A. C. 1495 Perkin makes an coaft of Kent. Tranfacti liament. by the dutchess of Burgundy, he fet fail in July, and arriving on the coaft of Kent near Sandwich, landed fome of his people, to found the inclinations of the natives. Thefe endeavoured to cajole the Kentifhmen, by affuring them that there was a ftrong armament fitted out in Flanders for fupporting the title of the duke of York; but the. English perceiving they were all foreigners and freebooters, instead of joining them, confulted the gentlemen of the county, who advised them to allure Perkin afhore with fair promifes, and then make fure of his perfon. They accordingly took to their arms, and marching down to the fea-fide, invited the pretender to land, with affurances of rifking their lives in his fervice. But, he was diffuaded from trusting himself in their hands, by his fecretary Frion, who from their delaying this declaration fo long, and then appearing in regular bands, concluded they were part of Henry's forces. On this fuppofition he hindered Perkin from landing in perfon. The English finding he fufpected their defign, fell upon those whom he had fent on fhore, and put them all to the fword, except about one hundred and fifty, who were brought prifoners to London, and hanged in different parts of the coaft by the king's order: mean while Perkin, feeing the difafter of his people, hoifted fail and returned to Flanders. The king returning from his progress in the ons in par- north, affembled a parliament on the thirteenth day of October; and divers laws were made for the eafe and convenience of the fubject. Among these the most remarkable was a fatute, ordaining, That no person affifting, in arms or otherwise, the king for the time being, fhould be afterwards called to account, or attainted on that accufation. This ftatute appears at first fight to have been enacted in favour of the people; but, in reality it was calcu lated lated to hinder individuals from prying too nar. A. C. 1495 rowly into the king's title, which they would have no longer occafion to inveftigate, as this provision was made for their fafety. There was another law Rot. Parl. paffed for obliging those who had complied with the tax called Benevolence, to pay their arrears within a certain time; an act which brought large fums into the king's coffers, as great part of the tax remained unpayed on account of the fhort duration of the French war, for the maintainance of which it was granted: the archbishop of Canterbury owed fifteen hundred pounds of his proportion. Perkin During the feffion of this parliament, Henry Warbeck received intelligence that Perkin Warbeck had lands in landed in Ireland, where he expected to find ef- Ireland. fectual fupport from the friends of the houfe of York, from whom he had formerly met with a favourable reception. But, by this time, the king and his deputy Poynings, had taken fuch prudent measures to prevent any difturbance in that kingdom, that no perfon of any confequence declared in his behalf; fo that his friends advised him to follicit fuccour of James king of Scotland, who was upon very indifferent terms with Henry. The dutchess of Burgundy had entered into a fecret negotiation with that prince, who, in all probability, had engaged to affift him before he failed from Flanders; and the youth is faid to have been recommended to his protection by Maximilian, who had fucceeded his father Frederick as emperor of Germany, the archduke Philip, and Charles king of France. Perkin, feeing no hopes of being fup- From ported in Ireland, and Henry having put the whole whence he coaft of England in a pofture of defence, failed to Scotland, Scotland, and repairing to Edinburgh, demanded an audience of James, in quality of duke of York. Buchanan. Being accordingly admitted to that king's presence, he repairs to tably received by the king of that coun A.C. 1495. he in a public fpeech recapitulated the viciffitudes of fortune he had undergone, and implored his and is hofpi- friendship and affistance. James received him with great hofpitality, acknowledged him as the fon of Edward IV. beftowed upon him in marriage his own kinfwoman Catherine Gordon, daughter to the earl of Huntley, one of the most beautiful and ac complished young ladies of the age; and promised to fupport his pretenfions with the whole power of his kingdom. James was knight-errant enough to efpouse the cause of a prince in diftrefs, without any other motive than that of glory: this however, was reinforced by the recommendation of Charles the French king, whofe intereft it was, in a particular manner, to embroil Henry at home, that he might not be at leisure to join a league of the Italian princes and states, which was formed to oppose his designs upon the kingdom of Naples. French d tien to Maples. Charles had paffed the Alps at the invitation of king's expe- Ludovico Sforza, nephew to John Galeazo duke of Milan. He entered Italy without oppofition, obliged Peter de Medicis, who governed the republic of Florence, to furrender four of his strongest places into his hands, and accommodate him with a fum of money. He made a triumphal entry into that capital, where he published a manifefto, explaining his pretenfions to the kingdom of Naples: then he repaired to Rome, of which he took poffeffion, while pope Alexander VI. fhut himself up. in the caftle of St. Angelo, for the fecurity of his perfon. After having garrisoned the best places in the ecclefiaftical ftate, and received cardinal Cæfar Borgia the pope's bastard as an hostage, he began his march from Rome to Naples. Alphonfo king of that realm, was fo terrified at his approach, that he refigned the crown to his fon Ferdinand, and retired to a monaftery, in which he died before the and of the year. His fon advanced towards the frontiers, frontiers, in order to ftop the progrefs of Charles; A. C. 1495 but was abandoned by his forces, and returning to Naples, was refufed admittance. In this extremity he retired to the little ifland of Ifchia, after having left garrifons in the caftles that commanded his capital. Mean while the French king continued his march; was received into Capua; all the other towns of the kingdom fubmitted to his power: the city of Naples opened its gates at his approach: and, in a few days, he made himself master of the caftles. He was fo intoxicated by fuch a torrent of fuccefs, that he neglected to take proper meafures for the prefervation of his conquefts. His foldiers became extremely odious to the inhabitants of Naples. As he had not troops fufficient to garrifon all the towns that had fubmitted, they gradually fell off, and declared for their own fovereign; and a powerful league was formed against him by the pope, the emperor, the king of Spain, the archduke, the king of Naples, the republic of Venice, and his old friend Ludovico Sforfa, who had by this time poisoned his uncle, and fucceeded to the dutchy of Milan; fo that he had no farther occafion for the friendship of Charles. Thus cir- Mezerai. cumftanced, he thought it high time to retreat to his own dominions; but, the allies had already affembled an army of forty thousand men, and pofted themselves at Fornova, in order to difpute his paffage. Though inferior in number he gave them battle without hefitation, and obtained a victory, by which he made his retreat good. In the mean time, Naples fubmitted to its own king Ferdinand, and almost all the other towns of that kingdom followed the example of the capital. The Bern. Corio. duke de Montpenfier, whom Charles had left with Hift. de Mia fmall body of forces in the place, retired into one of the caftles, where, after fuftaining a fiege of three months, he was obliged to capitulate. Thus "' I Charles lano, A.C.1495 Charles loft the kingdom of Naples in as fhort a time as he had expended in the conqueft of it. He formed feveral projects in the lequel for retrieving his acquifition; but fuch difficulties occurred, that they were never put in execution. Treaty be Jand and the Philip. Rymer. About this period the emperor Maximilian vifited tween Eng the Low Countries, the government of which he archduke refigned to his fon Philip, though he was not yet of age; and this young prince, about the latter end of the year, fent an embaffy to Henry, defiring that the treaty of commerce between his dominions and England might be renewed. As this propofal was no lefs advantageous to the English than to the Flemings, they fucceeded without difficulty in their negotiation. In the month of FeA. C. 1496. bruary, a treaty of peace and perpetual friendship was concluded between the two fovereigns; and the commerce was regulated to the fatisfaction of both nations. By one of the articles of this treaty, Philip engaged to hinder the dutchefs dowager of Burgundy, from giving fhelter or protection to the rebellious fubjects of the king: and by another, it was ftipulated, That a veffel belonging to the fubjects of either prince, fhipwrecked on the coast of England, or the Low Countries, fhould not be liable to confifcation, provided a man, a dog, a cat, or a cock, remained alive on board. The Flemings called this the Great Treaty of Commerce, not only because it contained many articles, but also in contradiftinction to another, which was made in the fequel, and known by the appellation of the Bad treaty, because not fo advantageous to the Low Countries *. In this year, the king granted a patent to John Cabot, a Venetian, and his three fons, for discovering new lands under the English flag, on con、 |