Opening the text

Constitutional History of England, Henry VII to George II. Volume 3 of 3Hallam, Henry

History

Constitutional History of England, Henry VII to George II. Volume 3 of 3

Name: Constitutional History of England, Henry VII to George II. Volume 3 of 3
Author: Hallam, Henry

Hallam, Henry

Constitutional history -- Great Britain

_Treaty of Ryswick._--The treaty of Ryswick was concluded on at least
as fair terms as almost perpetual ill fortune could warrant us to
expect. It compelled Louis XIV. to recognise the king's title, and
thus both humbled the court of St. Germains, and put an end for
several years to its intrigues. It extinguished, or rather the war
itself had extinguished, one of the bold hopes of the French court,
the scheme of procuring the election of the dauphin to the empire. It
gave at least a breathing time to Europe, so long as the feeble lamp
of Charles II.'s life should continue to glimmer, during which the
fate of his vast succession might possibly be regulated without injury
to the liberties of Europe.[203] But to those who looked with the
king's eyes on the prospects of the continent, this pacification could
appear nothing else than a preliminary armistice of vigilance and
preparation. He knew that the Spanish dominions, or at least as large
a portion of them as could be grasped by a powerful arm, had been for
more than thirty years the object of Louis XIV. The acquisitions of
that monarch at Aix-la-Chapelle and Nimeguen had been comparatively
trifling, and seem hardly enough to justify the dread that Europe felt
of his aggressions. But in contenting himself for the time with a few
strong towns, or a moderate district, he constantly kept in view the
weakness of the King of Spain's constitution. The queen's renunciation
of her right of succession was invalid in the jurisprudence of his
court. Sovereigns, according to the public law of France,
uncontrollable by the rights of others, were incapable of limiting
their own. They might do all things but guarantee the privileges of
their subjects or the independence of foreign states. By the Queen of
France's death, her claim upon the inheritance of Spain was devolved
upon the dauphin; so that ultimately, and virtually in the first
instance, the two great monarchies would be consolidated, and a single
will would direct a force much more than equal to all the rest of
Europe. If we admit that every little oscillation in the balance of
power has sometimes been too minutely regarded by English statesmen,
it would be absurd to contend, that such a subversion of it as the
union of France and Spain under one head did not most seriously
threaten both the independence of England and Holland.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

Constitutional History of England, Henry VII to George II. Volume 3 of 3Hallam, Henry

History

Constitutional History of England, Henry VII to George II. Volume 3 of 3

Hallam, Henry

Constitutional history -- Great Britain

_Treaty of Ryswick._--The treaty of Ryswick was concluded on at least
as fair terms as almost perpetual ill fortune could warrant us to
expect. It compelled Louis XIV. to recognise the king's title, and
thus both humbled the court of St. Germains, and put an end for
several years to its intrigues. It extinguished, or rather the war
itself had extinguished, one of the bold hopes of the French court,
the scheme of procuring the election of the dauphin to the empire. It
gave at least a breathing time to Europe, so long as the feeble lamp
of Charles II.'s life should continue to glimmer, during which the
fate of his vast succession might possibly be regulated without injury
to the liberties of Europe.[203] But to those who looked with the
king's eyes on the prospects of the continent, this pacification could
appear nothing else than a preliminary armistice of vigilance and
preparation. He knew that the Spanish dominions, or at least as large
a portion of them as could be grasped by a powerful arm, had been for
more than thirty years the object of Louis XIV. The acquisitions of
that monarch at Aix-la-Chapelle and Nimeguen had been comparatively
trifling, and seem hardly enough to justify the dread that Europe felt
of his aggressions. But in contenting himself for the time with a few
strong towns, or a moderate district, he constantly kept in view the
weakness of the King of Spain's constitution. The queen's renunciation
of her right of succession was invalid in the jurisprudence of his
court. Sovereigns, according to the public law of France,
uncontrollable by the rights of others, were incapable of limiting
their own. They might do all things but guarantee the privileges of
their subjects or the independence of foreign states. By the Queen of
France's death, her claim upon the inheritance of Spain was devolved
upon the dauphin; so that ultimately, and virtually in the first
instance, the two great monarchies would be consolidated, and a single
will would direct a force much more than equal to all the rest of
Europe. If we admit that every little oscillation in the balance of
power has sometimes been too minutely regarded by English statesmen,
it would be absurd to contend, that such a subversion of it as the
union of France and Spain under one head did not most seriously
threaten both the independence of England and Holland.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Constitutional History of England, Henry VII to George II. Volume 3 of 3

Constitutional History of England, Henry VII to George II. Volume 3 of 3

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