rate brought to a close Fleury's great struggle with the Parlement of Paris. ' For the first time for many years there was a direct, open, and serious opposition to the Crown ' in the year 1730 and the two following years, on the part of the Parlement of Paris. In 1718 and 1720 the grounds of opposition to the Crown were financial, but from 1730 to 1 77 1 they were religious and political. In 1730 the Archbishop of Paris endeavoured to compel his clergy to accept the Bull Unigenitus which had been issued in 1 71 3, condemning loi propositions from the work of Quesnel, a Jansenist. The Parlement of Paris supported the resistance of the clergy. High-handed action by the King, on Fleury's advice, only caused the Parlement to threaten to 174 Louis XV and Failures in suspend the whole administration of justice, and the struggle continued, many members being exiled. The imminence of ■. war caused Fleury to recall the sentence of exile, and the I opening of 1733 found the Parlement and Jansenism had triumphed. The War of the Polish Succession has many important points of interest. The birth of a Dauphin in September 1729 destroyed any chance of the King of Spain ascending the throne of France ; and despite the temporary coolness between the two Courts between 1730 and 1733, it was becoming obvious to many in both countries that their interests demanded an alliance. The death of Augustus II, King of Poland, in February 1733, the entry of Russian troops into Poland in August, the election of Stanislaus Leszczynski in September, followed by that of Augustus III (the Russian and Austrian candidate) in October, rendered the outbreak of a general European War inevitable. On September 26 France concluded the Treaty of Turin with Charles Emmanuel, on October 10 she declared war against Austria, and on November 7 signed the Treaty of the Escurial (the first Family Compact) with Spain. A family compact had been effected in 1721, but, like that of 1733, was an episode rather than a dominating fact in the history of the future. Fleury, in this and the War of the Austrian Succession, proved a bad War Minister, but in 1734 and 1735 Chauvelin, the Keeper of the Seals, supported by a strong war party and by public opinion generally, showed energy ; and though France failed in her Polish aims, she secured by the third Treaty of Vienna, 1735, the practical possession of Lorraine and Bar, which Stanislaus, having renounced his claim to Poland, was to occupy on the death of the Grand Duke of Tuscany. The Grand Duchy was then to go as India and Canada, 171 5-1763 175 compensation to Francis, Duke of Lorraine, who in 1736 mar- ried Maria Theresa, daughter of the Emperor Charles VI, and who himself became Emperor in 1745. It was also settled in 1735 that Don Carlos was to receive the kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the Tuscan Presidencies (Elba and some points on the coast), and to hand over Parma and Piacenza to the Emperor — an arrangement which was not approved of in France, and not in accordance with the Family Compact. Though France, following the example of England, Holland, and other Powers, consented to guarantee the Pragmatic Sanction, she only did so with secret reservations. The close of the war found Fleury all-powerful in France ; for early in 1737 Chauvelin, the head of the war party, had been disgraced, and Fleury was able to establish friendly rela- tions with Austria. After the third Treaty of Vienna was signed he found opportunities of drawing closer the bonds between the two countries during the war of 1736-9, in which Russia and Austria were united against Turkey. In that war Austria suffered defeat, and in September 1739 the diplomacy of Villeneuve succeeded in bringing about the Treaty of Bel- grade between Austria and Turkey. The close connexion between Russia and Austria was weakened, and both countries showed a readiness to secure the French alliance. France had apparently become the arbiter of Europe. The Wars of the Austrian Succession, 1740-8, and THE Seven Years' War, 1756-63 The death of the Emperor Charles VI on October 20, 1740, followed by that of Anna of Russia on October 26, overthrew all Fleury's pacific hopes. Frederick the Great, who had succeeded to the throne of Prussia in May, lost 176 Louis XV and Failures in no time in entering Silesia in December, and the Austrian Succession War broke out ; and Spain had declared war upon England in August 1739. These events caused great excite- ment among the war party in France. For some months Fleury pursued a waiting policy, but early in 1741 the war party proved too strong for him ; a French army in August crossed the Rhine, joined the Bavarians and later the Saxons, and on November 26 occupied Prague. In July 1742 Maria Theresa made the Treaty of Berlin with Frederick the Great, yielding the greater part of Silesia. The first Silesian War was thus closed, but Austria and France continued at war. In January 1743 the death of Fleury was followed by a more active policy on the part of France, which declared Avar on Sardinia, and after the battle of Dettingen made the second Family Compact with Spain in October. War was not actually declared upon England till March 1744, when France resumed the second Hundred Years' War, which from 1713 had been suspended. Its resumption was to have serious results for France, though their extent was not to be actually realized till 1763. From 1740 to 18 15 Europe was involved in many wars, in the majority of which France took part. From 1740 to 1763 her interests were chiefly colonial and Indian, and the struggle for predominance in America and India, between France and England, was decided by the action of sea power. The great questions to be determined during these twenty- three years were, says Admiral Mahan, ' the dominion of the sea, the control of distant countries, the possession of colonies '. France, not content with Canada and Louisiana, claimed the valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi. Had that claim been allowed, the English colonists would have been unable to expand westwards. In India she was established at Chander- India and Canada, 1 715-1763 177 nagore, at Pondicherry, and at Mahe, and held the important islands of France and Bourbon. At this time her interests in India were watched over by Dupleix and La Bourdonnais, both men of unusual ability. The latter was convinced that the success of the French power in India depended upon secur- ing the control of the sea. In 1744, when war with England definitely opened, La Bourdonnais had formed the Isle of France into a great naval station, while Dupleix, now Governor-General at Pondicherry, aimed at securing the supremacy of France in India by diplomacy and by alliances with the native princes. In 1745, after a drawn battle with the English fleet. La Bourdonnais besieged Madras. There he quarrelled with Dupleix (who shortly afterwards broke the agreement which had been made with the Governor of Madras) and returned to France, where after three years' imprisonment he died. Meanwhile, Dupleix seized Madras, but the war ended in 1748 and Madras was exchanged for Louisbourg. During the war the chief attention of the French Government was, however, engrossed in European affairs, to the ultimate detriment of its colonial interests. The war which broke out in 1744 included operations in Canada, India, and on the sea, in addition to the opera- tions in Europe. In January 1745 the Emperor Charles VII, whom France had placed on the Imperial throne, died, and in September the Grand Duke Francis, husband of Maria Theresa, became Emperor. At the end of that year the Austrian troops were able, owing to the conclusion of the Second Silesian War, to aid Charles Emmanuel of Sardinia, with the result that the French and Spanish troops were ex- pelled from Italy, and all the interesting plans of d'Argenson for the future government of that country came to naught. Nevertheless, in 1745, 1746, and 1747 Marshal Saxe gained 1832.3 V 178 Louis XV and Failures in a series of successes (Fontenoy, Raucoux, Laufferdt) in the Netherlands, and in 1748 both England and France were ready for peace ; as far as these two countries were concerned all conquests were restored by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. It would now seem that the French policy of entering into war in Europe was a serious mistake. Her true policy was to have supported Dupleix in India, and her representatives in Canada. As it was, she had seriously weakened herself for a resumption of the final struggle for supremacy in India and Canada. Thus the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle proved to be merely a truce for eight years, during which France at home seemed to be on the brink of a revolution. The troubles which broke out in 1748 were, in the first place, due to the attempt to collect a tax. France had gained nothing by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, and in consequence there was great dis- content in the country, which was ready to show itself. D'Argenson in his journals, speaking of the situation at that time, tells us that ' all orders are at once discontented. Every- thing is combustible. A revolution may be accomplished with less opposition than is supposed.' Between the years 1744 and 1754 the Court was continually quarrelling with the Parlement, and it was not till the latter date that Madame de Pompadour persuaded the King to make the birth of a grand- son (afterwards Louis XVI) the excuse for recalling the Parle- ment of Paris, which at once took a firm line, checking the persecution of Protestants and condemning some priests to exile. Still the religious war continued, and it led to the appearance of religious scepticism in many quarters. But, in 1756, Benedict XIV wisely effected a compromise, and in consequence Jansenism was, to a certain extent, tolerated, though it was evident that ecclesiastics and monks had become increasingly unpopular. The outbreak of the Seven Years' India and Canada, 171 5-1763 179 War, however, for a time diverted the public attention from both the Parlement and the Jesuits. During the interval between the close of the Austrian Succession War and the opening of the Seven Years' War French diplomacy had been active. There was no sign of any desire on the part of the Government to form an alliance with Austria, and thus to break away from a policy which had continued since the days of Francis I. Austria, moreover, was closely united to Russia by a treaty signed in 1746, which had for its chief aim the recovery of Silesia and the break up of the Prussian kingdom. An alliance with Russia seemed impossible for France, for French policy aimed not only at maintaining close relations with Sweden and Turkey, but at strengthening Poland and saving her from absolute subjection to Russia. In Poland one party (the Saxon) desired a Russian alliance, the other (the National party) was opposed to Russian influence. Louis XV's aim was to secure the election to the Polish crown — on the death of Augustus III — for the Prince of Conti, the great-nephew of the famous Conde. The coalition of Poland, Turkey, and Sweden would then be rendered powerful, and a decided check given to Russian ambition. Des Alleurs and d'Havren- court, both partisans of Conti, were dispatched respectively to Constantinople and Sweden, while in 1752 the Comte de Broglie was sent to Poland ostensibly to oppose any alliance of Poland with Russia, but in reality to forward Conti's candidature without informing Saint-Contest, the French Foreign Minister, that he was doing so. In 1755 success seemed to have rewarded de Broglie's efforts. Augustus III had been won over, Sweden and Turkey were ready to fall in with de Broglie's scheme, and thus in the event of a renewal of war France would be supported N 2 i8o Louis XV and Faihires in by allies. But in the west of Europe a diplomatic revolu- tion was on the point of destroying all de Broglie's work, with the result that the Partition of Poland became inevit- able. The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle was merely a triice, for the causes of antagonism between France and England were permanent. Their forces met at Fort Duquesne on the Ohio in 1754, while from 175 1 onwards confused struggles took place in India, where Dupleix was endeavouring to found a French Empire. At this crisis in her history France, as in the Austrian Succession War, failed to realize that all her efforts should be devoted to the maintenance of her position in India and Canada. In 1754 Dupleix was recalled, and eight years later the French dominion in India came to an end. Both Canada and India were lost while France was employing her armies in an endeavour to restore Silesia to Maria Theresa. In January 1756 the Second Treaty of Westminster, between Prussia and England, was the first step in the diplomatic revolution. The alliance between Austria and England had terminated the previous year, and for some time Austria had been endeavouring to come to an under- standing with France. The Second Treaty of Westminster at last brought them together, and in May 1756 the Treaty of Versailles was signed. Thus the change of alliances was completed, and till the Revolution France and Austria were nominally allies. In 1757 a second Treaty of Versailles bound France more closely than ever to Austria, and French troops fought in Europe while India and Canada were being lost. Though the French took Minorca on June 28, 1756, and in September 1757 Richelieu forced from Cumberland the Convention of Klosterzeven, the French army was totally defeated at Rossbach on November 5, and in June 1758, at Crefeld, by Ferdinand of Brunswick. Choiseul, who suc- ceeded Bernis as Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1759, could India and Canada, 1715-1763 181 not save France from a series of disasters. Quebec was lost, the Brest fleet was defeated at Quiberon Bay, and the Toulon fleet was destroyed. In 1760 Canada was entirely lost, and all French hopes in India were dashed to the ground. In 1 76 1, however, France made with Spain — now ruled by Charles III (Don Carlos) — the famous Family Compact, Charles being resolved to recover Gibraltar, and Choiseul hopeful that a league of the Bourbon Powers would be attended by beneficial results. The results, however, of this alliance were disappointing : England declared war upon Spain in January 1762, and captured Martinique, Havana, and Manila, besides several of the lesser French islands such as Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent. Elizabeth of Russia had died in January; her successor, Peter III, made an alliance in May with Frederick the Great, but on Peter's abdication in July his wife Catherine withdrew her troops from the war. Before the year closed negotiations for peace were opened, and on February 10, 1763, France and England signed the Peace of Paris. France lost Canada, retaining, however, certain fishing rights off Newfoundland and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, as well as the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon. She also regained Martinique, St. Lucia, Guadeloupe, Marie-Galante, La Desirade, and Goree, and restored Minorca, receiving Belle Isle in ex- change. France was not to set up military establishments in India, and received back her factories. To Spain, which could not recover Minorca, France gave New Orleans and Louisiana west of the Mississippi, while England restored to her Havana and the conquered ports of Cuba. France had now an opportunity of setting her house in order, of carrying out reforms, and of averting another revo- lutionary crisis. Would she avail herself of the opportunity ? In 1762 Rousseau's Contrat Social had been published. 10 After the Seven Years' War In his early days Louis XIV seems, like Richelieu and Mazarin, to have favoured that development of transmarine conquest and commerce which seemed so likely to benefit the mother country. But he was soon absorbed by dynastic ambitions and by the vices of absolutism. In 1672 Leibnitz placed before him his Consilium Aegyptiacum — a memoir on Egypt which he hoped would lead Louis to carve out a great French Empire on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean : France should seize Cairo and Constanti- nople, and occupy North Africa ; she would thus be mis- tress of the Mediterranean, would control the avenues of Asiatic commerce, and would be supreme on the Red Sea. Involved in costly attempts upon Germany and the Nether- lands, Louis lost the best chance that France ever had of founding a great colonial empire. After the Peace of Utrecht England rapidly secured control of the ocean waterways, while France, from the outbreak of the Polish Succession War in 1733, again entangled herself in the quarrels of Central Europe, Thus, in spite of the efforts of La Bourdonnais and Dupleix in India and of Montcalm in Canada, the Seven Years' War saw the loss of French dominion in Canada and the end of French pretensions to dominion on the Coro- mandel coast of India. Vauban, in his Memoirs sur les Colonies (1699), ^^^ shown an appreciation of the real reason of the lack of vigorous growth After the Seven Years' War 183 in the colonies. What, in his opinion, they needed was civil and religious liberty and the abolition of commercial privi- leges. They were, he declared, choked by Church establish- ments, while the monks were ' incomparably more successful in enriching themselves than in converting the heathen '. In a striking sentence he declares that ' if the King does not take vigorous steps for strengthening his colonies, at the first war with Holland or England they will all be lost ; we shall never regain our footing in America '. At the conclu- sion of the Seven Years' War Vauban's prediction, owing to Louis XIV's bigotry and the diversion of his attention from the colonies to ambitious schemes in Europe, was fully justified. With the close of the Seven Years' War, then, the era of grand colonial expansion which had characterized the seven- teenth century came definitely to a close. During the Seven Years' War the French Government, entangled in the quarrel between Austria and Prussia, with a weak navy and dilapidated finances (all the ocean waterways being under English control) , had suffered overwhelming defeat in America, Canada, and India. Consequently it was not surprising that, having decisively failed in this unequal contest, France experienced a conflict of opinions as to the advantage of dependencies beyond the sea. Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Rousseau, all agreed for different reasons in condemning a colonial system, Rousseau on the ground that it led to the corruption or ex- termination of the noble savage. They all agreed, however, in reprobating that subordination of civil to ecclesiastical interests which had so often hampered the work of colonial governors, and which was one of the chief causes of the loss of Canada. Even in India it was said that the intrigues of the Jesuit Lavaur had accelerated the fall of Lally. 184 After the Seven Years' War No sooner was the Seven Years' War brought to a close than the conflict between the Crown and the Parlement of Paris was renewed- — in fact, till 1770 the Parlement continued to resist the financial demands of the Crown, and was en- couraged to do so by popular feeling. In other directions the Parlement was active. In 1764, owing to its opposition to the Jesuits, in which it was powerfully supported by the philosophers and public opinion, Louis XV, acting in agree- ment with Choiseul, issued an edict abolishing the Order in France. During his period of office Choiseul refused to entertain any idea of crushing the Parlements. He was, indeed, chiefly interested in questions of foreign policy ; his chief aims were to defeat England, to destroy the effects of the Treaty of Paris, and, by intervening in the east and north of Europe, to strengthen Poland, Turkey, and Sweden. 