A. D, 1646. 49 j 



tion ads aftenvards, \vhich may be juflly termed the commercial palla* 

 dium of Britain. We fliall ivJlb fee this wife provifo farther legally eii- 

 aded after the reftoration of King Charles II, by the famous ads of 

 navigation. 



It is but too true, that both the Englith and Dutch continued too long 

 to deprefs Spain, and too long to encourage the preponderation of the 

 power and ftrength of France, whereby, even fo early as this time, the 

 balance of power, with refped to thofe two nations, w\is much endaiir 

 gered. Thus the Orange party in Holland, jealous of the oppofite de- 

 mocratical party, made Admiral Van Trump, in the years 1644, 45, 

 and 46, block up the ports of Graveling, Mardyk, and Dunkirk, until 

 they at length fell finally into the hands of France : and, in recompenfe, 

 France made many feizures of Dutch fhips in the Mediterranean, &c. 

 whereby, it is faid, the democratical merchants of Amfterdam alone 

 loft ten millions of gilders. 



According to Savary's Diciionaire univerfelk du commerce^ the manufac- 

 ture of tine woollen cloth was now firfl: fet on foot at Sedan by three 

 Frenchmen, who had a patent for twenty years, to be the fole diredors 

 of the manufadure of black as well as coloured cloths : and for their 

 encouragement, they had each a penfion of 500 livres for life, and their 

 children were thereby nobilitated in France, and their foreign work- 

 men declared to be denizens of France, free from being quartered on 

 by foldiers, and from all taxes and excifes. The diredors were alfo al- 

 lowed SoiDO livres yearly for carrying on that manufadure during the 

 faid term. And the fuccefs has even exceeded expedation, the Sedan 

 cloths having been- brought to great perfedion. 



Thus we fee, that Cardinal Mazarine trode in the fleps of his prede- • 

 ceflbr Richlieu, and we cannot vv'onder at the improvements made by 

 France in almoll; every fpecies of manufadure, when we fee fuch great' 

 and early encoufagements given to the promoters of them. 



1647. — ^ '■^^^^ twos, the feeblenefs and decline of Spain were very 

 apparent. Her want of inanufadures, produd, and other neceflaries, 

 v/ithin herfelf, for fupplying her vafl: American colonies, occafioning 

 all the gold and filver brought thence to be paid away as fafl: as they 

 teceived it, to the Englifh, Dutch, French, Germans, and Italians, for 

 all kinds of neceflaries for the colonies. Moreover, the fcarcity of people 

 in Spain, compared to the great extent of that country, was now fadly 

 felt, partly occafioned by the expulfion of fo vafl a number of Moors 

 and Jews, and partly by permitting fuch numbers of people to go over 

 from time to time entirely to fettle in America ; fo that Spain was be- 

 come more than half defolate, and even thofe Hill remaining in it were 

 become the mofl idle, lazy, and indolent, people of any civilized na- 

 tion. It was certain, they could not find people enough of their own for 

 cultivating their lands, and were obliged to employ poor French people,' 



