In the course of the year 1742 an English captain in his fleet, chasing some Spanish galleys, drove them into the French port of St.Tropez, and following them into the harbor burned them, in spite of the so-called neutrality of France.

In the same year Matthews sent a division of ships under Commodore Martin to Naples, to compel the Bourbon king to withdraw his contingent of twenty thousand troops serving with the Spanish army in northern Italy against the Austrians.

To the attempts to negotiate, Martin replied only by pulling out his watch and giving the government an hour to come to terms.

There was nothing for it but submission; and the English fleet left the harbor after a stay of twenty-four hours, having relieved the empress of a dangerous enemy.
Henceforward it was evident that the Spanish war in Italy could only be maintained by sending troops through France; England controlled the sea and the action of Naples.

These two last incidents, at St.Tropez and Naples, deeply impressed the aged Fleuri, who recognized too late the scope and importance of a well-founded sea power.