Many English officers repaired to the assistance of the King of Portugal, and were followed by large supplies of troops, artillery, arms, provisions, and money.
A small army of English and Portuguese take the field. Count La Lippe is sent over to command them. Brigadier Burgoyne surprizes
[sic]
Valenca d'Alcantara in Spain, and destroys one of their best regiments there. A sejeant
[sic]
and six men only engage a Spanish subaltern with twenty-five dragoons, unbroken, kill six of their men, and bring in the rest prisoners, with every horse of the party. Soon after Brigadier Burgoyne and Colonel Lee surprize the Spanish camp at Villa Vehla; and the Spaniards are obliged to leave Portugal, and to make winter quarters in their own country.
On the 12th of August, his Royal Highness George Augustus-Frederick, Prince of Wales, was born.
The English take Martinico and Granada
from the French, and the city of Havannah, in the island of Cuba, from the Spaniards. This induces both powers to think of peace, for which a negociation was set on foot; and the negociators on all sides having adjusted the points in dispute between Great Britain and Portugal on the one side, and France and Spain on the other, a definitive treaty was signed at Paris on the 10th of Feb. 1763; by which peace was once more restored to Europe.
By this glorious war, England acquired the large and extensive province of Canada, East and West Florida, in America, together with several large and valuable islands in the West Indies; among which is the island of Granada, one of the most extensive and important colonies belonging to the empire. This island, which produces pine-apples, oranges, citrons, and all the most delicious tropical fruits, is beautifully interspersed with an infinite variety of rivers, which, with the warmth and salubrity of the climate, render it the most pleasing situation between the tropics
; it is the residence of a number of rich planters and merchants, who have acquired large fortunes therein, and live in the greatest splendour and hospitality. It is not improperly called the Princess of the isles of the Western world.
From the year 1763 to 1774, England felt all the blessings of peace;
agriculture and commerce were improved and extended; the polite arts, such as painting and sculpture, were patronized by his Majesty, and a royal academy instituted for the purpose, in the year 1768. We might call this the Augustine age; and Great-Britain promised to its posterity universal empire. But the colonies of North America revolted from their allegiance to Great-Britain in the year 1775, and formed a congress, under the titleThe Congress of the Thirteen United Provinces, which assumed all the powers of government; in the following year it declared the States of America independent of the crown and parliament of Great-Britain. The government of France assisted them against the forces of this nation both by sea and land; and Spain also declared war against this country, as a diversion to its arms in favour of America. Holland also became
a party in the cause, to humble a nation which had arrived to such a pitch of greatness; and the general struggle at last terminated in the peace of 1783, in which the government of Great-Britain acknowledged the Americans to be independent; in consequence, the provinces of Canada and Nova Scotia only remain to us, of all our immense possessions on the continent of America.This country, in the year 1787, began to arm in favour of the Prince Stadtholder of the Seven United Provinces, who had been driven from his palace by a French party; but that business was terminated by their submission to the Duke of Brunswick, who entered Holland, and restored the former government. The Spaniards dispossessing our settlers at Nootka Sound, in 1790, was made the pretext for equipping a formidable armament; and though the difference with the Spaniards was speedily settled by negociation[sic], the jealousy entertained of the French Anarchists occasioned our Government to keep the country in armed preparation; till the indignation universally excited by the decapitation of the unfortunate French King, and the invasion of Holland by the armies of the French Republic, caused us to enter into that war, whose wide-extended fluence has deluged the continent of Europe with blood, tumbled the papal throne in ruins, dethroned the Kings of Naples and Sardinia, the former of whom is however yet struggling for his rights, annihilated the ancient Republics
of Venice, Genoa, &c. &c. extinguished the authority of the House of Orange in Holland, endangered the very existence of the House of Austria and the Germanic Empire, and by the invasion of the Egypt and Syria, has even alarmed the Sultan of the Turks for the safety of his capital, whilst the hardy bands of Russia have been called forth into action both to defend her former inveterate foes, and to wrest the classic ground of Italy from the gripe[sic]of the modern Vandals, the French! Yet amid all this carnage, the horrors of the war, if we except the enormous expenditure attending it, have scarcely been felt in this country; two attempts of invasion by the enemy have been frustrated; the captured fleets of France, Spain, and Holland, have been triumphantly brought into our harbours; our own Colonies and distant settlements have been secured, many of the most important of those of the enemy have been taken; and the India Company has established its power, by the complete conquest of the kingdom of Mysore, Tippoo Sultaun having fallen in defending his palace at Seringapatam. But it is a remarkable feature in this war, that after so sanguinary a contest for seven years, Peace appears, at the close of the year 1799, more distant than it did at its commencement.
Top
THE HISTORYOF THEPRESENT STATE OF ENGLAND.
Its Situation.
SOUTH-BRITAIN, that is, properly speaking, ENGLAND and WALES, is situate in the Atlantic Ocean, between two degrees east, and six degrees odd minutes western longitude, and between 49 degrees 55 minutes, and 55 degrees 55 minutes north latitude; and being of a triangular figure, is bounded by Scotland on the north; the German sea, which separates it from Germany and the Netherlands, on the east; by the English Channel, which divides it from France, on the south; and by St. George's Channel, which separates it from Ireland, on the west. It is 525 statute miles in length on its west side, 345 on its east side, and 340 on its south side, nearly in straight lines; and about 100 only across the north.
Its Air
.] Is much warmer here than in the Netherlands and Germany, tho' under the same parallel; and, unless in the fens and marshy grounds, it is for the most part very healthy.
There are very few mountains; the highest hills, however, are in Wales, and in the west and north of England. The rest of the country consists of moderate hills and vallies
[sic]
, woodlands, pasture and meadow grounds; extensive corn fields, and plains which feed numberless flocks of sheep, horses, and other cattle. Though the largest oxen, horses, and sheep, are to be met with in Lincolnshire and Leicestershire; yet the finest breed of horses for running and hunting are produced in Yorkshire. And besides there are a great number of royal forests, chaces, and parks, which afford plenty of deer and other game.
Its Soil.
] Is either clay, or gravel, or sand; the clays produce excellent wheat and beans; the gravel and sand, rye, barley, peas, and oats; and of late years the light lands have been improved, and rendered as valuable as the clays, by sowing them with turnips, clover, saintfoin, &c. but more particularly in wet years; a wet season, however, by no means agrees with the clay. In such years, for the most part, there is a great scarcity of wheat; but then, to compensate for that deficiency, there is a plenty of pasture and other grain.
Its Trees.
] The timber that grows in England is oak, ash, elm, beech, and hornbeam. The walnut-tree is particularly used in cabinets, and other curiosities of the like nature. But besides these, there are a great number of other trees, which, though they do not fall, indeed, under the denomination of timber, serve for shade, ornament, and inferior uses.
In Kent there are extensive orchards, the trees whereof produce abundance of cherries. In Devonshire and Herefordshire likewise are vast quantities of apple-trees, the produce whereof makes far better cider than any other county whatever can boast of.
Its Plantations.
] In Kent, as well as Worcestershire, Surrey, &c. are large plantations of hops; and in divers other counties, of flax and hemp.
In Essex and Cambridgeshire are large plantations of saffron; and in Bedfordshire there are large fields of woad or wad
, for the use of dyers.
Its Rivers.
] Its principal rivers are, 1. The Thames, 2. The Medway. 3. The Trent. And, 4. The Severn.
The Thames, on which the two cities of London and Oxford stand, runs generally from west to east. This river is navigable for ships as high as London, which is one of the largest ports in the world.
The Medway unites with the Thames near its mouth, and receives the largest men of war as high as Chatham; where, if we except our own arsenals at Portsmouth and Plymouth, are the finest docks, yards, and magazines of naval stores, in Europe.
The Trent runs from the south-west to the north-east across England, and divides it into north and south. When united with other streams near its mouth, it is called the Humber, which discharges itself into the German ocean.
The Severn rises from North Wales, and, running for the most part south, falls into the Irish sea. On this river stand the two cities of Worcester and Gloucester.
Its Contents.
] In England and Wales there are 52 counties, 2 archbishoprics, 24 bishoprics, 2 universities, 29 cities, upwards of 800 towns, and near 10,000 parishes; in which are about seven millions of people.
There are scarce any manufactures in Europe which are not brought to great perfection in England.
Its Constitution.
] England is a limited monarchy; the power of making and altering laws, and raising taxes, being lodged in the King, Lords, and Commons.
Its Administration of Justice.
] This is the business of the courts in Westminster-hall, viz. the Court of Chancery, the Courts of King's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer; the courts of the respective corporations, the sheriffs, and other inferior courts; the last resort, in all civil cases, being to the House of Peers.
Its Ecclesiastical Government.
] Is in the archbishops and bishops, who administer justice in their respective courts by their chancellors, officials, archdeacons, and other officers.
Of the Convocation.
] Whenever a parliament is called, the King always convokes a national synod of the clergy, to consider of the state of the church.
The clergy of the province of Canterbury, of the generality, assemble in St. Paul's cathedral, in London, and from thence adjourn to the chapter-house, or Westminster.
In this province there are two houses, the upper and the lower; the former consists of 22 bishops, of whom the archbishop is president; the latter consists of all the deans, archdeacons, the proctors of every chapter, and two proctors for the clergy of each diocese; in all 166.
The archbishop of York may hold a convocation of his clergy at the same time; but neither the one nor the other has been suffered to enter upon business for many years, though they are always regularly summoned to meet with every parliament, being looked upon as an essential part of the constitution.
Of the Parliament.
] Every parliament is summoned by the King's writs to meet forty-eight days before they assemble. A writ is directed to every particular lord, spiritual and temporal, commanding him to appear at a certain time and place, to treat and advise of certain weighty affairs relating both to church and state.
Writs also are sent to the sheriff of every county to summon those who have a right to vote for representatives, to elect two knights for each county, two citizens for each city, and one or two burgesses for each borough.
Every candidate for a county ought to be possessed of an estate of 600l. per annum; and every candidate for a city, or corporation, of 300l. per annum.
The Lord Chancellor, or keeper for the time being, is always Speaker in the House of Peers; but the Commons elect their Speaker, who must be approved by the King.
No Roman Catholic can sit in either house; nor any member vote till he has taken the oaths to the government.
The ancientSTATEofENGLAND.
Having thus given our young readers a transient idea of the present state of South-Britain; we shall now proceed to give a succinct account of the ancient state of England, which, in regard to its constitution, was originally a monarchy, under the primitive Britons; after that, a province, subordinate to the Romans; then an heptarchical government under the Saxons; then again a kingdom in subjection to the Danes; next after them, under the power and dominion of the Normans; but at present, (after all the before-mentioned revolutions,) a monarchy again under the English; of all which we shall treat, as briefly as possible, in their proper order.
The whole island was anciently called Albion, which seems to have been softened from the word Alpion; because the word Alp, in some of the original western languages, generally signifies high lands, or hills, as this isle appears to those who approach it from the Continent. It was likewise called Olbion, which, in the Greek language, signifies happy; but of those times there is no certainty in history, more than that it had the denomination, and was very little known by the rest of the world.
As the name of Britain, however, excepting that of Albion, or Olbion, just before mentioned, has been liable to as many derivations as the origin of the Britons; we shall content ourselves (for brevity's sake) with the following extract from Camden, who has given (in our humble opinion at least) the best and most natural derivation of the term.
"The ancient Britons (says he) painted their naked bodies and small shields with woad of an azure-blue colour, which by them was called Brith; on this account the inhabitants received the common appellation from the strangers who came into the island to traffic from the coasts of Gaul, or Germany; to which the Greeks, by adding the word tania, or country, formed the word Britannia, or the country of the painted men, and the Romans afterwards called it Britannia."
Here it may be observed, that the Romans were extremely fond of giving their own terminations to many uncivilized countries, and of forming easy and pleasant sounds out of the harshest and most offensive, to such elegant tongues and ears as their own.
TheirGOVERNMENT.
Their government, like that of the ancient Gauls, consisted of several small nations, under divers petty Princes, apparently the original governments of the world, deduced from the natural force and right of paternal dominion; such were the hords
[sic]
among the Goths, the clans in Scotland, and the septs in Ireland: but whether these small British principalities descended by succession, or were elected according to merit, is uncertain.
Their language and customs were, for the most part, the same with those of the Gauls before the Roman conquests in that province; but they were entirely governed in their religion and laws by their Druids, Bards, and Eubates.
Their Druids were held in such high veneration by the people, that their authority was almost absolute. No public affairs were transacted without their approbation; nor could any malefactor (though his crimes were ever so heinous) be put to death without their consent.
Their Bardi, or Bards, were priests of an inferior order of their Druids; their principal business being to celebrate the praises of their heroes in verses and songs, which were set to music and sung to their harps.
Their Eubates were a third sort of priests, who applied themselves to the study of philosophy.
Each order of these priests led very simple and innocent lives, and resided either in woods, caverns, or hollow trees. Their food consisted of acorns, berries, or other mast
; and their drink was nothing but water. By this abstemious course of life, however, they procured an universal esteem, not only for their superior knowledge, but their generous contempt of all those enjoyments of life which all others so highly valued, and so industriously pursued.
The most remarkableTENETSof theirDRUIDS.
1. Every thing derives its origin from heaven.
2. Great care is to be taken in the education of children.
3. Souls are immortal.
4. The souls of men after death go into other bodies.
5. If ever the world should happen to be destroyed, it will be either by fire or water.
6. All commerce with strangers should be prohibited.
7. He who comes last to the Assembly of the states ought to be punished with death.
8. Children should be brought up apart from their parents, till they are fourteen years of age.
9. There is another world; and they who kill themselves to accompany their friends thither will live with them there.
10. All masters of families are kings in their own houses; and have a power of life and death over their wives, children, and
slaves.
TheirANCIENT STATES.
STATES.COUNTIES.1.Danmonii,CornwallandDevon.2.Durotriges,Dorset.3.Belgæ,Somerset, Wilts,and thenorth part ofHants.4.Attrebatii,Berks.5.Regni,Surrey, Sussex,and the southpart ofHants.6.Cantii,Kent.7.Trinobantes,Middlesex, Hertfordshire,&Essex.8.Iceni,Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge,andHuntingdon.9.Catieuchlani,BucksandBedford.10.Dobuni,GloucesterandOxford.11.Silures,Hereford, Monmouth, Rad-nor, Brecon, &Glamorgan.12.Dimetæ,Carmarthen, Pembroke, andCardigan.13.Ordovices,Flint, Denbigh, Merioneth,Montgomery,&Carnarvon.14. Cornavii,Chester, Salop, Stafford,Warwick,andWorcester.15. Coritani,Lincoln, Nottingham, Derby,Leicester, Rutland,andNorthampton.16. Brigantes,York, Lancaster, Westmore-land, Cumberland,&Durham.17. Ottadini,Northumberland.
STATES.COUNTIES.1.Danmonii,CornwallandDevon.2.Durotriges,Dorset.3.Belgæ,Somerset, Wilts,and thenorth part ofHants.4.Attrebatii,Berks.5.Regni,Surrey, Sussex,and the southpart ofHants.6.Cantii,Kent.7.Trinobantes,Middlesex, Hertfordshire,&Essex.8.Iceni,Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge,andHuntingdon.9.Catieuchlani,BucksandBedford.10.Dobuni,GloucesterandOxford.11.Silures,Hereford, Monmouth, Rad-nor, Brecon, &Glamorgan.12.Dimetæ,Carmarthen, Pembroke, andCardigan.13.Ordovices,Flint, Denbigh, Merioneth,Montgomery,&Carnarvon.14. Cornavii,Chester, Salop, Stafford,Warwick,andWorcester.15. Coritani,Lincoln, Nottingham, Derby,Leicester, Rutland,andNorthampton.16. Brigantes,York, Lancaster, Westmore-land, Cumberland,&Durham.17. Ottadini,Northumberland.
Their generalCHARACTER.
They were a great and glorious people, fond of liberty and property; but peculiarly remarkable for their rigid virtue, and their readiness to die with pleasure for the good of their country. They long lived in a perfect state of peace and tranquility till the year of the world 3950
, at which time its monarchy, by the boundless envy and ambition of Julius Cæsar, (when Rome was in the meridian of all her glory) was totally subverted, and Britannia became a province subordinatte
[sic]
to the Romans.
TheROMAN GOVERNMENT.
Cæsar, at his first landing on the island, found it not under a sole monarchy, but divided into divers provinces, or petty kingdoms.
Soon after having defeated Cassibelan
, and taken several British provinces, he left the island, and the Romans entirely abandoned it for ninety years and upwards.
However, in the year of our Lord 42, Claudius Cæsar, the 5th Emperor of Rome, sent his General Plautius, with great force, into Britain, and following him soon after in person, subdued a great part of the island, by which means he procured the title of Britannicus.
In the year 50, London is supposed to have been built by the Romans.
In this year Ostorius, the Roman general, defeated Caractacus
, the chief of the British Princes, and having taken him prisoner, carried him to Rome.
The Christian religion, about this time, was first planted in Britain.
In the year 61, the Britons, under the conduct of Boadicea, a British Queen, destroyed 70,000 Romans.
The next year Suetonius, the Roman general, defeated the Britons, and killed 80,000 of them upon the spot; whereupon Boadicea poisoned herself.
In the year 63, the gospel was first preached in Britain by Joseph of Arimathea, and eleven of St. Philip's disciples.
ThePERSECUTIONSagainst theCHRISTIANSconsequent thereupon.
1. First persecution was begun by Nero, soon after he had burnt the city of Rome, which was in the year 65.
2. The second, by Flavius Domitian, in the year 83.
3. The third, by Ulpius Trajan, in the year 111.
4. In the year 162, the fourth was raised by Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, and his associate Lucius Verus.
5. The fifth was begun by Septimus Severus, in the year 193.
6. In 235, the sixth was raised by Maximinus.
7. Trajanus began the seventh in the year 253.
8. In 255, the eighth was raised by Valerianus.
9. Valerianus Aurelianus began the ninth in the year 272. And
10. Dioclesian
[sic
]
and Maximianus carried on the tenth with the utmost severity.
After the Romans, however, had been in the possession of Britain for near 500 years, they left it to its ancient inhabitants again, who being at that time sunk into the lowest state of degeneracy, were soon after invaded by the Scots and the Picts; and trembling at the approaching storm, they were prevailed on by Vortigern, their chief monarch, about the year 447, to send a deputation to the Saxons, who were the only persons (as he insinuated) capable of giving them that aid and assistance which the unhappy situation of their affairs immediately required. This plausible pretence of that Prince succeeded, and one and all concurred in his opinion; and by the resolution which they then took thereupon, they brought on the total destruction of their country.