Folio 243: Thompson to Newcastle. Believes Fleury sent out his squadron to the West...

Folio 243: Thompson to Newcastle. Believes Fleury sent out his squadron to the West Indies to dissuade Spain from concluding an alliance with Britain to exclude France and to dissuade Britain from invading Spanish colonies; de Roquefeuille apparently failed to respond to a Spanish request to join a convoy to Havana. A spy reveals that Spanish Queen expressed her anger with France via Campoflorido; French reluctance to send squadrons to West Indies and their inaction; failure to support Spanish claims to ports in Austria's empire, or to give troop transit. Fleury replied that the time for a stronger alliance had not hitherto been opportune, but presented Campoflorido with the following proposals that the Elector of Bavaria should become Emperor; a war in [North] Italy by allied army of French, Spanish and Neapolitan troops; British to be permanently excluded from the asiento; France to have half of Cuba; Spain not to oppose French designs on [Belgium], nor the operations undertaken by France's two Northern allies [? Sweden and Denmark]; France will secure adhesion of Savoy to the alliance.

Date and place: 1741 May 11 Paris.