BRITAIN. 



6.33 



s in 



st 



effort, the following season, to recover Quebec ; but 

 were entirely repulsed by the resolute deft-nee "t the 

 garrison, and the appearance of Lord Colvillc's fleet. 

 The reduction of all Canada soon followed that of 

 ks capital, the most important acquisition of terri- 

 tory ever made by the British arms. An almost un- 

 interrupted prosperity, for some years, attended the 

 operations of England. Fort Louis, on the river 

 Senegal, surrendered without effusion of blood, to 

 a small squadron tinder Captain Marsh. Goree, on 

 the south of the same river, surrendered to Admiral 

 Keppel ; and Gaudaloupc was taken by Commodore 

 More and General Hopson. Our attempts upon the 

 French coast were, as usual, unfortunate. Cherbourg 

 was, indeed, taken by Commodore Howe, who de- 

 stroyed the harbour and bason of that place ; but 

 the same armament having sailed back from England, 

 and disembarked the land troops to the westward of 

 St Maloes, General Bligh, their commander, was 

 alarmed, in the midst of his march into the open 

 country, by intelligence that the governor of Bre- 

 tagne was advancing, to cut off his retreat, at the 

 head of a powerful army. The English hurried back 

 to the bay at St Cas, where their fleet lay at anchor, 

 but could not escape to their ships, till their rear 

 guard, of 1500, were slaughtered almost to a man. 

 It can scarcely be presumption to impeach the policy 

 of these expeditions to the enemy's coast, which so 

 uniformly terminate in disaster, although they were 

 sanctioned by the recommendation of the elder Pitt 

 himself, who used to boast that he could, at any 

 time, singe a few yards of the French coast. Such 

 attempts, when we consider their expense, their va- 

 nity, and their bloodshed, may be allowed to have 

 been compared, with much more propriety, to the 

 folly of breaking windows with guineas. The Bri- 

 tish admirals asserted their country's honour more 

 effectually. Boscawen intercepted the fleet of De la 

 Clue, off Cape Lagos, and, after a fierce conflict, cap- 

 tured five of the enemy's capital ships. A second 

 victory was obtained off Quiberon, by Admiral 

 Hawke, in a manner still more creditable to British 

 seamanship. Undismayed by the rocks, shoals, and 

 quicksands, of a shore, to which the French retired, 

 Hawke pursued them, in the midst of the tempestu- 

 ous month of November, and gave them battle. Two 

 of their capital ships were sunk during the action. 

 Another struck her colours, but no boat could be 

 sent to take possession of her ; and three others 

 were stranded or destroyed. 



Our arms, in the East Indies, were distinguish- 

 ed by splendid achievements. The war, in that re- 

 mote quarter, began by each power siding with two 

 contending native princes ; and thus, by degrees, be- 

 coming principals in the dispute. The viceroy of 

 Bengal, declaring against the English, laid siege to 

 Calcutta, a fort, which was in no situation to repel 

 the attack even of barbarians. It was taken by as- 

 sault, and a part of the garrison, to the number of 

 146 persons, were crowded into a small prison, call- 

 ed the black hole of Calcutta, and perished in circum- 

 stances horrible to be related. General Clive, how- 

 ever, soon avenged this dreadful transaction, and re- 

 trieved the affairs of our eastern dominions. Aided 

 by a fleet under Admiral Watson, he first subdued a 



VOL. IV. PART II. 



piratical Prince Angria, who had annoyed the com- 

 pany's settlements, in the neighbourhood of Bom- 

 bay ; then marching into Bengal, defeated the forces 

 of the reigning Subah with a handful of men, assisted 

 his subjects, in dethroning him, and placed another at- 

 tached to the English interests in his stead. The affairs 

 of the company being thus triumphantly re established 

 in the northern provinces, the attention of their council 

 and commanders was called to the coast of Coroman- 

 del. General Lally, an active military character in 

 the service of France, laid siege to Madras, in 1758; 

 but he was driven from thence, by the arrival ot 

 Captain Kempenfelt, with reinforcements to the gar- 

 rison, and retreated precipitately to Arcot. A year 

 after this event, Lally was completely defeated, by 

 General Coote, in the Carnatic, and was, at last, 

 blockaded by sea and land in Pondicherry. The 

 fortunate capture of this proud and opulent capital 

 of the French Indian dominions, completed our tri- 

 umph* in the east. 



The disgraceful convention of Closter Seven, had 

 spread dissatisfaction through England, but as soon 

 as it was known that Prince Ferdinand of Bruns- 

 wick had put himself at the head of the Hano- 

 verian army, the most sanguine expectations were 

 excited, and the most liberal supplies were grant- 

 ed by parliament. The renewed energy, in the con- 

 duct of the German war, as far as England was 

 concerned, was indeed no less owing to the character 

 of the minister than of the people. The interest of 

 the nation was deeply excited by the dangers, the diffi- 

 culties, and the romantic exploits of Frederick of 

 Prussia. Mr Pitt, himself, who had risen to popu- 

 larityby declaiming against German subsidies, whether 

 smitten by this contagious sympathy, or anxious to 

 finish the war by vigorous measures, in a quarter 

 where he saw that his sovereign's inclination was un- 

 changeably bent on hostilities, acquiesced in the al- 

 liances, and in the warlike measures which he had 

 formerly so much condemned. A body of British, 

 forces were sent over to join Prince Ferdinand, under 

 the Duke of Marlborough. The command of these 

 devolved, by the death of Marlborough, on Lord 

 George Sackville, after a few inconsiderable successes 

 of the allies at Crevelt. In the glorious and decisive 

 battle of Minden, the British cavalry were brought 

 forward, by Sackville, too late in the action to be of 

 the smallest service ; but the English infantry, com- 

 manded by Waldegrave and Kingsley, bore the brunt 

 and chief credit of the day. They not only sustain- 

 ed, with the utmost intrepidity, the repeated attacks 

 of the French, but charged them in their turn, and 

 totally routed the Gendarmerie carabineers, and the 

 choicest veterans of the French. After this victory, 

 it was expected that another reinforcement would 

 totally turn the scale of fortune, in favour of the al- 

 lies, but the reinforcement arrived, and no advantage 

 accrued. The English, at last, began to open their 

 eyes to their own interest, and to see that in Ger- 

 many they were waging unequal war, and assuming 

 new loads of taxes, for conquests which they could 

 neither preserve nor enjoy. Amidst the events 

 which ultimately contributed to this change of senti- 

 ment, George II. died suddenly on the 20th of Oc- 

 tober 1760. He had risen at his usual hour, and ex- 

 4L 



Britain. 



Groniit If. 

 1T58. 



Proceed- 

 ings on the 

 continent. 



Battle of 



Minden. 

 Aug. 1759. 



Death or 

 George II. 

 20th Octci. 

 ber 1760. 



