Chapter 16: Godolphin
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Chapter 16: Godolphin
July, 1689
July, 1689
Sidney took a moment, gathered his thoughts and then spoke. “I bring good news, Your Highness.” The Princess looked at him as did the rest of the council. “The Calamities Bill has passed through the House of Commons.” The Princess smiled and there was a great cheer in the cabinet room. The bill had been drafted to sort out who would have possession of the King should the Princess die in childbed, given that she had recently delivered a son named James as well, it seemed sensible. “The Commons has consented to the Bishop of London being granted possession of the King and for him to ascend to a place on this council.”
“Excellent work, Sidney.” The Princess said. Sidney smiled. “And what of the amendment that Devonshire had added on?”
“The Devonshire amendment to try and get religious freedom for dissenters was widely voted against. Indeed, Sir Stephen Fox gave a long speech stating that it was nothing more than a power grab.” Sidney responded. Fox had said it was something else as well, but that was the general gist of things.
“Excellent, indeed. I shall let the Bishop of London know as soon as can be.” The Princess said.
“Now that the Calamities Bill is done, perhaps we can turn our attention to the matter at hand?” Sunderland asked.
Sidney knew the man did not like him, in truth Sunderland did not like Sidney or John Churchill, seeing them as new men, despite the fact he himself was a new man, having been given his peerage by the King’s uncle some years ago. Sidney did not have his respect, not in the same way Sir John the previous First Lord had had, but he did not care, he had the respect of the Princess. “Yes, let us.” The Princess said.
Sunderland took the lead from there. “The current situation in the Holy Roman Empire is thus, Philipsburg belongs to the French, but they were repelled at the Siege of Cologne by the Imperial army commanded by the Duke of Lorraine. Indeed, word from the Imperial ambassador suggests that they are going to try an assault on Philipsburg itself.”
“So, this war will be over by the end of the year then?” Sidney asked, they had provided some funding to the Imperial army in the form of loans, but with the plans being laid for the Bank of Albion he was not sure if they could continue long term.
“That is the optimistic view, yes.” Sunderland replied. “The more pessimistic view is that King Louis will wait until King Carlos of Spain finally dies, then put forward his own claims to the Spanish Empire in Italy and the Spanish Netherlands.”
“And where will the Spanish go in your view?” The Princess asked.
“They will not want a partition; they will want everything to go to Maria Antonia.” Sunderland said.
“And that is the position we should take also. We cannot afford a war that would inevitably drag us into it, Your Highness.” Sidney said. “The Bank of Albion will be ready by the end of the month, however, it won’t be able to fully sustain such a grand war effort, if King Carlos dies before then.” That was the truth, he’d spoken with the advisors from the city, and they’d all said the same. A long war that would inevitably bring England into it would be bad for the bank and the economy in the short term, whilst the bank found its footing.
“Then what do you suggest?” The Princess asked. “We cannot simply allow France to continue going on as it is now.”
Sidney had thought about this quite a bit over the past few days, and presented the solution as he saw it. “Your Highness must offer to mediate the situation between France, Spain and the Austrians. Propose a conference here in London, and ensure that they are suitably enticed to come.”
“Enticing them how?” The Princess asked.
“Trade agreements, lowering of tariffs, and a possible corridor of certainty through the New World oceans.” Sidney said. He had mapped this idea out over the past few months and was convinced this would be enough.
“That might just work.” Sunderland said.
The Princess did not say anything for a moment, and for a time, Sidney worried she would reject his proposal. Eventually, she spoke. “Very well, send word to the ambassadors. Let us see if we can end this war, and prevent another one.”