616 
Hisery. tant, and even insolent, in their demands. After the 
—\—" rupture of this negociation, the States General agreed 
Immense to white with Britain and Austria in opposing the am- 
peepare- —bitious projects af Louis: they were to f 40,000, 
Cae & the King of Great Britain an equal number, and Maria 
as Theresa 60,000, all of which were to act in the Nether- 
7 lands, Another army of 90,000 Austrians and Pied- 
montese, under the King of Sardinia; was to enter Pro- 
vence. To oppose the first army, Louis assembled 
150,000 men in the Netherlands, over whom was 
ced Marshal Saxe, with the title of Mareschal de Cam 
Generale. The Spanish army in Savoy was greatly 
augmented, and 60,000 French troops were stationed 
in Provence. 
The grand army of the confederates took the field in 
March 1747; but it lay inactive for six weeks, exposed 
to the inclemency of the weather; while Marshal Saxe’s 
army was within their cantonements at Bruges, Ant- 
werp, and Brussels, furnished with plenty of provi- 
sions, and unfatigued. In May, the, King of France 
arrived at Brussels, and resolved to besiege Maestricht. 
The allies being’extremel y desirous to preserve this city, 
the battle of Val, fought on the Ist of July, was the 
consequence, in which, after various turns of fortune, 
the Duke of Cumberland, who commanded the allies, 
was obliged to quit the field, and retire to Maestricht. 
Marshal Saxe immediately dispatched Count Lauen- 
dahl with 30,000 men to invest Be: Zoom, the 
strongest fortification in Dutch Brabant. It was taken 
by storm on the 14th of September, and the French 
thus rendered masters of the whole navigation of the 
Scheldt. 
The French were equally active on the side of Italy; 
for Marshal Belleisle having the Var, took pas- 
session of Nice, and reduced the fortresses of Montal- 
ban, Villa Franca, and Ventimiglia. While, however, 
the French were thus successful in this part of Italy, a 
powerful army of Austrians and Piedmontese invest- 
ed Genoa, and probably would have succeeded in their 
enterprise, had they not been alarmed at the rapid pro- 
gress of Marshal Belleisle, which induced them to raise 
the siege, in order to cover Piedmont and Lombardy. 
The apprehensions of the King of Sardinia respecting 
Piedmont, were by no means groundless; for the Count 
Belleisle, brother to the Marshal, endeavoured to pe- 
netrate into it by the route of Dauphiné. He was, 
however, killed in attempting to force the pass. of 
Exilles; and his army having been repeatedly repul- 
sed, was ap pa to retire with considerable loss. As 
soon as the Marshal was informed of this misfortune, 
he deemed it prudent to retreat towards the Var. 
In her naval transactions of this year, France was 
who is suc- 
cessful in 
the Low 
Countries, 
A. D, 1747. 
Naval 
transac. 
tons, 
A. D. 1747. 
me 
Congress at ning of 1748. Marshal Saxe was not, however, in the 
—_—_ mean time idle: he invested Maestricht; and thou 
I D. 1748. the state of the siege was unfavourable to the French 
when the intelli arrived of the signing of the pre- 
liminaries, yet it was agreed, “that, for the glory of 
FRANCE. 
gh protect Hanover; but, attempting in vain to obstruct 
the arms of his Most Christian Majesty, the place should _ History. 
be immediately surrendered to his general, but restored 
on the conclusion of peace.” On the 7th of October Treaty of 
the definitive treaty was signed, and hostilities ceased peace. 
in all quarters, — 
France, now freed from external war, was threaten- Disputes 
ed with civil commotion, in consequence of religious between 
disputes between the Jesuits and the Jansenists. These ):° per 
disputes had existed in the latter end of the reign of jjament. 
Louis XIV, when the bull Unigenitus, i Hi the 
opinions of the Jansenists were condemned, threw all 
rance into the most violent commotion, The death 
of Lonis XIV. however, put an end to the dispute ; 
and as the Duke of Orleans would not allow the bull 
to be sated into effect, ey BS yaw tne 
In 1750, the disputes again broke out ; the parliament A. D. 17 
and the naan wale intenical to the bull; the Arch- 
bishop of Paris endeavoured to enforce it, and Louis 
XV. at prohibited the interposition of the Par- 4 
liament. ‘This body was not disposed to submit quiet- : 
ly, and the King at last banished the refractory : 
bers to different of the kingdom. In 1754, how- a. p. 175k, 
ever, he found it absolutely necessary to recal them ; 3 
and the Archbishop of Paris, and two bishops, were 
in their turn banished. A tem calm was thus 
produced ; but the dispute ing the bull did. not 
subside, and ing at le referred it to the 
The decision Holiness, that the bull ought to 
acknowledged “ an universal yes so x cape 
liament, that t suppressed Pope’s bri an 
arret, This redewed the difference between them and 
their sovereign, who, in 1756, went to the Parliament a. p. 17 
with all his guards, and suppressed the 4th and 5th 
Chambers of Inquest. Upon this, 15 councillors of the 
Great Chamber, oat 124 members of toed oa 
resigned ; and the King was again u necessity 
afterw: e Jesuits were expelled, chiefly by 
authority and influence of the Parliament, the members 
of which, elated at this victory over ecclesiastical ty- 
ranny, next attempted to set bounds to the absolute 
power of the crown. We have brought the history of 
these ecclesiastical disputes down beyond the —— 
which we broke off from the political history, be- 
cause it is thus rendered connected and complete, and 
because in it we may clearly trace the germ of those 
causes which afterwards uced the Revolution. 
Almost immediately after the establishment of peace Ambi 
by the treaty of Aix-la~Chapelle, France began to dis- projects 
PT: 2 
mem- ¢ 
the Electorate of Hanover; in consequence of which, 
Great Britain united herself with the King of Prussia, 
while France formed an alliance with the imperial court 
of Russia and Sweden. One of the first attempts of 
the French was the conquest of Minorea, which, not 
being relieved by Admiral Byng, they succeeded in re- 
ducing. In 1757; a French army of 80,000 men pass- 
ed the Rhine, in —_ to — ae Ha- 
nover ; whilea smaller French force joined the imperial 
army on the Maine. The Duke of Cumberland was in- 
vested with the command of the troops which were to 
Invades | 
- 
A. DIT 
the of the enemy, he was to retire be- 
hind the Weser ; and afterwards, on 8th of 
tember, to sign the convention of Closter-Seven. 
1 
sm hn - 7 
