Untitled - 24grammata.com

438 RISE OF THE CONTINENTALties broke out there likewise ;and although the conquestswhich had been made were resigned on both sides at thepeace of Aix-la-Chapelle, the spark of discord remainednevertheless unextinguished, and in each of the subsequentwars, India, as well as the new world, became the cause aswell as the scene of contest.In close connexion with this, was the superiority of thenavy of England, which afterwards became so firmly established. In no previous war had this ever risen to any preeminence above that of her enemies ;but at the time this warbroke out the French navy had been reduced to the loweststate of decay, by the parsimony and supineness of Fleury,and during the war was almost annihilated. This superiority having been once established, gave rise in every newwar to similar plans, which ultimately led to that exclusivedominion of the sea, which became an object of envy toother powers, and the source of so many calamities toEurope.In the next place, the relations of England with the continental states seemed now for a considerable time to bedeterminately settled. Her newly-revived rivalry withFrance had given rise to the connexion with Austria ;andthe duration of the latter seemed likely to be commensuratewith the former. The sources of dispute with Spain were1not only stopped, but the personally favourable inclinationof Ferdinand VI. ,the successor of Philip V., since 1743, gaveEngland power, if not as an ally, at least as a friend, inSpain. On a similar footing were the relations with Prussiaplaced. With the republic of the Netherlands, however,they had not merely continued the same, but had becomemore close. If the reciprocal connexion of both powers wasbefore founded on their rivalry with France, the revolutionin the constitution (which took place during this war) gaverise to new ties. It. is well known that in the year 1747, onthe advance of the French army into the Austrian Netherlands, the hereditary dignity of Stadtholder in the UnitedProvinces was revived in favour of William IV., the son-inlawof George II. and;the powerful influence, or ratherthe sovereignty, of the house of Orange was again firmlyestablished. After a war which had been carried on and1By the treaty at Buenretlro, October 5, 1750.