opened a way
into the French provinces, after having made a diversion in favour of
king Charles, by obliging the enemy to send a strong detachment from
Rousillon to the assistance of Villars.

{1708}

CONQUEST OF MINORCA.

The campaign in Catalonia was productive of a great event. Count Guido
de Staremberg arrived at Barcelona on the last day of April; but the
Imperial troops brought from Italy by admiral Leake did not land in
time to relieve Tortosa, which the duke of Orleans besieged and took,
together with Denia, the garrison of which were made prisoners of war,
contrary to the articles of capitulation. These losses, however,
were abundantly made up to the allies by the conquest of Sardinia and
Minorca. Sir John Leake, having taken on board a handful of troops,
under the conduct of the marquis d'Alconzel, set sail for Cagliari, and
summoned the viceroy to submit to king Charles. As he did not send
an immediate answer, the admiral began to bombard the city, and the
inhabitants compelled him to surrender at discretion. The greater part
of the garrison enlisted themselves in the service of Charles. The
deputies of the states being assembled by the marquis d'Alconzel,
acknowledged that prince as their sovereign, and agreed to furnish
his army with thirty thousand sacks of corn, which were accordingly
transported to Catalonia, where there was a great scarcity of
provisions. Major-general Stanhope having planned the conquest of
Minorca, and concerted with the admiral the measures necessary to put
it in execution, obtained from count Staremberg a few battalions of
Spaniards, Italians, and Portuguese; at the head of these he embarked
at Barcelona with a fine train of British artillery, accompanied by
brigadier Wade and colonel Petit, an engineer of great reputation. They
landed on the island about ten miles from St. Philip's fort, on the
26th of August, with about eight hundred marines, which augmented their
number to about three thousand. Next day they erected batteries; and
general Stanhope ordered a number of arrows to be shot into a place, to
which papers were affixed, written in the Spanish and French languages,
containing threats, that all the garrison should be sent to the mines
if they would not surrender before the batteries were finished. The
garrison consisted of a thousand Spaniards, and six hundred French
marines, commanded by colonel la Jonquire, who imagined that the number
of the besiegers amounted