ion to Pichegru. Utrecht, Rotterdam, Haerlam, Leyden, Flushing,
Middlebourg, and Bergen-op-Zoom, one of the strongest fortresses in the
world--these all fell into the hands of the French, either by conquest
or by treachery. The States-general, indeed, or as many of them as chose
to assemble at the Hague, issued proclamations, calling upon the people
to admit the friendly troops of the republic; so that scarcely one of
the many fortresses which studded the country, made more than a show of
resistance. Many of them had opened their gates to the republican troops
of France before the Duke of York left the country, and those which
remained in the occupation of the Dutch, or of German troops in the
pay of the stadtholder, for the most part now followed their example.
Holland fraternised with France. A requisition of clothes and provisions
for the use of the republican army, to the amount of one million and a
half sterling, cooled the ardour of the thrifty Dutchmen for a moment;
but it soon returned, on considering the blessings they were to
obtain for their money. They were flattered by a convocation of a
representative assembly, on the principles of equality and liberty: an
assembly which abolished the hereditary stadtholderate, with all the
forms of the preceding constitution, published the declaration of the
rights of man, reversed the sentences passed in a previous year
against democrats, and recalled all those who had been exiled for their
democratical principles. On discovering this movement in Holland, the
English government immediately laid an embargo upon all Dutch ships and
goods in the ports of Great Britain, Ireland, and our colonies; and the
ministry soon took into consideration the important subject of the
Dutch colonies. An expedition was sent out on the 14th of July, under
Vice-Admiral Sir G. Keith Elphinstone and Major-General Craig, who took
possession of the Cape of Good Hope. Instructions were also sent to our
naval and military commanders in the East Indies, to prepare for the
reduction and occupation of the Dutch settlements in that part of the
world; and about the close of the year all the places which the Dutch
held in Ceylon, with Malacca, Cochin, Chinsura, Amboyna, and Banda, fell
into the hands of the British. Other plans were also arranged for the
seizure of the Dutch colonies in the West Indies, and on the coast of
South America. Holland was, therefore, now reckoned among the enemies of
England.