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INTERESTS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 395once the gate and the bulwark of Italy, necessarily, whenthat country became the scene of action, gave this family adegree of importance which the political talents of its leaders turned with extraordinary dexterity, and still moreextraordinary good fortune, to their own advantage. Of theremaining states of Italy, Naples being still a province,none was of sufficient importance to make an alliance withthem possible ;and with the individual princes of Germanyit was not necessary to be at any pains, as the whole bodygenerally followed its chief, and each of the great Austrianwars became a war of the empire.By means of the war of 1689 therefore the relations inwhich England stood to the continent were first organized ;and in her subsequent policy she merely continued to buildon the foundation which was here laid. A proof of this isto be found in the Spanish war of succession, which followedonly four years afterwards. By the negotiations which preceded it, England had become deeply involved in continental politics,and even if Lewis XIV. had not forced herto war by recognising the pretender, contrary to the provisions of the treaty of Ryswick, she would scarcely have beenable to preserve her neutrality. A contest was pending,upon the result of which, according to the principlesof thepolicy of that time, whether just or not, depended the maintenance of the political balance in Europe.The connexions of England with the continent continuedthen during this war the same as during the with thelast,exception of the altered circumstances of Spain ; althoughtheir author did not live to see its commencement. 1 Butthe unaltered policy of his successor, Anne, notwithstandingthe change which took place in the influential persons atcourt, affords the clearest proof that, in spite of the clamourof parties during the reign of William IIL, the interestswhich he had pursued were not merely his own, but thoseof the nation. The alliance with Austria was the great linkon which all the others depended, since not only the republic of the United Netherlands, althoughit had abolished thedignity of stadtholder, persevered in its previous policy, butthe Germanic empire also took an active partin the war,and the duke of Savoy, although at first on the side of1William III. died March 19th, 1?02.