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A08591
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Sir Thomas Ouerbury his obseruations in his trauailes vpon the state of the Xvii. Prouinces as they stood anno Dom. 1609 The treatie of peace being then on foote.
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Overbury, Thomas, Sir, 1581-1613.
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1626
(1626)
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STC 18903; ESTC S113538
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13,386
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32
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most remarkable place in that side is Antwerp which rose vpon the fall of Bruges equally strong and beautifull remaining yet so vpon the strength of its former greatnesse twice spoyled by the Spaniard and the like attempted by the French The Cittadell was built there by the D. of Alva but renued by the Prince of Parma after his 18. moneths besieging it the Towne accepting a Castle rather then a Garrison to mingle among them There are yet in the Towne of Citizens 30000. fighting men 600. of which kept Watch nightly but they allowed neither Cannon vpon the Rampier nor Megazins of powder In the Castle are 200. peeces of Ordnance and commonly seuen or eight hundred Souldiers Flanders is the best of the seuenteene Provinces but the Havens thereof are naught Obseruations on the State of France 1609. vnder Henry the Fourth By Sir THOMAS OVERBVRY HAuing seene the forme of a Common-wealth and a Prouince with the different effects of Warres in them I entred France flourishing with Peace and of Monarchies the most absolute because the King there not only makes Peace and Warres Calls and dissolues Parliaments Pardoneth naturalizeth Innobleth Names the value of Money Presseth to the Warre but euen makes Lawes and imposes Taxes at his pleasure And all this he doth alone for as for that forme that his Edicts must be authorized by the next Court of Parliament that is the next Court of soueraigne Iustice first the Presidents thereof are to be chosen by him and to bee put out by him and secondly when they concurre not with the King he passeth any thing without them as he did the last Edict for the Protestants And for the assembly of the three Estates it is growne now almost as extraordinary as a generall Counsell with the losse of which their Liberty fell and when occasion vrgeth it is possible for the King to procure that all those that shall bee sent thither shall be his Instruments for the Duke of Guise effected as much at the assembly of Bloys The occasion that first procured the King that Supremacie that his Edicts should be Lawes was the last Inuasion of the English for at that time they possessing two parts of France the three Estates could not assemble whereupon they did then grant that power vnto Charles the Seuenth during the Warre And that which made it easie for Lewis the Eleuenth and his Successors to continue the same the occsion ceasing was that the Clergie and Gentrie did not runne the same fortune with the people there as in England for most of the Taxes falling only vpon the people the Clergie aud Gentrie being forborne were easily induced to leaue them to the Kings mercy But the King hauing got strength vpon the Pesants hath beene since the bolder to inuade part of both their liberties For the succession of this Monarchie it hath subsisted without intermission these 1200. yeares vnder three Races of Kings No Nation hath heretofore done greater things abroad in Palestine and Egipt besides all parts of Europe but for these last 400. yeares they haue only made Sallies into Italie and often suffered at home Three hundred yeares the English afflicted them making two firme Inuasions vpon them and taking their King prisoner the second greatnesse of Christendome next the Emperour being then in competition betwixt vs and them And to secure themselues against vs rather then the House of Austria as it then stood they chose to marry the Heire of Bretaigne before that of Burgundy And for this last hundred yeares the Spantard vndertaking them hath eaten them out of all but France and endangered that too But for this present France had neuer as France a more entire greatnesse though it hath often beene richer For since the Warre the King is only got afore hand the Country is but yet in recouering the War hauing lasted by spaces 32. yeares and so generally that no man but had an Enemie within three miles and so the Countrey became Frontier all ouer Now that which hath made them at this time so largely great at home is their adopting into themselues the lesser adioyning Nations without destruction or leauing any marke of strangenesse vpon them as the Bretons Gascoignes Provincalls and others which are not French towards the which Vnions their nature which is easie and harborous to strangers hath done more then any Lawes could haue effected but with long time The King as I said enioying what Lewis the 11. did gaine hath the entire Soueraigntie in himselfe because hee can make the Parliament doe what he please or else doe what he please without them For the other three Estates The Church is there very rich being estimated to enioy the third part of the Reuenew of France but otherwise nothing so potent as else-where partly because the Inquisition is not admitted in France but principally because the Popes ordinary power is much restrayned there by the Liberties which the French Church claymeth Which Liberties doe not so much ensranchize the Church it selfe as conferre the Authoritie the Pope looseth vpon the King as first fruites and the disposing of all Spirituall preferments And by reason of this neutralitie of Authoritie the Church-men suffer more there then either in England where they wholly depend vpon the King or in Spaine and Italie where they wholly subsist by the Pope because the Pope is not able totally to support them and the King takes occasion euer to suppresse them as beeing not entirely his Subiects and to him they pay yearely both the tenth of all their Tithe and of all their Temporall land The Gentrie are the onely entire Body there which participate with the Prerogatiues of the Crowne for from it they receiue Priuiledges aboue all other men and a kinde of limited Regality vpon their Tenants besides reall supply to their estates by Gouernments and Pensions and freedome from Tallies vpon their owne Lands that is vpon their Demaines and whatsoeuer else they manure by their Seruants but so much as they let to Tenants is presently Tallie-able which causeth proportionable abatement in the Rent and in recompence of this they owe to the King the Ban and the Arriereban that is to serue him and his Lieutenant three Moneths within the Land at their owne Charges And as in Warre they vndergoe the greatest part of the danger so then is their power most perremptorie aboue the rest whereas in time of Peace the King is ready to support inferiour persons against them and is glad to see them to waste one another by Contention in Law for feare they grow rich because hee fore-sees that as the Nobilitie onely can doe him seruice so they onely misapplyed can doe him harme The auntient Gentrie of France was most of it consumed in the Warres of Godfrey of Bulloigne and some in those of Saint Lewis because vpon their setting out they pawned all their Feifs to the Church and few of them were after redeemed by reason whereof the Church possesseth at
taxes vnsupportable yet doe they little more then serue for necessary publike vses For the King of Spains greatnes Neighbourhood forceth the King there to liue continually vpon his Guard and the treasure which the Spaniard receiues from his Indies constraines him to raise his Reuenew thus by Taxes so to be able in some proportion to beare vp against him for feare else he should be bought out of all his Confederates and seruants For the Relation of this State to others It is first to be considered that this part of Christendome is ballanced betwixt the three Kings of Spaine France and England as the other part betwixt the Russian the Kings of Poland Sweden and Denmarke For as for Germany which if it were entirely subiect to one Monarchy would be terrible to all the rest so being deuided betwixt so many Princes and those of so equall power it serues only to ballance it selfe and entertaine easie Warre with the Turke while the Persian with-holds him in a greater And euery one of those first three hath his particular strength and his particular weakenesse Spaine hath the aduantage of both the rest in Treasure but is defectiue in Men his Dominions are scattered and the conueyance of his Treasure from the Indies lyes obnoxious to the power of any Nation that is stronger by Sea France abounds with Men lyes close together and hath Money sufficiently England beeing an Iland is hard to be Inuaded abounds with Men but wants Money to imploy them For their particular weaknesse Spaine is to be kept busie in the Low-Countries France is to bee afflicted with Protestants and England in Ireland England is not able to subsist against any of the other hand to hand but ioyned with the Lowe-Countries it can giue Lawe to both by Sea and ioyned with either of them two it is able to oppresse the third as Henry the Eight did Now the only entire body in Christendome that makes head against the Spanish Monarchy is France and therefore they say in France that the day of the ruine of France is the Eue of the ruine of England And thereupon England hath euer since the Spanish greatnesse enclined rather to maintaine France rather then to ruine it as when King Francis was taken prisoner the King of England lent Money towards the payment of his Ransome And the late Queene when the Leagers after the Duke of Guise his death had a designe to Cantonize France though offered a part would not consent So then this reason of State of mutuall preseruation conioyning them England may be accounted a sure Confederate of France and Holland by reason it partly subsists by it the Protestant Princes of Germany because they haue Countenance from it against the house of Austria the Protestant Swissers for Religion and Money the Venetians for protection against the Spaniard in Italy So that all their friends are either Protestants or enclyning and whosoeuer is extreme Catholike is their enemie and Factors for the Spanish Monarchy as the Pope the Cardinalls for the most part and totally the Iesuites the Catholike Princes of Germany and the Catholicks of England and Ireland For the Iesuites which are the Ecclesiasticall strength of Christendome France notwithstanding the many late Obligations hath cause to despaire of them for they intending as one Pope so one King to suppresse the Protestants and for the better support of Christendome against the Turke and seeing Spaine the likelier to bring this to passe they follow the neerer probability of effecting their end No addition could make France so dangerous to vs as that of our Lowe-Countries for so it were worse then if the Spaniard himselfe had them entirely As for their hopes of regaining Italie it concernes the Spaniard immediatly rather then vs. Concerning the state of the Protestants in France during Peace they are protected by their Edict For their two Agents at Court defend the Generall from wrong and their Chambres-impartyes euery particular person And if troubles should arise some scattered particulars might be in danger but the maine body is safe safe to defend themselues though all France ioyne against them and if it breake out into Factions the safest because they are both ready and vnited The particulars of their strength are first their Townes of surety two of which command the Riuer of Loyre Secondly their Scituation the greatest part of them lying neere together as Poictou Zanningtonge High Gascoigne Languedoc and Daulphin neere the Sea so consequently fit to receiue succours from abroad and remote from Paris so that the qualitie of an Armie is much wasted before it can approach them The third is the sufficiency of their present Gouernours Bulloigne and Desdeguiers and other second Commanders And for the Princes of the Blood whom the rest may in shew without emulation obey when they come once to open action those which want a party will quickly seeke them The last is the ayde they are sure of from forraine Princes For whosoeuer are friends to France in generall are more particularly their friends And besides the Protestant partie being growne stronger of late as the Low-Countries and more vnited as England and Scotland part of that strength reflects vpon them and euen the King of Spaine himselfe which is Enemie to France in generall would rather giue them succour then see them vtterly extirpated And yet no Forraine Prince can euer make further vse of them then to disturbe France not to inuade it himselfe For as soone as they get an Edict with better Conditions they turne head against him that now succoured them as they did against vs at New-haven Concerning the proportion of their number they are not aboue the seuenteene or eighteenth part of the people but of the Gentlemen there are 6000. of the Religion but since the Peace they haue increased in people as principally in Paris Normandy and Daulphin but lost in the Gentrie which losse commeth to passe by reason that the King when he findes any Gent. that will but hearken tempts him with preferment and those he findes vtterly obstinate suppresseth And by such meanes hee hath done them more harme in Peace then both his Predecessors in Warre For in all their assemblies hee corrupts some of their Ministers to betray their Counsell in hand and of the 100 6000. Crowns a yeare which he paies the Protestants to entertaine their Ministers and pay their Garrisons hee hath gotten the bestowing of 16000. of them vpon what Gentleman of the Religion he pleaseth when by that meanes he moderates if not gaines and besides they were wont to impose vpon him their two Deputies which are to stay at Court but now he makes them propose sixe out of which he chuseth the two and by that obligeth those yet notwithstanding all this in some occasions hee makes good vse of them too For as towards England he placeth none in any place of strength but firme Catholikes so towards Spaine and Sauoy he often giues charge to