Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/488

364 General History of Europe the new king of England, George I, 1 was also elector of Hanover and a member of the Holy Roman Empire. 2 625. England and the "Balance of Power." William of Orange had been a continental statesman before he became king of England, and his chief aim had always been to prevent France from becoming overpower ful. He joined in the long War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713) in order to maintain the "bal- ance of power" between the various European countries. Dxiring the eighteenth century England, for the same reason, continued to take some part in the struggles between the continental powers, although she had no expectation of extending her sway across the Channel. The wars which she waged in order to increase, her own power and territory were carried on in distant parts of the world and more often on sea than on land. 1 English monarchs from James I to George III : James I (1603-1625) Charles I Elizabeth, m. Frederick V (1625-1649) elector of the Palatinate (Winter King of Bohemia) Charles II (i) Anne Hyde, m. James II, m. (2) Mary of Modena Sophia, m. Ernest (1660-1685) (1685-1688) William III, m. Mary Anne (1688-1702) (1688-1694) (1702-1714) Prince of Orange James (the Old Pretender) Charles Edward (the Young Pre- tender) Augustus elector of Hanover George I (1714-1727) George II (1727-1760) I Frederick Prince of Wales (d.i75i) George III (1760-1820) 2 The troubles with the Stuarts were not entirely over. The son and the grandson of James II the Old and the Young Pretender lived in France and engaged in ineffective conspiracies to regain the throne. In 1745 the Young Pretender landed in Scotland, where he found support among the Highland chiefs, and even Edinburgh welcomed " Prince Charlie." With an army of six thousand men he marched into England, but was speedily forced back into Scotland and disastrously defeated and was glad to reach France once more in safety.