In 1761, King George III. had just succeeded to the throne of England, and the protracted contentions with France had been suspended for a while. It was soon evident, however, that efforts were being employed to extinguish the power and prestige of Great Britain, and with this object a convention had been entered into between France and Spain known as the “Family Compact.” It was so called because it was an alliance made by the three branches of the House of Bourbon; namely, Louis XV. of France, Charles III. of Spain, and his son Ferdinand, who, in accordance with the Treaty of Vienna, had ascended the throne of Naples. Spain engaged to unite her forces with those of France against England on the 1st of May, 1762, if the war still lasted, in which case France would restore Minorca to Spain. Pitt was convinced of the necessity of meeting the coalition by force of arms, but he was unable to secure the support of his Ministry to declare war, and he therefore retired from the premiership. The succeeding Cabinet was, nevertheless, compelled to adopt his policy, and, after having lost many advantages by delaying their decision, war was declared against France and Spain. The British were successful everywhere. In the West Indies, the Caribbean Islands and Havana were captured, with great booty, by Rodney and Monckton, while a British fleet was dispatched to the Philippine Islands with orders to take Manila. There are many versions of this event given by different historians, and among them there is not wanting an author who, following the Spanish custom, has accounted for defeat by alleging treason. On the 14th of September, 1762, a British vessel arrived in the Bay of Manila, refused to admit Spanish officers on board, and after taking soundings she sailed again out of the harbor. In the evening of the 22d of September, the British squadron, composed of thirteen ships, under the command of Admiral Cornish, entered the bay, and the next day two British officers were deputed to demand the surrender of the citadel, which was refused. Brigadier-general Draper thereupon disembarked his troops, and again called upon the city to yield. This citation being defied, the bombardment commenced the next day. The fleet anchored in front of a powder-magazine, took possession of the churches of Malate, Hermita, San Juan de Bagumbayan and Santiago. Two picket guards made an unsuccessful sortie against them. The whole force in Manila at the time was the king’s regiment, which mustered about six hundred men, and eighty pieces of artillery. The British forces consisted of one thousand five hundred European troops (one regiment of infantry and two companies of artillery), three thousand seamen, eight hundred Sepoy fusileers and one thousand four hundred Sepoy pioneers, making a total of six thousand eight hundred and thirty men.