Tea at Trianon: The Defense of Cadiz against the English (1634)

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, August 17, 2021

The Defense of Cadiz against the English (1634)

From Art in Space:

This historical painting shows the unsuccessful raid by an English/ Dutch force under George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, and Edward Cecil, 1st Viscount Wimbledon, against Cadiz on 1–7 November 1625. The main objective of the attack were the Spanish treasure ships but the voyage was plagued with difficulties that they entirely missed the treasure ships. Instead they decided to land their militia army up the coast and attack Cadiz. The English forces were ill-equipped, ill-disciplined and ill-trained and when they came to a warehouse filled with wine, they simply got drunk. The Spanish army counter-attacked and simply killed the English troops who were to drunk put up a fight. The English commanders called off the attack and returned to England, having lost about 7,000 men and lost 62 of the 105 ships. The failed expedition seriously damaged the status of Charles I, king of England, who dissolved parliament in order to protect his own dignity and his favorite George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. The painting shows Fernando Girón, marquis of Sofraga and Governor of Cadiz (seated because he was sick during the battle) giving order to his subordinates. In front of Fernando Girón stands Diego Ruiz, serving as Maestro de campo. In the background we can see the English ships and troops being defeated. (Read more.)