A. D. 1655. 465 



affirt; the prince of Conde with fhips and troops to land him at Bordeaux 

 or elfewliere, fo as he may have footing in France, &c. [General coll 

 of treaties, V. \\\, p. 146.] But Cromwell's particular intereft, as before 

 noted, outweighed his concern for the true intereft of England : for the 

 fecret article in the above treaty with France overbalanced all other 

 confiderations, viz. France's engaging that King Charles II and his bro- 

 thers the dukes of York and Gloucefler, the marquis of Ormond, Sir 

 Edward Hyde, and fifteen more lords and gentlemen therein named, 

 fliould be obliged to leave France within forty days after the ratification 

 of the treaty. Thus did Cardinal Mazarine meanly abandon the Eng- 

 lifh royal family and their friends, purely to enable France farther to 

 weaken Spain, already too much enfeebled, and the balance of power in 

 Europe thereby farther endangered. Upon this treaty the king of 

 Spain feized upon all the effeds of the Englifh merchants in his domi- 

 nions, to a confiderable value ; and by this war with Spain the Dutch 

 obtained a valuable commerce with that country, formerly enjojed by 

 the Englifh. 



In proportion as the Spanifh monarchy declined, the French increafed 

 in power, riches, commerce, and territory. France hitherto found it 

 her intereft to keep fair with the Dutch, as well on account of their fhip- 

 ping, which was undoubtedly very great at this time, as for the incre- 

 dible quantity of French manufadures and produd which the Dutch 

 took off, and difperfed all over Europe. But when Cromwell had now 

 entered into clofe meafures with the cardinal-minifter Mazarme, France 

 then began to treat the Dutch with lefs ceremony, and to eftablifh com- 

 panies of merchants at home for the herring, cod, and whale fifheries; 

 and to prevent the importation of whale-fins and tr^in-oil by foreigners. 

 France alfo laid a duty of fifty fols per ton on all foreign fliips, both 

 coming into and going out of her fea-ports. 



This year the Jews found means to perfuade Cromwell to re-admit them 

 to fettle in England (although the long parliament had before refufed 

 it) being juft 365 years fince their expulfion by King Edward I. The 

 protedlor it is faid had been perfuaded by them and their friends, that 

 commerce, by their re-adraiflion, would be fo far improved as to in- 

 creafe his revenue Lico,ooo per annum. On the other hand, the fa- 

 mous William Pryun, and feveral others, at this time pubiilhed treaties 

 againft re-admitting the Jews, (hewing the raifchiefs which that un- 

 happy people have occafioned in all the countries wherein they have been 

 tolerated. In their favour Menaffeh Ben Ifrael, an eminent Jew, who 

 filled himfelf a divine and a dodor of phyfic, addrefled the protector 

 and commonwealth in this fame year, in the following artful ftrain : 

 ' Our people did in their own minds prefage that the kingly government, 

 ' being now changed into tliat of a commonwealth, the antient hatred 

 * towards them would alfo be changed into good-will; and that thofe 



Vol. II. 3 N 



