The Life and Death of John of Barneveld, Advocate of Holland, 1609-14 | Page 4

deposit first, he said.

Both belligerents, being now satiated with such military glory as could
flow from the capture of defenceless cities belonging to neutrals,
agreed to hold conferences at Xanten. To this town, in the Duchy of
Cleve, and midway between the rival camps, came Sir Henry Wotton
and Sir Dudley Carleton, ambassadors of Great Britain; de Refuge and
de Russy, the special and the resident ambassador of France at the
Hague; Chancellor Peter Pecquius and Counsellor Visser, to represent
the Archdukes; seven deputies from the United Provinces, three from
the Elector of Cologne, three from Brandenburg, three from Neuburg,
and two from the Elector- Palatine, as representative of the Protestant
League.
In the earlier conferences the envoys of the Archduke and of the
Elector of Cologne were left out, but they were informed daily of each
step in the negotiation. The most important point at starting was
thought to be to get rid of the 'Condominium.' There could be no
harmony nor peace in joint possession. The whole territory should be
cut provisionally in halves, and each possessory prince rule exclusively
within the portion assigned to him. There might also be an exchange of
domain between the two every six months. As for Wesel and Julich,
they could remain respectively in the hands then holding them, or the
fortifications of Julich might be dismantled and Wesel restored to the
status quo. The latter alternative would have best suited the States, who
were growing daily more irritated at seeing Wesel, that Protestant
stronghold, with an exclusively Calvinistic population, in the hands of
Catholics.
The Spanish ambassador at Brussels remonstrated, however, at the
thought of restoring his precious conquest, obtained without loss of
time, money, or blood, into the hands of heretics, at least before
consultation with the government at Madrid and without full consent of
the King.
"How important to your Majesty's affairs in Flanders," wrote
Guadaleste to Philip, "is the acquisition of Wesel may be seen by the
manifest grief of your enemies. They see with immense displeasure
your royal ensigns planted on the most important place on the Rhine,
and one which would become the chief military station for all the
armies of Flanders to assemble in at any moment.
"As no acquisition could therefore be greater, so your Majesty should

never be deprived of it without thorough consideration of the case. The
Archduke fears, and so do his ministers, that if we refuse to restore
Wesel, the United Provinces would break the truce. For my part I
believe, and there are many who agree with me, that they would on the
contrary be more inclined to stand by the truce, hoping to obtain by
negotiation that which it must be obvious to them they cannot hope to
capture by force. But let Wesel be at once restored. Let that be done
which is so much desired by the United Provinces and other great
enemies and rivals of your Majesty, and what security will there be that
the same Provinces will not again attempt the same invasion? Is not the
example of Julich fresh? And how much more important is Wesel!
Julich was after all not situate on their frontiers, while Wesel lies at
their principal gates. Your Majesty now sees the good and upright
intentions of those Provinces and their friends. They have made a
settlement between Brandenburg and Neuburg, not in order to breed
concord but confusion between those two, not tranquillity for the
country, but greater turbulence than ever before. Nor have they done
this with any other thought than that the United Provinces might find
new opportunities to derive the same profit from fresh tumults as they
have already done so shamelessly from those which are past. After all I
don't say that Wesel should never be restored, if circumstances require
it, and if your Majesty, approving the Treaty of Xanten, should sanction
the measure. But such a result should be reached only after full
consultation with your Majesty, to whose glorious military exploits
these splendid results are chiefly owing."
The treaty finally decided upon rejected the principle of alternate
possession, and established a permanent division of the territory in
dispute between Brandenburg and Neuburg.
The two portions were to be made as equal as possible, and lots were to
be thrown or drawn by the two princes for the first choice. To the one
side were assigned the Duchy of Cleve, the County of Mark, and the
Seigniories of Ravensberg and Ravenstein, with some other baronies
and feuds in Brabant and Flanders; to the other the Duchies of Julich
and Berg with their dependencies. Each prince was to reside
exclusively within the territory assigned to him by lot. The troops
introduced by either party were to be withdrawn, fortifications made
since the preceding month