Death of Queen Anne and Louis XIV. 232 Accession of George I. 232 Regency of Philip of Orleans 233 Administration of Alberoni in Spain 234 Spaniards invade Sardinia 235 Alliance of Austria, England, Holland, and France 235 Spaniards invade Sicily 236 Destruction of Spanish navy off Cape Passaro, 1718 237 Failure and dismissal of Alberoni 239 Spain accepts terms 239 Great Britain interferes in the Baltic 239 Death of Philip of Orleans 241 Administration of Fleuri in France 241 Growth of French commerce 242 France in the East Indies 243 Troubles between England and Spain 244 English contraband trade in Spanish America 245 Illegal search of English ships 246 Walpole's struggles to preserve peace 247 War of the Polish Succession 247 Creation of the Bourbon kingdom of the Two Sicilies 248 Bourbon family compact 248 France acquires Bar and Lorraine 249 England declares war against Spain 250 Morality of the English action toward Spain 250 Decay of the French navy 252 Death of Walpole and of Fleuri 253 CHAPTER VII. WAR BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN AND SPAIN, 1739.--WAR OF THE AUSTRIAN SUCCESSION, 1740.--FRANCE JOINS SPAIN AGAINST GREAT BRITAIN, 1744.--SEA BATTLES OF MATTHEWS, ANSON, AND HAWKE.--PEACE OF AIX-LA-CHAPELLE, 1748.