THE INTEREST OF ENGLAND IN THE Present War WITH HOLLAND By the Author of The DUTCH USURPATION Nulla Potentia Scelere quaesita est diuturna LONDON Printed for Jonathan Edwin at the three Roses in Ludgate-street 1672. TO THE KING DREAD SIR SInce Heaven your Righteous Cause has own'd And with Success Your powerful Navy crown'd Silence were now an injury as rude As the proud Hollanders Ingratitude While th' Glories of your Arms and Triumphs shine Not to Congratulate were to Repine Your Enemies themselves to Greatness raise By disingenious and inglorious ways By means no Vulgar Spirit would endure But such as either Courage want or Power But while your Clemency proclaims aloud Compassion to the miserable Croud Your Royal Breast with Love not Anger burns And Your resentment into Pity turns In Christian Gallantry You Your self out-doe And Honour by the Noblest Arts pursue THE Interest of ENGLAND In the present War with HOLLAND TRade and Commerce are the Pillars of Prosperity and safety to England But how these of late have been shaken by the artifice and undue practices of the Hollanders every sober man may judge For they have not only made great diminution of the Merchant Adventurers antient priviledges in their Jurisdiction but our Trade to Muscovia the Hollanders serving the same Market with our own cloth carried thither from Hamburgh we cannot long enjoy We do not vend the one third part of the Cloth in Germany and the Low-Countries which we have formerly done And that we have transported from North to East of late years hath been sold to loss being beaten out by the subtilty and cunning of these men they having such quantities of Wool out of England and Ireland to the exceeding damage of this Nation that they make more Cloth and Stuff than we do in England and afford it cheaper then we can do The Fishing upon the British Seas then which nothing is more peculiar to this Nation they have taken from us by force and have defended and justified the same against his Majesties greatest power And to signalize their Ingratitude to his Majesty they have not only undermin'd the Trade of the English in all parts to the diminution of his Majesties Revenue and prejudice to his Subjects but have laboured to soil his Glory and lessen his Dignity where the Honour of the King of Great Britain was justly famous Although they have received greater Favours and Kindnesses from this Nation then all the Kings and Princes in Europe could give them In the Molucca Islands the Hollanders exercised great Cruelty upon the poor Natives there And when they had done they declar'd to them that they were English the Natives asking them who the English were the Hollanders told them they were Christians Thereby they did not only render the English odious but the very name of Christians abominable to the Natives But when they came to understand the kindness and behaviour of the English to them they had a very great love for them and did much Honour the King of England the Orankies being often heard to say that the King of England was a good King and his God a good God but their Tanto and the Hollanders were naught Anno 1608. an English Colony was planted by Captain Robert Harcourt in Caripo situate on the Banks of Wiapico in Guiana the Hollanders possess themselves of Gomeribo on the top of a Hill near the Mouth of the Bay of Wiapico but soon deserted yet they endeavoured nothing more during their short stay then to make the Natives disaffected to the English affronting their persons and defaming the Grandeur and Power of the Kings of England But when the Natives found by experience how the King of England and his Subjects were abus'd they did ever after perfectly hate the name of a Hollander Anno 1614. The Hollanders planted themselves in a Province or Port of Virginia having purchas'd the Charts and Maps of Hudson and all his right which he had acquir'd by that Voyage and call'd it by the name of Nieu-Nederlandt But being question'd by Sir Tho. Argal then Governour of Virginia for his Majesty of Great Britain were told that they must quit the possession of that place or else pay Tribute to his Majesty for that Hudson was an Englishman and licensed to discover those Northern parts by the King of England and could not alienate or dismember it from the Crown of England Complaint hereof being made to the States of Holland it was declar'd by them in a publlck Instrument that they were no ways concern'd in the Action but 't was a private undertaking of the West-Indian Company of Amsterdam And though the Hollanders did seem willing to be gone yet taking advantage of the Troubles which not long after happened in England they have not only kept possession thereof and built a Fortress and call'd it by the name of Orang-Fort which was Garrison'd and planted with Cannon but fell in with the Natives and furnished them with Arms and taught them how to use their Weapons with design to have destroyed all the English Plantation there A most mischievous and wicked act not only tending to the damage and discouragement of the present Adventurers but even unto the extirpation of all Christians out of all those Countries But the best is they were the first which smarted by it The Natives thus arm'd and train'd fell foul upon them destroy'd their houses and forc'd them to betake themselves to their Ports and Fastnesses But upon all occasions expressed their kindness and obedience to the English Ormus an Island in the entrance of the Persian Gulf in the possession of the Portuguez Anno 1506. was made the Staple of their Trade for the Indian Merchandizes and so inrich'd the same that the Revenues of the Kings there though Tributaries and Vassals to the Portugals amounted unto 140000 Shirifes yearly In this flourishing estate it stood till the Year 1622. when Abas the Sultan of Persia having received some affronts at the hands of the Portuguez and being desirous to remove the Trade of Ormus to some part of his own Dominions gave order to Emangoti Chares the Duke of Shiras to lay Siege unto it with his Army But seeing no hopes of mastering it by his Land Forces only furnished himself with Ships and Cannon of some English Merchants and by the assistance of the English presently subdu'd it The City was utterly destroyed the Cannons removed to Lar the wealth thereof to his own Treasury of Shiras the materials of the houses to Gunbroon about nine miles from Ormus then a poor village but since the fall of Ormus a rich and populous place and of vast Trade For this Service so much honour was given to the English Nation by the King of Persia that he gave to the King of Great Britain the Customs of all Strangers which should traffick thither and by his Agent which resideth at Gunbroon ought to be
received The Hollanders who have a vast trade thither they being strangers and not trading to the Gulf till some time after for several years paid their Customs but since the Troubles in England refused to pay though all other Strangers pay to the English resident there which may be reasonably estimated at 20000 l. per annum and have been detained by them from the King of Great Britain about 30 years Anno 1671. when the King of Great Britain at his own charges for a peaceable Traffick and Commerce not only for his own Subjects but for those of other Kings and Princes in Europe made a War against the Pyrates of Argiers and by his Naval Forces were much disabled and brought to a Treaty The Hollanders writ to their good Friends of Argiers that they should conclude no Peace with England for they wanted Provision and could not continue long at Sea If I should present you with all the Sufferings of his Majesties Subjects from these men they would make a Book of Martyrs but the image of great things are best seen contracted into small glasses His Majesty out of his Princely Wisdom hath left no means unattempted for reparation of his own Dignity and for compensation of the injuries done to his good Subjects but could effect none Therefore Vltima resolutio est gladius War is the darrein resort of every wise and good Prince unto which his Majesty was necessitated they being the first Aggressors and that upon such clear and pregnant evidence as no King ever undertook a more just War For as in Capital causes wherein but one mans life is in question in favorem vitae the evidence ought to be clear so much more in the judgment of a War which is capital to thousands They have expos'd his Majesty to contempt by their false Libels and Medails The Reputation of a Prince ought to be as sacred as his Person vita fama pari passu ambulant Life and Reputation are the same in judgment of Law for that person which has lost his Reputation he doth but survive his own Funerals Contumely to a private person is but a private injury but to a King it s an affront to a whole Nation for in the Honour of the King is wound up the safety and reputation of the people and not only his own Subjects but all Kings and Princes are obliged to vindicate his Majesties Dignity It s not enough for a Prince to be great among his own Subjects but he must carry a Grandezza amongst Kings there 's his Glory which by the art and malice of these unmannerly Libels may be much impeach'd They have seised upon his Dominions and Plantations in the East-Indies and do unjustly detain them from him They have disturbed the Factories of his good Subjects there They have disputed his Majesties Sovereignty of the British Seas here alledging that by the Magna Charta of God Almighty its free and that there can be no dominion or propriety in the Sea which they urg'd with much zeal against the Portuguez in the East-Indies But when they had subdued them and the Kings there they make it Death and Confiscation of Ships and Goods for any person to pass the South and North Seas there the Dominion of which Seas is of a greater Latitude then that of all the Kings and Princes in Europe And all the Arguments which they use to assert their Right and Dominion thereunto are Sword and Cannon I do assure you they are smart Arguments But we may see that the unwarrantableness of an action is often hid in the Glory of the success And those men which should have been the Pillars of a State are become the Caterpillers of Kingdoms yea and worse too for the Caterpiller as a modest and sober creature only makes bold with the Fruits of the Earth but these devour the Land and People too Now they begin to be look'd upon as the Pesti ducts of Europe the scorn and indignation of every good man They have supplanted the Trade and Commerce of his Majesties Subjects which are the vena porta of the Kingdom and without which the Limbs and Members thereof must be feeble and weak All which proceedings of these men are such pregnant evidence of the Justice of the War that there are no learned Doctors the Gamaliels of the Law but must give Judgment against them And if Wars in these cases for the vindication of rights and repair of injur'd Subjects be not lawful for Wars are but suits of Appeal to the Tribunal of Gods Justice when there are no Superiours upon earth to determine the case we must expect nothing but Rapines Injuries and Injustice here upon earth If we set down by reason the judgment of the learned and the practice of all Ages the increase of their Dominions and potency at Sea if we consider their Ambition Avarice and Insolencies have given just fear to his Majesty and other the Kings and Princes of Europe and so justified his proceedings against them before God and man For preventive Wars upon just fears are as just Wars and as truly defensive as those that are made upon actual Invasion And therefore the Greek Orator compareth those who make Wars which are not preventive to Country fellows in a Fencing-School which never Ward till the Blow is past And no Prince can be justly condemn'd for not staying for the first blow or not for accepting of Polyphemus courtesie to be the last that shall be eaten up The Hollanders are always brooding of War and there 's no firm League to be had with them but impuissance to do hurt And certainly its a main piece of wisdom in strong and prudent Councils to be in perpetual watch that the Princes or States about them do not too much aggrandize themselves by new Acquests or by ruining Confederates or by the like means And this was so exactly observ'd by that Trium-virate of Kings Henry the Eighth of England Francis the First of France and Charles the Fifth Emperor and King of Spain that scarce a palm of Ground could be gotten by either of the three but that th' other two would be sure to do their best to set the Balance of Europe upright again A Republick is nothing but an Engine erected by Sedition and Treachery to subvert Monarchy and we see that Holland hath been a Retreat for all Rebels and a Sanctuary to the worst of men All Heresies Schisms and Anti-monarchical Principles have been there hatch'd and they fly into the Dominions of Kings and Princes and on their wings carry nothing but Poison and Contagion to infect their Subjects They are great pretenders to Zeal and Religion you shall learn much Divinity from them but find no Humanity Certainly such as rob God of his Honour by tolerating Atheists and Princes of their rights by countenancing Rebellion shall never be set out for Saints in my Kalendar Let
Charges and Expences they must necessarily be put unto For look upon the States they are indigent they owe no less then a Million of our pounds for Interest which they cannot pay much less the principal when it shall be requir'd Consider the East-India Company by reason of their exceeding Charges in enlarging their Dominions there and the vast expences which must necessarily attend the keeping of them cannot be rich For all Countries of new acquest till they be setled are matters rather of burthen then of profit And certainly the rich Merchants there the States being now upon the disbanding will not bring their mony into their Banks or lend it to the States For if they do their Security is gone their mony lost and that which other Nations have in their Banks And therefore its prudence to get it out of their hands as soon as may be however not to venture more in that Vessel which is ready to sink The Common people measure the bond of their obedience by the good always which they receive And therefore they being under such great Oppressions and severities unjustly impos'd upon them by the States will not long endure their want of Trade and those great Taxes will in a short time beget a general Revolt in them all And Amsterdam will prove more formidable to them then any Army of their Enemies For that State which subsists not in Fidelity can never continue long in Potency His Majesty hath at present a potent Fleet at Sea a stout Militia at Land and a Magazine of Hearts There 's no generous English Spirit but is ready for the Honour of his King and the good of his Country to sacrifice his Life and when he hath done will triumph in the Oblation For my part I thank Heaven my Veins never knew other Blood but such as I should be proud to spend in their Service And as they are ready to sacrifice their own lives so for the vigorous prosecution of this War which on his Majesties part is only defensive and so most just and honourable they will chearfully expend their Treasure which is the life of the Nation And indeed true piety binds Subjects to look upon the Burthen of Princes with a bended knee rather in time so to deserve abatement then to dispute Authority I hope in a short time these men will understand their own Interest which is Englands good alliance For England hath always been a Back of Steel to Holland and hath and yet can afford them greater Donatives Riches and Advantages then all the Kings in Europe besides But they have so surfeited with Englands kindness that like a bad Spleen they swell so big as makes all Europe lean I praise God I am not of the complexion of thâ—se men my Genius never prompted me to the least Trillo of Grandeur Neither am I by my Stars constellated to be rich let me enjoy but such an estate as will serve me as a pass to travel the world without begging and have an honest Friend for Conversation and one good Book for my Recreation If Heaven shall vouchsafe me these Blessings I can pity the High and Mighty States FINIS Books Printed for Jonathan Edwin at the three Roses in Ludgate-street THE Dutch Vsurpation or a Brief view of the Behaviour of the States General of the Vnited Provinces towards the Kings of Great Britain with some of their Cruelties and Injustices exercised upon the Subjects of the English Nation As also a Discovery of what Arts they have used to arrive at their late Grandeur c. By William de Britain The Amorous Travellers or the Night Adventures Written Originally in Spanish by a Person of Honour Translated into French by the Exquisite Pen of the Sieur de Ganes And into English by J. B. Great Britains Glory or A brief Description of the present State Splendor and Magnificence of the Royal Exchange with some remarkable Passages relating to the Present Engagement Humbly presented to the several Merchants of the City of London who daily Meet Traffick and Converse in the said place By Theophilus Philalethes Letters and other Curious Pieces relating to the Present State of Europe Two Letters one from the States General to his Most Christian Majesty the other from his Most Christian Majesty to the States General Relating to the present Conjuncture of Affairs Trade is the pillar of safety to England Our Trade to Muscovia we cannot enjoy long We vend not one third part of our Cloth we formerly have done The Hollanders have taken from England the Fishing Trade The Hollanders have received greater favours from England then from all Kings in Europe The Hollanders exercised great cruelties upon the Natives in India and they told them they were English Tanto was an evil Spirit which did trouble them every new Moon and therefore they worshipped him for fear The Hollanders in Guiana endeavour to render the English odious to the Natives The Hollanders instruct the Natives in the West-Indies in the use of arms The Hollanders use to pay to his Majesty Customs given to him by the King of Persia The Hollanders writ to the Pyrates of Argiers not to make Peace with England The War against the Hollanders just The Hollanders the first Aggressors The Hollanders expose his Majesty to Contempt by Libels The Hollanders have seiz'd upon his Majesties Dominions in the East-Indies Trade is the vena porta of the Kingdom Wars are suits of Appeal to the Tribunal of Gods Justice Preventive Wars upon just fears are just Wars It s prudence to watch that neighbour Princes do not aggrandize themselves too much A Republick is an Engine erected by Sedition against Monarchy The Hollanders great Patrons of Schism Schism is against an Article of Faith Their Government is ill in its original Nothing can make the Belgick people happy but a Prince The wrongs of our Enemies sometimes make us fortunate The more a Prince giveth the poorer he is of Friends None to Fish upon the British Seas but such as come and live in England The loss of the Fishery would prove the ruine of the States The benefit of the Fishery to England England the Counter-balance of Europe The advantages England hath over other Nations A War from England must necessarily prove a ruine to Holland Hollands interest in Englands Alliance The Hollanders are like a bad Spleen