<37>When, in August 1616, Hay’s mission to Paris was followed by a rupture of the negotiations for a marriage between the English Prince and the Princess Christina, Aug.Philip expects a proposal for the Infanta.the Spanish Government knew that it would soon have to consider seriously a request for the Infanta Maria. Already, on July 17, James had assured Sarmiento of his readiness to give all satisfaction in matters of religion; and Villiers, July 17.James assures Sarmiento of his desire for the alliance.turning round on the statesmen who had borne him to power, had told the Spaniard that he wished nothing so much as to see the marriage accomplished, and that he was ready to build his fortunes on the Spanish alliance.[50]
Philip, therefore, once more applied to the Pope for advice. The reply which he received in October was most discouraging. Aug.Philip’s fresh application to the Pope.Paul said that his opinion was still unchanged. He would not consent to grant the necessary dispensation upon any terms which did not include the conversion of the Prince, and the legalised exercise of the Oct.The Pope’s answer.Catholic religion in England. Still, if the King of Spain thought it right to listen to any proposition short of this, he would promise to give it his most serious consideration. More than this he could not say.[51]
<38>It is not unlikely that, if Philip had been able to consult his personal inclinations, he would at this point have put an end to the negotiations. But he knew that to do so would give grievous offence to the King of England, and he could ill afford to alienate James at a time when a considerable party in the English Court, as well as in the nation, were eagerly striving to involve England in a war with Spain.
Once more the Theologians were summoned to Madrid to take counsel over the proposed marriage. They were in a 1617.The Theologians again consulted.different position from those who had been brought up for a similar purpose three years before. The Pope’s opposition was no longer a secret, and it was now known that James, to say the least, had shown no remarkable eagerness to alleviate the lot of the English Catholics. It is no wonder, therefore, that this new junta was unanimous in requiring some unexceptionable guarantee that James would perform his promises. The remission of the penalties imposed upon the English Catholics must be confirmed by some solemn and public act. Nor would even this be enough. If James expected to see the Infanta in England at all, he must carry his promises into effect before her arrival. She must be detained in Spain for three years in order that the value of the engagements of the English Government might be put to the test of actual experience. When the three years were at an end, the Prince was to come in person to Madrid to fetch away his bride, as it was not unlikely that his conversion might be effected during his visit.[52] The marriage treaty was to be confirmed by Act of Parliament, and not a penny of the portion was to be paid till its stipulations had been actually carried out in England. The demands which followed were no less exacting in their nature. James and his son were to bind themselves not only to abstain from employing force to compel the Infanta to change her religion, but to abstain even from the use of persuasion. In other words, Charles was to promise never to speak to his wife on religious subjects at all. There was also to be a large church in London open to all the world, and severe <39>punishment was to be inflicted upon those who in any way insulted the worshippers. The priests were to be allowed to walk about London in their ecclesiastical dress, and were to be placed under similar protection.[53]
Whilst Spanish theologians at Madrid were forming schemes for the conversion of England, the Spanish ambassador in London was watching the progress of the counter plot by which English politicians were hoping to bring about a state of warfare between the two states. In the summer and autumn of 1616, Aug. 1616.Sarmiento’s protest against Raleigh’s voyage.Raleigh was engaged in preparing for his voyage. As soon as it was known that he was bound for the Orinoco a fierce controversy arose, the echoes of which are still sounding in our ears. Sarmiento at once protested against the voyage. The whole of Guiana, he said, belonged to his master, and, besides that, he did not believe that Raleigh had any intention of going to Guiana at all. When he was once across the Atlantic, he would turn pirate, and the Mexico fleet or the Spanish towns on the coast would fall a prey to his rapacity. If he were merely going in search of a mine, what need was there for such extensive preparations? The King of Spain would gladly furnish him with an escort to conduct him in safety to any spot which he might choose to name, and would finally bring him back to England with all the gold and silver that he could find. As might have been expected, Raleigh declined this obliging offer.[54] He stoutly declared that Raleigh’s language about the mine.he had no intention of turning pirate. The mine was no fiction: it was to be found not far from the banks of the Orinoco. A visit to it would not be attended with the slightest infringement of the rights of the King of Spain; for it ‘did not belong to his Majesty, but was at a great distance from his territories.’[55]
<40>No doubt these words are not incompatible with the assertion, made by Raleigh after his return, that all Guiana belonged to the King of England, by virtue of the cession made by the natives in 1595. As, however, it is impossible to find either a trace of this theory in his language before he set out, or evidence of the resistance which it would inevitably have provoked, it is well to examine whether his words can be justified by other considerations.
The fact was that James, when left to a sober consideration of the matter, was not likely to accept either the extreme view that Tenure by occupation.all Guiana belonged to England, or the extreme view that all America belonged to Spain. He had always maintained consistently that occupancy alone gave dominion in America, and he had never, for an instant, acknowledged the claim put forward by Spain to exclusive sovereignty in the Indies. He had, therefore, without difficulty, granted charters to the colonists of Virginia, and had given permission for the formation of an English settlement in that part of Guiana which lies to the eastward of the Essequibo.
But it was one thing to assert a right to colonise unoccupied land; it was another thing to decide what land was really unoccupied. What it was that constituted occupancy was the very question upon which no two Governments were agreed, and upon which the opinion of every Government varied[56] in proportion as it expected to profit by a strict or a lax interpretation of certain rules of the old Roman law, that is to say, of rules which had been sensible enough as long as they were applied to the case of a man who picked up a piece of gold in a forest, but which were utterly inapplicable to the acquisition of large tracts of territory.[57] If James did not choose either to adopt the old <41>maritime theory of ‘No peace beyond the line,’ or to base his claim to Guiana on the cession by the Indians in 1595, it was surely his duty to come to some resolution on this knotty point. If the occupancy of a settlement made the ground which it covered the property of the colonists, how far did their rights extend? Was it to a distance of three miles, or of thirty, or of three hundred? The details of the expedition might safely be left to the commander, but it was the business of the Government to lay down the principles on which he would be judged on his return.[58]
But whatever difficulty there may have been in determining the question of right, there ought not to have been the slightest doubt that, Inexpediency of the voyage.on the simple ground of expediency, it was James’s duty to set his face decidedly against the projected expedition. Since Raleigh’s first visit to Guiana, an event had occurred affecting the whole colonial policy of England. In 1595, the arrogant pretensions of Spain to dominion over the vast regions which stretched from the Straits of Magellan to the Arctic Seas had not been overthrown. In combating this preposterous theory, it was a matter of indifference whether the right of England to a share in the Western Continent were asserted on the banks of the Orinoco or on the banks of the St. Lawrence. But, before 1616, the claim of Spain had practically broken down. Virginia had been colonised. It had, therefore, become the duty of an English statesman to foster the seed which had been nurtured in the face of every obstacle, rather than to sprinkle broadcast over the two continents an indefinite number of colonies, all of them too weak to stand without incessant aid from the mother country. For, whatever temptation might be lurking in the promise of the golden mine, it was certain that the farther the two nations could be kept apart, the better it would be for both of them.
Such considerations, however, were far from the mind of <42>James. As usual, he was only looking about for the easiest way out of the difficulty. Commission given to Raleigh.On the one hand, Sarmiento protested that a war with Spain would be the inevitable result of the voyage. On the other hand, the friends of Raleigh at Court — and they were neither few nor without influence — protested no less loudly that it would be folly to throw away such an opportunity of benefiting the nation and filling the Exchequer. James was unwilling either to take the trouble of forming an opinion for himself, or to give offence by deciding the question one way or the other. He was a man, as a keen observer afterwards remarked, ‘very quick-sighted in discerning difficulties, and very slow in mastering them, and untying the knots which he had made.’[59] He was, therefore, only confirmed in his original resolution. He would throw the whole responsibility on Raleigh; and Raleigh had plainly stated that he had no intention of injuring a single Spaniard in the Indies. Accordingly, when, on August 26, James issued a commission to Raleigh, giving him authority to take command of the expedition, and authorising him to visit such territories as were not under the dominion of any Christian prince, not only were the ordinary words implying the royal grace and favour to the commander sedulously erased,[60] but he was expressly stated to be ‘under the peril of the law.’[61] The meaning of this was plain. James would wash his hands of the whole matter. Raleigh had declared that the mine of which he was in search was not within the territories of Philip. If he had chosen to tell a lie, let him take the consequences. That there might be no mistake, he was called upon to give security that he would not hurt any subjects of the King of Spain, and was plainly given to understand that, if these orders were transgressed, he would pay the penalty with his head.[62]
<43>Such was the compact by which James attempted to close his eyes to the future. He had Both Raleigh and James at fault.either refused, in gross dereliction of duty, to investigate the conditions under which the voyage was to be made, or if he did investigate them, he did not draw the obvious conclusion that the spot which Raleigh proposed to visit was at least so near to land claimed by Spain that it would be hard for one whose opinions on the righteousness of all attacks on Spain were what Raleigh’s notoriously were, to avoid coming into collision with the Spaniards. For James there was to be everything to gain. For Raleigh there was to be everything to lose.
If Raleigh’s fault was great, so also was his temptation. Behind him was the gloomy monotony of his prison-house. Before him was the free life upon the seas, the joys of active enterprise, the chance of riches and glory. Would not success atone for any possible disobedience?
It can hardly be maintained that Raleigh did not look forward to a combat with the Spaniards as at least a very probable contingency. But it is not necessary to suppose that he regarded it as a certainty. He had every reason to believe that no Spanish settlement would be reached at any point lower than the mouth of the Caroni, and as the mine which had been pointed out to Keymis was situated some miles before the junction of the rivers was reached, he had no difficulty in coming to the conclusion that it would be possible to reach the spot without a conflict with the Spaniards. It might well happen that the settlers at San Thomè would hear nothing of his arrival for some little time; and, even if they did, they <44>would hardly be rash enough to make an unprovoked attack upon superior numbers. He would thus be enabled to complete his search without molestation, though it was unlikely that he would be allowed to enter upon any permanent operations. So much, no doubt, he was willing to leave to chance.[63] <45>As to the mine itself Raleigh’s information rested upon very imperfect evidence. An Indian had pointed it out to Keymis, <46>but neither he nor Keymis had ever visited it. He could hope, and perhaps persuade himself, that he would find there the riches of which he was in search. He was convinced that all would be well with him if he returned with any considerable quantity of gold in his possession. It was hard for him to understand that James, of whom he knew personally very little, would not act as Elizabeth might have been expected to act. She had found no difficulty in rewarding Drake and sharing in his profits, at the same time that she was always ready to express her detestation of piracy. He did not know that, if James was in many respects the inferior of his predecessor, he was her superior in others.
<47>All this time Raleigh’s preparations were going bravely on. He had called in the 8,000l. which had been lying at interest ever Raleigh’s preparations.since he had received it as part of the compensation for the Sherborne estate. Lady Raleigh had raised 2,500l. by the sale of some lands at Mitcham. 5,000l. more were brought together by various expedients, and 15,000l. were contributed by Raleigh’s friends, who looked upon his enterprise much as men at the present day would regard a promising but rather hazardous investment.[64]
As far as the shipping was concerned, no obstacles were to be apprehended. The splendid new vessel in which Raleigh was himself to sail, and which was appropriately named the ‘Destiny,’ was rapidly approaching completion. But it soon appeared that there would be a difficulty in manning the fleet with suitable crews. The mariners who had followed Raleigh to victory in former days hung back. It was known that he was no longer in favour with the King, and it was, perhaps, suspected that there was little to be gained in following a commander who was liable at any moment to be hurried to the scaffold. He was obliged to look on with sorrow whilst his ships were manned with crews which, if they were not, as he afterwards called them in the bitterness of his heart, ’the scum of men,‘ were far inferior to those gallant bands which had gathered round him in the days of his prosperity.[65]
And so, chafing as he was under the treatment which he was receiving, rash thoughts took possession of his mind. Even His dissatisfaction.if he had ever intended to conform strictly to his engagements, his head was now running upon wilder fancies. It might be, no doubt, that if he could elude the <48>vigilance of the Spaniards, he might succeed, without shedding blood, in bringing back evidence of the existence of the mine. But he knew perfectly well that the chances were terribly against him, and that if a single Spaniard lost his life in the affray, nothing short of the most splendid success would avail him to overcome the King’s reluctance to be dragged into a war of which he disapproved. The real thoughts of the man began to ooze out in his conversation. One day, in talking with Bacon, The Mexico fleet.he said something about seizing the Mexico fleet. “But,” replied the astonished Attorney-General, “that would be piracy.” “Oh no,” was Raleigh’s ready answer; “did you ever hear of men who are pirates for millions? They who aim at small things are pirates.”[66] No doubt this may have been said partly out of bravado, partly, perhaps, to see how the notion would be received. But whatever Bacon may have thought of the matter, Raleigh would never have allowed that an attack upon a Spanish fleet in the Indies was unlawful, in the sense in which it was unlawful to sail into Lisbon or Dieppe with hostile intent in time of peace. He had been educated in the school of the Hawkins’s and the Drakes; and, if he had engaged to sail under other conditions, the new principles had never been accepted by him as having any weight of their own. The Mexico fleet would probably carry on board the value of two or three millions sterling in solid gold and silver.[67] If he could bring but a tithe of this into Plymouth Sound, would James be so very anxious to repudiate the maxim of ‘No peace beyond the line’?
Before the year came to an end, an opportunity of bringing about a breach between England and Spain even more easily <49>than by a voyage to the Indies seemed to have arrived. In 1615, The war in Piedmont.the war which had for some time been raging between Spain and the turbulent Duke of Savoy, had been brought to an end by the treaty of Asti. But though the government at Madrid did not venture to question the obligations into which their representative at Milan had entered in their name, Philip and his ministers were deeply wounded by the necessity of treating with so insignificant a potentate on a footing of equality. The Marquis of Inojosa, by whom the treaty had been signed, was recalled, and Pedro de Toledo, a hotheaded youth, was appointed to succeed him. The new governor had no sooner arrived at Milan, than he openly violated the agreement to which he was bound by the acts of his predecessor. Although a mutual disarmament had been expressly stipulated, Spanish troops were, on various pretexts, kept on foot in the Milanese, and the Duke’s demands for the execution of the treaty were met with haughty insolence.[68] In the autumn of 1616 hostilities broke out afresh, and Charles Emmanuel was looking to France and England for help.
In France the Government was little disposed to render him assistance. The Queen Mother and her favourite, Concini, Attitude of the French Government.leaned for support upon Spain. But the Protestants and the warlike aristocracy of either creed were ready to fly to his aid; and the volunteers, who poured over the Alps, were sufficient to enable him to make head against his powerful adversary.
At the same time that the Duke was receiving aid from the French nobility, he despatched the Count of Scarnafissi to England, James takes the part of Savoy.to ask for assistance. James, who had the year before sent him 15,000l., out of his almost empty exchequer,[69] and who, in spite of all that had passed, had no wish to see the Spaniards overrunning the territories of their neighbours, was anxious to do what he could to help him. If there was one thing more than another upon <50>which he prided himself, it was upon his assumed position as the peacemaker of Europe. He was piqued at the long delay of the Spanish Government in sending a reply to his pressing overtures on the subject of the marriage — a delay in reality due to the embarrassment into which Philip had been thrown by the Pope’s unconciliatory attitude. For a few weeks, therefore, he grew cold in his effusive demonstrations of friendship for Spain. It was rumoured that obstacles had arisen in the way of the marriage treaty, and hopes were held out to the Savoyard that a subsidy of 10,000l. a month would be granted to his master. To Lionello, the Venetian ambassador, James went so far as to express his readiness to join a league with Venice, Savoy, Holland, and the German Protestants. He was under obligations, he said, to assist the Duke, if the Spaniards refused to fulfil the conditions of the treaty of Asti. He had applied to Sarmiento to know what his master intended to do, and he was now waiting for an answer.[70] Nor did James confine himself to conversations with the Spanish ambassador. Lord Roos, Mission of Lord Roos.the grandson of the Earl of Exeter, had been already despatched on a special mission to Madrid, ostensibly to congratulate Philip on the recent marriages of his children, but in reality to plead the cause of the Duke of Savoy.[71]
With all that was passing in James’s mind Raleigh was doubtless well acquainted through his friend Winwood. He Raleigh’s proposed attack upon Genoa,did not lose a minute in seizing the chance thus presented to him. He knew well that if there was one hope dearer than another to the heart of the Savoyard prince, it was the hope of becoming master of Genoa. That great city, once the not unworthy rival of Venice for the commerce of the Mediterranean, had now become a community of money-lenders, always ready to place its wealth at the disposal of the needy Government of Spain. This very winter the bank of St. George had agreed to advance to the Spanish Government a sum equivalent to more than a million <51>pounds sterling[72]; and there was little doubt that a large part of this loan would be placed at the disposal of the governor of Milan. Nor was it only with her gold that Genoa gave support to the King of Spain. Her noble harbour was always ready to receive his vessels, and it was there, that, under cover of the neutrality of the republic, the troops were disembarked which were afterwards to be used against the Duke of Savoy.
Knowing these things, Raleigh sent a message to Scarnafissi, suggesting that it would be well, if the consent of James could be obtained, to make preparations to strike a blow against Genoa. His own ships would be ready to carry out the scheme, if his Majesty would add four vessels from the royal navy, and if they could be assisted by others from Holland and France. He was so well informed of the state of the defences of Genoa, that he had little doubt of taking the city by surprise. If, however, this should fail, his forces would be sufficient to lay siege to it with every prospect of success.[73]
Scarnafissi was delighted, and the proposal was at once carried to the King, who had no objection to raise against the 1617.January.accepted by James,violation of a neutrality which was only a neutrality in name. James promised to take the affair into consideration, and on January 12 he told Scarnafissi to consult with Winwood and Edmondes. By them he was required to show, in the first place, that the enterprise was not too difficult; and, in the second place, that his master would not take possession of the whole of the booty for himself. Against the imputation contained in the latter question, Scarnafissi protested warmly, and suggested that if James wished to secure his proper share, he had better send a force large enough to defy opposition. With this Edmondes and Winwood were completely satisfied, and talked of arming no less <52>than sixteen of the royal ships to accompany Raleigh’s squadron. Scarnafissi reported to his master that Raleigh was eager ‘to attack the Spaniards wherever he could, and to spare neither his coasts, his lands, or his vessels, or anything else that depended on Spain, or where he could hope for gain.’
A few days afterwards the negotiation was broken off. Scarnafissi was told that the King wished well to his master, but that and finally abandoned.he could not divert Raleigh from his voyage to Guiana. On January 30, Raleigh was finally released from the restrictions placed upon him nine months before. He might now go where he would without the attendance of a keeper. He was a free, but not a pardoned, man.[74]
The Venetian ambassador, who had heard the story from Scarnafissi, attributed this sudden change of purpose partly to James’s unwillingness to break with Spain, and partly to his distrust of Raleigh, who might be expected to carry off the whole of the booty himself.[75] Such thoughts may possibly have entered into James’s mind. But it is only fair to remember that at the time when the plan was finally rejected, intelligence had reached England which made it appear likely that the quarrel between Spain and Savoy would be settled by amicable negotiation,[76] and that this information must have appeared of the greater value, as it coincided with assurances from Madrid of the pacific intentions of the Spanish Government.[77] The news thus received proved correct, and peace was finally concluded in the following September.
<53>It is not unlikely that James’ change of attitude was, to some extent, the result of the state of the negotiation for the marriage. As soon as the new junto[78] of theologians gave their advice in favour of proceeding with the treaty, Lerma wrote to Sarmiento directing him to assure James of the intention of his master to give February.Progress of the negotiations for the marriage.all reasonable satisfaction about the marriage.[79] As soon as James was acquainted with this letter he again listened to Sarmiento’s assurances with approbation,[80] and he now talked of sending Digby to Madrid, formally to discuss the terms of the treaty.
It was a terrible blow for Raleigh, but his busy brain quickly turned in another direction. He had not been speaking at random when Raleigh and the French Protestants.he proposed to include French vessels in the fleet which was to swoop down upon Genoa. He had long been in close communication with the leaders of the French Protestants. Already, before he left the Tower, a proposal had been made to him by one of them that, as soon as he could procure his freedom, he should collect six or seven ships to join in an attack upon the Mexico fleet.[81] Others were now urging him to steer for the coast of France, and to occupy St. Valery, there to support the rebellion which they projected against the authority of the Queen Mother. Nor were there wanting voices at home to urge Raleigh along the evil path on which he was too willing to be guided. Winwood, there can be little doubt, was urging him to break the peace at all hazards, and to fall upon the Mexico fleet as the best means, if all others failed, of bringing the King to a rupture with Spain.[82]
<54>Meanwhile the French ambassador, Desmarets, had kept his eye upon Raleigh. In January he seems to have had information of March.Desmarets’ visit to Raleigh.the proposed attack upon St. Valery, or at least to have had a suspicion that the expedition to Guiana might end in a sudden raid upon the coast of France. On March 7, he informed his Government that he had visited the Admiral on board the ‘Destiny,’ in the hope of being able to discover what his intentions were. Raleigh, he said, had broken out into bitter complaints against the King, had spoken of his own attachment to France, and had ended by requesting a more private interview, in order that he might communicate to him a secret of importance.
Desmarets appears to have taken no further trouble about the matter, as soon as he had discovered that the French coast was safe from attack. On March 21, a fortnight after his visit to the ship, he wrote home that he had been too busy to find time to see Raleigh again,[83] and it was only on April 14, long after the ‘Destiny’ had left the Thames, that he wrote to say that Raleigh had assured him that ‘seeing himself so evilly and tyrannically treated by his own king, he had made up his mind, if God sent him good success, to leave his country, and to make the King of France the first offer of whatever might fall under his power.’[84]
In his public despatch, Desmarets contented himself with <55>saying that he had given good words to Raleigh in return. But there is reason to believe that he was cognisant of a message sent at this time by Raleigh through a Frenchman named Faige, to Montmorency, the Admiral of France, in order to beg his assistance in obtaining from Louis permission to take refuge in a French port upon his return.[85]
And now, just as the ‘Destiny’ was ready to drop down the river, Sarmiento made a last attempt to stop the expedition. Sarmiento’s renewed protests.It would have been well both for Raleigh and for James if he had succeeded. But it was not so to be. James, indeed, was struck by Sarmiento’s reasoning, for he knew perfectly well that the Spaniards would fall upon Raleigh wherever they could find him; and by this time he must have been able to form a pretty shrewd guess at Raleigh’s real opinions on the doctrine of ‘No peace beyond the line.’
Yet, even if James had been inclined to throw obstacles in the way of the voyage, there were those around him who would not suffer him to do it. For, careless as he was of the public opinion which found expression in the House of Commons, he was extremely sensitive to the opinion of those amongst whom <56>his daily life was passed, and he knew that many of them were Raleigh’s warmest partisans. He told Sarmiento that if he stopped the expedition now, the whole nation would cry out against him. All that he could do was to lay the case before the Council.
The Council was accordingly summoned. But, as James had expected, Raleigh’s supporters mustered strongly. They advised the King on no account to stop the expedition, and some who were present offered to give security that Raleigh would refrain from any attack upon Spanish territories. Winwood was accordingly ordered to wait upon Sarmiento, and to place in his hand a letter[86] written by Raleigh, in which he stated that he was really bound for Guiana, and that he would not commit outrages or spoils on the subjects of the King of Spain. At the same time Winwood handed over to the ambassador a list of the vessels of which the fleet was composed.[87]
As is well known, Raleigh afterwards stigmatized this as a betrayal of his confidence.[88] It is difficult for impartial persons to regard it in any such light, as there was nothing in the papers <57>placed in Gondomar’s hands which was not perfectly well known to him already. Was Raleigh betrayed?The number of Raleigh’s vessels was ascertainable by anyone who chose to take the trouble to make the necessary inquiries at London or Plymouth; and that the expedition was bound for a mine on the Orinoco was only what Raleigh had been reiterating for the last twelve months. Gondomar believed these assertions to be false; and all that he had now gained was that he had forced Raleigh to repeat them in a more solemn form. In point of fact, the first warning was despatched from Madrid to the Indies some weeks before Winwood’s interview with Sarmiento, though it is true that more pressing orders were afterwards added. But so little weight did the ambassador attribute to the special information which he had received, that in a letter which he wrote three months afterwards, he said that he could not tell what Raleigh’s course had been, and that many persons supposed that he was bound for the East Indies, and would not go to Guiana at all.[89]
Even amongst Raleigh’s supporters there were not wanting some who feared that he intended to play them false. Just as the ‘Destiny’ was ready to leave the Thames, Arundel came on board, and taking the admiral by the hand, asked him to Arundel’s visit to the ‘Destiny.’give his word that, whether his voyage turned out well or ill, he would come back to England. Raleigh, fresh from his intrigue with the French ambassador, solemnly declared that he would.
<58>On March 29, Raleigh left London to join his ship at Dover, to start on an expedition which could hardly end well either for himself or for his country. Raleigh leaves London.With the usual inconsistency of a weak man, James had attempted to atone for his rashness in one direction by still greater rashness in another. If he had given ear so easily to those who were recommending to his favour an enterprise which meant nothing if it did not mean hostility to Spain, it was doubtless because he was at that very moment knitting more closely than ever the ties which bound him to the Spanish monarchy. For it was during those very days in which Raleigh was completing the preparations for his voyage, that James made the first public declaration on the subject of the marriage.
In order to open formal negotiations with decency, it was necessary to obtain at least the ostensible concurrence of some independent body. Accordingly The Commissioners on the marriage.a commission of the Privy Council was summoned on March 2, to give advice to the King on the subject. The names of the commissioners — Bacon, Lennox, Suffolk, Arundel, Pembroke, Fenton,[90] Wotton,[91] Lake, Digby, and Villiers, who, on January 5, after enjoying the title of Viscount for little more than four months, had been raised, by the foolish fondness of James, to the dignity of Earl of Buckingham — display a preponderance of feeling on the Spanish side; but they nevertheless show that every shade of opinion, excepting that of the extreme war party, was represented.
Before these commissioners, however, March 2.The King’s declaration.James could not lay the whole question of the marriage as if it were still intact. No formal proposal had indeed been made, but there had been conversations and messages which were almost equivalent to such a proposal. James, therefore, treated the project as one which had been practically accepted for negotiation. Having pointed out that the state of his affairs <59>was such as ‘might give him cause to make the best use of his son, thereby to get some good portion towards the payment of his debts,’ he assured the commissioners that he had always been firm on points of religion, and that both Sarmiento and Lerma ‘had so far declared themselves, as they did neither expect alteration in religion in the Prince nor any liberty or toleration for His Majesty’s subjects, nor other course in the matter of religion which might be displeasing to His Majesty’s subjects, nor any alteration in the course of his affairs or correspondencies with foreign Princes, whereby he might lose or abandon them.‘
The general policy of the marriage treaty being thus reserved, as a matter on which the opinions of the commissioners was not asked, James requested them to hear a statement which Digby would make on the previous course of the negotiation, and to read the documents which he would lay before them. After examining these overtures they were to consider whether if they ‘did not find that there was so much ground given for His Majesty to hope of a good issue as that His Majesty might begin the motion, then in what manner the same should be replied to, so as His Majesty might with the soonest discover the sincerity of their intention, and what particulars it would come unto, as well in matter of religion as in matter of portion, and so discern how far he might build any foundation to his affairs upon this treaty.’[92]
Such a demand, so made, was not likely to draw from the commissioners the decided objection which some of them entertained March 5.Answer of the Commissioners.to the proposed marriage itself. All they were asked was whether, as far as they could judge, the Spanish Government was sufficiently in earnest to justify the King in proceeding with the treaty. The principal question at issue — the form in which concessions were to be made to the English Catholics — was removed from their cognisance and reserved for a future agreement between the two sovereigns. The commissioners, therefore, contented themselves with answering that there was ‘as much assurance <60>of good success as in such a case could be had,’ and that ‘it was very likely that the breach, if any were, could not be but upon some material point of religion; which, if it fell out would not be any dishonour to his Majesty, but on the contrary a great reputation both with his subjects here at home, and with his friends of the reformed religion in foreign parts.’[93]
It is evident that the commissioners did not expect much from the treaty. Nor can there be any doubt that some of <61>them, if they had been suffered to speak their minds before James had so far entangled himself, would have spoken strongly against Disadvantages of the proposed marriage.any proposal of the kind. It is not necessary to sympathize with those who believed any alliance with Catholics to be antichristian, to feel how ill-judged the mere contemplation of such a marriage was. The very fact of its unpopularity in England was a serious objection, but it was far from being all that was to be alleged against it. It is easy to say that if Spain had been other than she was, and if she had been seriously willing to take into consideration the rights of Protestants to equality of treatment with the rights of Catholics, such a marriage might have opened a happy era of reconciliation. Not only was this not the case, but it was notorious that it was not the case. Lerma and Sarmiento might speak as they pleased, but there was nothing in their actions to show that Spain had changed its nature. No doubt there was something to be gained. A French princess would only bring with her a portion of 200,000l., whilst it was expected that a Spanish Infanta would bring a portion of 600,000l. James too might expect, what he was certain not to obtain, the co-operation of Spain in his laudable efforts for appeasing the distractions of the Continent. For such advantages as were to be gained the price to be paid was enormous. It was the least part of the mischief which James was preparing that his son would be burdened with a wife who would not have one thought in common with himself. When once the Infanta was established in England, her court would be a centre of intrigue against the religion and the political institutions of the English nation.
If the reply of the commissioners veiled a repugnance to the proposed marriage, James did not take the hint. He resolved to despatch Digby again to Madrid. The articles, as they had been April.Digby’s instructions.sent from Spain the year before, were to be made the basis of the negotiation, as far as the Infanta and her household were concerned; but the discussion of the treatment of the Catholics was to be reserved for future consideration by James himself. The portion to be asked for was on no account to be less than 500,000l., and more was to be obtained if possible. The express stipulation <62>was to be added that it should not revert to the Infanta if she were left a widow.[94]
This public declaration was justly regarded by Sarmiento as the crowning glory of his diplomacy. It was by no means Sarmiento created Count of Gondomar.to his own satisfaction that he was still in England. He had long been wearying his Government with repeated applications for permission to return to his native land. He was suffering from a disease for which the medical skill of that age afforded no remedy, and he was longing for repose in his stately mansion at Valladolid. In his eyes the tawny plains which lie along the banks of the Pisuerga were more lovely than the green fields of pleasant England. It was difficult for the Spanish Government to grant his desire. Again and again he was told that he could not be spared from the post which he filled so well. Another desire which he cherished was more readily acceded to. For some time he had been pertinaciously begging for a title which would satisfy the world that his labours had been graciously accepted by his master. It was easier to honour his services than to dispense with them, and as soon as the news of James’s resolution arrived at Madrid, he was informed that he would from henceforward be known as the Count of Gondomar,[95] but that he must remain in England a little longer.
For most men there was nothing more to be said about the marriage till Digby had felt the ground at Madrid. But to Bacon Views of Bacon.it was intolerable to leave the matter so. If there was to be a Spanish alliance at all, he must do his best to raise it to a higher sphere than that in which James’s thoughts were grovelling. Though the reconciliation of the great ecclesiastical sections into which Europe was divided seemed less exclusively important to him than it did to Digby, he had no sympathy with the untiring bitterness against Spain by which Raleigh and Winwood were animated. <63>Just as he had sought to put an end to the domestic difficulties of his country, by calling upon the King and the House of Commons to join together in some noble work worthy of the nation, he now sought, though probably without much hope, to lead the two great nations which had been engaged so long in an internecine struggle, to see that the only alliance worth having March 23.was founded on joint service for the common good of Europe. As soon, therefore, as it was determined that Digby was to return to Madrid, he drew up a paper, which he advised the King to issue as an additional instruction to his ambassador.
Why should not, he argued, the two great monarchies combine to establish a court of arbitration, by which all quarrels between Christian princes His proposed instructions to Digby.might be decided, and a stop put to the effusion of Christian blood? Another suggestion was of a more practical nature. Might not England and Spain make common cause against the danger which still threatened Europe from the side of the Turkish Empire? That empire, indeed, had not yet fallen into the decrepitude which has in our own day caused such anxiety to Western Europe. Its strength was still great, and was justly considered to be dangerous to its neighbours. But it was evident to all that the tide was on the turn, and it may well have seemed to Bacon that a war half-religious, half-political, might justifiably be waged with the object of setting bounds to the flood of barbarism which was formidable even in its decline.[96]
Bacon’s advice was that of a man who invariably strove to make the best of the conditions before him. There are, however, situations from which nothing but evil can result, and <64>unhappily, that which had been created by James’s resolution to embark seriously on a marriage treaty with Spain was one of these. Nothing but alienation between himself and the English nation could be the result of such a policy.
Whatever might be thought of the expediency of a direct attack upon Constantinople, there was one part of the Turkish Empire which The Barbary pirates.called imperatively for the interference of the maritime powers. Tunis and Algiers still nominally formed part of the dominions of the Sultan, and the Pachas who were supposed to govern the two states were duly nominated at Constantinople. But, in fact, Tunis and Algiers were the seats of independent communities. In each of them a militia, recruited from every part of the empire, had all power in its hands. Swarms of foreigners settled down like locusts upon the wretched population, and held them in subjection, with all the crushing weight of a military despotism. The Beys of Tunis and the Dey of Algiers were elected by this turbulent soldiery, and were in reality servants of the uncontrollable hordes which had long bidden defiance to the Sultan.
It was not in the nature of things that states thus constituted should be content to live upon the resources furnished Their ravages.by their own dominions. With the full stream of European commerce passing almost within sight of their coasts, it is no wonder that they had learned to quote with peculiar fervour the passages of the Koran which enjoined upon all true believers the duty of making war upon the infidel. In both of the states, and especially in Algiers, which was by far the more formidable of the two, what the sufferers called piracy had long been a regularly organized institution.
The mode of proceeding was extremely simple. Whenever a member of the military community who was rich enough to possess a vessel fitted for the purpose wished to try his fortune at sea, he asked the Dey for permission to leave the port; a permission which was invariably granted, excepting when the vessel was needed for the public service. The adventurer’s next step was to go on board his ship, to hoist a flag, and to fire a cannon. At the well-known signal, troops of <65>hardy ruffians flocked on board. As soon as the selection had been made, the captain put out to sea, and either lay in wait for the richly freighted merchantmen which carried the trade of Western Europe, or swept the coast in the hope of surprising persons of wealth and station, for whose release a large ransom might be demanded. Strict discipline was maintained, and it was rarely that the pirates returned without a prize. At the end of the cruise a fixed proportion of the booty was assigned to the Dey, whilst the remainder was shared amongst the crew.[97] The greater number of the prisoners were detained in a lifelong slavery. No hope remained to them, unless they were fortunate enough to be captured by the vessels of some Christian sovereign. It was only a few who, like Cervantes, owed their release to the payment of a ransom by their wealthy friends. Still fewer, like Vincent de Paul, were assisted to escape by the connivance of some member of their captor’s family. By the inhabitants of the coasts of Southern Europe, slavery at Algiers was regarded as a horrible misery, which might fall to the lot of anyone.
It was not only amongst the natives of the Turkish Empire that the pirate bands were recruited. Every man who would join them The renegades.was welcome in Algiers. The offscourings of the Mediterranean ports — men with seared consciences and broken fortunes — might there win their way to wealth and to a certain kind of fame. Their prosperity would be all the more brilliant if they would renounce a Christianity of which they knew nothing but the name. Even natives of the northern countries occasionally joined in these atrocities. Not a few of the mariners who had manned the English privateers which had been so mischievous to the enemy during the Spanish war, continued the work of plunder from the Barbary ports. The heir of an ancient Buckinghamshire family, Sir Francis Verney, took part for many years in these nefarious enterprises. An Englishman, named Ward, and a Dutchman, named Dansker, were long the terror of sailors of every nation; and, at one time, it was said that not a single <66>vessel sailed out of Algiers which did not carry an English pilot.
The history of Ward was, perhaps, in the main the history of hundreds like him. In his youth he had taken part in some of Story of Ward.the buccaneering expeditions in which so many English sailors had gambled away their lives, in the hopes of filling their pockets with Spanish gold. He is next heard of as a frequenter of alehouses at Plymouth, where he is said to have left behind him the reputation of a spendthrift and a drunkard. Early in the reign of James, he found employment as a common sailor on board one of the king’s ships. Steady discipline and hard fare were not to his taste. One day, as his vessel was lying in Portsmouth harbour, he heard that a wealthy recusant, who had recently sold his estate, with the intention of taking refuge in France, had sent 2,000l. on board a little vessel which was waiting to convey himself and his family to Havre. Ward had no difficulty in persuading some of his boon companions to join him in an attempt upon the prize. Soon after nightfall the crew of desperadoes leaped upon the deck, battened down the hatches upon the two men who were left in charge, and stood out to sea.
To Ward’s sore disappointment his search for the expected treasure proved unavailing. His colloquies with his associates had attracted attention, and the money had been removed to a place of safety. But it was too late to go back. Off the Scilly Isles he sighted a French vessel three times the size of his own, and armed with six guns. Fertile in expedients, he ordered the greater part of his crew to keep below whilst he ran alongside the stranger, and engaged the Frenchmen in conversation. At a given signal his men poured up from the hold, and over the sides of the larger vessel. In a few seconds she was a prize in the hands of the pirates. After this exploit, Ward had the effrontery to put into Cawsand Bay, and to search for recruits amongst the comrades of his carouses in the alehouses of Plymouth. As soon as his vessel was manned, he made all sail for Tunis, where he was received with open arms. His courage and skill soon placed him on a level with the foremost <67>of the pirate captains. Wealth followed in the train of success, and it was said that no English nobleman kept such state as the runaway sailor.[98]
In itself, piracy was by no means regarded in England with the detestation which it merited. To plunder Frenchmen and Venetians was Feeling in England.a very venial offence. To plunder Spaniards was almost a heroic achievement. But indignation was roused when it was heard that many of these men had ‘turned Turks,’[99] especially when it was found that the renegades had no idea of sparing the growing English commerce in the Mediterranean. In the words of a contemporary annalist, these wretches, ‘doubting their offences to be unpardonable by law and nature, became runagates, renouncing their Christian faith, exercising all manner of despites, and speaking blasphemy against God, their king, and country; and taught the infidels the knowledge and use of navigation, to the great hurt of Europe.’
Attempts were occasionally made to arrest the evil. James had set his heart, as far as he ever set his heart upon anything, upon suppressing the pirates. Attempts to suppress piracy.In the first years of his reign proclamation followed proclamation, in which, as far as words could go, he made known his abhorrence of their conduct. In 1608, nineteen pirates were seen hanging in a row at Wapping, as a terror to all who might be disposed to follow their example. On July 20, 1609, the Spanish Admiral, Fajardo, succeeded in destroying no less than twenty vessels under the command of Ward. But such losses were easily repaired. Two months after Ward’s defeat, Dansker took one of the galleons of the Mexico fleet, and carried it into Marseilles, in the expectation that a blow struck against the commerce of Spain would be welcome in France, from whatever quarter it might proceed. A few days earlier, Sir Francis Verney had been making havoc of his own countrymen, and <68>had carried into Algiers three or four prizes belonging to the merchants of Poole and Plymouth.[100]
The Spaniards returned in kind the barbarous treatment which they suffered. In houses of distinction at Madrid, slaves from Barbary were the regular attendants.[101] Treatment of the prisoners in Spain.European pirates were more harshly treated. In 1616, for instance, a Captain Kelway was taken, with thirty of his crew. They were all condemned to be hanged; but, as Cottington expresses it, ‘the Jesuits dealt with them for their conversion in religion; and such as they could convert were immediately hanged with great joy; and such as keep their own religion live, and are put to the gallies, so as twelve only are made saints, and the others are kept for devils.’[102] But neither the hangman, nor the worse misery of the galleys proved of any avail, and in the early part of 1617 the crews of a fleet of seventy sail found occupation in plundering the commerce of the Mediterranean.[103]
Foremost amongst those who took to heart the insolence of these miscreants, was Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton. His The Earl of Southampton.shining talents and impetuous courage had made him a marked man amongst the paladins who guarded the throne of Elizabeth in her declining years. Almost alone amongst his contemporaries, he had detected the genius of Shakespeare; and it has even been supposed by some that his were the joys and sorrows embalmed by the great poet in his immortal sonnets. He had thrown himself heart and soul into the great struggle with Spain; and wherever his sword <69>was drawn he brought back with him the reputation of a brave and skilful warrior. He had many great and some noble qualities; but they were seriously impaired by the vehemence of his temper. His judgment was weak, and his power of self-restraint was very small. At one time he was brawling in the Queen’s palace; at another time his friendship for Essex beguiled him into taking part in the spoiled favourite’s senseless treason, and brought him to the very edge of the scaffold. The accession of James opened his prison doors, and he hoped for a seat at the Council-table; but his merits and his faults alike barred the way to office against him. In 1604 he gave offence to the King, and for a few days he was under arrest. In 1610 the Court was amused by his quarrel, at a game of tennis, with Pembroke’s foolish brother, Montgomery, and men were laughing at the vehemence with which these two great lords used their rackets about one another’s ears.[104] But such scenes as these were far from making up the whole of his life. He found occupation for himself in the many schemes which were on foot for the colonisation of America, and he soon became a busy member of the Virginia Company. He was now engaged in consultations with the City merchants who had suffered in the Mediterranean; and with their assistance he had prepared a plan which was submitted to the King. He proposed that an expedition should be at once fitted out against Algiers. Twelve thousand men, he said, would be sufficient to capture that nest of pirates. The merchants expressed their willingness to bear two-thirds of the expense, if the King would take the remainder upon himself. If James refused, it was thought that the Dutch would be ready to take the matter up.
If this had been all, there would have been enough to excite the apprehensions of Gondomar. He had no wish to see an English fleet Gondomar’s opposition.so near the coast of Spain. But the informant from whom the ambassador derived his knowledge told him more than this. He said — and it is by no means unlikely to have been true[105] — that it was resolved that if <70>the expedition failed, an indemnity should be found in the plunder of Genoa or of the States of the Pope. Gondomar, therefore, without appearing publicly in the affair, did his best to throw obstacles in its way. As the merchants were desirous that Southampton should himself take the command of the expedition, it was easy to speak of the scheme as an arrangement concocted for the mere purpose of furthering the Earl’s ambition. According to Gondomar, all that he really wanted was to bring about a war with Spain, in order that he might be called upon to replace the aged Nottingham, as Lord High Admiral of England.[106]
James laid the whole subject before the Commissioners to whom the marriage treaty had been already referred. They immediately April.Consultations on the proposal.summoned before them the merchants whose interests were affected by the continuance of piracy, and asked them whether they were prepared to contribute a fair proportion of the expenses. They also sent for a few old sea captains, in order to have their opinion on the feasibility of the enterprise.
The merchants at once offered to find 40,000l. in two years; and, after a little pressing, said that if the enterprise were seriously taken in hand, they would not be backward in increasing their contribution. But there seemed some doubt whether the enterprise was likely to serve any useful purpose after all. Both the merchants and the sailors agreed that it was perfectly hopeless to think of taking, by a sudden attack, a place so strongly fortified as Algiers; and Nottingham and Monson supported the dissentients with all the weight of their authority. A long series of operations would be necessary. If the fleet could keep the sea for a sufficient length of time, it might be possible to wear out the enemy by destroying his vessels and by cutting off his prospects of plunder. But if such a scheme was to be carried out, it was evident that the assistance of Spain would be indispensable. Yet everyone, with the exception of <71>one or two of the Commissioners, shrank from carrying on war with the King of Spain for an ally. Still, it was madness to think that a blockading squadron could keep the sea without a single friendly port as a place of retreat in time of need; and all that could be said was, that the King of Spain might perhaps consent to contribute in money to the undertaking, and to open his ports to the English and the Dutch, by whom the real work would be done. That English and Spanish sailors could not be brought together without coming to blows, was the opinion of all whose advice was asked upon the subject.[107]
As soon as these recommendations were reported to James, he gave orders that Digby should May.Digby ordered to support the plan.take them for his guidance, and should excuse himself for asking for money only, on the plea that the Spanish ships were too large to be usefully employed on coast service.[108]
Such was the promising opening of the first serious effort to reap benefit from the Spanish alliance. But, before inquiring how Digby fared at Madrid, it will be well to cast a glance upon the domestic affairs of England.
[50] Francisco de Jesus, 15.
[51] Philip III. to Cardinal Borja, Aug. 31⁄Sept. 10; Cardinal Borja to Philip III., Oct. 11⁄21, Francisco de Jesus, 13, 14. Note.
[52] “Porque puede ser algun medio para la conversion de aquel Principe, y pertenece á la decencia y autoridad de la Señora Infanta.”
[53] Consulta of the Junta of Theologians, Jan. 16⁄26, Simancas MSS. 2518, fol. 23. Articles drawn up by the Theologians, Feb. 17⁄27, 1617. Francisco de Jesus. App. 5.
[54] Raleigh’s Apology.
[55] He said, ‘que él con sus deudos y amigos haria una armada y iria à a Guiana junto al Rio Arenoco, donde dezia que avia una mina de oro <40>que no se avia descubierto por nadie, ni era de su Majestad, antes muy distante de tierras suyas.’ — Minutes of Sarmiento’s Despatch, Aug. 23⁄Sept. 2, Simancas MSS. 2850, fol. 28.
[56] Thus James, who had authorised the Essequibo settlement, remonstrated with the Dutch for establishing a factory at the mouth of the Hudson, though, at the time, there were no English nearer than Jamestown.
[57] Maine’s Ancient Law, 248.
[58] In fact, I suppose, sovereignty over new colonial territory can only rest upon the tacit or expressed consent of colonising nations. Native cession is a mere farce, and its absence is treated as unworthy of consideration by those who are strong enough to do without it.
[59] Clarendon, ed. 1849, i. 16.
[60] Edwards, i. 591.
[61] Rymer’s Fœdera, xvi. 789.
[62] “Escrive el Conde de Gondomar que aquel Rey le avia asegurado que no saldria Gualtero sin dar seguridad de que no haria daño á ningun vasallo de su Magestad.” — Minutes of Sarmiento’s despatch, Oct. 2⁄12, 1616, Simancas MSS. 2850, fol. 28. Four months later Winwood assured the Venetian ambassador ‘che era ferma mente del Rè che il Ralè andasse il <43>suo viaggio, nel quale, se avesse contravenuto alle sue instruttioni che li sono stati dati, aveva la testa con che pagharebbe la disubbidienza.’ — Lionello to the Doge, Jan. 31⁄Feb. 10, 1617. Winwood’s name is important, as we can be sure that Raleigh knew whatever Winwood had to tell; and with this falls to the ground the whole fabric of the theory that Raleigh sailed in ignorance that an attack on Spaniards would bring him to the scaffold. Besides, as Mr. Spedding has pointed out, Raleigh admitted, in his own journal, that he had told the Governor of Lanzerote that he ‘had no purpose to invade any of the Spanish King’s territories, having received from the King … express commandment to the contrary.’ — Bacon’s Letters and Life, vi. 345, note 2.
[63] It is curious that none of Raleigh’s biographers have seen the importance of fixing the locality of the mine. There can be no doubt that it was the same which had been pointed out to Keymis, in 1595, by the Indian guide, and not the place at the mouth of the Caroni where Raleigh picked up specimens. It is of the former that Keymis speaks, on Indian authority, as being ‘of all others, the richest and most plentiful.’ Every indication points to the mine for which Raleigh was looking as being some way below the junction of the rivers. Berreo’s town he describes as being two leagues to the westward of the mine, i.e. above it (Raleigh to Keymis, Cayley, ii. <45>125). In another place he says the mine is just past the mountain of Aio, which will be found on Sir R. Schomburgk’s map some way below the junction. It is perhaps worth noticing that in a chart preserved at Simancas, which had once belonged to Raleigh, the only object on land marked is a mountain about half-way between the head of the delta and the mouth of the Caroni. It is evidently put in so as to catch the eye, and I have little doubt that it was inserted in order to direct the attention of those who were in the secret to the position of the mine. Wilson, too, in his history, speaks of the mine as being known only to Keymis: and Howe, in his continuation of Stowe, says that Raleigh’s mine was one “which himself and one Captain Keymis had discovered by the information of the Indians.” More conclusive still is the reference in News of Sir Walter Raleigh, published in 1618, to “a wonderful great mine” pointed out by Putigma, the Indian guide, who accompanied Keymis in his walk in 1595.
Another most important question relates to the position of San Thomè. It is acknowledged by all that it was founded in 1591 or 1592, at the mouth of the Caroni (Fray Simon, Setima Noticia, x. 1), that it had been abandoned in 1595, and that in 1618 it was found considerably lower down the stream, at the spot now known as Guayana Vieja; but it seems to have been taken for granted that the removal took place either at Berreo’s return in 1595, after Raleigh left the river, or, at all events, early enough for the fact to have been known in England in 1616; yet it is evident from Keymis’s narrative of his voyage in 1596, that, at that time, the Spanish settlement had returned to its old position near the mouth of the Caroni. As to the time of the change no help is to be got from Fray Simon, who, as Sir R. Schomburgk pointed out, fancied that the town was at the mouth of the Caroni, even in 1618, though his own narrative contradicts the supposition. But the whole of the evidence upon Raleigh’s voyage is unintelligible unless it is admitted that he knew nothing of the change of site when he sailed from England in 1617. In a letter written after his return (Raleigh to the King, Sept. 24, 1618, Edwards, ii. 368), he speaks of the town as “newly set up within three miles of the mine.” More conclusive is the letter to Keymis, written before the boats started for the ascent of the river. “I do therefore,” writes Raleigh, “advise you to suffer the captains and the companies of the English to pass up to the westward of the mountain of Aio, from whence you have less” [not “no less” as usually printed], “than three miles to the mine, and to lodge and encamp between the Spanish town and you, if there be any town near it.” If Raleigh had known of the existence of the town where Keymis found it, that is to say, before the mine was reached, he could not possibly have used this language. Besides the order which he <46>gave to Keymis to throw out a covering party to protect the workers from the Spaniards presupposes that he expected them to appear from the west. The same idea, too, appears in his fear lest the approach of the boats as they passed up the river should be betrayed by an Indian lurking on the banks. If the boats had to pass the town the inhabitants would have seen them with their own eyes. So, too, a passage in a letter, written in England in February 1618, shows that when Raleigh sailed there was no general belief that he would find the Orinoco guarded by Spaniards. “Captain Peter Alley,” says the writer, “a two days since arrived from Guiana. He left Sir Walter anchored (I suppose) in his wished haven, from whence advancing higher, to his greater wonder, he found the Spaniards all alongst the river.” — Lovelace to Carleton, Feb. 10, 1616, S. P. Dom. xcvi. 10.
I believe, therefore, that Raleigh expected to find the mine at a little distance from the right bank of the river, and that he had no reason to believe that there was any Spanish settlement short of a spot at the mouth of the Caroni, several miles farther on.
In the King’s declaration, written by Bacon, it is said that the mine was movable, for that which was said to be three miles short of San Thomè, was afterwards sought beyond it. Bacon saw the discrepancy, but did not, I think, hit upon the right explanation. It was the the town that was movable, not the mine.
Since this note was written Mr. Edwards has argued that the change of site must have been more recent than is generally supposed; but he thinks that “The Englishmen must needs have heard” of the removal, though ‘their knowledge of the altered geography of the place was very slight.’ — Life of Ralegh, i. 619. It seems to me that the arguments above lead to a still stronger conclusion.
[64] The seven hundred crowns paid by the King towards the building of the ‘Destiny’ was simply the statutable bounty on ship-building, and is not to be taken as a mark of special favour.
[65] For a discussion on the authenticity of the story of Bacon’s alleged conversation with Raleigh, telling him that the commission was equal to a pardon — see Napier, Sir W. Raleigh, 235. If it had really occurred, Raleigh would surely have appealed to it in his Apology. Besides, both Bacon and Raleigh knew perfectly well on what terms the voyage was undertaken.
[66] In a paper in the Gentleman’s Magazine (April, 1858), Mr. Spedding has shown that the conversation must have taken place before the voyage. Mr. Edwards has adopted the same opinion (i. 591); but places it before the grant of the commission. It is certainly more likely that Raleigh would then be brought into contact with Bacon, but, on the other hand, it does not seem probable that even he would have spoken in this rash way so long as he was hoping for a full pardon.
[67] The fleet of 1618, the year in which Raleigh was in the Indies, brought the value of 2,545,454l. — S. P. Spain.
[68] Wake to Lake, Nov. 6⁄16, 1612, S. P. Savoy.
[69] See Vol. II. p. 321.
[70] Lionello to the Doge, Dec. 19⁄29, Dec. 26⁄Jan. 5, Venice MSS.
[71] Cottington to Carleton, Nov. 8, S. P. Spain.
[72] Cottington to Winwood, Dec. 10, S. P. Spain.
[73] The whole of our knowledge of this affair is derived from those letters discovered by Mr. Rawdon Brown, and published by MM. Ceresole and Fulin, in their Italian translation of the preface to the first volume of his Calendar of the Venetian State Papers. Mr. Edwards has since republished them in his Life of Ralegh.
[74] Warrant, Jan. 30. — Losely MSS. Communicated by Mr. Edwards.
[75] Lionello to the Council of Ten, Jan. 9, 16, Jan. 24⁄19, 26, Feb. 3, Edwards, i. 579. Mr. Edwards thinks the plan originated with Scarnafissi. Lionello’s language is perhaps not quite plain; but I believe he meant to speak of the idea as originating with Raleigh. The question is of no practical importance, as Raleigh certainly took it up warmly before it was communicated to James or Winwood.
[76] Lionello to the Doge, Jan. 24⁄Feb. 3, Venice MSS. This despatch was written on the same day as the more secret one containing the notice of James’s rejection of the plan for an attack on Genoa.
[77] Cottington to Lake, Jan. 10, S. P. Spain.
[79] Sarmiento to Lerma, Feb. 9⁄19, Simancas MSS. 2596, fol. 43.
[80] Salvetti, News Letter, March 6⁄16.
[81] This is from Raleigh’s own confession. Wilson to the King, Oct. 1618, S. P. Dom. ciii. 16.
[82] In his News-letter of June 25⁄July 5, 1618, Salvetti writes that the King had promised to punish the delinquents, ‘fra quali su segretario di stato Winwood, se fosse vivo, andarebbe a risico d’essere ritrovato principale:— credendosi per certo che, como partigiano delli Hollandesi, et a loro <54>persuasioni havesse indotto il Rallè a fare questi insulti per provocare i Spagnoli a rompere la pace con questa Corona.’ Contarini is still more explicit:— “Nella inquisitione diligente che si è fatta per venir all’ espeditione di Ser Vat Ralè, ha egli spontanamente confessato che quando parti per l’Indie Occidentali, fosse stato da alcuni principali ministri et signori del consiglio poco inclinati a Spagna et alienissimi da vedere l’allianza con quella Corona, fra quali ha nominato il già morto Secretario Vinut, consigliato e persuaso abbracciare ogni occasione di attaccare le flotte, o li Stati de del Rè Catolico, da che ne nascesse non solo diffidenza tra queste dice Corone, ma anco causa di rottura.” — Contarini to the Doge, Oct. 16⁄26, 1618, Venice MSS.
[83] Desmarets to Richelieu, Jan. 2⁄12, March 7, 21⁄17, 31, Bibl. Nat. MSS. Dupuy, 420, fol. 2 b.
[84] Quoted from the despatch of April 14⁄24 by Mr. Edwards. Life of Ralegh, i. 595, note.
[85] Contarini in his despatch of Oct. 16⁄26, 1618, distinctly states, that Raleigh confessed having from Desmarets a promise of permission to take refuge in France. “Essendole promesso de M. de Maretz … non solo la sicurezza di potersi retirare in Francia, ma la protettione et favore in ogni bisogno del Christianissimo.” Salvetti speaks of it as being known that Le Clerc, the French Agent, after Desmarets’ departure, and La Chesnaye, the Interpreter of the Embassy, “havessero negoziato col Cavalier Raliè avanti che facesse il suo viaggio di Guiana per farli fare quel que fece.” Salvetti’s News-Letter, Oct. 2⁄12, 1618. One of the questions put to La Chesnaye was:— “Is it true that through the influence of the last ambassador of France in England, Raleigh had a commission from the Most Christian King, or from his Admiral, to go to sea?” Examination of La Chesnaye, St. John’s Life of Raleigh, ii. 315. On the other hand, Raleigh denied on the scaffold having any intelligence with the French King, or his ambassador or agent (Edwards, i. 700.) Raleigh’s own confession will be quoted further on, when I come to speak of Montmorency’s commission.
[86] That James was influenced by popular clamour is plainly stated in the King’s Declaration, and receives full confirmation from Sarmiento’s despatches, as does the story of the letter from Winwood. I may here say that I cannot pass over the Declaration in so cavalier a manner as it is customary to do. It was Bacon’s production, and I, for one, do not believe that Bacon would purposely introduce false statements into such a document. He had before him a great mass of evidence which is now lost, and though I think he was led astray on the question of Raleigh’s belief in the existence of the mine, it is impossible to deny, that whenever a piece of fresh evidence turns up, it confirms the accuracy of his statements.
[87] After the meeting of the Privy Council, “aviendose platicado en esta materia (por los muchos valedores que tenia Gualtero) se acordó que antes de su partida diesse fianças de que no ponia pie en tierra que estuviesse por de V. Magd., ni haria á vasallos de V. Magd. el menor daño del mundo.” Minutes of Sarmiento’s despatches, March 20⁄30, &c. Simancas MSS. 2514, fol. 86. Buckingham to Winwood, March 28, Cayley, ii. 104. Compare the language of the minutes with the King’s Declaration, which thus receives an unexpected vindication.
[88] Carew Raleigh told Howel that James had promised his father to keep his secret. But Raleigh himself says nothing of the kind.
[89] Gondomar to Philip III., June 16⁄26, Simancas MSS. 2572, fol. 257. Cottington’s despatches from Madrid show plainly what the Spaniards were afraid of. “The going of Sir W. Raleigh to sea,” he writes, “is here extremely ill taken … the truth is, they fear that Sir W. Raleigh, failing of the gold he pretends to find, may (considering his strength) prove a dangerous infester of the coast of their Indies, where doubtless he shall find very poor resistance.” Again, in another letter, “I answer them, that without doubt the thing in itself is lawful;” yet, “I perceive they are so much nettled with it (not that they think Sir W. Raleigh will find any gold in Guiana, but that, missing it, he will commit some outrages in the coast of their Indies to repair the charge), as they intend to move some treaty for the prevention of the like or worse hereafter.” Cottington to Winwood, April 26. Cottington to Lake, April 26, S. P. Spain.
[90] Who, as Sir J. Erskine, had succeeded Raleigh as Captain of the Guard. He is described by Sarmiento as a moderate Protestant, whose wife had lately become a Catholic.
[91] Lord Wotton, Sir Henry’s elder brother. He afterwards became a Catholic.
[92] King’s speech, Bacon’s Letters and Life, vi. 146.
[93] The sum of His Majesty’s speech. Bacon’s Letters and Life, vi. 146. Bacon, in the paper on summoning Parliament, of which I have already spoken (Vol. II. p. 366) advised that a supply should be sought from Parliament by “the opinion of some great offer for a marriage of the Prince with Spain; not that I shall easily advise that that should be really effected, but I say the opinion of it may have singular use, both because it will easily be believed that the offer may be so great from that hand as may at once free the King’s estate; and chiefly, because it will be a notable attractive to the Parliament that hates the Spaniard, so to do for the King, as his state may not force him to fall upon that condition.” James seems to have preferred using the Parliament as a terror to the King of Spain, though he had, perhaps, not altogether abandoned the idea of reversing the process. “I thought,” writes Digby, soon after his arrival in Spain, “it would conduce more properly unto your Majesty’s intentions, which, your Majesty may remember you signified unto me, were to have the treaty of this match to go jointly together with the calling of a Parliament, for that otherwise” the King of Spain “seeing the treaty with France broken, and your Majesty out of necessity, as it were, cast upon him, would thereupon stand on the stricter conditions; whereas, otherwise, if he shall find or be persuaded that your Majesty is likely to be diverted from this match by the offers of your people, it is very probable he will restrain himself to more moderate demands. So likewise, on the other side, if the Parliament should see your Majesty in want or necessity, without any hope or other means of relieving yourself but by the supplies which should be granted unto your Majesty from them, I presume no discreet man will presume to rely singly upon their courtesies. But if they shall see your Majesty may be really and effectually supplied by the match of your son with Spain, I conceive the Parliament is like to be a body so composed that they will either stretch far for the diverting of your Majesty from the match; or if that your Majesty’s wants may be relieved by the Princess’s portion, and that your Majesty may speak to them as a Prince not in necessity, or that cannot subsist without them, your Majesty will doubtless find other language from them than in other times you have done.” Digby to the King, Oct. 8, 1617, S. P. Spain.
[94] Instructions to Digby, April 4. Prynne’s Hidden Works, 2.
[95] Lerma to the President of the Council, April 18⁄28, 1617, Simancas MSS. 2572, fol. 233.
[96] A remembrance additional to the instructions of Sir J. Digby, March 23, Bacon’s Letters and Life, vi. 158. See also Mr. Spedding’s Preface to the Advertisement touching a Holy War. Bacon’s Lit. and Prof. Works, ii. 3. The clause about ‘popular estates and leagues,’ refers, I suppose, to the opposition of the Dutch in the affair of the Merchant Adventurers, and to the plan which was at this time warmly discussed for removing the staple from Middelburg to Antwerp.
[97] Zinkeisen, Geschichte des Osmanischen Reichs, iv. 325.
[98] A true and certain Report of … Captain Ward and Dansker, by Andrew Barker, 1609.
[99] This feeling is illustrated by the prologue to Daborn’s play, ‘A Christian turned Turk.’
[100] Stow’s Annales, ed. Howes, 893. A relation of the success of the King of Spain’s Armada in 1609, S. P. Spain. The date is given by Howes erroneously as 1608. See also Cottington’s despatch of Sept. 28, 1609, in S. P. Spain. There is a full account of Sir Francis, whose portrait and staff are preserved at Claydon, in Mr. Bruce’s Verney Papers.
[101] “Few serve themselves with other than captive Turks and Moors, and so the multitude of them were very great.” Cottington to Salisbury, June 9, 1610. When Buckingham was in Spain in 1623, he asked the Marquis of Aytona to sell him a boy for 30l. Aston to Buckingham, Dec. 5, 1623, S. P. Spain.
[102] Cottington to Winwood, Aug. 19, 1616, ibid.
[103] Cottington to Winwood, May 20, 1617, ibid.
[104] Chamberlain to Winwood, May 2, 1610. Winw. Memorials, iii. 154.
[105] It must be remembered that a month or two earlier a proposal had <70>been made for a direct attack upon Genoa, by men with whom Southampton was intimate.
[106] Gondomar to Philip III., July 2⁄12, 1617, Simancas MSS. 2850, fol. 1. Naval Tracts of Sir W. Monson, in Churchill’s Voyages, iii. 167.
[107] Commissioners for the Spanish business in London to those with the King, April 30, Bacon’s Letters and Life, vi. 175.
[108] Commissioners with the King to those in London, May 6, S. P. Dom. xcii. 11.