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1498 RISE OF THE CONTINENTALlast. The designs upon the Spanish peninsulawere thefirst, and those against Russia the second step towards it.In the former : England had, if not an ally, at least a friend,in Portugal Though it was impossible to save this state,yet here, nevertheless, the British continental policy celebrated its firsttriumph by its success in persuadingthe courtto emigrate to Brazil/ and found a new kingdom on that sidethe Atlantic, A greater triumph, however, awaited it. Theill-treated Spain was roused by her and a new kindinjuries,of league was formed, not with a cabinet, but with a nation,2which, notwithstanding the frequent vicissitudes of fortune,could not be dissolved. In Spain,the first abyss openeditself, which swallowed up the stores and the armies of Napoleon a second still more terrific he himself; prepared inRussia. It would be superfluousto recount the history ofthose great events, which rendered itpossible for armies advancing from the Tagus and the Volga to combine andco-operate in the heart of France which hurled the;despotfrom the tottering but imperial throne, and brought aboutthat which Pitt had expressed as the object of his wishes,though no longer of his hopes the restoration of the ancientdynasty to the newly-erected regal throne of France. Letus rather be permitted to conclude this treatise with somegeneral observations on the co-operation of England in there-establishment of the European state-system, and on itspresentrelations with the continent.After the inquiry which we have instituted, no one willdispute the title of England to the glory of having taken thegreatest and most effectual part in the liberation of Europe,and the restoration of an independent state-systemto ourpart of the globe.Her share, however, has often been muchexaggerated, particularly by Englishmen. England certainlyachieved much ;but England did not, and, as repeated experience has shpwB, could not, achieve it alone. It was utterly impossible for her to do so, without the co-operationof continental allies, such as Spain and Portugal, Germanyand Russia.After the catastrophein Russia, which took place without the participation of England, when the oppressed began to burst their bands asunder,it was perfectly natural2November 30, 1807. January 14, 1809.