An original 52-page issue of The London Magazine and Monthly Chronologer, published in March 1744 during the reign of George II.
An extraordinary month in British history, with the declaration of war against France, a controversial naval battle and a major comet sighting.
FRANCE DECLARES WAR ON GREAT BRITAIN
This issue publishes the momentous declaration of war by France and the British king's counter-declaration.- see scans
These events marked the beginning of open warfare between Britain and France during the War of the Austrian Succession, a conflict already raging across Europe.
THE BATTLE OF TOULON – ADMIRAL MATHEWS'S OWN ACCOUNT
A contemporary account of the important naval engagement off Toulon in February 1744, written by Admiral Thomas Mathews himself.
The British fleet failed to achieve a decisive victory against the combined French and Spanish forces. The resulting controversy led to courts-martial, the dismissal of Admiral Mathews in 1747, and the cashiering of seven captains.
An especially interesting contemporary document for collectors of British naval and military history.The London Magazine is England’s oldest literary periodical, with a history stretching back to 1732. Today – reinvigorated for a new century – the Magazine’s essence remains unchanged: it is a home for the best writing and an indispensable feature on the British literary landscape.
Across a long life – spanning several incarnations – the pages of the Magazine have played host to a wide range of canonical writers, from Percy Bysshe Shelley, William Hazlitt and John Keats in the nineteenth century, to T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden and Evelyn Waugh in the early twentieth century. Meanwhile, in recent decades the Magazine has published work by giants of contemporary fiction and poetry such as William Boyd, Nadine Gordimer, and Derek Walcott.
The London Magazine was founded in 1732 as The London Magazine, or Gentleman’s Monthly Intelligencer, a rival to the new, and popular, Gentleman’s Magazine.
Battle of Toulon (1744)
The Battle of Toulon[a] took place on 21 and 22 February 1744 NS[b] near the French Mediterranean port of Toulon. Although France was not yet at war with Britain, ships from their Levant Fleet supported an attempt by a Spanish force trapped in Toulon to break through the British Mediterranean Fleet.
The initial engagement on 21 February was indecisive, and the British continued their pursuit until midday on 22nd before their commander, Admiral Thomas Mathews, called off the chase. With several of his ships in need of repair, he withdrew to Menorca, which meant the British Royal Navy temporarily lost control of the waters around Italy and allowed the Spanish to take the offensive against Savoy.[3]
In his report, Mathews blamed his subordinate Richard Lestock for the failure to secure victory, and the issue was hotly debated in Parliament. At the subsequent court-martial, Mathews was held responsible and dismissed from the navy in June 1747, while Lestock's political connections meant he was cleared of all charges.[4] Another seven captains were removed from command for failing to engage the enemy and the investigation led to changes that required individual captains to be far more aggressive.