Chap. m. &/ P E R tJ cm L h i 6j 
purchafed thofe Treafures wl|ich have been wafted away 
in gratifying the Pride of Princes^ the Lnfts of Priefts^ 
and the innumerable Vices of a long Train of Weak and 
wicked Minifters. Happy would it be for all other 
Nations if Spain alone was infamous for this kind of Ex- 
travagance /nd Madnefs ! Happy for them^ if after fol- 
lowing they would grow wifer by her Example ! Happy 
for them, that fhe is not yet fenfible of her Faults ! 
The Miftakes that have been made by the Spaniards^ 
however ftrange, however amazing, they may appear, 
when thus examined and pointed out upon Paper, are 
fuch as any other Nation may be very eafily betrayed 
into, when her Circumftances become like thofe of the 
Spaniards. All Colonies are a kind of political Children, 
and, as fuch, contribute to the Honour, Safety,- and Riches 
of their Parents, if thofe Parents are not wanting to them- 
felves •, it is, however, very common for Governments, 
as well as private Perfons, to fall into many great Er- 
rors upon this Head ; fuch as treating young Colonies with 
vaft Tendernefs and Indulgence, forming from thence 
very fanguine, and fometimes very unreafonable Expec- 
tations ; and, becaufe thefe are not anfwered as foon as 
expected, falling out with, and difregarding, thofe Co- 
lonies, at the very time when, if they had been attended 
to, they might have more than anfwered their Expedta- 
tions. It is likewife common with them, as well as Pa- 
rents, to grow unreafonably, I was going to fay ridicu- 
loufly, jealous of their Off-fpring ; by this foolilh Con- 
du6t, adually producing thofe Mifchiefs they endeavou- 
ed to avoid, and which could have been produced only 
by fuch Endeavours. 
They are apt to fancy, that, becaufe thefe Children 
are fettled at aDiftance, they forget that they are Children •, 
and, full of this idle Fancy, they foon forget that they are 
Parents, and begin to treat them with an arbitrary Autho- 
rity; becaufe they live at aDiftance, and fupport themfelves 
by their own Labours, they make it their Study to draw 
from them wherewith to maintain the Luxury and Pro- 
digality ot thofe Childen who live at home with them, 
and are thereby become the Objefts of an irregular Af- 
fedion, which very foon degenerates into an excelTive 
Indulgence. Hence arife all thofe Mifchiefs that are fo 
warmly deplored by thofe, who, if they would ad with 
proper Care and Spirit, might eafily amend them ; for 
it is with Colonies as it is with Children, nine times in ten 
their Errors fpring from the Ufage they have met with ; 
and they are blamed for their Mifcarriages by thofe who 
are in reality the Authors of thofe Mifcarriages, and 
ought therefore to blame themfelves. 
An ancient and almoft incurable Miftake this has been ; 
but it is neverthelefs a Miftake for all that, and a Miftake 
which it imports every great and wife People to amend. 
A Nation that has great Colonies abroad can never want 
Trade, Riches, or maritime Power, unlefs fhe is want- 
ing to herfelf. A familiar Example will illuftrate this, 
and that in Inch a Manner as muft convince every Per- 
fon of the Truth of this Remark. A Man who has a 
large Eftate and no Children, muft of neceftity employ 
many Servants, of whofe Fidelity he cannot be altogether, 
or at leaft always, certain ; and, with refped to a Nation, 
Subjeds obtained by the Sword, that is, by Conqueft, or 
Slaves purchafed by Money, are in the Nature of Ser- 
vants ; but the natural Subjeds of a State, by which I 
mean fuch as have been born or bred up under its Laws, 
-are to all political Purpofes Children, let them live where 
they will; and, if due Care be taken of them, will 
difcharge the Duties of Children. But if Parents, who 
are in this Condition, inftead of feeking the Advantages 
they might attain from it, employ their Cares another 
W ay, and divert their Thoughts and their Affedions 
from their Children to Servants and Strangers, it is no 
Wonder that their Affairs go wrong. 
Now^ this was precifely the Cafe of the Spaniards : 
The Emperor Charles V. happened not to be born in 
Spain., and, which was ftill more fatal to that Country, 
was chofen Emperor of Germany^ which quite turned his 
Thoughts from SpaniJJo Affairs ; fo that though he was 
as great a Captain, as able a Statefman, and as wife a 
Monarch as ever, fat upon that Throne, yet with all his 
VoL. II. .Numb, 8o. 
Virtues and all his Abilities he laid the Foundafibh of 
their Misfortunes, at the "fery T'ime when he thought he 
w’as laying the Ground-work of an laniveffal Monarchy 
and at a Time too, when, by attending clofely to the /af- 
fairs of Spain., he might have made it a greater,' happier,- 
and more potent Nation, than ever the Perfians; Greeks; 
or Romans had been. His Son Philip heightened all thefe 
Misfortunes, though he purfued quite a different Con- 
dud ; but then he purfued it to the fame End,' that is ta 
fay; by affeding univerfal Monarchy he ruined his own. 
He was generally and very jufty reputed a Prince asf. 
well verfed in Politics as any of his Age, or perhaps of 
any other ; yet he was fo much taken up in endeavour- 
ing to reduce the Netherlands, enflave Italy; conquer 
England., over-run France^ and in annexing Portugal to 
his Dominions, that he never conffdered his Subjeds irf 
the Spanijh America, farther than as they enabled him by 
conftant Supplies of Money to carry on thefe his vaft De- 
figns. From what has been faid it is evident; that how- 
ever wife, however penetrating, thefe Priiices might be,’ 
they certainly over-fliot themfelves in their Schemes con- 
cerning the PVeJiern Indies. Inftead of looking upon it. 
as an Eftate, they feemed to think it only a Farm; of 
which they were to make prefently what t.hey could. In 
doing this it muft be ov/ned they aded v/ith Skill and 
Vigour, for they drew immenfe Sums from thence i 
which they wafted in Europe, to difturb others, and in 
the End to deftroy their own State. Mr. Lewis Roberts; 
Author of the Map of Com'merce, an excellent Book for 
the Time in which it was written, tells, that it appeared 
by the Records in the Cuftom-houfe of Seville, that in 
the Space of feventy-four Years, computing backwards,; 
from the Time in which he wrote, the Kings of Spain had 
drawn into that Country, from America, two hundred 
and fifty Millions of Gold, which make about ninety-one 
Millions Sterling. He alfo obferves, that this very Prince, 
Philip II. of whom we have been fpeaking, fpent more 
in his Reign than all his Predeceflbrs in the whole of 
their refpedive Reigns, though no lefs than fixty-tv/a 
Kings had reigned before him. Yet this cunning, this 
ambitious. Monarch left his Subjeds in a manner quite 
exhaufted ; and, by eftablifhing a moft pernicious Syftem 
of Politics, left the total ruining of his Dominions, by 
way of Legacy, to his Succeffbrs ; a Point which, with 
wonderful Obftinacy, they have fteadily purfued ever fincci 
All who are in any Degree acquainted with the Hiftory 
of Europe know, that, for a long Courfe of Yeats,- Spain 
maintained at once Wars m Flanders, Germany; Italy, and 
fometimes in Ireland., which created a prodigious Expence 
of Treafure and of Troops, neither of which from the' 
Death of Charles V. they were in any Condition to fpare. 
As Families were reduced by the Expence of ferving in 
the Army, they were induced to feek new Fortunes in 
t\it Weji-Indies •, and thus Numbers went over thither, 
not to cultivate the Country, or to improve Trade, but 
to ftrip and plunder thofe wdio went before them. Other 
great Families again concurred with the Meafures of the 
Crovm, in hopes of Vice-royalties and other valuable 
Offices in its Conquefts ; but, if ever their Schemes were 
beneficial to their Families, which may admit of doubt ; 
certain it is, that they contributed more and more to the 
Ruin of the Spamijlo Nation. For though hi s Catholic Ma- 
jefty once poffeffed Naples, Sicily, Sardinia, Milan, 
Territories in Italy, befides the Low Countries andfome 
other Provinces, which are now loft ; yet; for want of 
attending to Commerce, and by having no Sort of Oeco- 
nomy, all this turned to his Prejudice ; and it plainly ap- 
peared, towards the Clofe of the laft Century, that with 
all their boafted Sagacity and Firmnefs the Spaniards had 
ruined themfelves, by acquiring too great Power ; and 
rendered themfelves Beggars, by abufing their immenfe 
Riches : With fwelling Titles, and wide Dominions^- 
they were defpicably weak, and fcarCe any but Copper' 
Money was to be feen, in a Country which received above 
twenty Millions annually from its Plantations.- 
Before I quit this Topic I muft take notice of another 
Thing, which is certainly very extraordinary. This 
wrong Turn in the Spa77ijh Policy had a wonderful Effe6t ; 
It made all the Enemies of that Nation rich,, arid all its 
'U u Friend# 
