238 ENGLAND. - 



Providence and the Bahamas to Great Britain ; but they had been 

 retaken before the peace was signed. 



By the treaty with Holland it was stipulated that Great Britain 

 should restore Trincomale in the island of Ceylon, but the French 

 had already taken it ; and that the Dutch should give up to England 

 the town of Negapatnam and its dependencies. 



In the treaty with the United States of America, the king of Great 

 Britain acknowledged New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode 

 Isiand and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jer- 

 sey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, 

 South Carolina, and Georgia, to be free, sovereign, and independent 

 states ; and for himself, his heirs and successors, relinquished all 

 claims to the government, property, and territorial rights of the same» 

 and every part thereof. 



Thus a period was put to a most calamitous war, in which Great 

 Britain lost the best part of her American colonies, and many thou- 

 sand valuable lives, and expended or squandered nearly 150 millions 

 of money. 



Whilst the ancient government of France was entirely overthrown, 

 and a revolution, the most unexpected, was effected, it is difficult to 

 imagine a picture of more complete serenity than England present- 

 ed. This tranquillity, however, now appeared to be endangered by 

 a dispute with Spain. Some English merchants having engaged in 

 speculations in the fur trade, had established a factory at Nootka 

 -Sound, on the north-west coast of America, after having taken pos- 

 session of the country, in the name of the sovereign and crown of 

 England. The Spaniards, ever jealous of settlements on that side of 

 America, soon after sent some armed vessels from Mexico, seized 

 all the ships on the coast, and obliged the English to abandon the set- 

 tlement. 



No sooner was this act of violence made known to the English go- 

 vernment, than spirited remonstrances were made to the court of 

 Spain, and a considerable armament prepared to enforce redress. 

 The Spanish cabinet, however, thought it expedient to concede the 

 point in dispute, and an amicable convention was signed at the Escu- 

 rial, by the plenipotentiaries of the two nations, on the 28th of Octo- 

 ber, 1790. 



The first disposition manifested by Great Britain to break with 

 France regarded the navigation of the Scheldt, which the French had 

 determined to open for the benefit of Antwerp and the Netherlands, 

 This impediment, however, might perhaps have been removed, from 

 the little disposition which was evinced by Holland to assert its right 

 to the exclusive navigation, and from the readiness of the French to 

 refer the whole affair to a negociation. 



The next exception which was taken by the English ministry was 

 to the decree of fraternity, which was offered by the French conven^ 

 tion to the revolting subjects of any monarchical government, and 

 which was justly considered as a direct affront to this country, and a 

 plot against her peace. 



The alien bill, which the French complained was an infraction of 

 the commercial treaty, was the next cause of dispute ; and this of- 

 fence was augmented by the prohibition to export corn to France, 

 while it was freely allowed to the powers at war with that country. 



At length, towards the end of January, M Chauvelin was officially 

 Informed by the English court, that his character and functions, so 



