Talks for a peace settlement were convened in the city of Breda in 1746. Newcastle was instrumental in securing the appointment of Lord Sandwich as the British representative at the talks, as his views were very close to his own. Sandwich's principal instructions were to delay the talks until a significant British victory allowed them to negotiate from a position of strength. The Congress of Breda did not progress well initially because the participants were not yet fully committed to peace. The Allies continued to do badly by suffering severe defeats at Bergen op Zoom and Lauffeld. Newcastle's brother, Henry, was now strongly advocating peace, but Newcastle firmly rejected that since he was still convinced a major Allied victory was imminent.