The claim of the Spanish Government to the right of search, and the aggressions committed by that power on the commerce of Great Britain, in the West Indies, by the _guarda-costas_, and other ships acting by authority of the King of Spain, contrary to the existing treaties, led to a convention between the two Crowns, which was concluded on the 14th of January, 1739. This convention stipulated, that compensation should be made by Spain to the English Government, in reparation for the hostilities committed on the British subjects in the American seas. The Court of Madrid, however, violated the convention, and ultimately war was proclaimed against Spain on the 23rd of October, 1739. Augmentations were accordingly made in the army and navy; ten regiments of Marines were raised in this and the following year; these corps were embarked on board the fleets under Admirals Vernon and Sir Chaloner Ogle, which proceeded against the Spanish possessions in South America. [Sidenote: 1740] While the war was being carried on between Great Britain and Spain, Charles the Sixth, Emperor of Germany, died on the 20th of October, 1740; and the succession of his daughter, the Archduchess Maria Theresa, to his hereditary dominions, being disputed by the Electors of Bavaria and Saxony, also by the Kings of Prussia and Spain, a continental war was the result, in which England and France, acting in the first instance as auxiliaries, finally became principals in the contest, which has since been known as the "_War of the Austrian Succession_." The King of France, Louis XV., supported the Elector of Bavaria, while King George II., adhering to the "_Pragmatic Sanction_,"[6] to which nearly all the powers of Europe had been parties, supported the claims of the Archduchess Maria Theresa. [Sidenote: 1741] In January, 1741, seven additional regiments[7] were raised for the regular Infantry, and were numbered in succession to the ten regiments of marines, from the _Fifty-fourth_ to the _Sixtieth_ regiment. The FIFTY-SEVENTH was one of these seven regiments, and the command of the corps was conferred by King George II. on Colonel John Price, from the First Foot Guards, whose commission was dated the 13th of January, 1741. The regiment consisted of ten companies, of three serjeants, three corporals, two drummers, and seventy privates each; and its numbers, including officers, amounted to eight hundred and fifteen. [Sidenote: 1742] In March, 1742, the FIFTY-SEVENTH regiment was stationed at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. In May, 1742, several regiments were embarked for Flanders under Field Marshal the Earl of Stair, to support Maria Theresa, the Queen of Hungary and Bohemia; but the FIFTY-SEVENTH regiment remained in Great Britain. The FIFTY-SEVENTH regiment was afterwards stationed at Berwick, and in October received orders to proceed to North Britain. [Sidenote: 1743]