Another spring of political action, was the hatred and jealousy of Spain common to the whole Portuguese nation. It created difficulties during the military operations, but it had a visibly advantageous effect upon the people, in their intercourse with the British. For when the Spaniards shewed a distrust of their allies, the Portuguese were more minded to rely implicitly on the latter, to prove that they had no feeling in common with their neighbours. Yet, notwithstanding this mutual dislike, the princess Carlotta, wife to the Prince Regent, and sister to Ferdinand, claimed, not only the succession to the throne of Spain in the event of her brother’s death or perpetual captivity, but the immediate government of the whole Peninsula as hereditary Regent; and to persuade the tribunals to acknowledge her claims, was the object of Pedro Souza’s mission to Cadiz. The council of Castile, always ready to overthrow the Spanish Regency, readily recognized Carlotta’s pretensions in virtue of the decision of the secret Cortes of 1789 which abolished the Salique law of Philip the Fifth: but the regents would pay no attention to them, yet Souza renewing his intrigues when the Cortes assembled, by corruption obtained an acknowledgement of the princess’s claim. His further progress was, however, promptly arrested by lord Wellington, who foresaw that his success would not only affect the military operations in Portugal, by placing them under the control of the Spanish government, but the policy of England afterwards, if power over the whole Peninsula was suffered thus to centre in one family. Moreover, he judged it a scheme, concocted at Rio Janeiro, to embarrass himself and Beresford; for it was at first kept secret from the British Cabinet, and it was proposed that the princess should reside at Madeira, where, surrounded by the contrivers of this plan, she could only have acted under their directions. Thus it is plain that arrogance, deceit, and personal intrigues, were common to the Portuguese and Spanish governments; and why they did not produce the same fatal effects in the one as in the other country, will be shewn in the succeeding chapters. CHAPTER III. [Sidenote: Appendix, No. V. Section 9.]