Selected quad for the lemma: england_n
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A35796
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The Detestable designs of France expos'd, or, The true sentiments of the Spanish Netherlanders representing the injustice of the King of France by his declaration of war against His Catholick Majesty, and the justice of the counter-declaration of the Marquess of Gastannaga his Governour General of the Low-Countries.
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1689
(1689)
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Wing D1212; ESTC R5366
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20,170
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32
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homeward consult his own Actions and that then he will suddenly make satisfaction to the Princes his Neighbours for so many Provinces of theirs which he himself has usurp'd He will restore Franche Conté the Dutchy of Luxenburgh and all Flanders to the Catholick King. He will surrender Strasburgh Friburgh the Palatinate and all the Rhine to the Empire and Lorain to it's own natural and lawful Prince and Duke For how is it possible that the declared Enemy of Usurpers and Usurpations should himself continue to be the greatest Usurper of all King James he says was lawful King of England it may be so Neither do we concern our selves whether he were or no. But was not the Catholick King as much the Lawful Sovereign of both the Burgundies Is it because that Flanders which was wrested from him during the Campaignes of 1667. and the rest that follow'd was not his by all manner of Right and Title Is it because he was not the true and lawful Duke of Luxenburgh which was came the Duke of Lorain to forfeit his Dutchy What right had the French to ravish Strasburgh for the Empire Who shall endure the Gracchi complaining of Sedition In good truth it is a thing altogether insupportable that a prince usurping with so much Violence and Injustice the Estates of all the World should complain so loudly of Usurpers and of our being so strictly united with them Nevertheless the Prince of Orange is a Prince of the Bloud of England he marry'd the next Heiress and he was called in by the Nation in General He was declared King by the Three Estates of the Kingdom Now had the French King any Veil like this to cover his Usurpation of several Provinces which being join'd together are as good as a Kingdom Our Eyes are not yet sufficiently open to see the difference between the King of France and a Usurper He wrested those Countries from Spain from the Empire from the Duke of Lorrain in open War and by the dint of Sword VVhat other way did Crowwel the most Infamous of all Usurpers ascend the Throne of England Was it not by the force of open VVar and with his Arms in his hand By what means did the Turks usurp the Estates of the Christian Princes Was it not by main force Therefore they are no Usupers And Excellent Definition of an Usurper If fraud be requir'd to make a Usurper was there ever known a more wicked piece of Treachery than that by which he got Strasburgh and all the re-united Countries But some will say the King of France is too Conscientious he would not have despoil'd a King he would not have dethron'd the King of England A most apparent piece of Truth It was the niceness of his Conscience I warrant ye that hinder'd hi from taking Brussels and Antwerp as he did Gaunt or as if he would not have taken Madrid if it had been in his power as well as Messina While we see him devour we see that he is Insatiable let him but alone till his hunger is asswaged and you shall see how far he will eat on If Castile had call'd him and made him King he would have gone thither f possible he could and would have conquer'd it was he conquer'd Sicily After all this you may if you please give ear to the most Christian King when he talks so like a Christian against Usurpers Nevertheless we ought not to refuse him the Honour of being an Enemy to Protestant Usurpers For that is a double Crime in a Catholick King to favour a Usurper and a Protestant Usurper that 's very bad indeed Yet we see that the most Christian King has chang'd his Principles and that we need not to be afraid for the future of his doing what he has done formerly We might very well set before his Eyes tekely the Usurper of Hungary who obtain'd that Title to be given him by the Ottoman Port and who has done his utmost endeavour to get possession of it That Usurper is a Protestant for he is a Lutheran Nevertheless the most Christian King must not disown but that he has acknowledg'd him for one of his best Friends Had France no other Veil to hide her Miscarriages than a Cobweb yet she is so brazen-fat'd that she would deny what she did behind that Curtain with the same confidence as if she had had a wall of a hundred foot thick to conceal her And therefore it is that you will find her perhaps denying all her strict ties of Friendship and Treaty with Tekely and the Turk But what will she say to her Union with Cromwel Here is an Example that nearly concerns England where now the Dispute lies Henry William of Nassau Prince of Orange Prince of the Bloud of England marry'd to Mary of England Eldest Daughter of James call'd in by the English Crown'd King by the three Estates is a Usurper He is a Protestant Let every Catholick be anathematiz'd that adheres to him But Cromwel a Person of mean Extraction yet a Protestant but the Abomination of all of his own Religion the Murtherer of his King whose Head he had cut off upon a publick Scaffold The Tyrant of England and sworn Enemy of all Catholicks is no Usurper It is lawful for a most Christian King to make a League Offensive and Defensive with him to give him Entrance into Flanders to invite him to invade the Countries of a Catholick Prince to deliver Dunkirk into his Hands and give it to that same English Usurper At that time the Motives and Inducements of Religion Bloud and safety of all Sovereign Princes were but Chimera's never any such tings really known in the World till the most Christian King begins to be afraid of England under the Government of the Prince of Orange 'T is a Crime for a Catholick King to have any Alliance with such a Person In good truth it is apparent that the most Christian King derides Religion and Christianity and laughs at all Europe beside Let us suppose the Catholick King to be at a loss behold him between two Usurpers between the King of France a Usurper without the least shadow of Pretence of two Dutchies two great Provinces and several Cities and Territories and between Henry William of Nassau Usurper of England as France pretends The most Christian King invites him by all the Motives of Religion Bloud and safety of Kings to unite with him in a War against the Vsurper of England at least if the Condition of his Affairs will not permit him to engage in such a Vnion to observe and exact Neutrality On the other side King William of England promises him great Advantages if he will join with Him. What shall the Catholick King do In my Opinion between one Usurper and t' other his Interest requires him to declare for the Vsurper that never took any thing from him against the Vsurper that has wrested from him by force so considerable a part of his Dominions VVhat
can France say to This But to say no more of the pretended Usurpation of England who has told France that the Catholick King has join'd with a Usurper He has united with the Emperor his Kinsman and Ally He has join'd with the Pope the Head of the Church Against whom Against the common Enemy of the Empire against the general Enemy of Europe against the declar'd Enemy of the Holy Empire Where is the Scandal The Prince of Orange lawful Elected King of England by the Three Estates of the Kingdom is upon his March the same way What sort of Morals has the Court of France found out to prove that it is not lawful for the Catholick King to make an Alliance with him in defence of the Common Liberty of Europe Is it for us to dispute the Rights of the People and Kings of England We should take it very ill that the English should intermeddle with the Government of Castile or Arragon If there be any wrong done 't is done by all the Nation Now I cannot find that the whole Body of a Nation is answerable for its Conduct to any other than God himself If King James have any right on his side we will not take it ill that he defend his Title But this is a Quarrel to be disputed between the People and Him wherein no body has to do to concern himself much less the Catholick King who never receiv'd any Kindness but all the dammage that might be from the late Kings of England as being always in League with France to the ruine of the House of Austria This is the first time for these two hundred years past that the House of Austria has found England in a condition to be advantageous to their Interests and France is mighty unwilling that they should lay hold of the Lucky Conjuncture 'T is very unjust and the Accusation which the most Christian King raises thereupon is a Pretence without any ground After all what would be the benefit of that plausible Alliance into which his most Christian Majesty tells us that he has labour'd so much to persuade the Catholick King for the restoring King James It would produce a bloudy War. England environ'd with the Sea united to Holland and in Alliance with other Protestant Princes is able to maintain a War against all the other Princes of Europe And in this War Spain would be a loser the Empire would get nothing and France would win all For when the Allies were weaken'd by extravagant Expences and a tedious War with England then would France fall upon them and level all before him This is a true Prospect of the Designs of France so Religious so Catholick so Zealous for the Rights of lawful Sovereigns And now has not the Marquess of Gastannaga just reason to publish That the most Christian King's Declaration is injurious to his Catholick Majesty while it labours to render all his Alliances with the Princes and States his Neighbours scandalous to all the World whose glorious Aim is onely the repose of Christendom and the reciprocal Grandeur of each others Dominions The Scandal then being wip'd away as it is clear there is none in this case it is as apparent that his Catholick Majesty cannot dispence with his entring into an Alliance with all the Enemies of France let them be of what Religion they will. For this Union tends to the glorious End which is the safety and repose of Europe of which the most Christian King has been the Disturber for several years His Ambition is boundless nor will it admit of any Limits and therefore it is requisite that Bounds should be set him in spite of his teeth it being necessary as the Marquess of Gastannaga says for the reciprocal Grandeur of each others Dominions Not that the Emperour or the King of Spain or their Allies have any design of Conquest upon those Princes that acknowledge and worship Jesus Christ That Honour is left for the most Christian King to pillage and devour the Children of the Church The Emperour is contented with conquering the Countries of the Christians out of the hands of Infidels And as for his Catholick Majesty all that he desires is but to regain what has been so unjustly ravish'd from him Nor does it appear that the Protestant States the English and Hollanders either have or can have any prospect of Conquest nor any other Interest than that of the publick safety and the preservation of the Liberty of Europe But to be an Enemy of France to go about to stop the Career of her Fury is to declare War against Heaven if you will believe the Ministers and Council of Versailles His Majesty was inform'd at the same time that the Spanish Embassadonr in England was continually with the Prince of Orange And thus for the future the Court of France it seems will take upon her to regulate the Visits and motions of Forreign Embassadours in Foreign Courts so that they shall not dare to pay common Civilities without her permission Wherefore should the Catholick King forbear holding that good Correspondence with the Prince of Orange which he had always observ'd while he was at the Hague Had the Prince of Orange given the King any occasion to order his Ministers not to see him any more 'T is very true the behaviour of the Prince was quite different toward Monsieur Barillon the most Christian King's Embassadour for he sent him away packing with ignominy and he had good reason so to do For that Embassadour was sent into England for nothing else but to engage King James in a Conduct entirely opposite to the Interests of Europe and the publick peace 'T was his business to cheat England and to tie he Hands that she might not oppose the Ambitious designs of the most Christian King and aster the flight of King James he staid behind for nothing else but to be a Spy and a Firebrand of Sedition But the Spanish Embassadour was there to engage England to do her duty by suppressing the Attempts of France The Prince of Orange comes into England and by the flight of King James becomes Master of Affairs and turns the Tide so that the Revolution proves altogether favourable to the Interests of his Catholick Majesty and of all Europe What reason has the most Christian King to take it ill that we should lay hold of such a lucky Circumstance for the restoring Christendom to peace and that flourishing Condition which it formerly enjoy'd One of the King of France's Reasons for declaring War against the Catholick King is That the Governour of the Spanish Netherlands we very busie in raising new Forces Is not this very fine that the King of France shall cover Land and Sea with Armies and Fleets shall declare War against the Pope and the Emperor threaten the Universe make preparations as if he were to conquer all the East and that he Princes of Christendom and their Governours must not dare to make moderate Levies