Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 09.djvu/319

 Portugueza, vii. 283, and Provas, num. 36). Her younger brother Alfonso now became king under the regency of Queen Louisa.

From an early age Catherine was looked upon as a useful instrument for the establishment of friendly relations between her country and England. Not content with the commercial treaty of 1642, King John proposed in 1645 that his daughter should become the wife of Charles, prince of Wales (Quadro Elementar, xvii. 54; cf. Charles I's Works, i. 247, ed. 1649), but the proposal came to nothing, although in 1646 and in 1647 (Quadro Elementar, xviii. 56, 57) some notion of an English marriage still seems to have been entertained in Portugal. In 1654 Cromwell renewed the treaty of 1642, and in 1659 the professed abandonment of Portugal by France at the treaty of the Pyrenees made English support more necessary than ever.

The unsettled condition of the English government left little to be hoped for. Yet in April 1660, Dom Francisco de Mello, the Portuguese ambassador, succeeded in negotiating a new alliance with the council of state (ib. xvii. 118). As soon as the Restoration seemed probable, he sounded Monck as to the prospects of renewing the old project of marrying the restored king to the infanta (ib. xvii. 221;, History of England, p. 81; , Register and Chronicle, p. 394). Charles's return in May was immediatelv followed by a formal proposal of the alliance. The terms offered were very tempting: Tangiers, to command the mouth of the Mediterranean; Bombay, with full trading privileges in the Indies; religious and commercial freedom for English subjects in Portugal, and the vast portion of two millions of crusados (about 300,000l.) Protection from Spain and Holland, full yet defined liberty of catholic worship for the infanta, were trifling concessions for such great advantages. In a secret council at Clarendon's house, Charles expressed his willingness to proceed with the matter, and in the autumn Mello, confident of a successful conclusion, returned to Portugal to get further instructions. There the alliance was hailed with rapture. 'A good peace with England was regarded as the only thing under heaven to keep Portugal from despair and ruin' (Maynard to Nicholas, in Life of Clarendon, vol. iii., Appendix, No. lviii.) In February Mello was sent back to England, charged with full powers to negotiate, and rewarded with the title of Conde da Ponte for his past services. But on reaching London he found circumstances had changed. Spanish and Dutch influence had been strongly exercised to thwart the match. The Earl of Bristol exerted his utmost energies to find another alliance acceptable to Spain as well as to Charles. The Spanish ambassador declared that the infanta, besides being no beauty, I was incapable of bearing children (Quadro Elementar, xvii. 152; cf., p. 698, for the similar report of the English merchants at Lisbon). He offered an equal portion to any other princess approved of by Spain that Charles might choose, and protestants were amused by the energy with which the envoy of the catholic king urged the importance of a protestant monarch wedding a protestant bride (, Mémoires, p. 73 sq.)

At last the adoption of the marriage scheme by the French court saved the government of Lisbon from despair. In November 1660 Henrietta Maria had come to London to win her son over to the French party. In March 1661 Louis sent to England M. de Bastide on a secret mission to press for the conclusion of the treaty. Finally, on 8 May Charles and Clarendon announced to parliament that the marriage negotiations had been completed. The news was favourably received both within and without parliament (Calendar of State Papers, Dom. 1660-1, pp. 586, 595); and on 13 May an address of congratulation was presented from both houses (Lords' Journals, xi. 241 α, 243 b, 253). On 23 June the marriage treaty was signed (it is given in, Histoire de Portugal, ii. 711).

The news of Catherine's betrothal spread the wildest joy in Portugal. The English merchants rejoiced at the establishment of the 'most beneficiallest trade that ever our nation was engaged in' (Maynard to Nicholas, in, App. No. lviii.) The Portuguese traders were gratified at the protection of their property from the Dutch navy. The projected invasion from Spain was no longer feared. In July Francisco de Mello arrived again in Lisbon, bearing graceful letters from Charles to Catherine and her mother (gives translations of these, Queens of England, v. 495). The Earl of Sandwich, commander of the fleet, was appointed extraordinary ambassador to Portugal, and at once set sail for Lisbon. But nearly a year elapsed before the queen could be brought back. The Algerine pirates had to be chastised, Tangiers occupied and garrisoned, and the queen's portion shipped. Sandwich appeared in the Tagus in the spring of 1662, and a new dispute arose then as to the method of payment of the portion (Sandwich to Clarendon, in, iii. App. No. xciv.)

On 13-23 April the magnificent 