During the protector's war with Spain, he had sup ported the Portuguese in their revolt from that power; and on the restoration, advances were made by Portu gal for the renewal of the alliance, together with an of fer of the princess of that kingdom in marriage, which was embraced by Charles.
The king's marriage with the daughter of Portugal. while it brought him 500,000/. with two fortresses !ot her dowry, (Tangier in Africa, and Bombay in the East Indies,) was unpopular from the religion of the princess; and, like the sale of Dunkirk, which he made over to the French in the course of the same year for 400,0001. it discovered his necessities, and the prodigal disposition which had occasioned them. Even his loyal parliament perceiving they had now to deal with a monarch, profuse, without gratitude, justice, or generosity, and what was still more unpardonable in their eves, inclined to tole rate papists, became cautious and sparing in their sup plies.
To deprive the Catholics of all hopes, the two houses concurred in a remonstrance against them. The king gave a gracious answer, but to divert the attention of the commons to a subject more profitable to his own interests, lie laid the state of his revenue before them, and again implored their assistance. They granted him four subsidies ; and the clergy in convocation fol lowed the example of the commons.
An important change was now preparing, which forms an unhappy era in the reign of Charles, viz. the dismis sion of Clarendon. Clarendon's objections to the Por tuguese match, and his refusal to coincide with a plan, which an overloyal member of parliament had pledged himself to accomplish, of making the king independent of parliament by a fixed revenue of two millions a year, have been assigned as the cause of Charles's alienation from that minister. A still more obvious cause may be traced in Clarendon's zeal against popery. Charles, who was too indolent himself to attend to business, glad ly allowed his brother, the Duke of York, to take an ac tive and leading management in public affairs. James, who thus possessed the first influence at court, was a bigotted papist; and his faith was sufficient to make him the enemy of Clarendon. The chancellor was also obnoxious to the mistresses of Charles; for lie had dis dained to pay his court to them. An impeachment against him, conducted by the personal hatred of Lord Bristol, terminated, however, in the disgrace of the ac cuser, and the minister lingered a while in power after his fall had been decreed.
The first Dutch war under Charles commenced dur ing the administration of Clarendon and Southampton; but it is easy to believe what is said of those minisn rs, that they were averse to it. It was, however, a war of the people's, or at least of the parliament's wishes, as much as the king's; for we find the commons, during, tiatt memorable session, in which they repeated the tri ennial act, breathing inuignation at the Duten, and pro mising aid to the king it he should go to war with them. Charles, and suit more the Duke of York, who ruled him, tinted the Dutch for their manners, religion, and free government. James had a turbulent activity, which required employment ; and Charles not only longed to risal the naval glories oi Cromwell, but to have that command of 'none), which the supplies for a war could atioru. On the pretence ol two merchant ships cap tured by the Dutch, tor which the English owners were about to accept a compensation, aim 01 some other causes still less inipm tam, war as commenced. The Dutch were expelled, even before a declaration of war, from their tent aories in Africa, and New York was seized by the Englisu. De Ruytcr recovered to his country her possessions on the coast of Guinea, but failed in his at tempt on Long Island anu Barbadoes. A battle b, tweet) the grand fleets of the two nations, the Duke of York commanding the English, and Opdam the Dutch, was fought on the 6th of June 1 6 65, in which the latter, who were vanquished, lost nineteen snips. This victory ex
cited so much jealousy of the English, that France and Denmark resolved to protect the republic. The ru mour ol a French fleet, under Beaulort, approaching from Toulon to join De Ruytcr, occasioned the Earl of Albemarle, (lately Monk) who now commanded the English, to weaken them, by detaching Prince Rupert with a fleet to watch that of the French. The remain der of the English set sail to give battle to the Dutch. In a combat, which lasted, with some intermissions, for four days, the English were worsted, and pursued upon the second day ; and on the third were only saved by the arrival of Prince Rupert with sixteen fresh ships; on the fourth the combatants were parted by a mist. A se cond and equally bloody engagement took place soon after, in which the Dutch were vanquished; but they were soon in a condition to Nee their enemies, by the junction of Beaufort, the French admiral. The Dutch fleet appeared in the Thames, conducted by their illus trious Dc Ruyter. The English were thrown into the utmost consternation; a chain had been drawn along the river Medway, and some fortifications had been added to the forts along the bank. But these were unequal to the invading force : the Dutch broke the chain, and, destroying the shipping in their passage, advanced to Upnore Castle, and returned, after terrifying and insult ing the coast, being only prevented, by the French fail ing to join them, from laying London itself in ashes. During these transactions, a plague had broken out in the metropolis, which carried off about 90.000 of the in habitants; and a fire, which it is to be hoped, from the disuse ol wooden buildings and narrow streets, will long be called the last great fire in London, consumed the greater part of the city. By a stretch of the regal pow er, which was entirely illegal, the city was ordered to be rebuilt on a new and more commodious plan; hut when it is considered, that London, in consequence of that ar bitrary order, rose, like a pheenix, more beautiful from her ashes, and that the plague, which before had been seldom, if ever, totally banished from her unwholesome and narrow alleys, was extirpated by this accident, we can scarcely lament the passing misfortune, still less blame the exertion of prerogative for a purpose so be neficent. The fire of London ryas, from the violence ano credulity of popular prejudice, ascribed to the Pa pists; and Charles was obliged, by the parliament them selves countenancing this falsehood, to issue a procla mation against the priests and Jesuits, which, like all other proclamations of the kind, were meant more to pacify the fears of Protestants, than to operate against the professors of the Romish faith. The ill humour which the parliament displayed at the bad execution of this edict, was felt by Charles in diminishing his re sources for the war; and a treaty for peace had been begun with the States, before the last-mentioned tri umph of the Dutch arms. By the signing of the treaty of Breda, (10th July 1661,) the English were left with no other acquisition than New York, while the pretend ed objects of the quarrel were, in fact, ceded to the com bined enemy. The public mind, however, source' by disasters, and inflamed by the late disgrace, seemed to require some important sacrifice; and as Clarendon, the prime minister, was unpopular with the country, ob noxious to parliament, and disagreeable from his virtues to Charles, there was a combination for his ruin among all parties. When he was impeached by par liament, Charles basely gave him up: lie retired into France, where he lived in a private manner till his death.