threats of father and fon by the most fupercilious A. C. 1491. neglect, All the attention of Charles was employ.. ed in averting the storm with which he was threatened from Spain and England; for, by this time, Ferdinand and Isabella had finished the war against the Moors with the reduction of Grenada, and loudly menaced France with an invafion. Henry Rymer. feemed actually in earneft in his preparations for

war.

That his dominions might be fecure on the fide of Scotland, he concluded a truce at Coldftream with the ambaffadors of James IV.. fovereign of that kingdom. In the beginning of the year he A. C. 1492. affembled a parliament, to which he declared in perfon his refolution to recover the kingdom of France, as the inheritance of his ancestors. He reminded the members of the victories gained at Crecy, Poitiers, and Agincourt, by a small number of English over the moft powerful armies of France; mentioned the different powers that were ready to co-operate with his measures in attacking that kingdom; demanded a fupply fuitable to the greatness of the occafion, exhorting the commons to fpare the purfe of the poor, and let the burden of the tax fall upon the wealthy. Though the commons had very little reafon to grant a fubfidy, confidering how the laft was embezzled, the conqueft of France was fuch a temptation as they could not refift. They not only advised him to engage in this enterprize, which in reality he had no mind to undertake, but they füpplied him with uncom.. mon alacrity; and, according to his defire, impowered him to raise a benevolence from the wealthy part of his fubjects.

Rot. Parl.

barks with

After the feffion broke up, the king received an Henry emembaffy from Charles of France, with certain pro- his army, pofals, the nature of which never tranfpired; tho' and lands at in all probability, thofe envoys laid the foundation Calais. of that peace which was concluded before the end

of

A. C. 1492 of the year. In the month of June, the queen

was delivered of a second son called Henry, who fucceeded his father on the throne of England. Immediately after that event, the king fent a reinforcement of two and twenty fhips, and two thoufand five hundred men, to the archduke Philip, who had marched against Philip de Cleves the leader of the revolted Flemings. That chief retiring to Sluys, was there befieged, and so hard preffed by the English auxiliaries, that he was obliged to fue for peace, and furrender the town to the archduke. Henry, who had no intention to profecute the war with vigour, foon began to flag in his preparations; and fent ambaffadors to France on pretence of manifefting his defire to terminate the difpute by fair means, before he would unfheath the fword of vengeance: at the fame time, he dispatched envoys to fummon Maximilian and Ferdinand, to invade France according to their engagements. But, he knew very well they had neither the incli nation nor the power to comply with the articles of the treaty. Maximilian was deftitute of troops, and Ferdinand had actually begun a negotiation with Charles, for the reftitution of Rouffillon. In the beginning of Auguft, Henry iffued new orders for fresh levies; and, in the course of the fame month, he appointed commiffioners to treat with the Scottish deputies at Coldstream, concerning a folid peace between the two nations. At length, he conftituted his fon Arthur prince of Wales guardian of the kingdom; and in the beginning of October repaired to Sandwich, where he embarked his army. Before he went on board, he received a letter from the marechal Defquerdes, propofing that a negotiation for peace might be carried on in England: but, the king refolved to negotiate in France, in order to fave appearances,

He

1

vefts Bou

He had scarce arrived at Calais, when his am. A. C. 1492* baffadors returned from the king of the Romans, Henry inwith an account of that prince's being altogether logne, unable to fulfil his engagements; and in a few days after their arrival, he received letters from his envoys in Spain, giving him to understand, that Ferdinand had made peace with Charles, on condition of being re-established in poffeffion of Rouffillon. Henry affected great furprize and confufion when Baçon, he learned these tidings, which were carefully promulgated, as preliminaries of the peace which he meant to conclude. He now permitted, though with feeming reluctance, the bishop of Bath and Wells, and the lord Daubigney, governor of Calais, to open a congrefs with the marechal Defquerdes at Eftaples; and he himself began his march for Boulogne, which he invefted on the nineteenth day of October. King Charles was then at Tours; and though he could not be ignorant of Henry's preparations, he had not even affembled an army to oppose the invader: a circumftance which plainly proves, that the whole tranfaction was concerted between the two kings; and that the fiege of Boulogne was no other than an artifice to discourage the English army with a winter campaign, that they might be the lefs difpleafed with a pacifica

tion.

cluded at

In eight days after Henry undertook this fiege, Peace conhe received the articles of peace concluded between Eftaples, the commiffioners of both kingdoms, to this effect: That the king of France should discharge the debt contracted by his queen for the defence of Brittany : That he should moreover pay to Henry the arrears of the penfion which his father granted to Edward IV. That, as there was no fum fpecified in the obligation of the dutchess of Brittany to the king of England, this last fhould produce vouchers of his accounts to French commiffioners, who fhould be

fent

Rymer.

A. C. 1492. fent to England for that purpose: That the two kings fhould name thofe of their allies whom they defired to comprehend in the treaty; and that they fhould declare in four months whether they would or would not be comprehended: That, fhould the king of the Romans and his fon Philip defire to be included, and afterwards the king of France prefume to invade their country on any pretext whatsoever, the king of England fhould be at liberty to affitt them; but should they, on the contrary, attack the dominions of France, he fhould yield them no affiftance: That, fhould the two kings approve these articles, they should mutually give hoftages until the treaty could be figned and ratified. Though thefe articles were extremely agreeable to Henry, he affected to hefitate and start objections; and at length referred them to the confideration of a general council, compofed of all the noblemen. and principal officers in the army. These were influenced and directed by fome of his own creatures, and unanimously gave it as their opinion, that the conditions ought to be accepted. The king, pretending to be determined by the advice of the council, confirmed the treaty, which was ratified in like manner by Charles; and both fovereigns undertook for its receiving the fanction of the eftates of their respective realms. The nature of this peace plainly proves that the war was undertaken folely with a view to the payment of the money expended in defence of Bretagne, and the revival of the penfion; for there is not one word in the articles relating to Henry's title to Guienne, Normandy, and the crown of France, which was his pretence for beginning the war. It was ftipulated that the treaty fhould remain in force till the death of both kings; and that the fucceffor of him who fhould die first fhould ratify the peace within a year after his accession to the throne. On the fame day that the

peace

peace was figned at Eftaples, the ambaffadors of A. C. 1492. England and Scotland concluded a truce for two years at Coldftream. This treaty between France and England gave great umbrage to Henry's fubjects, who not only repined at Brittany's being annexed to the French crown, but alfo complained that he had fleeced his people for the maintenance of a war which he undertook merely with a view to fill his own coffers. The nobility and officers who had fold or mortgaged their eftates, in hope of preferment in the fervice, fcrupled not to exclaim that the king had plucked his people to feather himself. Henry was not at all disturbed by these murmurs, which he was enabled to difregard by the payment of feven hundred and forty-five thoufand ducats for the expence of his armament, and the promise of five and twenty thousand crowns yearly, which were 'punctually remitted in the fequel. He forthwith raifed the fiege of Boulogne, and retreated to Calais, from whence he took fhipping for England, and arrived in London on the feventeenth day of December. He was by this time become extremely odious to the English, who imputed the lofs of Brittany to his avarice and neglect. They accufed him of trepanning the com. A. C. 1493% mons into a grant of exorbitant taxes, on falfe pretences; of having extorted immenfe fums illegally, under the term of a Benevolence; of having concluded an inglorious peace with the king of France; of treating the queen harfhly; and of depreffing all thofe who had been well-wifhers to the houfe of York..

Warbeck,

He was not ignorant of his people's difcontent, Accourt of and forefaw the ftorm to which he was afterwards Perkin exposed. A new pretender to his crown, more dangerous than Lambert Simnel, had started up on the continent, and affumed the name of Richard Plantagenet duke of York, fecond fon of the fourth Edward,

7