faction for the loffes and infults which his subjects 4. C. 1664. had fuftained. mons vote of the fleet. The parliament, before its laft prorogation, had The compassed an act against conventicles, ordaining that very large every person convicted of having been present at a defraying fupply for religious meeting of diffenters, fhould be fined in the expence five pounds for the first offence, ten for the fecond, and for the third be tranfported to the plantations: by this law the prefbyterians were excluded from all benefit of the declaration from Breda. When the two houfes met on the twenty-fourth day of November, the king gave them to understand, that upon his own credit he had equipped the strongest fleet that ever England owned, and that as he had expended eight hundred thousand pounds on this armament, he hoped the commons would indulge him with proportionable supplies. He faid the states had, by numberlefs artifices, eluded every reasonable propofal for a pacification; and he affured them, that, should he be compelled to engage in hoftilities, he would never liften to any overtures of peace, until after having obtained thofe ends for which the war fhould be undertaken. The commons were fo well difpofed to concur with his defires, that they forthwith voted fupply of two millions five hundred thousand Burnet. pounds for the maintenance of this juft and necef. Rapin. fary war and then Charles iffued a declaration, enjoining all his fubjects to make reprisals on the fhips and veffels belonging to the fubjects of the States-general. Mean while the Dutch did not neglect to put themselves in a pofture of defence. When the news of De Ruyter's progrefs on the The king coaft of Guiney, end in the Weft-Indies, arrived declares war in England, the king published a folemn declara- land. tion of war against the United Provinces, with the unanimous confent of all the privy-counfellors, except the earls of Southampton and Clarendon, who Ralph. aga nft Hol-. A.C. 1664. who had opposed this rupture from the beginning of the difputes +. A folemn France. Lewis XIV. being importuned by the Dutch to declare against England, in confequence of the last treaty which he had concluded with the States-ge. neral, and folicited by Charles to obferve a neutrality, was for fome time divided in his fentiments. He was loth to difoblige Charles, left he fhould throw himself into the arms of Spain, whither he had lately sent an embaffy: and, on the other hand, it was his intereft to support De Wit and the Loveftein party in Holland against the prince of Orange, who naturally claimed the affistance of his embafly ar- uncle the king of England. In order to gain time, rives from he fent the duke de Vernueil, at the head of a fplendid embaffy, to London, with offers of mediating a peace between England and the United Provinces; and there they continued till the latter end of the fucceeding year, though their endeavours did not meet with fuccefs. The duke of York putting to fea in the month of May, before the Dutch fleet was affembled, failed towards the coaft of Holland, and cruifed near the Texel fifteen days, during which he took a great number of their fhips homeward bound; then he retired to Harwich road. After his departure, the fleets of Holland and Zealand joined, to the number of one hundred and twenty-one, exclufive of firefhips, under the command of admiral Opdam, Cortenaer, Evertzen, and Cornelius Van Tromp, fon of the celebrated Martin Van Tromp, who loft his life in the late war. This armament was fitted out by the advice, vigilance, and activity of John De †The parliament was prorogued to Auguft, and afterwards to October. In this feffion, the clergy refigned the right of taxing themselves in convocation; fo that henceforth they were taxed by the commons, like the rest of the community By this refignatien, they parted with their impor tance, and have been very little confidered fince that period, Wit, penfionary of Holland, a man of very exten- A, C, 1665, five talents, who poffeffed the fpirit of an old Greek republican. He had always opposed the growing power of the house of Orange, left it fhould one day enflave his country. His intereft now predominated in the commonweath; and he refolved to hazard a general engagement with the English, because, even if the Dutch navy fhould be defeated, that event would induce the French king to declare for the republic. Opdam therefore failed in queft of the English fleet, and defcried it near Colchefter; but the wind changing fo as to blow from the fouth-weft, he bore away for the mouth of the Meufe, rather than engage the enemy, while they had the advantage of the weather-gage. He received a fresh order from the states, commanding him, upon pain of death, to fight the English, whatever might be the state of the weather. He forthwith weighed anchor on the third day of June; and in a few hours fell in with the English fleet, confifting of one hundred and fourteen fail, exclufive of firefhips and ketches, under the command of the duke of York, affifted by prince Rupert and the earl of Sandwich, with Penn, Lawson, Sir George Ayfcue, and fome other inferior admirals. The engagement began at four in the morning, and both fides fought with their ufual intrepidity. The The duke of duke of York was in the hottest part of the battle, avicand behaved with great fpirit and compofure, even tory over when the earl of Falmouth, the lord Muskerry, and Mr. Boyle were killed at his fide by one cannonball, which covered him with the blood and brains of these three gallant gentlemen. He was closely engaged with Opdam, while that officer perished by his fhip's blowing up; his flag was hoisted by Cortenaer, who likewife fell in the battle: a good number of the Dutch captains had been promoted in York ob tains the Dutch fleet. A. C. 1665. in the service by the interest of the prevailing faction, without any regard to merit, and fome of these were deficient in point of courage. In a word, the enemy was defeated, with the lofs of nineteen ships either burned or funk in the action, and about fix thoufand men. The victory coft the English three or four fhips, and fifteen hundred men, among whom was vice-admiral Lawson, an officer of great valour and experience: the Dutch fleet were chased to the coaft of Holland, Van Tromp fecuring their retreat with equal valour and difcretion * The duke of York failing back to England, left the fleet at anchor, and repaired to London, where he was received amidst the acclamations of the people. The king ordered a day of thanksgiving to be observed all over England for this victory and medals were struck in honour of the duke of York, who now became the idol of the nation, and began to be refpected as the prefumptive heir of the crown; for the queen was fuppofed barren, and almost totally neglected by her husband. The king and council would not fuffer the duke to expose his perfon to the danger of a fecond engagement; and therefore the command of the fleet devolved upon the earl of Sandwich. *This victory might have been much more complete, had not Brouncker, a gentleman of the duke's belchamber, defired Penn, in his ma fter's name, to flacken fail, while they were in pursuit of the enemy. The duke had retired to reft, after having given order to carry all their fail, and wake him when they should be up with the chace, When he awoke, and faw they had fhortened fail, he expreffed equal furprize and difpleasure; and Bouncker was turned out of his fervice. Some people on the of mer The Dutch fleet of merchant ships from Turkey A. C. 1665. and the Eaft-Indies, having failed North about, in Unsuccessful order to avoid the English cruifers, anchored in attempt upthe port of Berghen in Norway, where they lay Dutch fleet until De Ruyter fhould come and conduct them to chant fhis Holland. Sir Gilbert Talbot, the English envoy in Berghen. at Copenhagen, propofed to the king of Denmark, that he fhould feize all thofe fhips, which were richly laden, by way of revenge upon the Dutch, who, he faid, had involved him in a troublesome war with Sweden. The Danish king was tempted by the richness of the prize; but obferved, he was not in a condition to execute fuch a defign. Talbot promised to procure the affiftance of the Englifh fleet, provided he would recompenfe the captors with one half of what they fhould take: the bargain was ftruck between the two monarchs; and Charles ordered the earl of Sandwich to fet fail immediately for Berghen. The earl detached Sir Thomas Tiddeman, with part of the fleet, on that service, and he attacked the Dutch with great impetuofity: but the governor of Bergen, who had not yet received orders to remain paffive, joined the Hollanders in giving him fuch a warm reception, that he was obliged to quit the enterprize, after having received confiderable damage. Charles was not a little chagrined at the disappointment; and fo difpleased with the earl of Sandwich, for having omitted to fail thither in person, that he was de· prived of his command, and fent on an embassy to Madrid. De Ruyter having returned from America with a good number of English prizes, was promoted to the office of lieutenant-admiral-general, and immediately vefted with the command of a fleet of ninety-three fail, in excellent order. The penfionary De Wit, Huygens, and Boreel, embarked as commiffioners from the ftates. They, with great difficulty, failed from the Texel through N° 71. D a new |