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^ THE ROYAL NAVY
A HISTORY
FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT
6^un&/^ 'Sitw*
A History From the Earliest Times to the Present
By
Wm. Laird Clowes
Ftllow c/ Kings College, London : Gold Mtd-Uliit U.S. Naval InsliluU . Hon. Member of the R.U.S. Institution
Assisted by
Sir Clements Markham, K.C.B., P.R.G.S.
Captain A. T. Mahan, U.S.N.
Mr. H. W. Wilson
Mr. Theodore Roosevelt
Mr. E. Fraser
etc.
Twenty -five Photogravure*
and Hundreds of Full Page and other
Illustrations
Maps, Charts
etc.
In Five VoliiDies Vol. I.
LONDON
S.\MPSON Low, Marston and Company
LIMITED
^t. QuiiStmi'3 fijoiisf, jFcttcr Eaiu, iH.C. 1S97
LONDON: PRINTED BY WILUAM CLOWES AND SONS, Limited,
STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.
GENERAL PREFACE.
It is upon the Navy that, under the good providence of God, the wealth, the prosperity, and the peace of these islands, and of the Empire, mainly depend. Such, in effect, is the declaration of the preamble to the Ai-ticles of "War. No thoughtful and un- prejudiced Briton doubts the truth of the assertion. His know- ledge, superficial though it be, of the general course of modern history, tells him that, but for the Navy, Great Britain, on numerous occasions, would have lain at the mercy of foreign powers, which, had they had their will, would have left her neither riches nor liberty. It tells him also that the Navy has played as great a role in the development as in the protection of Britain's commerce and Empire. It has been instrumental in the discovery of some colonies, and in the acquisition of many others ; and it is, to this day, responsible for the maintenance of secure communication with all, and of pacific trade and traffic between the various portions of the Empire and other parts of the world. And while it has advanced in a peculiar manner the special interests of Great Britain, the Navy has been not without influence upon the progress of civiHsation generally. There has been no more powerful factor in the putting down of piracy, and in the practical suppression of the slave trade.
These things are known broadly to all, and are admitted by every one. Not monarchs, not statesmen, not scientists, not re- formers, not manufacturers, not even merchants or soldiers have contributed as much as the Navy has contributed towards the building up, the extension, and the preservation of the British Empire. But the nature and the working of this all-important force have been strangely neglected by the British historian, and more especially by the British student. The acts of our kings, our statesmen, our reformers, and our soldiers have been voluminously and exactly chronicled, so that he who runs may read. And for the
V GENERAL PREFACE.
benefit of bim \ybo cannot read wbile running, and wbo must bait and laboriously spell out tbe records of wbicb be would know sometbing, tbere are brief and popular general bistories, not all free, perbaps, from inaccuracies of details, yet, for tbe most part, full a nd fair enougb to impart a tolerably just impression of tbe sbare borne by tbese kings, statesmen, reformers and soldiers in tbe creation of tbe splendid social fabric in wbicb we live.
It is not bere suggested tbat Britisb readers take anytbing Uke full advantage of tbe vast stores of knowledge wbicb bave tbus been laid open to tbem. Indeed, tbe study of bistory is sadly neglected among us. Speaking as Professor of History at King's College, London, Mr. J. K. Laugbton bas said, " I am unbappily too well acquainted witb tbe sm-passing ignorance of tbe average young man."^ And otber professors of bistory, witb wbom I bave com- municated, fully bear out tbe lament of Professor Laugbton. Tbe general ignorance of tbe facts of modern Britisb bistory is particu- • arly insisted upon by all.
Yet, even if Britisb students were in tbe babit of tborougbly digesting tbe ordinary Britisb bistories wbicb are witbin tbeir reacb, tbey would still know little about tbe natvure and services of tbe Britisb Navy. Om- greater bistorians deal very sparingly witb tbose subjects. Many of tbem seem to bave been deterred by an exaggerated estimate of tbe attendant difficulties, or by an impression tbat naval bistory is far too tecbnical to be understood by lay people. Otbers bave altogetber failed to awaken to tbe importance of tbe matter, and bave, by tbat very failm-e, convicted tbemselves of incompetence. As for tbe popular bistorians, tbe compilers of scbool bistories, text-books, and sucb-like, tbey bave for tbe most part, and indeed almost witbout exception, bungled, wbere tbe}' bave not shamefully scamped, tbe facts of om- naval story.
This neglect is doubly strange. Tbe modern Britisb bistorians of ancient Greece and Eome bave not to tbe same extent avoided or misrepresented tbe naval side of tbeir subject. Many of us can, I am sure, ecbo mucb of Dr. Miller Maguire's complaint tbat in early life "be was actually obliged to learn off by beart all tbe little nautical incidents of tbe Peloponnesian War, and to study tbe tactics and carrying power of tbe vessels of tbe Cartbaginians and tbe Eomans, wbile no one ever dreamt of telling bim anything ' ' Tlie Study of Naval HiRtorv ' ; paperiread at the K. U. S. I., March 11th, 1896.
GENERAL PREFACE. VU
about Hawke, or Boscawen, or CoUingwood, or our other naval heroes." '
Yet the neglect by the general historian of the naval side of our history is but the natui-al result of the indifference or shortcomings of many of those who might have forced this part of his work more specially upon his attention, and who might have facilitated his laboiu-s and smoothed away his real or supposed difficulties. Until Schomberg^ wrote, the British naval officer, whose position and training gave him exceptional advantages for the understanding and presentation of the facts, and the conclusions to be di-awn from them, was, for all practical purposes, almost silent on the subject. Sir Wilham Monson, it is true, and several other officers, have left us treatises on naval subjects ; and Pepys, who was a captain, B.N., has bequeathed us a mass of invaluable material for history ; but these are not naval historians. Schomberg's book is so full of inaccuracy as to be almost entirely devoid of value. Then followed Brenton. Brenton's essay ^ was a failure. He understood, it may be, something of what naval history ought to be ; but bis numerous prejiidices, national and personal, his lack of discrimination, and his ignorance of, or indifference to, the common-sense rules as to the admission or rejection of evidence, tainted his work from beginning to end. Moreover, Brenton dealt only with an historical episode.
The next naval officer to attempt the writing of British naval history was Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas. His effort * was eminently successful so far as it went, but it was rendered a comparative failure by the imtimely death of the historian when he was still at the outset of his gigantic work. The scheme of it was indeed a most generous and ample one. Nicolas spared no pains in research ; he was never satisfied until he had consulted the best contemporary authorities for the details of every event ; and he devoted as much attention to the civil history of the Navy, and to the development of its material, as to its military exploits. The result was, that although
' In discussion of Prof. Lauglitou's paper, Marcli lltli, 1896.
'^ Capt. Isaac Schoinberg, R.N. : ' Naval Clirouulogy, or an Historical Summary of Naval aud Maritime Events, from the time of the Romans to the Treaty of Peace, 1802.' 5 vols. 1802.
* Capt. Edward Pelliam Brenton, R.N. : ' The Naval History of Great Britain, 17.83 to 1836.' 2 vols. 1897. A revised and enlarged edition of an earlier work by the same author.
' Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas : ' A History of the British Navy, from the Earliest Times to the Wars of the French Revolution,' 2 vols. 1817. I cull Nicolas a naval officer, but he retired early from the Navy.
VUl GENERAL PREFACE.
he lived to complete two volumes, he brought his story down only to the year 1422. To continue the work upon the same lines up to the year 1793, as he piu-posed, he would, I estimate, have needed at least fifteen, and possibly twenty, volumes more. It may be doubted whether any writer who is already in middle life is justified in undertaking, and looking forward to the single-handed completion of, a book framed on such a colossal and ambitious scale. Nicolas, however, chose to venture upon the forlorn hope. His brilliant failure is less astonishing, though scarcely less meritorious, than his success would have been.
Since Nicolas's time, there have been but two serious British naval writers on British naval history — Professor J. K. Laughton, E.N., and Vice-Admiral P. H. Colomb. The former has given us a number of admirable, though short, studies, mamly biographical,^ and has done invaluable editorial work, especially in connection with the publications of the Navy Eecords Society. The latter has produced a learned and useful book,^ which, though it deserves mention here, belongs rather to the domain of technical criticism than to that of ordinary history.
In addition to the major writers already named, Lieutenant John Marshall, E.N.,^ Admiral Sir Charles Ekins,^ Lieutenant Miles, E.N.,^ Mr. A. Duncan, E.N.," Captain S. M. Eardley-Wilmot, E.N., Mr. Joseph Allen, E.N.,' Commander C. N. Eobinson, and others, besides the authors of numerous biographical volumes, compilations, controversial pamphlets, and technical treatises, belong to the category of naval men who, with more or less success, have striven to elucidate the history of their profession.
Yet, in spite of all this, the Navy has done relatively little towards making pubhc the true story of the progress and work of the service. For this there are obvious reasons. A British naval officer, especially if he be of the executive branch, does not receive, and never has received, in early life, sirch training as fits him for the avocation of letters. His education does not specially en-
' Some of these were collected in ' Studies in Naval Historj-,' 1887.
2 ' Naval AVarfai-e.'
3 Lieut. John Marshall, E.N. : ' Koyal Naval Biography,' 12 vols. 1823-29.
' Admiral Sir Charles Ekins : ' Naval Battles, from 1714 to the Peace in 1814, critically reviewed and illustrated.'
° ' Epitome of the lloyal Naval Service,' 1841. ' ' The Mariuer's Clironicle,' C vols, 1750 ; etc. ' 'The Battles of the British Navy."
GENERAL PREFACE. IX
corn-age him to study history, nor, during his active career, does he usually enjoy many opportunities for reading, stiU less for original research. The executive officer, therefore, who can ultimately, like Nicolas or Colomh in the British, or like Mahan in the United States Navy, free himself from the grooves of his professional vocation, and attain distinction in the new walk of hfe, must be a man of exceptional qualifications, and must always be a vara avis.
The civihan writers on British naval history have been more numerous. They include, among many — and I name only those of some eminence — Josiah Biu'chett, who succeeded Pepys as Secretaiy of the Admiralty, Samuel Colliber, John Lediard, Dr. John Camp- bell (and his continuators). Sir S. Berkeley, Hervey, Dr. Entick, Dr. Eobert Beatson, John Charnock, Charles Derrick, William James, Southey, and others, down to Mr. M. Oppenheim, besides biograx)hers like O'Byrne and Fox Bourne.
As a critical naval historian, we have, I am afraid, no Enghsh- man, either naval or civil, who approaches in accuracy, lucidity, and charm of style Captain A. T. Mahan, of the United States Navy. Another American naval historian who, however, is a civilian, has, it seems to me, shown a measure of intentional honesty and fairness which, unhappily, does not always characterise those British writers who have dealt with the same subject. I mean Mr. Theodore Eoosevelt, the writer of the history of the war of 181'2.
But it is not my intention to introduce here a naval bibUography, nor, if it were my wish to do so, would space suffice. ' I thus briefly summarise some little of the historical work that has been done in connection with the Eoyal Navy, merely in order to lead up to a statement of the chief considerations which have induced me to midertake the present book, and which have influenced me in elaborating its scheme, and in seeking assistance from others in carrying it out.
Having carefully surveyed what has been done, and having examined into the causes of failui-e, where failure or comparative failure has resulted, and into the causes of success, where success has been conspicuous, I have had certain convictions forced upon me. One is that a general naval history framed upon the scale of Nicolas's, is too huge for practical use. People will not now-a-days purchase a book in twenty volumes. Still less will they read it. Yet a general naval history, dealing with all the aspects of the
X GENERAL PREFACE.
service, from the earliest times to the present, does not exist, and is hadly needed. Another is that a naval history, planned upon Uiaes other than the most restricted, is too great a work to be tmdertaken by any single wTiter. Pepys designed such a history, but did not get much beyond the collection of part of his material for it. Nicolas began such a history, but lived to complete only two volumes of it.
So much for the failures to complete. The failures to satisfy are more numerous. I find that Schomberg and others fail because they are grossly and carelessly inaccurate. Brenton fails because he is prejudiced and injudicial. James partially fails because, although he is painstaking and, with few exceptions, fair, he is a chronicler rather than a historian ; he does not sufiiciently attempt to explain causes and motives ; he does not adequately dwell upon results and deductions. Lediard and others fail because, instead of depending first of all upon original sources of information, they have been content to go first of all to second-hand ones, and only occasionally or subsidiarily to the best of all authorities. And it must be admitted that nearly all British writers of naval history, Nicolas being the only prominent exception, have devoted their ahnost exclusive attention to recording military operations, and have left in comparative neglect such equally important matters as naval administration, the development of the materiel and jyersonnel of the service, the progress in the arts of navigation, gunnery, etc., the social life and customs of the sea, and even, in some cases, the stoiy of naval expeditions of discovery.
On the other hand, James and Nicolas and Mahan are eminently satisfj'ing to this extent — James, in that he is, as a rule, laborious and conscientious ; Nicolas, in that he is learned, full, and com- prehensive ; and Mahan, in that he is luminous and scruj)ulously fair, and has applied the teachings of the past to the possibihties of the present and the future.
It was naturally my desire both to complete my imdertaking and to satisfy the reader; and, falling into communication on the subject with Mr. E. B. Marston, of the publishing firm, I agreed with him, after we had discussed the general project, that a work in five or six volmnes of the size now in hand might be made to contain a sufficiently comprehensive account of the military history of the Royal Navy from the earliest times to the present without necessi- tating any undue neglect of the civil history, of the development of
GENERAL PREFACE. XI
the materiel and 2)crson)icJ, or of the story of the more peaceful yet still active triumphs of the service ; and that it would he roomy enough to contain such illustrations as would be requisite for the due supplementing of the text.
But I confessed myself unwilling to embark alone upon the business. I had, for many years previously, made a special study of our naval history ; but I had studied some periods more attentively than others, and in most periods there were very many events into the records of which I had made no very deep researches. I there- fore deemed it advisable to seek for assistance if I was to set about the preparation of such a history as we had spoken of.
And as to the scope and plan of the work I determined, if possible, to attempt the difficult task of combining some proportion of the various qualities which, as above noted, have rendered the works of James, Nicolas, and Mahan, each in its own way, peculiarly acceptable. This scheme involved the separation of the civil and the mihtary history of the Navy, as Nicolas has separated them, and the full treatment of both ; the recourse on every possible occasion to first-hand and official sources of information, after the example set by James and by Nicolas ; the pointing of such broad lessons as seem to be plainly taught by the events of the past, and to be applicable to the events of time to come, after the fashion begun by INIahan and Colomb ; and, finally, the scrupulous siappression of international or personal prejudice. The importance, as a factor in the building i;p of the Empire, of maritime discovery and its intimate association with the Eoyal Navy, obliged me to enlarge the scheme, so, as to include special chapters dealing with that also. And, for convenience, I determined to break up the general story into parts.
Thus digested, the plan of the History stands as follows : The work is divided into fifteen historical sections, each of which corresponds either with the duration of a dynasty or a political period, or with the endurance of a great war. The first section (.Chapters I.-III.) covers the period previous to 1066 ; the second section, the Norman Age — 1066-1154 ; the third section, the Angevin Age — 1154-1399 ; the fourth section, the Lancastrian and Yorkist Age — 1399-1485 ; the fifth section, the Tudor Age — 1485-1603 ; the sixth section, the first Stuart Age— 1603-1649 ; the seventh section, the time of the Commonwealth — 1649-1660 ; the eighth section, the age of the Eestoratiou and the Eevolution
XU GENERAL PREFACE.
— 1660-1714 ; the ninth section, the early Hanoverian Age — 1714-1763 ; the tenth section, the period of American Eevokition — 1763-1793 ; the eleventh section, the vi^ars of the French Eevolution — 1793-1802 ; the twelfth section, the Napoleonic and American wars — 1802-1815 ; the thirteenth section, the period from 1815 to the building of the first ironclads in 1856 ; and the fom-teenth and last section, the period since 1856.
Each of these sections is subdivided into chapters, dealing respectively with the civil history of the Navy, the military history of the Navy, and the history of voyages and maritime discovery during the period under review. In the case of certain sections, the importance of the naval campaigns in which great fleets were employed has led to a further subdivision of the portion treating of the military history. The major operations are in those cases described separately from the minor operations in which only two or three vessels, or small detachments, were engaged. In the tweKth section, moreover, a special chapter is devoted to the war with the United States.
Illustrations from contemporary and original sources, a full index to each volume, and a general subject index included in the last volume, will complete the work.
The gentlemen who have been so good as to associate their names with mine on the title-page of the book, and the chapters for which each has kindly undertaken the responsibility, are : —
a r, nr T- ^ -r. , , I TliB HistoFv of VovasTes and Discoveries,
Sir Clements Markham, K.C.B., late , ,„„ ,„,,o , ■ ' r?^ , ^^t,-t -i-ta.-
Tj -NT T. -J i I. i. T. iV. ) 14bu-l&y8 ; being Chapters XVI., i.I\.,
R.N President of the Royal Geo- ^ ^^^,^^ ^k^ XXXIV.,
graphical Society . . . . | xXXVIIL, XLIIL, XLVII., and L.
Captain A. T. Mahan, D.C.L., LL.D. ; i „„ ^,. . , ,, . ^.t , ,^,
TTC! XT / i.- i\ 11 i- 1 rr-i Ihe History of the Major ISaval Cam"
U.S. Navy (retired), author of ' The . , ^ ,.-,-..., ■ r„
Ta rc!T> TT-i>y paiirns, 1 1 (jo-1 1 'J.J, bemj' Chai)ter
Influence of Sea Power upon History, ( ',?,,'
' •' XXXII. etc. . . . . . .1
(The History of Voyages and Discoveries up to 1485, being Chapters III., VI., ri>i " t't' / ' /i., Tll- -VT 1 ^
. A (.■ > J. ' \ Ihe History of the Minor Naval Opera-
' ' .... tioiis, 1763-1815 (except those of the
War of 1812), being Chapters XXXIII., XXXVIL, and XLII.
Mr. Theodore Eoosevelt, author of -i The History of the War with the United 'The Naval War of 1812,' etc. . ./ States, 1812-15, being Chapter XLI.
Mr. Edward Fraser . . ) '^''"= Military History of the Navy, 1603-
■ t 1600, being Chapters XVIII. and XXI.
GENEltAL PliKFACE. XIU
But tliis by no means exhausts the Hst of those who have co- operated with me iu the work. There are two other classes of liclpers to whom I am at least equally indebted. . One class includes those who for months have spent their time in libraries and muni- ment rooms, making researches, copying docimients, hunting up portraits, plans, and pictures, and verifying references on my behalf. To them, for the manner in which they have laboured, and for the numerous suggestions which they have laid before me, I cannot too deeply express my thanks. The other class, a very much larger one, includes the volunteer helpers. Among them are navah officers, British and foreign, and distinguished historical and technical authorities. My indebtedness to these will be found specially acknowledged in various places throughout the volumes, either in the footnotes, or in the introductions. I am desirous of here recording my peculiar obligations to Mr. E. B. Marston, who has unceasingly interested himself in the progress of the work, and has helped me in obtaining, or securing a sight of, many valuable documents and little-known pamphlets and books which, otherwise, must have escaped my notice.
Upon one other subject I must say a word, though I say it a little unwillingly. When it became known in the United States that my friends Captain Mahau and Mr. Theodore Eoosevelt were to contribute to the hook chapters dealing with our unhappy con- flicts with America, a certain New York literary journal, which generally displays better taste, congratulated itself that at last English readers would be told the whole truth about those wars. It went on_^to insinuate with gratuitous offensiveuess that, although Captain Mahan, being perhaps spoilt by British appreciation of his books, might hesitate to speak out, Mr. Eoosevelt might be trusted to reflect American opinion in its most micompromising form, and that I might live to be sorry for having secured the co-operation of that distinguished writer and administrator.
I regret this outburst, and I sincerely trust that the journal iu question will, if only for the sake of international and personal comity, refrain from repeating it. Those among us who have studied the subject at all have known the truth about these wars for many a long year, and although we may not be uniformly proud of the parts which Great Britain has played as against the United States, we have no reason for desiring the suppression of any one of the facts. Like all the great characters of histoiy, nations have
xiv GENES AL PREFACE.
ever had their weaknesses and their shortcomings. The story of their occasional pettinesses and errors is often quite as instructive as the record of their normally great and noble actions; and he vFould be but a poor and short-sighted lover of his country, or of his hero, who should seek to heighten the glory of an established fame by painting out its shadows. Neither Great Britain nor the United States has uniformly behaved hke an angel : neither ever vvdU behave in that manner. But I beheve that both are essentially honest, and that both, especially when time is allowed them for cool reflection, desire truth and justice with equal sincerity.
Yet, after all, that is a small matter. The point that stiaick me as being most ungenerous in the attack of the New York j)aper was the suggestion directed, not against us Britons, but against Captain Mahan and Mr. Eoosevelt. To insinuate that one of these is capable of deliberately subtracting from the truth in order to pander to Enghsh vanity, and that the other is capable of dehberately adorning the truth in order to pander to American Chauvinism, is surely to outrage the honour of both and to besmirch the dignity of American history. I sought, and I welcome, the co-operation of these gentlemen because the transparent good faith of their writings has deeply impressed itself upon me, and because I have ever been of opinion that, coeteris iMrihus, Americans are alike as capable and as desirous as Englishmen of exercising impartiality. It seems to me fair, moreover, to let both sides be heard, and that I could not possibly offer surer giiarantees of my anxiety to do strict justice than by inviting distinguished American writers to co-operate in this work on equal terms with Englishmen. Any historian, no matter his good faith, may err, as weU in his facts as in his conclusions ; but if either Captain Mahan or Mr. Eoosevelt err it wiU not, I promise both Enghsh and American readers, be on the score of national prejudice or personal insincerity. I only wish that the two countries could be induced to permanently co-operate in the making of history with as single an aim as we Britons and our American cousins are on this occasion endeavouiing to write it.
To the reader — and with him I include the critic — I must add yet another word. The task which my fellow-workers and I have undertaken is one full of difhculties and pitfalls. Some periods of our naval history are now comprehensively dealt with for the first time. Others, which have been dealt with over and over again, have been cobwebbed with myths and en'ors. I know not whether
GENERAL PREFACE. XV
it be easier to compile new records or to remove the dust and defacement from old ones, but I know by experience that the labour, if conscientiously performed, is, in each case, such as few who have not attempted it can realise. The contradictions to be found in two or more authorities, apparently of equal weight and equal trust- worthiness, are often so serious and fundamental as apparently to defy reconciliation or explanation. Sometimes, indeed, two eye- witnesses, watching an operation on board the same ship, have left entirely contradictory accounts both of the sequence and of the issue of the events observed. Nor can statements even in official dis- patches. State papers, and Government returns, be always accepted without corroboration. It has been our business to meet and vanquish these and other difficulties to the best of our ability, and we have spared neither time nor pains in searching for the truth. But the mass of material to be consulted is so colossal that errors of omission as well as of commission cannot but abound in a work like the present. I trust, therefore, tluat the book may not be too harshly judged. Such faults as may be detected in it must, in any event, be attributed least of all to prejudice. We have desired to set down facts without fear or favour, and to draw such conclusions only as are justified by the evidence offered ; and it will be a great satisfaction to all of us, even although we may fail to some extent in other respects, if the sincerity of our intentions escape all impeachment.
INTRODUCTION TO VOLUME I.
In the preparation of the civil and mihtary history of the Navy, prior to 1422, Nicolas, as was inevitable, has been generally followed, although important additions to, and some corrections of, his work y have been deemed necessary. His references have also been verified wherever possible.
After the major part of this volmne had been put in type, the appearance of Mr. M. Oppenheim's invaluable ' History of the Administration of the Royal Navy, 1509-1660 ' (John Lane), and of the same learned author's, ' Naval Accounts and Inventories of the Eeign of Henry VII.' (Navy Eecords Society), called attention to several neglected sources of information. These have been utilised, and Mr. Oppenheim's two volumes have, besides, been largely quoted from. To another publication of the Navy Eecords Society, Professor Laughton's, ' State Papers Eelating to the Spanish Armada,' a great debt is due. Both it, and Captain Duro's works dealing with affairs of the same eventful time, have, as will be seen, been freely drawn upon. To Mr. Oppenheim personally, I owe several useful suggestions. It is a matter of great regret to me that both Professor Laughton and Mr. Oppenheim were obliged to decline invitations to contribute some chapters to this volume, and that one of the grounds of the latter's refusal was the uncertainty of his health.
To Dr. W. F. Tilton, of Newport, Ehode Island, who has made a special stiidy of the Armada period, I am particularly obliged. He has generously placed some of his very careful work at my disposal, and I have been glad to take full advantage of liis kindness. My thanks are due as well to Colonel John Scott, C.B., for most interesting biographical information concerning early books on - shipping and navigation. Similar acknowledgments are owing to VOL. I. b
t>
xviii INTnODUGTION TO VOLUME I.
Mr. Cory ton, oi the Inner Temple, for suggestion on the same subjects. And I would gratefully thank the various noblemen and gentlemen who have allowed the publishers to reproduce pictures, charts, etc., in their possession ; and last, but not least, the authorities of numerous pubhc libraries and similar institutions at home and abroad, for the unvarying and unwearying kindness with which they have assisted both me and also those searchers who have had occasion to ask their aid on my behalf.
It is hoped that Volume II., bringing down the history to the year 1760, may be ready for delivery in September.
CONTENTS
VOLUME I.
CHAPTER r.
PACK
Civil History ok Naval iVKKAiRS to lOGG. . . .1
CHAPTER TT. Military History of ISTaval Affairs to 106G . . . .23
CHAPTER III.
VOYACES AND DiSCOVEKIES TO 1066 . . . . . . Tjo
CHAPTER IV. Civil History of Naval Affairs, 1066-115-t . . . .71
"' CHAPTER V.
MiLiTAitY History of Naval Affairs, I0G6-lloi . . .84
CHAPTER VI.
Voyages and Discovekies, 1066-1154 ..... y.'i
CHAPTER VII.
Civil History of this Navy, 11.54-1.399 .... 98
CHAPTER VIII. .Military History of tue N.wy, 1154-1399 .... 160
XX CONTENTS OF VOLUME I.
CHAPTER IX.
PAGE
Voyages and Discoveries, 1154-1399. ..... 303
CHAPTER X. Civil History of the Xavy, 1399-1485 338
CHAPTER XI. Military History of the Navy', 1399-1485 .... 355
CHAPTER XII.
V^OY'AGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1399-1485 ..... 394
CHAPTER XIII. Civil History of the Navy, 1485-1603 399
CHAPTER XIV. Military History of the Navy, 1485-1603 .... 441
CHAPTER XV. The Campaign of the Spanish Armada ..... 539
CHAPTER XVI. Voyages and Discoveries, 1485-1603. ..... 605
INDEX 659
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
VOLUME I.
PHOTOGRAVURE PLATES.
PAGE
Thomas Howard, Earl op Surrey, 3rd Duke op Norfolk . Frontwpieco
Robert Devereux, Earl op Essex .... To face .512
Charles, Lord Howard op Epfingham, High Admiral ,, .538
Sib Francis Drake ....... „ 622
Sir Walter Ralegh. ...... ,, 646
FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.
The Gokstad Ship: elevation and deck plan . . Tu face 18
The Gokstad Ship : views from the starboard and the port quarter .....
Ruysch's Chart, 1508 .....
Chart from the Ptolem.ean Codex of ca. 1467. The Zeno Chart ......
The Olaus Magnus Map op 1539
Embarkation of Henry VIII. at Dover .
A Galley .......
A Galley .......
The Encampment of the English near Portsmouth, 1545
Arrival op Leicester at Flushing, 1586 .
The Armada off the Lizazd, July 19th, 1588 .
The Armada off Fowey, July 20th, 1588.
The First Engagement with the Armada .
Capture of the " San Salvador "...
20 322 322 334 336 406 450 462 464 486 560 562 ■564 566
XXll
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Captuee of Don Pedro de Valdes . The Armada ee-engaged, July 23rd, 1588 Engagement off the Isle of Wight. The Armada chased towards Calais. The Armada dislodged by Fireships. The " San Lorenzo " aground .
PAGE
To face 568 570 572 574 576 578
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT.
[r/ic iUustralioiix inarkn! thus Oyarc taken from 'A Naval Exjjositm;' hij Tliumas Bihii Blam ivith fii'jrarino-'i hij Paul Foimhinifr. London, 1750.]
Initial Letter from Lediard's ' Naval History
A Roman Galley {Inter period) .
The Gokstad Ship : details (5 cuts) .
The Gokstad Ship : carving on oar .
1 Ship's Watch-Bell ....
Roman Libuenus, or galley with one tier of oaes
^ Moorings
1 Creeper ....
Noeman War-vessel : eleventh century
The "Mora" .
Misleading Effksy of a Ship {From Jul)
1 Hanging Compass
Harold's Ship .
1 Bilboes ....
^ Pinnace ....
Galley : fourteenth century
Gold Noble of Edward III.
Primitive Wiris-wodnd Gun
Seal of Lyme Regis.
Seal op Southampton
Seal op the Barons op Dover
Ancient Guns and Shot .
Ancient Dividers or Compasses
' Double Iron-bound Blocks
' Careening Hulk
Chart of the Strait op Dovee.
lilen ;
20
22
2:5
25
54
71
72
77
83
84
85
92
98
143
145
148
155
155
15G
158
158
159
161
188
ILLUSTIlATWNH.
XXlll
Map of the Loweh Netiiuri.ands
' Pennant.
' Powder-room Lantern
' Snatch Block
^Flag of Lord Hicn Admiral
Ship : fourteentji century
Ships : fourteenth century
From the MS. Life of Uriiard Beauchamp,
From the MS. Life op Richard Beaucham
1 Gin, for Pile-drivin(;
' Parrells
From the MS. Life op Richard Beaucham
Seal of John Holland, Duke of Exeter,
'Brass Box Compass.
' Hacboat
' Bitt.s ....
' Smack-rigged Sloop
Early Astrolabe
Cross-Staff
Back-Staff, or Davis's Quadrant
The "Henry Grace a Dieu" {the Norrk pi
The " Henry Grace a Dieu " {the Pcpi/a i
CuLVERiN Bastard : sixteenth century
Brass Gun from the " Mary Rose " .
Elizabethan Falconet
A Genoese Carrack.
Vessels : fourteenth century .
The Galley "Subtle"
An Elizabethan Ship of War .
Si.x-angel Piece of Edward VI.
Elizabethan Seaman.
Gold Rial of Elizabeth .
Chart of Thames Mouth, L")80.
' Careening . . .
Chart of Ferrol and Uorunna.
Chart of Lisbon ....
Sir Martin Frobisei;
, Earl of Warwick p, Earl of Warwick
p, Earl of Warwick Lord High Admihal
■Jure) tiire)
PAtl K
•252
302
.30:5
337
338
339
3-il
345
350
354
355
37G
383
393
394
398
.399
400
401
403
40(1
407
408
409
412
113
415
422
424
420
428
433
435
442
491
492
499
XXIV
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Admiral, Jan van Duijvenvoorde
Chart op Cadiz Harbour .
George Clifford, Earl of Cumberland
' Wheel .
' Bomb Vessel .
An English Ship of War, 1588
The Beacons of Kent
A Ship of the Armada
1 Triangles
1 Brigantine
Sir Hugh Willoughby
Sir John Hawkyns .
Thomas Cavendish .
' Azimuth Compass .
page 510
514
525
538
539
552
563
564
585
605
614
618
636
658
NAVAL HISTORY
CHAPTER I.
' CIVIL HISTORY (IK NAVAL AFFAIES TO 1066.
The priuiitive Britcm and the sea— KaHy Bfitish vessels— Coimiiercial relations with the continent — Ships ol' the Veneti— Maritime impotence of Britain at (Ja'sar's invasion— Picte — Cc-Bsav's ships— Britain uniler the Romans— Roman harbours in Britain The Scots and I'icts— The Saxon invaders- Their origin and character- Anglo-Saxon ships— Rise of Mercia— Offa's fleet —Rise of Wessex — Alfred's mari- time i)olicy Edgar — Danegeld — The Danish invaders — Greatness of Canute —
Danish ships Port dues — Tenures of the maritime towns — Smallness of the
iioniianent navy— 'Phe Hokstad sliiji and its construction.
MONG the inhabitants of Britain, a large number have in all ages followed the sea. In the days of extreme antiquity, when the greater part of the island was covered with forests in which wild beasts, and possibly wilder human beings, roamed, knowing no law save that of the strongest ; when marshes and lakes were more common, and watercourses broader, than they are now, and when there was little tillage, the seas and rivers yielded a readier harvest than the land.
So long as society remained unorganised, the man who planted a field gave to precarious fortune most valuable hostages in the shape of his labour and his seed. Any man more powerful than he might, without much trouble, deprive him of the fruit of both by driving him from his hard-won patch, and occupying it. Yet, even while society was in its earliest infancy, there was a certain kind of safety afloat for him who knew how to manage paddle and sail. He could not easily be ousted from his chosen fishing-grounds. To oust him — nay, seriously to interfere with him afioat — required not merely brute
VOL. I. B
FI:c)M LKDIAKD S XAVAL H15TOKY, 1735.
2 CIVIL EISTOBY TO 1066. [B.C 55.
strength but also skill and experience. The lowest man in the scale of that dawning civilisation could handle the club and the mattock ; but, from the first, the trade of seaman or fisherman was an art and mystery. The primitive Briton was, therefore, more secure in his position, as well as more independent, as a seaman, or at least as a riverman, than as a landsman. On the water he escaped having to contend with wild beasts and with much human tp'anny. As for the elements, he made it the peculiar business of his life to understand and adopt them. They cannot have been more cruel than the dangers of the shoi'e. And from river, lake, and sea he could be sure of drawing supplies of food without the trouble either of sowing or of reaping.
These considerations must have powerfully influenced the early Britons who found themselves near stream or ocean or mere, for they have profoundly influenced all primitive peoples, and especially those of the old world. They led them, not merely to seek their living on the water, but also to biuld their habitations on or above the water. In the neolithic period there were lake dwellings in Britain as well as in Switzerland and other parts of Em-ope ; and many of the Irish " crannoges," or artificial islands, which were strongholds of petty chiefs as late as the sixteenth century, were striictures dating back to prehistoric times. Soon, of course, as the numbers of those who lived on or by the water increased, the relative security of their calling diminished. Boats began to be stolen, nets to be destroyed, lines to be removed. Still, however, there was the substantial attraction of the never failing harvest of the waters ; and still a man enjoyed more liberty afloat than he could hope to enjoy ashore, unless, indeed, he happened to be a very powerful personage.
It is impossible to determine with certainty what was the nature of the earliest British vessels. But it is established by Csesar^ that in his time the inhabitants made use, probably in addition to craft of stronger build, of boats very little different from the coracles \\hich may still be occasionally seen on the upper reaches of the Severn, and from the light and unstable skiffs wherein the fishermen of Mayo and Galway \'enture to sea to this daj' in almost all weathers. They were, in effect, canoes, framed of light wood so arranged as to support and give strength to a hull of basket-work, and then covered with hides. They may have well existed long l)efore Caesar's time ; and they probably represented the first type
' ' De Bell. Civ.,' i. 54.
B.C. 55.J BltlTAlN AND THE CONTINENT. 3
of British vessel that was anything more than a raft. There seems to have been generally no sail or mast ; and the instrument of propulsion was, almost without doubt, the paddle.
Yet, although the hide canoe appears to have been the earliest craft known to our ancestors, it is difhcult to believe that, as late as the days of Cassar, the islanders had nothing better. Pytheas,' about 330 B.C., found, in what is now Kent, a degree of civilisation which surprised even his highly civilised companions from Massilia. I'osidonius, who was Cicero's tutor, describes the tin-workers of the island as being civilised and clever at their work, and as possessing waggons of some sort. In those times there were certainly iron- works in the valley of the Severn, and British princelings certainly coined money in distant imitation of Greek originals. Moreover, it is incredible that the Britons, who for generations had seen Phoenician ships and craft from the Greek colonies in the Mediter- ranean, visiting their coasts for tin, could have omitted to copy the superior foreign types. Nor is it probable that if our ancestors owned only hide canoes, they could have habitually crossed the British Channel, as C^sar himself suggests that they did cross it.
There is no evidence that any prince of Britain, inspired by principles of general policy, organised a combination of his fellow princes, either to send maritime assistance to the mainlanders who resisted the Koman seizure of the continental shores of the Channel, or to repel the threatened invasion of his own country. Indeed, the evidence is rather to the effect that the more powerful princes were on such ill terms among themselves that they could not combine, at least for operations by sea. Yet there was some combination for offensive defence, if not among the princes of Britain, then among the merchants and shipowners of the seaboard. It was, no doubt, dictated by considerations of common interests, rather than by the formal behests of people in authority ; and the probable explanation is that the fishermen and traders of the southern British coasts, who had long had some maritime traftic with the tribes ever against them on the coasts of Gaul, apprehended in some vague way that a Boman conquest would deprive them of it. We may even suppose blood ties to have existed between the two races, and the menaced mainlanders to have appealed, in their hour of peril, to the friend- ship of the islanders. Be this as it may, both Caesar and Strabo, as well as native traditions, declare Britain and Gaul to have had ' Fragments of his ' Peri|iUis,' ed. Arwoilsun.
H 2
4 CIVIL EISTOET TO 106C. [B.C. 55.
commercial relations for a long period anterior to the Julian invasion ;' and we have Caesar's word for it that when, in his advance, he came into contact ■with the Veneti, who dwelt near the mouth of what is now the Loire, he found that he had to fight not only them, but also a British flotilla acting with them.
Unhappily, Caesar does not expressly describe the vessels of the British contingent. It has been seen that he elsewhere mentions certain British craft as having been made of wicker covered with hide. Of these he speaks contemptuously, when he criticises their suitability for war ; and Lucan ^ takes up much the same position . But neither Caesar nor Lucan applies this criticism to the craft that co-operated with the Veneti ; and, when we pay regard to the fact that to enter the mouth of the Loire our ancestors, in addition to crossing the stormy Channel, must have braved the terrors of the Bay of Biscay, we are almost driven to the conclusion that the ships which helped the Veneti were not hide canoes. It is much more likely, seeing that Ccesar devotes no special description to them, that they were not very different from the ships of the Veneti themselves. These he does describe, and in some detail. " Their ships," ^ he says, " were built and fitted out in this manner. The bottoms were somewhat flatter than those of our vessels, the better to adapt them to the shallows, and to enable them to with- stand without danger the ebbing of the tide. Their bows, as like- wise their sterns, were very lofty and erect, the better to bear the magnitude of the waves and the violence of the tempests. The hull of each vessel was entirely of oak, to resist the shocks and assaults of that stormy sea. The benches for the rowers were made of strong beams of about a foot in breadth, and were fastened with iron bolts an inch thick. They fastened their anchors with iron chains * instead of with cables ; and they used skins and a sort of thin pliant leather for sails, either because they lacked canvas and were ignorant of the art of making sailcloth, or more probably because they believed that canvas sails were not so fit to bear the stress of tempests and the rage and fury of the winds, and to drive ships of that bulk and burden. Our fleet and the vessels
' Cffisar, 'De Bell. Gall.,' iii. L'l ; iv. liO.
- ' Pliarsal.,' iv.
^ 'DeBcll. Gall.,'iii. 13.
■* An example of " nothing new under the sun." Chain fal>les for shijis of war were again adoi)teil in the nineteenth century, after hempen cables had served fur uiiwards of a thousand years.
B.C. O.5.] VENETAN VESSELS. 5
of such construction were as follows as regards fighting capabilities. In the matter of manoeuvring power and ready command of oars, we had an advantage ; but in other respects, looking to the situation of the coast and the stormy weather, all ran very much in their favour ; for neither could our ships injure theirs with their prows, so great were the strength and solidity of the hostile craft, nor could we easily throw in our darts, because of the loftiness of the foe above us. And this last fact was also a reason why we found it extremely difficult to grapple with him, and bring him to close action. More than all, when the sea began to get up, and when the enemy was obliged to run before it, he, fearing nothing from the rocks and chffs when the tide should ebb, could, in addition to weathering the storm better, trust himself more confidently among the shallows." A complete victory^ was gained, nevertheless; and, no doubt, the British contingent was destroyed.
That Selden wrote primarily as a politician, and only secondarily as a historian, when he produced ' Mare Clausum," has been too much overlooked by later writers, and especially by Dr. John Campbell" and his editors, who follow Selden^ in finding, in a statement by Ctesar, evidence that the ancient Britons "had the dominion of their own seas in the most absolute degree." The statement is to the effect that Csesar could get no information concerning the country or ports of Britain, because the inhabitants permitted none but merchants to visit their island, and restrained even them from travelling up the country.'' As well might it be argued that the Chinese of our own days " have the dominion of their own seas in the most absolute degree," because they have succeeded in limiting the intercourse of foreigners with the interior. All that we know points to a different conclusion. Whatever naval power the Britaius, probably those of the western part of the island, possessed, seems to have been entirely expended in the fruitless co-operation with the Veneti. Thenceforward, the British fleet vanished from the scene ; and C»sar met with absolutely no resistance afloat.
Yet, although the Britons were weak at sea, they were not so ignorant that the cultured liomans had nothing to learn from them
' 'De Bell. Gall.,' iii. U.
- 'Lives of the British Admirals,' edit, of 1817, cli. i.
' 'Mare Clans.,' ii. 2.
* ' De Bell. Gall.,' iv. IS.
6 CIVIL HISTORY TO 10(i6. [B.C. 55.
concerning ship construction. We have seen what Csesar's opinion was of the British hide canoes. But we learn elsewhere ^ that the conquerors found in Britain another type of boat which they thought it worth while to copy for their own purposes. It was a species of long, fast-sailing pinnace, known to the Eomans as picta. It was smeared with wax, apparently to lessen the friction while running through the water, and it carried twenty rowers. It was useful for scouting and dispatch purposes ; and to decrease its visibihty its sail was dyed light blue, and its crew were dressed in clothing of the same colour. Here is a very early example of something like a naval uniform for seamen. But, with regard to the science of naval architecture generally, the Bomans must have been immensely ahead of the Britons. The Roman vessels were not so large, but that they could be hauled upon the beach ; while they were large enough to transport, upon an average, about V25 soldiers, - with baggage in each ; and if it be true that Caesar carried with him to Britain a war elephant,^ some, at least, of his ships nrast have been of imposing size and strength.
The results of Caesar's expeditions led subsequent Latin writers to use such expressions as Britannos subjugare and Vincula dare oceano almost as if they were equivalent phrases ; and the fact has ever since created a false impression that the conqueror in some way wrested the dominion of the sea from the vanquished islanders. The truth is that, after he had won the action in the mouth of the Loire, Csesar had to contend afloat with few besides natural difficulties ; and that the Briton of his day was overcome not at sea but ashore. If the Britons had any ships and seamen beyond those destroyed on the coast of Gaul, they had at least no union, no common aims, no central authority strong enough to wield effectively the naval arm. The country was broken up into petty principali- ties and chieftainships, and while little co-operation between the jealousies and hatreds of rivals was possible on shore, none at all was to be expected at sea, where only from co-operation, guided by authority, can success be hoped for, even amid the most favourable circumstances.
The descents of Cssar, and the fear of new invasions certainly disciplined the country to a degree previously unexampled. We
' Flav. Veg. ' De Ke Mil.,' iv. 37.
^ Eighty transports conveyed two legions. 'De Bell. Gall.,' iv. 'I'l.
' As Polyureus says.
B.C. 50.] BRITAIN AND ROME. 7
need not suppose that the coast populations became suddenly orderly, and hastened to give up their primitive habits of piracy ; and, indeed, we find that, a little later, these habits, far from having dis- appeared, were more firmly rooted than ever. Yet, for the time, the Britons paid or promised tribute, in order to keep Augustus ' at a distance ; and, under Tiberius, they were wise enough to refrain from plundering certain soldiers of Gennanicus,^ who were wrecked on their shores. The improvement may have been partly owing to the growth of central authority within the island ; for it seems probable that Cymbeline, though monarch only of a portion of the country, attained much greater power and influence than had before been reached by any British prince, and was often able, more or less, directly to control nearly the whole of the southern part of the island. Even Cymbeline,^ however, was not always powerful enough to control all his dependents, nor all the members of his own family. Just before his death, he was dragged, apparently much against his will, into a serious difficulty with Home ; and, although he did not live to witness the invasion of the Emperor Claudius, he must have known, ere he breathed his last, that Britanl, which, since the time of Ca?sar, had been allowed to take very much its own course, was about to lose all semblance of independence.
Claudius was not opposed by sea ; nor do ships seem to have played any part in the revolt under Boadicea in the time of Suetonius Paulinus. Indeed, during more than two hiTudred years, the country's naval progress went on so noiselessly as to have escaped the attention of historians. But progress under the Eomans there must have been ; for the bold and successful entei-prise of Caius Carausius could not have terminated as it did, had not the leader had at his command not only good ships but also good seamen. The exploits of Carausius, and of his successor, will be found summarised in the next chapter. Progress continued steadily in the later days of the Eoman dominion, when the ports as well as the fleet received much attention. The navy nearly always proved itself strong enoiigh to repress piracy in the surrounding seas ; and among the places which sprang into naval importance as military and commercial harbours or refuges were, according to Selden : ■* Othona, which Camden identifies with Hastings ; Dubris, now Dover ; Lemmanis, now either Hythe or Limehill hard by it ;
' Hor. 'Carni.,' i. 35. ^ 'Hist. Britan.,' iv. 12.
" Tacit., ' Ann.,' ii. * ' Mare Claus.,' ii. 6, 7.
8
CIVIL BISTOBY TO 1066.
[A.D. 280.
Branodunum, now Brancaster Bay, in Norfolk; Gariannonnm, now Yannouth ; Regiilbiuni, now Beculver ; Kutupiae, now Richboroiigh ; Anderida, now perhaps Newenden, in Kent.; and Adiirni, now Ederington, near Shoreham. The position of many of these places
A KOMAX SHIP OF "WAR (lATKK rKKlOI)). (FroTJi Johann .Schffffer's ' De Militia Xavali Veterum,' Cpsala, 1654.)
a. Chalatorii lunua,
b. Epitonus.
c. Ccruchi. (/. Hyperffi. ('. Pedes.
/. Protu.
(/. Ciilones. //. Thorjunuin /. Maluola. k. Antenmi. /. Coruua. //(. Dolon.
II. Velum aliud.
0. Anserculun cum aplustri.
p. Stylus cum tceuiti.
q. Propedes.
r. Anchorale.
K. Elacatc.
(WhetluT a topsail was really used in such a vessel is very doulitful.)
is in itself indication that there was at the time an important amount of intercourse with the continent; and that trade flourished under
A.D. 430.] THE SCOTS AND PICTS. 9
the Roman dominion is known. But after the departure of GaiUo, about A.D. 430, the unfortunate Britons, wlio liad been emasculated by hixury, and whose dependent position had iiradually taught them to look to the Koman power and not to help themselves, even for so necessary a business as the police of their own coasts, suddenly found themselves thrown upon their own very inadequate resources. It looks as if the liomans can have left scarcely a ship behind them ; probably they did not leave an officer.
The Scots and Picts immediately became very troublesome. The Romans, almost to the last, had wielded sea power enough to oblige these freebooters to exercise great circumspection in all their operations. A Roman tleet was always at sea, ready to act upon the flanks of the pirates, and to sever their communications with their northern fastnesses. Landings could not, in consequence, be attempted without the gravest risk. But the Roman fleet being withdrawn, and there being no British fleet to take its place, all risk disappeared.
Whether the ancient Britons were ever much inclined to military pursuits may be doubted. Certain it is that the long period of more or less intimate association with the Roman empire in its decadent days did not leave them much more military than it had fomid them. The degree of relative security afforded by the Roman occupation encouraged them to turn their attention to agriculture and commerce, rather than to arms. Those of them who were from time to time obliged to serve under the Roman eagles must have returned, with relief, if they returned at all, to peaceful pursuits. And the increasing softness of Roman manners corrupted and de- moralised them, as it demoralised the Romans themselves. The Roman influence conferred some arts and evanescent culture u])on a small proportion of the people, but it did not train the Britons in habits of independence and self-reliance, nor did it leave great scope for patriotism.
Much of the detailed history of the period lies in impenetrable obscurity. Very Httle can be collected concerning the social life of the people. But there can be no question that at the time of the flrst advent of the Saxons the Britons were a feeble and even a contemptible folk, disunited to a greater degree than has ever been common, save among barbarous ti'ibes of the lowest tj'pe, and scarcely deserving a better fate than awaited them. Their thin and sluggish blood sadly needed the iron that was eventual!}' infused
10 CIVIL niSTORY TO 1066. [A.D. 450.
into it by the young heroes of the wild Berserker brood from across the North Sea. Had these Saxons and the kindred Danes and Normans, pirates every one, not come, England might have grown learned, and possibly rich ; but she could never have become great. She must have lacked manhood and tone. She must have lacked muscle, stomach, and daring. The successive invasions of the northern pirates slowly transformed the race from one of effeminate and disorderly weaklings into one of sternly discipUned men. The raw material may have had some latent stamina ; otherwise the bitterness of those north-east blasts would surely have extinguished it altogether. But the stamina required a very long process of development ere it became good for much. It needed many centuries to change the Briton into the Englishman, and during all those centuries, the sea, and the men and influences from across it, did more than any other factors towards completing the trans- formation.
The so-caUed Saxon ^ invaders represented at least three tribes. There were the Saxons proper who, originally from Holstein, had spread inland over what are now Hannover and Oldenburg, and had established themselves among the northern Frisian islands. There were the Angles, originally from beyond the Elbe, who had established themselves in what is now Schleswig ; and there were the Jutes, probably from the modern .Jutland. The British traveller in the Denmark and Holstein of to-day will scarcely fail to be struck with the great general resemblance of the racial type still prevalent in those countries to the type characteristic of eastern and southern England. Nay, he will even find other things to remind him of his native land. In few parts of the world save England and Schleswig- Holstein are hedges an ordinary feature of the rural landscape ; and in no non-English speaking community in the world will the Englishman feel so much at home, and so completely able to sympathise with and enter into the habits and ideas of the people, as in this Dano-German district. It is really, as Ethelward," the tenth centm-y chronicler, called it, Anglki Veins.
All these tribes were piratical, if we use the word in its fullest modern sense ; but with them piracy was not a shameful but a noble and dignified employment. The might of Eome had failed to
' Elton's ' Origius of Euglish History,' xii. ; Kemble's ' Saxons ' ; Freeman's ' Norman Conquest.'
* Chronicle printed in Savile's ' Scriptores post Bcdain,' and in ' Mouum. Hist. Brit.'
A.I». 495.] THE ANGLO-SAXON INVADERS. 11
conquer these tribes, and had only succeeded in driving them into undying hostihty to it, and to Eoman civiHsation. Wealth, polish, and luxury were what the decadent Eoinans set store by. They were exactly the things which the Saxons most cordially despised. These last prided themselves upon the manner in which they endured hardships and surmounted difficulties ; they regarded blunt- ness and roughness as manly virtues rather than as defects, and they held it disgraceful and womanish for a man to seek to lie soft, or to idle at home, when there were spoils to be won abroad by good seamanship, and by axe and sword. Brutal they were ; dissolute they were ; drunken they were ; but their brutality was the brutality of strength and high spirits, and not of premeditation ; their dis- soluteness sprang from natural cravings and not from artificial vices; and though they drank deep, they did not allow their orgies to interfere with their work in the world.
The Anglo-Saxon ships ' seem to have been nothing more than long, deep, imdecked boats, sometimes, perhaps, of as much as fifty tons' biu'den, yet never having more than a single mast, provided with a single lug-shaped sail. There was no rudder. The steers- man sat in the stern, holding on his right or " steerboard " side a paddle, with which he controlled the vessel's com-se. This paddle was probably fixed by a thong, or by a thole-pin passing through it, so as to preserve it from loss, and to assist the steersman, whose other hand held the gathered up end of the sail. The arrangement was, thus, much hke that of still earher ships, and it recalls, strikingly enough, Virgil's description : '^
"Ijwe sedeiis clavuiiiqvie regit, velisque lllit^i^<tl■at.■'
It is unlikely that the crew ever exceeded fifty or sixty men. The ships ^ were usually, if not invariably, clincher built, that is, they were covered with planks so disposed that the lower edges of the superior ones overlapped the upper edges of the inferior ones. The bow was raised, and generally bore, as a figure-head, a carved model of the upper part of some fierce or fabulous beast. The stern also was raised, and occasionally ornamented, thoi;gh less elaborately
' 'Memoires des Belles Lettres,' Stockholm, 1783; 'Mems. of Koy. Soo. of Copen- hagen,' viii. ; Charnock's 'Mar. Architecture.' But see more detailed account, at end of chapter, of the Gokstad boat.
^ Applied by Mr. Dallaway in ' Archaeologia,' xxi. 81.
* Some ships of this period are called " ceols " (keels), others " hulks," others " long ships," and still others "iuscs." It seems imjwssible to say exactly what each was.
12 CIVIL EISTORY TO 1066. [A.D. 760.
than the bow, and the sail was often striped in two or more colours. A few of the larger vessels may have been half-decked, or covered in at the extremities ; but this is not certain. All were propelled by oars as well as by sail power. All were constructed with a view to being drawn up on shore, where they lay when not in use. Arrange- ments of pulleys, perhaps not very different from the rough capstans employed by modern English fishermen for their smaller boats, were arranged on the beach to facihtate the dragging of the vessels up and down. There is evidence, also, that some boats, intended exclusively for war purposes, were fitted with iron gunwales, or had their gunwales covered with iron.
At first the Anglo-Saxons in Britain were continually reinforced from the continent, but after a time they discouraged immigration. They grudged sharing with newcomers the advantages which they had already won, and they began a system of coast fortification designed to keep out further arrivals.
In the meanwhile, various chiefs reduced the interior of the island, and little by little a number of petty kingdoms sprang into existence. These, actuated by inevitable jealousies, were almost perpetually at war one with another, and, perhaps because sea warfare was at first more congenial than land warfare to the Saxon races, the internecine struggle seems to have weakened the seaboard kingdoms more rapidly than it weakened the inland ones.
The central kingdom of Mercia, which marched with the Welsh border behind which, thaiiks to the uatiural difficulties of the comitry, the fugitive Britons still held out, was, in the interval, gaining valuable experience in land warfare, and when the coast kingdoms began to be exhausted by their feuds, and had frittered away their naval strength, the opportunity of Mercia arose. First Penda, some time in alliance with the Welsh, and then Ethelbald and Otfa in succession, enlarged the borders of the middle kingdom until they touched the sea in more places than one ; and when Offa, by the exercise of his strong personality and indomitable energy, had made himself by far the most potent prince in England, he was wise enough to do what none of the more petty Anglo-Saxon princes had done before him — he created a great fleet. The posses- sion of this enabled him to treat on equal terms with even so powerful a monarch as Charlemagne,' and it convinced him so clearly of the value of a powerful navy, that, according to the Saxon ' Will, of Malmesbury, i. 5 ; and Alcuiu.
A.D. 871.] ALFRED'S NAVY. 13
Chronicle, he left to his successors the maxim that "he who would be secure on land must he supreme at sea."
Mercian ascendancy presently made way for West Saxon, under Egbert, and West Saxon intiuence, though much hindered by continual incui'sions of the Danes, as well as by Anglo-Saxon feuds, and by British irreconcilableness, gradually increased, particularly under Alfred and Edward the Elder, until it became no longer West Saxon hut English ; and so, for the first time, England was, in some sort, a state.
But the unity of England was still little more than nominal. Alfred came to the throne of a country which had been ravaged and despoiled in all directions by Danish raiders, operating with the sea as their base, and which was impoverished to the last degree. Had he been a Briton and not a Saxon, he must surely have despaired of his ragged inheritance. But he did not despair for a moment. When he could employ force, he employed it ; when his only available weapons were gold and diplomacy, he employed them. He was never inactive, nor did he ever lose sight of Offa's ma.xim. Steadily, even in his darkest days, he applied himself to the creation of a naval force. He seems indeed to have realised the nature of sea power in something like a scientific manner.' He continually put in force the principle of offensive defence as being the best, and in fact, the only sound one. Whenever it was possible, he sought his enemj' at sea, instead of waiting for him to attack or to land. Nor was he content to employ merely such ships as had been employed by his ancestors. He invented new types. His "long ships" embodied improvements upon any war vessels that had previously been seen in England. Says the Saxon Chronicle: — "They were full twice as long as the others ; some had sixty '" oars, and some had more ; they were both swifter and steadier, and also higher than the others ; they were shaped neither like the Frisian nor the Danish, but so as it seemed to him that they would be most efficient." Moreover, he paid much attention to the selection and seasoning of his materials, to the victualling, and to the supply of anus, as well as to the training of his seamen ; and, being in desperate straits, and regarding the Danes as pirates, he for])ade the granting to them of (quarter. ^
' Will, of Malmesbury, ii. 4 ; Henry nf Hunt., v. ; Etlichvard, iv. .'! ; Sax. Chron.
- Henry of Hunt, say.s "forty oars or more."
^ Heury of Hunt., v. ; Will, of Malmesbury, ii. 4, etc.
14 CIVIL HISTORY TO lOGG. [A.D. 1100.
All these innovations by the strong and fearless hand of Alfred conduced to the general disciplining of the nation, for the condition of the fleet could not but react upon the condition of the coast towns, and the condition of the coast towns, then the most im- portant, and, with one or two exceptions, the most populous in the kingdom, naturally influenced the state of the entire coimtry. All luxuries — all thmgs, indeed, that ranked much above the bare necessaries of life — reached the interior from the coast towns, and it is notorious that even in much earlier ages the ports, civilised by intercourse with abroad, and full of rich merchants, set a fashion in all sorts of matters to the inland towns and villages. There came a time when the ports were rougher and less polished than the inland districts, but that was not iintil external influences had been digested by the country.
At the end of the ninth centmy, when Alfred lived and ruled, the king was still a man chosen to rule on account of his bravery and capacity. That he generally inherited his office was an accident. When he failed to prove himself worthy of it, he was seldom able to retain it for long. Alfred set up an unusually high standard of kingship, and it is greatly to the credit of his immediate successors that, viewed even by the side of him, they loom large as men well worthy of their position. Of Edward, Freeman truly enough says : "It is only the miequalled glory of his father which has condemned this prince, one of the greatest rulers that England ever beheld, to a smaller degree of popular fame than he deserves." As for Athelstan,' he exacted tribute from the Danish pirates, who, in spite of the efforts of Alfred and Edward, still held Northumbria ; and, first of the English kings, he caused his alliance to be seriously valued and sought for abroad.
Both these monarchs fostered the fleet, wliich, indeed, under the latter of them must have reached unusual efficiency, as- well as gi-eat numerical strength, if it be true, as the Saxon Chronicle relates, that Anlaff (Olaf), the Danish king in Ireland, carried to the aid of the Scots a larger fleet than had previously been seen in their waters, yet, with his allies, was crushingly defeated by Athelstan.
The reigns of Edmund, Edred, and Edwy, were less brilliant; but they can have witnessed little or no change in the prosecution of Offa's and Alfred's naval policy, for they immediately j)receded the
' Will, (if M;ihiieslmry, ii. 'i ; Kciirer Ilovnli'i].
A.D. 9G0.] EDGAR'S NAVY. 15
reign of Edgar,' who found tin; fleet in fair order. He vastly increased it, and although he had happily but small occasion to use it — for strong navies make unwilling enemies- it is generally ad- mitted that he raised it to a point of excellence which it had never before approached. His fault was too great a love of peace. Instead of chastising and driving off the Danish freebooters who clung tenaciously to English soil in several places, he admitted them to equality before the law with his Angles and Saxons, and by his unwise mildness he prepared the way for many subsequent troubles to his comitry. Such mildness was not understood in those times. It did not induce the Danes in England to become Englishmen ; it led them rather to despise a people who could be voluntarily and deliberately guilty of the weakness of clemency. Edgar was too strong for them to strike at, but they foresaw that Edgar would not always rule, and that, pending the arrival of the day when it might be safe to strike, the advantages conceded to them would enable them to enormously improve their chances of ultimately subjugating the whole country.
He was, nevertheless, a great king. The wording of the charter, cited by Selden - as having been granted by him in 964 to the Church of Worcester, is probably spurious ; but we do not depend upon that instrument, in which Edgar is made to claim lordship of " the islands, and of the ocean lying around Britain," for an estimate of the position to which the king — alas, only temporarily — raised his country at sea. The Saxon Chronicle tells us, quoting a metrical eulogy : —
" Was 11(1 fleet so insolent. No liost so strong, That, mid the Eii<;Ush race, Took from liim aught. The wliile tlie noble king lieigued on his throne." ''
We need not attach implicit credence to Hoveden's statement^ that Edgar's fleet consisted of three thousand six hundred sail, all " very
' l''lur. of Winch. ; Roger Hovcden ; Bromton.
■^ 'Mare Clausum,' ii. Vi; Will, of Malmesbmy, ii. KemUle considers it a forgery: 'Cod. Dipl. -Kv. Sax.' ii. 404. The wording, translated from the Latin, runs: " Kdgar, King of England, and of all the Kings of the Islands, and of the Ocean lying around Britain, and of all the Nations included within the circuit thereof, Sui)reme Lord and Governor," etc. It is also found in 'Patent Kolls," 1 Edw. lY., ni. '!?>.
^ Sax. Chron. :{!».">.
* Hoveden, 244.
16 CIVIL HISTORY TO lOGG. [A.D. 980.
stout ones " ; nor to Bromton's/ that it comprised four thousand ; not to Matthew of Westminster's," that it was four thousand eight hundred strong ; but we may well believe an assertion which is made in substance by more than one writer, that, during his sixteen years' reign, no thief was found in his realm on shore, and no pirate heard of in the surrounding seas. Under him, the Anglo-Saxon monarchy in England reached its highest pitch of power. When the hand of Edgar was relaxed by death, the fabric which Alfred and his successors had so laboriously created collapsed with startling rapidity.
Edward the Martyr never reached manhood, and in his name the land was governed by weak women and self-seeking priests. Ethelred the Purposeless was also, during great part of his reign, in the same hands. In Edgar, one strong man had stood for the nation. Babies, faineants, and women could not take Edgar's place ; and there was no national life to carry on his work. All became confusion. Six years after the death of Edgar, the Danes ^ did as they liked in the narrow seas ; and by 991 the spirit of the country was so crushed that Ethelred agreed to buy off the free- booters with an annual tribute of ten thousand pounds, which was raised, under the name of Danegeld,'' by a tax of two shillings ' per hide on land.
It was then that Edgar's mild unwisdom bore fruit. The Danes contemptuously accepted the tribute ; but, holding a strong position in that part of the country known as the Danelagh, where the inhabitants were largely of Danish blood, and still full of Scandinavian sympathies ; and despising a race which thus ignobly confessed its inability to defend itself, they did not for one moment desist from their course of raid and rapine. England had corrupted its once hardy Saxon conquerors, who were no longer a match for Norse pirates, led by men who never slept beneath a raftered roof, and never sat down to drink by a sheltered hearth. The Danish scourge was needed to do for the Saxons what the Saxon scourge had done for the Britons ; but it was none the less terrible while it was being applied- Ethelred bought oft' one viking only to find
' Urcjiiikm, H70. ^ Matt, of West., l'J2. '■' Sax. Chrou., aiino 98J.
■* Sax. Chrciii., anno 991 ; Will, of Malmesbury, ii. 10. See especially Webb's ^ Treatise on Danegeld,' 175G.
■' Later, aii]iurcut]y, twelvepeuue, Churcli ]irii]icrty being excepted.
1013.] SWETN INVASION. 17
another pirate clamouring, sword in hand, for similar treatment. Even his own court hetrayed him repeatedly. Nearly every year larger sums were paid to the foe ; every year the foe hecame bolder and more exacting. Eecognisiug the impotence of the king, the Enghsh nobles raised a fleet of their own, but, being mismanaged, it did nothing beyond contribute to the general exhaustion. Every- where there were treachery and desertion. To add to the confusion, dilhculties arose with Normandy. The year 1002 saw English desperation seeking relief by means of a general massacre of the Danes throughout the realm.
This provoked Sweyn, Prince of Denmark, to throw himself officially into a quarrel which previously had been chiefly waged by the more irresponsible and adventurous of his father's nominal subjects, including Sweyn himseK, when a young man. Upon his accession to the Danish throne, the attainment of the sovereignty of England became his main object in life.
The Danegeld seems to have been diverted at this time from its original and shameful pui-pose, and to have been employed for the more creditable and legitimate end of raising and maintaining a fleet wherewith to offer some sort of opposition to the national enemy. It temporarily became Heregeld, or money for the support of a fighting force. But it was too late. The collapse had made too gi-eat progress ; Ethelred, after a brief struggle, fled to Normandy ; and, by 1013, England was practically at the feet of the conqueror. When Sweyn died, Ethelred returned, and' gained some successes, as did also his son, the gallant Edmund Ironside ; but Edmund's death left Canute's son master of the whole kingdom.
Canute began his government with a series of the hardest severities. He nearly annihilated the English royal family ; and he squeezed from the impoverished coimtry a levy of £83,000, most of which sum he gave, as a pirate chief's largesse, to his Danisli seamen. Yet, when he had established himself, he ruled well, and even generously. He abolished distinctions between Danes and Englishmen; he put Englishmen, like Godwin and Leofric, into positions of trust ; he favoured the church, although his father had been an apostate ; and, while he also ruled Denmark, and Norwaj', which he conquered in 1028, and had Scotland and Sweden as his vassals, he was essentially and primarily a great king of England.
There can be no doubt that the British collapse resulted rather from British disunion and mismanagement than from paucity of VOL. I. c
18 CIVIL niSTOET TO 106G. [1004.
means wherewith to make resistance. All Edgar's successors had fleets ; some of them at times had very large ones ; but every squadron, and almost every ship, seem to have been jealous and distrustful of every other. Many of the English leaders at the most critical period of the struggle must have had Danish con- nections, if not Danish blood in their veins ; and the mere presence m England of a tolerated Danelagh, or Danish pale, acted as a perpetual reminder to every weak-kneed Englishman that a large extension of the Danish power was not only possible, but probable. Hence, there were encouragements to half-heartedness, and, indeed, to continual double dealing. Many sought to stand well with both English and Danes, not certain which of the two would eventually gain the upper hand. Eesistance, consequently, was partial and inefficient on the side of almost all, except those few whose fortunes were in- extricably bound up with the fortunes of the royal house of Wessex. Edgar was able, and probably understood how, to employ sea power ; but his Anglo-Saxon successors certainly failed in the task, even if they comprehended the nature of it. It is abundantly clear that from the year of Edgar's death sea power in the narrow seas belonged almost exclusively to the Danes. What some of the Danish ships of the period were like we know from the ' Heims Kriugla,'' in Snorri Sturluson's 'Edda.' They were high-decked, and each bore the emblem of her commander. The prow was orna- mented with a figurehead of gilt copper, and at the truck was a vane. The vessels were painted externally, and carried around their bulwarks the polished steel shields of the crew. Sweyn's own ship, in 1004, called the Great Dragon, was in the form of the legendary animal of that name. His standard," a black raven embroidered on white silk, was not hoisted on board, and was only displayed when English soil was reached. The importance of the Danish navy in the economy of the State maybe gauged' by the fact that Canute, though only a younger son, owed his election to the fleet, ^ and that although his elder brother Harold seized the throne of Denmark, the latter could not have held it had the sailor prince cared to take it. Until Harold's early death, Canute, a pirate king in the true sense of the words, swept the seas, and afterwards he succeeded in Denmark without opposition.
' 'Heims Kringla,' ii. 12.").
* Said to have been enibruidered iu one night by three of Sweyu's sisters.
» Sax. Chron., 420 (ed. Ingram).
o
O
'A O
H
W
n
CO
O <!
H
CO
M O O
W W
1050.] HER EG ELD. 1&
It is probable that the Danes of this period built ships for war purposes only, thou^jh they may have incidentally used some of them for trade. The Anglo-Saxons, on the other hand, possessed two distinct classes of vessels, one expressly designed for each object. In Ethelred's laws ' the distinction is often alluded to. And commerce w^as specially encouraged by the Saxons after they had fairly settled down in England ; for, after having made certain com- mercial ventures on his own account, and in his own ship, a churl might, by right, attain the rank of thane, or a thane that of earl.
There was already a regular system of tolls or port dues." At Billingsgate, a small vessel paid one halfpenny, and a sailing craft one penny. If a ceol, or hulk — apparently something still bigger — arrived, she paid fompence. From a vessel laden with planks, a toll of one plank was exacted.^ It is evident that there was much trade with the continent in wool, cloth, wine, and fish.
The Saxon war navy was supported by pecuniary levies, or Heregeld, raised upon the cultivated land, and was reinforced by contingents obligatorily furnished, in accordance with their tenures, by the chief ports ; * which also provided a certain number of men. Other towns, including inland ones, had to provide men and stores.^ But there seems to have been onlj' a very small permanent war navy. Canute, and Harold I. following him, maintained a somewhat larger one ; but all approach to a permanent naval establishment was ill regarded in the Midlands, and payment of Heregeld for the pui-pose was there frequently resisted, up to the time when it was abolished by Edward the Confessor.*^
General descriptions have already been given of the ships of the Saxons and of the Danes, but the subject is of sufficient interest to warrant a return to it ; and space may well be found here for an account of the vessel' which, in 1880, was dug up from beneath
' ' Auut. Laws and lustits. of Eng.,' ii. 2, and v. '1'.
^ Tlie dues of Sandwicli were granted by Canvite to Clirist Church, Canterbury.
' For other rules, see 'Anct. Laws and Instits. of Eng.,' p. 127; and Bromton, ^^llT.
■* Domesday, i. 3. Dover and Sandwich each furnished tlie king witli twenty sliips for fifteen days once a year, eacli vessel carrying twenty-one men. Probably other ports, notably those later known as Cinque Ports, had similar obligations.
" There are numerous examples, some very curious, in Domesday.
" Sax. Chron., p. 445 (ed. Ingram). It was afterwards revived. See ' .Vnct. Laws and Instits. of Eng.,' pp. 217, 224, 228.
' The particulars are sunuuarised from a paper on 'The Viking Ship,' by .Tcihu S. Wliite, in Scrihner's Marjdzine, Nov. 1SS7. To Messrs. Scribnor I am indebted for permission to reproduce the accompanying illustrations.
20
CIVIL HISTORY TO 1066.
[850.
a sepulchral tumulus known as the King's Mound, in Lower Gokstad, on a peninsula of Southern Norway. It cannot be decided with certainty when the vessel was buried ; though Mr. N. Nicolay- sen, who was then President of the Antiquarian Society of Christiana, assigned the craft to the later iron age, or between a.d. 700 and 1000, and inclined to the belief that she was of the ninth century. Nor can it be determined w^hose ship she was, and where built. She may have formed the tomb of some leader who died while on a foray far from home. On the other hand, she may have belonged to a chief whose home was at Gokstad. Other so-called Viking ships
THE GOKSTAD SHIP.
(Plan of Oar.)
THE GOKSTAD SHIP.
(Details of Planking.)
THE GOKSTAD SHIP.
(Supporters for the A-wning.)
have been discovered, but none larger or finer than the one in question ; and we may, perhaps, safely take it that this Gokstad relic fairly represents the type of vessel that was ordinarily employed by the northern pirates, whether Danish or Saxon, of the days of Alfred the Great.
The dimensions of the ship are : length over all, seventy-eight feet ; length on keel, sixty-six feet ; beam, sixteen feet six inches, and depth, four feet. The hull is of oak, unpainted, but the stem and sternposts are decorated. The planking is laid clincher-wise over the frame timbers, and tlie planks are fastened to one another
850]
THE OOKSTAD SHIP.
21
with iron bolts, and to the frames by lashings of cord made from the roots of trees. The seams are caulked with hair made into three- strand cord ; but this, instead of being driven in, was laid in during the process of construction. The decorations of the prow, gunwale, and sternpost seem to suggest early Irish influence. On each side are sixteen strakes of planking, and, in the third strake from the top, are holes, sixteen on each beam, or thirty-two in all, for the reception of oars. The planks thus pierced are nearly twice as thick as the rest ; and at the sides of the apertures there are slits to admit of the passage of the blades of the oars. The oars varied in size, the larger ones being amidships, and the smaller at the
SECTION OF THE GOKSTAIi SHIP.
THE (iOKSTAIl Slllr.
(Details of Suiiporters for tlic Awning.)
extremities. When not in use, the rowlocks or ports could be stopped by means of ingeniously constructed wooden shuttei-s. The vessel is double-ended, with great shai-pness of build and tine sheer ; and amidships the bottom is flattened. The rudder is in effect a fixed paddle, pivoted near the stern on the starboard side. The ship carried at least three small boats, was fitted with a single mast, and, as she must have needed two men at each of the oars, which are heavy, had sixty-four rowers, besides officers and, probably, fighting men. The shields ranged round the ship are circular, and are painted alternately black and yellow. There is a wooden frame- work, over which an awning seems to have been stretched at night,
22
CIVIL HISTORY TO 1066.
[1066.
and there is a flooring, but no deck ; and this last fact suggests that the Gokstad ship was not of the largest size known to the period, for some of her contemporaries were certainly decked. Unfortunately, no arms were found with the ship, the tumulus having evidently been already rifled for valuables ; but a large copper caldron, a tub of pine staves, and the chief's skeleton, that of a man six feet three inches in height, were discovered, together with many other remains.
THE GOKSTAD SHIP.
(Carving on Oar.)
( 23 )
CHAPTER II.
MILITARY HISTORY OF NAVAL AFFAIRS TO 1066.
CV'sar and the A'eneti — Battle at the mouth of the Loire — British co-oiieratioii atraiiiKt tlie Romans — Ca'sar's invasions — Submission of the Britons — Pichitions with the Boman Empire — Carausius — Relations with the Mediterranean jiiratcs — Siege of Boulofjne— Treachery of Allectus — Decline of the Roman power — Defencclessness of the Britons — The Scots and Picts — The pirates a» saviours — Heugest and Horsa — Norse invasions — Foundation of the Sa.\ou states — Their dissensions — Danish successes — Xaval battle off Sandwich — Alfred and the sea — Hasting in the Thames — Treatment of Danish ])irates— Athelstan and continental jiolitics — His naval victories — -Naval organisation imder Edgar — Successes of Olaf Tryggvesson — The Danes bought off, but in vain — Untrustworthiness of Ethelred's navy — Massacre of tlie Danes — Sweyn's invasions — Desertion of WidftH>tli — Invasion of Thurcytel — Thurcytel as a mercenary — Treachery of Edric Streona — Triinupli of the Danes — Canute — English jiarticipation in the conquest of Norway — ^The Huscarls — Rise of the house of Godwin — Hardicanute's invasion — Irksomencss of Heregeld — Edward the Confessor — Godwin, and England for the English — His popularity and naval abilitj- — Norse piracies — Futility of Edward's naval armaments — Turbulence of Godwin and his family — Godwin as rebel — Harold at sea — Edward's surrender to Godwin and Harold — Harold as mayor of the jialace — His naval successes — Harold's jiopularity and energy as king.
TX the course of his reduction of Gaul, Cassar -*- encountered few more determined and trouble- some opponents than the Veneti, a people living in and around what is now the town of Yanues, about thirty miles to the north of the estuary of the Eiver Loire. The A^eueti were formidable, not only because they were good fighting men, but also because they were a maritime folk, well supplied with shipping. Moreover, their fleet was reinforced to a strength of two hundred and twenty sail by a contingent from Britain. Thus, for the first time did Britain and Eome face one another, and the result was ominous. The vessels of the allies seem, upon the whole, to have been more powerful, and much loftier than the vessels which C?esar had hastily constructed in the Loire for the pui-pose of dealing with the enemy, and had the Komans fought merely with their ordinary weapons, they might possibly have been defeated. The Venetan
24 MILITABY HISTORY TO 1066. [B.C. 55.
ships, on account of their great sohdity, could not be successfully attacked by the rams of the weaker craft ; nor could the people on their decks be reached by the Romans, who lay several feet lower. Even when turrets or platforms were raised for the pm-pose, the high Venetan sterns still towered too far above the legionaries, and it was only by affixing scythes to poles, and using them to cut away the Venetan rigging, that the Romans disabled their opponents. Thus deprived of their ability both to manceuvre and to escape, the allies became panic-stricken and almost helpless, and Ciesar destroj'ed or took them at his leisui-e.' In this battle the fighting fleet of Britain seems to have been annihilated.
But the annihilation of their fleet was not the only evil brought upon the Britons by their interposition in favour- of the Veneti. They had inopportunely reminded Csesar of their existence, within sight of the shores which he was then engaged in pacifying, and as soon as he had made sufficient progress with that part of his task, he turned his attention to the island across the Strait of Dover. This was in B.C. 55.^
Learning or suspecting the designs of Csesar, the Britons dis- patched an embassy to him professing friendliness, and offering hostages. He returned an answer which, while it encouraged them to be peaceful, did not commit him, and soon afterwards he sent Caius Volusenus in a light craft to reconnoitre the shores of the island, and collected transport for two legions. In five days Volusenus returned with information, and Cfesar, ordering the troops on board, sailed at about one o'clock one morning from Portus Iccius, now probably Wissant Bay,^ and at ten found himself under high cliff's, which were cro^vTied by numbers of the enemy in arms. The whole of his fleet had not then come up, nor did he deem it prudent to attempt a landing where the superior position held by the defence would have told heavilj' against the assailants. Indeed, if, as is most probable, he struck the coast between Dover and the South Foreland, it would have been impossible for him, had he landed on the beach, to gain the top of the cliff, for even to-day there is no way thither. He therefore anchored so as to allow his flotilla to collect, and after a brief delay, called a council of war,
1 ' De Bell. Gall.' iii. 14.
' The account follows C'a:sar : ' De Bell. Gall.,' iv. v.
' According to D'Anville ; but some identify it with Calais, souie witb Boulogne, and some with Aiiibluteuse.
B.C. 55.]
CJESAR-S INVASIONS.
2&
communicated and doubtless discussed the intelligence brought him by Volusenus, and, as soon as wind and tide served, weighed to the north-east.
A few miles farther he discovered a plain and open shore to suit his purpose. The spot was probably a little to the south- ward of where now stands Walmer Castle.' The Britons seem to have followed along the coast as the fleet advanced, with their cavah-y and chariots in the van, and their infantry in the rear, and to have arrived as soon as the ships, and occupied the beach in force.
HUMAN LIULUNA, ull UAl.LEV, WITH MNK TlliU UF UAiiS.
(.-l,'(rr liasius.)
Landing was difficult, the draught of the transports not permitting them to draw very near the land ; and the men, laden with arms and armour, were obliged to jump into comparatively deep water and wade ashore, harassed not only by the breakers but also bj' the foe, who rode their horses down to the edge of the surf, or waded in afoot to meet the Komans. Under this kind of treatment the attack wavered, whereupon Caesar sent his lightest galle3's as close in as possible, and so stationed them that with their slings and other engines they took the Britons in flank. The effect was soon felt. ' For discussion of this subject, see ' ArcluBologia,' xxi. ."lOl.
26 MILITARY HISTORY TO 1066. [B.C. 55.
The defence began to give way, and when the standard-bearer of the Tenth Legion invoked the gods, and dashed into the water shoiiting, " Follow me, comrades, unless you would abandon your eagle to the enemy, for I, on my part, am determined to do my duty to my country and my general " ; he did not appeal in vain. Soon many of the legionaries reached dry gi-ound, and presently the Britons fled, and from a safe distance sent ambassadors with hostages to sue for peace. On the fourth day a treaty was concluded.
Caesar encamped, aj)parently, near his place of landing. He was expecting reinforcements in the shape of cavalry, the eighteen transports assigned to which had not been ready to sail with the rest of the fleet. The squadron was within sight of the camp when it was dispersed and ultiinately driven back by a sudden and violent storm. Nor was this the only cause of anxiety. On the same night there was a spring tide, which the invaders had omitted to provide against, and this, together with the storm, damaged the lighter vessels which were hauled up on the beach, and drove from their anchors several of those which were riding off shore, causing some ■of them to foi;nder, and dismasting others. Ctesar had with him no facilities for refitting his vessels, and no provision for wintering in Britain, and the British chiefs, conscious of this, did not scruple to break the treaty, and to attack with their whole force. The Roman position was j)recarious, but two or three indecisive skirmishes led up to a pitched battle, in which the Britons were completely defeated. Once more they begged for peace. Cassar ordered them to send to Gaul twice as many hostages as had before contented him, and then, feeling that, as the autumn equinox was upon him, further delay would be dangeroiis, took advantage of the first fair wind, and, weighing with the remnants of his fleet, returned safely to Gaul after a few hours' passage.
Si^ch was the first descent of the Romans. It showed how easy and open lay the way to this country, when only the white cliffs and the exertions of people on land perplexed the enemy. Had the Britons been able to oppose fleet with fleet, the result might have been very different ; for Caesar's ships were crowded, could not have been in the best fighting trim, and while crossing the Channel, did not keep in company, and might perhaps have been dealt with in detail. But the British fleet had been expended at the mouth of the Loire before Ctesar had formed any definite designs against Britain. Still, it is remarkable that there was no opposition
B.C. 54.] CJESAR'S HECOND INVASION. 27
whatsoever afloat. Not a single British ship is reported to have been so much as sighted. It is impossible to conceive that no ship remained in the country, and what happened can only be explained upon the assumption that the seafaring districts, which were then chiefly, so far as can be gathered, to the westward, were either at enmity with the men of Kent, or received no intelligence of the intentions of the Komans. That even Kent did possess vessels of some kind, though perhaps no warships, is evident from the fact that it sent over an embassy before Cn?sar (juitted the Gallic coasts, and that almost immediately after his first invasion, it dispatched to Gaul some, but not all, of the hostages whom he had demanded.
Caesar caused preparations to be made during the autumn for another descent in B.C. 54. He himself went to Illyria ; his troops wintered in Belgic Gaul ; his old shii)S were repaired at Tortus Iccius, and new ones of shallower draught and broader beam, suitable for carrying bm-den as well for being hauled ashore, were built. Eigging and stores for these was ordered from Spain. Eetm-ning in the spring, Ctesar foi;nd all ready, and as the Britons had not sent over all the hostages whom they had agreed to send, he had a pretext for an immediate renewal of operations. He left Labienus with three legions and two thousand horse to hold Portus Iccius, and to watch the Gauls, and, himself embarking with a similar force of cavalry and five legions, he weighed at about sunset with a light gale from the south-west, which, however, died away towards midnight. The consequence was that he found at break of day that the tide or the currents had taken him too far to the eastward ; but thanks to the hard work of the men at the oars, he gained the British coast at about noon, and landed at the same place as before.
He had with him six hundred transports, besides other vessels, some of which had been fitted out by private persons for their own use, making upwards of eight hundred in all. No enemy was visible, either afloat or on shore, but it afterwards appeared from the reports of prisoners that the Britons had assembled in great numbers on the coast, and had been prepared to resist mitil tliey realised the im- posing nature of the armada arrayed against them. They had then retired to the hills. ^ Caesar therefore landed without opposition, juarked out a camp close to the shore, and, having discovered the whereabouts of the foe, left Quintus Atrius with twelve cohorts and
.' 'DeBell. Gall.,' V. 8.
28 MILITARY HISTORY TO 1066. [B.C. 54.
three hundred horse to guard the base, aud attend to the fleet, which was anchored off shore, and himself advanced by night. He found the enemy about twelve miles inland, posted with horses and chariots on the banks of a river, which must have been the Stour at or near what is now Sandwich. An effort was made to prevent Caesar's passage, but the Roman cavalry quickly dispersed the Britons, and drove them into the woods. Pursuit was not per- mitted, but scouting parties were sent out in various directions, and a camp was in process of construction, when news arrived from the base that a storm had done great damage to the fleet.
Csesar at once recalled his men, and returned to Atrius to find that about forty vessels had been lost, and that the rest were so much disabled as to need extensive repair. He began the work immediately, sending meanwhile to Labienus for additional ships ; and then, unwilling to trust the sea any longer, he with much labour and difficulty hauled every one of his craft ashore, and included all within the lines of his camp. This work occupied the troops night aud day for ten days.^ At the end of that period Cffisar again left a detachment at the base, and advanced with the bulk of his forces into the country. " Near the ford where the first engagement had taken place, the Britons were found in greater strength than before, under the general command of Cassivelaunus, or Caswallon, king of the Cassi. After several actions the Britons retired, apparently to the westward. Cffisar followed, keeping the Thames on his right flank until he reached a place believed by some to be Cowey Stakes, at Walton, where he saw a large body of the enemy on the opposite side of the river behind an improvised stockade, and found a ford obstructed by sharp piles. Nevertheless the Romans crossed and defeated the enemy, inflicting such punishment on Caswallon that he was obliged thereafter to restrict himself to minor operations, and to a sort of guerilla warfare. In the meantime, the Trinobantes, Cenimagni, Segontiaci, and even the Cassi, besides other tribes, submitted ; and as an attempt by the Kentish chiefs upon the camp at the Ijase had failed, Caswallon at length saw fit to treat. Caesar, who was desirous of wintering in Gaul, accepted his opponent's submission, demanded and received hostages, arranged for the payment to Rome of a yearly tribute, and withdrew to the coast. His ships had been refitted, but all the fresh ones ordered from Labienus had not arrived, and the prisoners were numerous,
' ' De Bell. Gall.,' V. 11.
THE GOKSTAD SHIP. View looking forward froqj the starboard quarter.
THE GOKSTAD Sim-. View looking forward from the port quarter.
A.D. 75.] HUMAN CAMPAIGNS IN BRITAIN. 29
so that it was only by crowding his vessels that Cresar managed to transport all his forces back to Gaul in one voyage. He made a good passage vdthout mishap.
As in the previous year, the Britons employed no naval force against the Romans, either with a view to preventing the landing or with a view to severing Csesar's communications with Gaul, ;in(i to obstructing the reinforcements from Labienus. The only possible conclusion is that at that time the maritime strength of south- eastern Britain was insignificant.
After Csesar's second withdrawal, nothing further was done for many years towards the extension of Roman power in Britain. On three separate occasions Augustus meditated an expedition to the island, but he was as often pi-evented, either by necessitj' for his presence elsewhere, or by the diplomatic action of British emissaries, who met him in Gaul and promised to pay the tribute with greater regi^larity. Once, indeed, the ambassadors went as far as Rome itself to make their submission.' Again, when Cunobelinus, or Cymbeline, reigned at Camulodunum, and Caligula was Emperor, a Roman invasion appeared to be imminent ; but the insane vanity of Caligula was contented with a theatrical and ridiculous demon- stration on the opposite coasts ; '" and not until the time of Claudius, in A.D. 43, was any step taken towards an effective conquest of Britain.
The successive campaigns of Aulus Plautius, of Claudius himself, of Ostorius Scapula, in a.d. 50, of Suetonius Paulinus, in a.d. .58, of Petilius Cereahs, in a.d. 70, of Julius Frontinus, about a.d. 77, of Julius Agricola, from a.d. 78 to 85, and of many other leaders, were almost entirely military, and require little notice here. It will sufhce to say that under Agricola,^ the Roman naval com- manders ascertained that Britain was an island ; and that for a long time afterwards the Roman naval power in Britain ajjpears to have been steadily increased, in oi'der to secure the coasts and the surrounding seas against the Teutonic tribes, which were already distinguished for their piratical boldness, and which were later to exercise so important an influence upon the fortunes of the island.
For the repression of the Teutonic intruders, a special officer was ai length appointed by the Emperors Diocletian and Maximian,
' Hor. ' Carm.' i. 35 ; iii. 5. - Sneton. in tulis;. 14.
' Tacit, in Agric. ; .Tuvcn., Sat. II.
30 MILITARY HISTORY TO 10G6. [A.D. 280.
probably at the beginning of their reign in 284. The first holder of the office was Caius Carausius, a man whose naval prowess had already been proved, and who was given the title of Comes Littoris Saxonici,^ Count of the Saxon Shore. He is generally said to have been a Meuapian, or, as we should say, a Fleming of mean birth ; but some Scots writers claim him as a Scotsman. -
Prankish as well as Saxon pirates scoured the North Sea and the Cliannel, and extraordinary powers were conferred upon Carausius to enable him to cope with them. He appears to have himself been half pirate at heart, and he may possibly have been selected in pursuance of the principle of setting a thief to catch a thief. He probably did his work well ; but he did it in his own way, partly by sheer might, much more, as was declared in Rome, by subtleties of no very honourable kind ; and he applied most of the spoils for his own aggrandisement.
By those methods he acciimulated so much wealth and pojver that ill 286 Maximian grew jealous of him, and employed a man to assassinate him.
The project failed, and Carausius, driven into open hostility to the Emperor, and finding a hold stroke necessary for the preserva- tion of his liberty, determined to be an Emperor himself. He was gladly acclaimed by the local forces, both military and naval, and, acting with the energy which characterised all he did, he not only secured the whole Roman fleet of which he had held command, but also l)uilt a lai'ge number of new ships, and seized the important naval arsenal of Gesoriacmn, now Boulogne, which he held as a continental outwork of his British dominions. So vigorously did he harass the empire with his squadrons, that presently, according to some writers, Maximian was glad to purchase peace at the price of formal recognition of Carausius as Emperor in Britain. There is some doubt as to the recognition ; and if it was ever conceded, it was conceded only to give time to the Empire to concentrate its resources, and to create new fleets.
In the interim Britain achieved, and for a time retained, a
position as a naval power of some serious importance. Carausius
not only kept, but also extended, his influence, cliiefly by the wise
employment of his maritime strength ; but, having concluded a
treaty of confederation with certain rovers on the Mediterranean
' Coote's 'Koiuaus in Britain'; Itliys's 'Celtic Britain'; Guest's 'Origines Celticai.' '' ' Scotichrou.' ii. 38 ; Stukeley's ' Medallic Uist. of Carausius.'
A.D. 28C.] CARAUSIUS. 31
littoral, he frightened Maximiaii and his brother emperor Constantius into a renewal of active hostility.
Maximian built a larc(e fleet in the mouths of the Khine, and undertook the naval, while Constantius made himself responsible for the military, conduct of operations. The Emperors besieged their rival in Boulogne. They could do little on the land side, and at first, the sea being open to Carausius, he was in no danger ^ from failure of supplies. But after a time, the besiegers found means to block up the mouth of the harbour with earth and sand,. supported by trees driven in as piles ; and when Carausius realised his position, he made his way by night through the camp of the enemy, and, going on board one of his own vessels, escaped to Britain, where his strength was greatest. He must have been much annoyed when he learnt that on the day after his escape a storm had destroyed the elaborate works of his foes, and that Boulogne harbour was once more open.
It has been already noted that Carausius had entered into treaties with cei-tain Mediterranean rovers. These people were the descendants of the Franks who, mider the Emperor Probus, had been sent as colonists to the shores of the Euxine to keep down the Scythians and other barbarians of those districts. The Franks, instead of withstanding the Scythians, in time made common cause with them against Rome, and, entering the Mediterranean, harassed it from end to end, burnt Syracuse, devastated the coasts of Spain and Africa, and terrified the Empire. In them Carausius recognised congenial spirits. It was arranged that the Frank pirates should come into the Atlantic, effect a junction with the British fleet, and fall upon the armada which Maximian had collected in the Rhine. Had the project been successful, Carausius might have become the most powerful prince of his day, and the whole Empire might possibly have been his.
But the piratical alliance found in Constantius a worthy op- ponent. Maximian, a man of very inferior capacity, had not been ready in time to take j)art in the operations against Boulogne ; and Constantius, perhaps apprehensive of further delay, assumed the command of the thousand ships which were at length in a condition to sail, assembled and hastily built yet others, and, having stationed squadrons to observe Carausius and keep him in check, took the main body of his fleet towards the Straits of Gibraltar. Some- where near the mouth of the Mediterranean, he met the Franks,
32 MILITABY EISTOBY TO 1066. [A.D. 400.
and crushingly defeated them.^ He then returned to Gaul in order to organise an expedition against Carausius in Britain. But while the preparations were still in progress, Carausius was treacherously assassinated by his friend and general, Allectus.
Constantius, with an inferior fleet, lay at the mouth of the Seine. Allectus assembled a superior one off the Isle of Wight, and, when all was ready, sailed with the intention of falling upon his enemy. But, by a strange coincidence, Constantius also sailed at about the same time ; and it chanced that a fog came on in mid-channel. In the fog the fleets missed one another ; and so fortune gave to Constantius an advantage which he could scarcely have gained for himself, seeing that Allectus was probably strong enough to have annihilated the Eoman force had he encountered it. The influence of sea power was neutralised as it has seldom been before or since. Constantius, having thus accidentally got across the Channel un- opposed, landed before Allectus could retm-n, and burnt his ships, partly in order to inspire his people with the courage of despair, and partly, perhaps, because he realised that in an engagement at sea he was no match for the enemy, and that he must either win Britain or perish.
As soon as he suspected what had happened, Allectus also landed. His policy had alienated the people on shore, and though he was very strong at sea, he had but a comparatively feeble following on land. When, therefore, he fell in with one of Constantius' lieutenants, and attacked him with rash fury, he produced no impression, and, making a gallant fight, was Killed. A fm-ther curious circumstance characterised the conclusion of this campaign, which had been so greatly affected by accidents. After the death of Allectus, his followers, chiefly seamen, seized London, and were upon the point of sacking it, when part of the Eoman fleet, which had lost the main body in the fog, and had entered the Thames by chance, opportimely arrived on the scene, and landed a strong party which cut the pirates, many of whom were foreigners, to pieces.
In the decadence of the Western Empire, Lupicinus,- a heu- tenant of Julian, repressed the piracies of the Scots ; Theodosius, and Maximus, who was acclaimed Emperor by the army, did the same at a later date, and repeatedly chastised the Saxon marauders
' Eutroj). ix. ; Bede, i. 6 ; Aurel. Vict. 39, etc., give ' History of Carausius and Allectus.' See also Sjieed's Chronicle. '^ Bede, i. 1 ; Amni. Marcel, xx.
450.] THE COMING OF THE PICTS. 33
at sea ; and even under Honorius, Victorinus and Gallic were able to drive back the Scots, the Picts, and the Saxons, and to preserve some sort of order and security in the narrow seas. But towards the end of the period of Koman rule, the protection of the Eonian fleets and armies was only occasionally and irregularly vouchsafed ; and when at length the Britons, in reply to their prayers for assistance against the northern pirates, were told to defend them- selves, they indignantly rose and drove out the last few official representatives of the effete Empire. For the moment the islanders were free ; but they were totally defenceless, and the Picts pressed them sorely.
The Picts,* properly the Caledonii and Meatae, were the tribes dwelling north of the Eomau walls, and were probably Celts of Goidelic type. They were never subjugated by the Eomans. The Scots were Ulster Gaels of predatory habits, who at the end of the fifth centuiy colonised Argyle and established there a Scottish kingdom of Dahiada, which was for some time in alliance with the Irish Dalriada, whence the colonists had come. So much for strict definitions. But the Picts and Scots of the period immediately following the Roman abandonment of Britain, stand, in the lan- guage of early historians, for any of the freebooters who, coming from the north and west, harassed the southern and more civilised part of the main island. After the Eoman withdrawal, they appear to have broken do\\Ti the fortified walls which for many generations had limited their operations in the north ; and, when the Britons attacked them in that quarter, the invaders seem, utilising their unchallenged sea power, to have landed an army in rear of the defence, and to have completely disheartened and confounded theLr opponents. But the period is one of turmoil, darkness, and myth.
Endeavours to unravel the confusing tangle of fact and fiction left us by Geoffrey of Monmouth, Ncunius, Bede, Gildas, and the annalists, lead to the conclusion that, after the first period of chaos consequent upon the Eoman desertion, one Vortigern, a prince of the Demetae, by murder and fraud, acquired a leading position in the island ; but that, finding himself opposed, on the one hand, by a considerable Eoman party, under Ambrosius Aurelianus," a prince of the Damnonii, and, on the other, by the Picts, and having little in view beyond his own personal welfare, he called in a roving band of
' Skene's ' Celtic Scotland ' ; Khys's ' Celtic Britain.' 2 Gildas, 25 ; Bede's ' Eocles. Hist.,' j. 10.
VOL. I. D
34 MILITARY BISTORT TO 1066. [475.
Saxon pirates to assist him iu supporting his threatened position. These pirates were under the brothers Hengest and Horsa/ said to have been sons of Wihtgils and great-great-grandsons of Wodan ; and if it be true that they came with three ships only, and that nevertheless they were strong enough to effect the re-establishment of Vortigern's power in Britain, we are forced to beheve that not only the British fighting capacity, but also the Pictish navy, must have been at a very low ebb in those days.
The brothers were probably younger sons, who, in accordance with the German custom of the time, were sent forth to seek their fortunes by any means which chanced to commend themselves to them. They were adventui-ers, and irresponsible. They landed at Ebbsfleet," about the year 450, did Vortigern's work successfully, and, by way of reward, were permitted to establish themselves in Thanet. Ere long, they fell out with their old employer, one of whose sons, Vortimer, gained several successes over them, both afloat and ashore, and finally defeated them at Aylesford, where Horsa was killed.^ But Vortimer soon afterwards died, the Britons found no leader to take his place, Saxon reinforcements came over, and the party of Hengest regained its ascendancy. Ambrosius Aurehanus is reported to have defeated and slain Hengest* him- self; but Hengest left behind him a good leader in the j)erson of his son ^sc, who, at length, achieved the complete conquest of Kent.
But the descent of Hengest and Horsa, important though it was in its consequences, was only the precursor of many other Saxon expeditions to Britain.
Ella,'* with his three sons, Cymon, Whencing, and Cissa, and three ships, landed in 477 at a spot identified by Lappenberg with Keynor in Selsea, and, after a long struggle, obtained reinforce- ments and took and bmrnt the stronghold of Anderida, probably the modern Pevensey,'' in 491. He estabUshed a Saxon kingdom in Sussex.
In 495, Cerdic,' with his son Cynric and five ships, landed,
' Sax. Chron., anno 449 ; Green's ' Making of England.' ^ With three "long ships," otherwise "ceols" (keels). Sax. Chron., 298. ^ In 455. Close to Aylesford, in Kent, is Kit's Coty House, a cronilech, said to commemorate one Catigern, who also fell.
* In 489 (?). ' Sax. Chron., 300.
^ But Camden says Newenden, Kent ; others think near Eastbourne.
' Sax. Chron., 300.
775.] MERCIAN ASCENDENCY. 35
apparent!}' in Hampshire, and, though at first he was not successful, obtained at length the assistance of .^sc and Ella, and defeated the Britons. Like the other invading chiefs, he received reinforcements in course of time from the continent, and then, extending his operations, founded the kingdom of the West Saxons, and conquered the Isle of Wight as the result of a great victory at Whitgaresburh, now perhaps Carisbrooke. From this distinguished rover, all the sovereigns of England, except Canute, Haxdicanute, Harold the Dane, Harold II., and William the Conqueror, can undoubtedly trace their descent ; and Cerdic ^ himself is fabled to have been ninth in direct hne from the god Wodan.
Thus the invasion of the Saxons, including the Angles and the Jutes, continued, by wave upon wave of healthy barbarians from Gemiany, until nearly all what is now England, and Scotland south of the Forth and Clyde, was covered by Saxon states. These fought among one another for the leadership. The tide of success ebbed and flowed, now one way and now another, until at length the only two important competitors for supremacy were the kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex.
For some time it seemed as if the struggle would terminate in favoivr of Mercia, especially during the reign of its gi-eat king Offa (757 to 796). Up to his day the Saxon princes in England, not being much troubled by foes from oversea, and having plenty of enemies inland, had paid little attention to the maintenance of that sea power whereby they had gained their new empire. But Offa looked without as well as within, and created a con- siderable navy, which found its justification in 787, when, for the first time, the Danes made an incursion with three ships " from Hseretha land,"''^ and plundered part of Northumbria, and in 794,^ when a monastery at the mouth of the Don was sacked. The Vikings did not fare well on either occasion. On the former, they were easily driven off with loss ; on the latter, some of their vessels were wrecked. If Ofl'a's successors had been as prudent as he was, and if internal dissensions had not opened the door to the enemy, these first efforts of the Danes might, perhaps, have been also their last for a long series of j'ears. Unfortmiately, the various Saxon kingdoms w'ere still fighting among themselves, and, as for the Britons, they were glad to welcome the co-operation of any one,
' He died about 534. ^ Ingram says " the land of robbers."
' Simeon of Durham, 112; Sax. Chron., 338.
D 2
36 MILITARY EISTOEY TO 1066. [836.
pirate or not, against their conquerors. They hated the Danes, but they hated the Saxons more ; and when, not long after Offa's death, another Danish foraying party landed in Northunibria, it met with assistance from the dissatisfied Britons. Nor were the Danes effectively withstood again until the question of supremacy among the Saxon kingdoms had been finally decided by the victories of Wessex under Egbert.
But even Egbert, the wise monarch of a more or less con- solidated England, was able to make the Danes respect him only in the last few years of his life, when all domestic enemies had been silenced. While he was still building up his power, the pirates sorely troubled the fringes of the country. In 800, the year of his accession to the throne of Wessex, bodies of Danes landed t'nice. One party pillaged the Isle of Portland, and the other ravaged' the districts in the neighbourhood of the Humber but was driven off by the country people. In 801 a body landed on Lindisfarne, and having defeated the Saxons there, re-embarked, proceeded round the south coast to Wales, and joined the Britons who were still un- conquered in the part of the country lying to the west of Offa's Dyke. Egbert, however, met and beat them, yet not so badly as to deter them from making a fresh descent in 802, when heavily reinforced they entered the mouth of the Thames, seized Sheppey, and ravaged parts of Kent and Essex, up to within sight of the gates of London, where Egbert again met and beat them.
These forays were repeated, sometimes with more and sometimes with, less success, nearly every year, and in 833 the crews of thirty-five Danish vessels inflicted a bloody defeat upon Egbert at Charmouth.^ In 835, however, Egbert retaliated, coming up at Hengestesdun, now Kingston Dovm, with a combined horde of Danes and Cornish Britons, and nearly annihilating it.^
In the following year Egbert died. Under his successor Ethel- wulf the same kind of thing continued. In 837 the Danes were defeated at Southampton,^ but gained a success at Port in Dorset- shire. In 8-JB^ they defeated the king at Charmouth,* and in 851 wcwse befel. Athelstan,* a son of Egbert, assisted by the ealdorman Ealchere, seems to have fought a naval action with a Danish force off Sandwich, and to have defeated it, taking nine vessels; but another and much stronger Danish force, consisting of three
' Sax. Chron,, 344. ^ IK, 344. ^ IK, 345. * IK, 346.
' He held sway over the South Saxons.
871.] BATTLES WITH THE DANES. -37
hundred and fifty ships, arrived in the month of the Thafnes, landed an arm}', stormed both Canterbury and London, defeated an army headed by the King of Mercia, and was moving through Surrey, when it was encountered by Ethelwulf and his son Ethclbald, and routed with immense slaughter at Ockley.^ Nevei'theless, that year the Danes wintered for the first time in Thanet.^
It is noteworthy that of the numerous actions recorded as having been fought between the Saxons and the Danes thus far, one only, namely, that in which Athelstan was victorious off Sandwich, is clearly indicated as having been a sea-fight. From this it might be supposed that the Saxons had an inadequate navy ; but by far the more probable explanation is, that they did not properly utilise such navy as they had. They seem, before the days of Alfred, to have thought more of guarding their coasts than of finding and defeating the enemy at sea ; and as the usual policy of the Danes was to make a sudden raid, land a force, and allow it to shift for itself, and subsist upon the resources of the comitry until it could find oppor- tunity to re-embark at another point, the Saxon tactics of stationing their vessels in or near the important ports may well have been very ineffective.
Ethelbert, who reigned from 860 to 8G6, was not more fortunate than his predecessors, and at one time his capital, Winchester, was attacked by his northern enemies. The reign, too, of Ethelred, from 866 to 871, was disastrous. The Danes made themselves masters of Northumbria and part of Mercia, seized Nottingham, completely conquered East Anglia, and advancing for the attack on Wessex, made Eeading their headquarters. Led by Bagsecg and Halfdene, they fought no fewer than nine great battles in that neighbourhood in the course of the year 871, and were on several occasions successful ; but King Ethelred and his brother Alfred beat them badly at Ashdown, near Didcot, and killed Halfdene. Ethel- red, who seems to have been wounded there or in one of the subsequent and less successful fights at Basing and Merton, died soon afterwards, and Alfred, then probably in his bwenty-ninth or thirtieth year, came to the imperilled crovni.
Alfred's reign began badly. In the early summer of 871 he was defeated by the Danes at Wilton, and apparently so dispirited that he came to terms with the invaders, and offered them that which
> Sax. Chron., 346. " Ih., 345.
38 MILITARY HISTORY TO 1066. [890.
induced them to leave bis part of the kingdom in the following year. But he secured this humiliating respite only to derive the greatest possible advantage from it. He at once devoted himself to naval matters, and in 875 ' he met seven Danish ships at sea, and scattered them, capturing one. Thereafter, for several years, he busied himself vyith the recovery of Wessex. In 882,^ he was again afloat with a squadron, capturing four Danish ships after a very obstinate action. In 885, his vessels took sixteen Danish pirates^ at the mouth of the Stour, but were afterwards themselves defeated by another Danish force. Until 893, however, Danish activity was less than it had been for many years previously, and Alfred had a considerable amomit of leisure for attending to the improvement of the arts of peace.
Many of the Danes who had been driven from England by the energy of Alfred were, in the meanwhile, ravaging parts of the Low Countries and the north of France, under a leader of great ability named Hasting. Their continental successes tempted them to think again of England, and assembhng at Boulogne, they built or procmred a fleet of two hundred and fifty ships, embarked with their horses, and crossed the Channel to " Lemenemouth," ^ where part of them landed. Some are of opinion that Lemenemouth was the mouth of the Bother. Be this as it may, the landed party stormed a fort and took up a position at Appledore, while Hasting, retaining with him eighty ships, proceeded to the mouth of the Thames, and landed at Milton,^ where he formed a camp.
There is no record of what Alfred's fleet was doing at this period, but it does not appear to have met the enemy, and Hasting, in the next year, crossed the Thames into Essex, and fortified himself at South Benfleet, while two bodies of his friends co-operated with him, one, consisting of forty ships, going round by the north into the Bristol Channel and landing a force on the north coast of Devonshire, and the other, of one hundred ships, going down Channel, and landing a force for the siege of Exeter. Alfred divided his army into two parts, sending one against Hasting at Benfleet, and himself leading the other against his enemies in the west. Hasting was driven from Benfleet, and his fleet was part taken and part destroyed, but he fell back on South Shoebury, and was there
' Sax. Chron., 355. =* 7ft., 358. ^ 7j_^ 359,
* DifTiciilt to identify. See Southey's ed. of 'Lives of Admirals,' i. 35. ' Sax. Uliron., 363, 364.
805.] ALFRED'S SUCCESSES. 39
joined by ships from East Anglia and Northumbria. In the west the appearance of Alfred caused the invaders to raise the siege of Exeter and re-embark, but going eastward, they landed again and attacked Chichester. There they were driven off, with the loss of a few ships.' Hasting made fiirther imsuccessful efforts to push his fortunes in England, and struggled on until the summer of 897 ; but he then gave up the task as hopeless, and disbanded his remaining forces.
It was in 897 apparently, that the ships of the new and improved type* designed by Alfred were first tried in action. Six Danish vessels were ravaging the coasts of Devonshire and of the Isle of Wight, and the King ordered out against them nine of his novel craft, manning them partly with English and partly with Frisians, who were reputed the best seamen of that time. The Danes were found, three afloat and three aground. The three which were in a condition to move immediately issued from their haven, and fought very gallantly, two, however, being captm-ed and their crews put to death, in accordance vsdth the King's principle for dealing with such freebooters. The third escaped, with but five men remaining on board. Going into the haven to attack the other vessels, the royal ships all managed to nm aground, too, three lying close to the three stranded Danes, and the rest at some distance on the other side of the harbom-. When the tide had run out, the Danes furiously attacked the Saxon ships near them, killing seventy-two of their people, but themselves losing as many as one hundred and twenty. At length the tide rose again, and it would have enabled the English on the other side of the haven to intervene with decisive effect, but for the fact that it floated the Danes first. They plied their oars, and escaped from the immediate danger, but so badly damaged were they, that two of them went ashore elsewhere and were captured, and their crews, being conducted to Winchester, were there hanged by the King's command.*
Having been, as is supposed, the first EngUsh sovereign to command a squadron in action at sea, Alfred has been called the first English admiral. There is, perhaps, danger of oven-ating the importance of his exploits afloat. He won no decisive victory there ; and it is easy to form an exaggerated estimate of the efficiency to which the fleet attained vmder him, and of the material improve-
' Sax. Chron., 364-369. .4 ^ Ih, 371. See ante. Chap. I. p. 13.
» lb., 370, 371.
40 MILITARY HISTOET TO 1066. [940.
ments which he introduced. But it stands to his credit that he appreciated the value of offensive defence, and was one of the first Enghshmen to employ it.
Under Edward the Elder (901-925), the son and successor of Alfred, but two notable naval events took place, although during most of the reign the Danes were troublesome, both on the coasts and inland. In 904, Ethelwald, a son of Ethelred, having put forward his claim to the crown, obtained Danish assistance from Northumbria, and, with as many ships as he was able to collect, effected a descent in Essex, ^ subdued it and persuaded the East Anghan Danes to invade Mercia ; but he was kiUed in a skirmish in the course of the following year. In 915 or, according to others, in 918, a large piratical fleet from Brittany- fell upon the coasts of Wales and carried off the Bishop of Llandaff, who was subsequently ransomed by Edward for forty pounds.
Athelstau (925-941), Edward's son, took more interest than most of his predecessors in foreign politics, and had a share ^ in the restoration of Louis d'Outremer, son of Charles the Simple, to the throne of France. In 933 he invaded Scotland,* both by sea and land ; but his great exploit was the crushing, in 937, of the formid- able alliance arrayed against him by . Constantine, King of Scots, Olaf (or Anlaff) son of Guthfiith, Danish king of Northmnbria, Olaf (or Anlaff), Cuaran, the Danish king of Dublin, and several British princes, including Owen of Cumberland. This combination was arranged in retahation for Athelstg^n's action against Scotland, and especially for the manner in which his fleet had ravaged the coasts of Caithness. The campaign, which seems to have been to a considerable extent a naval one, was decided by the victory of Brunanburh, where Athelstan routed all his opponents. A trans- lation of the Saxon war song, composed in honour of the event, will be found in Freeman's ' Old-Enghsh History.'
The site of Brunanburh is imdetermined. Some j)lace it in the Lothians, some in Northumberland, some in Yorkshire and others at Brumby, in Lincolnshire. Simeon of Dm'ham^ makes Olaf Guthfrithsson's fleet, without the fleets of his alhes, to have consisted, on the occasion of this descent, of no fewer than 615 vessels ; so that Athelstan's power must have been, indeed, enormous.
' Sax. Chron., 372. ^ Ih., 377. = Flodoard,. quoted by Daniel, ii. 647.
* Sas. Chron., 383-385. . ' p. 25.
973.] EDGAR'S NAVY. 41
Edmund the Elder (941-94G), Edred (940-935) and Edwy (955-959), seem to have all been capable monai'chs, although the character of the last, owing to his attitude on matters of ecclesias- tical policy, is bitterly attacked by contemporary monkish historians. They held their o\vn against the Danes who were already estabhshed in the island ; but there are no records of their having had to cope with serious Danish irruptions from over sea.
Edgar (959-975), hke his immediate predecessors, was little troubled from abroad, and utiHsed the comparative peacefulness of his reign in organising his navy. It is related that he divided his fleet into three permanent squadrons of equal force, stationing one in the Noiih Sea, a second in the Irish Channel, and the third on the north coasts of Scotland ; and that every year, after Easter, he made a tour of inspection round his realm by sea, joining the North Sea Squadron first, cruising with it from the mouth of the Thames to the Land's End, and there dismissing it to its station, and joining the Irish Channel Squadron. With this he cruised as far as the Hebrides, where he met the Northern Squadron and, joining it, was conveyed by it round the north of Scotland and back to the mouth of the Thames.^ In these annual evolutionary cruises he visited all the ports and estuaries, made provision for the secmity of the coasts, and occasionally attacked his enemies.
In the course of one expedition he is said to have reduced the Irish Danes, and to have taken Dubhn. In the course of another, in 973, he is said to have been met at Chester by the kings, Kenneth of Scots, Malcolm of Cumbria, Maccus of Man, Dunwallou of Strathclyde, Inchill of Westmoreland, and Siferth, lago, and Howell of Wales, who, in token of subjection to him, manned his barge and, Edgar steering, rowed him on the Kiver Dee.^
But it must be remembered that Edgar, unlike Edwy, was on excellent terms with Dunstan and the ecclesiastical party, and that the ecclesiastics were practically the sole historians of those times ; and it may be regarded as certain that Edgar's naval glory, which was no doubt considerable, was, if anything, rather exaggerated than minimised by the chroniclers. Ethelward, one of the few con- temporary writers who possibly was not an ecclesiastic, and who,
' Matt, of West.
2 Will, of Malmesbury, i. 236 (ed. Hardy) ; Flor. of Wore, 578 (ed. Petrie) ; Hoveden, 244, etc. ; but the names of the kings are variously given. See also ' Libel of English Policie.'
42 MILITARY HISTORY TO 1066. [995.
according to his own account, was nearly related to the royal house, drops hints that, after all, Edwy may not have been inferior as a monarch to Edgar. Be this as it may, the monkish estimate of Edgar as one of the greatest of British naval reformers has received general acceptance ; and, with very few intervals, there has, in consequence, always been a large British man-of-war bearing the king's name since the day in 1668, when it was conferred upon a two-decker at the instance of James, Duke of York, Lord High Admiral, who had previously given the name to one of his sons who died in infancy.
The brief reign of the boy Edward, miscalled The MartjT, (975-979), was mieventful ; but the latter part of the reign of his half-brother, Ethelred the Purposeless (979-1016), was full of naval incident ; and, indeed, even the earlier part, from its very beginning, witnessed a marked revival of Danish aggression from across the North Sea. Not however, imtil 988 did the Danes renew their attempts to settle in the country. Up to that date their expeditions were merely raids and forays.
It was in 988 that Olaf Tryggvesson, one of the most formidable, bloody and revengeful of the Vikings, harassed Watchet and killed Gova, the Thane of Devon. Olaf was the son of a Norwegian sea king, but may have been born in Britain. In 991 he led a fleet of 450 ships to Stone, thence to Sandwich, and thence to Ipswich, and, pressing as far as Maldon, there defeated and slew the earldorman Brihtnoth, who had been sent against him. Ethelred made some attempts to assemble a fleet, so as to cut off the enemy, but his plans were betrayed by the earldorman Elfric, and only a very partial success by sea was secured. In 994 Olaf allied himself with Sweyn ^ of Denmark, son of Harold Blaatand, and the two, with ninety-four ships, made an abortive attempt on London.^ Driven thence by the townsmen they devastated Kent, Susses and Hampshire, both along the coast and for some distance inland ; and on an evil day Ethelred agreed to buy them off by payment of £16,000 and the provision for them of food and winter quarters at Southampton, Olaf promising never again to visit England, unless peacefully.^ In the spring he departed for Norway, which he wrested from Earl Hacon and ruled for several years ; but, though he personally kept his word, his promise bound no one save himself, and the Vikings presently began their inciu'sions anew.
' More properly Swegen. - Sax. Chrou., 402. ^ lb., 402, 403.
1000.] MASSACRE OF THE DANES. 43
In 997 ^ a Danish fleet entered the Tamar, went up to Lidford, crossed to Tavistock, burned the church there, and carried off an immense amount of booty. In 998 the Danes ravaged Dorsetshire and Hampshire ; and though EngHsh armies were sent against them, the pirates were invariably victorious. In 999 they sailed up the Medway, disembarked at Rochester, defeated the local forces, and ravaged West Kent. Ethelred collected a fleet as well as an army ; but the latter did no good to his cause, and the former, owing to delay on the part of the leaders, was not ready until too late.^ It is probable that this expedition, like several previous descents, was bought off, and that the refusal of Malcolm of Cumbria to contribute money for the purpose was the cause of the hostilities which Ethelred waged against him with success in the following year.
But a nearly contemporaneous descent upon Normandy, whither some of the Danes had retired, was a failure ; nor is this to be wondered at. It is tolerably clear that Ethelred's naval forces were no longer in hand, and were in fact in a state bordering upon mutiny. A fleet destined to support the king on his Cumbrian expedition, instead of accompanying him, had gone away on its own account and ravaged Maeuige, which some take to have been Man and others Anglesey.*
In 1001 the Danes reappeared, this time at Exmouth, where they were joined by a foreigner named Pallig, who had received favoiu's from Ethelred, and had sworn fealty to him. Great havoc was wrought in Devon and Somerset, and, the forces of the realm having failed to eject the pirates, a humiliating bribe of £24,000 was given them to induce them to depart in the following year.^
Then it was that Ethelred bethought himself of getting rid of the bloodsuckers who were preying upon his everweakening inheritance by murdering all the Danes resident in England. The crime, or as much of it as was possible, was perpetrated on St. Brice's Day, November 13th, 1002,'' and in the massacre a sister of Sweyn, Prince of Denmark, who had banded himself with Olaf in 994, perished. This cil'cumstance seems to have sealed the fate of England. The massacre thinned out the Danes who lived in what had in earlier times been the Danelagh, and who had for generations fitted out piratical expeditions against the rest of the
' Sax. CLroii., 406. ' lb., 407. " lb., 407.
* lb., 408, 409. ° Ih.
44 MILITAET HISTORY TO 1066. [1005.
country and provided bases of operations for their kinsmen foraying hither from Denmark ; but, on the other hand, it exasperated the Danes at home, and especially Sweyn, to madness.
Sweyn's immediate reply was a descent, in the course of which he stonned Exeter and captured Sahsbury,^ and, in fact, met with little resistance, except in East Anglia. This was in 1003. In 1004, after having drawn off for the winter, he returned, sailing up the Yare to Norwich. AVliile some of his heutenants amused the people by pretending to treat with them, he advanced surreptitiously to Thetford. Ulfcytel, Ethelred's officer at Norwich, ordered the Danish ships to be destroyed-; but his directions were not attended to. He himself, with a force of men, followed Sweyn, and met him on his way back. A fierce battle resulted, but Ulfcytel was killed, and the Danes were able to re-embark. In 1006 they came again, in greater strength than ever, captm-ing and sacking Sandwich. Ethehed bovight them off with provisions and £36,000 in money. ^ Then he made tardy efforts to reorganise a fleet,^ and in 1008 levied for the purpose a tax which, says Nicolas,* " is considered the first impost of the kind and the earhest precedent of ship-money." Great numbers of vessels were built, some authorities say 800 ; and probably about 30,000 men were armed for service; and in 1009 the fleet was ordered to make rendezvous at Sandwich. But treacheiy, mismanagement and misfortune brought the armada to nought.
A man named Wulfnoth, a South Saxon, bead of a family which subsequently made a great naval reputation for itself, and father of Earl Godwin, then a J'oung man in his teens, induced twenty of Ethelred's ships to follow him, and carried them away, probably with the design of turning pirate. Brihtric was despatched in pursuit of him with eighty vessels ; but this squadron fell in with a violent gale of wind and, being dispersed, was tirrned upon in its distress by Wulfnoth, who bm-nt every one of the ships. When the news reached the rendezvous a panic seized everyone there, the king and nobility fled to London, and the squadron was either abandoned or scattered.
The Danes took instant advantage of the confusion. Thurcytel ^ the Tall, leader of a piratical community which had for some time been estabUshed at lona, and which had just been broken up,
' .Sax. Chron., -ilO, 411. ^ lb., -112, 413. ^ Ih., 413.
* Kiculas, ' Hist, of Eoy. Kav.,' i. -13. . ° Or Tburkel.
1010.] THUBCYTEL THE TALL. 45
had an understanding with Swej'n, and arrived with fifty ships at Greenwich. He plundered great part of the south of England, extorted heavy siims by way of ransom, captured Canterbury, thanks to the treachery of Elfinar, sacked that city, and murdered Ai-chbishop Alphege at a drunken orgie on Easter Saturday, 1012. Meanwhile London was ineffectually attacked,^ and Oxford was burnt. Ethclred could do nothing. He was tired of buying off invaders. He hired Thurcytel, and forty-five of his ships,^ to assist in the protection of the kingdom. Sweyn came once more, in 1013, accompanied by his son Canute, and landed at Sandwich. Thence he went to the mouth of the Humber, and thence along the Trent as far as Gainsborough. Northern England submitted to him ; and when he had horsed his army he marched southward, leaving his prisoners and his ships under the care of Canute. London was attacked, but Thurcytel contributed to the defence ; and Ethelred was able to repulse the Danes,^ who thereupon turned their attention to the reduction of the West of England, which quickly acknow- ledged Sweyn as king. This defection decided the wretched Ethelred to abandon his country. Once more Thurcytel proved useful, for they were his ships that escorted the unfortunate monarch to Normandy ; but Thiu'cytel's fidelity was only hired, and, thi-ee years later, the soldier of fortune was fighting for Sweyn's son Canute against Etheh-ed's son Edmund Ironside. He died Eegent of Denmark.
Canute succeeded his father in 1014.^ At the news of the old king's death Ethelred retm'ned, with Edmimd Ironside, and was acclaimed by the Saxon portion of the people, who declared " that no lord was dearer to them than their natural lord, if he would rule them rightlier than he had before done." Etheh-ed made promises freely, and entered into a kind of compact with his subjects, the first of the kind on record in Enghsh history. One of the first things he did, however, was to levy £21,000 for the army,^ with which he marched against Canute, who was at Liudsey, and who retired in his ships to Sandwich, where, after mutilating them by cutting off their hands, ears, and noses, he landed the hostages who had been entrusted to his father Sweyn. "With Sandwich ° as his
' Sax. Chron., 414. ; - lb., 418. ' lb., 418, 419.
* Jb., 420. ^ lb., 420, 421.
' Later, on his safe return from a iiilgrimage to liome, Canute gave the port of Sandwich, and the dues arising from it, to Christ Churcli, Canterbury,
46 MILITARY EIST0E7 TO 1066. [1020.
base, Canute ravaged Kent, Somerset, Dorset, and Wiltshire ; later, he laid waste Mercia and Northmnbria, and subdued them ; but while he was still preparing for the final reconquest of Wessex, his rival Ethehed died on April 23rd, 1016.
Edmund Ironside was chosen king by the citizens of London, who were at that moment threatened by the presence of Canute in the Thames. Canute had been reinforced by the desertion from Edmund of Edric Streona, one of Ethehed's oldest, most trusted, and most deceitful advisers, with forty ships.^ Edric subsequently deserted back to Edmimd, and again, at the battle of Assandun, back to Canute — all within a year. Edmimd was iu the west when in May or June Canute's fleet approached London ; and the invaders were able, by digging a canal round the south side of the city, so to station their vessels that they could act both above and below bridge. The place was held by the inhabitants, but it was closely blockaded by water and invested by land, until Edmund, after much fight- ing, returned, and obliged the Danes to raise the siege and retire down the river. Various successes ^ were gained by each side until towards the close of 1016, when the Danes won so conclusive a victory at Assandun, supposed to be Aslington in Essex, that the Saxon Witan itself proposed the division of the country between the rivals. This solution had scarcely been agreed to ere Edmtmd died, after a reign of only seven months, and Canute became sole monarch of England.
The naval exploits of Canute after 1016 scarcely belong to English history, for although this great king spent most of his time in this country, and reckoned it the chief of his numerous posses- sions, England was at peace during most of his reign. Nicolas^ thus summarises from the Saxon Chronicle his goings and comings : "In 1018 he sent part of his forces back to Denmark; but he retained forty ships rmtil the following year, when he went with them to that kingdom. Canute returned to England early iu 1020, and in 1022 he is said to have accompanied his fleet to the Isle of Wight ; but, as in 1023, he is stated to have ' come again to England,' it would seem that he had made a more distant voyage, probably to Denmark. In 1025 Canute again visited Denmark with his ships, and being attacked at the Holm by a Swedish fleet and army, after a sanguinary conflict the Swedes remained in
' Sax. Chron., 422. - lb., 422-424.
= Nicolas, i. 48 ; from Sax. Chron., 426^29.
1038.] RISE OF GODWIN. 47
possession of the field. His return to England is not noticed ; hut in 1028 he went from England ' with fifty ships of English thanes ' to Norway, and having di-iveu King Olaf out of the country, took possession of his dominions."
In one sense, therefore, we may reckon Norway as England's first foreign conquest, in that it was made, partially at least, by Englishmen, though for the Danish rather than for the English crown. In another direction also the country made a new departure under Canute, who established the Huscai-ls, a permanent force of fighting men governed under a military code. They were either 3000 or 6000 in number, and constituted the earhest approach to a standing army in England. The invasion of Scotland in 1031 was a naval as well as a military expedition, but few details of it have been handed down to us ; and after it, until Canute's death at Shaftesbury in November, 103-5, there was peace.
Upon Canute's death, his son by Emma,' widow of King Ethelred, seized Denmark, while his reputed son by Elgiva of Northampton was generally supported in England, though not by the West Saxons nor by Godwin, who was already powerful. In consequence, the former, Hardicanute, became for a time King of Denmark and Wessex, and the latter, Harold I., King of England north of the Thames. An attempt in 1036 by two of Ethelred's sons to recover their father's kingdom failed, and was bloodily pimished by Harold ; and in the following year the people, becoming disgusted with Hardicanute's long absence abroad, forsook him, and gave in their general adhesion to Harold, who thus reunited the kingdom into a whole, which has never since been split up. Emma was banished to Flanders ; but Harold prudently reconciled himself with Godwin, who had put himself at the head of a respectable English party. Hardicanute was little inclined to submit to this arrangement, and in 1039 joined his mother at Bruges, and began preparations for an invasion of England. But before he could carry out his plans Harold died, on March 17th, 1040.
Hardicanute at once crossed the Channel, arriving at Sandwich before midsimimer with sixty ships, for the support of the crews of which he levied a tax at the heavy rate of eight marks per rower. This and his large subsequent levies of Heregeld, as well as his severities, gained him much unpopularity ; and in the hope of bettering his position in the minds of the people, he sent over to
' Also known as Edith.
48 MILITARY HISTORY TO 1066. [1013.
Normandy for his haK-brother Edward, son of Emma by Etheked, and installed him at court as heir to the throne. Accordingly, when Hardicanute died in June, 1042, Edward, later known as the Confessor, succeeded without serious opposition.
There were not wanting other pretenders to the crown. One was SwejTi Estrithson, a nephew of Canute; but Godwin was on the side of Edward, and Godwin was the most powerful man in the country. Magnus, King of Norway and Denmark, also put forward claims, and would have endeavoured to enforce them in 104.5, had his attention not been distracted by the attack upon him of Harold Har- drada and Sweyn, his rivals at home.^ Meanwhile Emma, who still coquetted with the Danish party, and who seems to have preferred her connections by her second to those by her first marriage, was disgraced ; and later, several of the more dangerous Danish lords in England were banished as a measure of precaution. Thus Edward's position was made secure. But Edward had been educated at the Norman court, and had Norman sympathies and Norman favourites. Danish influence gave place, not, as should have been the case, to Enghsh, but to Norman ; and there was much English discontent.
A man to lead the national party was happily at hand in the person of Godwin, Earl of the West Saxons, the strongest, most wealthy, and most able subject of his day, and a very distinguished seaman. He seems to have successively misunderstood the ten- dencies both of Emma and of Edward. He certainly rendered valuable assistance to the plans of each, vastly, it is true, increasing his own importance and social dignity in the process. He had married Gytha, a niece of Canute ; his daughter Edith married Edward the Confessor ; his sons and nephews were all advanced to high posts. But at length he aroused himself to the growing seriousness of the foreign aggressions, and took up a definite position in the van of the national movement. Godwin forced upon the Enghsh monarchy almost the first of the long series of constitutional compromises which have given us our liberties. He may have been a selfseeker ; undoubtedly he was, in some stages of his career, very much like a pirate. But he initiated a good work. When foreign influence, grown to an unexampled height, at length procured the outlawry of him and his family, he retired to Flanders, to reappear at the head of a fleet. He was beloved and admired by the people, and Edward, the most overrated of the English kings, was supported
' Sax. Chron., 435.
104j.] THE FLEET AT SASDWICII. 49-
only by the clei-f^' and the foreifjners. Opposition was liopeless ; the king's forces refused to tight against the EngHsh hero, and Edward had to give way on nearly all points, and to get rid of the raoi-e objectionable of his Norman advisers and sycophants. Here the sea helped in the striking of a heax-y blow for the caiise of freedom ; and although Godwin survived his triumph for only a year, he died victor in a great constitutional struggle.
But the naval events of the reign must be noted in their order. Godwin's victory came late.
The fleet seems to have been cared for throughout. In 1044 Edward was at Sandwich with thirty-five ships, and in 1045, when the invasion of Magnus was expected, as large a fleet as had ever been seen in England was collected at the same port. Edward was asked by Sweyn to assist him with a squadron of fifty vessels against Magnus, but the request was refused.' Magnus's navy being re- puted to be exceedingly powerful, and popular opinion being aj)- parently doubtful whether that of England would be justified in going far from its own coasts to intervene in a foreign quarrel. Nor was the refusal unwise, for there was plenty for the fleet to do at home. Not long afterwards Sandwich itself was attacked by the pirates Lothing and Yrling,^ with twenty-five ships, and a large amount of booty was carried away. Thanet also was attacked, but drove off its assailants. Essex fared less fortunately, and was ravaged, the pirates taking their spoils to Flanders and there selling them. The king was at sea during this time, but did not succeed in falling in with the freebooters.
Baldwin, Count of Flanders, had protected the operations of these and other sea-robbers, and consequently, when, in 1049, Baldwin was at war with the emperor, and the latter invited Edward to assist in blockading the territories of the Count, the King of England was disposed to comply, and once more collected his fleet at Sandwich.^ But he appears to have had no time to put to sea with it ere Baldwin and the emperor came to terms, and then, deeming that so large a force was unnecessary, Edward sent his Mercian contingent home.
The rest of the fleet he designed to utilise for another object. Osgod Clapa, a Dane who had been in Edward's service, but who had been banished in 1040 for suspected complicity in the machina- tions of Magnus, had taken to piracy, and was reported to be at Ulp ' Sax. Cliroii., 437, 438. ^ lb., 438. » 76., 438, 430.
VOL. I. E
50 MILITARY BISTORY TO 1066. " [1049.
with thirty-nine ships ; whereupon Edward dispatched j)art of his force in chase of the rover, who ran for Flanders with six ships only, leaving the rest to plunder Essex ; and as the English force seems to have been cojupletely deceived and to have pursued Osgod, the plunderers did their work almost unmolested, and re-embarked in safety.^ Thus the great armament at Sandwich did little good.
While the king was still at Sandwich, Godwin's eldest son Sweyn, who, in consequence of having been refused permission to marry the Abbess of Leominster, whom he had abducted, had throvni up his earldom and retired in a huff to Denmark, decided to endeavour to make his peace with Edward, and arrived with seven ships at Bosham for that purpose. Upon his appearance off the English coasts he was apparently treated as an enemy, for the men of Hastings took two of his vessels and brought them to the king after having killed their crews. ^ During his absence his earldom had been divided between his brother Harold and his cousin Beorn. Both Harold and Beorn were consequently opposed to the return of Sweyn, and directed him to put to sea again, giving him four days wherein to, do so. This, no doubt, incensed Sweyn. Soon after- wards an English squadron, consisting of two "king's ships" and forty-two "people's ships," under Godwin, and another of his sons, Tostig, with, apparently, Beorn on board, was driven by stress of weather into Pevensey while in pursuit of pirates. Sweyn went thither, and begged Beorn to accompany him to Sandwich and to intercede for him with the king. Beorn agreed, and seems to have started in a vessel of his own, or overland. But Sweyn presently seized him, and took him by boat to his own vessel, which pro- ceeded to Dartmouth, where Sweyn murdered his cousin and buried his body in the church. It was subsequently removed to Win- chester, and interred near that of Canute ; and Sweyn '■' escaped to Flanders, to be pardoned in 1050, and restored to all his possessions by Edward. '
.Another naval event of 1049 was the arrival of thirty-six ships from Ireland to assist Griffith of Wales. Towards the end of the year Edward " discharged nine ships from pay, and they went away, ships and all ; and five ships remained behind, and the king promised them twelve months' pay."*
At this time matters were rapidly coming to a head between
' Sax. Chron., 440. = jrj_^ 44i_ 3 ji,_^ 440^ 441.
* lb., 441, 442.
1052.] HE VOLT OF GODWIN. 5 J
Godwin and Edward. In 10.51 the king, contrary to the desire of the earl and of the monks of Canterbury, saw fit to advance to the Archbishopric a Nonnan, Eobert of Jumieges, who had previously been for six 5'ears Bishop of London. Another Norman had been made Bishop of Dorchester, and the English party was greatly annoyed. It was then that Godwin was ordered to Dover to punish the townsmen for their behaviour to some piratical followers of Baldwin of Flanders. Godwin declined to do this unless the men were first given a fair trial. It was then also that complaints were made by the people of Sweyn's earldom of Hereford that some Normans or French had established themselves there, and were ill treating the country folk.
Godwan and his family seem to have thought that the moment had come for stern resistance to Edward's unreasonable preference of foreigners. Sweyn and Harold, and even Tostig, who had lately married a sister of Baldwin, were of one mind. The Witan at Gloucester summoned Godwin to attend before it. The earl replied by collecting his friends at Beverstone, near Malmesbury. The Witan removed to London, and outlawed Sweyn, but contented itself with again summoning the earl and Harold, to whom, however, safe conduct and hostages were refused ; so that their only course was flight.
Godwin and Sweyn went to Bosham, embarked thence for Flanders, and stayed abroad during the winter.^ Harold embarked at Bristol for Ireland. Sweyn, recollecting the abducted abbess and the murder of Beorn, departed on a pilgi-image to Jerusalem, and died while on his way back ; but early in 1052 the other members of the exiled family began active operations with a view to return.
Harold, with a squadron, appeared off the mouth of the Severn, sacked some places in Somersetshire and Devonshire, and killed a number of people, including "more than thirty good thanes." The threat of an invasion from Flanders by Godwin prevented inter- ference ; for forty ships " of Edward's fleet, probably nearly all the vessels then in commission, lay at Sandwich imder the Earls Kalf and Odda, or cruised in the offing, on the look-oiit for the enemy. Godwin evaded them and landed at Komney, where, in his own territories, his popularity raised him a large force, all the " butse- carls," or boatmen, of Hastings and the neighbouring ports joining him enthusiastically. It is less than forty miles by sea from Sand- ' Sax. Cbroii., 44-i. ^ Ingram has '■ smacks."
E 2
52 MILITARY HISTORY TO 1066. [1002.
wich to Bomney Bay, but the king's ships did not succeed in getting to the latter place in time to prevent the earl from sailing thence to the westward. Balf and Odda returned to Sandwich, and went thence to London, where it is not astonishing that thej^ were superseded. As for Godwin, he went no farther west than the Isle of Wight, and was there joined by Harold, with nine ships from Ireland. The combined force returned up Channel, picking up more butsecarls at Bomuej^ and Folkestone, and reached Sandwich "with an overflowing army."' The royal fleet had qiiitted Sand- wich, and Godwin pressed on for the Thames. He mounted as far as Sputhwark, fomid the people there well disposed towards him, entered into an understanding with them, landed some troops, and advanced cautiously through the south arch of London Bridge. The royal fleet, increased to fifty ships, seems to have lain some- where below the spot where now stands St. Paul's ; and Godwin was upon the point of attacking it, when, happily, an arrangement was come to, and bloodshed was prevented."
Thus Godwin trimnphed. His victory led to the outlawry of Bobert of Jumieges, Bishop Ulf, and other Norman place-holders, who escajped with considerable difficulty to Normandy ; and Enghsh influences became predominant at court. But in the following year the great earl died. He had, however, a worthy successor as chief of the party of England for the English, in the person of his eldest surviving son, Harold, a time West Sa.\on, j'et also, on his mother's side, a grand-nephew of Canute. Harold, while his brother-in-law, Edward the Confessor, lived, was a strong and patriotic mayor of the palace to a roi faineant, and at first he was zealously supported by all the members of his house, including his brothers Tostig, Earl of Northumbria, Gyrth, Earl of East Anglia, and Leofwin, who held swa}' in Kent, Essex, and adjoining counties. The two last, indeed, remained faithful to their kinsman to the death.
In 1062, Griffith of Wales once more became troublesome ; and Harold and Tostig combined to repress him. The campaign was chiefly military ; but its issue was much influenced by the brilliant naval success of Harold, in 1063, at lludeland, where the Welsh fleet was destroyed. Griffith was assassinated by one of his own followers, and both his head and the prow of his ship were sent as trophies to Edward.^ Then came the defection of Tostig, in some sense the gloomiest actor in the events which were fast crowding ' Sax. Chion., 446-448. » Ih., 448, 449. ^ Ih., 458.
lOGG.]
SUCCESSION OF llAEOin.
53
upou England. He bad governed ill in Northiunbria, and his people revolted, deposed him, and set up Morkere in his stead. Edward, advised by Harold, admitted the demands of the insurgents, recog- nised Morkere, and banished Tostig, who retired to nurse schemes of revenge at Bruges. Morkere, it should be said in explanation, was brother of Edwin, Earl of Mercia, and of Aldgyth, wife of Harold, and widow of Griffith of Wales ; so that the transfer of power in Northmubria did not necessarily reduce the predominance of the family interests of the House of Godwin.
On January 6th, 1066, the Confessor died, after bequeathing his kingdom to Harold. The old king left no children of his own, and although there was a nearer heir in the person of Edgar Atheling,
SHIP OF HAROLDS FLEET. (Frovi the Bayeux Tapestry.)
grandson of Edmund Ironside, and although he had a certain following, he was but a child of eight, and, of course, was not in a position either to press his claims or to moimt the throne in those turbulent times. Indeed, it seems to have been so clearly recognised, even by his friends, that the burden of the crown would have been too heavy for the boy, that no serious efforts were made to secure it for him. On the other hand, Harold was strong, vigorous, popular, and in the prime of life. The only serious cloud upon his prospects was one which Harold, who was best aware of its existence, did not regard as threatening. It had been his misfortune, years eai'lier, to be wrecked on the coast of Ponthieu, and to be handed over by the noble upon whose territory he was cast, to William, Duke of Normandy, who had exacted as price of release a sworn promise that Harold would support William's claim to the inheritance of Edward. Harold either looked upon the
54
MILITARY HISTOBY TO 1066.
[1066.
whole affair as a gi'iiu jest, or considei'ed that no promise made under duress was binding upon him ; and, when Edward died, took the crown, apparently with confidence.
He underrated William's ambition and pertinacity. But before the moment came for him to reckon with his most dangerous enemy, he had to deal with his troublesome brother Tostig, who, upon learning of Harold's accession, appeared with a fleet off the Isle of Wight, and levied money and provisions. Tostig's offer to co-operate with William was rejected ; and, quitting the south coast, the outlaw went, with sixty ships, to the Humber, whence, however, he was di-iven by Edwin of Mercia. Never very popular, he was thereupon forsaken by most of his followers, and proceeded with only twelve vessels to Scotland. Harold Hardrada of Norway, also at that time cherished vague designs against England, and was at the Orkneys with a large force. The king and the outlaw met, and agreed to work together. They sailed to the Humber, landed, defeated Edwin and Morkere at Fulford, and seized York ; but King Harold of England, the most energetic leader of his age, marched rapidly north, and on the 25th of September, 1066, fell upon the invaders at Stamford Bridge,^ on the Derwent, and gained a bloody, but complete victory, Harold himself being womided, but Harold Hardrada and Tostig being slain. The pursuit was hot, and comparatively few of the enemy gained their ships, many of which were burnt.
' Sax. Chion., 462-465.
( 55 )
CHAPTEE III.
VOYAGES AND DISCOVEKIES TO 1066.
H. W. Wilson.
Pre-Roman voyages of the Britons — Early ships — A.^ricohi's voyajjes — Intercoui'se witli Irehaiid — Witli the continent— The Saxons— Irish voyages — Evidence — Corniac MacArt — Niall — Irish sliijis — Two kinds of voyages — Tlie mythical — The religions — To the Orkneys — To Iceland — Irish discovery of America — Evidence of Sagas — Ireland the Great — Story of Bjorn Asbrandsson — Testimony of Edisius — 'Were the Mexicans Irish? — Ofl'a and his ships — Athelstan — The A'ikiugs — Othere — Wulf- stan voyages to the Baltic — The Norsemen ou the British coast — The Orkneymen — Their manner of lighting — Kavages of the Norsemen — The Manxmen.
'■"T'*'*^''"*'*! rpHE history of British voyages and discoveries
must of necessity begin with Caesar. The
stories of Brutus' or Brute's saiHng to Albion in
the days of ^neas, with the attendant fables,
may be dismissed as the figment of some ingenious
monk's brain. They appear to have had little basis in legend and
none in history. The visit of Pytheas of Marseilles to the British
Isles in the fourth century B.C., and the casual mention of the
Phoenician tin trade with the Cassiterides — which may or may not
be some part of England — are the only references to our history
in these dark ages. The indirect evidence of British seafaring in
these times is, however, considerable. A cork plug, discovered in a
canoe of very early date disinterred from the silt at Glasgow,^ points
to intercourse with Spain ; Italian earthenware has been discovered
in Lanarkshire ; the red amber, so largely found in early barrows,
indicates a trade with the Baltic countries ; '" whilst torques of gold
and strings of biight-coloured glass beads, which cannot have been
made in the island, are equally good evidence of commerce with the
Phoenicians and the land of the south. ^ Strabo alludes to the fact
that the Romans imposed customs duties upon the British imports
from Celtica, which consisted of ivory, bracelets, amber, and glass.*
It is not quite certain that the Britons of this date voyaged
' Elton, 'Origins of Eng. Hist.,' 2nd ed. 231; Burton, 'Hist. Scotland,' i. 51. 2 lb., 63. » lb.. 111. •* iv. 4, circ. 180 a.u.
56 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES TO 106G. [B.C. 100.
themselves, though it is on the whole probable. They were not all savages ; on the contrary, the inhabitants to the soiith of the Thames appear to have been civilised, and to have made consider- able progress in the arts. It is, of course, possible that these various imports were conveyed to them in the ships of Venetan or German traders. This is the supposition of those who doi;bt whether the early Britons had ships at all, or anything more than the coracle.' But some coracles, as we shall see, were capable of long voyages.
The Latin writers never explicitly state that the Britons had ships ; on the other hand, they constantly mention the Britons as using coracles. Caesar, when he had to cross a river in Spain, remembered the coracles he had seen in Britain, and ordered his soldiers to make them.^ Lucan ^ and Phny,^ and the later Festus Avienus^ are as positive. That the British had ships of stout construction may, as hinted in a previous chapter, be inferred from the passage in Caesar, where he says " the Veneti obtained help from Britain," ^ as well as from a mention in the Welsh Triads of " roving British fleets," and from the fact of the building of a ship with sail and oar by one Ceri. Surer testimony is afforded by the two boats discovered at Glasgow, both of which are built of planks, apparently clinker fashion, and fastened together with
' For descriptions of tlie coracle, see page 3 and 60, n.
- ' Bell. Civil.' i. 54.
* ' I'harsal.' iv. 131, thus translated in Nedhani's ' Selden ' :
" Of twigs and willow boord They made small boats, covered with bullock's hide, In which they reached the river's further side. So sail the Veneti if Padus flow, The Britons sail on their calm ocean so."
■* iv. 30, uitilibus nauigiis. ' ' Oraj Marit.' v. 103 :
" Kon hi carinas quippe pina texere Acereve norunt, non abiete ut usus est Curvant phaselos, sed rei ad rairaculum Kavigia junctis semper aptant pellibus."
" 'Bell. Gall.' iii. 0. The word for "help" is "auxilia," which ndght jjerfectly well mean "troops," not ships. The ships of the Veneti are described by Ca;sar as tlat- keeled, of light draught, built of strong oak with high foc'sles and poops. The banks for the oars had beams a foot square, bolted at each end with iron jiir.s as thick as a man's thumb. Elton, 'Origins,' 231; Burton, 'Scotland,' i. 308; Ca>sar, 'Bell Gall.' iii. 9-13. Ca:sar asserts that Great Britain was almost unknown to the G.auls — only merchants went there. The Gauls may, however, have concealed their inter- course with Britain from him.
A.T). 81.] EARLY liRlTISH COMMERCE. 57
oaken pins and nails of metal. The more elaborate of these boats were 18 feet long.' Vegetius, in his treatise on military art, tells us that the British ships were painted blue, in order that they might escape notice. -
On the subjugation of Britain by the Komans, which followed the expeditions of Claudius and Agiicola, a considerable trade, as we have seen, existed with Gaul.^ Agricola sent his fleet as far as the Orkneys, which he discovered and subdued. " Thule " was seen in the distance, but was not approached,^ and Great Britain was circumnavigated. He may have sent his ships to the Isle of Man, as inscriptions and remains testify to the presence of the Romans there. ^ At the same time he made preparations to attack Ireland, where, he had learnt from traders and merchants, there were excellent harbours. It is thus to be inferred that there was, at this date (a.d. 81), intercourse between Ireland and Great Britain. London is noticed by Tacitus as now veiy much frequented by traders, which again is evidence of travel. The commerce was apparently in oysters, slaves, dogs, tin, and lead, and was carried on from the ports of Southampton and Eichborough, besides London. Strabo tells us that the favourite ports in France for the traffic with England were Boulogne, and the mouths of the Ehine, Seine, Loire, and Garonne.^ To reach the last two some very difficult and dangerous navigation would be necessary past Ushant and the Eaz de Sein, demanding seaworthy ships. In the reign of Julian (A.D. 360) we are told that there were eight hundred ships engaged in the corn trade between Briton and Gaul. The Britons of that time had, however, to suffer terribly when the Eomans withdrew.
The budding civilisation of the island was abandoned to bar-
' Elton, 'Origins,' 231. Tlie stem of the larger boat was a triangular piece of oak, fitted in as in our tiay. In one boat was a fine axe of greenstone. The prow of tlie larger vessel was galley shajieil. Early representations of ships are also found on Scotch sculptured stones. In these the rigging is quite complicated. Burton, 'Scot- land,' i. 308. Ko such early representations are, however, to lie foimd in the ' Si)a!diiig Club Book.' Jas. Stuart, Aberdeen.
- 'DeKeMilitari,' iv. 37.
' Claudius gave by law privileges to those wlio built sliii)s of 10,000 modii, or about 60 tons burden. Suet. Claud. 18.
■* Tacitus, 'Agricola,' 10. "Tlude" was i>robably the Sliethuul group. Tacitus alludes to the strong tides and races thus : " The waters are heavy and yield with diniculty to the oars ; they are not raised by the winds as on other seas."
'' Train, ' History of the Isle of Man,' i. 43.
' The passage is given. 'Monunienta Britan.' Scriptores, Gr. atcpie Lat. vi.
58 VOYAGES A^W D1SC0VEBIE8 .TO 1066. [A.D. 160.
barism and outer darkness. There is the scantiest historical record for the years which followed. The Comes Littoris Saxonici and the Comes Britannia; could no longer protect the island from the inroads of Saxon and Celt. Commerce would necessarily decline and the sea be abandoned by the weaker Britons, who tied to Brittany, or were driven from the British coasts by the depredations of the northern pirates.'
The new anivals were expert seamen. They came from the Saxon islands near the Elbe mouth in " ceols," ^ and were in the strictest sense pirates or adventurers. Besides these " ceols," which seem, to have been small ships built of wood, they had also skin boats. Whilst they harassed the east the Irish were equally busy on the west burning and plundering. To their early voyages we may now appropriately turn.
The Celtic inhabitants of Ireland appear to have been bold navigators at a very early date. Unlike their kmsmen the Welsh, and hke the Bretons, Cornishmen, Menevians, and West Coastmen of Scotland, they have always shown a taste for the sea, which has declined, but not disappeared, with the lapse of time. A large proportion of the sailors serving in our fleet during the great French war were Irishmen,^ and the fishermen of Connaught are good seamen to this day. They are, in fact, very similar in character and daring to the Bretons.
Of Irish voyages in the early Roman and pre-Eoman times we know absolutely nothing. There is, however, evidence of inter- course with the Roman Empire in the Roman coins which have been found along the east coast of Ireland. They date from the time of the Republic to a.d. 160.* Whether they came from Gaul in Irish boats, or whether from Britain, cannot be determined. There is in Spain a tradition of voyages from the Basque country,
' In this period fall the voyages of Arthur, which are probably mythical, reflecting tlie tradition of the Irish anchorites' travels. He is said by Geofl'rey of Monmouth, whose chronicle has no historical value for this period, to have subdued Ireland and Iceland, and to have extorted homage from the kings of Orkney, Gotlan<l, Norway, and Denmark. Larabarde {timp. 1568 ; see Hakluyt, B.L. i. 3) adds Greenland to tlie catalogue of his possessions. It is significant that conteiuijorary writers never mention Arthur or any of these truly remarkable voyages. Malgo, whose voj-ages are also recorded by Geofifrey of Monmouth, is probably not more historical.
=" Or " keels."
* Lecky, 'Hist. England.'
* Stokes, ' Ireland and the Celtic Church ' (London, 1886), p. 16. Skene, ' Celtic Scotland' CEdinburgh, 1890), iii. 115, doubts their historic existence.
A.D. 222.] IRISH VOYAGES. 5&
al)out '200 B.C., to Ireliiud,' the ships employed being made of tree- trunks hollowed out and covered with leather. This may he reflected in the Irish story of the " Milesian " invasion. The dark complexion of the west coast population gives some coun- tenance to the stor}', and a careful comparison of Basque and Irish skulls has fiu'ther confirmed it." There is some slight interest to the student of naval evolution in the glimpse of early Biscayan ships which it affords.
In '222 A. D., according to the 'Annals of the Four Masters,' a large fleet went from Ireland over sea, and did not return for three years. During that time Cormac MacArt, its commander and the titular king of Ireland, was ravaging the coasts of England. The grip of the Romans on Britian had been weakened by the failure of Severus to quell a Celtic insurrection between the years 208-211 a.d., and this probably was what encoiu'aged Cormac's inroads. By 3(59 the Irish ships had become so dangerous that Theodosius, on his reconquest of Great Britain, appointed a Comes Britaiiniarum, besides a Dux Britannia and a Comes Littoris Saxonici, to protect the western coast from the Irish.' The victories of Theodosius are commemorated in Claudian's verses when the poet sings of " icy lerne lamenting the heaps of slaughtered Scots," " the Orkneys reeking with Saxon gore," and Thule " growing warm with the blood of the Picts."* If this be anything more than poetic licence, the fleets on either side must have gone far afield. Less than a half centmy later, Niall of the Nine Hostages, a direct ancestor of our Queen, as it is claimed, was plundering in the English Channel, and fell in battle, probably off Boulogne.^ The Saxons and Scots, as the inhabitants of Ireland were called at an early date, were often confused by the Komans, which may explain why we do not hear even more of the Irish.
Sidonius ApoUinaris mentions these pirates as "ploughing the
British sea in a skin, and cleaving the grey waters in a sewn
skiff." "^ These phrases can only refer to coracles, which were the
earliest fonu of boat known to have existed in this country. At
the same time, it is difficult to suppose that the Irish Celts had
' Alvarez de Culinenar, 'Anii.ik's d'E-'Jiiiignc,' ii. 55 (1741). 2 SkeiieV 'Celtic Scotland,' i. 1G!I-174.
" Cf. Kltoii, 'Origiiies,' 2iid ed. .■i;!8 ; Nedliaiu's 'Seidell,' 211; Skene's 'Celtic Scotland,' i. 101.
■* Claudian, Flinders and I'etfie, ' Mon. Brit.' xcviii. » Stokes, 38. « Sid. Apoll.
60 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES TO 1066. [540.
coracles and nothing else. The ' Tripartite Life of S. Patrick,' which is of the tenth or eleventh centuiy, mentions several kinds of ships : " noe" or ship ; " curach," or coracle ; " ethar ; " " long," or vessel ; and " coblach" ;^ whilst Adamnan, in his 'Life of Columba,' which was certainly written in the seventh century, and which is therefore older and so much the more valuable, mentions nine kinds of ships : " alnus," " barca," " cuupalhis," " curuca," " navis longa," " navis oneraria," " navicula," and " scapha."^ From this it is perfectly clear that by 6.50 a.d. the Irish had made considerable progress in the art of ship construction. They were a civilised race, and must not be confused with the painted barbarians of the early Eoman writers.
There are two distinct sets of Irish voyages. The first, which are fully narrated, mythical ; the second, true, but only to be inferred from facts which are not recorded in connection with the voyages themselves. In addition, the claim of Ireland to the dis- covery of America must also be considered, as it has been put forward of late years with renewed energy. It stands somewhat apart from the other two classes of voyages.
Of the mythical voyages — which all point vaguely to a dim knowledge of land beyond the Atlantic — the best known are those of the sons of Ua CoiTa, who, three in number, sailed with five others forty days and forty nights out into the Atlantic, till they came to a land of men moaning and lamenting.^ After many wild adventures and a visit to an Odyssean inferno, they at last arrived at Spain. The date given for the voyage is 540. A little later St. Brandan, Abbot of Cluainfert, was visited by a friend, Barontus, who told him of an island far off in the ocean, which had been promised to the saints. For this island St. Brandan set sail with seventy-five monks and spent seven years in seafaring and adventiu'e. He found the island, which was no sooner seen than it vanished.*
' ' Tripartite Life of S. Patrick ' (Chronicles and Kecords Series), vol. i. cxlix.
^ A full description of this kind of ancient coracle is to be found in the early ' Life of S. Brendan,' quoted in Heeves, W., ' Vita S. Colunihic Auctore Adananano ' (Dublin, 1857), pp. 169, 170. This coracle was made of greased skins fastened to an osier frame. Large coracles had two or even three thicknesses of skin. Tliey carried masts and sails, which shows tliey must have been of tolerably stout con- struction.
^ O'Curry, ' Manuscript Materials for h'ish History,' 289.
* This vanishing island was in later years often reported to have been seen from the Canaries, and very numerous expeditions were sent in search of it. See also page C3.
891.] " SCOTS " VISIT ALFRED. 61
Though not so named in the narrative, this was identified with the fabulous island of Brazil or O'Brazile, which was supposed to lie to the west of Ireland, and which is marked in all early maps. The St. Brandan story is a late legend and cannot be traced in early Irish history. So also Maildun, in the eighth century, sailed to the west in a triple-hide coracle with sixty men, and saw many marvels, sea monsters, demon horses, red-hot animals, burning rivers, speak- ing birds, and submex'ged cities. But these tales savour rather of fairyland than of fact.
Secondly come the true or probable voyages, which are for the most part connected with the missionary enterprise of the Irish. Nothing is more remarkable than the vigour and energy of the Irish chui-ch in the seventh and eighth centuries, before the Norsemen's coming. Irishmen went everywhere, preaching the gospel. We hear of them in South Italy, France, Lower Austria, Switzerland, and Germany.^ The centre of activity was the lonely little island of lona, from which bold monks crossed in boats to Lismore, Gairloch, Tiree, Eigg, Skye, and Applecross, voyaging fearlessly upon tempestuous seas. A peculiar feature of this early Irish Church was the asceticism which led its votaries to seek silence and solitude. They spread up the west coast of Scotland and reached the Orkneys at so early a date as Columba's time. Thus Adamnan relates how Columba bids the ruler of the Orkneys treat the Irish pilgrims gently.^ He also gives the voyage of Cormac, who was nearly put to death in the Orkneys, and afterwards was driven from his course bj' a soutli wind fourteen days' and nights' voyage northwards to land, which may have been the Faroes or Iceland. On the way he was nearly lost, as " foul and dangerous beasts smote his coracle so hard that he thought they would pierce the skin covering of the boat." Through the praj'ers of Columba he was saved. ^ With this fourteen days' voyage in a coracle may be compared one of seven days' length, mentioned in the Saxon Chronicle. Three " Scots," we read under the year 891, came to Alfred in a hide Ijoat without oars, from Iceland, after a seven days' passage on a stormy sea. They went on to Rome and Jerusalem, being probably Munstermen, who about this time pilgrimaged much
' Bryant, 'Celtic Irelaml,' .'io ; Stukes, 'Celtic Cluircli,' lol. Coluuibaiuis even asceiuls the Rhine, and voyajies on Lake Constance.
* Adanin. ' Vit. tJolumb.' ii. 42. Columba was born 521, anil (lied 5117, .\.v. ^ Op. cit.
62 VOYAGES AND DISCOVEEIES TO 1066. [950.
to Borne. Possibly the use of the coracle may have been required to satisfy asceticism.^
But the Irish monks did not stop short at the Orkneys. Dicuil," an Irishman, who wrote in the ninth century, tells us, " There are many other islands in the northern British Ocean which can be approached from the north of Great Britain with full sail and a fair wind in two daj^s and nights. An upright monk told me that in a small boat he made his way to one of these. The islands are small . . . and our anchorites sailed to them from Scottia and dwelt on them . . . but they are now deserted, because of the Norse pirates." These islands are j)robably the Shetlands and Faroes, and in the latter still survives a tradition of holy men who dwelt there before the Norsemen.^ In the Shetlands the names Papa Stour, Papa Litla, and Papa Sund recall the Norse word for a priest — "Papa." The Norse settlers appeared in the Faroes about the middle of the ninth century, and this would place the voyages of the Irish about the end of the eighth or beginning of the ninth century.
So, too, if we may believe the ' Islendingabok,' at the coming of the Norsemen there were Irish priests or anchorites in Iceland.'' "There were there," says Ari, its compiler, "Christians of those whom the Norsemen call ' Papas ' ; but they straightway retired because they did not wish to abide there with Pagans. They left behind them Irish books and bells and crosses, whence one may gather that they were Irish." Ari is equally emphatic in another passage: "Before Iceland was settled by the Norsemen . . . there were Christians there, and it is thought that they came from countries to the west, for Irish books, bells, and crosses have been found ... at Papey and Papyle in the east [of Iceland]." Finally Dicuil asserts that "monks have dwelt thirty years in the Isle of Thule between February and August."* He speaks of the short-
' (Jf. S;ix. Cliroii., year 891, and tlie«jiueni quuteil in Reevesj' 'Ailaninan,' 285: " Delightful to be on Benn-Edai' After comini!: o'er the white-hosonied sea, To row one's little coracle Ochone! on the swift-waved shore. How ra]iid the speed of my coracle, And its stern turned iqion Derry."
'' Dicuil, author of ' De Mensura Orbis,' circ^ 825 A.l>.
' I?ea\ivois, 'Comjite Kcndu : Con<;rfes des Americanistes' (Nancy, 1875), p. 08. ' The ' Islcudiiigabi'.k ' was written about 1120, or a little later, by Ari I'roSi, vide <'ha]iter I.
■' ' De Mens. Orbis,' vii. 2.
950.] IRELAND AND AMERICA. 63
ness of the summer nights, denies that the island is surrounded by ice, and mentions a frozen sea one day's sail to the north. It appears from his words that the monks voyaged to Iceland even in winter. The strength of this testimony finds corroboration in what we read elsewhere of the Irish anchorites, and it is difficult to refuse them the credit of discovering Iceland during the eighth century.
Whether they went farther still afield is a matter for speculation.- From Iceland to (Treenland is only a short passage — not very much longer than that from the Shetlands to the Faroes or from the Faroes to Iceland. There may too have been land at some time between, as the early Norse voyagers mention " Gunnibjorn's " skerries, whilst an early map marks a terra quae fait totalifer comhusta. There are hints and stories of earlier white settlers, both on the Greenland coast and farther south towards Winlaud, in the Norse Sagas. On these has been based the Irish claim to the discovery of America. It does not appear to the writer that there is intrinsic improbability in such a claim, but the evidence with the lapse of time must necessarily be vague, shadowy and inconclusive.'
The passages in the Sagas which may refer to these Irish missionaries or settlers are as follows : " Leif Eriksson sailed to Greenland, and found men upon a wreck at sea, and succoured them'- . . . Then likewise he discovered Winland the Good." This is probably the event to which allusion is made elsewhere — " Leif found Winland . . . and he then found merchants in evil plight at sea, and restored them to life by God's mercy." There is nothing whatever to show that they were not daring Norsemen ; indeed, the Flateybook would lead us to suppose this. Karlsefni, sailing south on a later voyage, discovered — if we can believe the Saga — new-sown wheat in Vinland,^ and also came upon the keel of a ship on the coast.* Thorwald, brother of Leif, saw in the same place a "wooden shelter for grain." '^ In " Markland," he captured five
' Ueauvoiti is the nio.st devoted .npostle of the Irish claim. Keeves, the most recent authority, cousiders the stories puzzling, and not to be readily ex]ilaincd away. Torfivus, Rafn, Zesterman, and De Costa are amongst the other believers. Winsor, 'Hist. America,' i. 83, appears scejitical, as also is Laing, editor of ' Heimskringla.' Cunning- ham, \V., 'Growth of English Industiy' (i. 80), is favourable.
- Saga of Eric the Ited. Keeves, ' Finding of Wineland,' li".
' 76., 47. Reeves translates "self-sown wheat," and believes it to have lieen wild rice.
'' 11)., Ao. Keeves su]iposes it was the remains of one of lied Erik's shijis carried south by the current.
=• iL OS.
64 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES TO 10G6. [950.'
" Skrellings," or probably Eskimos, of whom one was bearded. " They told him that there was a land ou the other side over against their country which was inhabited by people who wore white garments, and yelled loudly, and carried poles before them to which rags were attached ; and people believe that this must have been White-man's-land, or Ireland the Great." ^ In the ' tslendingabok ' comes a story of Ari Marsson, who, in the tenth century, "was driven out of his coiu-se at sea to ' White-man's-land,' which is called by some people Ireland the Great : it lies westward in the sea near AVinland the Good : it is said to be six days' sail west of Ireland. Ari could not depart thence and was baptised there. The first account of this was given by Eafn . . . who sailed to Limerick, and abode a long time at Limerick.'- And Thorkill states that Icelanders reported Ari had been recognised there and was not permitted to leave, but was treated with great respect." ^
In the Eyrbyggia Saga,* which is of far less historic value, is a tale that has usualh' been connected with Ireland the Great. According to this, a certain chief, Bjorn Asbrandsson, sailed from Iceland in a ship and vanished. Some years later, early in the eleventh century, Gudleif was " engaged in a trading voyage west- ward to Dublin, and when he sailed from the west it was his intention to proceed to Iceland." Sailing west from Ireland, north- east winds caught him and his men, and drove them far from their course to the south, and all trace of land was lost. The summer was nearly over when they came in sight of a great country, which they did not know, and entered a good harbour, and men came to them who seemed to them to speak Irish. They were seized and carried inland, when a council was held to determine their fate. But whilst the council was being held, a body of men rode up with a chief and a banner in their midst. This chief was tall and war- like, advanced in years and white of hair. The people honoured
' Tlie Saga of Red Erik is probably as old as the thirtceiitli century in its present form. Op. cif. 23, 24. The discovery of Winl.ind by tlie Norsemen took place about 1000 A.n.
- Limerick was at an early date tlie seat of a Xorse kin.i;doni.
■■' ' Islendiniiabok,' 10, 11. ' Landnaniabuk,' ii. xxii.
■* The Eyrliyggia Saga dates from the middle of the thirteenth centmy, and contains much that is evidently faliulous. It covers the jieriod tVom the colonisation of Iceland by the Norsemen to the middle of the eleventli century. It contains the Idstory of the notalile men of the Thorsness peninsida in West Ireland, and of the Eyrbygges who were the lords of Eyre.
950.] "IRELAND THE GREAT." 65
him greatly. He accosted the Northmen in their own tongue and showed a knowledge of Iceland. Finally he permitted the Norsemen to go, with the warning that they had better leave the country and never retui'n. He gave Gudleif a gold ring which, when he went back to Iceland, the people to whom it was shown knew "to be Bjom's, who had vanished years before.* In this passage there is nothing to identify the strange land with Ireland the Great, except the allusion to the Irish tongue. The identification has been the work of later scribes, and the story has much of the fabulous and improbable about it ; for example, the portentous length of the voyage, and the presence of horses on the American mainland.^
With these Norse passages may be given the vague tradition, said to be recorded in the early Irish chronicles, that " Ireland the Great was known to the west, a great country " ; and the mention in the Arabian geographer Edrisius in the twelfth century of " Irandah-al-Kabirah," or Ireland the Great, as lying a day's sail beyond " Eslandah," which is, assumed to be a copyist's error for " Islandah." ^
Enthusiasts for the Irish discovery have made the most of these passages, and there has been the usual attempt to find philological resemblances to the GaeHc in the languages of the American natives. Ireland the Great has been variously assumed to He about the mouth of the St. Lawrence, south of this on the Floridian coast, in Mexico, in Cuba, Brazil, and the Azores. There is no ground in history for any of these identifications. Beauvois, indeed, has seen in the Mexican Quetzalcoatl, who came from Tula, some allusion to Irish missionaries from Thule, and has found in Mexican rites traces of Celtic Christian ritual.* But all this is guess-work, however ingenious. It is sufficient to know for certain that the Irish, about the time when the Norsemen were beginning to appear on their coast, or even earlier, had sailed to the Orkneys, Shetlands, Faroes, and Iceland, and that there was a general tradition amongst the Norsemen, and even in Ireland, long before the voyages of Columbus, to the effect that beyond the Atlantic lay a country
• Op. ci«. 84-87.
^ Efforts have been made to evade tliis difficulty by supposing that Bjom and his companions rode or were carried in litters.
' Beauvois, ' Compte Kendu : Congres de Americanistes ' (1875), p. 81. " Three days' navigation from the northern point of Scotland is Kslandah, 400 miles long and 150 broad ; thence to Irlandah-el-Kabirab is one day's sail."
* Beauvois, ' Comte Rendu : Congres de Americanistes ' (1683), p. 8C.
VOL. I. F
66 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES TO 10G6. [900.
peopled with white men, who spoke a tongue which sounded hke Irish. Some have argued that Ireland the Great was only Spain, but this is hardly probable : others have seen in the legend a reflection of the Gaelic voyages to Iceland, with which they would identify Ireland the Great. The story of the Zeni has been called in as testimony, and " Estotiland " has been converted into " Escotiland," or Scotland, the old name for Ireland. The white-robed priests waving banners, chanting, and carrying with them bells and books to these far distant shores, have shared the common fate of the bulk of mankind and vanished without leaving a trace of their name or race in Ireland the Great. Their names still abide in the lonely Orkneys, where also may be seen to this day their cells, and in far Iceland. It may even be that their blood flows in the fast-vanishing Ked Indian of to-day. But guesses and conjectures can ill supply the place of historical record and evidence, though if the Irish could sail to Iceland in coracles there are few feats of navigation which we could pronounce impossible for them.
It is a curious fact that when the Saxons had settled down in England they appear to have lost their skill in seamanship.^ The influence of Christianity, to which they were rapidly converted, was in some degree against the ferocious piracy of those days, which alone made sea-faring profitable. None the less, they held trade in high honour, and all through the centuries of their domination the wealth of England was increasing. Offa, King of Mercia, endeavoured to end the reliance upon foreign transport and en- couraged his people to build ships and carry their goods themselves. - He also concluded treaties of reciprocity for the protection of his merchants ; but quarrels with Charlemagne interfered with his objects.^ Alfred greatly improved the art of shipbuilding, con- structing larger and more serviceable vessels ; ^ whilst Athelstan ordained that any merchant who made three successful voyages should be a Thane. ^
In Alfred's reign ^ the presence of the Danes and Norwegians,
' Northumbria had a considerable fleet, ■which, under Edwin (circ. G20), subdued the isles of Anglesey and Man. See Bede, ' Eccl. Hist.' ii. v.
'' Lindsay, W., 'Merchant Shipping,' i. 341.
' Matt. Paris, ' Chron. Majora,' Chron. and RoUs Series, i. 3-18 ; Lappenbcrg, 'England,' 231, 232.
* Sax. Chron. A.D. 897.
'■ 'Anct. Laws,' 81; cf. Strutt, 'Chronicles,' i. 337.
" 1'ho "voyages" of Arculf and Willibald about 690 and 720 are interesting — though a great part of their joiu'ucy was certainly performcil on land — as showing the
900.] ALFUED AND TRAVEL. 67
who were appearing on the coast, pkuulering and l)in-ning, as the Saxons had done centuries before, reawakened an interest in geography and exploration. Alfred's anxiety to learn of distant countries led him to send for two hardy Danish sailors, Ohthere, or Oddr, and Witlfstan. The former was a nobleman of great wealth and power. He told the king that he lived farthest to the north of all Norsemen. " The land thence is very far to the north, but it is all waste. And on a certain time he wished to find how far to the north land lay. So he sailed north as far as whale hunters ever go and thence north again three days. Then the land bent east, and he sailed along it four days till the land bent south, and he sailed also to the south five days till he came to a great river, up which he dared not sail, for it was all inhabited." ' On a second voyage he went to " Sciringesheal," ^ and thence to Haddeby [in Schleswig]. On this voyage he passed Iceland on the right and then the islands which are between Iceland and Britain.
Wulfstan * said that he went from Haddeby to Truso in seven days and nights, and that the ship was running all the way with sail. He had Weonodland (Mecklenburg and Pomerania) on the right, and Langland Falstey and Sconey (Skanor, S. Sweden) on his left. Then he passed Bornholm, the people of which had their own king, Bleking, Oland, and Gotland, which belonged to Sweden. Next he came to the land of the Wends and the great river Vistula, near which lies Witland of the Esthonians. He notes that the Vistula runs into the Frische Haff, and gives the dimensions of the latter correctly, showing clearly his personal knowledge. Esthonia
cirly lines of navigation in the Jleditei-ranean. Arculf was not certainly English ; he was a bishop, and perhaps a Freucli bishop. He visited Adanman, Abbot of loua (see p. 60), who wrote his travels. It appears that he was a pilgrim to the Holy Land. He sailed from Palestine — how he got there is not stated — to Alexamhia, Crete, Con- stantinople, and thence by Sicily to Konie. Willibald, Bishop of Eichstadf, ohiit 786, was a native of Hampshire, and father of S. Walpurgis. In 718 he travelled overland to Rome, and thence went to Palestine, voyaging in a ship from Gaeta to Naples, Reggie, Catania, Samos, and Ephesus. Thence he went on foot to Patera, where again he took ship for Miletus, Cyprus, and Tarsus. He proceeded to Palestine on foot, .and returning embarked at Tyre, whence he sailed for Constantinople, Sicily, and Najiles. No LaterestLng details are given of the voyage, for which, see ' Early Travels in Palestine ' (Bohn, lH-17), pp. 13-22.
' Alfred's 'Orosius' (Bohn), 249. He evidently sailed into tlie White Sea and the mouth of the Dwina.
'' Not certainly identified. Possibly Christiauia.
' Bosworth, .J., 'Alfred the Great's Descri])tion of Europe' (London, fol. 1855), pp. 18-2-i of the translation.
F 2
68 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES TO 1060. [950.
is described as very large, with numerous towns and a king in each. There is much honey, and no stint of fish, whilst the nobles drink mare's milk and the poor mead. The dead are burnt after days or months of wassail.' The relatives preserve the bodies during this period by " bringing the cold upon them," or by the use of ice.^
Alfred is also said to have sent Sighelm, apparently a layman of distinction, to the tombs of SS. Thomas and Bartholemew in India. He had, according to the Saxon Chronicle, made a vow to this effect,* probably when England was in possession of the Danes. Sighelm, with Athelstari, carried royal gifts to Eome, and then must have taken ship for Egypt. After that they would follow the eastern trade route through the Eed Sea. No details of the voyage survive, except that the ambassadors retiu-ned safely, bringing rich presents of gems and spices to Alfred. Evidence of increasing navigation is afforded by Alfred's laws, of which the thirtieth lays down certain regulations for passengers arriving in England.
Throughout the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries the Norse- men and the Danes, a terrible race of freebooters, were arriving and settling on our coasts. The boldest and most successful of navigators, for whom the sea had no terrors, it is to them perhaps that the England of to-day most owes its love of the sea. As they successively occupied the Orkneys, the Hebrides, the Isle of Man, and the fairest spots oil the coasts of England and Ireland, and became dwellers in Britain, their feats concern us. They were of two races, dark and light ; the first, the Danes proper ; the second, the Norsemen or Norwegians. They fared over-sea from the iron- bound and barren coasts of Norway, or from the flat sandy plains of Denmark, guided by the stars, as the compass was then miknown ; and when near, but out of sight of land, loosed birds to know in which direction to steer.*
' It is known tbat the ancient PruBsians burnt tlieir dead. Bosworth, p. 23, note 32. This truth shows that Widfstan was not romancing.
^ Wulfstan is called an Englishman in Hakluyt, but this ajipears to be only an assertion.
^ Sax. Chron., a.d. 883. Cunningham, W., in ' Growth of English Industry,' i. 81, gives Sigeburt, Bishop of Sherbourne, for Sighelm. The credibility of the voyage has been q\icstioned, but unjustly it would seem. It is not mentioned in Asser. A close intercourse with Rome was kept up in Alfred's days; travellers, of course, going overhand, .^thelhelm was sent 887, Beocca 888 ; vide Saxon Chronicle. The Northmen at an early date had a trade rovite to the East, as a great number of Arabian coins have been dug up in Sweden. Cimniugbam, 8-1.
* Forstcr, ' Voyages and Discoveries in the North,' considers that the Norsemen discovered the art of sailing near the wind (pp. 77, 78).
1000.] NORSEMAN AND DANE. 69
The first attacks of the Norsemen were directed mainly against the religious houses. They took Lindesfarne in 793 ; in 794 parties were in the Wear, whilst others were wasting the Western Isles and South Wales. In 802 and 806 they burnt the monastery at lona ; in 807 they were on the west and south coast of Ireland ; in 815 they had planted a settlement at Armagh ; in 835 they were on the Cornish coast, and thenceforward their irruptions were continuous. The Orkneys became practically part of Norway : this was their base, whence they sailed to Iceland, Ireland, England, and France. The voyages of the Orkneymen fill the Sagas, and these islanders sailed with the Viking fleets to Barcelona, Pisa, Eome, and Constantinople in the ninth century.^ Kolf, who led the Northmen in their conquest of Normandy, was himself an Orkneyman, son of Rognvald, Earl of Orkney.
The Norseman and Dane, when in course of time they settled down and were absorbed into the population, must have imparted something of their enterprise and skill in navigation to the Anglo- Saxon. Commerce between the Scandinavians in England and the Scandinavians of Norway and Iceland would arise. Chester and Bristol began to trade with Dublin and the Far North, though the insecurity of the seas, which were infested by vikings, probably not too careful to spare their own countrymen, must have at first restricted the vohune of commerce. The Christian Northmen, too, voyaged to the Holy Land ; a journey of Canute's to Eome is mentioned in the Saxon Chronicle, A.D. 1031, but it is not said whether he travelled overland.
A fine picture of an Orkney voyage and fight in the last year before the conversion to Christianity is given in the Earl's Saga. Thorfinu of Orkney and King Karl of Scotland had a feud, and Thorfinu harried Karl's land, but was surprised by Karl with eleven long ships when he had only five. The eleven ships rowed up against the five, when, as the poet sings —
" With war snakes five the wrathful cliief Rushed 'gainst eleven of tlie king, And hating flight, hiiiiseH' held on His course with constant heart. The seamen laid their sliiiis ahoard. Along the tlnvarts the t'oenien fell. Sharp-edged steel in blood was bathed, Black blood of Scottish men."
Hardo Sigurdssou sailed to Micklegarth.
70 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES TO 1066. [1030.
Thorfinn's men when they landed were not gentle to their enemies. " They so fared amongst thorpes and farms, and so bui'ned everything that not a cot stood after them. They slew, too, all the fighting men they found, but women and old men dragged themselves off to woods and wastes with weeping and wailing. Much folk, too, they made captives of war, and put them in bonds, and so drove them before them." This same Thorfinn harried Ireland, Galloway, and even North England; where, however, the English captured a band of his men and slew all but the runagates, whom they considerately returned. Thorfinn took to peace and the fear of God in his old age. The Norsemen of the Orkneys and the Siidereyar, or Hebrides, and AVestern Isles appear to have been the boldest and most warlike of their race ; whilst in the Isle of Man was a powerful Norse colony, the king of which, Hakon, is said in the Chronicles to have sailed round Biitain with three thousand six hundi-ed ships. The Manxmen are not mentioned during these early years as pirates or voyagers, though they must have been both.^ They were soon converted to Christianity, which may have interfered with the profession of plunder.^
' In 973, says Oswald. ' Vestigia Manniae insulae .aiitiquiora.' (Douglas, 1860, p. 117.) Macon, King of Man, was appointed Edgar's admiral on the British seas, and sailed on them with three hundred and sixty ships. This is not noticed in the Saxon Chronicle, unless Macon were one of the six kings who came to Edgar at Chester, and no authority is given.
^ It must be remembered, however, that the term " pir.ate " carries no reproach as late as the sixteenth century, and that the most pious Christians reconciled robbery of the stranger with their facile consciences in the days of EUz.abeth.
( 71 )
CHAPTEE IV.
CIVIL HISTOEY OF NAVAL AFFAIBS, 1066-1154.
Ships of the eleventh century — The Long Serpent — Harold's fleet — Eeasons for its failure to oppose William I. — The Normans — William I. as pirate — His claims to the English crown — His preparations — His ships — The Mora — The Danegeld revived — William as conqueror — The admiral's court — -The law of wrecks — Ships of the twelfth century — Loss of the WJiite Ship — Size of ancient vessels probably underrated — Rarity of trustworthy representations of them — M. Jal's remarks.
rjIHE Anglo-Saxon ships of the period of the Norman conquest did not, in all probability, differ materially from those of a somewhat earlier date, save in that they were larger. The warships can scarcely have been very different from those of the contemporary Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians, with whom the Anglo-Saxons of the first half of the eleventh century came into such frequent and unpleasant contact. The dimensions of the Gokstad ship have been given. In the eleventh century, they were largely exceeded. Even Olaf Trygg- vesson, who died or disappeared about the year 1000, had a ship, the Lv)ig Serpent, measuring no less than 117 feet in length, and carrying 600 men. Such a vessel ^ was, of course, decked ; and the usual division of the hull was into five cabins or compartments. The foremost one was the " lokit," in which, in a royal vessel, the king's standard-bearers were quartered. Next came the " sax," probably a general store-room, and the " ki'ap- room," where sails and tackle were kept. Abaft this was the " fore-room," containing the arms-chest, and forming the living- room of the warriors; and astern of all was the "lofting" or gi-eat cabin, which was devoted to the commander. In port, at night, the deck was covered with a "tilt" or ridge-pole with pillars and rafters, supporting a cloth, the ends of which seem to have been
' See Nicolaysen's paper on the Viking Ship.
72
CIVIL BISTORT, 1066-1154.
[1066.
fastened with cords to the ship's side at a level with the deck. Beneath this the rowers may have slept.
The build of merchantmen was much like that of men-of-war, except that the latter had more length in proportion to beam. A saga tells how at Nidaros ^ in 1199, King Sverre Sigurdsson seized some trading ships, hewed them in two transversely, and lengthened out their keels and sides that they might be used as war vessels. But it may well be that Harold never possessed any ships as large as the Long Serpent, and that most of his vessels closely resembled the Gokstad relic.
There is absolutely no reason to doubt that Harold had a
SELH«nrc
NdllMAN WAR VESSEL OF THE ELEVENTH CENTURY.
(As rcatori'it hij M. A. Jal, after the wdiriitiuns in the Baijeux Tapestry, the '* lioman de Roil" and the *' lioman de Brut."')
considerable fleet. Indeed, the Saxon Chronicle expressly says that in the spring of 1066 the largest fleet and army ever seen in England were assembled at Sandwich to resist the invasion threatened by WilHam of Normandy. It is not clear that any squadron of importance was detached from Sandwich against Tostig and Harold Hardrada, and therefore it becomes interesting to inquire ■why William, when he came, was not opposed at sea.
The explanation in the Saxon Chronicle^ is a little vague and imsatisfactory. It is to the effect that the crews refused to serve alter September 8th, the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin, and
' New TvondlijeiE. The ancient name is still lioine by a Norwegian man-of-war. " p. 463.
1066.] CAUSES OF HAROLD'S COLLAPSE. 73
that, their provisions being gone, "no man could keep them there any longer." The men went to their homes, and the ships were sent up to London, many being lost on the passage. It is just possible that Edward's abolition of the Danegeld or Hercgeld — re-established later, but not under Harold — may have had an in- fluence, concerning which we know nothing definite, upon the condition of the English fleet at the moment of the Norman in- vasion ; but it is still more likely that the king's departure from Kent to put down the troubles in Yorkshire, coupled with the fact that the seamen had been on continuous service for the unusually long period of five or six months, accounts for everything. They were not prepared nor accustomed to remain from home for so great a time ; the harvest may have been spoiling in the fields, and, what more natural than that, when the royal eye was withdrawn from the fleet, the men should qi;it it ?
The loss, no matter the explanation of it, of the command of the Channel, was very dangerous, as it must always be, to England ; but it cannot be shown, either that Harold underrated the im- portance of having a fleet, or that he did not do all that lay in his power to hold his fleet together, while he was in the south. That Harold fought two great battles ashore, one near York and the other near Hastings, within three weeks, having been wounded in the first, and having, between the first and the second, crossed vdth a large army the rugged and almost roadless England of that day, is a proof, not only of extraordinary energy, but also of the terrible nature of the difficulties with which this gallant prince was harassed. Even had he, in his brief and stormy reign, failed to do half what he did, he could scarcely have been reproached.
The new conquerors of England were, with the Danes and the Saxons who had preceded them, the childi'en of the common stock of northern pirates, assuredly the strongest stock that ever influenced the destinies of the world. But, as Professor James Eowley ^ puts it, the Normans had been advanced in civilisation some stages further than the others by a few generations of residence in the land of a more hiunanised people, and in the neighbourhood of settled states.
Pie continues : " Their marvellous efficiency in their pahny days is probably explained by their having kept their native hardiness of character — their moral muscularity, as we may call it — and their ' lu 'Diet, of Eug. Hist.,' p. 766.
74 CIVIL BISTORT, 1066-1154. [1066.
bold spirit of enterprise, unimpaired by the culture, the turn for art and taste for the finer pursuits, that they acquired by Uving in Gaul. Their new experience merely added intellectual keenness, deftness, and brilliancy of stroke to their resources for action ; the old stimulating forces, their courage and their endurance, remained. Their ferocity had become valour, and their bodily strength the mastery of circmnstances. That they owed the qualities which made their practical capacity to the good fortime that planted them on French soil, is suggested by the totally different history of their kinsfolk who had taken up their abode in other lands. The marauding bands of Norwegian pirates that had been roaming about and forming settlements along the Seine in the ninth and tenth centuries, were at last admitted to an authorised participation in the soil by an agreement that Charles the Simple made, in 912, at St. Clair, on the Epte, %\"ith their most formidable leader, Eolf the Norseman. Thus taken within the j)ale of continental civihsa- tion, they rapidly profited by their advantages. They became Cludstians ; they discarded their own and adopted the French language ; they cast aside their semi-barbarous legal usages, and took those of the French cultivators of the soil, over whom they dominated ; they learnt or discovered improved modes and principles of fighting ; they acquired new weapons, the shield, the hauberk, the lance, and the long-bow ; they became masterly horsemen ; thej- developed an impressive style of ai'chitecture, and built churches and monasteries ; they founded bishoprics ; in a word, they soon fm-nished themselves with the whole moral, spiritual, and practical gaiTiitiu'e of hmnan conduct then available, with additions and improvements of their own. Their territory had increased by taking in both kindred settlements, and the lands of neighbouring peoples, till, from a vaguely described ' land of the Norsemen,' it became historic Normandy. Yet this wonderful gi-owth was compatible with a pohtical condition which was often not far removed from anarchy. The aristocratic class that the free-Uving, hot-natured pirate leaders had founded, and the unrestrained passions of the dukes, replenished from generation to generation, were ever on the watch for an opportunity to break loose from all rule, and govern themselves and the native tillers of the soil that lay beneath them, at their sole discretion. Nor did the sense of moral obligation keep pace with the other elements of progress ; a connection free from the marriage tie was held no shame ; bastardy brought no taint. But
106G.] PIRATICAL NATURE OF THE INVASION. 75
in spite of these defects, the Normans made themselves the foremost race in Europe."
The period of English history ending in 1066, relieved though it was hy episodes of national union and conspicuous patriotic devotion, must, upon the whole, be regarded as a period of almost continuous piratical struggles for the dominion of the island. The leading prince of the da}', no matter whether he was called Cymbeline, Carausius, Allectus, 2Esc, Egbert, Edward the Elder, Edgar, Canute, or Harold, was, it must be feared, little better than the strongest pirate who happened at the moment to have ships in the Narrow Seas. That several of these pirates used their power beneficently, and that a few more were, in addition, great statesmen and enlightened monarchs, can scarcely be held to alter the facts. Might counted for everything : right, and the general good of the people and of the State, for Httle, and often for nothing at all. Until Godwin's time, even popular opinion was practically a dormant factor; and the middle classes, as well as the masses, were only so many pavims in the stirring games played by the big sea rovers. In 1066 England was conquered by pirates for the last time.
Duke Wilham claimed the crown of England* by right of donation from Edward the Confessor ; by election ; by grant from the Pope ; and by right of arms ; but he w^as a prince who regarded the first three grounds of claim as of small importance and cogency in comparison with the fourth. Upon the strength of the first three, he gained only a relatively feeble following ; nor was the indignation of his friends much stirred either by the recollection that the Norman bishops had been driven from England by the instramentahty of the family of Godwin, or by the knowledge that Harold had forgotten his oath. The great lever wherewith Wilham induced his nobles to identify themselves with his projects was, rather, a promise of spoil ; - for the old pirate traditions were still flourishing vigorously in the hearts of all Normans, whether bishops,* barons, or burghers. The Pope's consecrated Gonfanon was useful ; the ring with a hair of St. Peter served its tui-n ; but the conquest would not have been effected, nor
' 'Cliron. de Norm.,' xiii. 235 ; Tliierry, j. 283. See also Freeman, passim.
" Eadiiier, Eist. i. 7 ; Will, of Mulines. ' De Gest. Pont. Augl.,' 290.
' The Bishop of Bayeux contributed forty, and the Bishop of Le Mans thirty ships. Remi, priest of Fecamp, sent twenty men-at-arms in exchange for a promise of an Knglish bishopric.
76 CIVIL BISTORT, 1066-1154. C1O66.
even attempted, had not William been able to paint in glowing colours a seductive picture of booty to be taken, and place to be won. The whole adventure was essentially piratical.
The preparations for the expedition are graphically portrayed in the Bayeux Tapestry.^ "Workmen," says Wace, "were employed in all the ports, cutting of planks, framing of ships and boats, stretching of sails, and rearing of masts." Many of the craft were built, no doubt, with a view to the particular service, and no other ; just as, more than seven centuries later, Napoleon's invasion flotilla was brought into being. For the most part, they were clearly not of the type of the regular sea-going fighting ships of the day, but much smaller, and of lighter scantling. A few only appear to have been of stouter character.
It is quite impossible to say how many ships were assembled. Wace gives the number at 696 ; Simeon of Durham, at 900 ; the ' Chronique de Normandie,' at 907 " great ships " ; William of Jumieges, at " three thousand which carried sails " ; and a con- temporary manuscript, preserved in the Bodleian,^ at 1000. Wilham of Poitiers notes that while Agamemnon needed but 1000 vessels to conquer Troy, William required more to win the crown of England. Thierry's conclusions are that the fleet consisted of 400 capital ships, and more than a 1000 transports, carrying 60,000 troops.
This estimate gives a mean of about forty-two men per ship ; bi\t nothing like that number can be distinguished on board any of the craft figured in the Bayeux Tapestry. Even in William's flag- ship, the Mora, only ten are visible, although thirteen shields are to be seen ranged along the starboard gunwale, and although these and the corresponding shields on the port side may lead us to suppose that at least twenty-six fighting men were present.
How far the Tapestry should be trusted as a real, and not merely a conventional representation of the events of the expedition, is a problem excessively diflicult to solve ; but if it be recollected that the work of illustration was done by women ; that, in all pro- bability, none of these women were with the fleet ; and that in no age have women been the most accurate and trustworthy delineators of episodes in naval history, we may perhaps safely decHne to con- sider this interesting and remarkable piece of needlework as a very serious historical docmnent. Yet, as regards some details, it is corroborated by outside evidence. The Bodleian manuscript aheady » Now at Baveux, iu the Hotel de Yille. ^ jig_ 3632.
10G6.]
THE "mora:'
77
referred to, says of the Mom : — " //( j^rora ejusdem navis fecit fieri eadem Matildes, infantidum de auro, dextro indice monstrantem Angliam et sinistra mano imprimentcm cornu eburneum on": which, being translated, is : "In the prow of the same ship the said Mathilda caused to he fashioned a golden figure of a hoy, pointing with his right fore-finger towards England, and with his left hand pressing an ivory horn to his mouth." The Tapestry shows what is evidently this boy, but places the figure at the stem instead of at the prow, and puts the horn into the right hand, and a goufanon into the left. This is exactly the kind of not entirely baseless inaccuracy which might be expected in a canvas worked on hearsay evidence by ladies personally unfamiliar with the matters to be celebrated ; and
THE " MORA." (.From the Baijcux Tapcsinj^
it possibly affords a fair general meastire of the amount of confidence that ought to be j)laced in the Tapestry.
In the picture of the Mora, the single mast is suimormted by a gold cross, ^ below which appears a banner of white, charged with a gold cross within a blue border. There is a single sail, the sheet of which is held by the steersman ; and this sail is of vertical stripes, red, brown, ^ and red. In his right hand, over the starboard quarter, the steersman holds the clavus, which is shaped somewhat like a capital J, with a cross-piece recalling the yoke of a modem boat's inidder. Other vessels in the Tapestry have an anchor hanging at the bows ; or are being pulled by rowers ; or are being
' Wace saj's, by a gilt brass vane and a lantern. The cross, or vane, is, un- Ibrtimately, cut oft" in the illustration. ' Or yellow. The culnurs have faded.
78 CIVIL HISTORY, 1066-1154. [1066.
drawn to the water by meaus of ropes running through a block attached to a post ; or have their single mast struck by being lowered forward ; or are laden with from thi-ee to eight horses, as well as with men. The hulls of all are painted in horizontal stiipes, blue, yellow, and red being the predominating colours. The horses are represented as reaching the shore by the simple process of jumping over the gunwales into the water, and then wading or swimming. The captain of the Mora was Stephen Fitz Erard, father or grandfather of the Thomas Fitz Stephen, who, in 1120, commanded the Blanche Ncf, and perished with her. Prince William, and about one hundred and forty of the nobihty, besides servants, on the rocks of the Eas de Catteville. Mathilda, wife of the Conqueror, for her services in providing the Mora, was given the county of Kent.^ Fitz Erard was exempted from taxation in respect of his house at Southampton. -
According to some authorities, among whom Wace is to be included, WiUiam destroyed or burnt his fleet after he had effected his landing in England ; but the fact is doubtful. The probability is, that if he destroyed any craft at all, he destroyed only the small temporary vessels which had been knocked together for the invasion, and which promised to be useless for other pm-poses ; for there is no evidence that he ever underrated the value of a navy ; and all that we know of him tends to prove the contrary. It is true, however, that at the beginning of his reign, he seems to have had but a small one. The greater part of the old navy of Harold had been carried off to Ireland, after that prince's death, bj' his sons Godwin, Magnus, and Edmund ; and the comparative impunity of the various sea rovers and others who attacked the kingdom soon after the Conquest, shows that WilHam's fleet was insignificant for the moment. It may, nevertheless, have still included all the regular warships which had taken part in the descent of 1066. But at the earliest opportunity the Conqueror largely increased it ; and five years after his success, if not before, he had a respectable fighting force at sea.
It was partially supported, at least towards the conclusion of the reign, by means of a revived Danegeld, or Heregeld. In 1084 the rate was six shillings the hide of land. Under William Eufus,
' But Odo was later made Earl of Kent. He is believed to liave died 1096, at the siege of Antioch — a fine type of turbulent fighting bishop. 2 ' Domesday,' i. 52.
1066.] WILLIAWS POLICY. 79
a Danegeld, of foiir shillings the hide, property of the Church not excepted, was levied for the defence of Normandy. Under Henry I., the annual Danegeld is said ^ to have been twelve pence the hide, " which was sometimes given to the tything men." Stephen at his coronation promised to remit the tax ; but Selden '' declares that it was occasionally paid in the time of Henry II., though it may be questioned whether the tax which formed a subject of dispute between Henry and Becket in 1163 was really Danegeld, in spite of the fact that in that year " Danegeld " ^ ceased to be a distinct item in the royal revenue, and made room for " douum " or "auxilium" (aid). The navy was, however, more particularly and regularly supported by the furnishing of contingents of ships and men from the ports and towns, as stipulated by their tenures. And sometimes the crown made special arrangements, as, for example, when Wilham I.* exchanged a carucate of land near Lincoln for the ship of one Utchel, as recorded in ' Domesday.'
There should be no misapprehension as to William's attitude towards England after his success. AValsingham speaks of him as '^ rex electus" : Matthew Paris and Matthew of Westminster call him " rex acclamatus " ; but he was in fact a despotic conqueror, and England was his spoil and booty. He seized the estates of the conquered, and gave them to his friends ; and nothing can be more convincing upon this score than the words of Wilham of Poitiers,* a fighting priest, who was one of William's chaplains. " The EngUsh merchants," he says, " add to the opulence of their country, rich in its own fertiHty, still greater riches and more valuable treasures by importation. These imported treasures, which were considerable, both for their quantity and their quahty, were either to have been hoarded up for the gratification of their avarice, or to have been dissipated in the indulgence of their luxurious inclina- tions. But William seized them, and bestowed part on his victorious army, part on chm-ches and monasteries ; and to the Pope and the Church of Eome he sent an incredible mass of money in gold, and many ornaments that would have been admired even at Constantinople."
Much has been made of the fact that William, after Senlac and
' Anct. Laws, 228. ^ ' Mare Claus.,' xxv.
' For the whole subject, see FreemauV ' Norm. Couq.,' iv., and Stubbs's ' Conslit. Hist.'
* ' Domesday,' i. 336. " Will, of Poit., 266.
80 CIVIL mSTORT, 106G-1154. [1100.
the advance on London, was actually offered the crown by the elders of the kingdom ; but it must be borne in mind that Edgar Atheling was the first choice of these elders, and that it was only after they realised that William had power to compel submission that, probably with a view to saving their possessions from total confiscation, they submitted. Nor did the country, as a whole, submit even then. The west was unconquered until 1068 ; the north was imdominated for two years longer. While we allow William to have been a great statesman, and Norman rule to have been a wholesome tonic episode for England, we need not shut our eyes to the truth that the Conqueror took and held the conquest by the might of his sword, and without the smallest regard to the wishes of any section of the native population. In this respect, he differed from William III. who, also, in some sense, was a conqueror. Wilham I. struck upon his own initiative, and for his own ends : Wilham II. came over with a mandate in his pocket from the best part of the nation. After 1066, in consequence, England was merged in Wilham I. ; while, after 1688, Wilham III. was merged in England.
There was much naval activity, as wiU appear in the next chapter, in the reigns of William I. and William Eufus ; but few records bearing upon the subject of naval improvements, or of the civil side of maritime affairs, have reached us, either from those reigns or from the reign of Stephen.
But the reign of Henry I. is interesting as having, apparently, vsdtnessed the first definite establishment of an Admiral's Court (Court of Admiralty) in England, and as having produced several laws regulating maritime affairs. The Admiral's Com-t was, no doubt, a gradual outgrowth of institutions which had existed under the Saxon kings, every admiral or superior sea-commander having, of necessity, a certain jurisdiction, in order to enable him to main- tain discipline and to protect the interests of those under him. Prynne, commentating Coke, alludes to an ordinance' made at Ipswich, in the reign of Henry L, by the Admirals of the North and West, containing the procedure for outlawing and banishing persons attainted in the Admiral's Com-t of felony or trespass ; and as there is no earher mention of such a court, but only of previous ordinances, it may be concluded that the Admiral's Court, known by that name, dates from that time.
' I^ the ' Black Book of the Admirahy.'
1120.] SIZE OF NORMAN SHIPS. 81
The ancient Common Law, relatin<T to wrecks, directed that when a vessel was lost at sea, and the goods or cargo floated to land, they should belong to the king, in accordance with a harsh principle to the effect that, as Blackstone says, by the loss of the ship, all property in it passes away from the original owner. " But Henry modified this, and ordained that, if any person escaped alive from the ship, it should not be deemed to be a wreck. ^
Some judgment may be formed of the size and nature of ships of the period, from the story of the accident which has already been touched upon as having befallen several members of the royal family, in the year 1120. Henry I. had been for some time in Normandy and, in November, assembled a squadron at Barfleur to convoy him back to England. He was met by Thomas Fitz Stephen, commanding a vessel described as La Blanche Nef, who, upon the strength of his ancestor having steered William I. to England, prayed the Idng to go on board his ship, and make the passage in her. The White Ship had been lately built to the order of Prince William, Henry's only legitimate sou, a young man of about eighteen, who had, a very short time before, married a daughter of the Count of Anjou. Henry had made other arrange- ments for his own passage, but bade Thomas Eitz Stephen carry over the princes and princesses. Accordingly, there went on board. Prince William, his natural brother Eichard, his natural sister Mary, Countess of Perche, Eichard, Earl of Chester, and his wife Lucia, niece to the king, and abovit a hundred and forty nobles, of whom eighteen were ladies of high rank. There was an equal number of servants, seamen, etc., or about three hundred in all. The White Shij) pulled fifty oars, and Prince William, who was interested in her, induced the captain and sailors, by plying them with wine, to race the royal galley, in which Henry was.
The king's ship had already sailed when the White Shij) weighed after sundown. Fitz Stephen, in hopes of gaining on the chase, kept his vessel as close in shore as possible, trusting to the bright moonlight to enaljle him to avoid the I'ocks ; but he presently struck on a reef in the Eas de Catteville, and stove in the White Shijj's port side. " The crowded state of the vessel," says Nicolas, " and perhaps the inebriated condition of the crew," rendered useless all efforts to get the ship into a position of safety, and she soon ^\•ent down. When sIk^ first struck, the seamen got out a l)oat, and jiut
' Blackstone, i. 290. VOL. I. G
82 CIVIL HISTORY, 1066-1154. [1154.
Prince William and a few more into it ; and these pushed off, and might have escaped, had not the prince insisted on returning to the rescue of his half-sister. As the boat neared the wreck, so many people leapt into her that she capsized, and all in her were lost. Two persons clung to the mast of the White Ship. One, cramped by the chill of the night, fell off and was dro^Aiied ; and the only man who survived, to be saved next morning by fishermen from the shore, was Berauld, a butcher of Kouen.'
Nicolas ^ considers that the numbers said to have embarked in the White Ship on this occasion must have been exaggerated, "for it is exceedingly doubtful if any vessel of the period was capable of holding so many people." It seems unnecessary to raise such an objection. We have little definite information concerning the dimensions of the largest ships of the time, but if Olaf Trygg- vesson, at the end of the tenth centmy, built, as the Norse chroniclers tell us, a vessel 117 feet long, there is surely no reason whj' Prince William, in the first quarter of the twelfth century, should not have built a ship of equal length ; and such an one could have carried three hundred people without much difficulty.
We are, most of us, liable to be influenced in om- estimate of the ships of remote periods by the rude and obviously inaccurate representations that have been handed down to us, especially on coins and sculptures. In those days there were no people who, after following the sea and learning w^hat ships were like, did as artistically inclined naval officers of the nineteenth century have done over and over again. The painter, the medallist, and the sculptor were landsmen ; and we are no wiser in trusting their versions of what ships were like, than we should be in trusting a modern North Sea fisherman's version of what some totally un- familiar instrument, such as a pulsometer, or a polariscope, is like.^
' SiBi. of Durham, 242 ; Bromton, 1012 ; AVill. uf Malmes. ii. 653 ; Ord. Yit. 867, etc.
2 I. 101.
' M. Jal, writing on this suliject, calls attention to the small bas-reliefs of ships east on the gas-standards for the Paris boulevards by M. A. Muel in 1837 (see cut, next page), and to the extraordinary representations of galleys to be foimd in various modern paintings and sculptures of the arms of Paris ; and he imagines an archaeologist of some future age commenting as follows upon relics discovered in the ruins of the French capital : " The vessels which we find represented on the bases of candelabras, on the beaks of rostral columns, on shields, and on the pedestals of certain statues emblematic of towns, faithfully figure the French vessels of the early years of the nineteenth century. This is beyond all doubt. A plan of Paiis for 1839 shows us the Ministry of ■Marine dose to the place which was thus ornamented with so many ships, probably on
1154.]
MISLEADING IMPRESSIONS OF OLD SHIPS.
83
Moreover, iii those ages, all artistic representation was highly con- ventional. What would the Oriental artist who designed the first willow-pattern plate give ns by way of a picture of a torpedo-boat destroyer? How far an ingrained instinct for the conventional treatment of things may lead the artist astray, was well shown in some of the Japanese and Chinese illustrations of events in the war between China and Japan in 1894-95. Many of the most curious of these were executed by eye-witnesses of the operations com- memorated, and were obviously intended to be honest records, so far as the conventionaHties permitted. Where absolute ignorance of the real nature of the object represented has co-operated with con- ventionalism as abject as any that ever limited a Chinaman, no result that can be very edifying to the modern eye is to be expected.
account of the vicinity of that Ministry, and in ortler to eoiumeniorate tlie transport to France, by the French navy, of the obelisk of Luxor. Here is one proof. The ' Ahnanack Eoyal et National ' of the same date informs us that in the Louvre there was a Naval Museum, that at the hea<l of tlie Ministry of Marine there was a vice- admiral, that to assist this vice-admiral there was a C'onseil de VAmiraute, and, finally, tliat there were two painters attaclied to the Ministry. Here is another proof. It is impossible to suppose that, under the very noses of such autliorities, artists could liave made imai;inary representations of ships, and the Governnieut could have adoi)ted such representations in preference to more acciu'ate ones." As may be seen, the artist of 1837 playeil fast and loose as well with tlie wind as with the shi]i. His wind blows in two directions simultaneously; and the ship apparently ]irogrcsscs stern foremost. ' Arcliiologie Navale,' i. .30-38.
JIISI.EADISG EFFIGY OF A SHIl', AS SUOWX ON CtAS-STAXDAKU.S CAST IN 1837 FOR THE SEIGIIliOURHOOD OF THE MIXISTRY OF IIARIXK, I'AUIS.
(,Fiuin Jut's ' Jn-hcolugk Xuriih,' 1810.)
G 2
( 84 )
CHAPTEE V.
MILITARY HISTORY OB' NAVAL AFFAIRS, ] 066-1154.
The Norman Conquest — William crosises the Channel — Harold's energy anil gallantry — The battle of Senlac — Descents by the sous of Harold — Danish attempts on England — William improves his fleet — Operations against Scotland and Maine — William's naval prestige — -Success of William Eufus — Robert's mismanagement of the fleet — Success of Magnus — Robert's claim to the crown — His good fortune and his weakness — Stephen remits the Danegeld to the prejudice of the navy.
WHEN William, Duke of Normandy, bad i^.i-V-^ determined to invade England, with
;^v£v^* the view to secure for himself the crown of
Edward the Confessor, he found himself face __^ to face with great difficulties,^ which he over- came only by convincing his rather reluctant followers that the spoils of the island, in the shape of lauds, wealth, prefei-ment, and well-dowered heiresses,^ would amply repay them for the trouble and expense incurred. But, having appealed to them on these grounds, and on the ground of religious duty, he quickly secured general support, and gradually assembled the necessary transports and war vessels in the mouth of the little Kiver Dives, near the modern Trouville, where also he collected his army.
There the armada was delayed by contrary winds for about a month, but at length weighing, it made its way north-eastward, along the coast, suffering from continued foul weather on the passage, and losing several ships, with their crews, until it dropped anchor off Saint Valery-en-Caux, a few miles westward of Dieppe. The summer seems to have been an unusually wet and rough one. Kain and unfavourable winds succeeded one another, trying the patience of all concerned, and imperilling the venture ; and WilHam found it expedient to keep up the enthusiasm of his followers with
' 'Clu-ou. dc Norm.' -xiii. 235.
- Will. ofMalmes. ; ' De (.'est. Pout. Augl.' 290; Ord. Vit., p. 494; Eadmer, i. 7.
1060.]
LANDING OF WILLIAM 1.
85
frequent religious services, and their spirits with drink.' Even these resources were, however, beginning to fail him, and a con- viction that Heaven itself was opposing the design was rapidly taking possession of the superstitious Nonnans, when, in the night following a specially ornate and impressive service," in the presence of the holy relics of Saint Valery, wind and weather moderated. Next mornmg the troops were again embarked, and liefore sunset on September 27th, 1066, the entire force was under weigh.
The duke himself led the fleet in the Mora, which, by dawn, had so far outsailed her consorts that not one of them was visible, even from the masthead. The ship was therefore anchored, and the people went to breakfast, spiced wines, among other things, being
HAROLDS SHIP. CFrom the Baijcitx Tajje'^tru.)
served. After breakfast, first four and then numerous vessels were sighted,^ and when the major part of the fleet had come up, the duke weighed again and proceeded. A few hours later, on Sep- tember 28th, be effected an unopposed landing in Pevensey Bay, and, according to Wace, destroyed his fleet as soon as he had thrown his army on shore.
William remained for a time on the coast, expecting reinforce- ments, while Harold hurried across England, to make a concen- tration of his forces at London. Speaking generally, the south flocked to him, while the north held aloof. Harold was counselled to send one army forward to strike at the invader, and to himself remain in London, to organise another as a second line of defence ; but the advice did not agree with his brave and impetuous natui'e.
Will, of Poit. 198.
- Wace, 14G.
Will, of Poit. 19'J.
86 MILITARY HISTORY, 1066-1154. [1066.
He pressed south, with all men -whom he had managed to draw to his standard, and, on October 13th, encamped on Senlac Hill, which he fortified with a ditch and a palisade.
In the meanwhile, AVilliam's reinforcements miscarried. They, too, were probably to have landed at Pevensey, but they went further to the eastward, disembarked at Eomney, and were attacked and routed by the inhabitants.
The Normans spent the night in confession and prayer, and in the moriring advanced over the high ground of Telham to the valley at the foot of Senlac' The invaders were in three m.ain diArisions. On their right were mercenaries under Eoger Montgomery and William FitzOsbern, afterwards Earl of Hereford ; on the left were the Poitevius and Bretons, under Alan of Bretagne ; and in the centre were the archers and men-at-arms of Normandy, mider the duke himself. In each division, archers were in the van, footmen in the centre or main body, and cavalry in the rear.
As for the English, who were behind their palisade, the Huscarls, or Thingamen, regular troops of the king, held the centre, while the vdngs were formed, inefficiently enough, of raw and ill-armed country levies.
The Norman attack was prefaced at nine o'clock by heavy arrow-fire, under cover of which the infantry presently assaulted, but could make no impression. Indeed, the Norman left broke and fled, and the English right got out of hand, in spite of Harold's orders, and pursued. William personally drove back his fleeing Bretons, who, as soon as they had re-formed, easily routed their piu'suers, and forced the remnant of them again -within the enclosure. But the English held their own on the hill, though whenever they sallied forth they were repulsed. At length the Norman right scaled the slope on the English left ; and, seeing all ready for the final onslaught, AVilliam bade his archers fire high, so as to drop their arrows over the paUsade upon the heads of the defenders. This greatly annoyed the EngHsh, who, in addition, were beginning to feel the effects of their prolonged exertions. At the critical moment Harold, the soul of his army, fell, struck by an arrow in the eye. The Huscarls ranged themselves around their fallen leader, and prepared to sell their lives as dearly as possible ; the country levies took to flight ; and, as the night gathered, ever smaller grew
' For tlie Battle of Hastings, see Freeman's ' Numian CVniquest,' iii. ; William of Poitiers's 'Gesta Gulielmi'; AVace's 'Roman de Kou'; and tlie Baj'eux Tapestiy.
1069.] SWEYN'S INVASION. 87
the knot of stern men swinpnj,' tlieir ])anish axes on the Hill of Seulac, luitil the last went down, and the battle was lost. Harold fell at six in the evening, after the fight liad raffed for nine hours. The slaughter and pursuit continued until far into the hours of darkness, and until 60,000 Englishmen had perished.
Instead of at once marching upon London, the conqueror waited on the south coast until he had burnt Romney,' by way of chastise- ment to its inhabitants for having interfered with his reinforcements, and iintil he had besieged and taken Dover.
The story of how William completed his conqvxest needs telhng here only so far as it falls directly within the limits of naval history.
He had not been a year upon the throne ere one of the three sons of Harold, who had sought refuge in Ireland, and who, after the fall of their father, behaved much as Prince Eupert behaved after the fall of Charles I., undertook a piratical expedition into the Bristol Channel. At Bristol he was beaten back to his ships, but in Somersetshire he landed, and fought an indecisive battle, in which he killed, among others, Ediioth, William's Master of the Horse. He does not seem, however, to have been very successful, and he returned to Ireland without having accomplished much.- The e.xiled princes made another descent in the following year, when they landed in the Tavy with sixty-four vessels, but were so badly used by the Devonshire people, that scarcely two ships' crews escaped to sea.^
Far more formidable was an attempt made, in 10(50, to disturb the new order of things in England. Sweyn, King of Denmark, conceiving himself to have inherited some right to the crown, and being encouraged by the Dano-Saxon part}' in England, as well, apparently, as b}' the sons of Harold, who had again sought refuge in Ireland, equipped a great fleet of two hundred and forty ships,^ and put it imder the command of his brother Osbern and his sons Harold and Canute.^ Edgar Atholing, grandson of Edmund Iron- side, who, after the Conquest, had been kindly received at the court of Wilham, had already been removed thence by his friends to Scotland, where one of his sisters, Margaret, presently married King Malcolm III. (Canmore). Edgar was only eleven years of age,
■ Will, of Poit. 20-t.
2 Sax. Chron., 269 (higram).
' n., 270.
■" As Sim. of l>iirli;iiii s^ys; but Will, of limit., ami Matt. I'aris s.iy three hundred.
" Sax. Cliron. 270 (Ingram) says that three soils of Swoyii took part.
88 MILITARY in STORY, 106C-115i. [1070.
but was useful as a puppet. It was arranged that he, with three Saxon earls of influence, at the head of the Northumbrians, should join the Danes on their amval ; and although it is not now clear what advantage the Saxon royal family hoped to derive from the venture, it is plain that the combination promised to be exceedingly advantageous to the Danes. The latter entered the Humber with- out ox^positiou about August, pushed up the Ouse, landed, were joined by the northern insurgents, and, after a brief and bloody campaign, stormed York, and massacred the Norman garrison.^
In the meantime, William, with a considerable army, was advancing from the south, and the Danes, always more anxious about booty than territorj% and always desirous of being ^-ithin touch of the sea, left York to the care of the Northumbrians, and mthdrew with their plimder and their prisoners to the head of the Humber, where they encamped for the winter in sight of their ships. WiUiam seems to have temporised with Osbern, while devoting all his energy to the punishment of the rebels, whom he completely scattered.
In the spring Sweyn in person arrived in the Humber, raided the valleys of the Nen and Great Ouse, and estabhshed himself at Ely, whence he attacked and plmidered Peterborough. William, still -without a fleet of sufficient force, appears to have dis- trusted his ability to deal with the maurauders and to have at length bribed them to depart with their spoils. They sailed ; but their return voyage was not a fortunate one, for they were over- taken by a storm, and lost many of their ships and much of their treasure. A few Danish vessels, probably separated by the storm from the main body, made their appearance, towards the end of the year, in the Thames, but remained only a very short time, and retired without accomplishing anything of importance.^
William had by that time made some progress in the direction of suppljdng himself with a fleet. In 1071 he was able to send ships, as well as land forces, against Earl Morkere, who had rebelled, and who was crushed ; and in 1072 he penetrated into Scotland, as far as Fife, with the co-operation of a squadron, and at Abernethy obUged Malcolm III. to swear fealty to him/ and to surrender Duncan, subsequently Duncan II., as a hostage. In 1073, again, William utihsed his fleet for the recovery of Maine,* which had
' Three tlumsaml are said to have been killed. - Su.k. (.'hrcm. 276 (Ingrain). ^ lb., 277, 278. ' /*., 278.
1090.] XAVAL SUCCESSES OF BUFUS. 89
rebelled ; and in lUTo, when no fewer than two hundred sail, under Canute, son of Swej'n, and Earl Hakon, left Denmark to attack England, the Conqueror's prestige was so great tliat the enemj^ upon x'eflcction, saw fit to I'etire without risking a combat.'
A few years later, in 1083 or 1085, an invasion from Denmark was once more threatened by Canute, aided by Olaf of Norway, with sixty ships, and by Robert, Count of Flanders, with six hundred,^ bitt either spontaneous dissensions among the confederates, or dis- agreements judiciously fomented by the money and iniluence of William, caused the project to miscarry.^ Indeed, the Conqueror, although generally successful in his naval undertakings, had little respite during liis reign from the machinations of his enemies abroad, and of his rebeliioiis suljjects on the continent, and at the verj' time of his death he was engaged in a war with France. But of the naval features of these campaigns few details have been preserved.
William Eufus, in 1087, seized the crown of England in defiance of the rights of his elder brother Robert, and in conseijuence, he had to keep his acquisition by means of the sword. Robert's chief supporter in England was the Conqueror's half-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and Earl of Kent, the most notable of the many fighting prelates of the age. Odo occupied and fortified some of the Kentish ports, while Robert collected a naval and military force in Normandy ; but the co-operation of the two leaders was ill managed, and after a first brief blush of success, Robert's straggling vessels and reinforce- ments destined for Odo were over and over again ciit off by the squadrons of William, until, when the latter had turned the tables and assumed the offensive, the elder brother was glad to make peace.
Robert, thus reduced to inactivity, sought employment, and was entrusted in 1091 with the conduct of a considerable naval expedition against Scotland, Malcolm having re-espoused the cause of Edgar Atheling and invaded England. William, with the army, met the Scots at Leeds, and Canmore was induced to again swear fealty ; but in the meantime the English fleet fared almost as badly as would have been the case had the Scots fought and fought success- fully, for it was overtaken by a storm, and many of its vessels were lost.*
' Sax. Chron., 282 (Insram).
' Will, of Malnies. ii. 437; Sax. Chron., 288 (Ingram); Puutauus, Hi7.
" Flor. of Wore, 641.
■* Huveilen, 2G5 (Savile) ; Bromton, 987.
90 MILITABY HISTORY, 1006-1154. [1100.
William always cherished designs for the conquest of Wales, and pending the day when he should have leisure to turn the whole forces of his kingdom against that principahty, he allowed, and probably encouraged, the border nobles to make war on their own account with the unreduced west. Numerous small wars, or free- booting raids resulted. One of these campaigns, midertaken in 1098-99 by Hugh, Earl of Shrewsbury, and Hugh, Earl of Chester, serves, as Campbell points out, as an illustration of " how imprudent a thing it is to depend on armies without fleets," ^ or in more modern phrase, of the importance of sea power. The Earls invaded Anglesey, where they met with little resistance, and wrung a great amomit of plunder from the inhabitants ; but while they were in the full tide of their success, Magnus, a northern adventurer, swooped down from the Orkneys with a small squadron, and not only took from the invaders all the spoil which they had collected, but killed Hugh of Shrewsbury.-
In the last year of his reign, William betrayed extraordinary energy in repressing a rebellion in Maine, of which, with Nor- mandy, he had taken charge in pursuance of an agreement with his brother Eobert, who had gone on the First Crusade. The king was hunting in England when he leamt that Le Mans, the capital of the province, was besieged by the insurgents. Without dis- mounting he rode on to the nearest seaport, and hurrying on board a small vessel, obliged the master to put to sea, in spite of the prevalent bad weather. Reminded that he was alone, he said, " I shall see who will follow me, and if I understand the youth of this kingdom, I shall have people enough." Remonstrated with on the danger of crossing the Channel with a foul %vind and a heavy sea, he exclaimed, " I never heard of a king that was shipwi'ecked. Weigh anchor, and you will see that the wind will be with us." ^ He landed safely at Barfleur, and relieved Le Mans with the troops already in Normandy. After his return he was preparing a fleet for operations beyond sea, when on August 2nd, 1100, he was accidentally killed.
Eobert had shortly before returned from his crusade, and when he learnt that his youngest brother Henrj^ had assumed the crown, he assembled a fleet at Treport. Henry made corresponding preparations, issuing orders to the butescarles along the coasts for
' Campbell, i., 103 (ed. 1817). - Sax. Cluuu., ;!17 (Ingram).
3 Will, of Malines. ii. 502 ; All", of Beverley, ix.
1100.] ROBERTS INVASION. 91
a risorons observation of persons coming from Nonuandy,' and to the fleet, to be prepared to put to sea. But the position of Henry was very precarious. He had not only a bad title but also a reputation for energetic strictness, whereas Robert had a good title, had much distinguished himself in the East, and was popular on account of his good nature and easy-going ways. Desertions from Henry reinforced Eobert botli by sea and by land.
The king, awaiting the expected invasion at Pevensey, dispatched his fleet to meet that of his brother as soon as he learnt that the latter had sailed. Several ships went over to the foe. The body of the fleet missed the hostile squadron, which, keeping somewhat down Channel, effected a landing at Portsmouth. Henry, after concentrating at Hastings, moved to Winchester, many of his followers quitting him, and Eobert advanced, and by a courageous blow might have gained the Idngdom, lint that, giving way to the influence of the nobles, and of Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbmy, he suffered himself to be persuaded to treat." In the event, Henry was recognised as King of England, and Robert received a pension and certain territorial concessions on the continent. Robert did not long adhere to his bargain, and in HOG Hemy crossed, unopposed by sea, to Noniiandy, won the battle of Tenchebrai, took Robert prisoner, and kept him captive at Cardiff until his death. William CHto, Robert's eldest son, maintained for some time his father's pretensions, and obliged Henry to make frequent expeditions to the continent, and also to keep a considerable fleet in readiness, until 1124, when William abandoned the struggle and retired to Elanders.
Stephen's title to the crown, like that of Henry I., was a bad one. He claimed as a son of Adela, a daughter of William the Conqueror, who had married Stephen, Count of Blois ; but he was a younger son at best, and there were, moreover, much nearer heirs, the nearest of all to the late king being Matilda, or Maud, only daughter of Henry I., and widow of the Emperor Henry V. Her second husband, Geoffrey of Anjou, was unpopular in England, and although homage had been done to Maud as the future Queen of England, in ll'iU, the new alliance contracted in 11'28 antagonised so many of the nobles, that Stephen secured the succession without much difficulty. To reconcile his subjects to his rule, he remitted
' Hoveden, 2G8; Flor. t.f \V(HO., G.'jO.
- Sax. Chron., 322 Clngram"); Bronitoii, 998 ; Hoveden, 2(18 (Savile).
92 MILITARY HISTORY, 1066-1154. [1154.
the tax known as the Danegeld or Heregeld, and thus deprived himself of large part of the supplies out of which a fleet could be maintained ; yet in 1137 he was able to invade Normandy ^ with an army and a considerable squadron, and in spite of the resistance of Geoffi-ey of Anjou, to temporarily restore the province to the English crown.
But his success was short lived. The Empress Maud, accom- panied by her bastard brother Eobert, Earl of Gloucester,^ invaded England ; and for several years afterwards the country, owing to the varying fortunes of the combatants, was in a complete state of anarchy, dm-ing which the navy was almost entirely neglected. From 1145 to 115'2 the empress withdrew, and left Stephen master of England ; but in the latter year the war was renewed by Maud's son Henry, then an able and popular lad of nineteen. The struggle was terminated in 1153 by the treaty which, though known as that of Wallingford, was actually concluded at Westminster, and which stipulated that Stephen should retain the kingdom during his lifetime, and should then be succeeded by Henry. Stephen profited little by this arrangement, dying on October '25th in the following year.
' Bromton, 1026.
- Ih., 1029 ; Hobt. of Glouc, 460.
( 9B
CHAPTEE VI.
VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1066-1154.
H. W. Wilson.
Effect of the comiuest on n.avigation — Voyage of Saewulf to Palestine — Encounter witli tlie Saracens — His route liouie — Depredations of tlie Orlincy men — Englisli pirates in the Meiiiterrauean — Hognvald of ( >rliney's voyage — Battle witli tlie Saracen cogs — ^fanner of Ipoariling — Adclanl — The Crusades — Voyages to the north — Scotland.
rpHE iiiviisioii and conquest of England by^the Normans must have strengthened the con- nection between England and the continent, and so have promoted trade and navigation. In 105'2, just before the conquest, the Cinque Ports are noted as possessing many ships, but English craft do not as yet appear to have ventured outside the Bay of Biscay to the south, whilst navigation to the north was, it is probable, mainly in the hands of Scandinavians. In 1095 is a curious notice of Joint ownership of ships, when we hear that Godric, who later became a saint, a native of Walpole, in Norfolk, held one-half of one ship and a quarter of another. The almost absolute silence of contemporary authorities on the subject of seafaring during the Norman period, is at least remarkable, though it does not by any means prove that there were no voyages. Early in the twelfth century the Scots annalists men- tion the present of an Arab horse and Turkish armour, as given by King Alexander to St. Andrews. This would point to intercourse with the Mediterranean countries.
In the year 1102 one Saewulf, a merchant who afterwards became a monk at Malmesbury, pilgrimaged to the Holy Land. As usual, he seems to have gone overland to Italy, whence he sailed to the Ionian Isles, and there disembarking, travelled on foot to Negropont. After this he took ship and sailed by Tinos, Syros, Mykonos, Naxia, Karos, Amorgos, Samos, Scio, Mitylene, Patmos, Cnidus, and Cyprus to Joppa, where he found a great fleet of ships assembled, bringing pilgrims. A violent storm arose and his ship was wrecked, but he had escaped by going ashore before the
94 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1006-1154. [1075.
gale reached its height.^ On his return he embarked at Joppa, but did not dare to veutiu'e out to the open sea for fear of Saracens ; a statement which clearly indicates that navigators had begun to sail direct for their destination instead of deviously following the outline of the coast. Coasting along near Acre, his ship, in company with others, encountered a fleet of twenty-six Saracen vessels, which were conve3dng an army to " Babylonia." The Saracens suiToiuided the pilgrims, and two of the Christian ships fled. "But our men," says SaewniK, "ready to meet death in the cause of Christ, took their arms when the foe was a bow-shot off, and stationed them- selves as quickly as might be on the forecastle of our ship — for our dromon carried two hundi'ed men-at-arms." For an hour the enemy debated whether to attack, and then, noting the bold face of the pilgrims, hauled off. Three of his ships were taken after- wards by certain Joppa Christians. Thence Saewulf sailed along Sj'ria to Cyprus and Little Antioch, being hereabouts ofttimes assailed by pirates, who were beaten off. Then he went by Patras, Rhodes, Stromlo (Stampali), Samos, Scio, Smyrna, Mitylene, Tenis (Tenedos), and Gallipolis to Eaclea (Heraclea, now Eregli, on the Sea of Marmora), where his narrative abruptly ends. -
The Orkneymen in the Norman period caused some trouble by their depredations on the coast. In 1075, as the Saxon Chronicle tells us, a large fleet under Hakon of Norway came to plunder, but retired incontinently on hearing something of William's administra- tion. In the days of Stephen an Orkney fleet pillaged Aberdeen, Hartlepool, Whitby, Pilawick, and Langton. On the other hand, the English had themselves taken to playing pirate in the Mediter- ranean. In 110'2 one Hardine, an Englishman,^ was with a fleet of two hundi'ed ships which put into Joppa, and in 1105 an English pirate named Godric sails boldly into the same port, with King Baldwin of Jerusalem. The Saracens off the port, with " '20 gallies and 13 shippes," endeavoured to surround them, but "by God's help the billows of the sea swelling up and raging against them, and the king's ship gliding and passing through the waves with an easy and nimble course, arrived suddenly in the harbour of Joppa." * A few years later a fleet of English, Danish, and Flemish ships arrived. The crusading warfare with the Saracens was familiarising our navigators with the waters of the Mediterranean.
' Of thirty sliips, all but seven were wrecked.
- AVright, T., 'Early Travels in Palestine' (London, 1S17), jip. xxi., .'^1-50.
5 Hakhiyt, 1!. L. ii."l5. * lb., ii. 12.
1150.] ROGNVALD AV THE MEDITERRANEAN. 95
In 1150 the Orkne3'ingers' Saga tells us of a great expedition made by Earl Eognvald of Orkney to the Mediterraneim and Palestine. The expedition started first from Bergen, and then picked up a number of Orkney ships, sailing rather late in the summer with fifteen vessels in all. They voyaged by Scotland, Northumberland, England, and France, and came without further incident to Nerbon (probably Bilbao). There they were entertained by Queen Ermingerd, whose husl)and was dead ; the earl took her hand and set her on his knee, as she poured out wine for him, and her folk wished him to marry her, but he would not till he had done his voyage. So he sailed west to Galicialand, in the winter before Yule, and meant to tarry there for Yuletide. And in tliat place was the castle of a stranger lord, which the townsmen besought him to take. .This he presently assailed, heaping wood round the walls and kindling it. Then the walls of the castle yielded before the fire, and Rognvald sent for water to cool the rubble, and they cooled it and rushed in and took the castle. After this they departed from Galicialand and held on west, harrying the heathen who dwelt thereabouts. And when off Spain a great storm smote them and they lay three days at anchor, so that they shipped much water and all but lost their ships.
Anon they hoisted sail and beat out to Njorfa Sound (Gut of Gibraltar) with a cross wind, and sailed through Njorfa Sound, when the weather mended ; but six ships parted company from the earl and sailed to Marseilles. Then they came to the south of Sarkland, and near Sardinia, yet they knew not that they were near land. The weather was calm, and the sea smooth, but mists hung over it though the nights were light, so that they saw scarcelj' at all from their ships. Now it came to pass that one morning the mist lifted, and they stood up and looked eagerly, and then saw two small islets narrow and steep ; and looking again one islet had gone. Then said the earl: "Needs must these be ships which they call dromons ; they are big as islands to look upon." And then he called together the bishop and his captains, and said : " I call you together for this : see ye any chance that we may win victory over those of the dromon?" And the bishop answered: "A dromon is hard to grapple with a longship ; and they can pour brimstone and burning pitch under your feet and over your heads." Then said a captain, Erhng : " There will be little hope in rowing against them. Yet somehow it seemeth to me that should we run under
96 VUYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 10(i6-115J. [1150.
the dromon : in this way her bolts will pass over us, if we hug her very close." And the earl said : " That is spoken like a man. Now will we make ready and row against them. And if they are Christians, then will we make peace with them ; but if they are heathens, then Almighty God will yieljd us this mercy that we shall win the victory over them." Then the men got out their arms and heightened the bulwarks, and rowed briskly up to the enemy ; and it seemed to them that those on the dromon dared them to come on with shoutings and bailings.
Earl Eognvald laid his ship aft alongside the dromon, and Erling, too, laid his aft. John and Aslak laid their ships forward on either board, and the others were also on either board ; and the sides of the dromon stood up so high that they could not reach up, and pitch and brimstone were poured upon them, but- the weight of weapons fell beyond them in the sea. And as their onslaught prospered not, the bishop, with two others, pushed off and with bowmen drove the dromon's men to cover. Then Eognvald shouted to his men to hew asunder the broadside of the dromon ; and above Erling's ship hung the great anchor of the dromon, and the stock pointed downwards. Then was Audun the Bed lifted up on the anchor stock, and others he helped up to him, till they stood thick on the stock, and hewed till they could enter the dromon. And the earl and his men boarded by the lower hold, and Erling and his by the upper ; and there were many Saracens and blackamoors on board, so that it was an exceeding hard fight. Then they slew much follv and got much goods, and took a man taller and fairer than the rest, and other captives ; and after the battle they feasted, and stripped the dromon and set her on fire. Then it was as if molten metal did flow from her, and they knew that she had carried hidden silver and gold.
Thence they sailed under Sarkland to a coast town, and made truce with the townsmen, and sold their prisoners ; but the tall )nan none would buy, wherefore the earl set him free. Then he rode up the country, bidding Eognvald godspeed ; but Eognvald fared to Crete in foul weather, and after whiles a fair wind came for them to go to Acreburg, and they sailed thither, and fared to the Jordan, and came back ; and after that they sailed for Micklegarth (Con- stantinople), and they took great pains with their sailing and came with great pomp. Menelaus was emperor of Micklegarth, and gave them much goods. They stayed there the winter ; then Eognvald
1154.] GROWTH OF TRADE. 97
departed home, by Bulgarialand and Dyrrachburg (Durazzo), and Poule (Apulia) and Eome, to Norway.^ In the desperate fighting of this voyage we seem, as has been justly remarked, to have a fore- taste of the exploits of Drake and Greville.
About this time, or a few years earUer, Adelard, or Aethelhard of Bath, travelled or voyaged round Spain, North Africa, Greece, and Asia Minor. Little or nothing is known about him or his adven- tures." Now too we begin to find evidence of constant voyages and pilgrimages to the Holy Land, though few details are given, and we have httle beyond the bare record. Thus in 1128, Hakluyt tells us that William, an Englishman, a canon regular of Jerusalem, was made Archbishop of Tyre.^ About 1143, Eobertus Ketenensis travelled to Dalmatia, Greece, and Asia. A little later the Crusades began to stimulate the development of English shipping, as the knights and their followers required generally to be conveyed by sea to the Holy Land. At the same time the Norman contempt for trade was dying out, and voyages were being made from Bristowe or Bristol, to Iceland and Norway.* From Grimsby chapmen sailed to the Orkneys,* Norway, Scotland, and the Siidereyar (Hebrides). Berwick-on-Tweed has numerous ships, and one Canute of that town, on a ship of his being captured by the east of Orkney, hired fifteen vessels, gave chase, and recaptured her.^ So, too, in Scotland statutes appear gi'anting certain privileges to merchants who are trading abroad, and English fishermen begin to cross the Firth of Forth.' English traders are found resident at Montpelier,' and a treaty between Barbarossa and Hemy II. concerning merchants and merchandise, testifies to the growing intercourse between England and Germany.* At the same time the defective geographical know- ledge of Giraldus Cambrensis, who flourished towards the close of the twelfth century, proves that the writers and chroniclers were ignorant of the results of these voyages.
' Dasent, op. cit. 1G3. I have abbreviated the original, striving to retain tiie archaism of style.
- Diet. Nat. Biogr., ' Ailelard of Bath.' ' Hakluyt, ii. 16.
* Will. Malmesbury, ' Dc Gest. Pont.,' 101. " Orkneyingar Saga, 97, 98.
^ Torfa;us Arcades, i. 32.
' Macpherson, ' Annals of Commerce,' i. 324.
* Macpherson, 335, supposes that they did not come there by sea. I do not understand why not.
» Hakluyt, i. 128, 129.
VOL. I. H
(98 >
CHAPTEE VII.
CIVIL HISTORY OF THE NAVY, 1154-1399.
Effects of the Ci\il War — The great ports — Commerce — Twelfth-century ships — The esnecca — Galleys — Other craft — Weapons — Greek Fire — The Trench-the-Mer — Organisation of the Palestine Expedition — Treaty of co-operation between England and France — Rudimentary articles of war — Regulations for the fleet— Arrest of ships — The Law of Wreck — The "Ancient Towns" — The laws of Oleron — Methods of naval warfare — Longships — Cogs — Schuyts — The port, reeves — Embargo on shipping — Jealously of King John concerning English vessels — The fleet in 1205 — Vessels hired from or for the king — Orders for freight — The Keeper of the Ships — Officers in the thirteenth centurj' — Gear and stores — Dockyards — Prize-money — Enlistment and impressment of seamen — Wages — The Right of the Flag — Names of ships — Purchase of stores — Cabins — Pa}' under Henry III. — ^Rates of freight — Laying-up of ships — Prizes under Henry III. — Impressment — Police of the narrow seas — Ireland and the Navy — Provisions — Lighthouses — Flags — Privateering and piracy — Further modification of the Law of Wreck — The magnet — ^Bayomie and the Navy — The Welsh expeditionary squadron — The Scots expeditionary fleet — The Cinque Ports — New Charters — " Ejections " — The Sovereignty of the Seas — Flags under Edward I. — Piracy in the narrow seas — Complements of ships — The rudder — Fireships — Quarter — Naval payments — Requisitions of shipping — Beacons — Roj'al fish — Ravensrode — The Flamands and the Sovereignty of the Seas—" Admiral " — Naval officers of the thirteenth century — New types of ships — La Phelipe — " Sail stones " — Flags under Edward III. — Sales of ships to foreigners — Gunpowder- — ^ Cannon — Breechloaders — The 'Black Book of the Admiralty' — The duties of admirals — -The Channel ferry — Illegal taxation for naval purposes — Privileges of the Cinque Ports — Treaty with Portugal — Chaucer's shii)man — The Walney relics.
TTNDER the Ange\'in Idugs the navy of England attained at times a splen- dour and prestige which it had never before approached. In accordance with the stipulations of the Treaty of Wallingford, Henry II. peaceably succeeded Stephen at the latter's death in October, 11.54, in spite of the fact that Stephen's son Wilham was living, and that Henry did not arrive in England until six weeks after the late sovereign's demise.
The truth probably is that the country was weary of civil war ; for, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the sufferings of the
1154.] JBE- STATE OF ENGLAND. 99
land had been unexampled. Describing the attitude of the nobles to Stephen, the chronicler says: "When the traitors perceived that he was a mild man, and soft and good, and did no justice, then did they all wonder . . . Every powerful man made his castles and held them against him. They cruelly oppressed the wretched men of the land with castle works. "When the castles were made, they fiUed them with devils and evil men. Then they took those men that they thought had any property, both by night and by day, peasant men and women, and put them in prison for their gold and silver, and tortured them with unutterable tortures. .... Many thousands they killed ^\•ith hmiger. I cannot and may not teU all the womids or all the tortm-es which they inflicted on wretched men in this land, and that lasted the nineteen years while Stephen was king ; and ever it was worse and worse. They laid imposts on the towns continually, and when the wretched men had no more to give, they robbed and burned all the towns, so that thou mightest go well all a day's journey, and thou shouldst never find a man sitting in a town or the land tilled . . . Never yet had more wretchedness been in the land, nor did heathen men ever do worse than they did . . . The bishops and the clergy constantly cursed them, but nothing came of it, for they were all accursed, and forsworn, and forlorn. However a man tilled, the eai-th bare no corn, for the land was all fordone by such deeds, and they said openly that Christ and his saints slept."
Although, therefore, William, son of Stephen, had his partizans, he could not command their active intervention. Henry, young, powerful, and popular, and not Wilham, seemed to be the right man to bring order out of chaos. Already Lord of Normandy and Anjou, he had acquired by his marriage in 115'2 with Eleanor of Aquitaine, a large territory in the south of France. He quickly restored peace, justice, and good goveiiunent.
At that time the two great commercial ports of the kingdom were London and BrLstol. Of the former Wilham of Malmesbury ' says, " The noble city of London, rich in the wealth of its citizens, is filled with the goods of merchants from every land, and especially from Germany, whence it happens that when there is a dearth in England on account of bad harvests, provisions can be bought there cheaper than elsewhere, and foreign merchandise is brought to the city by the famous Eiver Thames." This German trade is again • ' De Gest. Pont. Aug.' ii. 133.
H 2
1-00 CIVIL EISTOBY, 1154-1399. ,[1170.
mentioned in a letter^ sent by Henry to the Emperor Frederick in 1157, and containing the phrase, " Let there be between ourselves and our subjects an indivisible unity of friendship and peace, and safe trade of merchandise." Of Bristol WilUam of Malmesbury^ tells us that " its haven was a receptacle for ships coming from Ireland and Norway, and other foreign lands, lest a region so blessed with native riches should be deprived of the benefits of foreign commerce." Henry encouraged the growing trade, and in one of his ordinances of 1181 there is a passage which reads almost hke an early Angevin premonition of certain provisions of the navigation laws. It directs the itinerant justices to declare in each county -that no one under the heaviest penalties should buy or sell any ship to be taken out of England, nor induce any seaman to remove thence.^
Of the size to which Henry's ships attained, some indication is afforded by the statement that in March, 1170, the fomideriug of a single vessel cost the Uves of four hundred persons.* Neither Charnock ^ nor Southey * expresses incredulity upon the point, nor does there seem to be any valid reason for refusing to accept the assertion ; but Nicolas ' is of opinion that it is " one of the usual exaggerations of chroniclers whenever they mention numbers ; or the ships of the twelfth centmy were at least four times larger than they are supposed to have been." The truth certainly is that tweKth- century vessels were often very much larger than Nicolas imagined them to be. Still, it is not likely that any vessels of that age were designed to carry so large a complement as four hundred. The particular vessel in question was at the time engaged upon transport duty, and may well have been crowded to the extent of double her normal crew, or even more. No British man-of-war of the eighteenth century had a proper complement of more than about 850 officers and men ; yet many instances are on record of eighteenth- century ships having been at sea for considerable periods with 1200, 1500, or even 2000 souls in them. To assume that twelfth-century ships were sometimes crowded for short voyages in corresponding proportion is not unreasonable, and that assumption would reduce the normal complement of the ship of Hemy II. that was lost to about 270, or even to 170.
' Ratlevicus, i. c. 17 (Hakluyt). • ° 'Marine Architecture,' i. 328.
= ' De Gest. Pont. Ang.,' iv. 161. « Southey, i. 144.
' Benedict of Peterboro, i. 365-3G8 (Hearne). ' Nicolas, i. 104. * Bromton, 1060.
1189.] TYPES OF SHIPS. 101
The ship in which the king himself was accustomed to make his passage to and from the continent, in the twelth centmy, was of the type known as " esnecca," or snake. She seems to have been a long swift vessel ; but little more is known concerning her. The post of captain or " nauclerus," of the esnecca, was an office of importance, and was held under Hemy I., at one time by one Roger, " the son- in-law of Albert " ; and under Henry II. by William and Nicholas, sons of the said Eoger, conjointly.' The pay appears to have been 12(1. per diem.^ The king's esnecca was the first royal yacht ; and, like the royal yachts of later days, was used not only for the con- veyance of the sovereign, but also for that of other gi-eat and princely personages. Geoffrey of Brittany, sou of Henry II., is recorded to have been a passenger in her in 1166,* " the king's daughter " in 1176,* and the Duke of Saxony, with the queen, in 1184.5
The reign of Eichard I., who succeeded his father Henry II. in 1189, saw the opening of a new period in English naval history. For the first time the fleet undertook a distant expedition of con- quest ; for the first time a regular code of naval law was established, and for the first time England headed a great naval combination of the powers, and publicly took her place in the front rank of the maritime states.
The English vessels of the period were galleys, or, as they were subsequently called, galliasses, gallions, busses,* dromons, vissers or ursers, barges and snakes. The distinctions separating all these classes have not been very accurately ascertained.
The galley was a reproduction, possibly with slight modifications, of the well-known Mediterranean craft of the name ; the gallion was a galley with but one bank of oars ; the buss was a heavy and slower vessel, of great strength and capacity ; the dromon, certainly a large ship of war, seems to have been sometimes a galley of heavy biu'den and sometimes a vessel with sail- power only ; the visser was a shallow ilat-bottomed transport for horses ; the barge was not unlike the modern coasting-barge or hoy, and the snake (esnecca) was the equivalent of the modem yacht or dispatch boat. There is nothing to show that any vessel of the time had more than one mast ; but two and even three
1 I
Archajologia,' vf. 116, etc. * Pipe Holis, 22 Heu. II., roll 136.
Dialogue of the Exchequer, i. c. vi. " Jb., .'U Hen. II., roll Uh.
Vi]>G liolls, 12 lieu. II., roll 86. " Busm, burcia, bwxa, bttcea.
102 CIVIL ^/57©i?r, . iro4-1399. [1194.
Sails* seem to have been occasionally carried, though in what position is doubtful.
The galleys rarely haa more than two banks of oars, and they 'were long, low craft, provided with an above-water beak or ram. Above the rowers, at least in the larger craft, there seems to have been a platform on which stood the fighting men, whose shields, as in earher days, were arranged roimd the bulwarks.^ As for the fittings of the ships, Eichard of Devizes ^ notes that the chief vessels of the fleet sent from England to the Levant in 1189 had each three spare rudders, or steering paddles, thirteen anchors (probably inclusive of grapnels), thirty oars, two sails, three sets of all kinds of ropes, and duplicates of all gear except mast and boat. Besides the captain and fifteen seamen, every large ship carried forty knights (or cavalrymen), with their horses, forty footmen, fourteen servants, and twelve months' provision for all. These large vessels are described as busses. A few of them are said to have carried double the complements mentioned, so that they had 210 men, besides horses, on board.
The weapons in use in English ships of war of the twelfth centm-y were bows and arrows, pikes or lances, axes, swords, and engines for flinging stones or other heavy missiles ; and to them was added, in or before the reign of Eichard III., the famous invention known as Greek Fire. This material had apparently been first prepared by Calhnicus of Hehopolis about the year 665. Of its composition nothing certain is known, but it probably included among its ingredients sulphur, saltpetre, naptha and pitch. It was liquid : it ignited upon exposure to the air : it was not extinguished by water but only by vinegar, or by sand or earth thro\\^l upon it ; and it produced suffocating fumes. It seems to have been employed in several ways. Sometimes it was forced through brazen tubes, much as water is now pmiiped froin a fire engine ; sometimes tow was impregnated with it and fastened to arrow-heads ; and some- times bottles or jars of it were used as hand-grenades, or as pro- jectiles for balhstse, and flung into fortresses or upon the decks of vessels. According to entries in the Pipe Eolls,* some of this terrible material was sent, about the year 1194, from London to Nottingham, with other warlike stores, to be employed on the business of the king, by Urric, an engineer. Allied to Greek Fire
' Eoger of Wendover, ii. 37. ' RicL. of Dcv., 17.
* Vinesaufs account. * Pipe llolls, 6 Rich. I.
11890 • OFFICERS AND MEN. 103
were missiles called " serpents," which appear to have been a species of rocket charged with, and impelled by the slow explosion of, the mixture.
Few notices have been handed down to us concerning the individual ships, or the officers and seamen of Eichard's day. In or about 1197 a sum of £12 15s. 2^(7. was paid by the king for the repair of the Bishop of Durham's " great ship " ; £10 was the expense of sending her to London from the north (apparently from Stockton-on-Tees), and 13s. M. was the recompense of her master, Eobert de Stockton. We know also that Eichard's favourite galley was named Trcnch-the-Mer,^ or " Cleave the Sea," and that her captain, who brought Eichard back to England in 1194 after his crusade and captivity, was Alan Trenchemer. Whether Alan took his name from the galley or the galley took her name from her captain caimot be determined ; but other Trenchemers are men- tioned as having lived and sailed then and thereafter. Nicolas ^ suggests that the people of the ship may have been known as Trenchemer 's, just as in later times the crew of the Victory were known as Victory's, and the crew of the Duke of Wellington as Duke's ; but there is little direct evidence that the fashion of calling people after their ships, though usual in the eighteenth and nine- teenth centuries, is of very ancient date.
There is small doubt that the flag of St. George was first intro- duced by Eichard as the regidar national ensign ; and there is no doubt at all that Eichard first adopted the national coat-of-arms : Gules, three lions passant gardant Or.
The leaders of the fleet organised by Eichard in 1189 for his
expedition to Palestine are called indifferently ductorcs et guherna-
tores totius navigii regis; justiciarii navigii regis; ssad. ductores et
constabularii navigii regis.^ Under the king, they were the
admirals* of the ai-mada ; and their names were Gerard, Archbishop
of Aix, Bernard, Bishop of Bayonne, Eobert de Sabloil, Eichard de
Camville, and William de Fortz, of Oleron. Camville was the
founder of Combe Abbey in Warwickshire. Another distinguished
yet subsidiary leader was Sir Stephen de Turnham,* who in the
previous reign had been Seneschal of Anjou, and who commanded
' Peter of Langtoft, i. 270 (Heame).
- Nicolas, i. 86.
5 Hoveden, 373.
* The actual title of admiral was not used thus early in. England.
" Diigdale's ' Baronage,' i. 662.
104 CIVIL BISTORT, 1154-1399. [1189.
the vessel in which Richard's sister, Joan, Queen Dowager of Sicily, and his affianced wife, Berengaria of Navarre, sailed from Messina to the Holy Land.
Richard's co-operation with PhiUp Augustus, King of France, in the Crusade was secured by a sworn undertaking to the following effect : either of them would defend and maintain the honour of the other, and bear true fidelity unto him, as regarded life, members, and worldly honour ; neither would fail the other in the common business; the King of France would aid the King of England in defending his land and dominions, as he would himself defend his own city of Paris if it were besieged ; and the King of England would aid the King of France in defending his land and dominions as he would defend his own city of Rouen if it were besieged. There was further provision for the swearing of the nobles of both kingdoms to keep the peace during the absence of their sovereigns ; for an undertaking by the archbishops and bishops to excommu- nicate any who should break their oaths ; and for the continued co-operation of the English and French forces in the event of either monarch dying ere the desired results remained unattained.^ Yet, in spite of the treaty, the two kings were on bad terms almost from the outset of the expedition, the great display made by Richard's fleet having excited the jealousy of Phihp Augustus. Indeed, as a rule, no naval alHances in English history have satisfactorily carried out the objects originally intended by their promoters ; and this, the first of many, was no exception.
While on his way through- France, ■with the intention of joining his fleet at Marseilles, Richard, at Chinon on the Vienne, issued certain ordinances which may be regarded as the earUest articles of war for the government of the EngHsh navy. According to Hoveden, Matthew Paris and others, they were to this effect : "
Anyone who should kill another on board ship should be tied
to the dead body and thrown into the sea. Anyone who should kill another on land should be tied to the
dead body and Ijuried with it in the earth. Anyone lawfully convicted of drawing a knife or other weapon
with intent to strike another, or of striking another so as to
draw blood, should lose his hand.
. ' Matt. P-aris gives the Latin text. '
^ See also Bened. of Peterboro, i, 589i Bromton, 1174.
1189.] NAVAL LAWS. 105
Anyone striking another with the hand, no blood being shed,
should be dipped thrice in the sea. Anyone uttering opprobrious or contumelious words to the
insulting or cursing of another should, on each occasion, pay
one ounce of silver to the injured person. Anyone lawfully convicted of theft should have his head
shaved and boihng pitch poured upon it, and feathers or
down should then be strewn upon it for the distinguishing
of the offender ; and upon the first occasion he should be
put on shore.
Another ordinance enjoined all concerned to be obedient to the commanders or justices of the fleet.
A joint agreement ' was also come to by the two monarchs as to the internal disciphne of the allied forces. This stipulated that if anyone died during the expedition, he might dispose at his pleasure of all his arms and goods (so far, apparentlj% as those at home were concerned), and of the moiety of the effects he had with him, provided that nothing was sent back to his own country. The other moiety was to be given to the Archbishop of Eouen, the Bishop of Langres, the Master of the Templars, the Master of the Hospitallers, Hugh, Duke of Burgundy, and others fori the purposes of the recovery of the Holy Land from the infidels.
No one in the armies was to play at any kind of game for gain, except the knights and clerks, and they were not permitted to lose more than twenty shillings in any one day and night on penalty of a fine of one hundred shilhngs. The two kings might, however, play as they thought fit. The royal servants and the servants of the higher nobles might play to the amoimt of twenty shilhngs. If servants, mariners, or others were found gambhng, the servants were to be flogged naked through the army on three days, and the mariners were to be dipped every morning from the ship into the sea, " after the manner of seamen," for three days, unless they could redeem themselves by paying a fine. If a pilgrim or crusader boiTowed anything after he had begun his journey he was to repay it, but he was not to be held responsible for what he might have received previously. If a hired mariner or serving-man or anyone soever, except clerks and knights, quitted his lord during the expedition, no one else might receive him, unless with the consent of
' Bromton, 1182; Bene! of Peteiboro, ii. 600; Hovedcn, 384b. .
106 CIVIL EISTOBY, 1154-1399. [1190.
the lord, and anyone receiving him otherwise was to be punished. If anyone transgressed the regulations he might be excommunicated. All offences not specifically mentioned were to be dealt with by the Archbishop of Eouen and the other dignitaries already alluded to.
Other naval laws of Richard, not especially connected with the Eastern Expedition, deserve notice here. One, made early in the reign at Grimsby, enacted that if the admiral, by the king's command, arrested any ships for the king's service, and if he or his heuteuant certified the arrest, or returned into Chancery a hst of the ships arrested, neither the master nor the owner of the vessels should plead against the retui-n that the admiral and his lieutenant were of record. And if any vessel broke the arrest, and the master or owner were indicted, and convicted by a jury, the ship should be confiscated to the king.'
In the course of the expedition, Richard granted two charters of some importance to the maritime future of his country. One, dated at Messina, altered the law of wreck, and, after declaring that the king relinquished all claim to wreck throughout his dominions, enacted that shipwi'ecked persons who should come alive to land should retain all their goods, and that the property of one dying on board ship should pass to his heirs, the king having his chattels only in the event of there being no other heirs.^ The other, also dated at Messina, on March 27th, 1191, granted new privileges to the inhabitants of Rye and Winchelsea, in return for the full service of two ships, to make up the number of twenty ships due from the port of Hastings. This charter had the effect of putting the two " ancient towns " on very nearly the same footing of privilege as the Cinque Ports proper, Hastings, Romney, Hythe, Dover, and Sandwich.^
But after all, as Nicolas* says, the most memorable of Richard's maritime laws was the code known to jurists as the Laws of Oleron.^ Most of it had been already enacted by his mother, Queen Eleanor, under the name of the " Roll of Oleron." The Laws, which include forty-seven articles, were not expressly intended to apply to the English Na\^', but rather to vessels of the
' Prynne's 'Animadversions,' 108, quoting the ' Black Booli of the Admiraltj'.' ^ Bened. of Peterboro, ii. 622 ; Hoveden, 386b. ^ Rymer's ' Pccdera,' i. 53. * Nicolas, i. 93.
° Printed at length in ' A Genuine Treatise on the Dominion of the Sea,' -Ito., and elsewhere.
1190J . THE LAWS OF OLE BON. 107
king's continental dominions, and to merchant ships. They arc, how- ever, so curious, and so nearly connected with the subject in hand, that Nicolas's summary of their main provisions is appended.
By the first article, if a vessel arrived at Bordeaux, Rouen, or any other similar place, and was there freighted for Scotland, or any other foreign country, and was in want of stores or provisions, the master was not permitted to sell the vessel, but he might, with the advice of his crew, raise money by pledging any part of her tackle or furnitiire. If a vessel were wind or weather bound, the master, when a change occurred, was to consult his crew, saying to them: "Gentlemen, what think you of this wind?" and to be guided by the majority whether he should put to sea. If he did not do this, and any misfortmie happened, he was to make good the damage. If a seaman sustained any hurt through drunkenness or quarrelling, the master was not bound to provide for his cure, but might turn him out of his ship. If, however, the injurj^ occurred in the service of the ship, he was to be cured at the cost of the said ship. A sick sailor was to be sent on shore, and a lodging, candles, and one of the ship's boys, or a nurse, pro- vided for him, with the same allowance of provisions as he would have received on board.
In case of danger in a storm, the master might, with the consent of the merchants on board, lighten the ship by throwing part of the cargo overboard ; and if they did not consent, or objected to his doing so, he was not to risk the vessel, but to act as he thought proper. On their arrival in port, he and the third part of the crew were to make oath that it was done for the preservation of the vessel ; and the loss was to be borne equally by the merchants. A similar proceeding was to be adopted before the mast or cables were cut away.
Before goods were shipped, the master was to satisfy the merchants of the strength of his ropes and slings ; but if he did not do so, or they requested him to repair them, and a cask was stove, the master was to make it good. In cases of difference between a master and one of his crew, the man was to be denied his mess allowance thrice before he was turned out of the ship or discharged ; and if the man offered reasonable satisfaction in the presence of the crew, and the master persisted in discharging him, the sailor might follow the ship to her place of destination, and demand the same wages as if he had not been sent ashore.
108 CIVIL EISTORT, 1154-1339. [ilGU
In case of collision by a ship under sail running on board one at anchor, owing to bad steering, if the former were damaged, the cost was to be equally divided ; the master and crew of the latter making oath that the colhsion was accidental. The reason for this law was, it is said, " that an old decayed vessel might not purposely be put in the way of a better." It was specially provided that all anchors ought to be indicated by buoys or anchor-marks, and buoys were to bear upon them the name of their ship and her port.
Mariners of Brittany were entitled only to one meal a day, because they had beverage going and coming ; but those of Normandy were, to have two meals, because they had only water as the ship's allowance. As soon as the ship arrived in a wine country, the master was, however, to procure them wine.
Several regulations occur respecting the seamen's wages, which show that they were sometimes paid by a share of the freight. On arriving at Bordeaux, or any other place, two of the crew might go on shore, and take, with them one meal of such victuals as were on board, and a proportion of bread, but no drink ; and they were to return in sufficient time to prevent their master losing the tide.
If a pilot, from ignorance or otherwise, failed to conduct a ship in safety, and the merchants sustained any damage, he was to make full satisfaction if he had the means ; if not he was to lose his head. And if the master, or any one of his mariners, cut off his head, they were not bound to answer for it ; but before they had recourse to so strong a measure " they must be sure he had not wherewith to make satisfaction."
The articles of the code prove that from "an acciursed custom" in some places, by which the third or fourth part of ships that were lost belonged to the lord of the place, the pilots, to ingratiate them- selves with these nobles, "like faithless and treacherous villains," purposelj' ran the vessels on the rocks. It was therefore enacted that the said lords, and all others assisting in plundering the wreck, should be acciursed and, excommunicated, and punished as robbers and thieves : and that " all false and treacherous pilots should suffer a most rigorous and merciless death," and be suspended to high gibbets near the spot, which gibbets were to remam as an example in succeeding ages. The barbarous lords were to be tied to a post in the middle of their own houses, and, these being set on fire at the four comers, all were to be burnt together; the. walls demohshed,;
Iiaa] METHODS OS NAVAL WARFARE. 109
the site converted into a market-place for the sale only of hogs and swine ; and all the lords' goods to be confiscated to the use of the aggrieved parties. Such of the cargoes as floated ashore were to be taken care of for a year or more ; and, if not then claimed, they were to be sold by the lord, and the proceeds distributed among the poor, in marriage portions to poor maids, and other charitable uses. If, as often happened, " people more barbarous, cruel, and inhuman than mad dogs " murdered shipwrecked persons, they were to be plunged into the sea till they were half dead, and then drawn out and stoned to death.
So little has been handed down to us concerning the methods of naval warfare in the time of Eichard, that it will be pertinent here to give Geoffrey de Vinesauf's account ' of two actions which took place in the Mediterranean immediately before the king's arrival. It is probable that English ships were not engaged in either ; it is certain, however, that the tactics and means employed did not differ materially from those employed by the English seamen of the day. The first action was fought off Acre, about Easter, 1190, and is thus described : —
"Tlie people of the town ill brooked their loss of the liberty of the sea, and resolved to try what they could efiect in a naval battle. They brought out their galleys, therefore, two by two, and, preserving a seemly array in their advance, rowed out to the open sea to fight the apjiroaching enemy ; and our men, preparing to receive them, since there appeared no escape, hastened to the encounter. On the other hand, our i^eople manned the war-fleet, and, making an oblique circuit to the left, removed to a distance, so that the enemy should not be denied free egress. When they had advanced on both sides, our ships were disposed in a curved, and not a straight line ; so tliat if the enemy attempted to break through, they might be enclosed and defeated. The ends of the line being drawn out in a sort of crescent, the stronger were placed in front, so that a sharper onset might be made by us, and that of the enemy be checked. In the upper tiers, the shields interlaced were placed circularly; and the rowers sat close together, that those ahove might have freer scope. The still and tranquil sea, as if fated to receive the battle, became calm, so that neither the l)low of the warrior nor the stroke of the rower might be impeded by the waves. Advancing nearer to each other, the trumpets sounded on both sides, and mingled their dread clangour. First they contended with missiles, but our men, invoking the divine aid, more earnestly plied their oars, and pierced the enemy's ships with the beaks of their own. Soon the battle became general; the oars were entangled; they fought hand to hand; they grappled the ships with alternate casts, and set the decks on fire with the burning oil commonly called Greek Fire. This fire, with a deadly stench and livid flames, con- sumes flint and iron ; and, unquenchable by water, can only be extinguished by sand or vinegar. What more direful than a naval conflict ! What more fatal, where so various a fate involves the combatants ! for they are either burnt and writhe in the
' In ' Itinerarium Regis Anglorura llichardi ct Aliorum in Terram Hierosuly- morum' (Gale).
110 CIVIL BISTORT, 115i-l399. . . [1190.
flames, shipwrecked, and swallowed up by fhe waves, or wounded, and perish by arms. There was one galley whicli, owing to the rashness of our men, jjresented its side close to the enemy ; and thus, set in flames by the tire flung on board, admitted the Turks, who rushed in at all parts. The rowers, seized with terror, leapt into the sea ; but a few soldiers who, from their heavier arms and ignorance of swimming, remained through desperation, took courage to fight. An unequah battle raged; but, by the Lord's help, the few overcame the many, and re-took the half-burnt ship from the beaten foe.
"Another, meanwhile, was boarded by the enemy, who had gained the upper deck, havinc driven off its defenders ; and those to whom the lower station had been assigned strove to escape by the aid of the rowers. It was truly a wonderful and piteous struggle : for, the oars being thrust in different directions by the rush of the Turks, the galley was driven hither and thither. Our men, however, prevailed ; and the foes rowing above were thrust oft" by the Christians and yielded. In this naval conflict the adverse side lost both a galley and a galliass with the crews ; and our men, unhurt and rejoicing, achieved a glorious and solemn triumph. Drawing the hostile galley with them to the shore, the victors exposed it to be destroyed by our people of both sexes who met it on land. Then our women seized and dragged the Turks by the hair, beheading them, treating them with every indignity, and savagely stabbing them ; and the weaker their hands, so much the more protracted were the pains of death to the vanquished, for they cut oft" their heads, not with swords but with knives. No similar sea fight as fatal had ever been seen ; no victory gained with so much peril and loss."
The other action was oue of galleys with forts : —
" Meanwhile the Pisans, and others skilled in naval tactics, to whom the siege of the town on the sea side had been committed, erected a machine upon the galleys in the form of a castle with bulwarks, so that it might overtop the walls and aft"ord an easy means of throwing darts. Moreover, they made two ladders with steps, by which the summit of the walls might be gained. Thej' then covered all those things, and the galleys, with extended hides, that they might be protected from injury, either by iron or by any missile wliatsoever. All being prepared, the besiegers approached the 'Tower of the Flies,' which they attacked furiously with the discharge of cross-bars and darts. Those within manfully resisted, with neither unequal vigour nor unequal success ; for when our men] slew any of them, they were not slow in retaliating. And in order the more heavily to crush us, or the more easily to drive us off", about two thousand Turks went out of the city to their galleys, to aid the besieged in the tower by harassing the Pisans on the opposite side. But our picked warriors, having advanced their engines as well as they could to the tower, some began to throw at the tower great grapnels and whatsoever came to their hands, as wood, or masses of stone, or showers of darts ; others, according to their position, were not slow to carry on a naval conflict with those at sea. The battlements yielded to the grapnels thrown against the tower, and were broken" down. The tower, indeed, was assailed with wonderful and insupportable fury, one party succeeding another when fatigued, with untiring energy and invincible valour. -The darts flew with a fearful noise in all directions, and larger missiles hurtled through the air. The Turks drew back in time, for they could no longer carry on the fight. And now, having raised the ladders for scaling the tower, our men' hastened to ascend; but the Turks, perceiving that the critical moment was at liaud, resisted with great valour, and threw down upon our people masses of stone of large size, to crush them, and throw them oft" the ladders. Next they flvmg Greek Fire upon the castles, which we had erected, and which were set in flames; and those witliin" it, realising this, were forced with disappointed hopes to descend and retire. But meanwliile there was immense slaughter of the Turks
1199.] . SHIPS OF KING JOHN. Ill
wlio (ipposed our men by sea; and, although at tlie tower, part of Our people were unsuccessful, tliose afloat coniniitteil great havoc upon the Turks. At length the engines, together with the castle, the galleys, and all within, having been consumed by the devouring fire, the Turks, abandoning themselves to rejoicing, mocked with loud yells at our discomfiture, and nodded their heads ; whereupon the Christians were beyond measure incensed, for they were no less stung hy the insulting taunts than by the misfortime which they had suffered."
During Kichard's long absences from his country, England was governed by four successive Justiciars, who were practically in- dependent sovereigns, burdened, however, by the very heavy tribute exacted by the king for the purposes of his foreign adventures. Eichard was killed in 1199 at the siege of the Castle of Chalus, and was succeeded by his youngest brother John.
The new reign was a disastrous one for England; but, from the naval point of view, is particularly interesting, seeing that, from the beginning of the thirteenth century, matei'ials for naval histoiy become for the first time comparatively plentiful.
The types of vessels used seem to have been, upon the whole, the same as those used under Eichard and Henry II., but in documents deaHng with the reign of John, we read also of "longships" (longcB naves), "cogs," {goggce, coquce, etc.), and schuyts' {scuta).
The longship, probably a species of galley, may have been used for other pm-poses as well ; but it was certainly employed for revenue cruising purposes. In 1204, the keepers of the longships, and of the seaports of England, were commanded to allow a merchant's vessel to pass and to trade wheresoever it pleased ; - and in 1205 " our longships," meaning the longships of the king, were mentioned.^ The phrase indicates the existence of some approach to a standing navy, especially as similar language was constantly used with respect to galley-men and other sailors.
^Vhat cogs were is doubtful. Nicolas thinks that " they were short and of great breadth, hke a cockle-shell, whence they are said to have derived their name " ; * and he says that they were used for passenger traffic and for coasting, and that they were probably much smaller than busses or ships. But there is no doubt that, if
' Ships of Assise (naves de assiaa) are mentioned in the Close Rolls, p. 210. The signification is unknown, but probably the vessels were merely registered or hcensed for some special purpose. In one case they are mentioned as being available for -those going to the lands of W\e king's enemies.
2 Patent Kolls, pp. 44, 52. . . * lb., p. 52. * Nicolas, i. 128.
112 CIVIL BISTORT, 1154-1399. [1205.
not in the thirteenth century, at least later, the term "cog" was frequently applied even to the biggest and most powerful man-of- war. We may perhaps take it, therefore, that the expression was sometimes, if not invariably, used in an indefinite manner, almost as we now use the word ship. But that the word, like ship, possessed also some special technical meaning, would appear from a record to the effect that in 1210 there were hired for the king's ser\dce five ships " without a cog." '
The name schuyt signified a small merchant ship.
There is nothing to show that any Enghsh vessel of the period had more than one mast and one sail ; nor are there many exact indications of size. Craft, however, capable of carrying fifteen horses were spoken of as httle ships {naviculce),^ whence it maj' be inferred that very much larger vessels existed ; and from the tenor of inquiries made in 1214 of the reeves of Bristol concerning vessels of that port capable of holding eighty tons of wine or more,^ it may be reasonably supposed that such craft were common.
These reeves or bailiffs of the ports were important personages in the economy of the maritime force of the country of that day. It was tjieir duty to ascertain by jury the number and size of vessels belonging to their port, and to attend to the manning of the ships, and to their proper equipment when they were needed for the king's service.* They also, in time of crisis, laid embargo upon ships in port ; ^ and they were personally held responsible for the due and punctual appearance of ships, after they had been smmnoned, at the time and place specified in the king's writ. By these methods, by ]the service rendered by the ships of the Cinque Ports, and by the vessels of the sovereign himself, squadrons were formed, and the peace of the seas was kept.
When still further force was required to meet great emergencies, it was customary to send the king's ships and those of the Cinque Ports into the Channel to pick up and bring into harbour all craft there fallen in with.^ Indeed, John kept a very jealous control over all the shipping of his realm. In war time, no ship could quit a harbour without a special licence from the king ;' and even then she was sometimes licensed only for a specified destination.^
J Issue Rolls, 154. ' Close EoUs, 133.
2 Close HoUs, 197. " Patent Rolls, 9 John, 80, 110, 117.
' lb., 177. ' Close Rolls, 133.
■ « Patent Rolls, 7 John, 85, 270. » lb., 141.
1205.]
DISTIilBUTIOX OF THE FLEET.
113
Nor iiiii,'lit vessels carry corn and provisions from port to port in England without licence, or sail at all, on such business, without first giving security that they would not proceed beyond the seas.' And it is recorded that no less potent a noble than the ]'3arl of Chester could not come from nor return to his countj' by water without the royal licence.- Neutral ships permitted to sail were not allowed to touch anywhere before their arrival in their own country, and were obliged to give security that they would not go to an enemy's port ; ^ and when, upon occasion, a vessel was permitted to go to an enemy's port, her owners had to give security that she would not carry anything prejudicial to the king's interests.'' The king's sei-vice was paramount ; and if vessels, no matter whose, happened to be on a voyage when the}' were wanted for it, very peremptory orders wei"e sent after them to hasten their return.^ If, after receiving those orders, anyone, whatsoever might he his nationahty, should delay, he would be deemed to be the king's enemy. The service was paid for, but it wa sstrictly obligatory ; and both n;en and ships were liable to it.
It was this theory of the service due from ships to the monarch that rendered it necessary for Englishmen, ere they sold ships to foreigners, to obtain the royal licence for the purpose. In 1215, Simon Grim of Hythe was granted a hcence to sell his ship, the Grim, to Guiomar of Lyon ; yet even then, in all probability, the dehveiy could not have been made had not the licence been accom- panied by letters to bailiffs and others, stating the fact, and enjoining them to allow the Grim to pass freely."
It is difficult to discover what force was normally maintained in a condition for sea service ; but the Close Rolls ' inform us of the force ready in 1205, and give particulars of its distribution and of the names of its commanders. In the catalogue (see following page) we have what may be regarded as our earliest Navy List. But it is almost certainly incomplete ; for at that time the Cinque Ports had to furnish fifty-two galleys; and, apparently, they are nearly all omitted. Nor can it be decided whether the vessels mentioned were impressed ships, or ships of the king.
But the king was not always impressing ships. Occasionallv he
' Close l{ulls, 101).
- ratent HolU, G2.
' Close Hulls, lilO, liTO.
' Ik, 2.38.
•' Close Kolls, l!i7, 20.3. ' Patent Kolls, 1-13. ' Close Rolls, 33.
VOL. I.
lii
CIVIL HISTOBY, 1154-1399.
[1205.
lent his own to particular seaports, probably to meet special local needs. In April, 120.5, for example, the inhabitants of Yarmouth, Lowestoft, Beccles, and Orford were informed that the king, having released his galleys stationed on the coast of England, had sent them two galleys to remain in his service until Michaelmas Day. They were directed to find two masters to navigate, and two other men to command the vessels, and for the competency and fidelity of the officers they were to give security. They were also to find 140 good seamen to man the ships, and were to send to London the necessary people to receive the galleys. To these a simi of one hundred marks would be paid for the crews. By way of additional reward, the men would have a moiety of all prizes which they might capture from the enemy.^ Another galley was sent to Ipswich, and three galleys were sent to Dunwich.-
CaTALOGUE.
No. f.f Galleys.
tommauders.
|
London . . . . ; 5 |
||||
|
Newhaveu |
2 |
|||
|
Sandwich |
3 |
|||
|
Romnev . |
4 |
|||
|
Rve |
2 |
|||
|
Winchelsea |
' 2 |
|||
|
Shoreham |
5 |
|||
|
Southampton Exeter . |
2 2 |
|||
|
Bristol . |
3 |
|||
|
Ipswich . Dunwich . |
I 2 ' 5 |
|||
|
Lvnn |
1 5 |
|||
|
Yarmouth |
1 3 |
|||
|
Ireland . |
5 |
|||
|
Gloucester |
1 |
Res'inald de Coruhill.
AVilliam de Wrotham, Archdeacon of Taunton.
^^'iIlialll de Marisco
and
John de !a Ware.
51
Close Rolls, p. 33.
Ships were impressed or hired on the king's behalf, not only for war service, but also for the carriage of goods and passengers. The rate of payment was generally very moderate, so far as it can be judged without knowledge of the dimensions of the vessels hired. An order to provide freightage was usually sent down to the reeve at the intended port of embarkation, the wording being somewhat as follows : —
" The King to the Baihff of Barfieur. Find a passage for John
' I'atent Rolls, 52. ^ ,;'iose Rolls, C John, 28.
Ili05.] THE KEEl'Eli OF THE .SHIPS. 115
Palmer, with our three chargers and his horse, in the first ship saiHng for England, and it sliall I)e computed to you at the Exchequer " ; * or
" To the Bailiff of 6horeham. Find a good and secure ship, without regard to price, for AN'illiam de Aune, our kniglit, and twenty bowmen, to carry them over in our service, and compute thereof at owv Exchequer." -
The management of John's navy was largely in tlu; hands of priests, and of these William de Wrotham, Archdeacon of Taunton, and Keeper of the King's Ships, ^ seems to have been the chief. Ko commission is known to have been issued to him, so that his functions cannot be exactly defined ; but they appear to have been
' Xonnaii EmUs, i. 24.
- Kotuli de Liberate, etc., 82 (ed. 1844).
' Mr. M. Oiiiwilieim says: "Tliis otiice, jiussilily in its on<];iiial form of very mucli earlier date, and only reconstituted or enlarged in fmiction by Jolin, and now repre- sented in descent by the Hecretarysliip of the Admiralty, is the oldest administrative eniiiloyment in connection with the Navy. At first called ' Keeper and fiovernor ' of the KiuEt's Ships, later 'Clerk of the King's Ships,' this official held, sometimes really and sometimes nominally, the control of naval organisation mitil the formation of the Navy Board in 1546. His duties included all those now performed by a multitude ol' liighly ])laced Admiralty officials. If a man of energy, experience, and capacity, his name stands foremost in the maintenance of the royal fleets during peace and their prepai-ation for war ; if, as fi-equently hap]iened, a merchant or subordinate official with 110 especial knowledge, lie might become a mere messenger riding from [lort to jiort, seeking runaway sailors, or bargaining for small parcels of naval stores. Occasionally, under such circumstances, his authority was further lessened by the appointment of other persons, usually such as held minor jiersonal offices near the king, as keepers of particular ships. This was a method of giving a small pecmiiary reward to such a one, together with the perquisites he might be able to procure from the supply of stores ami provisions necessary for the vessel and her crew. In the course of centuries the title changed its form. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the officer is called ' Clerk of Marine Causes,' and ' Clerk of the Navy,' in the seventeenth century, ' Clerk of the Acts.' Pepys was not the last Clerk of the Acts, the functions associated with the office, which were the remains of the larger powers once belonging to the Keeper and Governor, were carried up by him to the higher ]iost of Secretary of the Admii-alty." ' History of the Administration of the Royal Navy,' I., S, 4. 1'he names of William de \Vrotham's immediate successors do not apjiear ; but from the beginning of the fifteenth century until the reorganisation in l.")4C, the following held the office : — "William Catton ; 'William Soper (from 1420); Kichard Clyvedon (from 1442); and, after an interval. Piers Bowman ; Thomas Kogers (appointed 1480, died 1488); William Comersall ; llobert lirygandine (from 1495 to 1523); Thomas Jemiyn (?) ; William Gonson (from 1524) ; Leonard Thoreton (?) ; Sir Thomas Spert (?) ; Edmund Water and John Wynter (?). Those officers whose names are queried, either were not a]ipoiiited in the usual way under letters jiatent, or may, perhaps, have been only local keejiers. The names of the officers appointed to the Navy Board in 154(j will he found in Chapter XIII.
I 2
116 CIVIL EisTonr, 1154-1300. [1212.
largely administrative. Associated with him, probably m an execu- tive and somewhat subordinate capacity, were Eeginald and AVilliani de Cornhill, who were also priests, the latter becoming Archdeacon of Huntingdon, and Geoffrey de Lucy, Hemy FitzCount, Enjuger de Bohun, and Geoffrey de Lutterel.' De Lucy more than once conunanded a fleet or squadron.^ William de Longespee, Earl of Sahsbury, and natural brother of the king, was made commander of the fleet in 1213 ; and of his exploits at Damme something will be said in the next chapter. In 1208 the steersmen or masters appointed to the command of the king's galleys were Alan (junior) de Shoreham, supposed to have been the son of Alan Trenchemer, Vincent of Hastings, Walter Scott, and Wymund of Winchelsea.^ In 1210, Richard of London was master of the king's great galley, and three of the masters of the galleys of the Cinque Ports were Thomas of Dover, William FitzSuanild, and John Clerk of Hythe.'' Few ships of the time are mentioned by name. One, the Grim, has been already alluded to. The Earl of Dover had a A^essel called the Falcon.^ Two ships of the Crusaders were called Pilgriiii and Paradise /' A ship captured at Barfleur in 1212 was the Countess.' But a very common course seems to have been for a ship to take the name either of her owner or of the port to which she belonged. The practice, usual a little later, of naming vessels after saints, had not yet established itself in England.
Miich inention is made of ships' gear and stores ; and anchors, cables, ropes, pitch, yards, tallow, oars, canvas, nails, etc.,* are often specified as having been bought. There is also mention of " lieyras " and " laurum," e\ndently stores or gear of some sort. These things were purchased for the service after appraisement bj' experts. Anchors ordered for the king's galleys in 1213 are described as having been seven feet long.' The king's " great ship " is said to have had five cables." Vessels intended to serve permanently or temporarily as horse-transports were furnished with " clayes," hurdles formed of branches of oak, with brushwood, probably for the purpose of making stalls for the animals, and they^ were also provided with brows (pontes) for landing them.
' Lutterel died in 1218.
' Luscy was also at one time Governor of the Channel Inlands.
' Close Rolls, 110. ' Close Kolls, 117.
' Rotuli de Pra^stito, 2.'!0. » Ih., 39, 42, 156, 23-t, etc.
<■ Patent Kolls, 5 .Tohn, 31. » Jk, 15(1.
» Mentioned by Villehardouin, 10(i. '" lb., 17 John, 250.
IJi:;.] I'lllZE-MuNEY. 117
We read of ships having been strengthened and repaired;* but the process is not explained. The usual method may still have been to haul them up on the beach, and to deal with them there. Yet already there seem to have been docks (rxclusa)'- at Portsmouth, for, in May, 1'21'2, the Sheriff of Southampton was directed to causa the exclusa at Portsmouth to be enclosed with a strong wall, in the manner which the Archdeacon of Taunton would indicate, for the preservation of the king's ships and galleys ; and the sheriff was also to have penthouses set up for their stores and tackle ; and this was to be done at once, lest the galleys or their stores should be injured during the ensuing winter.^
" Prize-money," as Nicolas observes, " seems to have been as ancient as the Enghsh Navy itself."* This is, no doubt, due to the fact that the Navy,, in its origins, was piratical, and that English fighting seamen, in the earliest times, were accustomed to look for booty in return for their exertions, and would not, indeed, put heart and muscle into the work unless they were promised something more substantial than scars and honours as their reward. When the strongest pirates in the land became first chiefs and then kings, they speedily realised the impossibility of maintaining their position for long at the head of subjects nurtured on robbery and turbulence, unless they compromised many things. By compromising disputes arising out of their forcible seizure of political power, they created, in the course of centuries, the British constitution ; and by com- promising disputes arising out of their forcible seizure of naval and military power they created, among other things, the system of prize-money — a system whereby piracy is happily hidden under a cloak of legality, and in virtue of which, even to this day, the descendant of pirates, if only he will subject himseK to certain forms and rules, may be something of a pirate still, without suffering the disadvantage of being dubbed by so opprobrious a name. But in tlie days of John, the forms and rules had not been completely sj'stematised. Ships and goods captured from the enemy became the property of the king, and the amount paid to the captors, though already often considerable, depended entirely upon the sovereign's
' Kcituli ae Prawtito, 175; Close Rolls, 103.
- I5asins, however, and not ilocks, may have been meant; anil eeitaiiily there were no docks in the moilern sense of the word. ■' Close Rolls, 117. * Nicolas, i. 140.
118 CIVIL HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1206.
bounty. To certain galley-men, brought into his service by Thomas of Galway in 1'205, the king granted a moiety of their takings, besides other recompenses.^ A few years afterwards, a sum of ±'100 was advanced to mariners and galley-men, on account of the sale of the goods of a ship from Norway, captured in AVales." And the promise to the crews of the galleys lent to Yarmouth, Lowestoft, Beccles, and Orford has been already cited. There was, however, no accepted principle of division, and occasionally the king seems to have taken everything. This was only what was to be expected from a monarch who more than once nearly lost his crown in consequence of his stubborn objection to compromise more import- ant privileges, which he assumed to belong to him, but which were disputed by sections of his subjects.
Seamen were enlisted as well as impressed. In May, 1206, the king ordered Geoffrey de Lucy, and Hascuil de Suleny, and his other subjects in the Norman islands, to send him one knight and one clerk, qualified to induce steersmen and mariners to enter his service.^ But when seamen were impressed, the penalty for failure to obey a summons to serve was severe. In 1208, certain sailors on the coast of AVales were forbidden to make a voyage to Ireland, or elsewhere, for their own purposes, but ordered to repair to Ilfra- combe by the middle of Lent, to convey men to Ireland ; and it was added : " Know for certain that if you act contrary to this, we will cause you and the masters of your vessels to be hanged, and all yoiu- goods to be seized for our use." ^
The crews of vessels consisted of "rectors," or masters, who seem to have been also called domini ; " stunnanni," steersmen or pilots; " galiotse," galley-men; " marinelli," mariners; and " nautas," sailors. There was, in the case of some large ships, a "head-master" above the rector. Hardy, in his preface to the Close Eolls, says that steersmen received Id. a day, but does not cite his authority.^ A galley-man was paid &d. a day in 1205 ; '^ a mariner was paid 3(7. In 1206, a sum of £138 was issued to pay 275 mariners for forty days.' Knights received 2s. a day, and cross-bowmen (the famous Genoese cross-bowmen were introduced to the English service by .John) from 'M. to iSdJ^ Before sailing,
' Patent Pmlls, 5 .John, 51. ° Preface, \>. xlv.
- Hotuli lie Pra-stit.j, 12 .Tolm, 227. " Close Rolls, .39.
= Close It.ills, 70b. ' Ih., 69.
" Jh., 100. * Preface to the Close Rolls, xix.
1216.] THE HONOUR OF TEE FLAG. 119
tlie men were given eight days' wages, and wages for eight days more were delivered at the same time to the persons appointed to pay them.^ The officers also were gi'anted prests or payments iu advance. In Jmie, 1205, Thomas of Dover, Wilham FitzSuanild, and John Clerk of Hythe, three masters of the king's galleys of the Cinque Ports, received £15 in prest upon their wages ; Thomas of Gloucester was paid £5 in prest for the galley of Bristol ; and two others received the same sum for the galley of Ipswich.- The wages were apparently in addition to food and rations, including wine ; and we have notices of payments for herrings, bacon, etc.^ sent as supphes to the Idng's ships. ^
There were even pensions for the wounded, for, in 1202, Alan le Waleis, who had lost his hand on service, was granted a penny a day, and, until it should be paid, was to be lodged in an abbey." But officers and men ahke seem, as a rule, to have found their own clothing, though there is a record of the king having, in 1205, given six robes to certain galley-men of Bayonne.'*
Selden,® Prynne,' and others quote a document, said to date from the year 1200, and purporting to be an ordinance made by John at Hastings, enjoining every ship meeting the English fleet at sea to lower her sails at the command of the king's lieutenant or admiral ; but the document contains internal evidence against its genuineness, and is probably of a date considerably later than that ascribed to it. Indeed, in the ' Black Book of the Admiralty,' to which Piynne refers, there is no writing of a date earlier than the reign of Henry VI., and most of the earlier ordinances copied into the volume may be suspected of corruption, while some of them are almost certainly forgeries and fictions. It is not until a later period that we encounter any good evidence of a formal assumption by the kings of England of a claim to the sovereignty of the Narrow Seas.
King John died on October 19th, 1216, and was succeeded by his son (by Isabella of Angouleme) Henry III., who was a child of nine.
In the course of Henry's long reign mention is made, not only of "great ships," "galleys," and " longships," etc., but also of " sornecks" (probably vessels different from the " snake" or esnecca of an earlier age), "nascellas," " passerettes," and "barges." The
' Close Rolls, 229. = CI.isc Rolls, 48.
- Rotuli lie PiKstito, R. 271. " Miire Clausum, 401.
•' Close Rolls, 71, and 1.5 .John, 158. ' ' Animadversions,' 104.
■" liotuli de Liberate, .3 .John, 32.
120 CIVIL HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1225.
sorneck was a trading vessel ; the nascella, like the navicula, was a small craft ; the passerette was a passenger ship, also small. Pas- senger vessels ran between Dover and AVhitsand (Wissant) ; and in
1225 the Bailiffs of Dover were ordered to allow two of the Arch- bishop of Canterburj^'s clerks to cross over in the usual manner, in nainbus passarettis. Barges were probably much what they are at present.
Several ships of the period are mentioned by name, and "the king's fleet" is often spoken of. The king's great ship was the Queen ; ^ another large vessel, apparently captured from the Portu- guese for a breach of blockade, was the Cardinal ; other vessels were the Galopine, Percevet, Alarde, and Paterik.-
When the ships were not required for the purposes of war they were frequently let out to hire to the merchants. For example, in 1232 John Blancboilly had the custody of the king's gi'eat ship the Queen for life, with all her anchors, cables and other tackle, to trade wherever he pleased, he paying an annual rental of fifty marks. He was bound, at his own expense, to keep the ship in complete repair against all accidents except perils of the sea, so that at his decease she might be restored to the king in as good state as when he received her ; and all his lands in England were charged with the fulfilment of the contract.^
There are many notices relative to the purchase of stores. In
1226 the Constable of Porchester was ordered to supply Friar Thomas with three boatloads of firewood, two for the king's great ship, and one for the king's two galleys ; and twenty-two and a half marks were given to him to buy canvas for the sails, and to make " celtas " for the king's great ship, carts being directed to carry the "celtas" and " heyras " to her at Portsmouth.* In 1225 the Bailiff's of Southampton were commanded to buy cordage under the inspection of Stephen Crabbe, an eminent mariner, for the king's great ship at Portsmouth ; but if a sufficient quantity were not ready they were to cause it to be made in all haste, as well by day as by night, and to send it to Portsmouth.
1 Patent Hulls, 16 Henry III., m. 8.
" Amonf; the names of vessels that went to the king at Bordeaux in 1242, are La Hog, liahrhere, Plenty, Ilarrief, Garland, Charity, Finnocl-, St. Mary, La Flanetc, La Espercicr, La Blyih, and IlftuoiseUe nf Dumoich. Prohalil}- these were not king's ships. Garland, or Guardland (it exists in both forms), later became a favourite name In tlie Royal Navy.
' Patent Holls, 10 Hen. III., ni. 8.
' Close liolls, 10 Hen. II[., m. Kl, IT, 2.5.
lliL'S.] CABINS. . 121
They were further directed to cause three good cables to be made for that ship, together with four dozen " theldoruui," and to procure two hundi'ed yards of cloth to repair her sail.^ In Sep- tember, 124'2, a messenger from the Cinque Ports was ordered to receive six hundred yards of canvas which was at Portsmouth, and which had been taken from the enemy, to make sails for the three galleys which the Icing had ordered to be built ; and if there were not that quantity at Portsmouth, whatever was there was to be delivered, and the king was to be informed of the deficit." A sum of £i was paid for building a boat for the great ship,^ and a sum of 8s. Id. was repaid to the Sheriff of York for a boat and an iron chain belonging to her.* In 1229 ^S40 was paid to the king's clerk for the repairs of the king's galleys and great ship at Portsmouth.^
In Julj% 1242, one hundred marks was paid to Bertram de Criol for making four swift barges for the king's service, and he was ordered to place them in the Cinque Ports when he deemed it expedient. At the same time the Bailiff's of Bristol were ordered to send to Winchelsea, to be delivered to De Criol, the larger of the king's two galleys in their charge."
Nicolas is of opinion that in this reign occurs the first notice of cabins in Enghsh ships.' In June, 1228, a vessel was ordered to be sent to Gascony with the king's effects, and a sum of 4s. 6d. was paid "for the making of some sort of chamber in the said ship to put our said efl'ects in."'* In 1242, when the king, accom- panied by the queen, went to Gascony, "decent chambers" were ordered to be built in the vessel in which their majesties were to embark, and these were to be pannelled.^ There may be no earlier mention of cabins in English ships, but it is certain that foreign vessels had them long before, and it is probable, owing to the fact that English ships of the time were very little dift'erent from foreign ones '" in other respects, that English ships had them also.
The ordinary rate of pay under Henry III. was sixpence a day to
I Close Rolls, 10 Hen. III., ii. 50. " Kotuli de Liberate, 2G Hen. HI., in. 5.
" lb., 2G Hen. III., in. 5. " Nicolas, i. 223.
' Uotuli lie Liberate, 11 Hen. IIL, 2. * Hotuli Je Liberate.
* Jh., 12 Hen. IIL, m. G. ' Close Rolls, 2G Hen. IIL, 1. " Ih., 13 Hen. IIL, m. 4.
'" The Hoccafortis, the largest of a number of ships furnished to the King of Frauce
in 1268 hj the Republic of Venice, was 110 feet long over all; 70 feet in length of
122 CIVIL HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1230.
a master, and threepence a day to a seaman ; but some ships had more than one master. One, indeed, of the king's great ships is said incidentally to have had seven, namely, Stephen de Vel, German de la Eia, John Fitz-Sampson, CoHn de Warham, Kobert Gaillard, and Simon Wistlegrei.^ That particular ship appears to have carried sixty seamen or mariners, thirty of "whom were furnished by South- ampton and Portsmouth, and thirty by Eye ; " but it need not he concluded from the figures that they represented the whole number of fighting men on board when the ship was on a war footing. They probably represented only the navigating detachment, and there may have been as many more soldiers, besides officers of the vessel and knights.
The usual rates of freight can be roughly estimated from the following facts : — The cost of sending the king's great ship from La Eochelle to Bordeaux with merchandise was ±'33 10s. ^ Three ships sent to Poitou in the king's service were paid for, one £& Vis. for thirty-eight days, another iLX lis. 9fZ. for nine days, and the third ^1 5s. for five days ; the rate thus varying from 3s. 6fZ. to 7s. a day, probably in proportion to the size of the ships. A person contracted to biding wine from Bordeaux to Southampton for 8s., and to Sandwich for 9s., a tun ; but both charges appear to have included the cost of the wine. In May, 1227, Salekiu of Dover, and John, his nephew, were paid sixty marks for the freight, of their ship from Gascony to England, in the service of Eichard, Count of Poitou, the king's brother ; and two others were paid £60 for another ship making the same voyage.*
The existence of a dockyard at Portsmouth has already been touched upon. In the reign of Henry III., if not before, there were
keel ; and 40 feet in width at prow and poop. Her comiilemeut of mariners was 110, and her value was 1400 niarlis. The dimensions are those of a vessel between four and five hundred tons, as measured by the old s^-stem — the dimensitms, that is, of a 20 or 24-gun ship of the eighteenth century, though the beam of the eighteenth- century ship was less in proportion to her length. The Roccafortis had two covered decks, the orlop being llj feet, and what we should call the main deck C^ feet high. At each entl was a " bellatoriuni " (fore or stern castle), and there were several cabins. The particulars, taken from the original contract, will be found in .Jal's 'Archeologie Navale,' ii. 355. There is really no evidence that contemporary English ships were not of nearly equal size.
' Close iiolls, 10 Hen. III., ii. 112. ■' Rntuli de Liberate, 10 Heu. HI., m. 3.
2 Ih., m. IG. " Ih., 11 Hen. HT.
r_'4-2.] CAPTUJiED GOODS. 123
Other yards for the king's galleys at Kye,' Shoreham, and Win- chelsea, where, when the vessels were not required, they were laid up under sheds. On Xovember '2!)th, 1'24;{, the Sheriff of Sussex was ordered to enlarge the house at Eye in which the king's galleys were kept, so that it might contain seven galleys ; and, when this should be done, the galleys, with all their stores, were to be placed therein ; - and in 1288 the keepers of some of the king's galleys were directed to cause those vessels to be " breiuucd " (deprived by fire of the accunmlated growth on their bottoms),^ and a house to be built at Winchelsea for their safe custody.
In tlie matter of prizes, things remained much as in John's reign. But the crown in practice admitted the captor's right to a share. In 1'24'2 the Constable of Dover was ordered to pay to the barons of Winchelsea, towards their assistance against enemies, ±'100 out of the money found in possession of some captured French merchants ; and the said constable, with another, was appointed to receive the king's proportion of all the perquisites of the sea during the war between England and France ; * from which it would appear that Henry III. did not expect more than part. Sometimes prizes were allowed to be ransomed. In 1227 an order ^^■as issued that, after payment of the largest possible fine, the merchants of a French ship taken at Hartlepool shoi;ld be suffered to depart with their vessel.^ Nor, as was the case in some previous reigns, were ships that had been captured under doubtful legality unjustly re- tained. About August, 1242, several mandates were issued for the restoration of all merchandise captured since the beginning of the war, except such as belonged to subjects of the King of France. The Sheriff of Norfolk and others, for instance, were ordered to take evidence concerning the ownership of captured goods alleged to belong to Flemish merchants, and, if the allegation were established, to restore them ; * and a captured ship belonging to St. IMalo was given up because the king had " granted his peace " to the people of that town.
Impressment, or arrest of ships and men for the royal ser\-ice, was frequently had recourse to, as under John. And the process was conducted with as high a hand as ever. At the time of the general an-est of vessels to convey troops to Poitou in 1225, a ship
' Koiuli lie Liberate, 24 Hen. 111., in. 0. ■■ Patent Hulls, 2(5 Hen. 1 1 1., 2 ni. 2. - JIk, 28 Hen. III., m. 19. ■' ('lose Holls, ii. lO;!.
' Close Holls, 22 Hen. IH., m. 2. " II,.
124 CIVIL HISTORY, 1154-1390. [1212,
belonging to the Master of the Knights Templars of Spain was seized, and the owner was paid two hundred marks as compensation for her loss.'^ Goods, too, were seized for the king's business. In January, 12'26, orders were issued for the arrest at Sandwich of two vessels from Bayonne, laden with spices and other precious mer- chandise, as soon as they should enter port ; and it was directed that no part of their cargoes should be sold until the king should have taken for his use as much as he might think proper." And all sea traffic was rigorously supervised in time of war. In 1'226 the Bailiffs of Dover were ordered to pay to the Chancellor of London the twelve marks which they had received from a certain ship that had passed Portsmouth without the king's licence.^
Yet, although there was clearly a strict police of the seas around England, piracies were not uncommon ; and even the people of the Cinque Ports were frequently guilty of such offences. In 1227 a mariner named Dennis was committed to Newgate for having been present when a Spanish ship had been plundered and her crew slain at Sandwich.* In the same year the people of some towns in Norfolk were accused of robbing a Norwegian ship ; and in 1264 a sea fight occurred between the men of Lynn and the men of Dartmouth.^ Sometimes, at least, the crown held itself responsible for the illegal deeds of its servants, for in 1225 nine marks were given to Alexander, a goldsmith, and his seven companions, and to a woman named Margaret, coming from Norway, who were alleged to have been robbed by people of the Cinqi^e Ports."
The king had ships in Ireland as well as in England, and he hired them out, like his English ships, to the merchants, when he had no immediate use for them. Ireland also had to furnish ships and men at the king's demand ; but it would appear from a document dated in 1217 that at that time, if not always, citizens of Dublin, or some of them, were exempted from impressment at sea for service in the king's galleys."
Besides the Cinque Ports, the island of Oleron furnished vessels to the king ; and in Jime, 1242, the Mayor of Oleron was directed to build the barges vhich the island owed to the sovereign in virtue of its tenure.
' Close Rolls, 10 Hfii. IH., ni. 9. ' Patent KmILs 48 Hen. III.
- Ih., 96. « Close Rolls, ii. 65.
^ Ih., ii., 122. ' 76., i. 335. * Ih., ii. 203ii.
1200.] LIGHTS AND nKACOXti. 125
The provisions and stoi'es of ships seem to have l)ecn the same in character as those in the reign of John. Wlien Henry was preparing; for his journey to Poitou in 124'2, he directed the vessels which were to convey liiiu and liis suite to be supplied with bacon and other salted meats, Hour, eggs, fowls and salt, besides other necessaries, which were to be obtained from the officers of the bishopric of AVinchester, who were to forward a thousand quarters of wheat, the same quantity of barley, and a tiiousand pigs for the purpose, as well as corn and wine from other sources.^
Lighthouses of some sort existed from an early period at Winchelsea, Yarmouth, and other places, and some of them may have been established as early as the time of the lioniaus. They were generally maintained by port dues. On January 30th, 12G1, Henry issued a precept commanding that every ship laden with merchandise that went to Winchelsea during the two following years should pay twopence for the maintenance of the light there set up for the safet}' of sailors entering by night, unless it should be shown that the barons had been accustomed to maintain at their own cost the light in question. '-^ This toll was called " fire-pence" ; for in an ordinance of a few years later for the settlement of disputes between the Cinque Ports and tlie inhabitants of Norfolk, arising out of the herring fishery, it was declared that the bailiffs of the barons of the ports should receive ths twopence, usually called " tire- pence," for sustaining the fires at the accustomed places so long as they did sustain them ; but that if they failed to do so, the Provost of Yarmouth might receive the pence and keep up the fires.'' These fires were probably burnt in cressets. At St. Agnes lighthon.se, in Scilly, a cresset or beacon fire was burnt as late as KiHO, and possibly for several years afterwards.
No alteration was made in tlie banners borne by English shii)s until the reign of Edward III. The St. George's ensign, and the flag with the three lions were still used. The commander-in- chief of a fleet carried the former at his masthead, and at night hoisted a light in the same position. When, in June, l•2'):^, the king was going to Gascony, the sheriffs of London were ordered to cause a great and well-made lantern, which could
• Close Hulls, 20 Hen. III., 1 ni. 7.
'' Patent KolU, 45 Hen. VI 11.
' ' Charters of the Cinque Port.s' (.leakes), 14.
126 CIVIL HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1243.
be suspended in the king's ship, to be forwarded without delay to Portsmouth.'
"The conduct of all privateers," wrote Nelson,^ "is, as far as I have seen, so near piracy, that I only wonder any civihsed nation can allow them." ^ In the thirteenth century all sea warfare, whether regular or irregular, was conducted by people who were httle better than " a horde of sanctioned robbers " ; and one is not surprised, therefore, to discover, as one often does when studying the early history of England, that in war time ships were fitted out by individuals as well as by governments to prej' upon the enemies of the country-. But it does not appear that private adventurers of this sort were ever formally recognised, or that specific terms were made Avith them, until the reign of Henry III.
The first two known English "letters of marque" — for that is what they essentially were — were granted by Hemy against France in February, 1243, one being to Geoffrey Pyper, master oi Le Heyte, and the other jointly to Adam Eobernolt and "William le Sauvage. The form was in each case the same, and was as follows : —
" llelative to anno3-ing the king's enemies. The king to all, etc., greeting. Know ye tliat we have granted and given licence to . . . and . . . and their companions whom they take with them, to annoy our enemies by sea or by land wheresoever they are able, so that they share with us the half of all their gain; and therefore we command you neither to do, nor suffer to be done, any let, damage, or injury to them or their barge, or other ship or galley which they may have ; and they are to render to the king, in his wardrobe, the half of their gains." *
Although there is no direct proof of the correctness of the theory, it is probable that the earliest privateers were recruited from the large class of maritime adventurers who, in the Middle Ages, and in all seas, turned their hands against everyone who did not deem it worth while to buy their assistance, or who did not at least offer them some advantages. There were plenty of these gentlemen of the sea at the very period in question off the shores of England ;
' liotuli de Liberate, 37 Heu. III., m. 2.
- ' Despatches,' vi. 79. Sir aho 145.
' Admiral "N'ernon, writing to Secretary Corbett on August 12th, 1745, said: " I'rivateers doubtless distress the enemy's trade, and bring an addition of wealth into the kingdom; but, on the other side, they debauch the morals of our seamen in general, by being under no discipline, and encouraging all sorts of licentiousness, by which they grow indifferent to the service of their country, and ready to serve any otlier with a view of prey to feed their licentiousness, and the flower of our seamen are lirawn from the defence of the kingdom and protection of our commerce, wlieu they may stand most in need of it.'" — MS. in Auth.'s Coll.
' Patent Rolls, 27 Hen. III., m. 16.
12G0.] THE LAW OF Wit EC K. 127
for it was tlie complaint of the l)arons of the Cinque Ports in the same year that the pirates who ^nai'iled the hiijh sea would not allow even the pilgrims to return home, and that all the navj' of England could not resist them. Henry, in his horn- of need, may have thought it more than justifiable, by the offer of protection and countenance, to secure some of these rovers as his friends and as France's enemies. " While," as Nicolas says, " these hordes of daring robbers are justly execrated for their deeds of cruelty and violence, it should not be forgotten that their skill, hardihood, and adventurous spirit have descended to the British seamen of modern times ; and much of the heroism and contempt of danger for which our navy has been so long distinguished may have been derived from the piratical and buccaneering proceedings of former ages." ^
The modification made in the law of wreck by Henry II. has been already made mention of. A further alteration was effected by a charter dated at Merewell, on May '2()th, 1'23G. By this the king granted that, if any ship were in danger in his dominions, and any man escaped from it and reached the land alive, all the goods and chattels in such ship should continue to be the property of the original owners, instead of passing as wi'eck to the king. And if from a ship so endangered no man escaped alive, but any other beast [hastia alia) chanced to escape alive, or to be foimd alive on board, then the goods and chattels in such ship should be delivered by the king's bailiff to four men, in whose custody they should remain for three months, during which time, if owners proved their right, they should be restored to them ; but if no one claimed the goods within that term, they should be forfeited as wTeck. If, however, neither man nor other beast escaped from the ship, the cargo was then to be considered as wreck, and to become the property of the king, or of the lord having the right to it.'"
Connected with this subject, there are three episodes of the reign which deserve note. In 1225, some masts from a wreck belonging to the Crown were washed ashore in Cornwall ; and the sheriff of the county was instructed to proceed to the spot, and, if any of the masts had been sold, to arrest botli buyer and seller.^ In 1227 a ship of Toulouse was wrecked at Shoreham, and her cargo plundered, whereupon the Sheriff of Sussex was ordered to the spot, with directions to impanel a jury, discover who were present at the robbery, and who carried away the cargo and stores, and arrest the
' Nicolas, i. 23il. "- ' Fa-dera," i. 227. = Close lUiUs, ii. 12.
128 CIVIL BISTORT, 1154-1399. [1272.
guilty parties.' These incidents show that although Henry could
make liberal concessions, he would forego none of his legal rights
against lawlessness. The other noteworthj' point is that in the
treaty concluded in 1269 between Henry and Magnus of Norway, a
clause is to be found providing that, in case of a shipwreck on the
coast of either country, the goods on board should be protected
by the authorities, who were to give all the assistance in their
power to the crews, while persons plundering were to be severely
punished.^
The knowledge and utilisation of the directive powers of the
magnet, and of the magnetised needle, were probably not new
in Asia even so early as the beginning of the Christian era; but
they were new in western Europe in the first half of the thirteenth
century. It is therefore of interest to print two contemporary
references to such primitive form of mariner's compass as then
existed. Both were translated for Nicolas by Mr. Thomas Wright,
the first from ' La Bible Guiot de Provins,' and the second from
the preface to Michel's ' Lais Inedits ' ; and the originals of both
are in verse.
"The}' make a contrivance wliich canncit lie by the vii-tue of the magnet: an ugly and brownish stone, to which iron spontaneously joins itself, they have ; and they observe the right point. After they have caused a needle to touch it, and placed it in a rush, they put it in the water without anything more, and the rush keeps it on the surface. Then it turns its point towards the star with such certainty that no man will ever have any doubt of it, nor will it ever for anything go false. When the sea is dark and hazy that they can neither see star nor moon, therefore they place a light by the needle, and then they have no fear of going wrong. Towards the star goes the pi lint, wliereby the mariners have the skill to keep the right way. It is an art which canniit fail."
The second, more obscure, runs : —
" For a north wind niir for anything else does (without doubt) cease doing service the jjole star clear and pure ; the sailors by its light it throws often out of mishap, and assures them of their road ; and when the night is too dark, still is it of such a nature that it makes iron draw to the loadstone, so that by force and by reason, and by a rule which lasts ever, they know the place where it is. They know its jwsition on the way, when it is perfectly dark, all those who practise this art, who push a needle of iron till it almost disappears in a bit of cork, and touch it to the brown loadstone. Tlien it is placed in a vessel full of water, so that no one push it out ; as soon as the water settles, to whatever jilace the piiint aims, the polar star is there without doubt."
Henry III. died on November 16th, 1272, and was succeeded by his son Edward I., then thirty-three years of age, and on his way home from a crusade.
' Close-Rolls, ii. 192b. ^ 'Fccdera,' i. 480.
1276.] COST OF A SQUADRON. 12!>
The correspondence,' consequent upon the promise of Edward, in 1276, to send a squadron from Bayonne, to assist his brother-in- law, the King of Castille, against the infidels, thi-ows much light upon the condition of the navy at that period. Edward sent to Bayonne one Wilham de Montegauger, a priest, to make the arrangements necessary for equipping, arming, and manning of twelve ships and twenty-foiu' galleys ; and, the priest having consulted with the local authorities, the latter summoned the steersmen, masters, mariners, smiths, carpenters and workmen of the port in order to form an estimate of how best to go to work.
The results of their inquiries and deliberations were embodied in a letter written to the king on May 1st. This letter reported that every ship of 180 tons and i;pwards would need sixty men, and involve for hire or charter an expenditure of i'lOO sterling a year ; that a galley of 120 oars would cost £240, money of Morlaas,'- and each oar £46, money of Morlaas, when ready for sea ; and would require twenty-five men ; and that a galley of one hundred oars W'Ould require twenty men, and one of eighty oars fifteen men, besides the rowers and six or eight " comitres " (superintendents of rowers). The pay to each of the "magni" (probably officers doing lieutenant's duties), each of the " comitres," and each chief, would be fifteen esterlings ^ a day ; that to each crossbow-man, nine esterlings ; and that to each sailor and rower, six esterlings, accoi'ding to the rate established under Henry III. ; but all these persons would find themselves in arms, victuals, and all other necessaries. On the other hand, they would expect a moiety of all gains, save cities, castles, towns, or lands taken ; and such provisions or eatables as they might seize should be their own. It was not possible to make an agreement by the month or half-year, but by the year only. Plenty of the needful people could be found in Bayonne and Gascony ; but, in order to induce a superior class of men to serve, it would be well if the indulgence of the Cross could be obtained for them from the Pope or his legate.
Wilham de Montegauger transmitted this letter, together with his own report. He estimated the total annual expenditure for the projected squadron at 56,000 marks, or £37,330 16s. 8;Z. a year, and
' Said by Xicolas to be in tlie T<i\ver (in 1847).
^ Morlaas, anciently Benoharnum, in Aqnitaine. It was worth thrcc-and-a-quarter times the money ofTours, and was current thruiii;hout Gascony.
^ The csterling was equal to four ileniers Touruois, or to the fifty-fiftli part ol' a mark.
VOL. I. K
130 CIVIL HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1282.
pointed out that he had not funds in hand to justify him in launching upon so considerable an outlay. Workmen would not work a moment after the cessation of their pay. One William Arnold, of Saubagnac, had offered to provide half the desired squadron for 20,000 marks a year, but Montegauger did not like his conditions. The indulgence was absolutely necessary if good men were to be obtained.
Details of the squadron sent against Anglesey, during the Welsh War in 1277, are also of interest. The squadron consisted of eighteen ships, all of which were furnished by the Cinque Ports, together with one dromon of Southampton, and four other vessels, one of which was the Base. It was commanded by two "captains over the fleet of eighteen ships of the Ports " ; each large ship had two officers styled rectors, one of whom commanded ; each smaller ship bad one rector, and one constable ; ^ the crews varied from twenty to twenty-eight men ; and the total number of mariners in the squadi'on was 419. Of the ships not belonging to the Cinque Ports, the dromon carried but nineteen mariners. The pay, as at a later period, was : each captain (admiral), 12fZ. ; each rector, constable, and the master of the dromon, 6rf. ; and each sailor, 'M. a day."
The craft purchased in 1282 for the Welsh expedition were small, their price varying from dG4 to £13, at a time when anchors and cables for one of the king's large ships cost twice as much as the larger sum, and when a new barge built and fitted out at Winchelsea cost £80 9s. lid. Of the vessels of the Cinque Ports employed on that occasion, one was La Vache, and another, the Holy Cross. The crews of all were paid by the crown, the total expense being £1404 9s. lO^d.^
Among the stores purchased by Sir Matthew de Columbers in 1290 for the ship which was to go to Norway to bring thence the Lady Margaret, who, had she not died prematurely, would have married Prince Edward, were : wine, ale, corn, beef, pork, bacon, stock-fish, sturgeons, herrings, lampreys, almonds, rice, beans, peas, onions, leeks, cheese, nuts, salt, vinegar, mustard, pepper, cummin- seed, ginger, cinnamon, figs, raisins, saffi-on, ginger-bread, w^ax torches, tallow candles, cressets, lanterns, napkins, wood, biscuit,
' It is doubtless owing to its ancient connection witli the rauli of a constable that the famil}' of Constable, of Wassand, bears as its crest " a ship, witli tackle, guns and api^arel all Or."
^ Roll of the Wages, etc. (10 Edw. I.), in the Carlton Ride Repository.
' Roll of the Purchases, etc. (18 Edw. I.), in the Carlton Hide Repository.
1299.]
TEE FLEET FOR SCOTLAND.
131
a banner of the king's arms, and a silken streamer. The total charge was but £29 2s. llf?. The pay was as before, and boys to take care of the stores were given twopence a day. At the time of the armament of 1294, twenty shilHngs' worth of wine was advanced to each of the masters of ships, the cost being charged against their pay.^
At the time of the war in Scotland in 1299 and 1300, the chief part of the fleet employed belonged to the Cinque Ports, which, however, sent only thirty ships,- instead of their full service of
' Wardrobe Accnunts, 18 Edw. I.
- Fleet of the Cixque Ports Employed in 1299-1300.
|
>'ame. j |
Master. |
Constablea. |
Marineni. |
|
Hastings Contingent — |
|||
|
La Jili/th, shi]i, of Hastings |
.John Jlokct . |
1 |
19 |
|
Lit Jlret, of Hastings |
Gill'ert Scot . |
1 |
19 |
|
NicJidlas, of I'evensey |
.Joliii le !Mi inner |
.^ |
39 |
|
Snake, of Tiye . |
John Kittev . |
'> |
39 |
|
Godycre, of Kye |
Robert Miciiell |
2 |
39 |
|
liose, of Kye . |
Reginald IJaudethon |
, .2 |
39 |
|
St. Edward, cog, of Wiiichelsea |
Harry at Carte |
.:> |
39 |
|
St. Mary, cog, of Winchelsea |
Henry Aiibyn |
o |
39 |
|
St. Thomas, cog, of Winclielsea. |
Thomas de Standaiiiore . |
•2 |
39 |
|
St. Thomas, snake, of Winchelsea |
.John Maiickyn |
.> |
■A\) |
|
St. Oiks, cog, of Winclielsea |
Haiiioud Rciberd |
2 i |
30 |
|
Roiiicnliale (Romuey) contingent — |
|||
|
Hiche, of Komenhale |
Steiilieu L'liwyne . |
2 |
39 |
|
Godehjne, of Komenhale . |
William Eadwy |
o |
39 |
|
Hythe contingent — - |
|||
|
IkiJii Cross, ship, of Hythe |
John le Wyse |
i 2 |
39 |
|
La Blyth, of Hythe . |
Thomas le Ridere . |
1 |
19 |
|
Nicholas, of Hythe . |
William Urunyng . |
1 |
19 |
|
Waynepayne, of H^the |
William de Fiirinduu |
1 |
19 |
|
Dover contingent — |
|||
|
Cog, of Dover .... |
John Lomb . |
•> |
39 |
|
Godyn, of Dover |
William Uodyn |
' •> |
34 |
|
St. Edward, ship, of Dover |
Peter Hanckyn |
•> |
3i |
|
Christiitd, of Dover . |
John le Si>lt"ii |
•> |
35 |
|
Itose, of Dover |
.Jiihn Wenstan |
*J |
32 |
|
Chiraler, of Dover . |
William Shepeye . |
•> |
34 |
|
MaheJy, of Dover |
Nicholas Sandrekyii |
2 |
34 |
|
Malyne, of Dover |
Tliomas le Ken |
2 |
34 |
|
Nicholas, of Favershani |
Roger Willey |
2 |
37 |
|
Folkestone, cog, of Folkestone . |
Simon Adam |
1 |
23 |
|
Sandwich and Lydd contingent — |
|||
|
Simvcyc; of Sandwich |
William (iiindy |
2 |
39 |
|
Holy Ohost, ship, of Sandwich . |
John Lambcrd |
i "^ |
:«) |
|
St. Thomas, cog, of Sandwich . |
j Gervase de Wardon |
i ^ |
:)ii |
The four "Captains of the Sailors of tlic si Alard, William Charles of Sandwich, and .lohn 28 Edw. I.
id I'nrts" were: WilHam Pate, Justin Aula of Dover. — Wardrobe Accounts,
K
132 CIVIL HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1298.
fifty-seven. Wlieu the fifteen days of their due service had expired, the wages of officers and men were paid by the king. Gervase Alard, the admiral, received 2s. ; the four captains of the ports, l.s. ; the chaplain, Eobert of Sandwich, and the masters and constables, each &d. ; and the sailors, each 2>cl. a day ; the masters also received 20s. each for pilotage {lodmannagium) for the whole coasts of Scotland and Ireland. It appears to have been not unusual for officers and seamen of the period, after a campaign, to be given passage money to carry them home from their ports ; for before returning to England the king gave Alard twenty shillings for this purpose ; to each of three of the captains of the ports one mark ; and to sailors, amounts varying from five shillings to one mark. There are also notices of other out-of-pocket expenses, incuxTed on service, having been repaid.^
The services rendered by the Cinque Ports in the Welsh ex- pedition of 1278 gained them a new charter, dated the 17th of June of that year. This charter confirmed all their former liberties and grants, and set forth their privileges ; which included exemptions from tolls and wreck ; the right of buying, selling and rebiiying, throughout the king's dominions ; " den " (right of drying and mending nets on certain marsh lands at Great Yarmouth) ; " strond " (right of landing freely with their fish at the same place) ; " findals," or findings, on sea and land ; and their honoiu's in the king's courts. It was forbidden to disturb them in their mercantile operations, on penalty of ten pounds. In retui'n, they were to render yearly their full service of fifty-seven ships, at their own cost, for fifteen days, when summoned by the king. The chief additional concessions were: " utfangtheff " (right of punishing a thief, no matter the domicile, or the scene of the offence, if taken within the fee) ; that they should not be put on any assize, juries, or recognitions, against their will ; that of their own wines for which they traded they should be quit of the king's duty or " prise," to the extent of one tun of wine before the mast, and of another abaft the mast ; and that the)' should be exempted from the Crown's right of wardships and marriages in respect of land within the ports."
Edward I. granted two other chaiiers to the Cinque Ports, both
dated April 28th, 1298. One exempted the hulls and rigging of
their ships from taxes of all kinds, provided that no man, without
their consent, should be a partner or sharer in any goods which
' Wardrobe Accounts. ^ ' Fiedera,' i. 558.
1298.] SERVICE OF THE CINQUE PORTS. 13i5
they might Iniy in Ireland ; and allowed all persons born in the ports to marry as they pleased, even though they might hold lands elsewhere by such service as would, if minors were in question, have subjected the marriages to the will of the Crown.
The other charter, after reciting that the king had in mind " that his shipping of the Cinque Ports could not be maintained without great cost and expenses," and was desirous " that shipping should not fail in future," declared, with an agreeable cynicism, that his majesty granted that all the inhabitants of those ports, and others calhng themselves of their liberty and willing to enjoy the same, should contribute, each according to his means, to perform the service with the ships when required.'
When the whole number of fifty-seven ships was not needed, as many as were thought necessary were called for ])y the Crown, which could order the men belonging to the remaining vessels to be put on board the ships summoned to serve. This course was followed in 1302, when twenty-five ships, and the full tale of men were pro- vided.'- A port faihng to furnish its proper contingent was obliged to give a satisfactory excuse, or to suffer indictment and fine ; and others besides the Cinque Ports were subject to this rule ; for, about the year 1301, the towns of Poole, Warham, and Lyme, having agreed to furnish each a ship for the Scots war, and having failed to do so, were ordered to be punished at the discretion of certain commissioners.^
It has been already shown that, under the Laws of Oleron, the master of a ship, in case of danger in a storm, might, with the consent of the merchants on board, lighten the vessel by throwing, or " ejecting," part of the cargo overboard ; and that if they did not consent, he might act as he thought proper. That was the rule in Oleron, and elsewhere, but not, at least in the early years of Edward I., in England ; for there the merchants had a Hen upon the property of the master and crew for goods so ejected. The in- justice was remedied by an ordinance of May, 1285, copies of which were sent to every port, and which, translated, ran as follows : —
" The king, being informed that Gregory de Rokesle and Henry le Waleis, citizens of London, and others, merchants as well of England as of Ireland, Gascony and Wales, have been in the habit of compelling the Barons of the Cinque Ports, and other sailors of tlie realm, to pay towards the ejections of their freighted shijis when in
' ' Charters of the Cinque Ports ' (.Jeakes), 30-41. * ' Ftedora,' i. 945.
» Patent Kolls, 30 Edw. I.
134 CIVIL BISTOHF, 1154-1399. [1304.
danger from storms at sea, out of the materials, rigging, ornaments, and other goods of the said barons and sailors, he has thought proper to order and declare that the ship so laden with merchandise or wine, together with the entire equipment, the ring worn on the finger of the ship's master, the victuals of the seamen, the utensils which they are wont to use at their meals, their money, their belts, the silver cup, if the master of the ship have one, from which he drinks, shall be free from tax on account of the said ejections of the sea; and that the freightage of wines and other goods rescued in the ship shaU be preserved to the sailors; that the master of the ship shall lose his freightage on casks or goods so thrown into the sea ; and that all other goods in the ship, belonging whether to the sailors or to the merchants, as wines, merchandise, money in gross, beds, and other goods, except the aforesaid utensils and equipment of the ship, provisions, cooking utensils of the seamen, money, belt, silver cup, and ring, and the freightage of goods saved, shall thereupon be estimated in aid of the restitution of the value of the wines and other goods thrown overboard because of the storm." '
A very important document of the reign of Edward I., which still exists in the original Norman French, and which has been cited with respect by Prynne and Coke," as well as by Selden, is given, in translation, in ' Mare Clausnm."^ The exact nature of the document is not apparent, for, though it purports to be a petition to certain auditors or commissioners appointed to decide between England and Erance, there is no record of such a petition having been presented, nor is the instrument itseK dated, signed or sealed. It is probably the draught of an instnmient which may or may not have been executed ; and internal evidence indicates that it was drawn up in or soon after the summer of 1304 and before the death of Edward. Petition or not, it is certainly a document of the early fourteenth century, and, its contents being what they are, it is, therefore, of very exceptional interest as illustrating the antiquity of the claim of the kings of England to the dominion of the neighbouring seas. It is too long to print here entire ; but the following are the passages which are particularly significant : —
"... Wliereas the Kings of England, by right of the said kingdom from time to time, whereof there is no memorial to the contrary, have been in peaceable possession of the sovereign lordship uf the sea of England, and of the isles within the same, with power of making and establishing laws, statutes, and prohibitions of arms, and of ships otherwise furnished than merchantmen used to be, and of taking surety and affording safeguard in all cases where need shall require, and of ordering all other things necessary for the maintaining of peace, right, and equity among aU manner of people as well of other domini(jus as their own, passing through the said seas, and the sovereign guard thereof, and also of taking all manner of cognisance in causes, and of doing riglit and justice to high and low. . . . And whereas A. de B., deputed admiral of the said sea by the King of England, and all other admirals appointed by the said King of England and his ancestors heretofore Kings of England, have been in peace-
' ' Eocdera,' i. 654. ^ Coke, Fourtli Institute, 143.
' ' Mare Clausum,' ii. 28.
1304.] THE DOMINION OF THE HEAS. 135
able possession of the said sovereign guard, with jxiwer of jurisdiction. . . . And whereas the masters of tlie ships of tlie said Isingdom of England, in the absence of the said admiral, have been in peaceable possession of taking cognisance and judging between all manner of ]icople, according to the laws, statutes, ijrohibitions and customs . . . (and whereas the Kings of England and France have lately, in the first article of a league of treaty,' guaranteed one auuthor in the defence of their rights and privileges) . . . Monsieur Iveyner Grinibald,^ master of the navy of the said King of France, who calls himself admiral of the said sea, being deiiuted by his aforesaid lord in his war against the Flemings, did, after the said league made and confirmed, against the tenour and obligations of the said league, and the intent of them that made it, wrong- fully assume and exercise the office of admiralty in the said sea of England above the space of a year by commission of the said King of France, taking the people and merchants of the kingdom of England, and of other places, passing through the said sea with their goods, and committed them so taken to the prisons of his said lord the King of France, and delivered their goods and merchandises to the receivers of the said King of France, by him deputed in the ports of his said kingdom, as forfeited and due unto him, to remain at his judgment and award. . . . (Therefore it is prayed) that you would cause due anil speedy deliverance of the said people with their goods and merchandises, so taken and detained, to be made to the admiral of the said King of England, to whom the cognisance of the same of right appertaineth, as is before expressed ; so that without disturbance from you or any other, he may take cognisance thereof, and do what belongs to his oflice aforesaid ; and the said Monsieur Reyner be condemned and constrained to make satisfaction for all the said damages, so far forth as he shall be able, and, in his default, his said lord the King of France, by whom he was deputed to the said office; and that, after satisfaction given for the said damages, the said Monsieur Itcyner may be so duly pimishcd for the violation' of the said league, that his punishment may be an examjile to others in time to come."
Granting that the claim, as set forth ahove, was made, there is still no evidence that it was then admitted ; but many years were not to elapse without a very similar claim being both made and admitted.
In the navy of Edward I. the flags i;sed seem to have been the same as those flown under his immediate predecessors, viz., the Koyal banner, and the banner of St. George. The former was not confined to vessels actually having the sovereign or a prince of his house on board. Streamers, known otherwise as pencils, and later as whips and pennants, had come into use ; but there is nothing to show that they were in anyway confined to king's ships or that they were always worn by king's ships in commission. In Edward's army, on the other hand, in addition to the banners used in the navy, the banner of St. Edmund — blue, with three gold crowns — and the banner of Edward the Confessor — blue, with a gold cross between five martlets — were employed.
Edward II., fourth but eldest surviving son of Edward I., who
' Dated at Paris, May 20th, 1303. The text is in Hyraer's ' Fcedera.' * Griinaldi, Prince of Monaco, the celebrated seaman who died in 1314.
^36 CIVIL HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1308.
had received the title of Prince of Wales in 1301, and who, at the time of his accession, was twenty-three years of age, succeeded his father in 1307. He was a weak, despicable, and altogether unworthy monarch — the slave of his parasites, and the shuttlecock of his powerful nobles ; and although his stormy reign was in several respects important from a naval point of view, it can hardly be contended that he personally ever did anything for the honour and greatness of England.
There is no doubt that in the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth centuries piracy was always very prevalent in the Narrow Seas ; yet strong kings invariably kept it in some sort of check, and managed to curb, if not to repress, the freebooting tendencies of the most formidable of the Enghsh sea robbers, who had their headquarters in those strongholds of privilege and disorder, the Cinqire Ports. But under a weak sovereign there was little or no effectual restraint upon the outrages of these rovers, nor upon those of the piratical inhabitants of the opposite coasts. In the reign, therefore, of Edward II. a recrudescence of piracy is distinctly noticeable. Looking to the proportions which it reached it is almost surprising that it was possible to maintain even the semblance of peace between England and her neighbours ; nor would such a thing have been practicable at all had not there been a custom of permitting and encoiu-aging aggrieved parties, on both sides of the Channel, to settle for themselves disputes which would, in later days, have been treated as international questions.
In March, 1308, there was a complaint by three merchants of Great Yarmouth that a ship laden by them at Bouen with cloth, woollens, canvas, cables, and gold and silver to the value of £10 had been attacked at night by French pirates and carried off.^ Soon afterwards there was a complaint by merchants of Winchester that a ship of theirs had been plundered off Gravelines by Flamands.^ About 1314 Wilham de Huntingdon's ship was carried out of the port of Dubhn by pirates headed by John le Lung of Bristol, and subsequently burnt.* In the same year the Paternoster, of Yar- mouth, chartered by Wilham de Forberuard, a Gascon merchant, was plundered off the Foreland by Gervase Alard of Winchelsea, Peter Bert of Sandwich, and Kobert Cleves of Greenwich, who were all in the king's service ; and as Alard was either the very individual, or nearly related to the individual, who a few years
' 'Fa'dera,' ii. 40. '■' Pari. Rolls, i. 277. ■' Ik, i. 327.
1310.] COMPLEMENTS OF SHIPS. 137
earlier bad been aduiinil of tbe licet of tbe Cinque Ports, tbis was a particularly gross case ; yet tbe sufferer obtained no redress.' In
1322 a vessel laden by two mercbants of Sberborne was plundered off Portsmoutb by Kobert de Battayle, and otbers of tbe Cinque Ports,- and, at about tbe same time, the Cruxenburg, belonging to Albritb le Breme, a German merchant, was attacked in tbe port of Orwell by two vessels, one of Wincbelsea and one of Greenwich, and carried off' after some of tbe crew bad been killed and wounded.^ In
1323 or 1324 tbe ship Annot, of Ditton, was boarded between Lynn and Orford by John Eussell and other pirates of Spalding, who, although tbe craft was laden with fish for the king's use, killed her crew and took her to Seaford, where they sold her.
Indeed, there was abnost no bmit to the iniquitous audacity of the coast populations, and especially of the people of the Cinque Ports. In 1314, when the Blessed Mary, of Fuenterrabia, had been wi'ecked on the coast of Angoumois, and then plundered by seamen of Wincbelsea, Rye and Eomney, tbe inhabitants of those towns forcibly prevented an investigation from being made into the outrage.''
Tbe reign seems to have produced few improvements in ships and their gear. The pay of officers and men remained as before. The instructions issued to John Deverye, the priest who inspected tbe preparation of the squadron destined for Guienne in 1324, show the proportion borne by complements to tonnage to have been as follows, though, as we cannot be sui'e bow the tomiage was measured, or how many fighting men were embarked in addition to the mariners, tbe information conveyed is not perfect : — To a ship of 240 tons there were GO mariners ; to one of 200 tons, 50 ; to one of from 160 to 180 tons, 40 ; to one of 140 tons, 35 ; to one of 120 tons, 28 ; to one of 100 tons, 2(3 ; to one of 80 tons, 24 ; and to one of 60 tons, 21. The numbers were inclusive of officers, the vessels of 180 tons and upwards having each one master and two constables, and those of 160 tons and less having one master and one constable only. The seamen received twenty days' pay in advance.* Says Nicolas, " it may be inferred from this document that there were few English ships of more than 240 tons burden, or which carried more than sixty men, except galleys, the niunber of whose crews was propor- tionate to their oars."
' Pari. Rolls, i. 406. ^ Ik, i. 413. ' lb., i. 397.
* lb., i. 239. ' Patent Rolls, 17 Edw. II., iu ' Archiuologia,' vi. 211.
138 CIVIL BISTORT, 1154-1399. [131G.
Contemporary pictures of foreign vessels, though obviously very inaccurate for the most part, indicate that early in the fourteenth century the " clavus " or steering paddle, almost exactly similar to that used in the viking ship, was still generally employed, but that in a few large vessels the rudder, shipped very much as at present, had already been adopted. In Enghsh ships, however, there appears to have been as yet no rudder. On the other hand, two masts had become not uncommon. Each carried a single lug sail, and each generally had a fighting top, formed apparently of a large barrel. The two masts were, in fact, similar save that, while the main mast was perpendicular, the foremast often raked considerably forward. Both were single poles. There is no sign of a bowsprit supporting a fore-and-aft sail, nor any mention of a pump.
Fireships, however, had come into use, if not in the Enghsh navy, at least abroad ; for in the great battle fought between the French and the Flamands in August, 1304, off Zierikzee, the Flamands employed two small vessels filled vdth pitch, oil, grease, and other combustibles, which they towed to windward of four ships that were aground and, having fired them, set them adrift. Unfortunately, owing to a shift of wind, they did more damage to friends than to foes. In that, as in many other early naval battles, no quarter, except to personages of great distinction, appears to have been granted.^
Notices of payments made for naval services during the reign are numerous ; but in the majority of cases sufficient details, as to numbers of men hired, and nature of work done, in return for specific sums, are not given to enable us to form conclusions con- cerning the proportions of results to costs. There are some exceptions. In 1316, the Constable of Dover was paid ii54 13s. Ad. for fourteen large ships and six boats, employed in conveying the king's ambassadors from Dover to Whitsand (Wissant) ; " and in the year following a sum of £128 was paid for the wages of the five masters, five constables, and 323 armed sailors, belonging to five ships in the service of the king in Scotland, for one month, each master and constable receiving as before 6c7., and each sailor 3(7. a day.^ In June, 1324, the " Keepers of the passage of the
' Chron. de Guillaume Guiart, viii. (Buchon). - Issue Roll, Michaelmas, 9 Edw. II. ' Wardrobe Accounts.
1310.] DIFFICULTY OF RAISING SHIPPING. 139
Port of Dover " were paid £1 3s. id. for the hire of the ship that brought to England Hugh, Seigneur de Boyville, chamberlain to the King of France ; and i;i6 6s. 8d. for the hire of six ships, one barge, and one boat, to carry the Earl of Kent, brother of the king, from Dover to Wissant.' When, in the same year, John de Shoreditch went over on a mission to France, there were paid, for the ship that conveyed him and his four horses, 40s., and for customs, portage, and pontage at Dover and Wissant, and for the hire of a ship and boat for his return, £4 12s. Qd. the customs, portage, and pontage amounting to 8s. 6d.
There were continual difficulties in the way of obtaining the required number of ships for the king's service. His Majesty had few of his own, the squadi-on furnished by the Cinque Ports was often insufficient for the business in hand, and the other seaports upon which requisitions were made, frequently pleaded that they were too poor to obey the king's commands. In cases such as the last mentioned, neighbouring towns were sometimes ordered to assist the poor place. In this manner Totness, Brixham, Portle- mouth, and Kingsbridge were directed to aid Dartmouth to maintain a ship and crew in 1310 ; and Plympton, Modbury, Newton Ferrars, and Yalmouth to aid Sutton ; while Topsham, Kenton, Powderham, and other places near, helped Exeter." Occasionally, the Crown itself supplied deficiencies, and occasionally it made slight conces- sions, as, for example, when the execution of the service threatened to interfere with the fishing.^
Beacons were, in this reign, if not before, erected along the coasts, so that the alarm might be quickly given upon the approach of an enemy ; and the inhabitants were enjoined to hght up the fires whenever the safety of their districts required it.*
The right of the Crown to " great " or royal fish was jealously preserved, save that Henry granted to the Bishop of London and the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's the fish found in their domains, except the tongues, which he reserved for himself. In 132(5, when a whale was taken in the chapter's manor of Walton, the prize was iniquitously carried off by thirty-two " malefactors," who were named, and against whom proceedings were taken. ^ But those who captured royal fish for the king were rewarded. In 1315, three
' Issue KoU, Easter, 17 Edw. II. * 'Poxlera,' ii. G3G.
- Scots Rolls. » lb., 610.
=> Pari. Rolls, i. 414.
1-10 CIVIL HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1313.
sailors, who took a whale near London Bridge, were paid 20s. for their pains.
A circumstance which happened in 1310, when England was at peace with France but at war with Scotland, with which, however, there was a truce, deserves notice, not only because of its intrinsic interest, but also because it concerns Eavensrode. A French vessel had been to Scotland to trade there, when, on her return, she was forced into Eavensrode by stress of weather, and there seized as coming from Scotland. Phihp of France requested the release of ship, crew, and goods, and Edward complied, begging, however, his brother of France to prevent his subjects from having inter- course with the enemies of England.' Eavensrode, the scene of the seizure, was an important seaport, but had not long been so. After a brief career, it was swept away by the enroachments of the sea. It was a peninsula beyond Holderness, joined to the mainland by a low beach of sand and stones ; and although Henry IV. landed there in 1399, and Edward IV. in 1471, there was no trace of it visible in the middle of the sixteenth century. It was also known as Eavenspur and Eavenser, and was in the parish of, though at a distance of four miles from, Easington. Sunthorpe, hard by, has also been submerged.
The king confirmed the privileges of the Cinque Ports in 1313, and added, that although liberties or freedoms granted in the previous charters might not have been used, yet they might, never- theless, be fully enjoyed by the barons, their heirs and successors, without any impediment from the king and his heirs. ■^
Something has aheady been said about the lawlessness which prevailed in the Narrow Seas during this reign. One example, which might have been cited with the instances given on an earher page, has been reserved for notice here, because it led to what is the first plain and undoubted admission by foreigners of the claim of the kings of England to the sovereignty of their seas.
For some time the seamen of England and those of Flanders had been attacking and plundering each other, though the countries were at peace ; and at length, when some particularly flagrant acts of piracy had been committed by Englishmen " sur la mere d'Engleterre devers Ics parties de Craudon," the king and the Count of Flanders agreed to adopt decisive measures. Commissioners were appointed on both sides, and after several years of intermittent negotiations, ' ' Foedera,' ii. 448. - ' Charters of the Cinque Ports,' 42.
1320.] "LA MEnE D'EXGLETEIIBE." 141
a treaty was conckukHl in 1320. The Flamands begged the king to cause justice to be done, and the king undertook to see it done. The Flamand prayer was, " that the king, of his lordship and royal power, would see law and punishment dealt out in connection with the said deed, forasmuch as he is lord of the sea, and the said robbery was committed on the sea within his power,' as is set forth above." The treaty is in French. When, on December 13th, 1320, Sir Bartholomew de Badlesmere, Warden of the Cinque Ports, and others, were ordered to institute the inquiry which had been promised by the king, the statement of the circumstances included exactly the same expressions, but in Latin ; - so that two indepen- dent records exist of the admission which, as it was entirely spontaneous, was the more significant.
" Craudon," off which the outrage which led to this admission is reported to have taken place, may probably be identified with Crodon or Crozon,^ a little place on the Bay of Douaruenez, in the arrondissement of Chateaulin and the department of Finistere. It contains, to-day, between eight and nine thousand inhabitants, and has some considerable trade in sardines and salt. If, then, " la mere d'Engleterrc " extended, as in the opinion of the Flamands it did, even farther south than Ushant, the English Dominion of the Sea in the fourteenth century may have been already as wide as it was formally conceded by the Dutch to be in the seventeenth.
The title of admiral has been once or twice ascribed in this history to the chief officer of an English fleet. In the latter part of the reign of Edward IL, the rank was ordinarily given, by com- mission, to one holding that position, and therefore it may be pertinent to say something concerning its origin in this country. No English officer seems to have been formally and officially styled admiral until 1297. Previously, leaders of fleets had been called "justices," "leaders and governors," "leaders and constables," " keepers of the sea-coast," " captains of the king's sailors and mariners of the Cinque Ports," but on March 8th, 1297, in the convention made at Bruges between Guy, Count of Flanders,
' The French text runs: "... de siccome il est seigneur ile h\ nier, et la dite roberie fut fait sur la nicr dans son poer." The Latin text is: ". . . et quod ipse est donunus dicti maris, et depra^xlatio pra>dicta facta fuit supra dictum mare infra potes- tatem suam."^Patcut liolls, 14 Edw. II.; 'Mare Clausuui,' ii. 29; and Kymer's ' Faxlera,' ii. 434.
- Patent Polls, It Edw. II., pt. 2, ni. 2G.
^ Spelt both ways in seventeenth and eighteenth-century niniis and cliarts.
142 CIVIL HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1315.
and the envoys of Edward I., William de Leybourne, who had a commission as " Captain of the king's sailors and mariners," was styled "Admiral of the Sea of the King of England."^ It has been supposed that the first known English commission to the rank of admiral is dated February 4th, 1303, and is in favour of Gervase Alard.- Even this, however, is thought by some to be no com- mission, but merely a proclamation setting forth an accomplished fact. Other instruments, which may have been commissions, but which also may have been proclamations, are dated Jmre 5th, 1306,^ and are in favour of Gervase Alard aforesaid, and Edward Charles ; but several undoubted commissions to the rank of admiral survive from the reign of Edward II. ; and, in order that the terms of these may be compared with the commissions now issued to admirals, the commission, dated March 15th, 1315, to John, Lord de Botetort, is here given, translated from the Latin, as printed in the Scots Eolls, i., 139 :—
" .Jcilm Botetourt is appointed Admiral of the Eastern Fleet with fullest power.
"The king to all and singular his sheriffs, bailiti's, ministers, and faithful subjects to whom the present letters shall come, greeting. Know that we have appointed our beloved and faithful John Botetourt admiral and captain of our sailors and mariners of all the ports and places to which ships or boats resort from the mouth of the Thames, on the eastward side, as far as Berwick-on-Tweed, and also of our soldiers and other faithful subjects who, at our command, are about to proceed with the said John in the fleet of the said sailors and mariners by the maritime parts and the sea-coasts against our Scots foes and rebels. So that the said admiral and captain, by himself, and by others whom, by his letters patent, sealed with his seal, he shall assign, depute and determine, shall have power to take and carry with him suitable men potent for arms, ships, barges and boats, victuals, and other things which may be necessary for the furthering of the same ; and also shall have power to seize equipments, at the discretion of the said admiral and captain, from those from whom the said admiral and captain shall see fit to seize them ; provided, nevertheless, as regards such victuals and other necessaries as shall be thus taken for the support of the same admiral and captain, the sailors and the mariners, that they shall satisfy those from whom they take them accord- ing to the reasonable price of the same, and so as regards the equipments, or they shall find sufficient security for the restoration of the same equipments. And therefore we command you all and singular, and, strictly enjoining you in the duty wherewith you are bound to us, do order that to the said John, as admiral and captain of the said sailors, mariners, soldiers and others aforesaid, and to others whom the said John, by his letters patent, shall assign and determine as aforesaid, you be attentive, answerable, heljiful and obedient in all and singular the premises, according as he shall make known to you on our behalf. In testimony whereof, etc., to last during our pleasure.
" Witness the King at Westminster, the 15th day of March."
The other naval officers of the period were captains, who some-
1 'Fifdera,' ii. 861. "■ Patent I!olls, 31 Edw. I., m. 39.
5 Ih., 34 Edw. I., m. 21.
1327.] CLASSES OF SHIPS. 143
times at least commanded several vessels ; masters, rectors, and constables, ■who were commanding officers of ships, though often, as to-day is the case with captains and commanders in a large ship, two of them served simultaneously in one craft ; and comitres or comites, who were supervisors of galley rowers. The constable is rarely found in command of anything but a small craft, and it may be suspected that to him we should look as the professional ancestor of the heutenant. The rank, or more properly the title, of rector began at the end of the thirteenth century to die out. Chaplains were not borne in private ships, but were appointed to do duty throughout whole fleets.
It has been mentioned that the wage of the seamen was three- pence a day. It is interesting to note that the pay of the foot
QALI.EY liF THE FOt^UTKIsXTH CEXTUllY. (.■i>76T a picture hij Pietro LiuiraU in the Vffizi Gallrrij.')
soldier of the period was only twopence. The artisans who on shore received threepence were plasterers and miners.
Edward II. was deposed by his queen and Eoger Mortimer, and compelled to abdicate ; and his son, Edward III., succeeded him on February 1st, 1327, being then in his fifteenth year. During his minority the countiy was ruled, and very ill ruled, by Mortimer and the abandoned Isabella, Henry of Lancaster being, however, nominal chief of a council of regency ; but in 1330 the young king vigorously and efl'ectively asserted his position, and thenceforward governed for himself.
In the reign of Edward III., in addition to the classes of ships already described, many new types appear to have been used, or at least many new names were applied to vessels. We read of " ballingers," which were probably large barges, though some " barges " of this period were of considerable size, carrying a himdred men or more; " carracks," properly vessels of Genoese or Spanish origin, but in a more general sense, ships of large dimen- sions : " cogs," or as we might say, first-rates of the time ; "crayers,"
144 CIVIL EISTOBY, 1154-1399. [1336.
or small merchantmen ; " doggers," chiefly used for fishing ; " lode- ships," perhaps pilot vessels, also employed for fishing; " fluves," or "flutes," moderately large craft, but of shallow draught; "galliots," strictly small galleys; "hoc-boats," identified by some with the modern hookers ; " hulks," "keels," " seg-boats," "lighters," " liques," "lynes," "pessoners," or fishing craft; " p)ickards," "pin- naces," apparently a contemporary equivalent for sloops-of-war ; " shutes," or large flat-bottomed boats, and " tarics," or " tarettes," large ships of burden, sometimes employed as transports. But the exact nature of most of these cannot be decided with any degree of certainty. Some were undoubtedly of very respectable size. The cog Thomas, which is conjectured to have gone down in the battle of " L'Espagnols sur Mer," carried a master, two constables, two carpenters, one hundred and twenty-four sailors, and eight boys,^ and may have carried archers and soldiers as well to the number of sixty or more, as the usual proportion of fighting landsmen to mariners in warships of the time was about twenty-five archers and twenty-five soldiers to each one hundred seamen.
In the accounts^ of the expenses of building the galley La Phelipe at Lynn, in 1336, we meet with many terms which are strangely familiar. Among them are "hawsers," "pulleys," "stays," " back- stays," " painters," "sheets," "bolt-ropes," "seizings," "hatches," "cables," "leeches," "tow-ropes," "sounding-lines," etc.; but there are many more the signification of which is unknown, or can only be guessed at. The vessel had one mast which cost £10, one yard which cost £3, and one bowsprit which cost £'2 8s. Ad. She had one large anchor of Spanish iron, weighing 1100^ pounds, and five smaller anchors, costing altogether £2'6 10s. 3d. Her sail, which was dyed red, contained 640 ells, and to it were attached " wyne- wews," which were dyed black, and contained 220 ells. The sail had eight " reef-ropes " and " ribondes." There were eighty oars, and a cloth av^ming, called a " panell," dyed red and containing 576 ells. There was no pump, but water was ejected by means of a " winding -balies," into which the water was put by two " spojours." The sides were greased, and the bottom was paid with a mixture of pitch, tar, oil, and resin. The caulking was done with "mosso." Timber for the rudder, which was evidently fixed to the stern, cost
' In 133d the largest " cog " was of 240 tons, while the largest " ship " was of only 180 tons.
" Koll " T. G. 674," at Carlton Eide.
1344,] LUrEOVEMENTS IN lillll'S. 1-iO
'2.S., and 200 pounds of Spanish iron were bought " to make two chains for her rudder."
That rudders very much resembhng those of the modern type, and, hke them, hung by means of pintles and gudgeons, were in use in the Enghsh navy at about this time, is clear from the details shown in good copies of the gold noble which was struck by Edward III., soon after the battle of Sluis, in 1340. There, although the tiller is not visible, the rudder itself is plainly very similar to that which, in the ordinary course, would be fitted to-day to a fishing- smack or a collier-brig. After the middle of the fourteenth century, the clavus disappeared from all save very small craft in England. ^.^J^_^ xoble w
From the wording of the accomit, there is edward in., 1344. little doubt that the rudder of La Phelipe was
of the modern type. The daily pay of the builders of this galley was as follows : master carpenter, 6f7. ; other carpenters, 5rf. ; clinkerers, Ad. ; holderers, 3c?., and servants or labourers, 2i(Z.
From other accounts ^ we learn that ships had capstans and " helms," or tillers; that bowsprits were very small, probably not yet supporting any sail ; that one mast was still usual even in vessels of some size, although two masts were carried by a few craft ; and that " triefs " or sails were furnished with " bonnets," - or additional parts made to fasten at the foot with latchings, so as to increase the sail area in moderate winds. Some masts cariied two sails, a course and a topsail, but -fore-and-aft sails seem not to have been employed.
The fore and stern castles were not necessarily structui'al portions of the vessel fitted with them, and they were built by special artificers called castlewrights, and by them added to merchant vessels that were called out for war service. Thus, in 1335, the Trinity, of two hundred tons, was furnished with an " aftcastle, topcastle, and forecastle," or as we might say, with a poop, a
' Chietiy Rolls at Carlton Hide, cited by Nicolas.
^ A sail luiglit have two or even three bonnets. The term is used by Chaucer in ' 'I'he Merchant's Second Tale,' i. 868-871 :—
" Lodisrnan, Stere onys into tlie costis as well as thou can ; When our shippis be ycom, that we now pass in fere. Lace on a bonnet or tweyn, that we may mowe saile nere."
VOL. I. L
146 CIVIL HISTOBY, 1154-1399. [1345.
fighting top, and a forecastle. Chaucer^ calls the forecastle the " forestage." In ships carrying royalties the minstrels seem to have played on or in the forecastle. As to the size of masts, some little indication is fm-nished by a record that in 1.338 si.xty masts, each fifty feet long at the least, were pm-chased. Blocks, almost exactly similar to the simplest forms still in use, existed, and were called "pol3n?es" (pulleys). In a notice of a hulk called the Christopher of the Tower, a " david " is mentioned, but a davit does not seem to have been meant.
The receipts of the clerk of the George in 134.5 show among the payments : To a mariner called a lodsman (pilot) , for conducting the ship from Bursledon near Southampton to the Solent, 2s. ; for piloting her from the Downs to Sandwich, 6s. 8d. ; for twelve glass horologes ('? hour-glasses), bought at Sluis in Flanders, 9s. ; for three lanterns for the ship, id. ; for brooms for washing the ship, 3d. ; for oars, 8cZ. each ; for four large and long oars called " skulls," 4s. 6d. Five years later the George was apparently one of the vessels to be engaged in the battle of Sluis, and another ship of the same name was taken from the French in that action.
As in earlier times ships, seamen, soldiers, and stores were obtained by impressment,- with payment. The right to impress was incidental to the office of admiral, but it was also occasionally given to particular captains.^ In 1837, an attorney was ordered by Admiral Sir John Eoos to fit himself out as a man-at-arms. The lawj'er petitioned the king that to obey the order would be to injure his cHents and to ruin himself, and Sir John was directed not to insist upon compliance."
The officers of the navy remained as in the previous reign, with the addition of clerks and carpenters. The masters or commanders began to be called captains towards the end of the reign, but it must not be therefore supposed that the rank of " master and commander " then had its origin, or was then conceded the courtesy style of "captain." "Master and commander," as a distinct rank, was an invention of the latter part of the seventeenth centmy. The clerk represented the pm'ser, or the more modern paymaster. The carpenter was regarded as an important officer, seeing that his pay of 6d. a day was the same as that of the master, the constable, and the clerk. The nearest equivalent to the modern gunner was
' 'Merchant's Second Tale,' 2199. ^ Scots liulls, i. .383, 465, 483.
- Tttdera,' iii. 323, 1017. ■* Pari. Holls, ii. 96.
13(iO.] FLAGH AND I'ENNANTii. 147
the armourer, who, however, was not an officer ; and tliere was no boatswain. Large ships carried two cai'penters. In 1370, an additional penny a day was granted to seamen, making their pay 4cZ.'
Notices of the magnet are not numerous. The clerk of the George, whose accounts have been ah'eady ahuded to, spent O.s-. for ■" twelve stones called adamants, called sail-stoues," and these no doubt went to form rough compasses of some sort ; but the term compass, in the sense of the mariner's compass, does not seem to be anywhere used, though " sailing-needles and dial " are mentioned.
Concerning the cost of freight, we find that in 1370 a sum of ^30 6s. was paid for a ship and a crew of thirty-eight men to carry twenty soldiers and sixteen archers from Southampton to Normandy, - and that in 1368, when the Duke of Clarence, with 4-57 men-at-arms and 1280 horses, went from Dover to Calais in thirty-nine ships and thirteen small craft, the expense of transport was £173 6.s. Sd.^
The ships of Edward III. flew a variety of colours. There was
the banner of St. George, sometimes with a " leopard " (the lion of
England) in chief. There was the banner of the royal arms, which
after 1340 consisted of the three lions of England quartered with the
arms of France — Azure semee of fleurs de lys Or. But ships bore
also pennoncels or streamers, charged with the arms of St. George,''
and other streamers, some of which, if the ship happened to be
called after a saint or by a Christian name, bore the image of the
patron. The streamers of the Edward bore the king's arms, with
an E. These streamers were from fourteen to thirty-two ells long,
according to the size of the ship, and from three to five cloths in
breadth. The admiral of a fleet hoisted his own banner, and when
any eminent person was on board, his banner also was flown. In
1337, when Sir John Eoos, admiral of the northern seas, convoyed
the Bishop of Lincoln and the Earls of Salisbury and Huntingdon
from the continent, his ship, the Christopher, was furnished with
small banners accordingly. These were one ell and three quarters
long, and two cloths wide.^ Besides the banners, there were targets
and pavises placed around the sides of the ship, bearing sometimes
ihe arms of St. George, and sometimes the royal arms within a
' Issue Rolls, 44 Kdw. 111., 272-27-t, 277 (Duvoii).
- 76., 18.3 (Devon).
' ' Feeder.!,' iii. 84.5.
' KoU ' F. L. H. Gasi,' at Carltun Ride.
^ Roll 'E. B. 520,' at Carlton Kide.
148
CIVIL HISTORY, 1154-1399.
[1372.
garter. Ships bearing Christian names seem to have had on board an image of their patron.^
In consequence of the deterioration of the navy, the sheriffs of many comities were ordered in October, 1340, to proclaim that no ovraer of a ship, or other person, should sell or give a ship to any foreigner, upon pain of forfeiting the vessel and his other property. In 1336, and again in 1841 and 1343, the exportation of timber fit for shipbuilding, and of wood and boards, was stringently prohibited.
It was in the reign of Edward III. that the navy first experienced the influence of the invention of gunpowder, and of its application as a propellent to the purposes of warfare. The question of the dis- covery of gunpowder needs not to be discussed here. It will suffice to say that it appears to have been first used in land warfare in
PKIMITIVK \Vll!E-\V(,iL'Nl> Gl'N".
Europe about the year 132-5 or 1326, when the Florentine Eepublic
certainly possessed cannon ; and that in June, 1338, thi'ee iron
cannon with chambers, and a hand-gun, figured among the stores of
the Christopher of the Tower ;''■ that the barge Mary of the Tower
had an iron cannon with two chambers, and a brass cannon with one
chamber; that the Bernard of the Tower had two iron cannon;*
and that other cannon existed on board ships of the king. It is
probable, though by no means certain, that these weapons were then
qirite new. Guns, however, were not common in the navy until
several years later, and not before about 1373 do entries concerning
guns, powder and shot become frequent in naval documents. In the
account^ of John de Sleaford, Clerk of the Privy Wardrobe, of
armour, shot, gunpowder, etc., 1372-1374, mention is made of
' Issue Rolls, 50 Edw. III., 201 (Devon).
^ At this period, the addition " of the Tower " to a sliip's name seems to have always signified that the vessel belonged to the sovereign. => Roll ' T. G. 11,096,' at Carlton Ride, printed by Nicolas. * Roll ' F. L. H. 532,' printed by Nicolas.
1374.] ORDNANCE. H^
workmen being employed at the Tower in making powder, and " pelottes " of lead for guns ; of willow faggots to make, and coal to dry, the powder ; of brazen pots and dishes wherein to dry the powder ; of leather bags to hold the powder ; of iron spoons to make leaden bullets ; of moulds for the bullets ; of the purchase of 220 pounds of saltpetre ; of boatage, portage, and carriage of lead and guns ; of " two great guns of iron " bought at 40.s-. each ; and of the piu'chase of live sulphur. Mention is also made of firing-irons.
The guns with chambers, which were among the earliest guns used on board ship, were, in effect, breechloaders. Thej' were, for the most part, small. In them the after portion of the upper half of the gim was cut away in such a manner that the loaded " chamber " could be dropped into the bore. How it was kept in place does not appear, save that it was supported to some extent by the rear wall of the aperture in which it lay ; and, judging from early specimens ^ of these ancient breechloaders that have been preserved, the chambers fitted very loosely, and there must have been great danger to the gunners when they were fired. Yet guns with chambers continued in general, though not exclusive, use lor about two centui'ies, if not for longer, as will be seen later.
Edward's navy was entirely managed by the king and his council ; and, as Nicolas points out, it is remarkable that the earliest minutes now extant of the proceedings of the King's Council relate to the navy. The first minute of all contains directions to Sir John Eoos, Admiral, and dates from 1337. Matters of detail were left to the admirals, who held Courts of Admiralty within their jurisdic- tions, administered the ancient marine law, and punished offenders " according to the custom of mariners." Captains of ships, unless they had received explicit authority to do so, were not permitted to punish seamen ; but it would appear that the authority was often granted.
The ' Black Book of the Admiralty ' contains in Norman French an important treatise on the office and duties of admirals, probably compiled, as Nicolas thinks, prior to 1351, though copied, of com'se, later, into the collection of documents. It is far too long to be printed here la extenso, but Nicolas's summary ^ of it, made from the MS. Black Book once belonging to Mr. J. W. Croker, may, with some abbreviation, be cited.
' Some are still the property of the Lords of tlie Admiralty. * Nicolaii, ii. 193, etc.
150 CIVIL HISTOBY, 1154-1399. [1375.
An admiral, after receiving bis commission, was immediately to appoint his lieutenants, deputies, and other ofhcers, and was to ascertain from them the number of vessels in the ports and the names of their owners, and how many fencible seamen were in the realm. The admiral was to be paid, if a knight, 4s., if a baron, 6s. 8d., and if an earl, 8s. Ad., a day. For each knight in his retinue he was allowed 2s., for each armed esquire Is., for thirty men-at-arms £66 13s. 4d. a quarter, and for each archer 6d. a day. He was to administer justice " according to the law and ancient custom of the sea." Having collected his fleet, the admiral was to choose the best ship for the king, if present, and the next best ship, if necessary, as indicated by the steward of the house- hold, for the king's hall, for the wardrobe, for the larder, and for the kitchen. Good ships were also to be provided for princes who were present. Before choosing a vessel for himself, the admiral was to provide accommodation for the persons and stores of lords and captains about to be embarked. Masters and constables were to be paid Gd., and mariners 3hd. a day, the latter with (5d. a week additional as " reward " ; and boys were to receive '2hd. a da}'. Out of these wages ^ the admiral was entitled to id. in every pound paid, and in return he was to carry two lanterns at night at his masthead when at sea, and, if necessary, to sue for the men's pay, and generally to attend to their interests. If the king were in the fleet, the admiral was to approach him every evening to take his orders, and afterwards the ships were to assemble round the admiral that the instructions might be repeated. The royal ship carried by laight three large lanterns, arranged triangularly ; the admiral carried two, and the vice-admiral one, except on special occasions. But a vice- admiral commanding a station might, while upon it, carry two lanterns. The signal for calling captains and masters on board was the hoisting of a "banner of council" "high in the middle' of the mast of his ship."
Prizes taken from the enemy were to be thus divided : one- fourth to the king, one-fourth to the owners of the capturing ships, and, as regards the remaining moiety, two mariner's shares to the admiral if he were present at the capture, and one share if he were not. The passage about prizes leaves off with an " &c. " which suggests that some already existing and well-known rule had already
' The wages of sailors and boys appear to be here overstated by id., which may have gone to the admiral, or have been expended in raising the men. — Nicolas.
laTf..] 'THE BLACK BUOK OF THE ADMIRALTY: lol
been partially cited, and that there was no need to quote it at length. Prizes taken by persons not in the king's pay went, except the admiral's shares, wholly to the captors.
The document goes on to recite " the ordinance how the admiral himself should rule and govern by sea and land in the country of the enemy, if he come there." The ordinance is, in effect, the articles of war of those days.
No man was to touch the holy sacrament upon pain of being drawn and hanged, nor to commit sacrilege or rape upon pain of death. No master was to cross his sail aloft until the admii'al had done so, nor was any vessel to anchor before the admiral ; and, when at sea, all vessels were to keep as close as possible to the admiral unless otherwise ordered. When a ship discovered an enemy at sea she was to hoist a banner ; and if any ship, having been detached, met a strange vessel at sea or in an enemy's port, she was to examine her cargo and inspect her papers ; and, should anything suspicious appear, the said vessel and her master were to be taken to the admiral, who was to release her if a friend, and to keep her if an enemy, according to the custom of the sea. An^^ vessel resisting was to be treated as an enemy, and brought to the admiral, but without being pillaged or damaged. The captors of an enemy's vessel were entitled to the goods and armour on the hatches and upper deck, except the tackle and other things belonging to her equipment, and except also what was exempted by the ancient customs and usages of the sea. No seaman was to be beaten or ill-used, but offenders were to be brought by the captain or master to the admiral, to be dealt with according to the law of the sea.
On arriving in an enemy's port, the admiral was to appoint sufficient force to protect people sent ashore for water and other necessaries. Soldiers and mariners were not to be landed unless they were accompanied by responsible officers, lest they might commit outrages. Search was to be made in ports for thieves who stole ships' gear. He who was convicted by a jury of twelve persons of having stolen an anchor or a boat worth lid. was to be hanged ; a thief who had stolen a buoy-rope fastened to an anchor was to be hanged, no matter the value. For cutting the cable of a ship the penalty was death if loss of life resulted ; if no one were killed the offender was to make good damages, and to pay a fine to the king. If unable to do so, and if the owners prosecuted, the culprit was to l)e hanged. If a sailor were condemned to death for stealing the
152 CIVIL EISTOEY, 1154-1399. [1375.
goods of aliens, the aliens, if not enemies, might have the goods restored upon condition of not insisting upon the execution of the felon. Stealing an oar, or other small thing, was punishable, after conviction by jury, with imprisonment for forty days, and a second offence with imprisonment for half a year ; but for the third offence hanging was prescribed. No lieutenant of an admiral could, without special warrant, try matters affecting life and death. If a man, being the beginner of a quarrel, injured another, he was not only to make other amends, but also to pay a fine of £5 to the king, or lose the hand with which he had struck the blow, imless he obtained the grace of the king or of the " High Admiral." Offenders were to be imprisoned by masters or captains, pending the acquaintance of the admiral or his lieutenant with the circiunstances. To this end masters were to be assisted by their crews ; and anyone refusing aid rendered himself liable to the same punishment as the original offender.
If a ship which had been impressed for the king's service broke the arrest, she was, upon proof being made, to be forfeited. A seaman refusing to serve might be imprisoned for a year, and, upon a second refusal, for two years. Forestalling and regrating were prevented by a provision that merchants, going on board a vessel entering a port to purchase the whole cargo and afterwards selling it at a higher price than the original owners would have demanded, might be punished with imprisonment for half a year, and a fine equal to the value of the goods so purchased. A similar penalty awaited the purchaser-in-gi-oss of corn, fish, and other provisions, within the flood-mark. Goods found at sea, as " flotsam," or at the bottom of the sea, as anchors, were not to be concealed from the admiral, upon penalty of fine to the amount of the value of the goods. Deodands, as valuables found on a man killed or drowned at sea, belonged to the admiral, who was to employ one-half for the benefit of the soul of the deceased, and one-half for the benefit of his immediate relatives, if he had any.
The law regulating the disposal of prizes seems to have been regarded as, in some respects, unsatisfactory ; and an inquisition of mariners, held at Queenborough in 1375, for settling doubtful points of marine law, held, with regard to prizes and prisoners captured at sea in time of war, in the absence of the admiral, that, after the admiral had taken his share, the remainder ought to be divided into two parts, one to go to the owners, and one to the captors, but
1375.] THE COURT OF ADMIRALTY. 153
that, "as the master has greater charge, and is of higher rank than any other in the ship," he should have twice as much as any mariner.' An ordinance to this eifect was apparently issued. The oath of a juryman of the Court of Admiralty ran : —
" This liear ye, my lord the admiral, that I . . . sliall well and truly inquire for our lord the king, and well and truly at this time to you at this Court of the Admiralty present, as much as I have in knowledge, or may liave hy information of anj' of al! uiy fellows, of all manner, articles, or circumstances that touch the Court of the Admiralty and law of the sea, the which shall he read to me at the time, and I thereupon sworn and charged, and of all other that may renew in my mind. And I shall relax for nothing, that is to say for franchise, lordship, kindred, alliance, friend- ship, love, hatred, envy, enmity, dread of loss of goods, or any other cause ; that I shall so do the king's counsel, my fellows', and my own, well and tndy whole, without fraud or maljiracticc. So God me lielji, and the Blessed Lady, and bv this book."
A juryman was expected to be discreet ; for it -was ordered that : —
" If a man be indicted for that he has discovered the king's counsel and that of his companions in a jury, he shall he taken by the sheriff, or hy the admiral of the court, or by tJther officers to whom it belongs, and brought before the admiral or his lieuteTiant, and afterwards arraigned upon the same indictment; and, if he be con- victed thereof b.y twelve, lie shall be taken to the next ojicn port, and there his fault and offence shall be openly proclaimed and shown in the jiresence of all there, and afterwards his throat shall be cut, and his tongue drawn out by his throat and cut off from his head, if he make not ransom by fine to the king according to the discretion of the admiral or his lieutenant."
A long list of matters, into which it was the duty of a juryman of the Court of Admiralty to inquire, renders it impossible to doubt that all causes in that court were invariably tried by a jury, and that Blackstone - was mistaken in supposing that, anterior to the time of Hemy VIII., " a man might be there deprived of his life by the opinion of a single judge."
At this period there were usually two admirals at a time in commission, one commanding the fleet of the ports northward and eastward of the Thames (Admiral of the North), and the other, that of the ports northward and westward of the Thames (Admiral of the West). Each had under him a vice-admiral. But thrice, during the reign of Edward III., command of all the fleets was centred in a single person, who thus became in fact, though not by official style, high admiral. These high admirals were Sir John
' Cited by Prynne, from the ' Black Book of the Admiralty.' ' ' Commentaries,' iv. 2C8.
154 CIVIL HISTORY, 115i-1399. [1386.
Beauchamp, K.G., appointed July 18th, 1360; Sir Kobert Herle, appointed January 26th, 1361 ; and Sir Ealph Spigurnell, appointed July 7th, 1364. Similar appointments were four times made under Eichard II., as follows : Richard, Earl of Arundel, December 10th, 1386 ; Sir John Eoche, May 31st, 1389 ; Edward, Earl of Eutland, November 29th, 1391 ; and John, Marquis of Dorset, May 9th, 1398.
An enactment ' of 1330 directed that, for the passage between Dover and France, no larger sum should be required than the ancient charge of 2s. for every horseman, and Qd. for every one on foot. In connection with this regulation, it should be mentioned that, according to a document communicated to Nicolas " by the Eev. Lambert Larkings, a "Fare Ship Company" had, from the time of Edward II., and probably before it, existed at Dover, and that its vessels made passages in regular rotation.
Several centuries later, the raising of money for the support of the navy led to a terrible constitutional crisis, and the downfall of a dynasty. It is interesting, therefore, to note that as early as the reign of Edward III., there was a mild constitutional conflict of a somewhat similar kind. In 1347, the King's Council imposed a tax of 2s. on every sack of wool passing the sea, of 2s. upon every tun of wine, and of Q>d. in the pound upon all goods imported, in order that the expense of protecting the realm might be met. This was done without the consent of the Commons, who j)i'ayed that the tax might be discontinued.^ Another petition of the same year, representing that ships had been impressed for the service and lost in it, without compensation being made to their owners, and begging for relief, was not granted.* Again, before Edward III. left England for France, in 1359, the dangers with which the trade of the country was threatened induced the Council,^ with the con- sent of the English and foreign merchants who were summoned before it, but without the assent of Parliament, to impose a tax of 6fZ. in the pound on all merchandise imported or exported until the following Michaelmas, so as to maintain a fleet at sea. Indeed, Edward frequently showed himself intolerant of Parliamentary control or interference in naval affairs.
The king granted to the Cinque Ports four ratifications of their ancient privileges.*^ The first, a charter of February 2oth, 1327,
■ Act 4, E.Uv. III., c. 8. * Pail. Rolls, ii. 172, 189.
* Nicolas, ii. 210, note. ^ ' Fccdera,' iii. 4.59.
' Tarl. P.oUs, ii. 1G6. " ' Charters of the Cinque Ports,' 43-51 (Jeakes).
1327.]
PRIVILEGES OF THE CINQUE PORTS.
155
intei-preted the clause in the charter of Edward I. to the effect that every baron should contribute " accordin<j; to his faculties." The other charters were dated July 1st, 13(34, July 18th, 1364, and October '20th, 1366. Some of the seals of the maritime ports, dating from tliis period, have been held by certain writers to be of value as showing what the ships of the time were like, most of the seals iu question bearing representa- tions of vessels ; but it seems impossible to attach much serious importance to them. The repre- sentations are clearly, for the most part, of an entirely con- ventional character. A few of them are, however, reproduced.
By the terms of a commercial convention concluded on October '20th, 1353, between England and Portugal for fifty years, it was agreed that if Portuguese ships or
SEAL OF LY>rE UKGIS, XIVTH CENTUUV. (^Froiii Nicolas.)
SEAL in.' SOL:TI(AMI'TiiN, XIVTU tESTUUV. (.From XiMlatt.)
goods were found in any port or place in Prance that might fall into English hands, they were to be protected and restored to their owners, provided the ships and men were not armed nor aiding the
156
CIVIL HISTORY, lir)4-1399.
[1377.
enemy. In that case the goods were to be forfeited, and the people imprisoned. In the event of Portuguese property being in any ship captured from an enemy, it was to be carried to England until the owner should prove his right to it ; and English property found by the Portuguese in ships belonging to their enemies was to be correspondingly dealt with. Meanwhile, the fishing-boats of Portugal might enter all the ports of England and Brittany upon paying the usual duties and customs.
Edward III. died on June 21st, 1377, and was succeeded by his
SEAL OF THE BARONS OF DOVER, XIVTH CEKTURY. {From Nicolas.')
grandson, Kichard II., son, by Joan of Kent, of Edward the
Black Prince. The civil history of the navy, during the reign of
Bichard, is very uneventful ; but the period has been illustrated by
Chaucer, and is important for the purpose in hand, if only because
it has bequeathed to us Chaucer's fine picture of the Shipman of the
time : —
" A shipman was tlier woned fer by west ; For ouglit I wote he was of Dertmouth ; Ke rode upon a rouncie as he couthe. All in a goune of falding to the knee. A dagger hanging by a las hadde he About liis nelike under iiis arm aduun;
1377.] CHAUCEIt-S Snri'.VAN. 157
The liote soiiimer haiUle iiiode his hewe :U brouii ;
Ami certaitily he was a S'lud felaw ;
Fill many a ilrauglit uf win he haildc draw
From Burdeiix ward while that the chapmen slepe ;
Of nice conscience toke he no keiie.
]f that he faught and hadde the higher hand,
By water he sent hem home to every land.
But of his craft, to reken wel his tides.
His stremes, and his straudes, him besides,
His herberwe, liis mune, and his ludematiage,
Ther was noii swiche from Hull uutu Cartage.
Hardy he was, and wise, I undertake ;
With many a tempest hcdde his herd he sliako :
He knew wel alle the havens as they were
From Gotland to the Cape de Finiatere,
And every creke in Bretague and in Siiainu :
His barge yclejied was tlie Magdelaine." '
At various times during the earlier half of the present century, there were recovered from the sand on the western side of the Isle of Walney, at the mouth of Morcamhe Bay, a number of old guns and other naval relics. These have been attributed to the time of Richard II. It may be doubted whether they date back to so remote a period as the end of the fourteenth century ; but they are certainly among the most ancient naval relics in existence ; and a brief account of them, together with a print of some of them, reproduced from the Nautical Magazine of November, 1844, may fitly find a place here.
No. 1, wlien first foimd, was nearly perfect, and about ten feet in length. The breech was in the middle, at which part; the piece was strengthened by means of additional hoops of iron. It was a gim with two touch-holes, one on either side of the central breech ; and it could be fired from both ends simultaneously. Near to each muzzle, on the upjier side, was a ring. The gun was a built-up one. The tube, or inner lining, consisted of three curved plates of iron, each -J inch thick, disposed like the staves of a cask, but, apparently, not forged or welded together. Tliese were licld in place by hammered bands or hoops, driven on one after another, and overbouucl at their points of junction liy strong iron rings. The gun was damaged by the original finders, who sought to work it up at a forge.
No. 2 is a small piece, 2 feet in length, and 2 inches in calibre. It is of wrought iron, formed of bars welded together and hooped, and has two strong rings whereby it may be handled, but neither trimnions nor cascable. Found with it was a cast-iron \iall suited to its calibre.
Nos. .'i and 4 are pieces of wrought iron without hoops. The}' are supposed to lie " chambers," or movable breech-pieces ; which, however, were probably capable, upon occasion, of being tired inilepeudently.
One of three other " chambers " discovered, contained a charge ' ' Canterbury Tales,' Prologue.
158
CIVIL HISTORY, 1154-1399.
[1380.
of gunpowder, wadded with oakum. Of numerous balls discovered, some were of granite of from 3 j to 6 inches in diameter ; one was
ANCIENT GUNS ANll f;]lli'[', KH.CdVLiliEU AT WAI.NEV.
(Supijosed temp. Eichard II.) (.YoHi in till- Hudrographic Department, Admiridlii.)
of grey sandstone 6 inches in diameter ; one was clay ironstone of the same size ; one was of hammered iron 5^ inches in diameter ;
one was of cast iron, 2 inches in diameter ; and two were lead shot, one having a flint pebble, and the other a square piece of hammered iron as the kernel.
With the Walney Island relics which are above described, and which, as has been said, have been attributed to the last years of the fourteenth century, a curious pair of brass dividers or " compasses " was discovered. This instrument, the upper part of which is shown in the annexed sketch, is so contrived as to open when pressure is applied to the bowed parts of the legs, and to close when pressure is applied to the straight parts. The relic is preserved in the Hydrographic
ANCTEKT DIVIDERS OR COMPASSES, I'ROB- Alil.Y DATING FROM THE TIMK OF KICIIARD II.
{Nou! jnrKervecl in tlie Hijdroijrtiptiie Office
of the Admiralty.)
(Tho point.s arc not shown.)
1399.]
TEE WALNEY BELICS.
159
Office of the Admiralty. It is interesting as showing the antiquity of a most ingenious and useful device, thanks to which dividers can be opened or closed by a person who has but one hand free for their manipulation.
The abdication of Richard II., in 1899, put an end to the dynasty of the Angevin kings in England.
( ]G0 )
CHAPTEE VIII.
MILITARY HISTORY OF THE NAVY, 1154-1399.
Henry II. — Operations against Brittany — A fatal storm — Conquest of Ireland — Wars with France, vScotland, and Flanders — Englisli Crusaders — Richard I. — His ex- pedition to the Levant — Alliance with Thilip Augustus — The English fleet and its cruising formation — Conquest of Cyprus — Destruction of a Saracen dromon — Capture of Acre — Treachery of Leopold of Austria and Philip Augustus — King John — Renewed war with France — Loss of Nonnandy, Anjou, and Maine — Naval preparations — Eustace the Monk — Expedition to Ireland — Salisbury's victory off Darume in 121.3 — The expedition of Sir Hugh de Boves — Eustace the Monk at Folkestone — France paramount in the Channel — England invaded — Hubert de Burgh's victory oft' the South Foreland in 1217 — Death of Eustace the Monk — Henry III. — Expedition to France — Piracy in the Narrow Seas — English resources wasted — Convoy — Mysterious ships at Berwick — Cinque Ports' piracies — Henry a prisoner — Prince Edward's crusade — Edward I. — Troubles with Bavonne — Zeeland pirates — AVelsh expeditions — Tiptoft's victory in Mid-Channel in 1293 — Renewed war with France — Treachery of Thomas de Turborville — French raids — Priva- teering— Action off Berwick — Relief of Bourg — Alliance with Flanders — Mutinous seamen — Operations against the Scots — Edward II. — Scots invasion of Ireland — Contraband of war — Lax discipline — Reprisals — Massacre in tlie Hope — Iniquities of Hugh le Despencer — Renewed war with France — Treason of Queen Isabella — Isabella's invasion — Edward III. — He does homage to Philii) VI. — John Crabbe in the Tay — Scots raids — An English fleet in the Forth — The dominion of the sea asserted — French raids — Convoys — Edward's claim to France — The Hundred Years' War — The exploits of Be'huchet — Scots ships taken — Beacons — Capture of Gadzand — The Flanders expedition — Loss of the Christopher — Panic in England — Edward's victory off Sluis in 1340 — His dispatch after the battle — English interference in Brittany — English disaster off' Vannes — French cruisers in the Channel — Invasion of France — The blockade of Calais — " L'Espagnols sur Mer," 1350 — Belief of Calais — Fresh invasion of France — French activity i]i the Channel — Panic in England — Peace with France — The war renewed — Portsmouth burnt — Decline of the English navy — Action in Bourgneuf Bay — Pembroke's action off' La Rochelle — His defeat anil capture — Piracies of Evan — Parliament remonstrates on the state of the navy — The French command the Channel — Rise of the French Royal Navy — French success in the Bay of Bourgneuf — Jeanne de Vienne — Richard II. — Rye phmdered — Lewes sacked — Coast towns burnt — Mutiny in the navy — Success of Sir Thomas Percy — Failure of Salisbury and Arundel — Captures by ships of Bayonne — Salisbury and Arundel defeated by Jean de Vienne — C;herbourg relieved by Lancaster — John Plnlpotts' patriotism — Official inaptitude — Disaster to Arundel's fleet — Parliamentary remonstrances — Exhaustion of England — Sufferings
U.OK.] JNVA.sION OF BRITTANY. 101
nf coinmeiee — Cuast ilel'eiu'e umlertaken by contract — Jean de Vicnne's exiieilition to Scotlanil — Minor English successes — Starvation of the navy — Freneli sdiciiics of invasion — (iradiial restoration of public contiilence in Kii<;laiul — Depositinn of Richard.
T'
I HE naval expeditions of Henry II. are not of great interest, although one at least of them, that having for its object the completion of the conquest of Ireland, was of extreme importance.
The king was in Normandy at the moment of his accession and did not come to England until six weeks after Stephen's death. Having settled his English inheritance he proceeded to France in 115(j to do homage for his French possessions, and to recover Anjou from his brother Geoffrey of Nantes, Earl of Martel, who had seized it, but who soon submitted and relincpiislied his claims in return for an annual pension of one thousand pounds.
In the following year the king began naval preparations on a considerable scale against Wales, in order to put a stop to border raids and to piracies which had become troiiblesome, but the Welsh made the requisite concessions before hostilities actually broke out.
The death of Geoffrey of Nantes, in 1158, induced Conan IV. of Brittany to take possession of the Comity of Nantes in defiance of the claims of Henry II., whereupon the latter, apparently in 1159, fitted out a large fieet and army, and, crossing the Channel, not onlj' compelled Conan to abdicate, but also obliged him to betroth his daughter Constance to Henry's infant son Geoffrey, known thence- forward as Geoffrey of Brittany. Thus Brittany was, for the time, practically made a part of the king's continental dominions. The campaign, and an unsuccessful expedition against Toulouse, detained Henry abroad until 1103. No naval operations of any moment occurred, however, during the period ; nor do we read of much naval activity having been shown by England until 1107, when the country was threatened with a formidable invasion by the Counts of Boulogne and Flanders, who are said to have collected six hundred ships for the purpose. Henry was again abroad, but Richard de Lucy, one of the Justiciars or Regents, and a most able and devoted minister, promptly assembled so large a military force on the south coast that the attempt was abandoned, although there seems to have been no naval force ready and able to dispute the passage of the enemy. Pi-oJjably because he realised how narrowly lie had escaped VOL. I. M
162 MILITARY HISTORY, 1154-1399. [11G9.
the danger, Heury deemed it wise to purchase the future alhance of the Count of Boulogne with an annual subsidy.^
On the king's return from the continent, early in March, 1170, a violent storm overtook his fleet in the night, and dispersed it. Henry himself, with some difficulty, made Portsmouth, but all the ships were not equally fortunate ; and one especially, conveying the royal physician, a great noble named Henry de Agnellis, the latter's two sons, and several personages of the king's household, foundered with all on board.'
The conquest of Ireland had been for some years a cherished project with Henry, but his continental preoccupations, and his long quarrel with Becket, had prevented him from putting it into execution. Excuses were not lacking, though the leading motive was doubtless a desire for extended dominion, coupled with a statesmanlike consciousness that Ireland, so long as it remained a congeries of petty principalities in a normal condition of anarchy, must be a permanent source of trouble to England. One of the ostensible excuses was that certain Irish had taken some English men prisoners and sold them as slaves.
But while Henry thus desired the conquest of Ireland, he might still have postponed action had he not been drawn into it in 1171 by forces which have since on innumerable occasions brought about the extension of the British Empire. These forces were set in motion by the conduct of private adventurers. Ireland was at the time divided into several small kingships, one of which was Leinster. Dermot, King of Leinster, being expelled by his oppressed subjects, aided by two of his royal neighbours, applied for aid to Henry, who was then engaged in France. Assistance, but at some indefinite time, was promised ; and Dermot, unwilling to wait until the Greek Calends, came to England, and laid his case before several of the nobles, who agreed to help him at once. Eirst among his sym- pathisers was Robert FitzStephen,^ a son of Stephen de Marisco by Nesta, sometime a mistress of Henry I. In 1169 EitzStephen led thirty knights, sixty men-at-arms, and three hundred archers to
> Gerv. of Cant., 1102.
- Ih., 1410; Hoveden, 29Gn; Broiiituu, 1060.
^ With FitzStephen was Maurice FitzGerald, subsequently Barun of Offaley, ancestor of the Dukes of Leinster, and of the Earls of Kildare and (if Desmond. For several centuries the Fitzlieralds were iiractically rulers of tho F.nglish part of Ireland, and their arms have jiiovided the so-called " St. Patrick's Cross," which does ihdy for Ireland on the Union lliii;. The family has given several oflicers to tlie I'oyal Navy.
1171.] CONQUEST OF IRELAND. 1G3
Ireland, and took Wexford, though he subsequently had to surrender at Carrig. Other adventurers followed, among them Eichard de Clare, Earl of Pembroke, surnamed Strongbow. Henry had forbidden him to go, but he was anxious to marry Eva, daughter of Dermot ; and in defiance of the prohibition, he sailed with an expedition from Milford Haven, gained some success, and eventually succeeded to the kingdom of Leinster.
In the meantime Henry, perceiving that his adventurous subjects were forestalling him, set about making preparations for his own expedition, and formally recalled all Enghshmen from Ireland.' The adventurers, instead of complying, humbly placed all their present and future conquests at the king'S disposal. This was not entirely satisfactory ; yet Henrj', while pushing on his preparations, concluded an agreejiient that he should have all the seaports, and granted the rest of the country, to hold of him and his successors, to the conquerers. It would appear that Strongbow returned for a time to England, j)robably to take part in these negotiations.
A fleet of four hundred large ships, with an army embarked in them, was at length assembled in Milford Haven. Henry went on board, and on October 18th, 1171, landed at Crook, near Waterford. The gi'eater part of the island suljmitted without resistance, even Roderick O'Connor, King of Connaught, the most powerful of all the kinglets, doing homage ; and Henry celebrated Chi-istmas in Dubhn'- with much splendour and magnificeuce. The real conquest, indeed, so far as it was effected by force of arms, was effected by the adventurers and not by the king, who, having established garrisons in the principal seaports, and consigned the administration of his new possession to a Justiciary, returned to England on the following Easter Monday.^
A rebellion, headed by the queen and her sous, drew Heniy into war with the Kings of France and Scotland, the Counts of Elanders, Boulogne and Blois, and many of his own subjects. There is no record, however, of any important naval operations having been undertaken in the course of the campaign, from which Henry emerged victorious in 1175. There were, nevertheless, some naval incidents. In July, 1174, the king, with numerous prisoners,
' Lytteltun, iv. 73. - Bruiut'iii, 1079 ; Hoveden, ."Olii.
' A record of the campaign, disfijiured by exaggeration, siH)erstition and iirclcvancv, was left by Giraldus Canibreneis, who was an cye-witne.ss.
M 2
164 MILITARY HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1177.
embarked at Barfleur for Southampton, and, perceiving from the countenances of the seamen that there was in their minds some question as to the wisdom of attempting the passage while the weather continued as threatening as it then was, is reported to have said: "If the Supreme Euler designs by my arrival in England to restore to my people that peace which He knows I sincerely have at heart, may He mercifully bring me to a safe port ; but if His will has decreed to scourge the realm, may I never be permitted to reach its shore." ' And the English fleet seems to have kept the Narrow Seas clear of the enemy, while, on the other hand, bad weather con- tributed to the discomfiture of the foe.
It was in the last quarter of the twelfth century that the nobles of England first began to take an active interest in affairs in the Holy Land. Some writers assert that the resultant Crusades exerted, upon the whole, less direct influence upon England than upon most of the other countries of Europe ; and this is perhaps true ; but there can be no question that, indirectly, the Crusades have affected the destinies of the country ever since ; for it was they which first caused her to become a Power in the Mediterranean, and which first led a large volume of English trade thither. Indeed it was they which first induced England to essay the exercise of her naval force in water anywhere outside her own seas ; which showed her her aptitude for distant adventure ; and which taught her wherein lay the secret of her strength.
Henry took great interest in the Eastern question, and designed to himself assume the Cross ; but, though he was never able to carry out his intention, at least one private crusading expedition was fitted out in England during his reign, and the king, more than once, furnished ships, arms and money for the assistance of Christendom against the Infidel.^
The most noteworthy private expedition was one headed by William de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, who, accompanied by many nobles, knights and gentlemen of several nationalities, sailed from Dartmouth in 1177, with thirty-seven ships. Touching at Lisbon, Essex was invited by the King of Portugal to aid him against the Moors, and, acquiescing, contributed greatly to their defeat and to the slaughter of forty thousand of them.^
' Brumtoii, 1095 ; Hovedeii, 308 ; Bened. of Teterboro, i. 82. ^ William of Newburg, iii. c. 10.
^ Holinshed, 'Voyage of Esse.K ' ; rurclias (<iuoting Matt. Paris) i. Bk. II. 1. It is, however, luicertain whether these speak of <nic or of two expeditions.
llyii.] THE CnUHADEli. 165
Henry's intention to take the Cross was frustrated by the rebellion of his son Kichard, who, in alliance with Philip Auf^istus, attacked the continental possessions of the Crown. Upon the death of Henry II., a proposition, which had originated \\-ith him, that the Kings of England and France should go together upon a Crusade, was revived by Kichard, his successor, and was agreed to by Phili]) Augustus.' Preparations upon a large scale were at once begun in both countries.
Concerning the expedition which followed, Campbell has some remarks that appear to deserve reproduction : " Our historians," he says, " speak of this according to their own notions, and without any respect had to the then circumstances of things ; hence, some treat it with great solemnity, and as a thing worthy of immortal honour, while others again consider it as a pure effect of bigotry, and blame the king exceedingly for being led by the nose by the Pope, and involving himself in so romantic a scheme, to the great danger of his person, and the almost entire ruin of his subjects. I must own that to me neither opinion seems right ; yet I should not have expressed my sentiments on this subject, if it did not very nearly concern the matter of this treatise. The power of the Saracens was then exceeding great, and they were growing no less formidable at sea than they had been long at land ; so that if the whole force of Christendom had not been opposed against them in the East, I see very little or no room to doubt of their making an entire conquest of the West ; for, since they were able to deal with the joint forces of these princes in the Holy Land, they would undoubtedly have beaten them singly, if ever they had attacked them." -
By the beginning of December, 1189, a considerable squadron was assembled at Dover to transport the king and his principal followers to the continent ; and on the 11th of that month, Richai'd embarked for Calais, his design being to proceed leisurely overland to Marseilles, meeting Philip Augustus by the way, and there to pick up his fleet, which was, meanwhile, being collected at Dartmouth.
Richard kept Christmas at Bures, near Dieppe, joined Philip at Reims — where, on January 13th, 1190, a solemn treaty was entered into between the two sovereigns,'' — went into Gascony and Anjou to
' AVilliain of Ncwluiru, iv. c. 1 ; Matt. Paris, 15").
= Caiiiiibell (1H17), i. 127.
■'' licneil. of IVterboro, ii. 581! ; Bromton, 1 170 ; Hovi'iicii, .178.
166 MILITARY HISTORY, 1154-1399. [IIOO.
settle various affairs there, visited Tours to obtain from the archbishop the scrip and staff of pilgrimage, and rejoined the French king at Vezelay in June/ Thence the allied monarchs, with their armies, marched together as far as Lyon, where they separated, Philip proceeding to Genoa and Kichard to Marseilles, the intention being that the two armadas should make rendezvous at Messina, previous to sailing in consort for Palestine.
The Dartmouth fleet comprised ships as well from Normandy, Poitou, Brittany and Aquitaine as from England. Part, if not the whole of it, sailed in April, 1190, having on board, in addition to men, stores, engines and other provisions for the army. But many of the vessels were ill suited for Atlantic weather, and when, on the 3rd of May, in the Bay of Biscay, it blew a south-westerly gale, the fleet was dispersed, and four ships would seem to have been lost, if Peter of Langtoft be correct in saying that 110 ships sailed, and if other historians rightly state the number of vessels that later assembled at the mouth of the Tagus at 106 only.
One ship belonging to London, and carrying a hundred pas- sengers, is declared to have been favoured with a miracle. When, at the height of the storm, the terrified crew invoked divine aid St. Thomas of Canterbury thrice appeared to them and assured them that he and the martyrs, St. Edmund and St. Nicholas,- had been appointed protectors of the ship, and would conduct her in safety, if only the people would repent of their sins and do penance. The terms being accepted the tempest instantly ceased, and the ship proceeded on her voyage until she reached Silves, on the south coast of Portugal. Silves had been taken from the Moors a few years earlier, by the help of William de Mandeville, but they were endeavouring to regain possession of it. Eighty soldiers from the vessel were landed as a reinforcement for the besieged ; but the town's people, not content with this aid, seized the ship herself, and broke her up, in order to utilise her timbers for the defence, promising, however, that the King of Portugal would provide compensation.^
Of the other ships two detachments, one of nine and the other of sixty-three sail, got into Lisbon. There their crews committed gi-eat outrages, until the King of Portugal closed the gates of the city against theih and imprisoned the seven hundred offenders who
' Hoveden, 373b. ^ St. Nicholas, special patron of seamen.
» Hoveden, 380b, 381 ;'l5ronit.in, 1175.
IIDO.] CRUHADK OF RICHARD I. Kii
were found inside, pending the making of an arrangement with the commanders, Bobert de Babloil and liichard de Camville,^ for securing peace.' These detachments sailed again on July 24th, and found at the mouth of the Tagns the remainder of the fleet under Wiiham de Fortz. A further voyage of twenty-eight days brought the fleet safely to Marseilles on August 22nd.
But King Eichard, who had reached Marseilles about the end of Julj', expecting to tiiid the fleet already there, had waited for only eight days. He had then hired ten large busses and twentj' galleys to convey his immediate followers and himself to Messina, and had sailed on Augiist 7th in a galley called the ruitiho.^ He was at Genoa on August 13th, and had an interview with Phihp, who lay ill there. His next place of call was Portofino, where he remained for five days, and where he received a request from Philip for the loan of five galleys. Richard offered three, and Philip thereupon preferred to accept none. From Portofino liichard reached the mouth of the Arno on August 20th, and I'orto Baratto on the 23rd. At Piombino he went on board another galley, belonging to Fulk Postranti,^ with the intention of proceeding in her, but as she split her sail on the 2oth, he returned to the Pitmho, and that da_y anchored in the Tiber. The Cardinal Bishop of Ostia came from Home to receive him, but by asserting a claim to some money on the part of the Holy See, his Eminence so angered the hot-tempered king that Richard accused the Papal court of simony, declined to go to Rome and sailed again on the 2()th. On the 28th he landed at Naples, and, after a brief stay, continued his journey down the coast on horseback until he reached Scylla. On the way, when but a single knight happened to be with him, he was attacked by peasants, from the house of one of whom he had attempted to take a hawk, and the King of England compelled to cover his retreat by throwing stones at his assailants. From Scylla, Richard crossed to Messina, and entered the port on September 23rd.
"As soon," says Vinesauf, "as the people heard of his arrival, they rushed in crowds to the shore to behold the glorious King of England, and at a distance saw the sea covered with innumerable
' He fuiiiiileil Combe Aliliey, AVai-wickshire. Haviui; been maile Governor of Cyprus, he quitted tliat island witliout Rii'liard"s jieruiission, and died at tlie siege ol Aeon.
' Bened. of Petcrlioni, ii. 003; Brouiton, 1177.
•'' " In galea Puuibone." — Bened. of Peterbmo, ii. 590.
* Hoveden says Fulk Rustac.
168 MILITARY HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1190.
galleys ; and the sound of trnmpets from afar, with the sharper and shriller blasts of clarions, resounded in their ears ; and they beheld the galleys rowing in order nearer to the land, adorned and furnished with all manner of arms, coiuitless pennons floating in the wind, ensigns at the ends of lances, the beaks of the galleys distingiiished by various paintings, and glittering shields suspended to the prows. The sea appeared to boil with the multitude of the rowers ; the clangor of their trumpets was deafening ; the gi-eatest joy was testified at the arrival of the various multitudes ; when thus our magnificent king, attended by crowds of those w'ho navigated the galleys, as if to see what was unknown to him, stood on a prow more ornamented and higher than the others and, landing, displayed himself, elegantly adorned, to all who pressed to the shore to meet him."
Richard found his fleet in the harbour of Messina. It had remained eight days at Marseilles to refit, and had reached port on Heptember 14th. He also found Philip, who had arrived a few days before him. The Archbishop of Canterbur\', the Bishop of Salisbury, and Eanulf de Glanvill,' Chief Justice of England, who had accom- panied Richard as far as Marseilles, had gone thence direct to the Holy Land.
In those days, even in the Mediterranean, the winter was considered to be no season for ships to be anywhere save in port, and as the autumn was nearly over, Richard and Philip wintered at Messina.
Richard spent the winter in quarrelling both with his ally Philip and with Tancred, King of Sicily. He repudiated a contract of marriage which he had made with the Princess Alice, Phihp's sister, and contracted himself instead to Berengaria, daughter of Sancho VI of Navarre ; and having a grievance against Tancred, who had imprisoned the Queen Dowager of Sicily, Princess Joan of England, he forcibly demanded reparation from him, going even to the length of occupying Messina. But the difficulty with Philip, though it afterwards broke out afresh, did not then assume a dangerous complexion, and the difficulty with Tancred was at length composed by the latter agreeing to pay Joan's dowry, and to contribute to the expedition four great ships called " vissers," and fifteen galleys. -
' Kaniilf lie Glaiivill was the author of 'De Legibiis ot ('ciisvictiulinibus Aiiglia'," tlie first treatise on EngHsh law. He died in 1190. - Hovcdeii, .'I91ii ; Broiiiton, 1195.
nni.] liiruARD'fi fleet. 169
During ,tlie winter the ships suffered extensively, especially from the depredations of worms, and many liad to he careened and repaix-ed. Moreover, one galley was stiuck hy li^ditning and sunk.'
On Saturday, March HOth, llfll, Phihp, with his contingent, sailed for Palestine." Eichard, who had heen joined, apparently late in Fehruary, by Philip, Count of Flanders, and hy thirty busses fi'om England, with reinforcements of men and provisions, still awaited his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and his betrothed bride, Berengaria ; nor had he quite completed his preparations. He crossed, however, to Reggio, on the mainland, and carried the royal ladies, whom he found there, over to Messina. Either because it was Lent or because he was unwilling to further delay his voyage, he did not celebrate his wedding at Messina, but consigned his destined wife to the care of his sister. Queen Joan, and placed both on board a dromon commanded by Sir Stephen de Turnham, commanding the fleet. This vessel subsequently sailed in the van.
On Wednesday, April 10th, the large ships weighed and put to sea, and as soon as Richard had dined, he followed them with the galleys."
The fleet, the most formidable which had ever been fitted out by England for any foreign service, seems to have consisted of about •230 vessels, with possibly some small craft as well, although different writers give slightly different accounts of it. All the ships were stored for one year, and distributed among them, so as to minimise risk of loss, were the necessary supplies of money for the payment of the ofScers, men, and troops. Vinesauf describes the order of sailing : "In the van were three large ships, filled with soldiers and stores, and in one of them were the Queen of Sicily and Bei'engaria, the two others being laden with the most valuable part of Richard's arms and treasure. The second line consisted of thirteen ships, dromons, and busses ; the third, of fourteen ; the fourth, of twenty ; the fifth, of thirty ; the sixth, of forty, and the seventh, of sixty vessels. The eighth line, in which was the king himself, was formed of the galleys, which are said by some to have numbered fifty-three, and by others, fifty and fifty-one. The lines were so close that a trumpet could be heard from one to the other, and each
' Hoveden, .'iST.
* Bened. (if Peterboro, ii. 044 ; Iloveden, 302.
' Hove<leii, .T.t.'!; Vinesaiir, •'UC ; IJog. of Weml. ii. .".7.
170 MILITARY HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1191.
ship was near enough to the next on each beam to communicate hy haihng." ^
It is difficult to understand the objects of this formation, since no enemy was hkely to attack from the rear, and since, if there were a post of danger, it was apparently the van, where the princesses were ; nor is the formation in accordance with the usual tactics of the period.
On April 11th, the fleet was becalmed off Etna, and was obliged to anchor ; but on the following day. Good Friday, a breeze sprang up and progress was made, though it again fell calm in the night. On the 13th a heavy gale from the southward succeeded ; seamen as well as passengers became sea-sick and terrified, and many of the ships were dispersed. Richard remained cool and collected, and encouraged those about him by his words and his example. Towards nightfall the gale abated, and the king's vessel, which was indicated by a light at her masthead, brought to to enable the scattered fleet to collect around her. In the morning the wind was fair, and the fleet proceeded for Crete, where it anchored on April 17th; but twenty-five vessels had not rejoined, and among them was the ship having on board the kmg's sister and his destined bride. Eichard, nevertheless, waited only for a day, and continuing his voyage, was in sight of Rhodes on the morning of the 19th. There the fleet lay to until the 'J2nd, when Richard landed, and, being taken ill, was detained for some days. He utilised the enforced delay by sending galleys in all directions to look for his missing ships, but nothing was seen of them. , Of the dispersed ships three had been wrecked on the rocks of Cyprus, and nearly all on board, including Roger Malchien, the Vice-Chancellor, drowned. The survivors were ill-treated and imprisoned, their effects stolen, and their vessels destroyed by the subjects of Comnenus, who had proclaimed himself independent sovereign of the island in opposition to the Greek Empire. About twenty more of the missing vessels did not rejoin mitil the second week of May. The ship having on board the two princesses also made Cyprus, but was more fortunate. She entered the Bay of Limasol about a week earlier, and made inquiries as to whether the king had passed ; but Sir Stephen de Turnham, perceiving four galleys about to issue from the port, and suspecting their intentions, weighed again promptly, and stood out to sea, lying to, however, when he had made an ofling.
' Kich. uf Devizes, 46 ; Vinesauf, 310.
ll'jl.] CAPTURE OF CYPRUS. 171
On May ()th, the king with tlie rest of liis fleet anived from Rhodes, and learnt from Sir Stephen de Tm-nhani of the manner in which the princesses had heen treated hy Comnenus/ and how the wrecked crews had suffered at the hands of his subjects. liichard, very indignant, sent two knights on shore to demand satisfaction. Comnenus returned an offensive reply, and provoked the king to make an immediate attack upon tlie town. Eicliard himself was the first to land, and the first to strike a blow." The Crusaders came ashore in small craft from their great ships and galleys,^ and after a very brief contest, Comnenus fled to the mountains. On the day following, the fleet, including the ship of the two princesses, anchored in the harbour. The English pressed their advantage so energetically that on or about May 11th, Comnenus sued for peace, appearing for the purpose before Richard, wiio was mounted on a Spanish charger, and dressed in a tunic of rose-coloured silk, embroidered with golden crescents. Comnenus undertook to do homage to the king, to resign all his castles, to serve in the Holy War with five hundred knights, to pay 20,000 marks of gold as compensation, to restore the imprisoned ci'ew and their effects, and to hand over his daughter as a hostage. But he had scarcely concluded the treaty ere he broke it, and fled to the interior.
In the meantime Guy de Lusignan, King of Jerusalem, the Prince of Antioch, and others, had arrived to offer their services to Richard, and to swear fealty to him. The king put his army under the command of the Prince of Antioch, ordered him to pursue Comnenus, and divided the galleys into two squadrons. One he led himself, and the other he entrusted to Sir Stephen de Turnham, and the two, starting in different directions, swept the coasts of the island, and captured or destroyed every craft they encountered. By these methods, Comnenus was again induced to sue for peace ; but Richard would trust him no longer. He ordered him to be thrown into chains of silver, and confined in a castle in Palestine.
Richard's celerity in dealing with and capturing Comnenus is shown by the fact that although the search for that prince appears not to have begun until the 11th, the king was back in Limasol, and was indeed married there, on the 12th of May."* On or about
' Hovedcn, 393, saj-B that lie liad refused to allow the inhu'esses to enter the ]iort.
- Hich. of Devizes, \\ ^^^•
■' Hoveden, 393.
■* Ih., 394. But the search may possilily have liegvm earlier.
172 MILITARY HISTORY, ll.H-1399. [1191.
the 25tb, Queen Berengaria, and Joan, Queen Dowager of Sicily, accompanied b}' the daughter of Comnenus, sailed from Cyprus, convoyed by aU the busses and large ships, and arrived at the camp before Acre on June 1st;' but Richard, with the galleys, remained ten days longer, to make arrangements for the government of the new foreign possession of England, which he entrusted to the administration jointly of Eichard de Camville and Stephen de Tmn- bam. On AVednesday, June 5tb, be sailed, his force of galleys increased, by captures and other-«-ise, to one hundred, of which sixty were " of great excellence."
He steered for Acre, but before arriving there, fought the first sea-fight in which any king of England had commanded since the days of the Conquest. The account of this, chiefly compiled from Vinesauf, is here given, with but little alteration, as it is given by Nicolas : — -
Ploughing their way across the seas, they made the coast of S>Tna, close to the castle of Margat, on June 6tb, and then shaped their course along the land for Acre. On the 7th, when near Beirut, an immense ship was discovered ahead. The vessel, which was the largest the English had ever seen, excited their wonder and admira- tion. Some chroniclers^ call her a ch-omon, and others a buss, while one of them exclaims, " A marvellous ship ! a ship than which, except Noah's ark, none greater was ever read of ! '" He also calls her " the queen of ships." ^ This vessel was very stoutly built, with three tall, tapering masts, and her sides were painted, in .some places green, and in others yellow, so elegantly that nothing could exceed her beauty. She was full of men to the number of fifteen hundred, and among them were seven emirs and eighty picked Turks for the defence of Acre. She was laden with bows, arrows, and other weapons, an abundance of Gi'eek fire in jars, and " two hundred most deadly serpents, prepared for the destruction of Christians."'
Richard ordered a galley, commanded by Peter de Barns, to approach and examine the stranger, and was told that the vessel reported herself to be bound from Antioch to the siege of Acre, and to belong to the King of France, but that the crew could not .speak French, nor show a French or other Christian flag.'^ Being
' Hoveden, 394; Vinesauf, .328. - Xicolas, i. 119.
" E.t!. Matt. Paris. * Rich, of Devizes, 49.
•'' Yet Bromton, 1200, and Hoveden, .394, say that tlie vessel flew Fieneji flags.
1191.] ACTION WITH A TURKISH DROMON. 173
again interrogated, the enemy varied his tale, and pretended to be a Genoese bound for Tyre. In the meanwhile, an English galley-man had recognised the ship as having been fitted out in Beirut while he was in that port, and in reply to the king's question he said, " I will give my head.to be cut off, or myself to be hanged, if I do not prove that this is a Saracen ship. Let a galley be sent after her, and give her no salutation ; her intention and trustworthiness will then be discovered." He meant, no doubt, "If you make for her as if with the intention of attacking, you will discover her nature." The suggestion was adopted. As soon as the galley went alongside the shij3, the Saracens threw arrows and Greek fire into the Englishman. Richard at once ordered the foe to be attacked, crying, " Follow and take them, for if they escape, ye lose my love for ever, and if ye capture them, all their goods shall be yours." Himself foremost in the fight, he collected his galleys around the royal vessel, and animated everyone by his characteristic valour.
Showers of missiles flew on both sides, and the Turkish ship slackened her way ; but although the galleys rowed round her in all directions, her great height and the number of her crew, whose arrows fell with deadly effect from her decks, rendered it extremely diihcult to board her. The English consequently became dis- couraged, if not intimidated ; but the king cried out, " Will ye now suffer that ship to get off untouched and iminjured ? Oh shame ! After so many triumphs, do ye now give way to sloth and fear? Know that if this ship escape everyone of you shall be hmig on the cross, or put to extreme torture." Impelled by this threat, the English galley-men jumped overboard, and diving under the enemy's vessel, fastened ropes to her rudder, so that they could steer her as they pleased, and then, laying hold of ropes and swanning up her sides, they succeeded in boarding her.
A desperate conflict followed, and the Turks were forced forward, but being joined by their comrades from below, they rallied, and drove their assailants back to the galleys. The resource of ramming alone remained. The galleys were drawn off' a little and formed into line. Then with all the force of their oars, they charged down upon the Turk, stove in her sides in many places, and damaged her so severely that she quickly foundered. Of her crew only thirty-five (Peter of Langtoft says forty-six) were saved, and even these would probably have shared the fate of the rest had not the victors considered that they might be useful in the construction of engines
174 MILITARY EISTOBY, 1154-1399. [1194.
to be employed agaiust Acre. "If," concludes Vinesauf, "this vessel had succeeded in making her way to the succour of Acre, the place would have never been taken by the Christians." Most of the dromon's cargo seems to have gone down with her, but what was saved was given to the galley-men.^ ,
There is, of course, nothing particularly creditable to the arms of Eichard in the record of this action. The Turks fought with the utmost gallantry, and were overpowered only by the weight of superior numbers, while it would appear that but for Eichard's threat that if the dromon got away his men should be crucified, the Enghsh, at one period of the contest, would have been very glad to let her depart in peace. It is not said that she ever surrendered, and even if she did not go down, so to speak, w-ith her colours flying, she deserves, although her name has iinfortunately not been pre- served, to rank with our " little Revenge," " and the United States ship Cumberland,^ among the best-fought craft in the history of naval warfare.
Eichard reached the camp before Acre on Saturday, June 10th, and on July l'2th the town surrendered. After a year and two months' further service in Palestine, where the fleet, though useful, had little or no fighting to do, the king decided to return to England. His buss, however, was so delayed by contrary winds, that he disguised himself and paid the master of a neutral galley to land him and his suite on the Dalmatian coast.'' On his overland journey homeward, he was, on December 20th, 1192, arrested by order of Leopold, Dvrke of Austria, and held prisoner for about seventeen months. MTieu at length the terms for his release had been settled, he proceeded to Antwerp, and in March, 1194, embarked in a galley which, with other vessels under the command of Alan Trenchmer, he had ordered to meet him there. He seems to have travelled in this galley by day, but to have slept every night in a large ship belonging to Eye. Not until the sixth day did he reach the roadstead opposite Gadzaud, and there he was detained for five days longer ; but on Sunday, March 13th, 1194, he once more landed in England.^
1 Hoveden, 394; Vinesauf, 328; Bromton, 1200, 1201. ^ Vide infra. Aiigust 31st, 1591. ' Hampton Roads, March 8th, 1861.
* Hoveden, 408, 409; Coggleshall, 830. But a different account is given by Bromton, 1250.
^ Hcjveden, 418 ; Bromton, 1257.
UOl.] DEATH OF ItlCllAUD I. 175
Philip Augustus, who, lonj,' bel'oie, h;ul retiu-ned from the East, had chosen to forget the undertaking which he had concluded with Richard before setting out, and which he had confirmed in Palestine, and had attacked Normandy during llichaid's absence.
The King of England took advantage of his restoration to liberty to immediately resent this breach of faith. By the third week of April, 1194, he had assembled a large army, and a fleet of one hundred sail at Portsmouth ; but, the wind being contrary and the weather foul, he was delayed for several days. On May '2nd, although the circumstances were still adverse, his impetuosity induced him to order the troops and horses to embark, and to himself put to sea in a " long ship," in spite of all remonstrances. Happily, the fleet did not sail with him. Had it made the attempt, it is probable that part of it would have been lost, for Richard was obliged to take shelter in the Isle of Wight, and to return thence to Portsmouth. On INIay 12th, however, the weather being favourable, he embarked again, and crossed with all his force to Barfleur.^ He never returned to England ; for although, after a five years' war, in which the navy did not participate, he concluded a triice with the French, he prolonged his stay on the continent in order to settle a petty quarrel with one of his nobles, and in the course of this he fell.-
John became king l)y the will of his brother Richard, and by the wish of the people of England, rather than by hereditary right ; for, though Richard left no legitimate issue, there was a nearer heir in the person of Geoffrey Plantagenet (son of Henry II.), by Constance, Duchess of Brittany. The cause of his son Arthur was espoused, feebly and half-heartedly by Philip Augustus, and more generously by the nobles of Anjoi;, Maine and Touraine, so that John's accession involved the almost immediate breaking of the truce witli France, and the renewal of the war.
John, who was at Beaufort, in Anjou, at the time of his brother's death, crossed to England before the truce was actually broken, and, landing at Shoreham on May 2.5th, 1199, was crowaied at West- minster on the 27th. In June, having raised an army and assembled a fleet to transport it, he re-embarked ^ at Shoreham for Normandy,
' Hoveden, 421 ; Broiuton, 1250.
^ The evidence as to the place uf his death, etc., is collected in Palgi-ave's preface to tlie 'Rdtuli Curia' Ilecis.'
^ Bromton says on July 13th.
176 MILITARY HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1202.
and landed witliout incident at Dieppe. On February 27th, 1200, he returned to England, landing at Portsmouth from Barfleur, but recrossed the Channel from Portsmouth on April 28th, and reached Valognes on May Ist.^ By this time Philip's championship of Prince Arthur had weakened ; and later in the month peace was concluded between France and England, Arthur being obliged to do homage to John for Brittany. The arrangement was not a durable one, and eventually Arthur was captured by John, and imprisoned until his death, the circumstances of which remain in obscurity.
In the meantime the king had created trouble for himself both in England and in France by divorcing his wife, Hadwisa of Gloucester, on the ground of consanguinity, and by marrying Isabella of Augouleme, in defiance of the fact that she was betrothed to Hugh de Lusignan, Count of La Marche. These steps, and John's refusal to submit the question of Arthm-'s death to the inquisition of the j)eers of France, cost him the lands which he held of Philip by homage. Normandy was conquered by the French without much difficulty, and Anjou and Maine were also annexed ; but, though John was very apathetic in defending his continental dominions, a few naval episodes of this period demand notice.
In July, 1202, the king informed the barons of the Cinque Ports that he believed the King of France to be preparing vessels to convey provisions by sea to the French army at Arques ; and ordered them so to guard the sea that no provisions could be so sent. If the barons fell in with two of the king's galleys, which were then at sea, they were to speak them, for the commanders of the galleys would do anything that was expedient for maintaining the honour of the King of England. After the relief of Mirabeau, where Eleanor, the Queen Dowager, had been beseiged by her grandson Arthur, the bailiffs of Barfleur and Estreham were, on August 13th, 1202, ordered" to find "good and secure ships" to convey to England some of the prisoners, who included Arthur's sister Eleanor, known as " the Beauty of Brittany," Hugh de Lusignan, and two hundred knights, twenty-two of whom were sub- sequently starved to death in Corfe Castle.^ And, on December fltli,
' Hardy, Pref. to Pat. Rolls, 45 ; Hovedeu, 45G ; :Matt. Paris, 139.
2 Norni. Rolls, 60.
^ Manly, Pref. to Fat. II. ills.
l-ido.] PllKl'AUAriONS AOAiysT FRANCE. 177
1-203, John, liaviiig lost his hinds, hinisolf embarked at Barfleur for Enghxnd, arriving at Portsmouth two days hiter/
The king had been remiss in his eli'orts to defend his possessions in France. It cannot be said that he was remiss in his efforts to regain them, ahhough it is true that, first liis differences with the Papacy, and then his domestic difficulties, prevented him from achieving success.
Towards the end of 1204 he began great preparations by sea and land. At the beginning of October, when knights and money were about to be sent to La Kochelle, the sheritf of ])evonshire was ordered to send to Dartmouth three of the best ships that could be procured to defend them on their passage." At the same time, the wages of the seamen of the ships conveying some of the king's knights and servants to Poitou were paid.'' And on December 4th John invited Hilary de Wateville and his companions to enter his service, with their galleys and as many followers as they could bring, promising them an honourable reception, and such terms as might be agreed upon with the Archbishop of Canterbury.''
To secure shipping for his object, John, early in February, 1205, issued an order forbidding the bailiffs of the ports to pennit any ship, vessel, or boat to depart without the king's special license,'* but that these directions did not apply to vessels belonging to neutral Powers is shown by a further order of May 13th in the same year, whereby the king's galley -men at Sandwich, who had detained two ships, the property of the King of Scotland, were enjoined to release the captm-es.'^
By the beginning of June, a large army and fleet were assembled at Portsmouth. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Earl cf Pembroke, and others prophesied ill of the projected expedition, probably because they knew better than the king the true temper of the nobles upon whom he mainly depended ; but John did not listen to the warnings, and on June 18th put to sea with a few followers. But, perhaps because he found he was not followed, ho
' Another naval episode of 1203, probalily nnconuecteil with the war, was llie following : — Karly in the j-ear two galley.^ belonging to William de Biaose, and com- manded by John de Bucy, captured a .ship of Orford laden with wine, and the wine was sent to the king. As the ship did not belong to tlie enemy, she may have been condemned for smuggling, or for some other irregularity. — Patent Kolls, 'JH.
■' Close Itolls, 10. » //-., 12. * Tat. llolls, W.
'' lh,m. . ' ('lose HolLs, 33.
VOL. I. N
178 MILITARY HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1206.
proceeded to Studland, in Dorsetshire/ instead of to Normandy, and, after visiting Dartmoiith and Dorchester, abandoned for the moment his purpose. There can be Httle doubt that the lukewarmness of the nation was the cause of the change of plan, for, soon after his return, John levied large sums of money from the earls, barons, knights, and ecclesiastics who, he alleged, had refused to accom- pany him.
In the meantime the war was being prosecuted at sea, although few particulars of its progress have been preserved; for it is on repord that some sailors of Normandy, who, under Peter de Auxe, had captured one of the enemy's galleys, and apparently retaken an English ship, Avere, in August, 1206, thanked by the king for their services, and directed to deliver galley, ship, stores, and prisoners to John de Kernes.^
It was in the same year that the celebrated adventurer, Eustace the Monk,^ a thirteenth-century prototype of the far more famous Paul Jones, began to affect the course of English naval history. He was then in the service of John, and he made some kind of capture at sea ; for, on November 13th, 1205, the bailiffs of Sand- wich were directed to deliver to the Archdeacon of Taunton the money which Eustace the Monk and the men of justice had arrested. In the following year Eustace seems to have made 'an illegal prize, for all the port bailiffs were directed that, if the Monk did not restore the captured ship of WilHam le Petit to her owner, they were to assist the said Petit in recovering her, wheresoever she might be found.
The king's preparations against France produced more tangible results in 1206. John assembled his fleet and army anew, and, on June (3th or 7th, embarked at Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, and landed
' Kog. ol' Wend. iii. 182, .iiul Matt. Paris, 14:8, gives an erroneous date wliicli is convincingly corrected in Hardy's 'Itinerary of K. John.'
- Close Rolls, 47b.
* Eustace the Monk (Eustache le Moine), who is the hero of au old French romance (ed. Michell), is there said to have been born at Cors, near Boulogne, and to have become a monk at the neighbouring town of Samer. Matthew Paris, however, calls, him a Elamand. He seems to have quitted the cloister upon inheriting property. Two or more of his brothers, and an uncle, were adventurers like himself. He probably entered King .John's service about 1205 ; but he was soon afterwards out- lawed. By June, 1209, he was again in the king's favour, and soon after he held lands in Norfolk, and was a personage of importance. His descent on Folkestone, mentioned elsewhere, was one of the first-fruits of his transfer of allegiance to the rebellious barons and to Prince Louis of France. His defeat at sea by Hubert de Burgh in 1217, and his consequent death, will be described in duo course.
1210.] EXPEDITION TO IRELAND. 179
at La Eochelle on the 8th. Soon after his arrival, he ordered one thousand silver marks, and all the money (£'2088 lO.s.), taken in a cog which ought to have gone to Nhnes, to be sent to Anjou Tor the payment of the laiights and soldiers, and of fifty ships and galleys. The king reduced to obedience part of his former provinces, but unwisely interrupted the course of his successes by granting to Philip a truce for two years, and returned to Portsmouth on December 12th. Whether he distrusted Philip or feared the pirates of the Narrow Seas does not appear ; but in July, 1207, when the Sheriff of Devon was ordered to find a good and safe ship, at as small a cost as possible, to convey the king's money to Poitou, he was also directed to see that no vessel sailed before the treasure-ship, lest perchance news might get abroad that the money was going over.^
John's next naval expedition was one to Ireland, in 1210. He embarked with his army at Pembroke about the middle of June, and landed, on the 19th or 20th, at Crook, near Waterford, where Henry II. had disembarked thirty-nine years earlier. The fleet employed on the occasion was a very lai-ge one, yet its only duties seem to have been those of transportation ; and John, after a brief and successful campaign on shore, returned to England on August 24th following." "While he was in Ireland, six galleys, under Geoffrey de Lucy, were searching for pirates in the Narrow Seas.^
In the meantime the truce with France had lapsed ; and in May^ 1212, Geoftey de Lucy, and others of the king's officers, knights and mariners, were ordered to detain all ships coming from Poitou, and to send them with their cargoes to England.* It would also seem, although the details, as given by the chronicler, are not in all respects borne out by the records, that in 1212 an Enghsh force captured many ships and burnt others at the moiath of the Seine,- and, having seized some vessels at Fecamp, and attacked and' burnt Dieppe, returning victorious to Winchelsea.^ Nor did John confine his attention solely to his enemies in the south. The Welsh had been guilty of aggressions ; and the king entered their country, ■ ordering Geoffrey de Lucy, on August 17th, to send eighteen galleys
' Close HoUs, 8!t. - M:itt. Paris, 160.
=' r.utuli de IVa'stitn, xii. .John, IT'J. * Close Rolls, 117.
■'' Diinstaple Cliron. i. 0!t, confirmed to some extent by Close liolls, 117, 118.
N 2
180 MILITARY insrOBY, 1154-1390. [1212.
to the coasts of Llewellyn's territories to co-operate with the armj' by destroying the Welsh prince's vessels, and harassing the foe in every possible manner ; and to dispatch two other galleys, with stores for John, to Bristol.' Three months later, the available strength of the fleet was reinforced by means of a general arrest of shipping. -
This last-mentioned measm-e was no doubt taken in anticipation of a threatened French invasion. In consequence of his attitude towards Rome, John had driven the Papacy to employ all its terrors against him. His kingdom had been laid under an interdict in 1208, and he had retaliated by confiscating the goods of the clergy, and had so drawn upon himself the further penalty of personal excommunication. But he still remained intractable, and the Holy See now decided to use physical as well as spiritual force. It deposed John, and confided the execution of its decree to I'hilip Augustus, in particular, and to all Chi'istian princes, in general.
Philip, far from being loath, was only too willing to undertake the mission. Even when John, by an unnecessarily abject sub- mission to the Pope, had secured the countenance instead of the frown of Innocent III., and had obtained the revocation of the Bull of Deposition, Philip remained eager for the conquest. He had a large fleet in the mouth of the Seine, and a large army at Eouen ; and, with the weapons in his hands, he w^as not disposed to lay them aside without using them, although John had sixty thousand men encamped upon Barnham Down, and the strongest fleet that had ever been collected from the ports of England. But it happened tliat the Count of Flanders, who before had been Philip's ally, did not share Philip's eagerness, and declined, since John had made liis peace with the Pope, to have anything further to do with the invasion of England. Philip replied by entering Flanders with his army, and by ordering his fleet, which had been collected in the Seine, to proceed to Damme, now an inland village five or six miles north-east of Bruges, but then a seaport with a very spacious harbour. It is said that the French vessels numbered seventeen liundred ; and that in consequence of the size of the fleet, part of it had to anchor outside the port.''
Ferdinand, who was then Count of Flanders, naturally appealed
1 Close Rolls, 121, 122. '' IK 127.
' Itigonl, ' De Gest. P. Aug.," 212.
1213.] SALJSBUliY'S VICTORY OFF DAMME. LSI
to John for lielp ; and John, wlio was f^lacl enough of the opportunity to deal a blow against an armament which might be next directed against himself, dispatched the Earl of Salisbury,' the Duke of Holland, and the Count of Boulogne, with five hundred sail, and seven hundred knights, to the coast of Flanders.'^
Salisbury came upon the French fleet at a moment when most of the crews of the ships had landed and gone inland for the sake of plunder. He instantly attacked ; ^ and three hundred vessels laden with corn, wine and arms fell into his hands, wliiU; about a hundred more were burnt, not, however, until part of their cargoes had been removed by the victors. The English success ultimately induced Philip to burn the remainder of his vessels, and to evacuate Flanders ; but ere the French departed, they inflicted a serious blow upon their assailants ; for Salisbury was ill-advised enough to land in pursuit of the fugitives from the fleet, and Philip, wdio had been besieging Ghent, returned to the coast with a large force, and, meeting the EngHsh, defeated them with a loss of nearly two thousand in slain and drowned. He also took many prisoners ; and fortunate were those who got back to their ships.''
This battle off Damme, which seems to have been fought in April or May, 1213, is important for several reasons,' although it cannot be said of it that it was an action which greatly redounded to the credit of the English arms, seeing that the French were admittedly taken by surprise, and that in all probability they were largely outnumbered. It is noteworthy rather as the first of the very long series of general actions fought between English and French ; and, more especially, as a good early illustration of the influence of sea-power, and of the laws which govern warlike operations in sea-washed countries.
Philip committed the error of attempting a naval expedition, designed for the ravaging or occupation of territory, whilst a
' William LongespL'e, Earl of Salisbviry, was a natural sun of Henry II. by Kosanioud Clifford. lie acquired the earldom by his marriage with Ella, daughter and heiress of William d'Evreux, Earl of Salisbury. After the battle off Damme, he was taken prisoner at Bouvincs. He subsequently joined the barons against John, Init, i n the accession of Henry III., did homage to him. In 1224 he conunanded in I'oitou, and, returning, died in March, 1226.
- The expedition seems to have been ordered to Dauanu before it was known th:U the French fleet lay there.
' Kigord (212) says that the English used their boats for this purpose : so that tf'e att'air may be regarded as an early cutting-out ex]ieilition.
* Kog. of Wend., 257 ; Matt. I'aris, Hio, li;fi.
182 MILITARY EISTOBY, H54-130'.i. [1214.
formidable and undefeated fleet, belonging to an enemy, was "potential"'^ in the same waters. Knowing, as lie certainly did, of the hostility of John, he should not have essayed the naval expedition to Damme without having first defeated or shut up in port the fleet commanded by the Earl of Salisbury. The omission cost him not only the ships which were taken or destroyed by his enemy, but also the ships which, when he realised that the success of the English had given them command of the sea, and had ■enabled them to blockade Damme, he destroyed himself. Nay more : it cost him the evacuation of the country by his army. Most of his sea-borne supplies had been taken or burnt ; he could hope for no further supplies by water ; and the English, free to act from the sea upon his left flank, threatened his communications even on land. Yet, plain though the lessons now look, the French had apparently not learnt them when, nearly six hundred years later. Nelson took the place of Salisbury, and Aboukir Bay did duty for Damme.
John was desirous of pushing his advantage, and proposed to embark for Poitou with a large army ; but his barons and knights pleaded lack of money ; and although the king started, attended only by his personal followers, in August, he thought better of the project, and went no farther than Jersey, whence, finding himself still almost entirely unsupported, he returned presently to England." He did not, however, cease his efforts to collect an adequate force. In November, the Archdeacon of Taunton was directed to prepare for sea all the king's galleys then in his charge.^ A few weeks afterwards they were sent to Portsmouth ; ■* and, about February 9th, 1214, John, having appointed the Bishop of Winchester Justiciary of England, sailed from the Isle of Wight, accompanied by the queen and by his bastard son Eichard, and, w^ith a large army, landed at La Eochelle before the 1.5th of the month. ^ But the expedition was unfortunate. The king gained, at first, a few small successes. Later, he lost everything that he had previously gained, and his allies, the Emperor Otho and the Count of Flanders, being crushingly defeated at Bouvines, near Lille, he deemed it wise to secure the mediation of the Papal Legate for the conclusion of a
' Or, as some niudern writers wuiild express it, " in being." But that tei'iu is not 6, satisfactory one.
2 Rog. of Wendover, \\ 261 ; Matt. Paris, 166.
» Close Rolls, 155. < IK, 156. ■' Matt. I'aris, 172: Cos^eshall, 873.
121-).] DE JloVEb'b DIHAtiTEli. 183
five years' truce. He returned to England on October -ind, and \vas at Dartmouth on the loth.' This was the last of his continental undertakings ; and withal it was the most disastrous.
When the harons rebelled against his tj'rannical exercise of authority, John lost the services of Eustace the Monk, wiio joined Prince Louis of France, the ally, and later the champion and head, of the insurrection. Philip Augustus did not observe the truce, and seems to have countenanced the fitting out of an expedition which, imder James, a brother of Eustace, together with an uncle of that same hero, seized the Island of Sark, and held it until the place was recaptured, towards the end of 1214, by the forces of Sir Philip d'Albini. The prisoners were lodged in Porchester Castle ; but some of them wei'e released in January, and the rest were either released or sent to he incarcerated elsewhere in April, 1215.-
John's fortunes were by that time at a low ebb. The king fought with his back to the wall, and still attempted to parry the blows, not only of the barons and of their French allies, but also of the tui'bulent Welsh. In April, 1215, he laid an embargo on all English shipping, in order to supply his naval needs. ^ In May he sent two good galleys, well equipped and manned, to the Earl Marshal at Pembroke. But on June 15th, 1215, Magna Charta was wrung from him. If he had observed its provisions, he might have ended his reign in peace. It is certain, however, that he never intended to observe them. One of the stipulations was, that the royal mercenaries should be banished. We hear little or nothing of the carrying out of that undertaking, but we do hear that, on October 26th, within five months of the acceptance of the Charter, Sir Hugh de Boves, a Norman knight, who had been previously employed by the king, embarked at Calais, with 40,000 followers, including their women and children, in order to assist John against his subjects, the inducement being a promise of immense grants of land in Norfolk and Suffolk. The force of the expedition may be exaggerated by the chroniclers, but it was, no doubt, very great. One of the most comi)lete disasters on record overtook it during the short passage to Dover. A sudden storm caused every ship to founder, and almost all the people on board
' Ilanly's ' Itinerary.'
2 Close Kolls, xvi. ; John, 177. Av „ho Ih., 171, 17.-), A\v\ Pat, Hulls, 120. l:!;!.
» Close Kolls, 197, 203.
18± MILITARY HISTORY, 1154-1390. [1216.
were lost. The body of De Boyes himself drifted ashore near Yarmouth. Up and dcvn the coast the beach was covered with corpses, among which were those of women, and of infants in their cradles ; and the air was rendered pestilent.^
In the course of the same year, Eustace the Monk, aided or abetted by William de Abrincis, made a hostile descent upon Folkestone ; ^ but whether this was before or after the concession of Magna Charta is uncertain. Nor is much light thrown upon the question by the fact that, on June '21st, 121.5, John ordered the Abbess of Wilton to deliver to Eustace his daughter, who had been held as a hostage.
The king spent part of the autumn at Sandwich and Dover, and, according to Matthew Paris, sought to ingratiate himself with the seamen of the Cinque Ports. About November, he ordered that a ship of Boulogne, which had been taken by Roger de Lovency, should be restored, together with her gear and crew.^
The year 121(3 saw the end of the struggle. The king issued orders prohibiting vessels from trading to and from Scotland, and other dominions of his enemies ; and in April he called upon Rye, and probably upon other towns also, to send all vessels there to the mouth of the Thames, and to inform him concerning other ships belonging to the port." But the royal cause, so far as it was embodied in the person of John, was plainly lost. No one who was beyond the reach of his arm heeded him. His Narrow Seas were left unguarded against his enemies, and the cruisers of Prince Louis of France, under the command of Eustace the Monk,'' appear to have enjoyed undisputed liberty in the Channel. Even when the Crown of England was offered by the barons to Louis, and when the succession seemed about to pass to aliens, and the country about to become an appanage of France, John could rally neither navy nor army to his side.
Eustace the Monk collected six hundred ships and eighty cogs
' Hog. of Wendover, 332 ; Matt. I'Miis, 108 ; Coggeshall, 877.
" Pat. EoIIk, xvii. ; John, 155.
■' Close IJ.iUs, ]i. 238.
' Ih., 2fi(l, 270.
^ 'J'he lawless character of Eustace the Monk niav lis judged from the fact that when in 121i; the Papal Legate demanded permission from Philip. Augustus to cross the Channel, that king, while giviug him a safe-conduct on French territory, added ■ "If yon should chance to fall into the hands of Eustace the Monk, or any other o* IjouIs's people who infest the sea, impute it not to me, should any harm befall you." — Matthew Paris ifni. 1G(14), lito.
121(i.] FRENCH INVASION OF ENGLAND. 18o
at Calais, Gravelines, and Wissant ; and Louis, acc()iii])aiii(Ml In- a considerable force, embarked. The squadrons were dispersed by a strong north-easter, and the ship in which Louis crossed anchored alone off Stonar, in Thanet. But it did not matter. Tiiere was no one to take advantage of the scattering of the invasion flotilla ; there was not even a loyal galley-captain to seize Louis, and to send his head to the king. John, indeed, went to Dover, but, finding it impossible to raise an army, he retired to Winchester. Louis, perfectly undisturbed, assembled his fleet again, and landed, without resistance, at Sandwich. All Kent, except Dover Castle, which was defended by Hubert de Burgh,' was easily subdued by Louis, who advanced and joined the barons in London.- The whole kingdom would have quickly fallen to him, but that the situation was opportunely changed in an instant by the death of John,^ on October 19th, and by the patriotic and statesmanlike attitude of Kichard, Earl of Pembroke, who, John's son and successor being but a child, became Guardian of the Kingdom, or Eegent.
It may be noted, that the summoning by the barons of a French prince to assmne the crown of England indicates that, up to the end of the reign of King John, there can scarcely have existed in the country much of the deeply rooted anti-French feeling, which, for many centuries afterwards, played so important a part in the relations between the two Powers. In the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, the adoption of such a pohcy as that which was pursued by the barons of the beginning of the thirteenth century would have sufficed to array nearly all England against it from the first. The rise and growth of the traditional anti- French sentiment may be traced back to the time of the invasion of 1216. There is no convincing evidence that the conduct of the
' Hubert de Buvgli was a nephew of William Fit/.Adeliiie, .stewan! lif Ileni-y II. After serving liiilianl I., he was made by John Senesehal uf r(jitim, and later Jiistieiary of Enf;land. His defence of Dover Castle, and his defeat of the French ofi' the South Foreland in 1217, entitle him to liigh rank as a commander. On the death of Pembroke he became Regent ; and in 1221 he married, as his fourth wife, Margaret, sister of the King of Scots, and was created Earl of Kent. In spite of his services, the influence of foreigu interests procm'ed his disgrace and imjn'isonment ; and, although he was restored to favour in 12.'54, lie pas.sed iimch of the rest of his life in retireuiout. He died at Bansted, Surrey, in May, 1243.
^ Coggeshall, 881 ; Matt. Paris, 19;') ; liog. of Wend., :ir,7.
^ On July 23rd, 1217, the Slieritl' of Devonshire was ordered to find ships, at the king's cost, to carry to France Isabella, widow of King John. — Close Rolls, 31;").
186 MILITARY HISTORY, 1154-1309. [1217.
followers of Louis, while on shore, had anything to do with the change which undoubtedly took place in English popular prejudices at about that period ; but the treacherous career and evil reputation of Eustace the Monk may well have had stronger and more far- reaching influence than is generally suspected. The peculiar hatred with which he was regarded by Enghshmen comes out forcibty in all the accounts of the great naval battle of the South Foreland, presently to be described ; and no nation has ever been more prone than ours to form its judgments concerning foreign races on the principle of ex 2)ede Herculem.
The decisive battle fought in the streets of Lincoln, in May, 1217, cut short the hopes of .Louis, and crushed the barons who acted with him. Upon the news of the defeat reaching France, Eobert de Courtenay, a kinsman of the French king,^ collected an army wherewith to succour the prince, and embarked with it at Calais on board a fleet of eighty ships, besides galleys and small craft, under the command of Eustace the Monk.^
It is impossible to discover exactly what naval preparations had been made in England, as the records contain only two or three notices of naval matters that occurred between the death of John aud the battle off the South Foreland.^ One of these, however, suggests that, in all j)robability, the patriotic regent had taken measures with a view to cuttihg the communications of the French expeditionary force ; for, soon after the accession Henry III., the king's men from Ireland, who were with their ships on the coast of Normandy, were ordered to AVinchelsea for the royal service.^
Hubert de Burgh, Justiciary and Governor of Dover Castle, knew of the collection of the fleet of Eustace the Monk and the armj^ of Eobert de Courtenay at Calais, and was deeply impressed with the necessity for waylaying it. Addressing the Bishop of "Winchester, the Earl Marshal, and other nobles, he said : " If these j)eople land, England is lost. Let us therefore boldly meet them, for God is with us, and they are excommunicated."' But his hearers
' Courteua}' was also ancestor of tlie earls of Devon.
^ The ' Annals of Waverley ' put the French fleet at nearly one hundred sail.
' But, according to some of the chroniclers, there was a na\'al engagement in 1217, previous to the battle of the South Foreland. In the course of it several French ships were destroyed ; but the general result seems to have been unsatisfactory, if it be true, as is alleged, that the French afterwards lauded and b\u'nt Sandwich.
* Patent Rolls, 1 Hen. III., la. 14.
1217.] VICTORY OFF TEE tSOUTH FOliELAND. J87
replied : " We are not soldiers of the sea, nor maritime adventm-ers,* nor fishermen ; but do thou go to death." Hubert was not dis- couraged, but, having sent for his chaplain, had the sacrament administered to him, and then solemnly enjoined the garrison to let him be hanged rather than surrender the castle, " for it is the key of England." Whereupon all present pledged themselves to obey his conmiands." Another reported conversation upon the occasion runs as follows, ^^1len the people of the Cinque Ports saw the French fleet, and knew it to be commanded by Eustace the Monk, they said : " If this tyrant land, he will lay all waste, for the country is not protected, and our king is far away. Let us, therefore, take our souls in our hands, and meet him while he is at sea ; and help will come to us from on high." To one ex- claiming, " Is there one among you who is ready this day to die for England?" another answered: "Behold me!" And to him the first said : " Take with thee an axe, and when thou seest us alongside the ship of the tyrant, then do thou run up the mast of that same ship, and cut down his banner which is borne aloft, so that thus the other vessels may be scattered and lost, for lack of a chief and leader."^
The English squadron consisted of sixteen large and well-armed ships, manned with trained seamen of the Cinque Ports, and of about twenty smaller vessels. There were not more thaii fortj' in aU.* But on board, besides Hubert himself, were Sir Phihp d'Albini,^ Sir Henry de Turberville, Sir Eichard Suard, and Richard, natural son of King John, some of the bravest of the English knights of that age.
When the English squadron sailed from Dover, on August 24th, the French fleet was already at some distance from Calais," and was making across the Channel diagonally, on a nearly northern course, with a view to rounding the North Foreland and entering the
' Piruts: 2 Matt. Paris. " Hoii.iiiL,'fnnl (Gale), ii., 563.
* Matt. Pai-is, p. 206 ; Heminglbrd, ii. 563.
° Sir Philip d'Albini was probably related to the Albinis, Lords of Belvoir Castle. In 1213 he was made Goveruor of Jersey. After the concession of Magna Charta he supported John and resisted the French, to whose defeat at Lincoln he sub- sequently contributed. He also contributed greatly to the victory off the South Foreland in 1217. Until 1236, when he made for the second time a journey to the Holy Land, he was intimately connected with naval affairs. He died in Palestine in 1237.
° Matt. Paris, 200; Guil. de Anuorica (Duchesne), v. i»0 ; Pog. of Wendover, V. 28.
188
MILITAEY HISTORY, 1154-1399.
[1217.
Thames. There was a brisk breeze from the south-south-east.^ Hubert de Burgh, instead of making direct for the enemy, kept his wind as if steering for Calais, a manoeuvre which caused Eustace to exclaim : " I know that those wretches think of invading Calais, as if they were thieves ; but it is in vain, for the folks there are well prepared for them."^ As soon, however, as the English had gained the wind of the foe — this is perhaps the first example of manoeuvring for the weather-gage — they bore down upon the
THE STRAIT OF DOVER. {FrvM a Cliart plMMinl hjl Jiii/re Gold, 1816 )
French rear,^ and, as they came up with it, threw grapnels, and so fastened their own ships to those of their enemies.
The crossbow-men and archers of Sir Philip d'Albini did good work by pouring in flights of arrows. The English also made use of unslaked lime, which they flung forward, and which, borne on the wind in powder, Winded the Frenchmen's eyes. Under cover of this the Enghsh boarded, and with their axes cut away the rigging and halyards, so that the sails fell upon the French, and
' Tlie quarter is not expressly stated, but Matt. Paris (p. 20G), says of tlie Frencli that they Imhucrunt a frrr/o /latum turgid n in. 2 Matt. Paris. ' Andudur a trryo irrurrnnt in Itostes. — Matt. Paris, \). 200.
1217] NEGLECT OF THE '■ I'UTENTIAL" FLEET. 1<S1>
increased their confusion. After a short hand-to-hand combat, involving immense slaughter, the enemy were completely defoattid. Home of his ships had been sunk by ramming at the first onslaught, for the English galleys, like the Mediterranean ones, had iron beaks. Most of the rest were taken, and only fifteen in ail escaped.' Tiie prizes were triumphantly towed into Dover, the victors thanking God for their success. As soon as possible after the action, Eustace the Monk was sought for. He was discovered secreted in the hold of one of the captured vessels, apparently the one in wliich Kobert de Courtenay had taken passage. He offered money for his life, and promised to serve the King of England faithfully in the future. But Richard, the bastard son of the king whom Eustace had used so treacherously, seized the prisoner, and, exclaiming "Base traitor, never again will you seduce anyone with your fair promises ! " - drew his sword and struck off the monk's head. It was afterwards shown on a pole throughout England.-'
Here was another example of French ignorance, or neglect, of the laws of the influence of sea-power. It is true that the potential fleet on this occasion was a small one, of less than half the numerical strength of that which Eustace commanded ; but even an inferior fleet must always be regarded as a potential one, until it has been either beaten or safely sealed up in port ; and no admiral is justified, no matter how great his strength, in deliberately endeavouring to carry out some ulterior operation, such as the landing of troops, or the thi'owing ashore of supplies, while any hostile fleet, no matter how apparently feeble, exists free and unbeaten in his neighbourhood. Necessity may require the running of great risks ; that is another matter. But Eustace the INIonk met his fate with his eyes open. He must have known of Hubert's squadron being at Dover. He might have attempted to destroy it, or at least to mask it, before venturing to sail for the Thames. Instead, he despised his enemy, and paid the penalty.
The progress of the battle had been watched by the garrison of Dover Castle ; aiul the victors, upon their return, were received by the bishop and clergy, in full sacerdotals, chaunting in procession praises and thanksgivings.' When the spoils of the prizes, which included gold, silver, silk vestments, and weapons of all sorts, had been collected, and the prisoners, who were loaded with heavy
' Matt. Paris, 206. » Trivet, i., 1G9.
^ lb., 1). 201), mr led. * Matt. I'aris.
190 MILITABY BISTORT, 1154-1399. [1220.
chains, had been disposed of, Sir PhiHp d'Albini dispatched to the king an account of the victory. Why the report was not made by De Burgh is not easly explained. Besides Eobert de Courtenay, WiUiam de Baris, Ealph de Tornellis, and other persons of dis- tinction, the Enghsh captured, in the battle of the South Foreland, one hundred and twenty-five knights, and upwards of a thousand soldiers of inferior rank.^ It is to be supposed that the number of French slain or drowned was at least twice as great. Some French knights, rather than be taken, leapt into the sea. The English loss is unknown ; but it is nowhere suggested that it was very considerable.
The 24th of August, 1217, saw the first great naval victory gained at sea by an inferior English force over a superior French one ; and the date deserves to be remembered, for the victory was decisive, and it ended the war. Louis retired, and a treaty of peace ^ with France was concluded in less than a month from the day of the action. The treaty did not contain any stipulation on the subject, but it appears certain that Louis gave a personal under- taking that, when he should come to the throne of France, he would restore to England all the continental provinces which had belonged to John.^ The fulfilment of this undertaking was often urged in later years, but never granted.
In 1218, as again in 1227 and other years, English nobles took part in Crusades to the Holy Land, but as no naval operations of importance were performed by them, only the mere fact requires mention here.
The peace concluded with France in 1217 was a very precarious one. There were apparently apprehensions that it would be broken in 1221, for on March 6th of that year the barons of the Cinque Ports were ordered to guard the coasts so strictly that no one who was likely to injure king or realm could land or embark.'' And in July, 1222, galleys were directed to be stationed in every port in Ireland, for the defence of that country.^ But not imtil Louis the Lion succeeded his father Philip Augustus in July, 1223, was the peace actually broken. Louis was then called upon to fulfil his
' Mailros (Gale), ii. 190 ; Laiicrcost Clirou., 21. There is a metrical account; of the battle in 'Eustace le Moigne ' (Michel!), 82. In Cott. MSS. Nero, D., V. f. 214, there is a picture, wholly imaginative, of the action.
2 ' Fadera,' i. 108. « Linganl, iii. 104.
' Tat. Rolls, 5 Hen. III. m. 6. '- lb., 6 Hen. III. m. 2.
rs^:,.'] EXPEDITION TO 1-OlTOU. IDi
pei"sonal midertaking to restore to the English Crown Normandy, Maine and Anjou. He refused to do so ; and as evidence that he did not even admit the right of Henry to what he retained on the continent, he entered Poitou, and seized La "Rochelle and other towns/ The war which ensued was waged in a most curious fashion, for it appears to have been confined ahnost entirely to the land, and there seems to have been, as a rule, peace at sea.
It was determined to send to Poitou a considerable force under the Earl of Salisbury and Richard, the king's half-brother, who had been lately knighted, and who was subsequently created Earl of Cornwall and Count of Poitou. The naval movements of l'2'2o, connected with the dispatch of this expedition, are thus summarised by Nicolas.^
On January 1st, the sheriffs of Norfolk and Suffolk were ordered to proceed in person to Ipswich, and if they found there three good ships, to cause them to be fitted out and provided with clays and bridges or brows, for the king's service. If such ships were not found at Ipswich, the sheriffs were to go to Dunwich, and to send thence three ships to Ipswich. The vessels were to be manned with plenty of pilots and other able mariners well acquainted with the coasts of Flanders and Antwerp.^ On January 15th, the barons of the Cinque Ports were directed to meet at Sheppey to take measures for the protection of the sea coast against the king's enemies, and to cause all persons who had served in the time of King John to swear to arm themselves.* Such of the barons who were at Portsmouth, intending to go to Gascony for wine, were ordered to select from the whole of the king's fleet the best and safest ship for the purpose of conveying armour and baggage to Richard, the king's brother, in that province. They were also to see to it that the best sailors and masters were appointed to the ship,^ and they were strictly enjoined to keep close to it for its protection during the passage, and not to quit it until it had arrived in a safe port in Gascony. On January 17th, orders were issued to prevent any ship, large or small, from quitting Dover or any other port, unless secm-ity were first given that she would not go with her cargo to any place not on the coast of England ; and she was to bring back letters from the bailiffs of the ports to which she might go, in order to prove her
■ Matt. Paris, 221. ■■ Pat. P.oUs, 'J Hen. III. iii. 8.
= Xieolas, i. 1H)-18S. '' lb., in. 2.
- Close PvoUs, U Hen. 111. Id.
192 MILITAUY HISTORY, 1154-1399. [122G.
compliance with her undertaking. Vessels, however, carrying foreign merchants and others from Dover to Wissant, or elsewhere, and fishing boats, when employed for fishing, were exempted.^ On the same occasion, the king's great ship and several other vessels were fitted out,'^ the great ship herself being placed under the command of Friar Thomas of the Temple, to whom the masters of that ship, as well as thpse of the galleys, w^ere enjoined to pay implicit obedience.' On February '20th, all the great ships which were at Southampton were ordered to Portsmouth ; but all fishing vessels having but twelve oars or less were to be allowed to fish or to go whither they pleased.^ In March, seven of the ships at Portsmouth were assigned to the Earl of Salisbury for the conveyance of his horses and equipage to Gascony ; and all the great merchant ships were sent from Shoreham to Portsmouth for the expedition.^ In December, the keepers of, the ports were enjoined not to permit ships to sail for any place in France ; " and they were soon afterwards further com- manded not to allow any ship to leave a port at all without the king's special orders, and to cause all persons belonging to the ports to hold themselves ready to proceed on the king's service.' It was at about this time that the king's " great ship " captured a Portugiiese vessel called the Cardinal, on her passage from some place in Gascony.** The cause of her capture is not known, but it may be supposed to have been connected with some breach of blockade regulations.
It is remarkable that, upon its being represented to the king that six scholars taken in the ship had received from their relatives money for their support while on board, he ordered that out of the merchandise captured a sum of forty marks should be paid to the scholars." This is an early example of respect being conceded to private property taken at sea.
In 1226, when the French appear to have done much as they pleased in the Channel, there were rumours of a projected invasion, and an aid was urgently demanded from the people. In March, Saverv de Maloleone, a French baron, and others, were reported to
' CloKc Kolls, 70.
- ///., rm, mi, cm- rut. Rolls, O Hen. TIL la. 7, in. T, ; 10 Hen. HI. m. 4, ni. 5, i.i. 111.
•' Pat. Rolls, 9 Hen. HI. m. 8.
* Close Rolls, 9 Hen. III. 19. '^ lb., ii. 21, 2.".. " Ih., ii. 116.
' n>, II Hen. III. m. 25. ' * Jb., 10 He;i. III. m. 27, ni. U ; Tat. Rolls, 10 Hen. III. m. o. » Ih., 89.
TO
PREl'AUATJONH FOE WAR.
liJo
be committing depredations afloat, and to be preventing persons from coming safely to England ; and the barons of the Cinqne I'orts were directed to take measures accordingly.' In April, all vessels belonging to Norfolk and Suffolk were ordered to be held in readiness to proceed on the king's service on the fifteenth day after the ensuing Easter." In May, all sliipping was directed to assemble at Portsmouth by the end of that month. ^ And although, later in the year, it was ordered that no French merchant should be suffered to remain in England after the beginning of November, the bailiffs of the ports were informed on November 5th that they might permit French vessels laden with wine, corn, or provisions to come to England in safety. "* But that may have been after the conclusion of a twelve months" armistice, which at about that time was negotiated.
Louis VIII., the Lion, died on November 7th, l'22(j, and Louis IX. (St. Louis), then a child of eleven years of age, succeeded him.
On November 30th, perhaps in consequence of the existence of apprehension as to the results of the change of government in France, the shipping in every port in England was arrested for the service of Henry ; ^ and in December the bailiffs of Fowey and of other ports were commanded not to permit any ship, no matter to what place belonging, to proceed to any port under the dominion of the King of France, until further orders. "^ The further orders seem to have quickly arrived ; for in January, 1227, the bailiffs of Sand- wich were told to permit the masters and rectors of all ships in that port to sail whither they would, provided that they gave security to return to England before mid-Lent. The bailiffs were also directed to enroll the names of all the rectors, and to make them known to the king at Easter."
In 1227 Henry III. was twenty, and Louis was only twelve. The opportunity for wresting back from France some of the territorj- which she had conquered from John appeared so favourable, that the English king began preparations for a continental expedition. On June 2nd, he issued precepts to all the ports, declaring that he was making ready to cross tlie sea in person, and ordering the
' Pat. Rolls, 10 Hen. III. m. 6.
- Close Rolls, 150.
' Ih., 151.
* Fcedeia,' i. 182.
VOL. I.
= Close Rolls, 205. « //;., U(J. ' Ih., 207.
19i MILITARY HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1230.
bailiffs to send their ships, properly manned and well found with
arms and provisions, to Portsmouth before St. James's Day, July 25th.
He also requested the barons of the Cinque Ports to give him double
the length of service for which they were bound, on account of the
duration of the contemplated voyage.^ But he did not sail, in
consequence, as is alleged by the chroniclers, of the advice tendered
him by an astrologer. Nor, owing possibly to a sufficiency of
transports being lacking, did he sail in 1228. In 1229, taking
advantage of the fact that Peter, Count of Brittany, was in rebellion
against Louis, Henry decided to assist the revolting vassal." Again
transports were lacking, and the young king in his haste laid the
blame at the door of Hubert de Burgh, the Justiciary, whom
he publicly stigmatised at Portsmouth as an " old traitor," and
accused of having received a bribe of five thousand marks from
the Queen of France. The king, indeed, would have killed Hubert
on the spot, had he not been restrained by the Earl of Chester.
Later he recognised the injustice he had done to his gallant
servant.^
Not, therefore, until the end of April, 1230, was all ready. There
were then at Portsmouth even more transports than were wanted,
and on May 1st, about one hundred and eighty masters obtained
permission for their ships, being unnecessary, to return to their
ports.^ This was immediately after the embarkation of Henry, which
took place on April 30th. ^ The king landed at St. Malo on May 3rd,
and there licensed two hundred other masters to go back to England."
But in spite of his immense army and superfluous resources, he did
nothing save waste his substance in folly and extravagance ; and in
the autumn, when the French, having completed their preparations,
were ready and wilhng to meet him, he contemptibly retired. On
August 16th, ships from all parts were ordered to proceed at once to
the king at St. Malo and St. Gildas, to convey the army back to
England ; ' and by the end of October, Henry himself was again at
Portsmouth." He continued the campaign in a spasmodic and
' CloseRoDs, ii. 211. - Matt. Paris, 229.
^ lb., 249, 250, repeats this storj" from Uoger of AVenclnver. ^ Pat. Rolls, 13 Hen. III. m. 3. " = lb., 14 Hen. III. 2, m. 2. « lb., 14 Hen. III. ' lb., 14 Hen. III. i. ni. 2, .'!.
* Rog. of Weml. 365, 360, 367 ; ' Annals of Waverley,' 192 ; Hemingford, 572 ; Wilkes's Cliron. (ii. 41) says on Nov. 2n(l.
12:50.] PIRACIES IN THE NARROW SEAS. 195
unsystematic manner for several years. In April, 1234, the barons and knights were ordered to Portsmouth, fully equipped for war, to proceed on service to Brittany ;' in May, the barons of Hastings v/ere called on for ten, and those of Hythe and Romney for five, shipa each, properly manned, to cany troops to the same province." On the other hand, on July 1.5th, in the same year, the Cinque Ports were ordered to restore all French ships that had been an-ested.^ A five years' truce was at length concluded between the two nations on February 3rd, I'iSG."'
In the meantime, what must have been a very splendid naval pageant crossed the North Sea. The king's youngest sister, Isabel, had been betrothed to the Emperor Friedrich II., and on March 2^th, 1235, ten ships were ordered to be provided by the ports of Norfolk, and several other vessels l\v the Cinque Ports, for the princevs's passage to the continent.^ With them were probably joined " six good galleys," which, earlier in the year, had been ordered to be sent to England by the .Justiciary of Ireland." Henry escorted his sister to Sandwich, where, with a magnificent retinue, she embarked on May 11th, landing at Antwerp after a voyage of three days and three nights.'
Innnediately after the conclusion of the truce with France, the peace of the Narrow Seas seems to have been very ill kept. In Jime, 1236, satisfaction was ordered to be made to the merchants of Flanders and Hainault for a ship of theirs which had been plundered oft" Portsmouth by no less a personage that Sir Philip d'Albini, who,. a few years earlier, had gained so much renown in the battle of the South Foreland ; and for othar ships which had been pillaged by Englishmen returning from Brittany. ** And at about the same time a regular war was unofficially carried on by the Cinque Ports with the inhabitants of Bayonne, until, in June, 1237, Henry intewened, and peremptorily ordered the truculent barons to leave the Bayonnais in peace. ^ It was as if an admiral, ex-second in command of the Channel Squadron, should betake himself to piracy in the Solent ; and as if the actual commander-in-chief at the Nore should wage private hostilities with Hamburg ; and the facts are sufficient to
' • Fadera,' i. 211, 212. « Tat. RolLs lit Hen. HI.
- Pat. Rolls, 18 Hen. IH. ni. 14. ' Matt. I'aris, 284.
^ 76., m. 8. « Pat. Rolls, 20 Hen. HI. ni. fi.
•• * Pffideia,' i. 221. » ' Fadera,' i. 232.
Pat. Rolls, 19 Hen. IH. ni. 14 ; 'Fctdera,' i. 225.
196 MILITARY IIISTOIlY, 1154-13'JO. [1242.
show how weak and incoiupetent a King Henry III. was, and how disorganised was the state of the nation.
With the exception of a piratical quarrel hetween the Bretons and the Channel Islanders in 1241,' there were no naval events of much importance until 1242, when, Henry having decided to assist his step-father, the Count de la Marche, against the King of France, and the king's brother, Richard, Earl of Cornwall, one of the best warriors of his age, having returned to England from a crusade, begun two years earlier, an expedition to Poitou was undertaken.
In January the barons of the Cinque Ports were ordered to assist the Sheriff of Kent in impressing ships for the king's service ;^ and they were subsequently empowered to arrest foreign vessels for the .same purpose. On February 20th, the bailiffs of the ports were instructed to arrest all ships capable of carrying fifteen or more horses ; ^ and persons were sent to each port with the object of securing a force of two hundred of the best vessels, each capable of carrying at least twentj' horses, all of which were to be at Ports- mouth by Palm Sunday, ready to transport the king's army." The royal galleys from Ireland, Winchelsea, and other places were also ordered thither ; and on March 21st, twenty of the best ships were directed to be reserved for the use of the king and of his suite, and to be stored and victualled accordingly.^ The Cinque Ports furnished their proper quota. Henry went down to Portsmouth on April 21st.'' He embarked with thirty casks filled with money," and weighed on May 15th, accompanied by the queen, Eichard, Earl of Cornwall, seven other earls, and three hundred knights ; but the wind dropped, and the squadron did not get to sea until the IGth. It made Point Saint Mathieu, Finistere, on or about the 18th, and proceeded to the mouth of the Gironde, where the king landed, and went to Pons in Saintonge.^ The French had ordered twenty-four well-armed galleys to La Kochelle to resist the invasion," but the English expedition was not interfered with at sea.
The campaign, like the previous one, was futile and contemptible,
' Rotuli de Liberate, 25 Hen. III., in. (!.
^ Pat. Hells, 26 Hen. III., ni. 11.
3 Close Hulls, 20 Hen. III. m. ',» ; Pat. Hulls, i. m. 9. ' lb., m. 7.
= Pat. Rolls, i. m. 8. " Matt. Paris, 395.
' Close Hulls, 26 Hen. III. ni. 7.
« HeiMin'.'fora, 574 ; Matt. Paris, 395 ; Wilke.s's Chron. 45 ; ' Annals of Waverley," 203.
' Matt. Paris, .'iOI.
1-t-'.] FBENCH MERCHANTS AHHESTED. 197
iiiid it ended in another tive }-ears' truce.' Henry wasted alike his money and his opportunities, and, having spent the winter, chiefly in dissipation, at Bordeaux, did not return to England until the autunni of IH'A, landing at Portsmouth on September '2oth.
AVhile he was away, he repeatedly appealed to England for supplies and assistance. On June 8th, l-l-i-2. he desired the Archbishop of Canterbury and Sir William de C'antilupe to send him stores and two hundred knights and one hundred horse soldiers, and to concert with the Cinque Ports for the harassing of the enemy. Another requisition for ships, addressed to the bai'ons of the Cinque Ports, stipulated that one-fifth of the captures should be resei-ved to the Crown." In the autumn of the same year, the King of France, having decreed the arrest of all English merchants and their goods found within his dominions, retaliatory measures were adopted, and on September '20th, orders w'ere sent to London, Bristol, Northampton, and other towns for the arrest of French merchants there. ^ It is clear from the comments of Matthew Paris that such proceedings were unusual in France, even in time of war, and that persons of purely peaceful pursuits were not ordinarily prevented, owing to the outbreak of hostilities, from remaining and trading in the foreign comitry in which they were provisionally domiciled ; although the charter of Henry, granted in 12-25, expressly provided for the attachment of alien merchants when war had been declared against their state, and for their detention until the king should infonn himself how English merchants were being treated by the enemy. " If," it declared, " our merchants be well treated there, theirs shall likewise be so treated with us." ■*
But for a storm, there would have been a naval battle in the Channel in 12-12. A large reinforcement was on its way to Gascony from England ; and the French adventurers and privateers, hearing of it, put to sea with a considerable force to intercept it. The two flotillas, apparently after they had sighted one another, were dispersed by a gale. The French got safely into port, but the Enghsh and Irish were driven " to remote and unknown coasts," possibly to Spain or Portugal."'^ The sufferings of those on board were so severe that many died, and many others never recovered their health. Henry again issued retaliatory orders, particularly to
' 'F.cdera,' i. l.'.")l (.Vinil Ttli, lli-i:'.). ■" 'Statutes of the Kealm' (eil. 1810), i. 24. ■' lb., i. 24<>. ■'■ Matt. Paris, 3!)7.
3 Close Rolls -" JIi'ii- III- -, '"• -i-
198 MILITAEY HISTOUY, 115i-13;i0. tl243.
the Cinque Ports, the men of which, according to Matthew Paris, slew and phmdered hke pirates, sparing neither friends nor neighbours, kith nor kin.
Convoy seems to have been practised. On August '27th, 1242, a reinforcement was sent to the king in tweutj' ships ; and all persons having vessels in the Cinque Ports were requested to send them on the same occasion, if they wished them to go over for the vintage.^ Privateers were also fitted out, for on February 13th, 1243, licences were granted to several persons to annoy the enemy by sea and land, provided that the king received one-half of their gains ; and general orders were issued that the vessels of these persons should not he molested. -
Yet the affairs of England did not prosper. The AVardens of the Cinque Ports, applying for assistance to the Archbishop of Canterbury, as Gustos of the Eeahu, represented that they had been thrice repulsed by the enemy, especially by the people of Calais, and that all the ships in England were incapable of resisting the fleet which the French had prepared. The country, they declared, was in danger. The Count of Brittany, with all the vessels of Brittany and Poitou, lay in wait to intercept communication between England and king. The Normans, and the seamen of Wissant and Calais, scarcely permitted the English fishermen to ply their calling in the Channel. And, since it was unsafe to send ships to the king, his majesty, at Bordeaux, was practically in prison.^ These considerations seem to have determined the conclusion of the truce, which was made on April 7th.
When the war had just begun, Sir William de Marish, an outlawed knight, who had established himself in Lundy Island, at the mouth of the Bristol Channel, and had become a formidable pirate, was captured by stratagem ; and being conveyed, with sixteen of his associates, in chains to London, was there executed.* In June, 1242, the Sheriff of Devon was directed to convey to Ilfracombe a galle}^ which De Marish had partially completed at Lundy, and to cairse her to be there made ready for the king's service. °
' Close Rolls, 26 Hen. III. 2, iii. G.
' Pat. Rolls, 27 Hen. III. in. 17 ; ih., m. 1(1.
' Matt. Paris, .SOO, 406.
* lb., 395; Close Rull.s 21 Ilea. III. ni. 2; Pat. liolls, 26 Hen. III. and 19 Hen. III.
* Rotuli de Lilicrate, 20 Hen. 111., m. 5.
12u3.] EEBELLION IN GAHCONY. 19t>
Immediately after Henr,y's return, two sliips were dispatched to Wissant, to receive on board Sanchia, daughter of Eaymond, Count of Provence, and sister of the queens of England, France, Naples, and Navarre, together with her mother, Beatrix, daughter of Thomas, Count of Savoy, and to convey the two ladies to England, for the marriage of Sanchia to Eichard, Earl of Cornwall, later King of the Romans.'
For several years nothing of moment occurred in connection with naval affairs ; but in 1253, the outbreak of a rebellion in Gascony demanded Henry's presence in that province. An expedi- tionary force was assembled at Portsmouth by the middle of June, and a thousand ships are said to have been collected, but, owing to mismanagement and unfavourable weather, the king could not embark until August Gth. Escorted by three hundred large ships, and numerous smaller vessels, he crossed the Channel and Bay of Biscay, and landed at Bordeaux about the ITath.- Alfonso, King of Castille and Leon, supported the insm-rection, and, it was believed, cherished the intention of invading England and Ireland.^ Heavy reinforcements were ordered to the continent ; but on April 1st, 12.54, peace was concluded between Henry and Alfonso, the latter agreeing to renounce his claim to Gascony on condition that Prince Edward, Henry's son and heir, should marry Alfonso's sister, the Princess Eleanor, and that Edward himself should receive knighthood at the hands of Alfonso, and serve under him against the infidels.*
Henry returned to England in December, 1254, and landed at Dover.*
In the course of 1254, what Nicolas calls a remarkable circum- stance happened. The facts are related by Matthew Paris and Matthew of "Westminster, the latter of whom says : —
"About this sciisou were certain ships driven by force of wind and weather into certain havens on the nortli coasts of England, towards Berwicli, wliicli sliips were of a very strange form and fashion, but mighty and strong. The men that were aboard the same ships were of some far country, for their language was unknown, and not understandable to any man that could be brought to talk with them. The freight and
' Close liolls, 27 Hen. lll.m. 1.
^ Matt. Paris, 582 ; Heniinf.;t'ord, oTT.
' 'Fa'dera,' i. 205, 2!l0 ; Close Kolls, m. Vi.
' 76., i. 297, 2!IH.
^ ' Annals of Waverley,' 210 ; Matt. Paris, U05.
200 MILITAIiY BISTORT, 1154-1309. [1260.
ballast of the ships were armour and weajious, as haubergeons, helmets, spears, bows, arrows, cross-bows and darts, with great store of victuals. There lay also, without the havens, on tlie coasts, divers other ships of like form, mould and fashion. Those tliat were driven into the havens were stayed for a time by the bailiffs of the ports. But finally, when it could not be known what they were, nor from whence thej- came, they were licensed to depart, without loss or harm iu body or goods."'
Matthew Paris's account does not vary much from the above. That chronicler calls the vessels " ships of the barbarians." Southey^ supposes the vessels to have been Norwegian, but no northern Englishman of that day would have considered Norwegians in the light of barbarians, nor is it conceivable that, in a large northern port, there was no one who understood so much as a word of the Norwegian language, commercial relations with the Scandinavian countries being then well established. Probably the strangers maj' have come from the eastern shores of the Baltic. But the whole question remains mysterious and interesting.
The last years of Henry III. were embittered by civil disputes. The Mad Parliament of 12.58, by compelling the acceptation of the Provisions of Oxford, practically substituted for the royal power a baronial oligarchy, with Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, a Frenchmen, at its head. When in January, 1259, Richard, King of the Eomans, manifested an intention of coming to England, his well-known loyalty to his brother Henry suggested to the barons that he contemplated intervention," and they assembled a large fleet to obstruct him ; but Eichard at length took oath not to interfere.^ In the same year Henry crossed the Channel, and proceeded with his queen on a friendly visit to Paris, returning in April or May, 1260.* During that visit, he surrendered his claims to Normandy and Anjou, and from that time forward omitted his title of Duke of Normandy and Anjou from his grants and letters patent.
In 1261, the king, by a coup d'etat, recovered some of the power of which his barons had deprived him ; and, the fleet of the Cinque Ports having been fitted out on behalf of the barons for the maintenance of their authority as against that of the Crown, Henry went in person to Dover, and, on May 2nd, took into his own hands the custody of the castle there, the custody of the Cinque Ports,
' Southey, i. 194.
'^ ' Foedera,' 377, 378.
= Matt. Paris, 661, 662.
' Pat. Rolls, 44 Hen. III. ; ' Ftcdera,' i. 392 ; Hemingford, 578.
Ii2(;i.] ASCENDENCY OF DE MOSTFORT. 201
and the chaiuberlainship of Saiulwicli.' In VhVl, he once more visited France. -
Some time in 1263, Kobert de Neville, to whom had l)een entrusted the chief command in the north, wrote to the Chancellor that it was reported that the Kin(,'s of Denmark and Norwaj', with a large fleet, had landed in the Scottish islands, and that danger might be apprehended.^ This appears to have been an echo of a descent made by Haco, of Norway, in 1200 and the two following years, and ending in his defeat by the Scots. He is said to have died of chagrin at Kirkwall in 1263.
Henry again visited France in 1264, Louis having offered to arbitrate between the king and his rebellious barons ; * but De Montfort was for the moment triumphant, and until the battle of Evesham, on August 4th, 12()y, when the great rebel fell, Henry scarcely deserved to be called a sovereign. In the interval, the maritime populations, and especially the people of the Cinque Ports, lapsed into the position of pirates. To such an extent was their audacity carried that, when the Pope sent a Cardinal Legate to mediate between the Crown and the barons, they prevented him from landing, for which offence they were excommunicated and put under an interdict.'^ The lawless proceedings of the Cinque Ports enhanced the price of all foreign goods, so that the price of wines rose from 40s. to 10 marks, that of wax from 40s. to 8 marks, and that of pepper from CkI. to 3s. There was, besides, great scarcity of salt, iron, steel, cloths, and other goods. Nor was the situation improved by Henry de Montfort's" seizure of all the wools whicli reached England from Flanders and elsewhere, and his selling them for his own profit.'
Henry, who had been captured at Lewes, was a prisoner ; but he was not without powerful friends, among whom w^ere the Pope and the queen, Eleanor of Provence. The latter borrowed money, raised an army of mercenaries, and collected a fleet at Danuue.
' These ports, whirh liad lieen lield ).y Huijli lo r.igdt, were given to Itobeit Walerand; ?at, KoUs, 45 Hen. III.
^ Tat. Rolls, -IG Hen. 111. ; ' lArdera,' i. 41.':!.
■' ' Frt'dera,' i. 429.
■* Close KoUs, 48 Hen. III.
'^ Contin. of Matt. Fans, j). (171.
" He liail been apiiointed Kce|ier of tlie Cinque Ports by bis lather, Simon de Montfort.
' ' Waverley Annals,' 589.
« Close Rolls, 48 Hen. III.; Wikes (Ciale), OH.
202 MILITARY EISTOBY, 1154-1399. [lliTO.
De Montfort, ahvaj's professing to act in the name of the king, stigmatised the queen's forces as ahens, increased the daily pay of his own soldiers from 3d. to 4(f./ assembled a fleet off Sandwich " for the defence of the kingdom," and obtained a loan to fit out ships and pay seamen.^ And all this in spite of the fact that the queen was coming to rescue the king from duress. Sir Thomas de Multon was appointed " Captain and Keeper of the Sea and Sea-coast " ; and, that the attention of the Cinque Ports, which had a quarrel pending with Yarmouth, might not be distracted, De Mont- fort promised them that, as soon as the disturbances of the realm were settled, the king would cause compensation to be made to them for the injuries which the burgesses of Yamiouth had caused them.^
Unhappily, Eleanor's wifely devotion produced no results. Her flotilla was detained by contrary winds until, her funds being exhausted, she could no longer pay her troops, who thereupon quitted her.* But, in a short time, the defection of some of De Montfort's supporters, and the escape from imprisonment of Prince Edward, put the royalist party in England into better heart, and, by the victory of Evesham, the authority of Henry was restored. Yet it was thenceforth wielded chiefly through the intervention of Prince Edward, until the latter, taking advantage of the cessation of the French war, departed in 1270 on a Crusade.^
He appears to have sailed from Portsmouth, with thirteen ® ships, early in August, and he reached Aiguesmortes, near Mont- pellier, about September 29th. There he may have learnt of the death, at Tunis on August 25th, of his ally. Saint Louis, for on October 3rd he left Aiguesmortes for that place, touching on the way in Sardinia, and meeting the new King of France, Philip III., about October 14th.'' The combined expedition went to Sicily, and wintered there. A storm off Trepani did nuich damage to the French, Spanish, and Sicilian squadrons, but none to the English.* In the following spring. Prince Edward sailed for the Holy Land,
' Close liolls, 48 Hen. III. in. 4. ^ lb., 48 Hen. III. m. 4d.
■' Pat. liolls, 48 Hen. III. ' Wikes (Gale), 6.3.
■' A truce for five j'ears had lieen com-luded with France in Septemlier, 1269. — ' Fcedera,' i. 482.
" Heniint;ford, 589. '' Heniingford and Matt. Paris.
" ' Gesta Plul. III.' (DiK-lie.-ne) v. 522 ; Matt, of West. 400.
127(i.] ISATONNE AND THE CINQUE PORTS. 203
and niter callini,', like his great-uncle, at Cyprus, landed at Acre with a thousand soldiers about April '20th, TiTl.' He was on his return in November, 1272, when his father's death summoned him to the throne of England.
Edward travelled very leisurely, visiting the Pope and the King of France, and also spending some time in his continental dominions. On July 4th, 1273, the Cinque Ports were ordered to provide ships and galleys for the king's passage across the Channel." Yet he still delayed, and did not land at Dover, apparently from Bordeaux, imtil August 2nd, 1274.^
The pact between Edward and Alfonso, King of Castille and Leon, has been already noticed. Soon after Edward's returii to England, Alfonso requested the assistance of his royal brother-in- law against the Saracens ; and on May 4th, 1275, Edward replied, saying that he had not decided whether he should again go to the Holy Land, but that if any of his subjects would assist Alfonso, it would be very pleasing to him ; and he went on to signify his pleasure that the King of Castille should have the aid " of the ships of our people, and of oiir sea of Bayonne." * In pursuance of the promise implied in this letter, he directed the authorities of Bayonne to build and fit out twelve ships and twenty-four galleys for the purpose. Taken in connection with this correspondence, it is a curious fact that the Bayonnais of the period, though subjects of Edward, were contini;allj' embroiled with his other subjects of the Cinque Ports, and that a piratical war existed between Bayonne and the south coast of England. In May, 1277, however, two citizens of Bayonne were sent to England to conclude a peace, which Edward ratified, giving the Bayonnais £100 to observe the conditions.^
It would, therefore, appear that the king did not effectively preserve the peace of his seas. Another piece of evidence, pointing in the same direction, is to be found in a notice of the depreda- tions committed by a piratical fleet, belonging to Zeeland, upon some vessels of the merchants of London. In September, 1275, the Constable of Dover Castle was ordered to investigate the affair, and to consult thereon with the barons of the Cinque Ports.'
' ' Waverley Annals,' 227 ; Ilemingfoid, 000. * lb., i. 522.
2 ' Fcpilera," i. 501. '^ lb., i. 542
» lb., i. 514. « i6., i. 52i».
204 MILITARY HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1293.
In October, 1277, the king conducted an expedition against the Welsh, and was greatly assisted in obtaining possession of Anglesey by the co-operation of the Cinque Ports' fleet. ^ In 1'279, he paid a brief visit to France, to confirm a treat}' made between his father and Saint Louis." In 1282, another expedition against Wales be- came necessary, and the Cinque Ports' fleet again co-operated.^ In the course of the campaign, which terminated in the death of Llewellyn and the extinction of Welsh independence, a bridge of barges, boats, small ships, and planks was thrown by the English across the Menai Strait, to facilitate the attack upon the castle of Snowdon. But the success of the assailants was not uniform. On November 6th, the Welsh inflicted a severe defeat upon their enemies, following them to, and sinking, their boats, and drowning many knights and squires, and two hundred soldiers.''
On October 14th, 1286, Edward once more visited France^ on a peaceful mission, chiefly in order to mediate between France and Castille. He did not return to England until 1289, when he landed at Dover on August 12th. ^
During the three or four years that followed, no naval trans- actions of importance took place ; but an event having far-reaching consequences occurred in 1293.
In that year, two of the crew of an English vessel landed for water at a port in Normandy,' and, encountering some Norman sailors, fell into a quarrel with them. In the fight which ensued one of the Enghshmen was killed. The other, hotly pursued, fled to his ship, which put to sea, and was followed by many Nonuan vessels. It does not appear that this particular English ship was caught, but the pursuing force, a little later, met with six English vessels, and attacked and captm-ed two of them, hanging the crews, together with some dogs, at the yard-arms,' and subsequently ravaging the Channel, and committing gross outrage.
The seamen of England retaliated at once, and without waiting for orders. The four ships which had escaped were joined by many
' Heminsford, i. 5 : Trivet, 147, 118. For this service adilitiunal jirivilefjes were ■xraiited to the ports.
•■' ' Fcedera,' i. 568-570, 571-575. " 'Fccdera,' i. 665, 711 ; Trivet, 265.
^ lb., i. 601. ' Walsingham says in Gascony.
^ Knighton, '2461. ' Knighton, 2495 ; Hemingford. ^ ' Fiedera,' i. 065.
I'J'jy.] PITCHED BATTLE IN THE CHANNEL. 205
luore liom the Ciiujue Ports, and sailed in search of the enemy ; but, faihnfT to find him at sea, entered the Seine,' and there fell upon him at anchor, defeating;; him, and taking six of his ships. Other reprisals followed, and there was much loss of life and material, but no decisive result, until, if we may believe Knyghton, the opposing parties agreed to collect their strength for a pitched battle, and fight out the question in mid-Channel, at a spot indi- cated by an anchored hulk. The English enlisted Irish and Dutch support, and mustered about sixty vessels, under Sir Kobert Tiptoft ; " the Normans obtained help from the French, Flaniands, and Genoese, and assembled upwards of two hundred and forty vessels, imder Charles, Count of Valois.
The battle appears to have taken place on April 14tli, 12'.);!, in very bad weather, accompanied by hail and snow ; and it resulted in a decisive victory for the English, who captured about two hundred and forty sail, and, as Peter of Langtoft says, " alle the portes were riche." Nicholas Trivet's account,^ while agreeing that the whole fleet was taken, ascx'ibes the action to a day in May, and declares that it was, so far as the Normans were concerned, an unexpected encounter.
This loud clash of arms in mid-Channel drew the attention of Philip IV. of France to the quarrel which, up to that time, had been of an unofficial character, although Charles of Valois, who was the king's brother, had already connected himself with it. Philip peremptorily demanded redress, entered Gascony, and summoned Edward, as his vassal, to appear before the Eoyal Court of Paris. After much negotiation, it was agreed that Philip, to save his honour, should occupy Gascony for forty days, and then withdraw ; but as, after the expiration of the term, he still occupied the province, Edward formally disclaimed feudal dependence on France, and prepared to recover his inheritance by foi'ce.
In 1294, large English fleets were assembled in the Narrow Seas, one in the North Sea, being under Sir John de Botetort,* one in the
' It was clearly tlie Seine, altliougli Knif^hton and Heniingford say fUe Swyn.
- Sir Kiibert Tiiitoft, or Tibetot, son of Henry de Tijitoft, was wade Governor of Porchester Castle in 12G5, and on the accession of Edward I. was made Governor of Nottingham Castle. His only naval command appears to have been in 1293. He died in 1298.
' Trivet, 274.
* Sir John de Botetort, Lord Botetort, and Lord of Mendlesham, was Governor of Briavel Castle, Gloucester, in 1291, and in 1293 a justice of gaol delivery. He served
206 MILITARY EI8T0EY, 1154-1399. [1294.
Channel, being under Sir William de Leybourne/ and one, in the Irish Sea, being under a knight named Ormond.- On June 26th, the barons of England were ordered to be at Portsmouth by September 1st, to accompany the king to Gascony ; and in July Edward himself was at Portsmouth.^ Meanwhile, wood was hewn for the equipment of above two hundred ships to carry horses ; the keepers of all the ports were directed to suffer no man, ship, boat or vessel to quit the kingdom ;* and John Baliol, King of Scots, who had done homage to Edward in 1292, was enjoined not to allow any ships or men to leave his country for abroad.^
The army destined for Gascony consisted of twenty thousand foot soldiers, with five hundred men-at-arms. It sailed from Portmouth on August 1st, but, off the Cornish coast, was dispersed by bad weather and driven into Plymouth," whence it did not sail again until the beginning of October. Entering the Gironde, the fleet appeared about the 28th of the month in the Dordogne before Castillon, which place surrendered at once. Thence the expedition proceeded up the Garonne to St. Macaire, which submitted on the 31st. On the following day the ships anchored off Bourg. On November 8th they were off Blaye, whence they sailed to Bordeaux, where they remained for two days. Failing to reduce it, they again mounted the Garonne to Lieux, where the horses were landed after having been seventeen weeks and some days embarked.'
The main expedition was followed by the Earls of Lancaster and Lincoln with reinforcements, probably conveyed in vessels which the Cinque Ports had been ordered to send to Portsmouth by September 8th ; ^ but this division did not sail until the spring of 1295. In the interval, in October, 1294, certain goods belonging to
in Gas(;i>iiy in 1295, and against Scotland I'mni 129.S to 1301, and again in 1309. Soon al'tei'wards lie was Governor of Framlingham t'astle. He held naval commands in 1294, 1297, and 1315, and died in 1324.
' Sir William de Leybonrne, Lord Leybourne, eldest son i.'f Sir Tioger de Leybonrne, succeeded his father in 1272. After serving in Wales, lie was made Constable of Pevensey Castle in 1293. In 1299 he was summoned to Parliament as a Baron. He held naval command in 1294 and 1297, and died in 1309.
- Trivet, 279.
^ Gascon Kolls, 22 Edw. I. m. 9.
* Jh., 22 Edw. I. m. 2.
" '■Fa-dera,' i. HOI. Baliol was then su].iposed to be attached to the English interest.
" ' Plumeneye,' Knyghton.
' Knighton, col. 2498.
" Ih., 2507 ; ' Ffcdera," i. 809.
120.-).] TREACBERY OF SIR THOMAS DK TURBERVILLK. 207
French subjects were directed to be seized and sold and the proceeds paid into the Exchequer.'
Sir Henr\' de Turberville has been mentioned as haYin<,' played a gallant part in the defeat of the French at the Battle of the Soutli Foreland in 1217. A relative of his took a less honourable share in the naval history of the reign of Edward I. This knight. Sir Thomas de Turberville, had been made prisoner by I'hilip IV. ; and, eager to advance himself, no matter at what cost, turned traitor. He suggested in 1295 that Philip should fit out a large fleet and crowd the vessels with troops ; and that, in the meantime, he himself should go to England, report that he had made his escape, and endeavour to obtain from his sovereign a command at sea, or the custody of the ports, or both. He would then, on seeing the approach of the French, deliver up his trust, the agreed signal that his plot had been successful being his own banner hoisted above that of the king. Philip accepted the offer, promised Turberville large rewards, and kept two of the traitor's sons as hostages.
Turberville reached England, but, though kindly received, failed to obtain the wished-for command. Philip, on his part, collected more than three hundred ships from Marseilles, Genoa and other places, and sent them to cruise off the English coasts, in waiting for the expected signal.- Not seeing it the commandei's grew impatient, and dispatched five of their best galleys to reconnoitre more closely. One of these landed at Hythe. To. induce the intruders to advance inland, the king's forces retired before them, and then, suddenly turning, fell upon them and killed them all to the number of two hundred and forty^ afterwards taking and biirning the galle}'. The other four galleys rejoined their main body, which was far too formidable to be attacked by such ships as were at the disposal of the English commanders on the spot.^ Turberville's treachery was still unsuspected in England ; but the assemblage of Philip's large fleet could not but be known ; and, with a view to resisting invasion, letters were dispatched on August 28th and 80th to the Bishop of London and other prelates and priors instructing them to take the necessary measures in case the enemy landed;'' and on September 28th the sheriffs were informed that danger was
' 'Focdera,' j. 811. - Kuiglitoii, 250.'!.
' 76., 2503 ; but Trivet, i. 284, says tliat the galley was ilriven into Hytlie liy accident.
< ' Fwdera,' i. 820.
208 MILITAUY HISTORY, 115i-1309. [1295.
apprehended from the machinations of certain foreign ecclesiastics residing near the sea-board, and recommending their immediate removal inland/
But, before this, a descent had actually been made. On August 1st the French fleet had appeared off. Dover, and had suddenly landed about fifteen thousand men, who had seized the town and burnt great part of it. The people had fled, but re- covering their courage, and being reinforced, had attacked the invaders so vigorously as to kill five thousand of them and to put the rest to flight. Some had escaped to the ships, others had taken refuge in the fields, where they had been afterwards found and massacred. Thirty seamen had maintained themselves in the cloisters of the abbey until night, when they had got away in two boats, only, however, to be followed in the morning by two large craft and sunk. In the whole affray but fourteen Englishmen had lost their lives.
The repulse at Dover and the non-appearance of Turberville's signal disheartened the French, who returned to their ports and dispersed ; " yet Turberville's treason was still undiscovered and might have gone unpunished but for the suspicions of a clerk, who delivered to Edward a letter which led to the conspiracy being laid bare, and to the culprit's execution.^
The retirement of the French opened the Channel to the opera- tions of English cruisers. The ships of the Cinque Ports captured fifteen Spanish vessels full of merchandise, bound for Damme, and brought them into Sandwich ; and some Yarmouth ships landed a force at Cherbourg, fired the town, robbed an abbey, and carried off an old priest.*
Instances of commissions having been granted to privateers as early as 124.3 have been already cited. An undoubted example of the issue of regular Letters of Marque and Eeprisals occurred in 1295. One, Bernard d'Ongressill, a merchant of Bayonne — then part of Edward's dominions — was the owner of a vessel — the St. Miirij — belonging to that port, which, while on a- passage from Barbary to England laden with almonds, raisins and figs, had been driven by stress of weather into Lagos, on the south coast of Portugal. At anchor there, she had been boarded by some armed Portuguese, who had robbed D'Ongressill and the crew and carried
' ' Frwlera,' i. 820. ' Cott. MSS. Caligula, A. 18 ; Peter of Langtol't.
- Knighton, cul. 2503. * Trivet, 284.
llilli;.] WAI! WITH r.ALlOl., KISG nF .s'.or.S i209
ship and cargo into Lisbon, wliere the Kini,' of Portugal had received one-tenth of the spoil, leaving the i"est to be divided among his piratical subjects. D'Ongressill declared that in consetiucnco of these proceedings he had lost £700; and he prayed Sir John of Brittany, then Lieutenant of Gascony, to grant him " letters of naarque," or, to translate the Latin form used, " licence of marking the men and subjects of the kingdom of Portugal " (liceiitia inarcandi Jtoiiilncs et siibdiios de regno PortiKjallia-), and specially those of Lisbon, until he should obtain compensation. Sir .lohn ac- cordingly in June, 1295, granted to D'Ongressill, his heirs, successors and descendants, authority for five years "to mark, retain and appropriate" the people of Portugal, and especially those of Lisbon, and their goods, wheresoever they might be found, until be should have obtained satisfaction. The licence was confirmed by the king on October 3rd, with the proviso that it should lapse upon restitu- tion being made, and that if D'Ongressill took more than he had lost he should answer for the surplus.'
France sought assistance from Norway ; and on October 22nd, 1295, it was agreed that Eric of Norway should aid Philip of France against the King of England, and all his supporters and confederates with two hundred galleys and one hundred large ships, well furnished with arms and munitions of war for four months in each year of the conflict, together with fifty thousand picked and well- armed soldiers, of whom, for each ship and galley, four were to be commanders, Pliilip undertaking to pay in return £80,000, which Slim should be ready by May 1st, 129(3.-
John Baliol, King of Scots, also allied himself with France, ;iuil denounced the liomage which he had previously paid to the King of England. Early in 1296 Edward marched against him, and in March directed a fleet of thirty-three'' sail to co-operate with him in the reduction of Berwick. On the 30th of the month, perceiving that the king's army was in motion, the commander of the fleet took his ships into the harbour on the flood tide to assist in the assault. The leading vessel grounded and was innnediately sur- rounded by the Scots, who, though the crew made a brilliant defence, boarded and captured her with a loss, to both sides, of twenty-eight men. A second ship which grounded was burnt ; but
' ' Fri'dera.'
^ .lal's ' AvcIh'.)!. Xav.-ii. 2!lil.
^ Heiniiigl'urd. ISiit Wal-iiigliani, OO, says twciity-r.i'ir.
VOL. I. P
210 MILITARY HISTORY, 1154-l.lfiO. [1207.
her crew got away in their boat. A third ship, carr3'ing the Prior of Durham's household, maintained an unequal fight for about eleven hours, and then, having taken the ground, was burnt, some of her crew escaping in their boat and the rest leaping into the water, and being picked up by the boats of the other vessels. The remaining ships retired. The naval attempt seeius to have been made pre- maturely in consequence of some misapprehension of the movements of the army ; but when Edward witnessed the smoke of his burning shijjs he ordered the trumpets to sound the attack, and the place was quickly carried with great slaughter.^ Dunbar and Edinburgh were subsequently taken ; and on July 10th, 1296, Baliol sub- mitted at Montrose, and surrendered his kingdom to Edward. While the king was thus engaged in Scotland it was rumoured that a thousand Flai^iands and others were preparing an attack on Yarmouth ; but it would appear that the measures taken by Sir .John de Botetort and the bailiffs sufficed to ward off the threatened ■descent.^
Walsingham recounts an act of great gallantry performed in 'Gascony in 1296 by Sir Simon de Montacute.^ Bourg, on the 'Garomie, was in the possession of the English, but was closely invested by the French ; and its garrison sent to Blaye for assist- ance. But the river was so full of hostile galleys that the crew of the vessel dispatched from Blaye with provisions refused to proceed. Montacute thereupon undertook the business, and, forcing a way through the middle of the French fleet, reached Bourg in safety, the result being that the French raised the siege of that place.* The exploit was as bold a one as that which led to the raising of the siege of Londonderry in 1689.
In 1297 Edward endeavoured to strengthen his position abroad by concluding alliances with the Emperor, the Count of Flanders, and several of the Netherlands and German- princes. A convention, made at Bruges on March 8th, 1297, with Guy, Count of Flanders,
' Hemingfiird, i. HO.
^ I'at. Kolls, 2:'> EiUv. Lpasaim ; 24 K.Uv. I. iii. 10; 25 Eilw. 1. L', m. 14 ; Mem. in 'I'reas.'s RemenibraiicerV OH'.
' Sir Simon de Montacute, Lurd Montacute, served with the army as early as 1281, and commanded the third division at the siege of Carlaverocli. In 1300 he was summoned as a Baron to rarliament, and in 1308 was made Constable of Beaumaris Castle. He seems tn have held high naval conunand oidy in 1310 and 131;!, and he died in 131(;.
* VValsinyham, 30.
l:ii1T.] CO-OPEnATION WITH FLANDERI^. 211
by Edward's envoys, the Bishop of Chester, Sir Jolm Berwick, aiul " WiUiaiu de Leybouriie, Admiral of the Sea of the said King of England," for establishing perpetual peace and concord between the masters and mariners of England, Bayonne and Flanders, and for the greater security of themselves, the merchants, and others of those countries, is of considerable interest. It was agreed that all ships of England and Bayonne, and others of the dominion of England, going to Flanders, should carry " the signal of the arms of the King of England " ; and that the ships of the dominions of the Comit of Flanders, going by sea, should carry "the signal of the said Count," and also letters patent, sealed with the common seal of the city to which each ship belonged, certifying that it did belong to that town, and was subject to the count ; so that the enemies of England and Flanders might not profit by merely hoisting the count's signal. Injuries committed by one party to the convention against the other were to l)e punished by the simple rule of lex talionis ; and injiu-ies not capable of being so dealt with were to be redressed according to the law of the place where they were com- mitted ; but the general peace was not to be disturbed on account of any murder, robbery or other offence, nor of any delay in making redress.' A copy of the convention was delivered to John Savage at Gillingham, in order that it might be proclaimed throughout the navy. The agreement was preliminary to the conclusion of the treaty of alliance against France.'-'
Edward was delayed by disputes with the clergy and with the merchants concerning the taxes — disputes which eventually induced him to renounce the right of taxation without the consent of Parliament — and did not sail to co-operate with his new ally until August '2'2nd, 1297. On that day he embarked at Winchelsea in his cog, the Edward, and on board ship received the Great Seal from his Chancellor, Sir John de Langton, and delivered it to Sir John dc Benstede.^ A large fleet accompanied him, and an army stated to consist of fifteen hundred cavalry, and fifty thousand foot soldiers, of whom thirty thousand were Welsh. He landed at Sluis on the 27th,'' but was further impeded by a quarrel which almost im- mediately broke out between those ancient rivals the seamen of the
' ' Fiudera,' i. 801.
- lb., i. 862.
■'' Hardy's 'Catal. of the t'liancclldrs," 14 ; ' I'V.lcra,' i. HTH.
< Wikes, 304.
212 MILITARY HISTORY, llo4-130'J. [1299.
Cinque Ports and of Yarmouth The people of the Cinque Ports appear to have begim the conflict by boarding the Yanuouth vessels, burning more than twenty of them, and killing the crews. The king's commands were not listened to ; and only three of the Yarmouth ships succeeded in putting to sea and escaping from the fury of their assailants/ The French had a project for unexpectedly falling upon the English ships at Sluis and Damme and burning them at their anchors ; and they would probably have succeeded had they chosen the moment of this disgraceful outbreak ; but the carrying out of the plan was postponed until the English had heard of the intention ; and then they sailed.
In English history few foreign alliances have brought much good to the country, and the alliance with Flanders was no exception to the general rule. Edward was the catspaw of his nominal friends ; his affairs abroad did not prosper ; and there is little doubt that his interests were betrayed. In 1299 he found it advisable to conclude a two years' truce with France, upon the understanding that property captured by either party before the commencement of the war should be I'estored ; and orders to that effect were issued on September 18th.'-
But long before this Edward had been called home by the pressure of events in the north, where William Wallace had headed a revolt, and defeated the English near Stirling. The king, .after having requisitioned from the Cinque Ports a number of ships to facihtate his return, landed at Sandwich on March 14th, 1298, and at once proceeded to join his army in Scotland.
On December 3rd following, directions were issued to the Cinque Ports that the whole of their service, viz., fifty-seven ships, would be needed at Skinburness, near Carlisle, by June 6th, 1299 ;^ and similar directions were sent to forty-seven other English and six Irish ports, each of which was to provide from one to three ships.*
' Wikes, .jOi; Knii^hton, 251'J ; AValsinghaiii, -M, lias it that the seamen of Portsmouth ami Yarmouth were tlie culjirits.
- ' Fcedera,' i. 913.
» Ih., i. 901, 928; Kuighton, 2.M0.
* The ports were required to furnish ships as follows: — One ship apiece: Harwich, Orford, 8wynhumber (Swine), Dnnwich, Skottemutli with Brunnerauth, Tliornham witli Holm, Hecham with Flychene, Hull, St. Botolph, Whitby, Kavenseye, Hedon, Grimsby, Northfleet, Gillingham, Sheford, Weymouth, Exmoutli, Clyue (y CUine), Poole, Lynn (V Lyme), Teignmuuth, Plymouth, Looe, Bridgewater, Fowey, Sliorehaiu witli Briglielmston and Portsnioutli, Hereford, Waterford, Dublin, Youghall, Puss, Droglieda. Tiro shipa apie:e : I]i-!wich, Go-<f'rd witli ISaldsey, Blakency, Waintleet
1300.] I'l'.ACE WITH FHANCE. 213
But when the specified time arrived, some of the service of tlie Cinque Ports was dispensed with ; for only thirty of their vessels actually proceeded to Scotland, wliere the war dragged on until 1304, and broke out again under Kobert Bruce in 130G. For the prosecution of it, the bailiffs of the ports were told in May, 1300, to induce the inhabitants to send ships to the king. More vessels were called out on November 10th ;^ and when the rebellion was renewed in 130(3, " Gervase Alard,- Captain and Admiral of the king's fleet of the ships of the Cinque Ports, and also of all other ports from Dover to Cornwall, and of the whole county of Corn- wall," was ordered to proceed with his fleet to Skinburness or Kirk- cudbright ; and corresponding orders were dispatched to Edward Charles,^ " Captain and Admiral of the king's fleets from the Thames to Berwick-on-Tweed." ^ But, although the navy co- operated during the whole of the war, it appears to have had little to do beyond the convej^ance hither and thitlier of troops and stores.
Kenewals of the truce with France enabled Edward to con- centrate almost his whole strength upon Scotland. The truces led up, in 1300, to the conclusion of a treaty of marriage, wherein it was arranged that Edward should espouse Margaret, Philip's sister, and that Edward, Prince of Wales, should espouse Isabella, Philip's daughter. Later a regular peace was signed, and, in 1304, good relations were so far established that Edward undertook to assist Philip for four months with twenty ships in a French attack upon Flanders.^
Edward was on his way to press the campaign in Scotland,
witli Saltfleet, Xcwcastle, Scarbin-ough, Lonilon, Aldringhani, Hampton (Suutliampton), Dartmouth, Bristol, Cork. Thnv ships : Lynn. — ' Fu>dera,' i. !t28. The list s'ves .some clue to the relative im]iortance of the ports at that day.
\ Pat. Rolls, •>'.) & :» Edw. 1.
^ Gervase Alard came of a seafaring family of Winchelsea. He held high naval command iu IJIOO, 130^, and 130(). .Justin Alard, probahly a ueai- relative, was one of the captains of the fleet of the Tinque Ports iu l.'iOO, and Tliomas Alard was liailift' of Winciielsea in 1.30i. The family is the most conspicuous naval one of the fourteenth century.— Pat. Kolls, 31 & 3-t Edw. I. etc. ; Wardrobe Accts., 29 Edw. I.
' Edward Cliarles was probaljly the Sir Edward Charles wdio, born in 1272, served in Flanders and Scotland, and died about 1330. If so, he was son of Sir William Charles. He does not appear to have held high naval command except in 130(1. — Pat. Kolls, 34 Edw. [. m. 21.
* ' Ficlera,' i. iiilO.
^ Ih., i. 0(il, il(!2.
214 MILITARY HISTORY, 1154-1309. [1309.
when on July 7th, 1307, he died at Burgh-on-the-Sands, near Carhsle. He was succeeded by his son Edward II.
As soon as possible after his accession, Edward II. went to France to marry the Princess Isabella, to whom, as has been seen, he was affianced by treaty. Orders as to his passage were issued to the warden of the Cinque Ports in November, 1307 ; ^ the Sheriff of Kent was required to provide brows and clayes for the necessary vessels, and the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs of London were directed to furnish means of transport for the king's pavilions and tents." Edward went down to Dover about January 15th, 1308, and after providing those who were about to cross with him to Boulogne with letters of protection, entrusting the regency during his absence to Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall, and settling other matters, sailed on the 2'2nd.^ He was married at Boulogne on the 28th, and returned to Dover on February 7th.*
His father on his death-bed had enjoined him to vigorously prosecute the war with Scotland, but the young king waged it only with indecision and feebleness. In July, 1308, ships were dispatched from Hartlepool and other ports to the relief of Aberdeen, under the command of William le Betour,^ and in October ten good ships were ordered to be sent by the ports of Norfolk and Suffolk, and ten more by the ports between Yarmouth and Berwick, to assist in the defence against the Scots of the town last named. With each ship were to be fifty strong and well-armed men." At the same time, as also in the following year, the keeper of the port of Dover was forbidden to allow any baron, knight, or other notable person to quit the realm during the continuance of the Scots war without the king's licence.'
On October 26th, 1309, the Mayor of Yarmouth was directed to provide two ships, with forty men in each, for the defence of Perth," and on June 18th, 1310, two persons were deputed to choose one hundred and forty of the stoutest and strongest mariners that could be found in the port of London, and in other places as far as Feversham, and to have them before the council at W^est- minster by the end of that month, armed and ready to j)roceed on the king's service to Scotland.^ On the same day. Sir John de
' 'Fu'dera,' ii. 14, 15. " Scots Kolls, i. o8.
- lo., ii. IT. ' ' Fccdera,' ii. 58, 95.
=■ IK, il. 22, 27, 29. * Scots Rolls, i. 78.
* Hemingford, i. 241 ; ' Fccdera,' ii. •".1. • Ih., i. 84.
° Scots ]{olls, i. 55.
1310.] THE WAR WITH SCOTLAND. 2^5,
Caiinton ' was appointed " cajitain and oovernor"" of tlic fleet destined for Perth, and letters were dispatched to the ports to the effect that, Rohert Bruce havin<f broken truce and renewed the war, Edward intended to go in person to Berwick-on-Tweed, and required the aid of the navy. Every port was therefore to provide one or mpre ships, armed, manned, and stored, and to send them l)y August 1.5th to Dublin, whence they would be conducted to Scotland by Sir Eichard de Burgh, Earl of Ulster, to serve with the rest of the English navy which was being dispatched thither. The force thus raised consisted of fifty ships, of which Yarmouth supplied six, Lynn four, other large ports two, and the smaller ports one apiece." Ultimately the arrangements were altered by an order of August '2nd. The ships originally ordered to make rendezvous at Dublin were assembled at the Isle of Man, and the others went direct to Scot- land, under the orders of Sir Simon de Montacute, "Admiral of Our Navy."^ Some of these ships, on their way north, were attacked by pirates from Holland and Hainault, whereupon the Count of Elanders was, on November 9th, earnestly requested to repress the marauders, who professed to be under his protection."
The campaign of 1310 was of so feeble a nature that Kobert Bruce was encouraged to carry the war into his enemy's territory. As early as the autunm of the year, intelligence seems to have been received in England of liobert's intention to seize Man, to winter there, and to use the island as a base from which to make attacks. upon the Enghsh coast, and the sheriffs of the counties nearest to the threatened point were directed to assist the steward of the Bishop of Durham in equipping vessels to repel the descent.^
More ships were called out in 1311, and ordered to make rendezvous at Wolreckford, near Knockfergus, to proceed to Scot- land under Sir John of Argyle," " .\dmiral and Captain of the king's
' Sir .luhu lie Cauutnu seems to have lieen a Leicestersliire iientli'iiiaii. In l.'il.'i he ohiained a pardon for having been eoiicerned in the death of Tiers (iavestnn. His only high command at sea was that of 1^10. — Scots Rolls, i. 82.
- ' Fredera," ii. 109. Similar orders were sent to the Cinque Ports.
•■' Scots Rolls, i. it2; 'lAudera,' ii. 114.
< ' Fcedera,' ii. 118.
" ]h., ii. 122 ; Scots Rolls, i. IIG.
'■ Sir John of Argyle, a Scotsman who sided against his country during its struggle for independence, served abroad umlcr Edward I. in 12'J7. lie held high naval commands in 1311, 1314, and l.'Uf), ,ind died in i:!l<; whilst on a pilgrimage to Canterbury, leaving one son, Sir Alan, and iirohalily another, Sir Alex.ander.— Scots Rolls, i. Oil, 121 ; ' Fcfdera,' ii. 13!).
216 MILITARY ElSTOnr, nU-\ZVJ. [loK;!.
fleet on the Coast of Argyle, and in other parts of Scotland." The army ashore did niiserabl}', for Bruce ravaged the Enghsh border counties ; but the fleet seems to have done better, unless, indeed, Edward merely desired to make sure of its assistance in the domestic conflict which was fast becoming inevitable, for on October 12th, in a letter to Sir John of Argyle,' the king complimented and thanked that oflicer, and also addressed "his beloved sailors and mariners of England and Ireland," thanking all and each of them, and commanding them to continue their services during the winter.^
In 131'2, the barons, disgusted with the favour shown to Gaveston, took arms under Thomas of Lancaster, and pursued the king to the north. He fled from Newcastle to Tynemouth, and embarking thence in a small vessel with Gaveston, reached Scar- borough.- There Gaveston, after a siege, was taken, and he was subsequently beheaded on Blacklow Hill. Civil war lasted until 13'2'2, when Lancaster, in his turn, was taken and executed.
During all these years the war with Scotland continued, although the Scots won most of the advantage, and nearly all the honour of the strife. In 1813, Edward was in France from May 23rd to July 16th, in order to conduct in person negotiations concerning Gascony.^ He was again in France, for the performance of a pilgrimage, from the 12th to the 20th of December.^ In that year, apparently because the attempts first made in 1310 to obtain redress for outrages committed by Flanders pirates had failed, an embargo was laid upon all Flamand shipping in the port of London, and in July a considerable fleet was called out and placed under the orders of Sir William de Montacute.^
In 1314, when vessels were required to carry further reinforce- ments to Scotland, the king's two valets, John Sturmy " and Peter
' Scots KolLs i. 107.
- Walsingliaiii, 7.j ; Trokelowe's ' Aiuni EiUv. II.,' 15.
" 'Fcedcra,' ii. 2lL', MIT, 322.
■* lb., ii. 23>S.
'' lb., ii. 210, 219, 223. He was eldest sun ol' Siiuun, first Lord Montacute. Fur his services in tlie Scots Wars lie was made a K.B. He died in Gascony in 1320.
° Sir John Sturmy was one of the king's valets \\\\ to 131-4, held land in "Norfolk and Essex, and in 1315 and 1318 was keeper of the town and castle of Oxford. He held high naval commands in 1314, 1315, 1324, 1325, and 1320 ; and, after serving; Edward HI. in a civil capacity, died about 1343 — Scots Kolls, 151, 155; ' Fa>dera,' ii. 277; Pat. Kolls, IH Edw. H. 1, ni. 36; Gascon Kolls, 18 Edw. IT. m. 20, 28; Walsingham, 100; Close Kolls, 11) Edw. II. m. 5, 7, 8; Pat. Rolls, 10 Edw. II. 1, Ml. 10, 12; Ttcdcra," ii. 037.
lUL] THE WAR WITH HVOTLASD. 217
Bard,' were on March l'2th appointed jointly and severally admirals and captains of the Heet for Bcotland, and on the same day all civil authorities were enjoined to assist John Stunny, master of the king's ship Christoplier of Westminster, and the masters of the king's other ships, Isabel, Blessed Man/, St. Michael, and Leonard of Westminster, in selecting mariners and other fighting-men.'- Six days later, similar injunctions were issued with reference to twenty-one more of the king's ships, one cog, and one harge ; and additional vessels were called out and directed to make rendezvous at Wliitsuntide at Aberconway, previous to service in Scotland.^ As Sir John of Argyh- was again appointed captain and admiral on March '25th, it may be supposed that Sturmy and Bard were then superseded, although the former of these was often employed afterwards in a similar higli command. His squadron went to Ireland to embark four thousand foot soldiers, and also, apparently, to pick up there certain vessels belonging to the Earl of Ulster's command.* The fleet of the Cinque Poi'ts, on the other hand, was ordered on April 1st to go eastward and northward to Berwick, and to make rendezvous there on June '24th ;° but before it arrived at its destination Bruce's victory at Bannockburn had been won, and had put an entirely new complexion upon the campaign. The forces already in employment were then judged to be insufficient, and on July '25th yet another demand for ships, this time to the number of thirty, was made, the vessels being ordered to assemble at Kingston-upon-HuU.^
Sir John of Argyle was in 1315 re-appointed " captain " of the king's fleet for Scotland and the isles of Argyle, and William de Creye,' and Thomas de Hewys, " admirals of the fleet of the king's ships in Scotland," were instructed to obey him as their superior officer ;* so that here we have a fine example of the confusion which, as estimated Ijy modern standards, existed at the beginning of the
' I'cter Baiil, m- auutlier of his imiue, again held high ccpiauiaml at soa in locj^i and 1338.— Scot.s Kolls, i. loo.
- Scots IJolls, i. IIG. ■' //<., i. IIT. * //'., i. I'J'-'.
" ' Fucdera,' ii. 240.
" Scuts Hnlis, i. 12!l.
' Sir Wilhaiii de Cre.vc did iiuUtai-y service as early as 12S'2, and was moiiilH'r nt' Parliament fur Kent in 130H and 1313. lie seems never to have held high command at sea except on two occasions in 131,"), and for these services he was granted the wardship of a niinur.
" Scots liolls, i. i:;'.i.
218 MILITAllY HISTORY, 1154-1309. [1314.
fourteenth century with regard to the relative rank of admirals and captains. In this case the "captain" was the senior officer. At the same time John, Lord Botetort, was given conuuand of the fleet on the eastern side of the island, from the Thames northward.^ One of the measures adopted at about the same date against Scotland was the prohibition, under the heaviest penalties, of the sending to that part of the island of provisions, arms, iron, steel, or any other commodities."
Bruce probably drew most of such supplies as Scotland could not provide from the continent, for the king learnt, early in the year, that thirteen large Scots cogs were at Sluis, loading with arms and stores, and thereupon ordered Botetort, who had, it would appear, just received into one of his ships, the Christopher of Yarmouth, one hundred foot soldiers and sailors levied in Norfolk, to proceed to sea with the men of Yarmouth, and to seize the cogs, if they had quitted Flanders. But there is no record that the mission was successfully carried out.
Bruce, in fact, was pressing Edward closely. In the spring he landed a large army at Larne, near Belfast, under command of his brother Edward, who caused a very formidable rising of the native Irish, took Dundalk, received the submission of the O'Neil, defeated the O'Connors and the Earl of Ulster, laid siege to Carrickfergus, and crushed Lord Justice Mortimer. All this obliged the king of England to countermand orders which had been given to the Earl of Ulster to proceed to Scotland, and forced him to send troops aird vessels, which he could not easily And, to Ireland as well as to Scotland.
On May 29th, William de Creye was appointed " captain and admiral of the king's fleet of the Cinque Ports on the western coast of England, and on the coasts of Ireland and Wales," and Sir John of Argyle was made "captain of the mariners of the fleet of the Cinque Ports."'' In June, when sufficient ships for the northern expedition had been obtained, the sheriffs of certain counties were empowered to release the vessels which they had been ordered to arrest, and whicli were not needed. Early in July, John de Athy was made captain and leader of eleven Bristol ships destined for Scotland, and a passage in his patent indicates that, shortly before, William de Creye had been appointed " admiral-in-chief " '' of the fleet
' Scots Kolls, i. 13!J. ^ Scots IJolls, i. 144.
^ Ih., i. 140. "* ('(ij.ifii/f'iii tti/inh-:(lluiii : Scots l!o]Is, i. 14l!.
l.Uo.] PIRACY OFF MARGATE. 219
on the western coasts. Previous to leaving port, the vessels appear to have been systematically surveyed, lor in July three surveyors were told off to look to the shipping preparing in the ports on the east coast, and two more to look to those in the ports on the west.' A proclamation, ordered on August 12th, rescinded the prohibition of the export of provisions, and conmianded merchants to send stores to the north for the army under the Earl of Lancaster, but directed that secimty should be given that none of these stores should reach the king's enemies.-
In the midst of Edward's anxieties, the King of France applied to him for assistance against the Count of Flanders. The King of England, in his reply, explained his difficulties, and courteously regretted that he could not spare ships, but added that he had ordered his admirals. Sir Humphrey de Littlebury^ and Sir John Sturmy, in particular, and his other admirals in general, to lose no opportunity of doing damage to the enemies of the French king, and to co-operate with his commanders at sea.* But Louis of France, though so anxious for English help, does not seem to have adequately protected Enghsh interest ; for in November, 181-5, Edward again wrote to his royal kinsman to complain that off Margate twenty-two ships of Calais had attacked four ships laden with wool and other goods, and bound from London to Antwerp, and had killed some and wounded others of their crews, taking one ship worth 2000 marks, and refusing to give her up.'* At about the same time, the Constable of Dover Castle seized several Spanish ships laden with arms and provisions for Flanders, and as Louis, on hearing of the affair, wrote begging that the ships should be retained and their crews enslaved," it is probable that if only in order to procure the granting of his own wishes in the one case, the French king made suitable recompense with reference to the other. It will be seen that questions connected with the transmission of contraband of war cropped up again in the following year.
Discipline must have been lax in the navy in those days of foreign war and civil upheaval. In November, 1815, some piratical vessels having appeared off the coast near Berwick, Sir John Sturmy and William Gettour, as " captains and admirals " of six ships, were
' Scots Kolls, i. 141), 1-17. ' 'Fu-aera,' ii. 227.
^ Jh., i. 14!). '• Ih., ii. •-'7!l, 2W).
» ' frjedeia,' ii. 277. " 7i., ii. 2K1.
220 MILITARY l/ISTOnr, 11.-.4-1399. [lai'i-
sent after them, with directions to prevent Berwick from being attacked.^ They chose to do nothing of the kind, and in March, loK), they were severely reprimanded, it appearing that, instead of proceeding on the duty assigned to them, they had anchored at Kirkley, and other ports, and had suffered their people, without punishment, to plunder and harass the inhabitants of those places. They were curtly reminded of their duty, and com- manded to go to Berwick, which needed assistance, without further delay.-
Early in the year, France had to complain that the keepers of the ports had allowed goods and provisions to be conveyed between Flanders and England. Edward, replying on March 19th, doubted the accuracy of the statement, seeing that he knew that Flamands had lately attacked and captured English ships, and killed their crews ; but he promised to make inquiry.* As on a previous occasion, France did not come into court with clean hands. A large Genoese ship, bound for England under the protection of Edward, had, at about the same time, been seized, while lying in the Downs, by one Berenger Bauck, of Calais, who had wounded and otherwise ill- treated the merchants and seamen on board, and, although claims for compensation were repeatedly made, no satisfaction was ever obtained.*
Two examples of the enforcement of reprisals against nominally friendly powers occurred in 1316. In one case the offending power was Castille. On May 18th, the seneschal of Gascony was directed to seize Castillian goods and merchandise to the value of 165 marks, and to hold the same imtil that sum, being compensation for losses incurred by English subjects in the preceding reign, should be paid.^ In the second case, the offenders were Enghshmen. A subject of Haco, King of Norway, seized at Selag a ship belonging to one Bedeford, of Kingston-upon-Hull, and, upon representations being made, Haco courteously answered that three years previously his ship, called the BaiiAic, with cargo worth ,i'300, had been seized by the said Bedeford and his accomplices of Lynn, and that as no satisfaction had been vouchsafed, reprisals had been permitted.^
■ Scots Rolls, i. 1.51. ■* ' Fccaera,' ii. 292, 350, 455.
- Ih., i. 154. ■' Ih., ii. 290.
» ' Fa'ilera,' ii. 288.
" Ih., ii. 29-'! ; Corre.'iiionik'nce ])riiiteil l>\ Kiitick (1757), 5, 94, 95.
1317.] THE lUISH liEUELLION CRUHIIEI). 221
In the early winter, Sir Kobert de Leybourne ^ took command of a fleet against the Scots ; a large army for Ireland was placed mider Roger, Lord Mortimer of Wigmore ; Sir Nicholas Kyriel - was appointed admiral of the fleet, drawn from the Cinque Ports and other ports to the westward, that was destined to convey the expedition, and Bristol and the adjacent ports were directed to send twenty large ships to Haverfordwest, apparently for employment under Kyriel, by February "ind following.
In 1317, Edward sent to Genoa to hire or purchase five fighting galleys, fully manned and equipped.^ The fleets in the Narrow Seas wei'e under John de Perbroun, of Yarmouth,'' who commanded in the north ; Sir Robert de Lej'bourne, who commanded in the west ; and John de Athy,' who commanded in the Irish Sea and on the west coast of Scotland. In November, the authorities of the Cinque Ports were forbidden to allow any noble or other eminent person to quit the realm without the king's licence.''
In 1318, the Irish rebellion was crushed, on October .5th, at Dundalk, where Edward Bruce fell ; Init the comitry was left in a state of ruin, and the moral, even of the English settlers, had suffei'ed so severely that a few years afterwards William and Edward de Burgh, scions of a great Nomian house, and sons of an English viceroy, so far forgot themselves as to deliberately renounce their allegiance, divide Connaught jjetween them, and adopt the Irish language, apparel, and laws.
In Scotland, Robert Bruce was more successful. He took
' Sir Hubert de Leybourne was prubably a near relative of William, Luiil Ijeybourne. He served in Scotland in 1.308, and was member of Parliament for Cumberland and Westmoreland in succession. In 1322 he was Sherift' of Chester. He held high naval command in 1310, 1317, 1322, and 1326, and died early in the reisn of Edward III.— Scots Bolls, i. 1G6 ; Pat. Rolls, 15 Edw. II. m. la ; ' F.rdera, ii. 487 ; Pat. Polls, 20 Edw. II. m. 20.
- Sir Nicholas Kyriel, (Jr Criol, younger sun of a knight nt' the same nauie, was born in 1283, and served with the army in 1319. His only years of high command at sea were 131G, 1325, and 1320. — ' Fccdera,' ii. .305; Walsingham, 100; ' Fcrdera," ii. 637 ; Pat. Rolls, lil Edw. II. 1, m. 10, 11 ; 20 Edw. II. ni. 15.
■' ' Fffidera,' ii. 313.
' John de Perbroun, of Yarmouth, was member of Parliament for that jilace in 1322 and 1324. He held high command at sea in 1317, 1322, 1323, 1327, and 1333.— Pat. Rolls, 15 Edw. II. m. 13 ; 16 Edw. II. m. 11, etc.
^ .John de Athy, a]iparently an Irishman, had custudy of the cnunty and castle of Limericlv in 130it. He held high C(jmmau<l at sea in 1315, 1317, 1319, and 1335, but in 1337 was reprimanded for cowardice and neglect of ■ duty. — Scots Rolls, i. 146 ; Pat. Rolls, 10 Edw. II. m. 22 ; Abb. Orig. Rolls, 248.\, etc.
" ' Fccdera,' ii. .347.
222 MTLITAEY HISTOBY, 1154-1300. [ISIO.
Berwick, in spite of the efforts of the Eiighsh garrison, seconded by a fleet under Wilham Gettour ; ^ and, although in August Edward raised a large army and called out more ships, he effected little or nothing against the enemy.
In the winter of the year there occurred a tragedy which is singularly illustrative of the modes of thought of the time. A ship bound from Flanders to Scotland was driven by heavy weather into the mouth of the Thames, and lay for shelter in the Hope, off Cliffe, the inhabitants of which place summoned the strangers to surrender, and, upon their refusing, massacred everj'one of them. For the service, Edward rewarded them with the whole cargo, worth .i'28 10s., taking the ship and her rigging, valued at ten marks, for himself."
For the prosecution of the Scots war, greater sacrifices than ever were required in 1319. A fresh naval subsidy was raised, and the ports had to provide ships with double crews, and to maintain them for three or four months at their own expense, the king providing wages only after the expiration of that period.^ A squadron was directed to cruise in the Channel under Simon de Dryl^y,"* William de Thewell, and Eobert Ashman,^ who appear from the patent to have been invested with several as well as joint commands ; and as these oflicers were commissioned to repress " the malice and rebelHon of our Scots enemies and rebels," it may perhaps be assumed that Bruce's vessels had ceased to confine their operations to their own waters. On the west, the command was in the hands of John de Athy.'^ Later in the year, Simon de Dry by was made " admiral and captain of the king's fleet in Scotland." ' We learn, incidentally, that Ashman's vessel was the Michael of Great Yarmouth, and that South Yarmouth jjrovided two ships called the Bennct and the Garland.^
In 1320, the conclusion of a two years' truce" with Scotland
1 Scots Eolls, i. 181, 184.
2 Abbrev. Orig. Rolls, 12 Edw. II., 243. ' Scots EoUb, i. 102.
■■ Simon de Dryby seems to have been a Lincolnshire or Norfolk gentleman. His only high command at sea was held in 1310. He died about 1323. — Scots Eoll, i. 194.
'' Robert Ashman was Bailiff of Great Yarmouth in 132«. That of 1310 seems to have been his only high naval command. — Scots Rolls, i. 104.
" Pat. Rolls, 12 Edw. II. m. 20.
' Scots Rolls, i. 202. « lb., i. 105.
' ' Foedera,' ii. 412.
l.)J2.] tiETTLUMENT OF A PiilVArE FEUD. 223
peiinitted some relaxation of a strain wliich must liave been very severely felt, and allowed Edward to pay a visit to Philip V. of France. The king i-emained abi'oad only about a month, and disembarked at Dover on July 2'2nd.'
At about this time Edward entrusted the custody of the Cinque Ports to the younger Hugh le Despencer, who seems to have abused his position by committing various piratical acts, among which may be included the capture, in 132'2, of two dromons with cargo worth 40,000 marks.'- Accepting this as an unexaggerated estimate of the treasure, and making allowance for the then high purchasing power of money, the capture may be regarded as almost as rich a one as was made at sea by any English force, even in the days of the Spanish galleons.
A kind of private war, which had for some time existed between the mariners of England and those of Brittany, was provisionally ended in August by an agreement providing for a truce to last until November, 1822, and for the appointment, in the meantime, of two arbitrators on each side, with power to compel submission to their decision.^ The truce was subsequently prolonged for two years.'* This step towards the settlement of a dangerous series of disputes may have suggested to Edward the desirability of making an end to the long-standing dissensions between the barons of the Cinque Ports and the seamen of Poole, Weymouth, Lyme, and South- ampton, which had led to many murders, robberies, and burnings of ships. The king ordered the issue of a proclamation forbidding, under heavy penalties, any man to injure the people of the said towns or their property ; and directed the warden to send six of the barons to lodge the complaint of the Cinque Ports against the seamen before himself in council, and then to submit to such decision as might be given.
When the truce with Scotland expired in 13'22, the Scots entered Northumberland in order to join the English rebels under Thomas, Earl of Lancaster ; and after the Earl had been defeated at Boroughbridge, orders were issued to the Warden of the Cinque Ports that no one of whom he had not full knowledge should be permitted to quit the kingdom, and that any rebels venturing within his jurisdiction should be arrested.^' Not improbably the
' 'Ftcdera," ii. 421, 428. * ' Fccdera," ii. 498.
'' Walsiiigham, U2 ; Knighton, 1'i'i\K '• Ih., ii. 47«.
' ' Fn'ilera, ii. 45G.
224 MILITARY mSTORY, llo4-1300. [1324.
semi-piratical Flamauds were in league with the insurgents, for in April a large fleet belonging to them was reported to be off the coast, and to have committed outrages, and the Cinque Ports, Great Yarmouth, and other places were directed to fit out ships to resist them, in case they should seek to take advantage of the king's approaching journey to Scotland.' In 132'2, and again in 1323, Robert Battayle - was appointed captain and admiral of the fleet of the Cinque Ports, and John de Perbroun, captain and admiral of the northern fleet, and, in the earlier year, Sir Koljert de Leybourne held the command on the west coast of Scotland, and in the Irish Sea. John de Athy, who had been admiral on the coast of Ireland, seems to have held command of a special squadron for the defence of Carrickfergus.^ The king's ships employed in 1222 against Scotland were the Rose, Eleanor, Godale, Magdalene, two of the name of Blithe, Katherine, Squynkyn, James, Nicholas, and John, the last being a cog.* In 1323, the Scots war was for a time terminated by the conclusion of a thirteen years' truce. ^ At the m.oment of its conclusion, an English naval force was being assembled off Dalkey Island, near Dublin, to convey troops to Skinburness, and then to serve against Scotland.''
That trade existed between England and Venice is shown by an occurrence of this year. The crews of two Venetian galleys, which Viad come to Southampton with merchandise, had an affray with the servants and tenants of Sir John de Lisle. Several people were killed on each side, and the Venetians carried off some property which did not belong to them. The aft'air was settled jjy the Venetian merchants paying Sir John a sum of money, and by the king formally pardoning them.'
In 1324, the piracies of the subjects of the Count of Zeeland led to the seizure of all ships belonging to the Count that happened to 1)6 in ports under the jurisdiction of the bailifl's of the Bishop of Norwich. The cargoes of these ships were not to be distrained
' 'Fcedera," ii. 484, 48.5.
- Kobert Battayle was Maynr of Winclielsea in lM3o. He IieUl high naval command only in 1322 and 1323. — Pat. Kolls, 1.5 Edw. II. m. 13, an 1 Ifi lidw. U. lii. 18.
■' ' Fitdera,' ii. 485.
' WardroV)e Accts., 17 Edw. II.
' ' Foedera,' ii. 521. It was signe<l on May 30th.
" lb., ii. 51G.
' Jh., ii. 514, 540.
1324.] FBESH WAR WITH FRANCE. 225
upon, but ships and cargoes were to be kept pending further orders/
In France, Charles IV. had succeeded his brother Phihp, and, choosing to consider his dignity sHghted because Edward had not attended his coronation to do homage for Guienne, had entered that duchy with an army in 1223. It therefore became necessary for Edward to send a large force to Gascony. A squadron for the purpose was raised in May, 1324, from Southampton, Ports- mouth, Yarmouth, Poole, and nine other ports, and ordered to make rendezvous at Portsmouth by the 22nd of the month ; and the port sheriffs elsewhere were commanded to hold ready for the king's service, at three days' notice, all such of their ships as could carry forty tuns of wine or more. They were also forbidden to allow any vessels to go abroad, and to detain such as might return from sea ; and warnings were issued to sailors concerning the risks of capture.^ As on a previous occasion, the ships were surveyed, the surveyor in this case being a priest.* The admirals of the year were, for the Gascony fleet. Sir John de Cromwell ; * for the western fleet, Sir Robert Beudyn.^and, in his absence, Stephen Alard ;* and for the northern fleet. Sir John Sturmy.
"War was proclaimed by Edward on July 22ud, and in September all Frenchmen in England were arrested, and their goods seized.' In October, a French invasion was apprehended in Norfolk, and special instructions were sent to the inhabitants of Lynn and Norwich to aid Sir Eobert de Montalt and Sir Thomas Bardolf,. the keepers of the coast in that county.' London was also ordered to prepare all its ships that could be used for war, to doubly man
' ' Foedera,' ii. 544.
2 Ih., ii. 552.
3 Pat. Eolls, 17 Edw. 11.
■* Sir John de Cromwell, Lord Cromwell, was at the siege of Carlaverock in 1300. Edward II. made him a baron, and Constable of the Tower. He afterwards headed an embassy to France. He was again Constable of the Tower under Edward HI. His death occurred about 1333. — ' Foedera,' ii. 562.
" Sir Robert Beudyn, a Devonshire man, was sheriff of his county in 13111, and member of Parliament for it in 1320, 1322, and 1324. In 1327 he was member fur Cornwall. He held high command at sea only in 1324. — Gascon Rolls, 18 Edw. II. m. 22 ; Close Rolls, 19 Edw. II. m. 16 ; Issue Rolls, 18 Edw. II.
'' Stephen Alard belonged to the Winchelsea family of seamen, and was in 1307 collector of c\istoms at Rye and Winchelsea. In 1326 he obtained lands at Cheding- stone. The high naval command of 1324 appears to have been his only one. — Pat. Rolls, 18 Edw. II. 1, m. 22.
' ' Foedera,' ii. 570.
* lb., ii. 573.
VOL. I. Q
226 MILITARY BISTORT, 1154-1399. [1325.
them, and to seud them to Winchelsea.^ But the Pope intervened, and, early in 1325, the arrested Frenchmen were released ; and in March, Queen Isabella was allowed to proceed to France, in order that she might induce her brother to agree to terms. Before noticing the results of her mission, it will be well to return to the year 1324, in order to chronicle an affair which throws much light upon the then existing customs respecting letters of marqiie and reprisal3.
Two galleys of Majorca had been captured hy some English adventurers or pirates, and Sancho, King of Majorca, had sent an envoy to England to obtain reparation. Not succeeding, Sancho dispatched Peter Jacobi to Edward with letters repeating the demand. Edward rephed on September 18th, declaring that he had already signified his readiness to do full justice according to the laws of his realm, and that he was investigating the matter, but that the inquiry was not completed. James, King of Aragon, wrote to him on the same subject, and informed him that the practice in Aragon was that if any subjects were accused of robberies at sea, a certificate of the fact would, at the suit of the aggrieved parties, be received in the coiu't of Aragon, and that, if the robbery were proved, the value of the stolen property would be considered to be sufficiently established by the oath of the losers ; and that in such a case he would require compensation from the lords of the robbers, and, if these did not comply, that he should grant letters of reprisals .to his subjects, so that the injm-ed parties might obtain recompense. But Edward replied that the system of Aragon did not prevail in England, nor between that country and the neighbouring states, where letters of reprisals were only granted when justice, having been regularly demanded, could not be obtained ; and he added that he could not legally do anything against the laws and customs of his realm, to the prejudice of his subjects, nor could any other prince do so. To Sancho he also wrote that Jacobi might remain in England until the inquiry was finished."
In May, 1325, a disgraceful peace was made with France, it being agreed that Charles should hold Guienne until Edward appeared in person at Beauvais to do homage for it, and that the ownership of the Agenois, part of Guienne, should be determined by the French peers.^ There is little doubt that the queen betrayed
' Gascon Rolls, 18 Edw. 11. m. 25, 29. = ' Fccdcra,' ii. 568, 590, 608.
' Ih., ii. 601, 602.
132G.] TREASON OF QUEEN ISABELLA. 227
her husband over this business ; but at first Edward seems not to have suspected her, and he made peaceful preparations for going to Fraiice. The Cinque Ports were ordered to have ships at Dover ready for his passage on August 15th,^ but when, on August 24th, the king went down to the Abbey of Langdon, near Dover, he fell ill. He then proposed, probably at the queen's instigation, that his son Prince Edward should go in his stead to do homage for Aquitaine. This was agreed to, on condition that Guienne and Poitou should be handed over to Charles, and, Edward weakly consenting, the prince sailed on September 12th.-
Isabella, with her son at her side, .scarcelj' took pains to conceal her policy any longer. Edward became at length suspicious, and on September 30th, ordered the keepers of the ports of Kent and Sussex to be particularly vigilant, and to arrest persons whose character or business was doubtful.^ Sir John Sturmy, admiral of the fleet to the northward, was directed to keep his ships in readiness in their ports ; but, for some unknown reasons, he represented that there was no real danger, and was allowed to release some of the vessels.* Sir Nicholas Kyriel commanded in the west,'^ and Sir John Felton also had a command afloat ; and, towards the end of the year, the three admirals appear to have been invested with authority to cruise against French commerce, and to have taken one hundred and twenty ships of Normandy." A little later, Isabella threw off all disguise. Troops were raised in England in her name ; Edward withdrew his ambassadors from France, and formally banished his queen and his son, and the troops of Charles again entered Guienne.
Kenewed orders were issued in January, 1326, for the examination of suspicious persons and documents at the ports ; ' neither men, nor arms, money, or provisions were permitted to go out of the realm by way of Dover without the king's hcence, merchants on their necessary business being alone excepted,* and various other precautions were taken. The Pope tried to mediate, but in vain. Sir Ealph Bassett, Constable of Dover, received instructions to welcome the Papal emissaries with all care for their protection, and all regard to their dignity ; and was specially enjoined not to
' ' Fanlera,' ii. 604, 605, GOG. ^ Tat. Kolls, lil E.hv. 11. m. 10.
- lb., ii. 607, 608, 609. " Walsingliam, 100.
• " Ih., ii, 610. ' ' Fcedera,' ii. 617.
' Ih., ii. 614. « Ih., ii. 618, Cl'J.
Q 2
228 MILITARY HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1326.
approach them with too many ships, lest they should be frightened.^ Edward, in fact, was ready enough to treat ; but France and the queen, fully alive to the superiority of their position, wanted absolute surrender.
In July, the king, in consequence of continued French aggres- sions, authorised attacks upon all Charles's subjects, except the Flamands and Bretons ; but added that, if the King of France would release the English merchants and ships which he had arrested, he, in like manner, would release French merchants and their goods." In August, great efforts were made to raise ships, and all vessels of fifty tons and upwards in ports north and west of the Thames were ordered to Portsmouth, to serve under Kyriel, on pain of seizure, and the imprisonment of their officers, while the smaller craft were to remain in their ports, and not to go fishing or on other business.^ Meanwhile, all French subjects in England, except Flamands, were arrested.
Charles of France, deterred by the strong representations of the Pope, at length obliged his sister. Queen Isabella, to quit his dominions ; and, at the suggestion of the Count of Artois, she went with her son to Hainault, where she secured the support of Count William, and agreed that Prince Edward should marry his daughter Philippa. A considerable force was assembled on her behalf, and shipping for its transport was collected at Dordrecht, with a view to a landing at Orwell, in Suffolk.*
Edward, informed of the intended expedition, ordered to Orwell all vessels of thirty tons or more belonging to ports northward of the Thames,^ and entrusted the northern or North Sea command, first to Sir Robert de Leybourne,"* and then to Sir -John Sturmy.' Twelve ships, each having on board forty well-armed men, were summoned from London and the Kentish ports to cruise off the Foreland ; twelve more, from the ports in the north, were stationed off Shields ; and yet twelve more, from Harwich and Ipswich, served off Orfordness."^ In September, Bayonne was ordered to co-operate in the general defence against France ; ' but by that time it was too late.
Queen Isabella, Prince Edward, and Sir John of Hainault,
1 ' Fcrdera,' ii. 628. ° P.it. EoUs, 20 Edw. II m. 15.
" lb., ii. 635, 659. " /*., 20 Edw. II. m. 20.
^ lb., ii. 637. " Close Rolls, 20 Edw. II. m. 7, 18.
* Buchon's FroisBart, i. 10-13. " ' Focdera,' ii. 640.
' ' Fadera," ii. 639. •
1.12(1.] QUEEN ISABELLA'S INVASION. 229
brother of the reigning Count, embarked at Dordrecht about September 22nd, with upwards of two thousand seven hundred men-at-arms. After anchoring for a night off the dykes of Holland, the fleet coasted along Zeeland, but was driven out of its course by a gale of wind, and for two days was ignorant of its whereabouts. At length the English coast was sighted, and on September 26th a landing was effected on a sandy beach, probably near Aldborough, or between that j)lace and Southwold. Some of the chroniclers* say that the queen landed at Harwich ; but this is i:nlikely, firstly, because it is stated that upon their arrival the troops did not know in what part of England they were — an assertion that cannot be reconciled with the contiguity of one of the largest ports in the kingdom to the place of disembarkation ; and, secondly, because there is every reason to suppose that the English ships, ordered to be at the mouth of the Orwell on September 21st, must have been there by the 26th, and because the queen met with no resistance.
Three days were enaployed in landing the horses and arms. The expeditionary force then marched to Bury St. Edmunds.^ Isabella's appeal to the country was entirely successful, and she was joined by all classes of the population. The king's appeal,^ on the other hand, issued on the 27th, and drawing special attention to the presence with the invaders of Roger Mortimer, the queen's paramour, produced no effect ; and, on October 20th, Prince Edward assumed the government of the country as Guardian of the Realm.'' The king, deserted by all except the younger Le Despencer and Robert Baldock, the Chancellor, fled to the west, where, en- deavouring to escape to Lundy Island, or to Ireland, he was taken by Sir Henry Beaumont.^ On January 20th, 1827, he was com- pelled to abdicate, and on January 25th the Prince ascended the throne as Edward III. In the interim, Isabella had rewarded thirty-five sailors of Bayonne with i'lO for their services in conveying her to England ; and the Constable of Dover had been ordered to provide twenty passage vessels, to convey some of the Hainault troops back to Flanders."
' ^.jr. Robert of Avi!sli\uy, aiKMyalsiii-;!!:!!!!.
■^ Froissart, i. 13, 14.
^ ' Foedera,' ii. 64.S.
* Moor, 58; Walsinsliani, 105.
'' Buchon's Froissart, i. IG.
" ' Fccdera,' ii. 647.
230 MILITABY HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1327.
In the introduction to that period of his naval history which deals with the reign of the young prince, who thus, at the age of little more than fourteen, was called to the throne, Nicolas' says : —
" The name of Edward the Third is more identified with the naval glory of England than that of any other of her sovereigns, for though the sagacious Alfred and the chivalrous Eichard commanded fleets and defeated the enemy at sea, Edward gained in his own person two signal victories, fighting on one occasion until his ship actually sank under him, and was rewarded by his subjects with the proudest title e»er conferred upon a British monarch, ' King of the Sea.' But while the history of one part of Edward's reign is the brightest in our early annals, his exploits were followed by events which teach a lesson to this country of the highest value, and which was, perhaps, never more important than at this time," when a great nation is her avowed rival on the ocean, with a long series of disasters to avenge.
" Like the Nile, Camperdown, and Trafalgar, the battles of Sluis and L'Espagnols sur Mer led the English to imagine that they were always to command the sea, and, notwithstanding the repeated warnings of the Commons in Parliament, "the navy was so entirely neglected, that France and Spain obtained, and for manj^ years preserved, the maritime superiority. Defeats, if not disgrace, almost a total destruction of commerce, and, far worse, constant invasions of our shores, attended by rapine, bloodshed, and all other atrocities, were the consequences of this fatal error, which established, however, the momentous truth, that the honour, safety, greatness, and prosperity of England depend upon her navy."
The words of Nicolas are as true now as they were in 1847, when he published them, except that to-day, instead of one great rival, England has several formidable competitors. It is the duty of Englishmen to see to it that the sequel of their nineteenth-century naval glories shall not be as disastrous as that of their fourteenth- century ones.
Until 1330, the real power was not in Edward's hands, but in those of Mortmier, the queen, and Henry of Lancaster. In May, 1327, each of the northern ports was directed to supply one or two ships for service against the Scots, who, under Eobert Bruce, were preparing an invasion on a large scale. These ships were placed ' Nicolas, ii. 1. ^ I.e. in 1847.
1332.] EDWARD BALIOVS ADVENTURE. 231
under the orders of John de rerbroun, admiral of the north, and their appointed rendezvous was Yarmouth on May 18th.' Waresius de ValoifTnes was made admiral of the other, or western fleet, which included the squadron of the Cinqiie Ports ; and he was charged to proceed with it to Skinburness.'-^ The campaign ended on March 1st, 1328, in an inglorious peace, whereby the independence of Scotland was recognised, and Joanna, a daughter of Edward II., was promised in marriage to Robert's son David.
Philip VI., who succeeded to the French crown in 1328, lost little time in smnmoning Edward to do homage for his Duchy of Guienne ; and on May 26th, 1329, the young King of England embarked at Dover for Wissant, in a Winchelsea ship, attended by his Chancellor and a lai-ge suite. The homage was performed at Amiens on June 6th, and Edward retmiied to Dover on the 11th of the month. ^ In the following year he again visited France, to perform a vow made to Our Lady of Boulogne, leaving Dover on April 4th, and returning thither on April 20th. ^
The king was meditating a journey to Ireland in 1332, when Edward, son of John Baliol, in vindication of his claim to the throne of Scotland, landed in Fife.shire, with a number of English nobles, who had been dispossessed of property in Scotland. The expedition, consisting of three thoiisand men, disembarked at King- horn, where, it is said, ships had never touched before,^ and the ships were then sent into the mouth of the Tay. Baliol's success was at first rapid ; and since, immediately after his coronation at Scone, he offered homage to Edward, the latter deemed it prudent to assist him with an army.
In the meantime, Baliol was besieged in Perth by a Scots army. Tinder the Earl of Dunbar and Sir Archibald Douglas, who, not knowing how to deal with the English fleet which was lying in the river, and which was a powerful factor in the defence of the place, sent to Berwick for a celebrated Scots sailor named John Crabbe, described in the so-called Lanercost Chronicle as pirata crudelis et solenmis. Crabbe, who then hated the English, although, in return for the ingratitude and ill-treatment experienced from his country-
1 Tat. Rolls, 1 Edw. III. pt. ii. m. 23; Scots Rolls, i. 200, 211 ; t'arltuii Ri.le Roll, ' I.P.K.' 205.
2 Scots Rolls, i. 210.
' ' Fcrdera,' ii. TfiC ; Buclion's Froissart, i. 42, 4;!.
* lb., ii. 815, 818; 'Hist. Edw. III.' (Hearue), ii. 'Ml.
" Knighton, col. 2560.
232 MILITARY HISTORY, 115i-1399. [1333.
men, he subsequently entered the EngHsh service/ arrived in the Tay on August 24th, with twelve well-found Scots ships of Flanders build, and instantly fell upon the English vessels, which were not prepared for the attack. The enemy boarded and carried Lord Beaumont's barge, and slaughtered the whole of her crew ; but the remaining EngHsh ships were all so well defended that, after a hot fight, the Scots were completely defeated, Crabbe himself escaping with great difficulty, and regaining Berwick overland. The Scots vessels and their prize were burnt by the victors.^
In April, 1833, John Perbroun was again appointed admiral, and Henry Randolph, of Great Yarmouth, was associated with him in command of a fleet, or of fleets, for the operations against Scotland.^ The western fleet * was entrusted to Sir William Chnton.^ Ships were raised in the ports in the usual manner, all vessels of fifty tons and upwards being arrested."
The northern fleet, or part of it, co-operated in the siege of Berwick, where, on shore, Edward commanded in person. Little or nothing is known of the part which the Enghsh ships played ; but some deeds of gallantry afloat by the Scots have been recorded. One William Seton, while bravely attacking the English ships, was drowned in sight of his father, who was on the walls of the town ; ' and Sir Wilham Diket, arriving with supplies, boarded some English vessels, killed sixteen men in a barge belonging to Hull, and then entered the town.^ But after Edward's victory at Halidon Hill, the place surrendered.
These events did not end the war, but they materially relieved England. In August, ships which had been under arrest in the Enghsh ports were permitted to sail upon their own business, so that the interference with commerce was diminished.^ In 1334, however,
' Hemingford, ii. 270. « Kuightoii, cols. 2560, 2.561.
^ Scots Rolls, i. 226. ■• lb.,'\. 254.
'' Sir William Clinton, first Earl of Huntinf;clon, was a younf;er son of John, Lord l!!inton, and in 1330 was made Governor of Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports, and was summoned to Parliament as a baron. After his service as admiral, in 1333, he was jiresent at the battle of Halidon Hill. In 1337, lie was created Earl of Huntingdon. He was a private captain, as would be now said, at the battle of Sluis, and, after further service as admiral, in 1341, died in 1354.
« Scots Rolls, i. 248.
' Fordun, ii. 310.
* Chrou. in Harl. MS. 4f!!lO, printed by Kitson.
" Scots Hulls, i. 258, 25!l.
1834.] THE SCOTS WAIi. 233
further vessels were ordered to Scotland in September, and some were dispatched in search of Scots cruisers, which were en- deavouring to intercept sea-borne supplies destined for the English army/ Nor did the Scots confine themselves to the defensive. A force of them landed in Suffolk, and two officers were spe- cially appointed to levy troops to drive them off.- In the same month there was a general arrest of ships of forty tons and up- wards ; but the foreign vessels then arrested were soon afterwards released.^
The admirals appointed at the beginning of 1335 were Sir John Norwich, for the North Sea, and Sir Eoger Hegham, for the western fleet ; '' but in April, Sir John Norwich appears to have been superseded by Sir John Howard,'^ senior, and Sir Kobert Holland ^ was made admiral of the fleet on the coast of Wales, and westward as far as Carlingford. The best ships in the northern ports were impressed in February ; aiad in the same month the two largest ships of war at Bristol were ordered to proceed to Dmnbarton , against a large, armed vessel, full of stores, which was reported to have arrived there from abroad ; and Sir Eoger Hegham, for whom twelve ships were levied from the Cinque Ports, Bristol, Falmouth, Southampton, and Plymouth, was directed to send four of them to cruise to the westward, and to station the remaining eight where they would be most hkely to intercept supphes destined for the Scots.'
In April men-at-arms were requisitioned for Ireland ; and the Irish ports were instructed to provide vessels for their conveyance to Scotland, and to send them to Carlingford. To the command of this flotilla Sir John de Athy was appointed."
It is unfortunate that we do not know what success attended the Bristol ships in their expedition to Dumbarton. We are left similarly in the dark as to the results of another minor expedition
' Scots KoUs, i. 277-2711. - lb., i. 2'Jil.
» Jb., i. 305-309, 311. * Pat. Holls, 8 Edw. HI. pt. ii. m. 4.
•'■ Scots Rolls, i. 335. Sir John Howaitl, son of Sir John Howard by Joan Cornwall, was tlie ancestor of one of the most distinguished of British naval and noble families. He served as admiral in 1335 .and 1347. He married Alice, daughter of Sir Kobert Boys. His great-great-grandson was the first Duke of Norfolk of tlie present creation.
° Scots IJolls, i. 3;56. Sir Robert Holland, or Holand, son of Robert, first Baron Holland, was summoned to Rarlianient, as second Baron, in 1342. He died in 1373.
' lb., J. 317, 320, 322.
« Jb., i. 337, 3.38.
234 MILITARY BISTORT, 1154-1399. [1335.
of the same year. The Scots, who had captured a cog belonging to Lord Beaumont, purposed to send her abroad with several persons of distinction and much treasure on board, to raise soldiers for their cause ; and, consequently, on May 8th, orders were dispatched to Eavensrode and Hull to arrest three vessels there for the pursuit of the cog.^
On June 1st, Thomas de Maydeston was made captain and superior officer of six vessels of the Cinque Ports, two of Bristol, and one of Southampton, destined for particular service ; " and as this officer was not designated as admiral, his position may have been similar to that of the modern commodore. An analogous command over six ships, which were arrested in the ports between Liverpool and Skinburness, was given to Simon de Beltoft ; ^ and John de Watewang,^ the king's clerk, was made lieutenant, or assistant, to Sir John Howard, to provide men, ships, arms, stores, and provisions at Newcastle, Berwick, and other places, as needed by the fleet. Here we have an early suggestion of the later captains of the Impress Service and the Eesident Commissioners ; and the appointment is the more interesting seeing that it was conferred upon a member of the family which supplied the gallant officer. Captain Sir John Wetwang, who, more than three hundred years afterwards, was Prince Eupert's Captain of the Fleet in the Sovereign of the Seas, and Admiral Sir John Allin's flag-captain in the Royal Jarnes.
Careful watch was ordered to be kept upon certain Scots ships of war, which lay in Calais ready for sea ; but it does not appear whether they ever left port.*
Fordun * relates, that on July 1st, 133.5, an English fleet of one hundred and eighty ships entered the Forth, and committed much damage on the coast ; but his accounts are so intimately intermixed with superstitious fictions that they cannot be altogether trusted. He asserts, however, that one of the best of the English ships, commanded by the admiral, was wrecked upon the Wolf Eock.
On July 6th, Sir John Cobham and Peter Bard were simul- taneously appointed captains and admirals of the ships of the Cinque and other western ports,' the former, as he had the power to appoint
' Scots I! oils, i. 311. ° ' Foedera," ii. 911 ; Scots Rolls, i. 357.
2 Jb., i. 351. ' ' Scotichronicon,' ii. 318.
" lb., i. 355. ' Scots Eolls, i. 358, 359, 368. * Or Wetwang. lb., i. 351.
1336.] THE DOMINION OF THE SEAS. 235
deputies, being possibly the senior officer ; and enormous prepara- tions were made to resist an anticipated invasion by the Scots and their continental sympathisers.' All ships of forty tons and upwards were arrested ; Bayonne was applied to for vessels ; and a great council of national defence was summoned to meet in London." In August, Sir John Cobham was censured for remissness and apathy, and bidden to lose no time in collecting the fleet under his commands and in putting to sea against the enemy ; ^ and to ensure the proper fitting out of the ships in the Thames, Henry de Kendall was appointed to survey them, and to make a verbal report con- cerning them to the king;^ while the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs of London were enjoined to dispatch to sea all their ships, well manned and armed.'* But in September the fear of invasion died away, and the ships under arrest were released."
In 1336, Edward resumed the offensive on shore. In February, all vessels of forty tons and upwards were again impressed,' and Sir Thomas Ughtred was appointed captain and admiral of the North Sea fleet, with authority to impress seamen.^ In April, Sir John Norwich seems to have superseded him ; and Sir Geoffrej' Sa}^ became admiral to the westward.' These two admirals were stringently enjoined, in case they met at sea, to compel their crews to behave amicably, so that no dissensions might arise ; and they were warned that, if any qiiarrel took place, they, and all concerned, would be considered as supporters of the enemy." This indicates that the ancient hatred between the seamen of the east coast and those of the Cinque and western ports was still rife. Further orders on the same subject were transmitted to the admirals, and also to the bailiffs of Yarmouth, on August 5th.''
On August 16th, the king issued a noteworthy mandate to the two admirals, declaring that twenty-six of the enemy's galleys were in the ports of Brittany and Normandy, waiting for an opportunity to act against England, and that they were to be pro- ceeded against. It is noteworthy because it contains the following explicit claim to the dominion of the seas : " We, considering
' Scots Eulls, i. 359, 369.
2 lb., i. .363, 366, 368 ; Gascon Rolls, 82, 83 ; ' Foc.lera,' ii. 915.
" lb., i. 374. « Scots Rolls, i. 401.
* Jb., i. 377. " 2b., i. 415-417.
° ' Fcedera,' ii. 920. "> lb., i. 432.
" Scots Rolls, i. 379. " 'Fa-<lera,'ii. 943.
' lb., i. 409.
236 MILITARY HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1336.
that our progenitors, Kings of England, were Lords of the Enghsh Sea on every side, and also defenders against invasions of enemies before these times, should be much grieved if our royal honour in such defence should perish or be in aught diminished in our time (which God forbid), and are desirous (the Lord helping) to obviate such perils, and to provide for the defence and safety of our realm and people, and to avert the malice of our foes." '
Ships were summoned from Ireland to assist the admirals ; vessels which had been released were re-arrested ; and the Downs was given as the rendezvous for the whole force. ^ Yet the enemy managed to win several successes. At the end of August, a squadron of galleys appeared off the Isle of Wight, attacked some of the king's ships at anchor there, and after killing some, and throwing overboard others, of the crew, carried the vessels and their cargoes to Normandy. Upon this, all the ships at Southampton and Great Yarmouth were ordered out.^ In September, so i;nsafe was the Channel that Sir Geoffrey Say was warned to afford special protection, against a force lying at Calais, to some English ambas- sadors who were about to cross from Wissant ; and the barons of Dover were desired to co-operate with him.* English vessels were attacked even in English harbours, and carried off ; and so serious was the evil that a special commission, consisting of Sir WiUiam Chnton, AVarden of the Cinque Ports, Sir Ealph Bassett, of Drayton, Sir Eichard Talbot, and Sir Geoffrey Say was appointed, to send to sea every serviceable ship, seaman, and fighting-man that could be laid hands on.°
The situation would have been still worse than it actually was if the laws of neutrality had been everywhere as laxly observed as they commonly were in those days. Happily, Sicily and Genoa were, for a time at least, loyal to Edward. When the enemy attempted to hire galleys there, the vessels were prevented by the authorities from putting to sea. The Genoese even burnt the galleys of some who seemed disinclined to obey the orders which had been given.'' Edward wrote cordial letters of thanks to both States, and took the opportunity afforded by the dispatch of the
' Scots Rolls, i. 442. 2 Ih., i. 446, 447. " Ih., i. 451.
■* lb., i. 451. " lb., i. 456.
'^ 'Focdera,' ii. 940. But later France obtained forty galleys from Genoa and Monaco. — .Jal, ii. 333.
1336.] INSECURITY OF THE CHANNEL. 237
messages to hire some galleys and vissers, manned and armed, for his own service, and to conciliate the Genoese by paying them 8000 marks in respect of one of the dromons which had been piratically seized by Hugh le Despencer in 1321.* As the Scots were regarded by Edward as rebels without belligerent rights, the letting out of the ships by Genoa to England, while a friendly action, was also a perfectly correct one. France, Flanders, Holland, Gelderland, and Norway were less nice. All of them for some time covertly helped the Scots ; ^ and in September, 1336, Flanders went further, and seized all the English merchants and property in its territories ; whereupon Edward retaliated upon Flamands and their property in England.^
To reduce the danger to trading ships, two regular convoys were organised at the end of the year for the trade to and from Gascony. One was directed to make rendezvous at Portsmouth, for the benefit of the merchants of the southern and western ports ; and the other at Orwell, for the benefit of the merchants of the ports north of the Thames.* In November, Sir John Eoos seems to have succeeded Sir John Norwich as admiral in the North Sea;^ but it is nowhere implied that the two convoys, which assembled in December, were accompanied either b}^ this officer or by Sir Geoffrey Say, both of whom probably remained in home waters.
Bayonne was again called upon for ships ; ° but the response, if not from thence, at least from some of the English ports, w"as so unsatisfactory — and the enemy still committed so many outrages at sea, notably off' the Isle of Wight and in the Channel Islands — that on December 11th, Edward appointed a new commission of national defence,' to consist of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, the Earls of Surrey and Lancaster, and Sir William Clinton, and, in his mandate to these officers, once more dwelt upon the sorrow which it would cause him if, in his time, the lordship of the sea, and of the passage of the sea, as enjoyed by his progenitors, should be in aught prejudiced.
At about the same time, Edward, perhaps in consequence of the irritation occasioned him by the succour which his enemies
' ' Fopdcra,' ii. 948, 1011. ■ Scots IJolk, ii. 4G8.
- Ih., ii. 949, 950. " ' Fccdera," ii. 951.
■' lb., ii. 948, 952. ' lb., ii. 953.
* Scots Rolls, i. 467, 468, 4T0.
238 MILITARY EISTORY, 115i-1399. [1337.
repeatedly received in French ports, and by Philip's aggressions in Aquitaine, began to style himself King of France. The earliest known documents in which he used the title are dated in October, 1337 ; but, as Edward claimed as the son of Isabella, and as the old line of French kings had died out as early as 1328, it is improbable that no formal assertion of the claim was made until nearly ten years had elapsed. On the other hand, it is quite likely that, but for Philip's breaches of neutrality, the claim would have never been pressed, and the " hundred years" war " between England and France would have been avoided.
At the beginning of 1337, a fleet was ordered to assemble at Portsmouth by March 15th,^ with thirteen weeks' stores and pro- visions on board, for service on the west coast against the Scots ; and all other vessels, save those sailing under the king's special hcence, were arrested. On January 14th, Sir Robert Ufford " was associated with Sir John Eoos in the command in the North Sea, and Sir William Montacute ^ was appointed admiral on the west ; on January 16th, Nicholas Ususmaris,^ a Genoese, was made vice- admiral of the king's ships belonging to Aquitaine ; ^ and when, on February 6th, the northern fleet was given rendezvous at Orwell, and the western fleet at Plymouth, twenty ships belonging to the latter were directed to be detached, apparently under Sir John Norwich, * for Aquitaine, where, it may be supposed, they Joined the squadron of Ususmaris. Yet another squadron was organised in March, April, or May, at Bayonne, the command of it being, so far as can be seen, conferred upon Peter de Puyano ; ' and two ships were directed to be dispatched from Lynn, to capture or destroy five vessels of Flanders alleged to be loading at Sluis with arms and provisions for Aberdeen.
1 Scots Bolls, i. 477, 478.
^ Sir Robert Ufford, second Lord Ufford, was eldest son of Itobert, first Lord Ufford; but although he succeeded his father in 1316, he was not summoned to Parliament until 1332. In 1337 he was made joint admiral with Lord Eoos, and in the same year was created Earl of Suffolk. He distinguished himself in the naval actions of 1342 and 1350, and also at Poitiers. He was again admiral in 1344, and died in 1369. His son and successor, AVilham, second Earl, served as admiral for a short time in 1376, but died in 1392, when the title became extinct.
^ Sir William Montacute, first Earl of Salisbury, K.B., eldest son of William, second Lord Montacute, was born about 1300. In 1334, he was Governor of the Channel Islands; in 1337, admiral; and later in the same year, he was created Earl of Salisbury. He died in 1343.
* Or Usdemer. " Scots Rolls, i. 482.
» 'Foedera,' ii. 957. ' Tccdera,' i. 1039.
1337.] BtEVCEET IN THE CHANNEL. 239
111 spite, however, of the large EngHsh naval force in commission, some French galleys, under Nicolas Behuchet,' found their way across the Channel, and, approaching under cover of the English flag, landed a body of troops near Portsmouth, and captured, plimdered, and burnt almost the whole of the town, excepting a hospital and the parish church. Presently, according to some chi'oniclers, the inhabitants rallied, and drove off the enemy, killing many of them ; - but others represent the French as having with- drawn without loss. The date of this descent remains in doubt, but it was almost certainly in 1337.^ In the following year, the inhabitants, on account of their misfortune, were exempted from taxation. The depredators, after leaving Portsmouth, landed in Guernsey, ravaged the island, and burnt St. Peter Port.* These and other events of the two succeeding years show how far Edward then was from enjoying that dominion of the seas which he claimed, and which he later, for a time, most triumphantly asserted. For example, the position of affairs in the North Sea was such, that when, in the summer of 1337, the Bishop of Lincoln and the Earls of Sahsbury and Huntingdon were about to return from an embassy to the continent, "certain aliens and other pirates" made bold to collect a squadron with the intention of seizing the mission while on its way home. Edward was obliged to order Sir John Eoos, with forty of the best vessels obtainable from Yarmouth, St. Nicholas, and Kirkley, to Dordrecht, to convey the ambassadors, who, in all probability, would otherwise have been taken and held to ransom.*
The Scots war was, nevertheless, not neglected, nor were the aims and objects of France lost sight of. On its return to England, the squadron of Sir John Eoos took two Scots ships, homeward bound from Flanders, with men, money, and stores, destined by the King of France for the succour of Scotland. Among those on board the prizes were the Bishop of Glasgow, Sir John Stewart, David de la Hay, and some noble ladies, most of whom were kiUed by the captors, though whether in fair fight or after surrender does not appear.^ It seems probable, however, that quarter w'as not
' French historians say that the senior oOicer was Hugues Quieret. 2 Knighton, 2570.
* Knighton and De Nangis say in 1337 ; Hemingford says in 1338. See ' Focdera,' ii. 1042, 1067.
* De Nangis, iii. 100. '' ' Fcedera," ii. 975.
^ Knighton, 2570. "Walsingham, 118. Hemingford, ii. 280.
240 MILITARY EISTOBY, 1154-1399. [1337.
generally refused, for it is recorded that the bishop, after being mortally wounded, died ere he could be landed at Sandwich.
In June, orders were sent to the Bayonnese to the effect that, since France was preparing a large fleet for operations against Enghsh trade, they were to put to sea with as many ships as possible, and join the vice-admiral, Nicholas Ususmaris. The united force was to sweep to the north-east, carefully examining all the French ports and coasts, and taking or destroying every hostile craft that might be met with ; but vessels of Germany, Zeeland, Holland, Brittany, Spain, Portugal, Genoa, and other countries in friendship with the king, were not to be molested. It is strange that, although the services of this united fleet were urgently called for to repress a very imminent danger, permission was given that, before saihng, the ships might load at Bayonne with wine and other merchandise for England ; but it seems to have been felt that compliance with the king's commands was not to be expected unless the duty was made as easy as possible to all con- cerned ; and, as the issue in this and other cases proved, it was, in fact, most difficult to bring about, at this period, anything like satisfactory co-operation for the protection of threatened points and threatened interests.^
Meanwhile, beacons, in charge of four or six soldiers, were, as on previous occasions, established along the coasts, to give warning of the approach of hostile vessels, and, if necessary, to assist in repelling them;- and on August 11th, Sir Walter Manny ^ was appointed Admiral of the Northern, and Sir Bartholomew Burghersh, Admiral of the Western Fleet.*
Sir John de Athy has already been mentioned as having been Admiral of the Irish Fleet in 133.5. In the summer and autumn of 1837, he was employed, with other officers, to arrest and arm ships in some of the northern ports. But he appears to have carried out the objects of his commission with very little energy ; for, in
' ' Fccdera,' ii. 977.
- lb., ii. 996.
' Sir Walter Manny, K.G., one of the bravest ana greatest men of his day, was a native of Valenciennes. While still young, he served in the Scots wars, and he was admiral in 1337 and 1348. He also fought at Sluis and L'Espagnols sur Mur, as well as in many minor naval actions. In 1347, he became a baron by writ of summons, and in 1359 a Knight of the Garter. His wife, Margaret, was. a grand-daughter of Edward I. He died on January 13th, 1372.
' ' Fccdera,' ii. 988 ; Pat. Bolls, 11 Edw. III. m. 38.
1307.] ACTION AT GADZANI). 241
September, and again in November, he was severely reprimanded for permitting Scots, Flemish, and French vessels to pass to Scotland with stores ; ' and after the close of the year he does not seem to have been employed at sea.
But, at about the same time, commendable activity was dis- plaved by other officers, and a most gi'atifying success was obtained. Off Sluis there then lay an island, now an inland village, called Gadzand." This had been for some time past held by a company of Flamand freebooters, who had inflicted much damage upon English trade, and whom it was most desirable to dislodge. An expedition against the place was organised imder Henry, Earl of Derby, and Sir Walter Manny, who embarked at London with five hundred men-at-arms and two thousand archers,^ dropped down the river, and, having arrived off Margate, crossed from thence to the mouth of the Scheldt. The expedition made Gadzand on November 10th, and, wind and tide being favourable, attacked immediately, " in the name of God and St. George." The Flamands, to the number of five thousand, were under Guy of Flanders, brother of Count Louis, and were drawn up on the shore and on the dykes above it. The English squadron sailed directly into the harbour, clearing the sands with flights of arrows, and then throwing ashore all available hands. A close and furious fight ensued; and although the Flamands behaved most stubbornly, and lost a thousand men, they were at last defeated, and Guy was taken. Gadzand was stormed, sacked, and burnt, and Sir Walter Manny, returning, reached Orwell about November '20th, to the great satisfaction of the king.* On the 24th, orders were sent down to Manny to use his discretion as to putting again to sea, but, in any event, not to remain absent from Orwell or Sandwich for more than three weeks.'
In January, 1338, two of the king's galleys, respectively com- manded by John de Aurea and Nicholas Glaucus, convoyed a flotilla of storeships to the army in Scotland ; '^ and Nicholas Ususmaris, who had returned from his cruise, and who had been made
1 Scots Rolls, i. 498, 513. - Also Kadzaiicl, or Cailsand. ' De Kangis says they had sixteen ships.
* Froissart, i. 02, G3. Walsinghani give< a somewhat different account of what seems to have been the same affair. ' ' Foedera,' ii. 1005. " Ih., ii. 1008. . The galleys and crew., were probably hired from Genoa,
VOL. I. R
242 MILITARY HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1338.
Constable of Bordeaux, was dispatched ou a mission to Genoa, to thank the authorities of that place for some oflfer of assistance, and to beg them to arrest any vessels that might be fitting out there by the enemies of England.' This step was, no doubt, part of a new general policy which Edward seems to have adopted at about the beginning of the year. His design was to consolidate all his foreign alliances as much as possible ; to assure himseli as to who wei-e his friends, who were his enemies, and who might be counted upon for neutrahty ; and so to simplify his position as to enable him presently to hurl almost the whole of his power against France, and to make good his claim to the French crown. In further pursuance of this object, he resolved, in Febniary, to go personalty to Flanders, to endeavour to persuade his allies there to afford him substantial support in the coming final struggle.'^
Sir Walter Mannj', and the Sheriffs of Kent, Susses, and fifteen other counties, were peremptorily directed to arrest ships, and to impress men, armour, and stores for the contemplated expedition. Manny's squadron was ordered to make rendezvous at Great Yarmouth, and the squadron of Sir Bartholomew Burghersh at Orwell, by the fortnight after Easter.^ But the arrangements were interfered with, owing to the threatening attitude assumed by France with respect to Aquitaine ; and early in March, Burghersh was instructed to send seventy large ships of his command to Portsmouth, to carry across troops for the defence of the Diichy,* as well, it may be assumed, as to repress the activity of the enem}^ in the Channel. Jersey and Guernsey had been raided ; the shores of the Isle of Wight had been ravaged ; and numerous merchantmen had been taken. Indeed, such was the panic caused by the move- ments of the French, that persons who had goods and chattels near the seaboard were enjoined to remove them at least four leagues inland.^
It is not, therefore, astonishing that the preparations for the Flanders expedition went forward much more slowly than had been anticipated. The king's anger fell upon Manny and Burghersh who, on April 15th, were forcibly reminded that thej- were not doing all that had been expected of them,* and who were eventually super- seded, in consequence, apparently, of their supposed supineness, though not until after the fleets had sailed.
1 'FcBdera,' ii. 1011. ■ ' Faxlera,' ii. 1015. ■■ Almainc IJolls, 12 Edw. III.
' Avesbury, p. 28. ' Ih., ii. 1020. '' ' Fccdeia,' ii. 1027.
1338.] ED WAS D III. GOES TO ANTWERP. 243
Pending the delay, a treaty with Flanders was executed in June without the personal intervention of Edward. It was agreed that the Flamands should not aid the Scots ; that they should remain neutral in the dispute between Edward and " Sir Philip de Valois, styhng himself King of France"; and that there should be free trade between England and Flanders, on the Flamands showing "their sign called coket, or charterparties." It was fiu'ther agreed that Edward should not cross Flanders to operate against the terri- tories which the Flamands held of France, and that, if he or his forces entered any Flanders harbour, the English ships should not remain for more than one tide, unless compelled by obvious stress of weather.^
King Edward sailed from Orwell on July 16th ; and being joiped at sea by the fleet from Great Yarmouth, with troops under the Earl of Lancaster, landed at Antweip on the day following.'' Manny and Burghersh seem to have been then still in command. But on July 28th, Sir Thomas Drayton was appointed "Vice- Admiral " of the Northern, and Peter Bard " Vice-Admiral " of the Western Fleet ; ^ and, as in a document of a little later date, each of these officers is styled " Admiral " of his respective fleet, there is small doubt that their commissions were not supplementary to, but rather supersessory of, those of Manny and Burghersh. Just before his departure for the continent, Edward, still perhaps cherishing some hope of peaceably obtaining concessions from France, dis- patched the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Durham to treat with Philip ; but the French king was in no humour to change his attitude by one hair's breadth.*
The date of one or two naval events belonging to about this period cannot now be fixed with exactness. Indeed, the details of the events are involved in much obscurity ; and it may be well, therefore, to simply transcribe the accounts as given by that laborious historian, Sir Harris Nicolas.^
"Numerous galleys," he says, "landed at Southampton'' on a Sunday, while the inhabitants were at mass, and their crews, which
■ ' Fcedera,' ii. 1043.
- Knighton, 2572 ; Froissart, i. <ji ; ' Fcedera,' ii. 1050 ; Hemingford, ii. 282. " Ga.scon Rolls, 91. ^ Knighton, 2573.
' Nicolas, ii. 34, after Froissart, Walsingham, Knighton, etc.
'' French historians appear to identity this raid with tlie attack on Portsmouth already mentioned.
B 2
244 MILITABY HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1338.
consisted partly of Normans and partly of Genoese, sacked the town, killed many of the inhabitants, hung some of them in their own houses, and committed other atrocities. They then set the town on lire, carried their booty to their ships, and, as soon as the flood- tide made, disanchored and proceeded to Dieppe. Except the statement of Minot, this is the only contemporary accomit of that atfair ; but it is said by modern writers that, before the enemy reached their ships, they were attacked by a small force under Sir John Arundell, who killed no less than three hundred of them, including a son of the King of Sicily. To some extent this assertion agrees with INIinot, who says the injuries committed had been much overrated, and that ample revenge was taken on the French."
Nicolas says again : "A very gallant action was fought in this (1338) or early in the following year, and apparently soon after the attack upon Southampton, by two English ships — one, the pride of the English Navy, called the Christopher, and the other the Edward, which were returning with rich cargoes from Flanders, in company with three smaller vessels — against a French squadron. It is extra- ordinary that so honourable a conflict should not be mentioned by any native chronicler of the period ; and all that is known of the affair, except from modern writers, are the statements in Froissart, in the continuation of De Nangis, and the rhyming description of Minot. Froissart merely says, under the year 1340, that the combined French and Genoese fleets,' containing forty thousand soldiers, did great damage to the English, especially at Dover, Sandwich, Winchelsea, Hastings, and Eye, and at other places on the sea-coast ; that no vessel could leave England without being plundered, and the crew taken or slain ; and that they captured the beautiful large ship called the Christopher, which had cost the king much money, on her passage to Flanders, laden with wool, and that all on board were either killed or drowned, whereat the French talked much, being greatly rejoiced with their conquest. The continuation of De Nangis simply states, that ' two notable ships of the King of England, whereof one was called the Christopher, and the other the Edward, with some common ships heavily laden, were captured at sea by the French, but not without much blood- shed, for upwards of a thousand English were there slain, and the battle lasted for nearly a whole day.' There is nothing in this
' Tliis force, according to some French writers, was tlie fiect under Hugues Quieret, Nicolas Behucliet, :niil Barbwioire, wliicli had sacked Portsmoutli.
1338.] QUIERET, BERUCHET, AND BOCANEGRA. 245
account to show the force or loss of the French, nor the time or place of the event. Minot gives more details, but verse is not a satisfactory vehicle for nautical, nor indeed for any other facts. He says that, after the French galleys quitted Southampton, they proceeded towards Zeeland and Flanders, and discovered the Christopher at ' Armouth ' ; that their fleet consisted of more than forty-eight galleys, two carracks, many galliots, and a number of small boats ; that, though King Edward v.^as not there at the moment, he soon heard of the arrival of the French, and went with his soldiers to his ships, and found the galley-men were superior by more than a hundred to one ; that a conflict ensued, in which the English slew sixty French for every ten of their own men ; that the English fought both day and night, but were overcome at last by the superior numbers of the enemy. And he adds, that never before did men fight better than the English on that occa- sion. It will be observed that Minot says nothing of the Edward, and his account of the matter is manifesth* imperfect, if not in- correct. The Christopher did not, however, long grace the French navy."
It may possibly be that the Christopher and Edward were two of the four large English ships which, having been sent, during King Edward's presence at Antwerp, to Middelburg, were there captured by French war-galleys. Certain it is that, in this period of the darkness before the dawn, the French at sea did much as they chose. There were fears lest they might seize vessels in Enghsh ports, and Sir Thomas Drayton, in the north, and Peter Bard, in the west, were ordered in October, 1338, to aiTest additional ships, men, and stores, to guard from capture the wool-ships which were collecting in order to proceed to the king in Flanders.^ The French fleet, the operations of which were thus feared, was sub- stantially the same as the one which had attacked Portsmouth, and was composed of Genoese — who served both sides with great in- difference— Normans, Bretons, Picards, and Spaniards, under, among others, Hugues Quieret, Nicolas Behuchet, and Egidio Bocanegra, who, generally known as " Barbenoire " or " Blackbeard," - directed the Genoese galleys.^ Drayton and Bard were enjoined to watch this force ; to attack it wheresoever they should find it ; to use Southampton as their base for obtaining provisions and other
' 'Foedera,' ii. lOGO. ^ See Fabi.iii and otlier clnoiruleis.
■'' Frnissarf, i. 70.
24G MILITARY SISTOST, 1154-1399. [1330.
supplies ; to combiue together if necessaiy for concerted action ; and to prevent their crews from quarrelhng.^ But the country, in those early days, had not learnt to repose much confidence in its navj' ; and on October 23rd, the municipal authorities of London were ordered to prepare against a possible attack on the part of the enemy by fortifying the city on the river side with stone or timber, and by driving lines of piles across the Thames.^ They were also directed to compel all men deriving rents from the city, and all others, including ecclesiastics, to assist in the local defence. That instant notice might be given of the approach of a foe, only one bell of any church within seven leagues of the sea was to be rung, except in case of danger ; a ringing of all bells being the signal agreed upon as a smnmons for the defence of the coast. ^
When Parliament met in London at the beginning of Februarj% 1339, the Cinque Ports were ordered to furnish sixty ships, properly armed and manned ; * and on the 18th of the month, Sir Robert Morley ^ was appointed Admiral of the Northern, and Sir William Trussell,'^ Admiral of the Western Fleet."
At Easter, when the Normans made another attempt upon Southampton, with twelve galleys and eight pinnaces, having on board four thousand men, the inhabitants offered so good a show of resistance that the invaders drew off without venturing to fight ; whereupon the Southampton people sent after them with the very handsome proposition that, if they would, they might peaceably disembark and refresh themselves for two days, provided that they would then fight, ten with ten, twenty with twenty, or as might be agreed upon ; but the Normans neglected the challenge, and put to sea.- More French freebooters threatened Southampton about the middle of May, but, finding the place defended, went elsewhere,
' 'Foedera,' ii. 1061. ^ j-j^ ;;_ jo62.
" Ik, ii. lOGO. " Knighton, 25T3.
"^ Sir I'obert Morley, second Lord Morley, a most brilliant soldier and seaman, was eldest son of William, first Lord Morley, whom he must have succeeded in or before 1317. After having served in Scotland, he was appointed admiral in 1339, and again in 1340, 1341, 1348, 1350, and 1355, and fought at Sluis and L'Espagnols sur Mer. He died in France ou March 23rd, 1360.
* Sir William Trussell was a son of Sir Edmund Trussell, and represented Northamptonshire in Parliament in 1318. After a rather stormy, and very active political life, he was for the first time ajipointed admiral in 1339; and he served in a similar capacity in 1342. He seems to have died about 1347.
" Almaine Rolls, 13 Edw. III. m. 18.
' Knighton, 2573.
1339.] THE ENGLISH AT BOULOGNE. 247
making a raid ou Hastings on the 27th, and subsequently harrying Thanet, Dover, and Folkestone, but doing little harm, except to the poor. On May '20th, other Frenchmen, with eighteen galleys and pinnaces, burnt a number of vessels, including seven belonging to Bristol, in the port of Plymouth; but the populace bravely ejected the invaders, losing eighty-nine men only, wliile the French lost, according to some accounts, about five hundred. Two days later, the enemy retm-ned, and burnt all the ships in harbom", and many of the houses ; but, the country forces collecting, the invaders retreated on the 25th, and revenged themselves by making a surprise descent on Southampton, and burning two ships there. ^
This was all very shameful, and, looking to the considerable strength of the naval forces which were then undoubtedly at the disposal of Edward, and to the efficiency of those forces as victoriously displayed no later than the year immediately following, is with difficulty explicable. Yet some minor successes were won. In Jiily, for example, a large fleet of the enemy, consisting of thirty-two galleys, besides other craft, appeared oft" Sandwich ; but, finding that preparations had been made for its reception, diverged to Rye, and there did a little damage before the English fleet approached, whereupon it took to flight, and was chased into Boulogne. The English entered the harbour after it, and managed to destroy several vessels, hang twelve captains, burn part of the town, and safely carry back to England a number of prizes." And soon afterwards. Sir Eobert Morley, with a force which included the fleet of the Cinque Ports, burnt five towns in Normandy, and eighty ships.^ The tide of disaster and indignity was beginning to tm-n.
In September, 1339, a great French naval force was collected off Sluis,^ as a convenient base from which to act against King Edw'ard's communications with England by sea. The crews bragged magniloquently to the Flamands of what they were going to do ; but when, on October 2nd, the fleet put to sea, it en- countered a very violent storm, which led to the destruction of more than half of the flotilla, and drove the rest of it back to Flanders.^
' Anon. Hist. Edw. III. (Hearne), ii. 420, 421.
- Cont. of De Nangis, 101 ; Kniglitun, 2573 ; Holinslie.l, iii. 3.57.
3 Knighton, 2574.
* In the roadstead then called the Swyn (Het Zwijn).
' Knighton, 2575, 257G.
248 MILITARY HISTORY, 115-1-1399. [1310.
At about the same time the Enghsh Parliament met for the second time that year. Discussion arose concerning the mischief done afloat by the French, who had seized Jersey ; and much dissatisfaction was expressed at the fact that no Enghsh fleet was keeping the sea. The king directed the Commons to consider how the French could be attacked, how that which had been lost could be recovered, and how the custody of the sea could be under- taken ; and declared that the navy of England was sufficient for all these objects, if only the people were wilhng. The Commons, in reply, professed their incapacity to advise on such matters, but suggested that, as the barons of the Cinque Ports had always been honoured above all the commoners of the realm, and enjoyed privileges in return for keeping the sea against aliens, and as they did not contribute to any aids in respect of the land, and had exceptional advantages for rendering the required services, they ought to pi'otect the seas, leaving the land to the Commons, and not expecting pay. As for the defence of the coasts, that ought to be attended to by the local landowners and other in- habitants. This sounds like a sullen and unpatriotic response. Yet one wise measure was passed. The English instinct for trade had induced many merchantmen to put to sea without guard or convoy, and in consequence a large proportion of them had been snapped up by a watchful and energetic enemy, to the great loss of valuable men and material. It was therefore determined that all ships should remain under arrest until the issue of further orders.'
The barons of the Cinque Ports appear to have taken the hint conveyed to them by the Commons. Indeed, they could hardly do less, for the attitude of Parliament pointed to general discontent with the manner in which the privileged places did their duty, and foreshadowed an effort to deprive them of their charters unless they amended their ways. In December they conferred before the Earl of Huntingdon with the commanders of the ships of Bayonne concerning the equipment and disposition of the fleet against the French ; and it seems to have been ultimately decided that the whole available force, united, should put to sea in January under the orders of the admiral of the Western division.^ The ships from Bayonne lay, in the interval, at Sandwich.
Parliament re-assembled in the middle of January, 1340. Naval ' I':irl. Kolls, ii. 10-1, 105. ^ ' Fa?dera,' ii. 1101.
13-10.] JV.-ir.-li PJtEFAIiATIONS. 249
matters chiefly demanded its attention ; and a tenth was quickly granted by way of general aid. The people of the Cinque Ports undertook to have twenty-one of their own vessels, and nine ships belonging to the Thames, ready by March ^(ith ; and the Council promised to pay half the cost, not, however, as wages, but of special grace. The people of the western ports engaged to furnish seventy ships of one hundred tons' burden and upwards, they paying as much as they were able of the cost, and the Council finding the rest of the money. All vessels of that tonnage belonging to Portsmouth and the ports westward of it were to make rendezvous at Portsmouth by March '26th, with the Earl of AmndeP as their admiral, and the Cinque Ports fleet was to assemble at Winchelsea, iinder the Earl of Huntingdon. The admirals were to be directed to arrest all other vessels, and to place small ones in havens secure from the operations of the enemy ; and proclamation was ordered to be made for all persons enjoying pardons for crimes committed to hold themselves ready to serve the king at sea and to take his wages. Measures were taken for the special protection of South- ampton, w^hich had already suffered so much at the hands of the French ; and the place was garrisoned by Sir Eichard Talbot, with fifty men-at-arms, a hundred archers, and two pinnaces dispatched thither from Milbrook.^
Eichard Eitzalan, Earl of Arundel, was appointed admiral of the western fleet on February 20th ; and Sir Eobert Morley was re-appointed admiral of the northern fleet on March (Hh, 1340.^ The date of the appointment of WiUiam Clinton, Earl of Huntingdon, to the command of the Cinque Ports fleet does not appear, but was probably in February, if not before. These appointments are noteworthy, for they were preliminary to a greater success at sea than England had perhaps ever won over any opponents.
King Edward returned from Flanders, landing at Orwell on February '21st,^ with the intention of returning as soon as possible with the large naval force which was in process of assemblage. Vessels as small as of twenty tons' burden were equipped and
' ruchard Fitzalan, niuth Earl uf Aruuael, was the eldest sou of Ediimnd, eiglith Earl. Iq 1330 he was restored to the lionours of his father, who had been attained aud beheaded in 1326. He served in Scotland, and in 1340 and 13-10, as admiral. He was at Sluis and L'Espagnols sur Mer, and died in 137tl.
2 Pari. Rolls, li. 108. ^ Gascon Kolls, 101. ' ' Eu'dera," ii. 1115.
250 MILITARY HISTOBY, 115i-1399. [1340.
manned and dispatched to Sandwich ; and when, on March 29th, Parhament again met, it granted another aid, and ordered pro\dsions to be sent to Sandwich and Southampton for the service of the fleet.^
The king went to Ipswich in June, when forty ships awaited him at Orwell." About the tenth, when he was on the point of putting to sea, and when the horses had been already embarked, his Chancellor, the Ai-chbishop of Canterbury, reported to him that the French had assembled an immense fleet off Sluis with a view to prevent him from landing ; but as Edward disbelieved the in- telligence, and declared that he would cross, no matter what might happen, the Chancellor returned the Great Seal. This induced the king to take further counsel ; and he summoned Admiral Sir Kobert Morley and Crabbe, probably the gallant Scotsman, John Crabbe, who had been so ill-treated by his thankless coimtrymen at Berwick seven years earlier. He asked them whether they believed that there would be danger in attempting the venture. As they were cognisant of the presence of the French fleet off Sluis, they were of the same mind as the Archbishop ; whereupon Edward angrily said : "Ye and the Archbishop have agreed to tell the same story to prevent my crossing. ...I will cross in spite of you, and ye, who are afraid where there is no fear, may stay at home." Both Morley and Crabbe declared that if the king went, he, and all who might accompany him, would run great danger ; but that if he persisted, they would precede him, even to the death. The views of oflicers of such experience and bravery determined the king to renew his confidence in the Archbishop, to again entrust him with the Great Seal, and to collect more ships, as well from London as from the ports of the north and west. In ten days, or, as Hemingford says, in seven, he had two hundred ships at his disposal, and more soldiers and archers than he needed."
At length, on June 20th, the king embarked in the cog Thomas, Captain Eichard Fylle,* attended by the Earls of Derby, North- ampton, Arundel, and Huntingdon, the Bishops of Lincoln and Coventry, and the Lords Wake, Ferrers, his chamberlain, and Cobham, in whose presence the Archbishop of Canterbury, pleading
' Pari. Rolls, ii. 116.
^ Hemingford, ii. 319 ; Avesbury, 54.
^ Avesbury, 54, 50 ; Hemingford, ii. 282 ; Pari. Rolls, ii. 118.
* Previously of the Christopher.
1340.] THE VICTORY OFF SLUIS. 251
his intinnities, finally and aniicabl}- resigned the Great Seal, which was broken up. A new one, whereon the arms of France were for the first time quartered with those of England, was delivered to Sir Nicholas de la Beche, for transmission, through the Master of the Eolls, to the new chancellor, the Bishop of Chichester.^
The armada sailed at about one o'clock on June '22ud. It consisted of two hundred vessels, and, upon sighting the coast of Flanders,^ it was joined by the northern fleet of probably about fifty sail, under Admiral Sir Eobert Morley, who, it may be supposed, had been keeping touch with the enemy by means of his light craft. At noon on June 23rd, the combined fleets, then off Blankenberghe, descried the French, ten miles away, lying-in the port of Sluis.'
Edward himself puts the force of the enemy at one hiindred and ninety ships, galleys, and great barges ; Hemingford, at two hundred and fifty ships ; Knighton, as well as Walsingham, at two hundred ships, besides other craft ; Froissart, at upwards of one hundred and forty large vessels, besides smaller ones ; and, according to Jacob Meyei', Flamand writers place it as high as tliree hundred and eighty, or even four hundred sail of all kinds ; but the king's estimate may be safely accepted as being likely to be as correct as any.
Upon sighting the enemy, Edward landed Sir Eeginald de Cobham, Sir John Cundy, and Sir Stephen de Laburkin, with their horses, to reconnoitre. These gentlemen, riding along the coast, ascertained the strength and disposition of the foe, and discovered that there were with the French nineteen exceptionally large ships, including the captured Christopher, and that the fleet lay at anchor near the land in three divisions, irrespective of the small craft.*
The French fleet, according to Edward, whose dispatch will be given later, was manned by above thirty-five thousand Normans, Picards, and Genoese. Froissart and Knighton say forty thousand ; Walsingham says twenty-five thousand. It was commanded by Hugues Quieret, Nicolas Behuchet, and Egidio Bocanegra.
The tide on the afternoon of Friday, the 23rd, did not sei've for the attack, and the English spent the latter part of the day in
' ' roedera,' ii. 1129.
■ Walsingham says, after the French had been sighted.
■' Hemingford, ii. 320; Knighton, 2577.
* Froissart, i. lOo ; Knighton, 2577.
252
MILITARY HISTORY, 1151-1399.
[1310.
maturincr their plans. In the meantime the French weighed and dropped down towards the mouth of the estuary on which Shiis then lay. Knighton says, as far as Grogne ; and one of the con- tinuators of De Nangis says, in the direction of Catat ; hut no places bearing these names can be identified. How far, in the subsequent action, the English were assisted, either on land or afloat, by the
J /" tf
THE LOWER NETHERLANDS.
(^Fro)ii a map bij Tfiomas Eifchin, c.i. 1750.)
Flamands is a matter of doubt. Edward's account of the subject is obscure. English writers deny that any assistance was rendered ; and although some French and Flamand writers ' assert that help was given, their versions of what occurred are vague and un- satisfactory.
Nor have some other details, which would be of assistance to
Cunt. <if De Nangis, iii. 102; Froissart, i. 107; ' Auu. Rer. Fland.' (Meyer), 141.
i;J40.] THE VICTORY OFF SLUIS. 25^
the proper understanding of tlie course of tlie engagement, been handed down. We do not know how the wind lay that day ; we do not know how the land bore ; we do not know the particulars of the order of battle on either side. We do know, however, that at smirise' on Saturday, the 24th, the two fleets were not far from one another, and that, owing to the tide, the English could not enter the port until about noon. High water on the day of the fight, on the coast near Sluis, occurred, as was ascertained by Sir G. B. Airy, at 11.23 a.m. and 11.46 p.m. Probably Edward desired to go in on the top of the flood,' and had been unwilling, owing to the risks of a night action, to utiHse the high tide of 10.58 on the night of the 23rd.
Edward disposed his largest ships in his van, filling them with archers ; and between each two of these large craft he stationed a vessel full of men-at-arms. The remaining small ships, with archers on board, foiined the second division, and acted as a reserve.* Several ladies of high rank, who intended to join the queen at Ghent, were with the fleet. Three hundred men-at-arms were assigned for their protection, and, in all probability, they were transshipped to the transports or storeships, and placed in com- parative safety out of the way of the fighting vessels.
The French fleet, which had been in three divisions, was now in four, the ships of each division being fastened to one another by iron chains and by cables.* Each had a small boat full of stones triced up to the mast, so that the men in the tops could fling the stones upon the English decks. In the van of the fleet, as if in contemptuous defiance, were the Christopher, commanded by John Heyla,^ a Flamand, and full of Genoese archers, and three other large cogs, the Edward, the Katherine, and the Bose, all of which were prizes captured from the English.
Upon the whole, the presumption is that, before the action began, the French were under sail in the mouth of the estuary, heading slowly to the north-west, with a gentle breeze from the north-east, and that the English were neai'ly due west of the foe.''
' Hemingfora, ii. 320.
- Minot is assuredly wrong in saying that the battle began at half-ebb.
'' Froissart, i. 106.
' Avesbury, .^0; HemingfcRl, ii. .320.
■'' Taken, and beheaded at Bruges.
■"■ Nicolas puts the English " to the westward and to leeward of the enemy," adding "that the wind was about north-east, and that the French bore nearly south-west of them."
254 MILITARY EISTORY, 1154-1399. [13iO.
Soon after 11 a.m., Edward ordered his fleet to prepare for action, and to make sail on the starboard tack, to gain the wind.' This manoeuvre appears to have been misintei-preted by the French, who imagined from it that the English were loath to fight. Avesbmy says that the English thus stood off because they realised that they could not break the French line, the ships of which were chained together; and that, deceived by the apparent flight, the French then cast off and gave chase. That any ineffectual attempt to break the line was ever made is altogether improbable ; yet it may well be that the French were betrayed into separating, as Avesburj^ represents. All that is quite certain is that eventually the English gained the wind, and then bore down upon the enemy, the battle beginning at about noon.
Admiral Sir Eobert Morley opened with an attack upon one of the van ships, probably the Christopher, the re-capture of which was ardently desired throughout the English fleet ; and he was well seconded by the ships of the Earls of Huntingdon and Northampton. Sir Walter Manny's was the fourth ship to be engaged. As the other vessels crowded up there was a general melee, the ships grappling one another, and the men boarding with swords, axes, and pikes, while the archers in their rear discharged showers of arrows. The French fought with determination and gallantry, and the slaughter was prodigious, four hmidred dead being found in one ship alone ; but the English impetuosity was not to be resisted, and ere long several vessels of the French van were in their possession. Among these were the four much-coveted English prizes. The Christopher was at once manned by her old owners, and sent to the attack of the Genoese galleys.
The collapse of their van disheartened the enemy, and the other divisions, instead of maintaining the contest, endeavoured to make off. But the second and third, consisting of somewhat smaller craft, were presently surrounded, and their crews, flinging away their arms in panic, rushed to their boats, most of which they swamped, a loss of two thousand men being alleged to have been caused b}' this fact alone. Some of the fugitives reached two large French ships, the Saint Denis and the Saiiit Georges, which seemed to have succeeded in getting away. Most of the fourth division, consisting of the
' Aud to prevent the suu from being in their faces. — Froissart, i. 106.
1340.] OFFICES S PRESENT AT THE BATTLE. 255
Genoese galleys, also escaped ; ' but, with these exceptions, the fleet of France was almost entirely taken or destroyed. The fourth division was pursued by a detached force, said to have been commanded by John Crabbe ; but, though losing heavily, it beat off its assailants, and even took or destroyed two of them, one being a ship containing the king's wardrobe, and the other a vessel belonging to Hull. Part, however, of the force, stated at twenty-fom- ships, which thus temporarily got away, was captured a few days after the battle, so that the catastrophe was as nearly as possible complete. The action lasted for ten or twelve hours, and in that time the French and their allies lost about twenty-five thousand,- and the English about four thousand men.^ Hugues Quieret appears to have fallen ; ^ Behuchet was taken, and, perhaps in revenge for the atrocities which he had committed on the coasts of England, was killed, and hanged to the mast of one of his own ships.* The only person of importance killed on the English side was Sir Thomas de Monthermer, first cousin to the king.'^ All authorities agree that the battle was one of the most bloody and desperate on record.
It is interesting to note the names of some of the nobles and others who, by their conduct on June '24th, 1840, contributed to the gaining of this great victory. Among them are Henry, Earl of Lancaster (then Earl of Derby), Lawrence, Earl of Pembroke, Eichard, Earl of Arundel, Humphrey, Earl of Hereford and Essex, William, Earl of Huntingdon, Hugh, Earl of Gloucester, Sir Kobert Morley (Lord Morley), Eeginald, Lord Cobham, Henry, Lord Percy, Eoger, Lord de la Warr, Sir John Beauchamp, Sir Eichard Stafford, Sir Walter Manny, Sir John Chandos, Sir William Felton, Sir Thomas Bradeston, Sir William Trussell, Eobert, Count of Artois, Henry of Flanders, and probably Henry, Lord Ferrers of Groby. For conspicuous valour during the battle, a young esquire, Nele Loring, afterwards E.G.'' received his knighthood. Loring
' Hemingfurd, ii. 321. From what Knighton .says, more than half these may have heeu barges, and onl_v twenty-three galleys or ships.
^ Knighton, 2578 ; but Ayesbury and others say 30,000.
s Ann. Rer. Fland., 141.
■* Cont. of De Xangis says that Quieret was taken.
'' lb., iii. 102 ; but, according to Knighton, 2578, he was killed in the fight.
" Hemingford, ii. 321. Sir Thomas was son of Ralph de Monthermer, Eail of Gloucester and Hereford, by Joan, daughter of Edward I.
' He was one of the Knights Founders of tlic Order, ami was an ancestor of Lady .Jane Grey, de facto Queen of England.
256 MILITABY HISTOBY, 113-1-1399. [1340.
belonged to a family which has since given several distinguished officers to the British Navy, and which may fairly claim to be one of the oldest naval families in existence.
It is remarkable that rumom-s of the victory prevailed in London as early as the '25th ; ^ but King Edward did not send off his official dispatch until the 28th, and this could not have reached his son. Prince Edward, who was at Waltham Abbey, before June 30th, or July 1st. Some days after the action, the king, accompanied by a brilliant suite, landed in state to return thanks at the shrine of Our Lady of Ardenberg.- Thence he rode to Ghent, where he met the queen.
Edward's letter to his son is the earliest English naval dispatch in existence, and for this, as well as for other reasons, deserves quota- tion. A copy of the original is preserved in the archives of the City of London, and is in French. The following is a translation of it : —
" Very dear Sox — We are persuaded that you are desirous to know good news of
us, and liow we have fared since our departure from England. Therefore we would
have you learn that on the Thursday after thedaj' when we quitted the port of Orwell,
we sailed all day and the night following ; and on Friday, about the hour of noon, we
arrived ujxin the coast of Flanders, before Blankenberghe, where we had a sight of the
fleet of our enemies, who were all crowded together in the port of the Swyn ; and
seeing that the tide did not serve us to close with them, we lay to all that night. On
Saturday, St. .John's Day, soon after the hour of noon, at high tide, in the name of
God, and confident in our just quarrel, we entered the said pcirt upon our said enemies,
who had assembled their ships in very strong array, and who made a most noble
defence all that day and the night afterwards; but God, by His power and miracle,
granted us the victory over them our enemies, for which we thank Him as devoutly as
we are able. And we would have you know that the number of the ships, galleys,
and lar-^e barges of our enemies, amounted to one hundred and ninety, and that they
were all taken, save twenty-four altogether, which fled, and some of which are since
taken at sea. And the number of men-at-arms and other armed people amounted to
thirty-five thousand, of which number, by estimation, five thousand have escaped ;
and the rest, as we are given to understand b\' some people who have been taken alive,
lie dead in many places on tlie coast of Flanders. On the other hand, all our ships,
that is to say, the Christopher, and the others which were lost at Middolburg, are now
re-taken • and there are taken in this fleet three or four as large as the Chrisfophfr,
The Flamands were incUned to come over to us in the battle from first to last Q cstoient
de hone voJente davoir venuz a no' ala bataille du coinertcement tanqe ala fin.') Thus
God, our Lord, has shown abundant favour, for which we and all our friends are ever
bound to render Him grace and thanks. Our purpose is to remain in peace in the
river, until we have taken in hand certain questions with our allies and our other
friends in Flanders, concerning wliat is to be done. A'ery dear Son, may God be
yoiu' keeper.
"Given under our secret seal in our ship the
cog Thoman, Wednesda}-, the eve of St.
Peter and St. Paul." '
' Avesbury, 5C. - Kroissart, i. 10"; Hemingford, ii. 321. ^ .June 28th.
13-10.] NATURE OF THE VICTORY. 257
Immediately after the receipt of this despatch, the news of the victory was pubHclj' announced by a proclamation which was nominally addressed by the king to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and which expressed gratitude to God for the mercy vouchsafed to the country, and ordered general prayer and thanksgiving. This was dated " in the fourteenth year of our reign of England, and in the first of our reign of France." ^ On July 9th, the king wrote to Parliament, requesting an aid, and referring the Peers and others, for details of the victory, to Huntingdon, Arundel, Gloucester, and Trussell. Parliament met, after adjournment, on the 13th, and intelligence of the victory was then formally comnninicated to it. The royal demands were willingly granted, and provisions and wine were ordered for the refreshment of the fleet."
Nicolas^ is of opinion that in many particulars the Battle of Sluis did not surpass, even if it equalled, Hubert de Burgh's victory off the South Foreland in 1217. De Burgh certainly displayed high strategical and tactical ability, as well as extraordinary bravery ; whereas Edward, beyond manoeuvring for the wind, and, as some of the historians say, to avoid having to fight with the sun in his eyes, employed both strategy and tactics but little. And it must be admitted that the record of Sluis seems to suggest that the division of Bocanegra, which escaped, may have failed in its duty. Yet both victories were gained against superior forces ; and from the point of view of completeness, the second scarcely fell short of the first ; while, on both sides, there were far larger forces off Sluis than at the South Foreland.
The failure of the French, whose gallantry upon the occasion has never been impeached, may be attributed, among other causes, to the fact that, ccetcris jxtribus, an allied fleet can never be as strong as a homogeneous one, and to the circumstance that they waited to accept battle in comparatively narrow waters instead of going out and obtaining plenty of sea room. They should, undoubtedly have assumed the offensive. Jealousy between the two French admirals, incompetence on the part of Behuchet, and unsatisfactory personnel, have been alleged by French authors as additional explanations of the result ; and these writers also lay great weight upon the assistance
' 'FfoJera,' ii. 1120. Also giveu in Avesbury and HeMangfni\l. It wns witni's.sccl In- the prince.
- Pari. Rolls, ii. 117, Hi*, lilt. " Nicolas, i. 66.
VOL. I. S
258 MILITABY niSTORT, 1134-1399. [1311.
supposed to have been rendered to Edward by the Flamaiids ; but concerning such points as these it is difficult, in default of adequate evidence, to offer any conclusions. One fact stands out beyond dispute. Sluis was a severe blow to France, and a glorious and substantial addition to the naval renown of England.
In August of the same year, the Admirals of the North and West, and of the Cinque Ports, were ordered to proceed to sea in company, with their united fleets, to cruise against the Normans and Spaniards, who were reported to be in search of English merchantmen; but no hostile encounter took place. ^ On September '2.5th, a nine months' truce was concluded with France ;'' and on November MOth, King Edward amved at the Tower from Flanders.^
There is no specific account extant of what Genoese galleys were captured of those which escaped from Sluis under Bocanegra ; but six Genoese galleys appear to have been taken off Brittany sometime in the course of this year ; for, two years later, their fate was still a subject of correspondence between Edward and the Duke of Genoa, who seems to have done very httle to prevent his subjects and even his relatives from aiding the enemies of England, and to have treated Edward, his nominal allj', with scant courtesy.*
Although the truce with France was not to expire until June, 1341, English preparations for the re-opening of the hostilities began as early as February, when all vessels of sixty tons and upwards were ordered to be ready for sea, and x^i'operly armed, by April 16th. ^ In April, Admiral Sir Eobert Morley was directed to provide a hundred small transports with a view to the king's passage to the continent ; '^ and on June 4tb, Edward accepted an offer of ships from Bayonne, asked for more, and desired the Bayonnese to appoint an admiral to command their contingent. Peter de Puyano was, as in 1337, appointed to this office." But a prolongation of the truce for a year appeared to render unnecessary any immediate measures for defence and offence ; and vessels were being returned to peaceful employ- ment, when an entirely new cause of quarrel arose with France.
The Duchy of Brittany had become vacant by the death of Duke John. France supported the claim of Charles, Count of Blois, in right of his wife ; Edward espoused the claim of John, Count of Montfort, who judiciously did homage to him in England as King of
' 'Fcpdera,' ii. 1133. ■* Ih., ii. 1185. '■ 77)., ii. 11.">G.
- Ih., ii. 113.5. ■"' Ih., ii. 1177. ' Uk, ii. lli;3, 1173.
3 Ih., ii. 1111.
1342.] RELIEF OF EENNEBONT. 259
France. Freucli troops were thrown into the disputed tei-ritory ; England levied an army ; and in October the Cinque Ports fleet was called out and ordered to Portsmouth by November 18th, and numerous vessels were arrested in the ports of the west.' In February, 1342, more ships were summoned, and directed to make rendezvous at Orwell by March 24th ;- and Admiral Sir Walter Mannj', who was appointed to command them, was enjoined to seize all the ports and fortified places on the coast of Brittany, on behalf of Moutfort.^ He seems to have succeeded in sailing on March 20th. There was urgent need for his services, for the Countess of Montfort was besieged by the Count of Blois in the town of Hennebont, near Lorient. Nevertheless, Manny, who carried with him a thousand' archers and a hundred and twenty men-at-arms, met with contrary winds, and was sixty days on his passage ; and the garrison was upon the point of surrendering when he arrived and quickly raised the siege. Froissart relates that as a reward for their opportune succom-, the Countess kissed Sir Walter Manny and his companions one after the other, two or three times.*
The Count of Blois had the advantage of the co-operation of Bon Luis de la Cerda,'^ one of the best naval commanders of the age, who assisted him with a Hispano-Genoese squadron, and, having captured Dinan, invested Guerande, in which port he took many vessels laden with wine from Poitou and La Kochelle. Utilising these craft, he captured the jplace, and then, re-embarking, cruised, with other Spaniards and Genoese, along the coast, but landed to ravage Quimperle. Manny, with Sir Amery de Clisson, embarked three thousand archers and pursued the marauders. The Enghsh found the enemy's ships at anchor off the coast below Quimperle, and, boarding them, put their crews to the sword and captured immense booty. Leaving three hundred archers to defend the fleet and the prizes, the victors landed, and defeated the enemy very signally on shore."
But though Manny did so well, the modest force at his disposal was, of course, insufficient for the entire conduct of the campaign ; and, after Eng Edward had held a kind of naval council at West- minster in April, a large fleet was assembled at Portsmouth in July."
' ' Foedera,' ii. 1177. '' Great-grandson of Alfonso tlie Wise, King of Cantilk'.
'' lb., ii. 1187. ° Froissart, i. 1.55-157.
■' lb., ii. 1189. ' ' Fcrdcra,' ii. 1201.
* Froissart, i. 152, 153.
S 2
260 MJLITABT HISTOBT, 1154-1309. [1342.
It sailed at about the end of the month, under the Earl of Northampton, who had been appointed the King's Lieutenant in France and Brittany, and who was accompanied by Robert of Artois, the Earl of Devon, Lords Stafford and D'Arcy, and other noblemen.
Froissart mentions an action which, if ever fought at all — of which there is some doubt, — must have been fought by this fleet in the course of its passage. The enemj^ which is represented as having been in superior force, is said to have been commanded by Don Luis de la Cerda, Carlo Grimaldi, and Otto Doria ; and the battle is reported to have been interrupted by bad weather, and to have terminated indecisively.' Possibly some meeting of the fleets did take place, but, as no note of it is made by any contemporary English writer, and as English writers can scarcely have had any reason for being deliberately silent concerning it, it may be con- cluded that the affair was at best of inconsiderable importance.
By way of reprisals for the captiu'e by French subjects during the truce of a rich ship of London, the king, on July 10th, ordered all Frenchmen in London, Southampton, Wells, St. Botolph, Lynn, Ipswich, and New Sarum, to be imprisoned, and their goods seized.^
In the meantime, on or before April 10th, Sir John Montgomery had been appointed Admiral of the Western fleet, and preparations were made for the transit to Brittanj' of the king in person. Ships were stringently arrested, and public prayers were offered for the success of the expedition."'
Edward embarked at Sandwich in the George, and on October 4th, on board that ship, delivered the Great Seal to the new Chancellor. Next day he made the Duke of Cornwall guardian of the kingdom during his absence ; and, sailing soon afterwards, he landed at Brest, towards the end of the month.'' He was there joined by Sir Walter Mannj-.' Siege was laid to Vannes, the fleet co-operating ; but the ships would have been more useful at sea, where Don Luis de la Cerda, Cailo Grimaldi, and Otto Doria, were cruising and inter- cepting communications. On one occasion these chiefs found a small English squadron lying in a bay near Vannes, and sank and took seven ships composing it ere they were driven off bj- the troops from before the town. After this experience, Edward sent part of
1 Fi-oissait, i. 16G-10S. * Knighton, 2581 ; ' Fadera,' ii. 1212 ; Avesbury, 08.
'^ ' Fcetlera,' ii. 1202. '^ Knighton, 2582.
" Ih., ii. 1209.
13-13.] TRUCE WITH FRANCE. 261
his fleet iuto Brest, and part into Hennebont — a disgraceful, and almost inexplicable confession of his failure to take advantage of the victory which he had v^^on at Sluis, only two years before, and which oiight to have established him in the mastery of the seas about his dominions.'
In December, 134'2, Sir Eobert Beaupel- superseded, or was joined with. Sir John Montgomery as Admiral of the Western, and Sir William Trussell superseded Sir Robert Morley as Admiral of the Northern fleet ; and, in the following January, both were preparing to convey fresh armies to Brittany, when, on the 19th, a three years and eight months' truce with France was concluded at Vannes.^ Edward, who immediately set out to return to England, had a most prolonged and dangerous voyage. He was driven by contrary winds to the coast of Spain, lost two or three ships, and did not reach Weymouth until March 2nd, after a five weeks' passage*
No reliance was placed upon the long duration of the truce, and while, on the one hand, the garrisons in Brittany were reinforced, on the other, measures were taken to strengthen and refit the navy. As on some previous occasions, assessors were summoned to advise with the king in council on nautical matters ; the Cinque Ports,, having failed to equip eight large ships which were required of them, were reminded of their duty ; and a commission was ordered tO' Gascony to endeavour to effect an alliance with the Kings of Portugal, Castille, and Aragon.^ In May, 1344, Sir Reginald de Cobham *■ was made Admiral of the Western, and Robert, Earl of Suffolk, Admiral of the Northern fleet.'
Philip of France violated the truce even sooner than had been expected, " it being his firm purpose to destroy the English langiiage and to seize the territories of England." Edward, at the request of
' Froissart, i. 175.
^ Sir Eobert Beaupel was the son of a Devonshire liniglit, and was menilicr for Devon in 1314. He served chiefly with the army, but was admiral in 1342. He was an ancestor of Lady Jane Grey, through his grand-daughter, wife of Sir Nele Loring, K.G.
^ Kniglifon, 2583 ; Avesbury, 109.
■• Cliron. of Lanercost, 310; ' Ficdera,' ii. 1220; Ave.sbury, 100; Knighton, 2.">83.
'' ' Fccdera,' iii. 4, 8-11 ; Froissart, i. 183.
* Sir liegiuald de Cobham was boni about 1300, and served at Gadzand, Shiis, Crecy, ' L'Espagnols sur Mer,' and Poitiers. He was aiipointed admiral in 1344 and 1348, and was made a K.G. in 1352. In 1342 lie had been summiined to Parliament as a baron. He died in 1361.
' ' Failera,' iii. 13.
262 MILITARY HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1314.
•Parliament, prepared to proceed to Gascony ; and the admirals were directed to arrest all vessels, including even large boats and fishing smacks, with a view to setting sail in September.^
Egidio Bocanegra was by this time in the service of the King of Castille. He had honourably received on board his galleys the Earl of Derby, and other members of the commission which had been sent to Gascony ; and when these noblemen returned in August, they brought with them the great adventurer's offer to serve even the King of England, for pay. Edward wrote on September 1st to, thank Blackbeard, and sent an envoy to talk matters over with him."
In October, 1344, an embargo was laid upon all Enghsh shipping;^ but no active operations of any importance were undertaken by sea during the year; and it would appear that the French cruisers in the Channel continued to have much their own way. On February •23rd, 1345, Eichard, Earl of Arundel, was made Admiral of the Western fleet ; * and at about the same time the Earl of Suffolk, with Eichard Donyngton as his lieutenant, appears to have been re-appointed to the fleet of the north. More ships were arrested ; the full service of the Cinque Ports was ordered to be ready at Sandwich by May 6th ; and troops ' and supplies were sent to JBrittany and Gascony.^ Arrangements were also completed for the king's passage to Flanders ; and Edward sailed thither from Sandwich on July 3rd in a flute called the Swallow, accompanied by the Prince of Wales, the Earls of Huntingdon and Suffolk, and a large suite. He reached Sluis two or three days later; but, being unsuccessful in his efforts to induce the Flamands to transfer their ^.llegiance to the Prince of Wales, he re-embarked, and returned to Sandwich on July 26th. ^ Ere he quitted the soil of the Netherlands, his cause there received a deadly blow in the murder of his most influential ally, Jacob van Artevelde, the leader of the popular party, who was slain in his own house at Ghent, after having practically fuled the major part of Flanders for eight years with the title of Euwaard, or Protector.
In the course of the summer, some ships and galleys from
' Avesbury, 114; Proissart, i. 177 ; Kolls of Tarl., June, 1344, ii. 148; Fr. Rolls, 28; ' Kcpder.i,' iii. 15, 16.
- ' Fa-dera,' iii. 22. ^ Ih., iii. 32-35, 44.
' lb., iii. 24. « Ih., iii. 47-51, 53 ; Froissai-t, i. 204-206.
* lb., iii. 31.
1345.] EDWADD III. INVADES FRANCE. 263
Bayonne, uuder Bernard of Toulouse, retook Comet Castle, Jersey ; and in Auf,'ust, Avhen they joined the English fleet, Bernard was ordered to hand over the castle to Sir Thomas de Fen-ers, and then to return to Bayonne.^ It was probably felt that in view of the naval activity of France, his presence was more urgently requii-ed in the waters of Gascony than in those of the Channel. Moreover Edward still meditated the immediate resumption of active operations on French soil. The admirals were directed to be ready to carry him thither in October ; but for one reason or another, the voyage was postponed, first until the middle of Februar}-, and finally until July, 1346. In the meantime more ships had come to England from Bayonne, and Peter Donyngan had received command of them, with instructions to arrest other Bayonnese vessels for the royal service.'-
The Pope made efforts to stay hostilities which, in consequence of the magnitude of the preparations on both sides, threatened to be of an unusually bloody, and perhaps of a decisive chai'acter ; but to the cardinals, his emissaries, Edward wrote on July '2nd, from Porchester, that he was then about to proceed to France, and had no leisure to speak with them.^ He embarked from the Isle of Wight on the 10th, and sailed on the 11th with a fleet estimated by Avesbury at a thousand vessels, and by others at eleven hundred large and five hundred small craft. With him, in addition to many noblemen, went the Prince of Wales, ten thousand archers, four thousand men-at-arms, and a number of Irish and Welsh foot- soldiers. On Wednesday, July l'2th, the fleet reached La Hogue, and the king at once landed ; but the disembarkation of troops and stores was not completed until Tuesday, the 18th.''
Much of the fleet was immediately sent back to England ; but two hundred vessels, with four hundred archers and a hundred men-at-arms, under the Earl of Huntingdon, were retained to operate along the coast. ^ At La Hogue, eleven French ships, eight of which had fore and stern castles, were taken and burnt ; at Barfleur, on the 14th, nine ships with fore and stern castles, and several smaller craft, including two crayers, were set on fire ; and subsequently the town itself, which was deserted, suffered the same
' 'Fceilera,' iii. 5(1, 57. - lb., iii. 68. '■ Ih., iii. 84.
* Walsiiigham, 15G ; 'Fa-dera,' iii. 85; Avesbury, 123 ■; Murimuth, 'JS ; Knighton, 2585 ; Froissart, 1. 217-220.
- Avesbury, 123 ; A'illani, 871, 872 (ed. 1587) ; Froissart, i. 220.
264 MILITARY HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1346.
fate. All the coast, from Kouen to Caen, was ravaged and devastated ; Cherbourg was burnt ; and sixty-one ships of war, twenty-three crayers, and many smaller vessels laden with wine, were destroyed there or in the vicinity.'
It is not necessary to follow the military operations of the expedition. Army and fleet acted in conjunction, and Caen fell. Crecy was fought and won on August 2.5th, and Edward then laid siege to Calais, the fleet again assisting him.
While Edward was thus pressing the French in Normandy, his lieutenants were active in Gascony, where Aiguillon, on the Garonne, was besieged. Sir Walter Manny, who commanded the naval flotilla there, had numerous conflicts with the enemy, and, as before, greatly distinguished himself ; " but, upon the whole, the English iii that quarter were less successful than in the north.
The siege of Calais necessitated the despatch thither of continual supplies ; and, as the French fleets were at sea under Pierre Flotte, Carlo Grimaldi and others," strong measures had to be taken for the protection of the convoys. A squadron to effect this purpose seems to have been assembled at Sandwich.''
Parliament, which met on September 11th, though willing enough to provide for the support of the army, for the service of which it granted a fifteenth, requested that the sea might be defended at the king's expense only, and that the people might be released from that burden. The reply, on behalf of the sovereign, was to the effect that the ancient practice must be continued ; and that there was no better way of defending the sea than by fighting abroad.''
Parliament, then as on many other occasions, seems to have believed that the safety of the narrow seas and of the coasts could be ensured by the retention of fleets in the home waters ; and that there, and not on the enemy's confines, was the proper place of the Navy : while professional opinion took the sounder view, and advocated an offensive defence as the sole effective one. This conflict between popular and technical opinion re-arose continually in after ages ; and, although the naval view often won the day, it can scarcely be doubted that the ignorant opposition to it frequently, and sometimes very dangerously, hampered the thorough
' Avesbury, lL'3-127 ; Knighton, 25S5 ; Eilwards" Disijatcli of July 30th, 1346. = Froissart, i. 214. * ' FopJeia,' iii. 91, 93. "
» Jal, ' Arcli. Nav.' ii. 338. ^ Pari. Rolls, ii. 157-161.
J.M7.] NAVAL ACTIVITY. 265
effectiveness of the fleet. Ha|)pily the professional view is now, theoretically at least, accepted by statesmen and publicists as well as by seamen. There is always, however, a risk that, as in the past, the unreasoning panic of the vulgar may, in time of stress, force the hands of a British Admiralty, and by keeping too much of the Navy at home, Hmit the usefulness of the entire organisation.
Edward thus had to drag his most important sinews of war from an unwilling, because an uncomprehending nation. It was difficult enough for him to obtain vessels with supplies for the siege. Miich more difficult was it for him, when he realised that to take Calais he must secure command of the Channel, to secure the necessary reinforcements of his fighting fleet. He perceived that the place could not be reduced so long as French ships hovered in the offing, ready, upon the slightest relaxation of the stringency of the blockade, to run in with provisions and supplies to the garrison ; but the people at home were dull to recognise the fact.
Nevertheless, by dint of great exertions, a really formidable naval force was raised. It comprised 738 vessels, of which about fifty were fighting ships with fore and stern castles, and the rest, barges, ballingers and transports ; and it was manned by about 15,000 officers and men.^ In February, 1347, all the ports were required to send delegates to the Council at Westminster to report upon the state of their preparations ; and from each of the maritime counties two knights or other persons were summoned to advise the Government on the subject of national defence." On February '23rd, Sir John Montgomery superseded the Earl of Arundel in command of the AVestern fleet ; and on March 8th, Sir John Howard was appointed to the Northern command, to succeed the Earl of Suffolk ; and it was decided that sixty ships of each command (every ship having sixty mariners and twenty archers) together with twelve hired Genoese galleys, should assemble at Sandwich by April 2nd, in readiness for a cruise against the enemy.* Whether they sailed, and if so, what they effected, does not appear. Certain it is that they did not prevent a convoy of thirty ships and galleys
' Uoll of Calais, in Harl. MSS. 24G, 78; Cott. MSS. Titus E. iii. f. 2i52. 'I'liis siiecifies the number of ships contrilniteil bj' each yovt, ami by IJ.iyonne, Ireland, Spain, Flanders, and Gelderland.
2 ' Fa?dera,' iii. 105, 106.
=" lb., iii. 109, 111, 112, 117.
266 MILITARY HISTORY, 1154-1399. [1047.
from entering Calais about the middle of April, and from getting out again unmolested. But from that time forward, matters were better managed.
The Earl of Warwick, with eighty ships, cruised in the Channel, and kept command of it ; ^ in May, the Earl of Lancaster brought across a large and welcome reinforcement to the king ; and soon afterwards Lord Stafford and Sir Walter Manny, at the head of a considerable force, met a French convoy bound for the beleaguered town, and captured twenty sail of it, besides galleys.' Again, on June '2oth, the Earls of Northampton and Pembroke are said to have intercepted a French convoy of forty-four ships. Lords Morley, Talbot, Bradeston, and the two admirals were also concerned in the affair ; from which fact it may, perhaps, be concluded that the chroniclers of the period were apt to jump to the conclusion that the personages of highest civil rank engaged in any action were the actual commanders on the occasion. The main credit for what happened should certainly be attributed to Montgomery and Howard.
A contemporary account is cited by Avesbury as having been written by one who was with the English army. The writer says that the English, while in search of the enemy, met him about the hour of vespers off Crotoy, at the mouth of the Somme ; and that such of the French vessels as were in the rear threw their provisions into the sea, some making towards England, and others for Crotoy. Ten galleys, which had abandoned boats as well as cargo, headed out to sea ; and one flute and twelve victuallers, which were in the van, were so closely chased that they ran under the land, and their people, jumping overboard, were all drowned. " But the night following, about daybreak, two boats came from the town (Calais), which, being soon perceived by a mariner called AVilliam Hoke, with one Hikeman Stephen, one boat returned to the town with great difficulty, but the other was chased on shore, in the which boat was taken a great master, who was the patron of the Genoese galleys and of the Genoese who were in the town, and with him seventeen of those persons and full forty letters. But before the said patron was taken, he fastened an important letter to a hatchet and threw it into the sea ; but this letter and hatchet were found when the water ebbed." ^ The letter in question was from the
' Knighton, 2592. ^ 'Fowlera,' iii. 121 ; Knighton, 2592, 2593.
^ Avesbmy, 15G.
1348.] UARDSIIIPH OF THE WAR. 267
Governor of Calais ; and it declared that, unless the place was immediately relieved, it mnst surrender, owing to the tei-rible condition to which the inhabitants had been reduced. It did surrender on August 4th, and Edward, having concluded a truce with France until the following July, returned to England, landing at Sandwich after a very stormy passage, on October I'ith.'
While the king had been busy in France, important military events had taken place on the borders of Scotland, where Uavid II. had been captured ; but no naval events of interest were associated with the Scots campaign. Andrew Guldford, admiral on the coast of Ireland from May 30th, 1347, doubtless fulfilled his instructions to prevent to the utmost the transmission of men and supplies to points north of the Tweed."
England had been extraordinarily successful both by sea and laud ; yet, of course, individuals and localities had suffered severely, and French raiders had won small triumphs, which, though entii-ely without influence upon the general result of the war, caused great hardships. Many nmst have been the complaints similar to that sent up from Budleigh, in Devonshire, in 1348. The place had been ruined by the enemy, who had taken three ships and twelve boats, with a hundred and forty men, many of whom remained miable to ransom themselves.^ But there is little doubt that, upon the whole, even in those days of limited trade, the country at large prospered during the war, in spite of the wretched financial management of the king and his advisers.
Early in 1348 the good faith of the French, as was usual after a few months' continuance of truce, began to be suspected ; and the intended voyage of the Princess Joan to Bordeaux, on her way to marry the heir to the kingdom of Castille, was taken advantage of as an excuse for the assemblage at Plj'mouth of a squadron of forty vessels, ostensibly to convey the bride.* Edward also raised an army, pui-posing to renew the war as soon as the truce should expire or as other occasion should offer. In the meantime, on March 14th, Sir Walter Manny was re-appointed to his old command of the Northern fleet, and Sir Reginald de Cobham again took charge of the Western one." An Italian was given command of the king's
' ' Fu?dera,' iii. l;!9 ; AValsiiigli.im, 128 ; Murinmth, 100.
2 Scots Rolls, i. G98.
3 Pari. EoIIb, ii. 213.
* Ih., ii. 200; ' Fadera," iii. 146, 14!), 151, 156. ^ ' Ficdera,' iii. 156, 157.
268 MILITARY BISTOJiY, llo4-1309. [l3-t9.
galleys/ Englishmen being apparently insufficiently acquainted with the tactics suited to those essentially Mediterranean craft ; and on June 6th, Manny, who had been summoned to Parliament as a baron in the previous year, was, for some unknown reason, super- seded by Robert, Lord Morley, who then took command of the Northern fleet for the fourth time.'- Among the ships ordered for service in July were the Katherine, the Welfare, the John, and the St. Mary, together with three large French prizes.^ In October the king went down to Sandwich, intending to sail as soon as possible ; but on November 18th the truce with France was renewed, and all idea of the expedition was for the time given up.
The year 1349 saw little naval activity. In August, Sir John Beauchamp* was appointed admiral of a special squadron to repress piracy in the North Sea, where, between Newcastle and Berwick, Walter atte Park and other Scots rovers, had captured a trader of Scarborough;^ and in November, Don Carlos de la Cerda, son of Don Luis, in defiance of the truce, captured several English ships laden with wine, off Bordeaux, and savagely murdered their crews.'' This latter action gave rise, as will be seen, to serious results. In the last month of the year, the king and Prince of Wales, with Sir Walter Manny and nine hundred men, sailed rather suddenly to Calais in order to checkmate an apprehended surprise of the town by the French. Edward appears to have returned immediately after having repressed the treacherous attempt, which was duly made on January iZnd.
In 1350 came the day of reckoning with De la Cerda. That freebooter, having pillaged a number of English vessels, went to Sluis to load up with merchandise preparatory to returning to Spain. He seems to have known that Edward did not intend to allow him to escape unopposed ; for he armed his ships with every kind of
' 'Fopdera,' iii. l.")9. - Ih., iii. 162. ^ Ih., iii. 16.5.
* Sir John Beauchamp, one of the original Knights of tlie Gaitei-, and the first sole Admiral of the English fleets, was second son of Gu}', Earl of Warwick, and was born about 1315. He was present at Sluis, Crecy, and Calais. He had an admiral's command for the first time in 1349, and was summoned to Parliament as a baron in 1350. In 1355 he was again adnural ; and in 1360 was made Admiral of tiic- Fleet, but died in the same year.
'• 'Fa-dera,' iii. 187, 18H ; Scots Kolls, i. 728.
" Avesbury, 185. A somewliat ditferent account is given l:)y Knighton, wlio places the scene of the outrage oft' Sluis.
1350.] PUEPARATIOSS AGAINUT DE I.A CEliDA. 269
artillery and missile, and crowded them with soldiers, cross-bowmen, and archers/
The English preparations for dealinr; with De la Cerda began in May, when orders were issued for the manning of —
SlTll'. JIastki:.
|
Thumns |
William Passelewe |
|
Koliert Sliiimiiin, constable |
|
|
Edward |
William Piers |
|
Jonette |
AValter Langtlale |
|
Plenty |
Jolm Wille |
|
JsuMIk |
Join; l!am |
|
Gabriel |
Joliii IJnkUe |
|
Michael |
.luhu Maikvii |
|
W elf, I re |
John Stygey |
with the Mariote, master minamed." As there is every reason for believing that these vessels took part in the action of the following Angnst, the names of their commanders are worth preserving. Other king's ships present in the battle were the Jerusalem, Tliotnas Beauchamp, Mary, Godibiafe, John, Edmund, Falcon, Buchett and Lawrence, together with the vessels serving as the king's "hall" and "wardrobe." Of all these ancient and meritorions names, only Falcon has taken root in the Navy, and has been perpetuated as a ship-name to the present age.
On July '2'2nd, Lord Morley received a new appointment to the Northern fleet ;^ but the king himself determined to command the punitive force ; and the Prince of Wales and many young noblemen decided to serve with the squadron. Before sailing, Edward addressed the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, apprising them of the motives of his action, and desiring them to cause prayers to be offered for his sixccess.* He went down to Winchelsea about the middle of August, accompanied by the queen, the princes, and a great suite, including the Earls of Lancaster, Derby, Arundel, Hereford, Northampton, Suffolk, and Warwick ; Lords Percy, Stafford, Mowbray, Nevill, Clifl'ord, Eoos, and Greystock ; Sir Eeginald de Cobham, Sir Walter Manny, Sir Thomas Holland, Sir Kobert de Namur, and nearly four hundred knights.^ The Earl of Richmond, better known as John of Gaunt, was only eleven years of age, and too young to wear armour, but he would not be separated from his brother, the Pxince of Wales. Eobert de Namur, a son of
> Froissart, i. 285. ' Jh., iii. 200. '- Froissart, i. 285.
2 'Fcedeia,* iii. 105. * 11., iii. 201.
270 MILITARY EISTORT, 1151-1399. [1350.
John, Count of Namur, commanded the king's " haU," the vessel on board of -which was the royal household. He was afterwards a Knight of the Garter. The English fleet is supposed to have consisted of about fifty ships, large and small. ^
Edward seems to have embarked on August '28th, in his old ship, the Thomas cog. The fleet, however, remained at anchor in the Channel, instead of seeking the Spaniards on the coast of Flanders ; although it may be accepted as certain that cruisers were sent out to watch for the coming of the enemy. During this period, Sir John Chandos, one of the most famous generals of his age, amused the royal party by singing a German dance to the accompaniment of the minstrels who were in the flagship ; but the king continually gazed up at the look-out man in the top, in hopes of receiving inteUigence from him.
De la Cerda had forty ships, all large and of the same class. He had filled his tops with soldiers and with stones for them to fling upon the English decks, and Froissart says that he had quite ten times as many men as his opponents, he having engaged many mercenaries in Flanders. Both sides were eager for the conflict, and confident of the result.
On the afternoon of Sunday, August '29th, the wind being fresh from the north-east, and the English being still within sight of Winchelsea, the Spaniards were sighted, coming down Channel. Edward weighed, caused the trumpets to sound, ordered wine to be served to himself and his knights, and armed for battle.
The Spaniards might have avoided an action, but nothing was further from their intentions, and, with the wind fair behind them, thej' bore down upon the English. Edward at once directed his ship to be laid alongside a leading Spaniard. The shock of collision brought down the enemy's mast, and all who were in its top were drowned ; but the king's ship suffered at least equally, for she sprang a leak, and, although the fact was not then conveyed to Edward, his knights had to bale her to prevent her from sinking. The king would have gi'appled and boarded his opponent, but the knights persuaded him to pass on to another vessel, into which the grapnels were thrown. Then ensued a fierce hand to hand contest, both sides fighting for their lives, for the sinking state of the flagship could by this time be no longer concealed, and the Spaniards expected no quarter. After a short struggle, the enemy was carried,
' So says Stow, 250.
r-UX] " VESPAGNOLS SUIi MER." 271
and all remaining alive on board him were thrown into the water.
The king at once transferred himself and his people to the prize, and proceeded in her to find a fresh foe. The action had become general, though it appears to have chiefly resolved itself into fights between single ships. The Spanish crossbow-men inflicted great damage, and the superior height of their vessels gave them much advantage in hurling down stones and ii'on bars upon their adversaries. Moreover, their ships were the stronger built, and their men were the more experienced.
The Prince of AVales was sorely pressed, his ship, grappled by a Spaniard, being, like his father's, reduced to a sinking condition. She would probably, in spite of her stout resistance, have gone to the bottom with all hands, had not the Earl of Lancaster opportunely ranged lap on the Spaniard's other beam, and boarded with the cry of "Derby' to the rescue." This encouraged the prince's party, and presently the Spaniard surrendered. Her entire crew was, nevertheless, as was the custom in that age, and long afterwards, flung overboard. The prince and his followers had barely time to crowd into the prize before their own craft foundered.
The action had begmi at about 5 p.m. As evening closed, victory declared generally for the Eughsh, but the king's " hall," which, under Eobert de Namur, had been grappled by a Spaniard, was in great peril. The Spaniard could not siibdue her, but making all sail before the wind, was rapidlj- dragging her from the scene of the fight, with the intention of obtaining assistance for reducing her at leisure. As they passed almost within hail of Edward's vessel, the unfortunate English shouted for help, but were not heard, and matters would have fared badly with them had not Hannekin, the valet of Eobert, displaj'ed exceptional gallantry. Sword in hand, he jumped on board the Spaniard, and cut the halliards, bringing down the sail with a run. He then severed some of the shrouds and stays, and rendered the ship unmanageable, and in the consequent confusion, the English boarded successfully and carried the enemy.
Froissart says that fourteen Spaniards were taken ; Avesbury and others put the number at twenty-four, and Walsingham gives it at twenty-six, besides ships that were sunk. The victors un- doubtedly suffered very heavily, especially in wounded, and apparently
' The earldom cif Derljy lijid been revived in 1337 in Aivum- i.f Henry Plantageuet, Karl, and later Duke of Laucastei-.
272 MILITARY IIISTOUT, 1154-1399. [1350.
at least two of their best ships were sunk ; but the result was glorious and decisive. The only Englishman of rank reported to have been killed was Sir John (or Sir Richard) Goldesborough. Among other distinguished persons who, in addition to some already mentioned, took part in the fight, were Richard, Lord Scrope of Bolton, Sir William and Sir Henry Scrope, Sir John Boyville, Sir Stephen Hales, Sir Robert Conyers, and Sir Thomas Banestre, the last, in consequence of the service, receiving a pardon for a homicide which he was alleged to have committed previously.
At night the Enghsh fleet anchored at Rye and Winchelsea, and the king, the Prince of Wales, and the Earl of Richmond returned to the queen, who had remained in a state of great anxiety in an abbey about six miles from the shore.'
Such was the Battle of Winchelsea, or, as it has been more generally called, " L'Espagnols sur Mer." If the English fleet was numerically the larger, the Spanish ships were the more formidable as regards both size and complements, so that, upon the whole, the victors had no material advantage in their favour. Yet they crushingly asserted their superiority over a gallant foe whom they then encountered for the first time in a general action. The presence of the king and the two princes, and of a very considerable body of the higher nobiUty of the realm, added special brilliancy to the affair, and seems to have inspired the English participants to the display of more than ordinarj- valour ; yet Nicolas was the first of British naval historians to pay much attention to it, and many a history of England that has pretentions to a character for seriousness and accuracy does not mention it at all. Indeed, it may rank as one of the many almost forgotten glories of a race whose later triumphs have made its memory shorter than it should be. It gained, however, for Edward III. the appellations of "Avenger of the Merchants," and " King of the Sea." -
Soon after the battle, the king sent word to Bayonne that the remnants of the Spanish squadron were at sea, and desired his subjects there to disregard the truce, and to despatch a force against the enemy. Again, in October, a special convoy was provided for ships going to Gascony for wine, it being supposed that they might be intercepted by the fugitives.^ But it appears that the enemy
' Froissart, i. 28G et sej.\ Avesbury, 1S5; Otterbourne, 135; Cont. of Murimuth, 102; Wal.siiigham, IGO ; Stow, 250.
= Pari. EoUs, ii. 311. = ' Fccdera,' iii. 203, 206.
l."..-^l.] A FRESCII DESCENT EXPECTED. 273
returned to Sluis, for, ou November lltli, Sir Robert Herle, captain of Calais, and others were deputed to treat with the Spanish officers and seamen in Flanders for an amicable termination of hostilities.' In the meantime, a treaty for twenty years had been concluded with Spain, and the truce with France. had been extended," the result being that, for some years subsequent to the Battle of WincheLsea, there were but few naval events of much importance.
The appointments to high naval command during this period of comparative quiet were as follows : — To the Northern fleet : Admiral William, Earl of Northampton,^ March 8th, 1351 ; Admiral Lord Morley, March 5th, 1855. To the Western iieet : Admiral Henry, Duke of Lancaster,* March 8th, 1351 ; Admiral Sir John Beau- champ, March 5th, 1355. To other commands : Sir Thomas Cock, captain of a squadron, March, 1352 ; John Gybon, admiral of a squadron to Normandy, March, 1354.'*
But although peace prevailed generally, there were iTuuours of wars, and even some actual aggi-essions. In 1351, a French descent upon the Isle of Wight was apprehended, and Lancaster and Herle made forays in France beyond the English pale.'' In 1352, several ships, including the Jerusalem, St. Mary, Edward, Falcon, John, Thomas Beaucham]}, and Rode cog, all king's vessels, were got ready in anticipation of a probable termination of the truce.' And it may be added here that in 1353 there was concluded with Portugal a treaty of commerce, which was to endure for fifty years,. and. which is remarkable as having originated what has been, upon the whole,
' ' Fiidera,' iii. 210.
- Th., iii. 228, 232, 251, 2G0, 27G.
■' William, Earl of Nurtliampton, was a younger sou of Humphrey de Boliun, Earl of Hei'efurJ and Essex, by a daughter of Edward I., and was created Earl of Xorth- amjitoii in 1337. He served at Sluis, Crecy, Calais, and L'Espagnols sur Mer, and was^ given the first Garter that fell vacant. His sole appointment as Admiral was in 1351. He died in 1360. His youngest daughter was Avife of Henry IV.
* Henry, Earl of Derby and Duke of Lancaster, was the only son of Henry, ]'>arl of Lancaster, a nephew of Edward I., and was born about 1312. After seeing some naval and military service, and having been created Earl of Derby in 13:)", lie succeeded as Earl of Lancaster and Leicestershire in 1315, and in 1348 became one nf the first Knights of the Garter. Soon afterwards he was made Earl nf Lincoln, and in, 1351, Duke of Lancaster. He had been both at Sluis and at L'Esijagnols sur Mer,. when, in 1351, he was for the first and only time made admiral. He died in 13(U, leaving two daughters, one of whom married John of Gaunt, and became the mother of Henry IV.
■'' ' Focdera,' iii. 273.
» lb., iii. 217, 218, 220; Knighton, 2001.
• //-., iii. 215, 240.
VOL. I. T
274 MII.ITAHY HISTORY, 115^-1390. [1355.
au unusually lasting international friendship.^ A notice of some of its provisions will be foiuid in the preceding chapter. A curious episode belonging to the year 1354 was the issue to the Admiral of the Northern fleet of an order to provide three vessels to carry the Bishop of Durham to London, that he might attend to his parlia- mentary duties there."
In 1355, Edward refused to agree to a renewal of the truce, and it was decided that the Prince of Wales should go to Gascony with a large army." The usual directions were accordingly sent to the ports for the provision of the necessary shipping, and seamen were impressed.* So eager was the search for vessels that a Spanish craft was inadvertently seized, and the King in consequence wrote a letter of apology to his brother of Castille.^ On September 8th, the Prince of Wales left Plymouth with three hundred troopers and transports, and after a quick passage he landed in the Gironde.'^
The king himself had sailed earlier from Eotherhithe with forty large ships, carrying fifteen hundred dismounted men-at-arms and two thousand archers, and accompanied by his younger sons, Lionel of Antwerp and .John of Gaunt ; but, leaving Gravesend about July '22nd, had met with bad weather in the neighbom-hood of the Chamiel Islands, and had been driven into Sandwich and detained there until August 15th. Thence he proceeded with difficulty to Winchelsea and the Isle of Wight, but was again driven back.
While he was at Portsmouth dm-ing his ineffectual efforts to cross the Channel, news reached him that the King of Navarre, who had promised his alliance, and who was to have joined the English fleet off Jersey, had broken his engagement, and allied himself with the King of France before Calais." The receipt of this intelligence led to the calling out of more ships and troops, which were assembled at Sandwich, and in October the king embarked there with his younger sons and a large retinue. He was joined at Calais by mercenaries from Flanders, Brabant, and Germany.' He at once marched against the French, who fled before him, and were energetically pursued. He then returned to England to meet Parliament on November 12th, but an invasion of the Scots, who had taken Berwick, called him immediately afterwards to the north,
' ' Fcedera,' iii. 264:, 2G5. ^ 7i., iii. 275. » Knighton, 2008; Avesbury, 201.
* ' Fcpclera," iii. 297. '■■■ Ih., iii. 306. ° Knighton, 2608 ; Avesbury, 201.
' Knighton, 2610 ; Pari. Rolls, ii. 264; Avesbury, 203, 204. ' Avesl)ury, 205. Froissart (i. 304, 305) is incorrect.
135G.] TRANSPORT WOItK IN THE CHANNEL. 275
necessitated fresli levies of ships and men, and, by divei'ting attention, for a time liiudcred the prosecution of the, .French campaign.' .
The Northern fleet, reinforced by newly arrested ships under John Colyn, heutenant to the Northern admiral, seems to have assisted in the recovery of Berwick, though twelve ships were lost on their passage thither and the others were dispersed.- But neither the military occurrences in Scotland, nor those in France where the victory of Poitiers was won by the Black Prince on September I'.lth, 1356, can he followed here.
In Ma}- of that year, Sir Guy Bryan ■' superseded Sir John Beauchamp as Admiral of the Western fleet, Eobert Ledrede having at the same time an independent or subsidiary command over a convoy to Gascony.'' Sir Guy appears to have created great astonish- ment by the celerit.y with which some of the vessels belonging to his station crossed and recrossed the Channel with troops in June They landed their men at La Hogue, and returned to Southampton within five days. These troops belonged to the forces of the Duke of Lancaster, who with the rest followed in fifty-two transports, sailing on the 18th of the month. ^ In August, certain Scots and other ships having committed depredations off the coast of Ireland, Kobert Drouss, of Cork, was appointed admiral of an Irish squadron and ordered to proceed against them.'' Three predatory Scots ships, with three hundred soldiers on board, were in the following year driven into Yarmouth and taken.'
In 1357, the prisoners captured at Poitiers were brought tf) England. In April the Prince embarked at Bordeaux in one ship, and King John, of France, was put on board another. It was expected that the French in Normandy would make eftbrts to intercept the convoy, and the English ships were therefore specially manned with two thousand archers and five hundred men-at-arms ; but nothing was seen of the enemy, and after an eleven days'
■ ' Fowlera,' iii. .-il-l: ; Pari. Rolls, ii. 204.
- Froissait, i. 311, .312 ; Avesbury, 237.
^ Sii- Guy Bryan, scm of a Dcvuiisbire kiiij;lit, was Imni about 1310. In 13.-)0 lie was summoned to Parliament as a baron. He was admiral in 135t! and 1370, in wliicli latter year he was also made a K.B. His naval .services were very numerous and distini;uished, but toward.s the close of his life he was exclusively employed ashore. He died in 1390.
' ' I'Vi'dera,' iii. 328 ; Gascon PiolLs, 127. " ' Foodera,' iii. .338.
■'■ Avesbury. 245, 246. ' Knighton, 2017.
T 2
276 MILITARY HISTOHY, 1154-1399. [1358.
passage, the flotilla reached Sandwich on May 4th/ On May 23rd, a truce was concluded to last until Easter, 1859.'''
Preparations with a view to the termination of this truce were made towards the end of 1358. The admirals, Lord Morley and Sir Guy Bryan, were directed on December 8th to impress ships and barges, and to see that they were at Sandwich by the following Paku Sunday in readiness for the King's passage across the Channel.^ But Edward's sailing was postponed, and in June, 1359, fresh orders were sent out, pointing to a departure in July, vessels being then obtained from Sluis, Gravelines, and Dmiquerque, as well as from the English ports.* The King did not actually sail from Sandwich until October 28th. He weighed early in the morning in a ship called the Philip, of Dartmouth, and landed at Calais at about four in the afternoon, accompanied by one of the largest armies that ever quitted England, and publicly professing his intention never to return until he had ended the war by a satisfactory and honourable peace or had died in the attempt.^
The new campaign in France was little more than a triumphant military promenade. Edward had, unfortunately, no right to treat himself to the luxm-y of this progress. At sea he had been more successful than any previous English sovereign. There can be no reasonable doubt that he understood all that the maintenance of the dominion of the sea meant to his island realms, and it is absolutely certain that, with the men and the material at his command, he might, had he listened to the counsels of sense and prudence, instead of to the promptings of blind ambition and immoderate love of empty glory, have completely crushed the French at sea, and rendered them impotent on that element until the last days of his reign. But his dehght in pageantry and display got the better of him. The conclusive processes of naval warfare were too slow, too dull, and too monotonous to suit his hasty spirit. He had the dash of a Cochrane, but he lacked the steadfast and single-minded apphcation of a Nelson, or a Collingwood. And so, after covering himself with quickly acquired glory at Sluis and Winchelsea, he neglected his navy to submit to the seductions of mihtary spectacle. It was a strange and disgraceful infatuation.
' FroiKsart, i. 367. But Walsingham and Knighton say that it made riyiiiuutli.
- ' Fadera,' iii. 348.
=• Ih., iii. 412.
* Ik, iii. 445 ; Scots Rolls, i. 810.
'• Ih., iii. 452: Proissart (who \vron;^ly pays that the kinj; emharked at Dover), i- 417.
1360.] .S.K'A' OF WISCUKLSEA. T,l
While he was panuling to no good end on I'rencli soil, tlu; French squadrons were working havoc against us in the Channel. In the spring of VM'A), panic reigned at Southampton, I'ortsniouth, and Sandwich, at each of which places a descent of the enemy was expected. Fleets should have been sent against the foe ; but the creation of fleets, and their maintenance, required large siuus of money, and Edwai'd had nearly emptied the coffers of the state that he might pay for his continental adventures. All that could be done by way of defensive precaution was to levy troops and send them to the threatened points, and to draw ships high up on the shore, in hopes that the enemy, when he came, would overlook tlu^m.' To such a pass was the power of England reduced.
The French did not strike where they had been expected, but they raided Eye and Hastings, and on Sunday, March 15th, they landed in great foi'ce at Winchelsea." Villani says that they had a hundred and twenty ships ; Knighton, that they had twenty-nine thousand men. These numbers are probably exaggerated, but the point is immaterial. They made their onslaught while the people were at Mass, spared neither age nor sex, fired the town, committed un- speakable atrocities, and carried away a number of the best-looking women. At length, it is true, they were driven off with a loss of upwards of four hundred men, and thirteen of their vessels were taken by the seamen of the Cinque Ports ; but the moral effect of this bloody insult to the coast was nevertheless tremendous, and was remembered for many a year afterwards.^ So great was the number of slain that Winchelsea churchyard had to be enlarged to receive them, and to this day the road on that side is known as Dead Man's Lane.
On the very day of the landing, which must have occurred early in the morning, the news reached the council, which was sitting at Keading. Something had to be done at all costs. At once every large ship and barge fit for war was ordered to be impressed ; such English shipping as was in Flanders was sent for,* and on March 26th, the regular admirals, Morley and Bryan, being apparently in attendance on the king in France, Sir John Paveley, Prior of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in England, was appointed admiral
' ' Fffidera,' iii. 471. ^ Ji., iii. -ITCi, 477; Wixlsinghain, Kill.
« Anon. Hist. Edw. III., ii. 424; Issue llolls, .'U E.hv., 111. 17.-. (e.!. Dcv(.n); Walsingliain, liiO; Kiii.uliton, 2022. ■* ' Failera,' iii. 47(1.
278 MILITARY HISTORY, 1154-1399. [13B1.
of a squadron which was directed to cruise to the westward of tlie Thames to repel invasion.' A perfect panic prevailed. Troops were levied everywhere. Southampton and Pevensey were fortified anew. Even inland strongholds, Hke the castles of Old Sarum and Malmes- bury, were hurriedly put into a condition for defence ; and as it was believed that John, the captive French king, was to be rescued, he was removed from Somerton to Berkhampstead Castle, and sub- sequently thence to the Tower."
By way of retaliation, a division of the fleet, consisting of eighty ships, with fourteen thousand soldiers and archers on board, was sent to operate against the coasts of France. Exactly what it did is uncertain. Walsingham tells us that it captured the Isle of Saints, a place difficult to identify, but Knighton, who says that the fleet was made up of a hundred and sixty sail, iiuplies that it ravaged the French coasts about Boulogne and Harfleur.^ The French "War was, however, terminated on May 8th, by the Treaty of Bretigny, which stipulated that John should be ransomed, and should cede Gascony, Guienne, Poitou, Calais, Guisnes, and Ponthieu, and that Edward should renounce his pretensions to the crown of France, and his claims to Normandy, Touraine, Maine, and Anjou. The arrangement, which by the way involved a very large reduction of the original Enghsh demands, and was scarcely the honourable peace which Edward had declared he would die rather than forego, was solemnly ratified at Calais in the following November, but most of its provisions were never carried out.
The king came home in May, lauding at Eye on the 18th, and going back to Calais in July and again in October, for the ratification of peace. He returned once more early in November.* On ,luly 18th of the same year. Sir John Beauchamp, K.G., was appointed "Admiral of the King's Southern, Northern and Western fleets,"* and for the first time united in the person of a single officer the command of the entire English navy. He died at the close of the year and was succeeded in the same high office by Sir Eobert Herle "^ on January '26th, 1.3G1.' Sir Ralph SpigurnelP succeeded Herle
' ' Fadera,' iii- 4"''- ■' /''., iii. 471-47',». ^ Walsiiighain, 107: Knighton, 2Gl.'3.
■• ' Fccilcra,' iii. 490, 499, 518, 520. ^ Ih., iii. 505.
'' Sir Hubert Herle, son of Sir William Herle, was made captain of Calais in 1350, and Warden of the Cinque Ports, etc., in 1361, when he was appointed Admiral of the Fleet. He died about .June 1304.
'' 'Focdera,' iii. 597.
* Sir Ealph Spigurnell, or Pigoriiel, was apjiointed Admiral of the Fleet in 1304, but little is known of his ^irevious naval services or qualilicatious. He died in 1373.
13G9.] JRENEWED WAJl WITH FRANCE. 279
Oil July 7th, 13lJ4.' Each of these officers was in a(l(Htion Keeper of Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports.
These were, so far as naval matters are concerned, very un- eventful years. Ships, men, and supplies were dispatched from time to time to Gascony ; and convoys were occasionally provided for princes and nohlemen proceeding to Ireland, Calais, etc. ; but not until 1309 was there much renewal of naval activity. In that year the experiment of concentrating the command of the fleet in the hands of a single individual was temporarily abandoned ; and on April 28th, Sir Robert Ashton - was appointed to the Western, and on June 12th, Sir Nicholas Tamworth was appointed to tlie Northern squadron.
Charles, who in 1864 had succeeded John as King of France^ invaded Poitou, and fitted out ships against England ; and in 1369, the mistable peace created by the Treaty of Bretigny came to an end. A general arrest of vessels of twenty tons and upwards, except fishing boats, was ordered in February, part to be sent to South- ampton, and part to Dartmouth : all fencible men between sixteen and sixty were called out in March, and in April the king's ships Dicu la Garde, Edward, and five more were sent to sea, the George following in May.^ In June, Edward denounced the attitude of France to Parliament, and decided to resume the title of King of France ; and hostilities were recommenced.''
Charles had the co-operation of Henry, I\jng of Castille and Leon, who promised to assist with as many galleys and twice as many ships as France should equip ; and a large fleet, under Philip, Duke of Bm-gundy, was collected in the mouth of the Seine. The English naval preparations were less actively pushed on ; and although Southampton and the Isle of Wight were garrisoned in August, no fleet seems to have put to sea until after Portsmouth had been burnt ^ by the enemy and much other damage had been
' ' Fifilera,' iii. 741.
- Sir Uobert Aslitun was a distiiisuisheil man with very varied experieuces. After seeing service in France, he -was made Cliancellur of Ireland in l.jlU, and keeper ol the castle of Sangatte, near Calais, in 13G8. He was appointed admiral in ISGlt, and again in 1371, and held other connnands at sea. He was also, at dilTerent times. Justice of Ireland, Treasurer and Chamberlain of the Household, Warden of the Cinque Torts, Constable of Dover Castle, and Ambassador to France. He died about 1384.
3 ' Fa?<lera,' iii. 8G1, 8G3, 8G5.
* Froissart, i. 567 ; Pari. Itrjlls, ii. 2!i!l ; ' Fceiiera,' iii. 868.
<* ' Fiedera," iii. 880.
2g0 MILITARY IIlSTonr, llo4-139&. [i:;;70.
done. Sir Nicholas Tamworth was, however, appointed to the Northern fleet in June.' In November, perhaps owing to the ver}' natural apprehension at honae, the Duke of Lancaster was recalled from Calais."
At the beginning of 1370 a squadron was at sea under Sir Guy Bryan, who on February 6th and again on May 30th was appointed to the command of the fleet of the west. On May 30th also John, Lord Neville of Eabj', was made admiral of the north ; and in July, Sir Ralph Ferrers was given an independent command in the Channel over a force largely composed of vessels hired from the Netherlands, and of craft belonging to Jersey and Guernsey.^ Sir Robert Ashton, too, commanded a flotilla, which w"ent to Cherbourg to bring the King of Navarre to England.* Edward went to France ; Lancaster went to Gascony ; few craft fit for service escaped arrest ; but'the feverish activity produced little tangible result. Ships were despatched northward to prevent communications between France and Denmark, and between France and Scotland ; but all maritime matters seem to have been mismanaged. A large ship of Bayonne, with merchandise belonging to London, was taken by thirty French vessels, which afterwards landed and burnt Gosport ; troops were hurried to Dover to repel an anticipated descent there; and the Chancellor declared to Parliament that France had soldiers enough to oust Edward from the continent, and apparently ships enough to destroy the whole navy of England.' It is indeed not astonishing that the country was in a panic.
The Commons complained. They represented that the cities, ports and boroughs, and the whole navy of the realm, had for a long time suffered great damage unknown to the king and his Council (a very mild expression of the true facts), to the annihilation of the said places and navy ; that they had formerly enjoyed certain franchises and usages, by which they had been enabled to maintain their houses, their navy and themselves, and support the good estate and great honour and safety of their lord and all his people, to the fear of foreign comitries, bj' the power of the merchants and navy of the realm ; but that now, since their franchises had been seized, one third part of the towns, boroughs and ports was almost ruined and
• ' Fa'dera,' iii. 871.
= Issue Rolls, 4-t Edw. III., '.MW.
" ' Fa?dera,' iii. 892 ; Issue Rolls, 44 EcUv. IH., 1411, 2G7, 28G.
* Fasue Rolls, 44 Edw. III., 187, 277. "■• Pari. Rolls, ii. m:i.
1371.] DECLINE OF THE NAVY. 281
uninhabited — the walls broken down, and tiie shipping,' nearly ruined, so that the merchants were reduced to poverty and could scarcely live. They therefore prayed that their ancient privileges and franchises might be restored, so that, when occasion required, they might do good service to the king and discomfit his enemies.
The causes of naval decline were declared to be : firstly, that arrests of shipping were often made long before vessels were wanted, the owners being in the interval at the expense of ships and crews that were making no profit, by which many of them became so impoverished as to be obhged to quit their business and see their ships ruined : secondly, that the merchants who supported the navy had been so impeded in their voyages and affairs by divers ordinances that they had no employment for ships ; that great part of the mariners had consequently abandoned their calling, and gained a livelihood in some other way ; and that their ships were hauled up on the shore to rot: thirdly, that as soon as the masters of the king's ships were ordered on any voyage, they impressed the masters and ablest part of the men of other ships, and, those vessels being left without persons to manage them, perished in large part, to the loss of their owners. The king promised redress, and asked for a specification of the grievances arising from loss of franchises;' but it does not appear that matters were sensibly ameliorated in Edward's time.
In March, 1371, there was an arrest of all vessels of a hundred tons and upwards, and of all " pikards " of ten tons and upwards, in Wales and the Bristol Channel, Bristol excepted. These were ordered to Plymouth to join the command of Sir Guy Bryan.'- In May the. two admirals were directed to restore some Flamaud vessels which had been improperly captured ; and, from the docu- ments concerning the transaction, it is apparent that neutral vessels cari-ying property belonging to states at war with England were then held liable to seizure, and that free bottoms did not make free goods.''
On October (jth, 1871, Sir lialph Ferrers succeeded Lord Neville as Admiral of the Northern, and Sir Eobert Ashton, Sir Guy Bryan as Admiral of the Western fleet.* In the same month, the French menaced the coasts of Suffolk and Norfolk.^
Froissart relates the account of a naval action which, if it
1 Pari. Itolls, ii. HOG, 307. - ' Focdera,' iii. 012. ^ Jh., iii. U17.
' Ih., iii. HI'.!, '.124. '' lb., iii. ^125.
282 MILITARY HISTORY, 11.J4-1099. [1372.
occurred at all, probably occurred during the year. There is, how- ever, little or no corroborative testimony, and several of the state- ments made appear to be inconsistent with known facts. His story is to the effect that an English squadron, under Sir Guy Bryan, having on board the Earl of Hereford, met a Flamand squadron off " the Bay," meaning Bourgneuf Bay,^ in the modern department of Loire Inferieure ; that the enemy was commanded l^y Sir John Peterson ; that the battle lasted three hours ; and that Peterson was defeated and taken, and all his ships were captured.- Eroissart may have confused the affair with the capture in or near the Bay of Bourgneuf of twenty-five ships laden with salt, as related by some of the chroniclers.^ If so, he greatly magnified the importance of the business. In any case, it was almost the last naval success of a reign which closed with disaster and disgrace.
At the end of 1371 an Act was passed prohibiting the selling of any English vessel to a foreigner ;* and early in the next year, a treaty of friendship and commerce was concluded with Genoa. ^
The year 1372 witnessed the arrest of more ships,*^ and the super- session on March 7th of Sir Ealph Ferrers by Sir William Neville in command of the Northern, and of Sir Eobert Ashton by Sir Philip Courtenay in command of the Western fleet.' On March 28th, peace was proclaimed with Flanders f but fears of an invasion by France continued, and the country was still in a state of panic, which was accentuated by a naval disaster which happened in June.
La Eochelle was besieged by the French ; and in April the young Earl of Pembroke," who had been appointed Lieutenant of Aquitaine, was directed, in company with Sir Gnichard d'Angle, and other knights, to proceed to the relief of the beleaguered town. He sailed from Southampton on June 10th. France, cognisant of the project, dispatched the Castillian fleet of forty large ships and thirteen barges to intercept the expedition. This fleet was com- manded by Ambrosio Bocanegra, Admiral of Castille, Cabeza de
' From tliis bay, where there were salt-pans, "bay salt" seems to liave taken its name.
- Froissart, i. 631, 632.
^ Walsinghara, 182; JIuiiiiiutli, 127; Otterbourne, 12cS.
■* ' Focdera,' iii. 930. ^ Ih., iii. 931. '= Ih., iii. 933.
' Ih., iii. 937. 8 IK, iii. 938.
° Joliii, Lord Hastings, second Earl of Pembroke, who was captured off La llochelle in 1372, was son of Lawrence, first Earl of Pembroke, and I>ad, as his second wife, a dauLihter of Admiral Sir "Walter Manny. He died in 1375.
1-)T2.] DISASTER OFF LA EOCHELLE. 283
Viica, Fernando de Peon, and Ruy Diaz de Eojas ; and it awaited the very inferior English sqnadron off La Eochelle.^
Pembroke sighted the enemy on Jnne 22nd, and witli great courage prepared for the inevitable battle, j)lacing his archers in the bows of his ships. The Spaniards, who employed cannon, as well as missiles to be hnrled by men from the tops, weighed and gained the wind, and then bore down with cheers on the English. The action, which was very severe, was continued until nightfall, when, Pembroke having lost only two barges, laden with stores, the forces separated.
The fight had been witnessed from the town, and Sir John Harpeden, commander of the place, endeavoured to induce some of the inhabitants to put to sea to assist their friends ; but they objected that they were not sailors and that they had their own work to do on shore. Three knights only. Sir Tonnai Bouton, Sir James de Surgieres, and Sir Maubrun de Linieres, with four barges, went out at daybreak on the 23rd to join Pembroke. The Spaniards, who had anchored for the night, then weighed, it being high water, and, taking advantage of the wind, bore down on the English in such a manner as eventually to surround them. The usual hand-to- hand fight ensued. Pembroke's ship was grappled by four large Spaniards under Cabeza de Vaca and Fernando de Peon, and after an obstinate resistance was taken. Among the killed were Sir Aimery de Tarste, Sir John Lanton, Sir Simon Housagre," Sir John Mortainge (or Mortaine), and Sir John Touchet. Among the prisoners were Pembroke, Sir Kobert Tinfort,^ Sir John de Gruieres,* Sir John Tourson,* Sir Guichard d'Angle, and Sir Otho Grandison. The entire English squadron was taken or destroyed ; and all the prisoners of rank would have been massacred had they not imdertaken to ransom their followers. One ship, carrying treasure to pay the troops in Guienne, was sunk. Sir James de Surgieres was landed at La Eochelle, where he reported the disaster ; the other prisoners were taken to Spain, where most of them were roughly treated. The catastrophe is said to have materially hastened the loss of Guienne.'^
At about the same time a Welsh adventurer named Evan, claiming to be a son of a prince who bad been killed by Edward,
' ' I'VJera,' iii. 1141 ; FmiFsai't, i. Q>:',C>, 637. - PerLaps Sir Siniun WliitaktT.
^ Perhaps Sir Robert Beaufort. ■" Possibly Sir .Tolm (irimstone.
' Perhaps Sir Joliii Curzon.
« Froissart, 635-6-39; Walsinghani, 1>^2 ; Anon. Hist. E.hv. III. (Heanie), li. Vi'X
28-1 MILITABY HISTORY, 1154-1300. [1372.
joined the French, and was sent to sea by them with three thoiisand men. Sailing from Harfleur, he landed in Guernsey, defeated the governor, Edmund Bose, and, having besieged him in Cornet Castle, would probably have taken him, had not the force been recalled to take part in the blockade of La Kochelle/
Edward seems to have felt it imperatively necessary to attempt some bold stroke by way of reprisals ; and he equipped and took command of a fleet for the relief of Thouars, which, if not rein- forced, had agreed to surrender on September *29th. The king embarked at Sandwich in the Grace de Dieu on August 30th with a large force, but, delayed by contrary winds beyond the day for the appointed surrender, he returned ingloriously to England, landing at Winchelsea about October 6th. No sooner had he arrived than the wind became fair ; but it was too late ; and the ±'900,000 said to have been spent in the fitting out of the armament was wasted. -
The Welshman, Evan, joined a Spanish force under Admiral Eoderigo de Rosas, and the combined squadron, consisting of forty ships, eight galleys, and thirteen barges, blockaded La Rochelle until it fell.^ It is astonishing that, instead of returning tamely to England, Edward did not endeavour to save or recover the place ; but he seems at this period of his career to have been completely demoralised.
Parliament, which met in November, renewed its remonstrances on the state of the navy and prayed for a remedy. The king's reply was that it was his pleasure that the navy should be main- tained and kept with the greatest ease and advantage that could be.'' Very little, however, was done to remove the causes which had led to so much loss and disgrace. But the fleet had shortly before been reinforced by some Genoese galleys under Peter de Campo Fregoso, and Jacob Pronan.'*
At the beginning of 1373 there were fresh fears of an invasion, an immense Franco-Spanish force under Evan, lioderigo de Eosas, the Count of Narbonne,*^ Jean de Rai.x,' and Jean de Vienne,- being
' Frbissart, i. 610, G41.
- ' Ffieilera,' iii. ilGl, OGli : \u«n. Hist. Edw. III., ii. .".00, 100; Froissait, i. ImS ; Walsiiighain, 1 82.
» KroiHsart, i. G47, 654. ' I'ail. Kolls, ii. 311. '' ' FcnkTa,' iii. 065, 070.
" Tlien Admiral of France. ' Oi' Du Rove.
' Of .Te.in de A'ieune's naval career there is a good tliougli brief account in Laiightoii's ' Studies in Naval History.' See also ' Jean de Vicniic," by the Marquis Terrier de Loray (Paris, 1877). John de Yienne was born in 1.341, and t'ell at the b.attle of >,'ico|i(ilis on September 28tli, 1300.
1374.] Binxn or the FiiKsru swvy. 285
at sea or in process of asseinhly. In February, the Earl of Salisbury was given command of an English squadron, and, with the Admirals Courtenay and Ne\-ille, he appears to have made some effort to blockade the mouth of the Seine, but to have been obliged by the allies to retire. He proceeded to St. ^lalo, where he destroyed eight Spanish merchantmen, and thence to Brest, where, while assisting in the defence of the place, he was himself virtually blockaded by the enemy, who also kept such good command of the Channel that an expedition under the Duke of Lancaster, destined for Guienue, could not go thither directly, and had to land at Calais and make a terribh' disastrous march through France.* Yet. in the Chancellor's speech to Parliament, Salisbm-y's proceedings were highly eulogised.^ His almost sole service, with the eighty ships under his command, appears to have been the influence which he exerted t<nvar(ls inducing the French to raise the siege of Brest.
The year 1374 produced no very notable naval actions, although both sides cruised continually in the Channel. In January and February there were impressments of men for eight ships which were ordered to keep a look-out on the western coasts;^ in May a nmnber of ship-masters were summoned to attend the council at Westminster to give information and advice ;* and between July and September a convoy was collected at Dartmouth and riymouth to carry over the Eai'l of Cambridge and an army to Brittany.* But it was, nevertheless, a very important year, for it saw the conuuence- ment of the construction, for the first time, of a regular royal navy of France. Jean de A'iemie, who has been ah-eady mentioned, had been appointed Admiral of France on December •11th, 1873 ; •and, convinced of the advantage of vessels built especially and exclusively for war over craft liired from the merchants and adapted, he at once began the building of war vessels at Kouen in 1374.''
A year's truce between England and France and Spain was concluded in June, 1375, but it was not strictly observed ; for when, in August, a fleet, which had conveyed Sir Thomas Felton to Bordeaux, and Sir William Ehnau to Bayonne, had taken in cargo in the Bay of Bourgneuf, with a view to returning to Enghiud, a Spanish squadron mider Eeyner Grimaldi' and Evan, the Welsh
• Fioissait, i. 608, etc.; ' Finlera," iii. 071. - I'arl. lioUs, ii. 310. » 'Fanlera," iii. 0!H!, 997. '//-., iii. 1002.
* Ih., iii. lOOG, 1017. '• ' Stuilics iu Xav. Hist."
" Nephew ul" tlie elder Grimaliii who '.ia<l coimiiamieil the Genoese conlingent at Sluis.
2S6 2IILITAEY HISTOIiY, 1154-1399. [1377.
adventurer, fell upon them unexpectedly, and took or destroyed twenty-eight ships, five cogs, one crayer, and two barges, then estimated to be worth, with the goods on board, £n,TS9, besides killing the masters and crews.^ The loss, appraised in the money of to-day, may be set down at certainly not less than i^'130,000. The merchants who had sufi'ered appealed to the King in 137G. Edward tamely protested that he had done and would continue to do, his best to obtain redress ; - but he was too weak to compel justice ; and in those days justice in international affairs was seldom rendered save to those who demanded it with might as well as right behind them.
In 1376 fleets, collected in the usual manner, were ordered to assemble in Southampton Water and at Sandwich,^ but the nominal truce was renewed until April 1st, 1377, and the vessels were returned to their owners in June, to be again arrested in July, to bring back the Duke of Bretagne and the Earl of Cambridge from Brittany.* On June 8th, England lost the Black Prince, and with him her strongest hope of issuing with credit from her ever-increasing difficulties.
On July 16th, the Earl of Suffolk and, on November 24th, Sir Michael de la Pole, were appointed to the Northern fleet ; and on July 16th, the Earl of Sahsbury^ and, on November 24th, Sir Eobert Hales, Prior of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in England, were entrusted successively with the Western fleet."
Early in 1377, the work of Jean de Vienne had begun to bear fruit, and by the spring he had ready for sea thirty-five large ships, built as men-of-war, well armed with the most improved guns, besides eighty-five smaller or hired vessels, the whole manned by about 15,000 seamen, men-at-anns, and archers. To this force there was added a Spanish contingent. Once more, something like panic reigned in England. All craft of twenty tons and upwards were arrested and concentrated in the Thames ; ' troops were hurried
' I'arl. lioUs, ii. ;346. One of tlio ]ii-izcs, tlie Cliristophei; of Exmoutli. wns of •'500 ton?.
- Ih., ii. 310.
■■ ' Fcedera,' iii. 1040, 1049, 1050.
' Fr. Rolls, 115. • ^ William, second Earl of Salisbury, K.G., born in 1327, served at Crccy and Calais, and was one of the original Knights of the Garter. He was present at L'Espagnols sur Mer and Poitiers ; and was admiral in 1376. He died in 1397, leaving his honours tn his nephew, John, third Earl.
« ' Fredera,' iii. 1057, 1065. '' lb., iii. 1072, 1076, 1077.
1377.] ACTIVITY OF JKAS BE YIEXXE. 287
to the coast ; the Scots were supposed to be aijout to invade lioiii the north, and everything' was in confusion, when, on June '21st, the king died.
Richard II., who succeeded hiui, was a child of about eleven. Those responsible for the government were animated by personal hatreds and animosities, the treasury was empty, the nav_v was almost non-existent, and, on the other hand, France and Scotland were more formidable than they had ever been.
Jean de Vienne struck promptly. He put to sea from Harfleur, with Keyner Grimaldi, Jean de Kaix, and De Torcy as his seconds, and, leaving a few ships to watch Jersej' and Guernsey, crossed over to the coast of Sussex. On June '29th,' he landed near Eye, and plundered and burnt the town. Before Winchelsea he was repelled ; but at Eottingdean he defeated a small force, and, advancing to Lewes, took, sacked, and burnt it. lie-embarking, he went to Folkestone, Portsmouth, Dartmouth, and Plymouth, all of which he laid in ashes. By the beginning of August he was back at Harfleur.
England was more occupied in the crowning of her child-king than in fighting the enemy ; but ships were arrested, men were called out for service by sea and land, and the two admirals who liad held office at the end of the last reign were reappointed.
After assisting the Duke of Burgundy for a short time at the siege of Calais, Jean de Vienne put to sea again, witli a view to prevent reinforcements from being sent from England to the besieged ; but, being driven by an easterly wind to the coast of the Isle of AVight, and finding it- to be almost undefended, he landed there, apparently near Yarmouth, and levied a tliousand marks from the inhabitants. Thence he made a hasty demonstration against Southampton ; attacked and bm-nt first Poole and then Hastings ; created a scare at Dover ; and on September 10th, was again before Calais. After lying there for seven days he was compelled by bad weather to go to Harfieur, where, probably to the innnense relief of the English, he laid up his ships for the winter. '-'
When Parliament met in October, there were fresh complaints concerning the state of impotence to which the navy had fallen ;
' Or (in July Gtli.
- Froissart's account tloes not exactly agree with tlie accounts of ^\'al.>iiugllaul, Otterboumc, etc. The account as given is substantinlly tliat adopted by Prol". Laughton : 'Studies in Nav. Hist.,' 17, IH.
288 MILITARY EISTOIiY, 1154-1399. [137T.
but, as before, the representations led to little or no amelioration.^ The Government, having heard that a squadron of Spanish ships lay windbound at Sluis, thought the opportunity a good one for taking vengeance on one wing of its enemies, and, in November, despatched a fleet under Thomas, Earl of Buckingham, the Duke of Bretagne, Lords Latimer and Fitzwalter, and Sir Robert Knollys. But a gale, which came on in the night of the 11th, dispersed it, caused some of the smaller ships to founder, and forced all the rest to return to port, whence, however, when they had refitted, they sailed again. The Spaniards, who had quitted Sluis, were followed to Brest ; and there the English would have attacked them. But, at the critical moment, the division of Lord Eitzwalter not only mutinied, but went so far as to fall upon the division of the Earl of Buckingham, which, if not supported by the, valour of the Earl of Kent, would have fared badly. This expedition, which returned to England soon after Christmas, afforded other sad examples of misbehaviour and cowardice. It may be noted that very general immorality is said to have prevailed throughout the fleet ; and there is no doubt that any fleet in which numerous women of bad character are embarked must be ill-disciplined, and very unfit for war service."
Yet even in those dark and disgraceful days there were redeeming exploits. The ship of Sir Thomas Percy had been obliged to remain behind, when the fleet sailed a second time. As soon as he was ready for sea, he sailed with two bai'ges and some smaller craft. In the Channel he fell in with about fifty ships, some Spanish and some Flamaird. He desired the latter — Flanders being at peace with England — to withdraw ; but, as they would not, he desperately and impulsively attacked the whole convoy, which, we may take it, was not composed of fighting-ships, and succeeded in taking twenty-two sail. So, at least, says Walsingham,^ who also relates that, a little earher. Sir Hugh Calverley, Captain of Calais, had made a raid on Boulogne, and, finding there two barges and twenty-six smaller craft, had burnt them and part of the town.^
On December 5th, 1377, Thomas, Earl of Warwick, was ap-
' Pari. EoUs, iii. 3, 5, G, 24, 25. ^ Monk of Evesham, 4 ; Walsingham, 199, etc. 2 Walsingham, 209. 7i., 199.
1.378.] FANIC IN ENGLAND. 289
pointed to the Northern, and Richard, Earl of Arundel,' to the Western fleet.''
About January, 1378, the people of Rye and Winchelsea seem to have made an independent effort to avenge the injuries which had been inflicted on them by the enemy. They are said to have embarked in their barges, and to have sacked and burnt Peter's Port and Vilet, in Normandy ; ^ but, as these places cannot be identified, the importance of the expedition cannot be appraised.
France, at this time, became aware that the King of Navarre had offered his daughter in marriage to Richard II., and with her all the towns, except Cherbourg, held by Navarre in Normandy. Preparations were therefore made to seize the possessions in question ere they could be handed over to the English. They fell rapidly to the French arms, and by the end of April, Port Audemer, at the mouth of the little river Rylle, alone held out against them. Eeyner Grimaldi, with a squadron, blockaded it ; and Jean de Vienne besieged it on the land side. Salisbury and Anmdel, with a hundred and twenty ships, attempted to relieve it, but in vain. They then made an ineffective attack on Honfleur. Port Audemer, unsuccoured, surrendered ; and the King of Navarre, having nothing left to him in Normandy except Cherbourg, and being threatened at home by the dc facto King of Castille, despaired of being able to hold his own in Fi-ance, and handed over Cherbourg in pledge tO' Salisbury and Arundel, who apparently placed a garrison there.*
In the meantime, England was still in a state of panic. Oxford was fortified, to serve as a central point of defence for the kingdom, in case the French should invade it ; Thanet was filled with troops ; and the royal jewels were pawned.^ The main part of the fleet being on the French coast, nine ships hired from Bayonne were directed to patrol the Channel, where they won a considerable success by the capture of fourteen sail of a Spanish convoy of merchantmen, laden with wine and other goods." But such a
' Richard, tenth Earl of Arundel, was eldest son of the ninth Earl, and was born abi)\it 13-18, succeeding his father in 1376. He served in 1377 as admiral, and in 138f> as Admiral of the Fleet. At about the same time he was made a K.G. In 138rt he was reappointed Admiral of tlie Fleet. He was beheaded on a charge of higli- treasoH in 1397.
•- Pari. Rolls, 1 Rirh. II. in. L'-J.
•' Walsingham, lill.
■" Again the text sulistantially follows ' Studies in Nav. Hi.st.,' 19, 20.
■' 'Foedera,' vii. lS.-),-l'JO; I'at. Rolls, 1 Rich. II. p. 4, m. 31d.
" Walsingham, -\\.
VOL. I. U
290 MILITARY niSTOEY, 1154-13119. [1378.
triumph could ha-ve no great influence i^pon the course of the war.
An action of a far more important character had a less satisfactory
result.
When Jean de Vienna learnt of the transfer of Cherbourg to the
English, he summoned the allied Spanish squadron, then probably
consisting of twelve ships, to make rendezvous with him ofl' the
town, and himself proceeded thither with twenty-tive ships of the
French Eoyal Navy and some smaller craft. Before he could be
joined by his friends, he fell in \\ith the fleet of Salisbury and
Arundel, which, though numerically superior, was made up of less
powerful vessels. The English attacked with confidence ; but the
French held their own until the Spaniards arrived on the scene,
and decided the fortunes of the day. Sir Peter Courtenay,' or one of
the other sons of the Earl of Devon, appears to have commanded the
English rear, and, by the gallantry of his conduct, to have saved his
friends from utter annihilation ; but his division was sacrificed, and
he himself was taken prisoner. -
This was early in July. It left the French free, for the time, to blockade Cherbourg and to control the Channel. The Duke of Lancaster, having collected a large force at Southampton, sailed to the relief of Cherbourg in August, with Salisbury in naval command. The number of his ships is unknown, but they had on board eight thousand archers and four thousand men-at-arms. Jean de Yienne was not strong enough to oppose so great a force, and retired up the Seine, while Lancaster threw reinforcements into Cherbourg, and then attacked St. Malo, where he captured a few small vessels of no importance, and landed troops to lay formal siege to the town.^
Here he made the crucial mistake of neglecting the " potential fleet." Jean de A'ienne was not defeated, not blockaded, not even watched. He quitted the Seine with his Spanish allies, crossed the Channel, ravaged the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, burnt Fowey, and returned unmolested, and with a rich booty .■*
St. Malo proved quite strong enough to defend itself; and, as winter approached, Lancaster raised the siege, and returned to Southampton.''
' Walsinghain (211) says. Sir Hugli Courteiiay ; Munk nf Eve.sliam (0) ;^ays that Sir Pliiliji and Sir Peter C'uiirtenay were present. 2 ' Stuilies in Nav. Hist.,' 20, 21. ■' Froi.'isart, ii. 30; Mollis of Evesham, 7. ■* ' Stmlies in Nay. Hist.," 21 ; WalNinghani, 215. •'■ Friiissart, ii. 40; Ih., 215.
VMS.] FATRIOTISM OF JOHN MERC Eli. 291
While so much official ineptitude was being displayed, a privata citizen exhibited remarkable energy and patriotism. John Mercer, a Scotsman, had collected a flotilla of Scots, French, and Spanish adventurers, and had taken several ships belonging to Scarborough. The Government did nothing towards the repression of these piracies; and John Philpott, a wealthy merchant ol' London, took the matter into his own hands. At his own cost, he equipped a thousand men and a number of ships, and not only recovered the captured vessels, but also made himself master of fifteen Spanish craft which had gone to Mercer's assistance. He was informed by the Council that he had acted illegally in sending an armament to sea without their consent. " I did not," he replied, " expose myself, my money, and my men to the dangers of the sea, that I might deprive you and your colleagues of your knightly fame, nor to acquire it for myself ; but from pity for the misery of the people and the country, which, from having been a noble realm with dominion over other nations, has, tbroiigh your supineness, become exposed to the ravages of the vilest race ; and, since you would not lift a hand for its defence, I exposed myself and my property for the safety and deliverance of our country." * This brave trader seems to have been at the time Mayor of London. His patriotism, shown on more than one other occasion, deserves recollection.
Once more, after the meeting of Parliament in 1378, the state of the navy was made the subject of warn remonstrances, the occasion being a demand on the part of the Crown for a further aid ; but nothing was done to remedy the situation.- The only naval changes of the year were the supersession on September 10th of the Earl of .Arundel by Sir Hugh Calverley as Admiral of the Western ; and, on November .5th, of the Earl of Warwick by Sir Thomas Percy^ as Admiral of the Northern fleet.*
For tlie naval necessities of 1379, large sums of money were borrowed from private individuals.^ To Parliament, which met iu April, it was reported that Scarborough had been attacked, and that
' Evesliani, C ; AValsinglmm, 213.
- Tarl. Hulls, iii. 34, 35, 4l', 4(i.
^ Sir Thiimas Percy, Earl of Worcester, was second son nf Henry, Lord Percy, and a near relative of the famous Hotspur, and was born abcjut 1341. He olitaincd a Garter about 1376. His appointments as admiral were in 1378, 1385, and 131111, when lie was made Admiral of England and of Ireland. He had been created Ivirl of Worcester in l.'?!17. He was beheaded in 1403 for complicity witli Hotspiir.
* Fr. Rolls, 127.
' 'Focdcra," vii. 210, 211.
r 2
292 MILITARY HISTORY, 11.54-1399. [i;JTO.
another descent upon it was to be feared. Measures tor its defence, and for the protection of shipping in the North Sea, were re- commended ; and it was advised that a duty should be levied upon certain incoming ships and goods ; but a representation by the Commons that mariners and archers, who received but fourpence a day, and were in consequence quitting their employment, should be better paid, was not complied with.' On the other hand, it was enacted that mariners deserting the king's service should be fined and imprisoned for a year.^
The adinirals, Percy and Calverley, cruised early in the year in the Channel, and took a ship of war and seven merchantmen.^ In August, Calverley convoyed an army under the Duke of Bretagne to St. Malo. The Enghsh men-of-war first entered the harbour. As soon as they had done so, a squadron of French and Spaniards, which had been lying in wait along the coast, attacked the transports and storeships in the rear, plying them with gunshot, and threatening to capture the whole of them. The wind was against Calverley ; but he got out, apparently by w-arping his ship, and, singlehanded, poured in so deadly a flight of arrows that the enemy's galleys took to flight, and the transports safely made the harbour.*
But the year 1379 ended very disastrously. Reinforcements for Brittany were collected at Southampton under Sir John Arundel, brother of the earl. A squadron to transport the troops had among its commanders Calverley, Percy, Sir Thomas Banastre, Sir Thomas Morieux, Sir Willian Elmham, and other knights, and lay ready in the port. As the wind was unfavourable. Sir John Arundel, in disregard of what were then the Articles of War,^ violently and sacrilegiously billeted his men in a Southampton nunnery, where, in consequence, gross outrages took place. In retaliation, a priest excommunicated and anathematised the culprits ; and there is no doubt that the terrible tragedy which followed was ultimately associated in the minds of the people of the town with these events. It should be here said at once that neither of the admirals had any part in the disgraceful conduct of Sir John ; and it may be added as a curious coincidence that, if Walsingham may be trusted, neither of their ships lost man or horse in the subsequent catastrophe.
When the wind was fair the troops embarked, and the squadron
' Pari. Rolls, iii. 63. •• Walsingham, 232.
- Statutes, ii. 8. = 'Black Book of tlie Ailiniralty,' i. 24.
^ Walsingham, 224.
l;!7'J.] DISASTEI; TO AllL'NDEJ.'S hQUADUOS. 203
put to sea. The master of Arunders ship, llobert liust, of Jihikeney, predicted an approaching storm, but was not hstened to. Percy and Calverley probably felt that they had no option when Arundel sailed but to accompany him. Soon the storm burst lapon the fleet. To lighten the vessels, the soldiers threw overboard as many things as they could dispense with, and even drowned sixty wretched women, some of whom had been kidnapped from the shore. The ships were driven out into the Irish Channel, and there buffeted about for several days. At length, on December 15th, Arundel, by violence, obliged his crew to run for a certain island off the Irish coast, perhaps Cape Clear or Sherkin. Kust tried to put the ship between the island and the mainland, but found himself in the midst of rocks, where the vessel struck. He perished in a gallant attempt to save Sir John ; and two of Sir John's esquires, Devyock and Musard, besides Sir Thomas Banastre, Sir Nicholas Trumpington, and Sir Thomas Dale, with many men, were also lost. Twenty-five other ships, following Arundel's ill-advised lead, perished in the same way.'
Elsewhere the storm did equal damage, for it dispersed a large fleet of French, Spanish, and Portuguese ships which had been assembled to oppose Arundel's landing. As soon as the weather had cleared a little. Admiral Sir Thomas Percy fell in with a Spanish vessel full of troops, and, after an action of three hours, took her.'-
The representations of Parliament, renewed in 1880, concerning the causes of the evil state of the navy, .and in particular with regard to the practice of arresting vessels before they were needed, produced an order that owners should receive 3s. -id. per ton per quarter of a year while their ships were in the service of the king.^ The innovation, however, was to remain in force only until the following Parliament, and was merely experimental. On March 8th, Sir Philip Courtenay was appointed Admiral of the Western, and ou April 8th, Sir William Elmham, Admiral of the Xortliern ileet.* The latter was reappointed in July.^
The superiority of the French in the Channel during the period under review is painfully indicated by the fact that, in the course of the summer, when it was desired to send troops under the Ear) of Buckingham to Brittany, the force, as in 1373, had to be landed,
' Froissart, ii. 8^ ; Walsiugliain, 24:!. * Fr. lioUs. ii. \i\.
- Otteiliouriif, 150 ; Walsingliani, 'i:'.8-242. '•' Scots ItoUs, ii. 25.
■' Pari, liollf, iii. 8"j.
2114 MILITARY HISTORY, 1154-1390. [1380.
not on its intended scene of action, but at Calais. The longer passage could not be attempted in face of the numerous French, Spanish, and Portuguese galleys.' The exhaustion of England is indicated by the fact that, but for the patriotic exertions of John Philpott, there would not have been sufficient transports, and many of the' soldiers would have gone unarmed.'- Private effort on the part of the people of Hull and Newcastle contributed something towards the repression of piracy in the North Sea, and led to the capture of a Scots vessel worth 7000 marks. -
But, so far as the Government was concerned, the coasts were almost entirely undefended. The enemy harried the Enghsh shores from Yorkshire to Cornwall, sacking Scarborough, entering the Thames and burning Gravesend, captuiing Winchelsea, destroying Hastings and Portsmouth, and seizing Jersey and Guernsey. In July they attacked Kinsale ; but there, with the aid of the Irish, four of their barges and a balinger were taken, twenty-four English vessels were re-captured, and numbers of the enemy were killed.^ When Parhament met in November, a subsidy was demanded that the king might be enabled to prevent the recurrence of these attacks ; but nearly every vessel arrested was employed in the prosecution of the war in France ; and in December there was a special impressment of shipping to reinforce the Earl of Buckingham, who was besieging Nantes.*
The internal condition of England was not less bad than its external state. The resources of the countrj^ needed concentration ; and foreign expeditions should have been abandoned pending the clearance of the foe from the Narrow Seas ; yet early in 1381 a force under the Earl of Cambridge was sent to assist Portugal in her struggle with Spain. ^ A little later, when Anne of Bohemia was on her way to England to become the bride of the king, the home seas were so unsafe that the princess remained a month at Brussels, fearing capture by Norman pirates who were known to be cruising along the Netherlands coast ; and finally, rather than risk crossing from Sluis, Ostend, or Flushing, she went overland to Calais, and thence reached Dover.*^
' Froissart, ii. 94; Walsingliam, 243 ; >ronk of Evesham, lil.
- Walsingliam, 248.
' ]h., 240.
* Pari. Eolls, iii. 88; Fr. Hulls, 4 Eicli. 11. iii. 20.
^ Froissart, ii. 169; Walsinghani, 257, 259; Otterbourne, 154.
« Ih., ii. 181.
138."..] KEEPING THE COAST BY CONTRACT. 2U5
On October 'iGth, 1382, Sir Walter Fitzwalter became Adminil of the Northern, and Sir John Koche, who had previously held a minor command. Admiral of the ^\'l'sto^n fleet. ^ The naval events of the year were few. In the spring, some ships of Eye re-took an English vessel, the Falcon, sometime the property of Lord Latimer, and captured six other craft ; - but no other successes are recorded ; and, from the tone of the remonstrances by Parliament, it must be supposed that the trade and the coasts continued to suffer, as before, from the depredations of the enemy. The remonstrances in 1383 told the same tale.
A curious arrangement for the protection of the coasts seems to have been made at about this time ; for in May, 1383, all persons were enjoined to aid and assist two merchants and two mariners who had undertaken to keep the sea-coast from Winchelsea to Berwick. Ships and men were impressed for the same object.^ It is possible that the business was famied out by the Government, the under- takers receiving a large proportion of captures and perhaps a subsidy ; but the arrangement, whatever it may have been, does not appear to have endured for long. It was in accordance, however, with the spirit of the age ; for in the same year, Henry Spencer, the warlike Bishop of Norwich, made a kind of contract to carry on the war in Flanders, and to relieve Ghent.* Ships were arrested for the passage, which was delayed until about the middle of May by bad weather, many of the vessels collected being seriously damaged. As soon as he had crossed, the bishop marched from Calais, and besieged Ypres.^ The French fitted out five balingers, especially to cut his communi- cations by sea ; but ships from Portsmouth and Dartmouth captured the whole of the vessels.*^ Other light is thrown upon the subject by the proceedings of Parliament, which, while granting a moiety of a fifteenth for the defence of the realm, and continuing the duty on wines and other goods for the keeping of the sea, stipulated that the money should be delivered to the admirals, and not put to farm. The admirals, Henry, Earl of Northumberland, in the north, and Edward, Earl of Devon, in the west, undertook to do what they could ; Ijut declined to give Parliament any guarantee to
' l"r. r.olls, ii. l;58. - WaLsingliani, :W8.
» Fr. Holls, ii. 142. * Tail. lioll.s, iii. 1-18.
^ ' Foxlcra,' vii. 3'Jl, :i'Jl-;!!l',) ; Clnoii. de St. Denis, i. L'oO ; Ottcil«>unio, l.J7 : Froissart, ii. 2(58 ; Kiiigliton, 2G72 ; Walsin'^liam, o27. '' \V,ilsiiiglu\ia, :i:!l.
206 MILITARY HISTORY, 1151-i:J'J&. [1385.
aecure the safety of the sea. Not content with this, the Coninions desired to withdraw what they had previously granted ; but the king declared that he himself, with the advice of his Council and the admirals, would provide for the keeping of the sea, and would see that the whole of the grant should be applied for that object.^
In January, 1384, a provisional truce was concluded with France ; but it was quickly broken by a barge of Dieppe which captured a ship belonging to York off Great Yarmouth, and, apparently, also by a French attempt upon the Isle of Wight. In April, the Mayor of Southampton was ordered to seize the French craft in his port by way of reprisals for the first-mentioned breach of the convention."
In Januarj', 1385, there was an impressment of ships for an expedition to Portugal, and Portuguese vessels, seamen, and goods in English ports were arrested. Sir Thomas Percj^ was in the same month appointed to the Northern, and Sir John Badyngton, Prior of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, to the Western fleet.^
The j-ear was a critical one for England. Charles VI. of France, advised by Jean de Vienne, assembled at Sluis a fleet of six hundred sail and an immense armj' for the invasion of England.* Bichard, conscious of his weakness, attempted to negotiate, and in March secured a partial truce for two months ; but the delay benefited hiiQ but little, and enabled Charles to complete his pre- parations. Nor did the truce cover operations by sea.^ The English admirals more than once sighted the French fleets in the Channel, but, deterred either by fear or by internal dissensions, dared not attack them.^ Some private ships of Portsmouth and Dartmouth, however, set an example to the navy by entering the Seine and taking four and sinking four French vessels which they found there," and at length some rather spiritless efforts against the French at Sluis were made, but without important results."
The scheme of the enemy involved the dispatch to Scotland of a
' I'arl. Bolls, iii. 152, IGO.
- Close Rolls, 7 Rich. II. m. 7.
" ' Foedera,' vii. 453, 455 ; Fr. Rolls, S Rich. II. la. 12.
■* Chron. de St. Denis, i. 350.
^ Walsingham, 342.
" lb., 342 ; Kiiightou, 2G7(J.
' Des Ursiiis, 47.
1385.] JEAN DE VIENNE IN THE EOItTU. 297
relatively small force, its object being to draw Ilichard to the north ; and the subsequent descent upon the south and east coasts of England of the main body. In pursuance of this, Jean de Vienne sailed in May with sixty ships, and in due course entered the Forth. ^ The Scots, though hostile to England, did not particularly welcome their French aUies ; and the behaviour at the Scots court of the Admiral of France is said to have seriously offended King Robert II.'- But the plan worked as had been intended ; and Eichard, witli an army of about 70,000 men, hurried northwards. Had the invasion from Sluis been then attempted, it would probably have been successful, for the English fleet was mismanaged and demoralised, and the flower of the English army had been drawn away. But, the energetic influence of Jean de Vienne having ceased to supervise the preparations in the Netherlands, the French fleet was not ready when it was wanted ; and so, for the time, the project fell through. The ships were ordered back to their various ports in September, to be laid up for the winter; and while they were dispersing, they suifered in more ways than one.
One division of them was overtaken by a storm in the Channel, many vessels being driven ashore near Calais. On September 14th, eleven French craft foundered in sight of Calais, and their crews were taken prisoners. On the 17th, seventy-two French ships, while passing the Strait of Dover, were attacked by the Calais garrison under Sir "William Beauchamp, and a large barge and eighteen other vessels were captured. Again, on the '20tb, after an action of six hom-s with forty-five very large French vessels, the Calais flotilla took two ships and a cog, together with two French admirals, and killed or took two hundred and twenty-six men.'' On yet another occasion. Sir John Eadyngton took two richly laden carracks. In short, before the end of the year, a great number of vessels, estimated by Knighton at forty-eight and by Walsingham at more than eighty, became English prizes ; and, if only the navy had been properly handled, the French fleet should have been entirely disabled.
Unhappily the Government starved the fleet as usual, and
' Froissart, ii. 314; Cliron. deSt. Denis, i. 3G4 ; Kniijhton, liGTl ; \V:ilsiii;j:liaiii, 312; Otterbourue, IGO ; Monk of Evesliam, Gl.
'' Chron. de St. Denis, i. 390, 392 ; Des Ursins, i. 49.
= Walsinf,'liani, 346 ; Otterbourue, 101 ; Evesliam, 04. Ivni;j;htun (2GT0) says that fortv-ciiiht vessels were taken in the artiun ct' tlie 20th.
298 MILITARY HISTORY, 1154-130'J. [1386.
snubbed the Commons, who endeavoured to improve its inefficiency and to secure better management of it. The allowance per ton in respect of ships serving the king was set at 2s. instead of at 3-s. Ad. a quarter, as Parliament had recommended ; and the Commons' request to know^ who were to be appointed admirals for the ensuing year was answered by the king's assurance that he would appoint competent persons.^ The officers eventually selected in February, 1386, w-ere Sir Philip D'Arcy for the Northern, and Sir Thomas Trivet for the Western command ; - but on December 10th, the two fleets were combined under Richard, Earl of Arundel, who held the office of Admiral-in-Chief until May 18th, 1389.^
It was perfectly well known that the French intended to renew the attempt at invasion in 1386 ; yet the country was dehberately drained both of ships and men early in that year, in order to enable John of Gaunt to prosecute his claim to the throne of Castille. Undignified efforts were made, in the meantime, to obtain peace from Scotland as well as from France.*
This mad and purely selfish scheme of John of Gaunt almost led to the ruin of England. Even when France had laid siege to Calais, and the French fleet had reassembled for the purpose of invasion, John's ships and men were exempted from arrest and impressment, although England obviously needed every vessel within her borders.® Nor was the Government less blind in other matters. In June, Sir Phihp D'Arcy, between Dover and Sandwich, took some large Genoese cogs and six carracks bound for Sluis, and known to be laden with stores for the benefit of the enemy ; but the prizes were presently returned, and compensation w'as made to their owners."
When John of Gaunt sailed in July, he carried with him two hundred vessels under Sir Thomas Percy, and twenty thousand picked troops,' besides a Portuguese contingent of twenty-five sail vmder Admiral Don Alfonso Vretat. On his way south, the Duke attempted to reduce Brest. On the sea face of the town a line was formed of the ships, which were moored and securely fastened one to another, and furnished with platforms covered with earth, on which were erected wooden towers and other engines. On shore, two wooden castles were built of ships' spars, and on them were
' rail. l!u:is, iii. 212, 21.3. - Fr. Eolls, lol. ' lb., 10 liicli. II. m. 18.
« ' Fffidera,' vii. 492, 498. ^ lb., vii. oOG, 507.
" Knighton, 20T8 ; Walsiiigham, .354 ; Evesham, 7.3. ' Knighton, 2676.
1380.] A PORTABLE FORTRESS. 299
luachiues for hurling missiles ; but after onl_y three days, John of Gaunt wearied of the siege and withdrew, reaching Corunna on August 9th, and there landing all his troops and stores before the town, which was in possession of the French, and sending his ships back to their ports. ^ On its return to England, the fleet appears to have made a few small prizes, and to have retaken a vessel which had previously been lost to the Spaniards. -
The French preparations were on an unexampled scale. Frois- sart says that they had collected thirteen hundred and eighty-seven sail in and about Sluis ; the writer of the ' Chronique de Saint Denis ' puts the number at more than nine hundred, besides store- ships and horse transports; Walsingham speaks of twelve liundred ships and six hundred thousand troops ; and Otterbourne declares that there were three thousand vessels ; but Froissart, who was an eye-witness, may be believed on this point, in preference to all other historians. One of the main features of the preparations was the construction of a huge but portable wooden fortress,'' designed to shelter the knights after their landing ; but the seventy-two transports conveying it, in sections, to Sluis from Brittany were dispersed by a gale, and some of them, driven into the Thames, were taken. The captured sections, set up for public show near London,* seem to have excited much ridicule.
But while France was wasting time in what may be called needless elaboration of preparation, England was beginning to recover from panic, though the recovery was rather on the part of the people than on the part of the Government. Laughton'^ attri- butes the improvement to the abolition of some of the offensive privileges formerly granted to foreigners, and to the edict of 1381, which forbade the import and export of merchandise by English subjects in foreign bottoms. As for the Government, it did little until the danger was nearly over, and until the projected inva- sion was on the point of being again postponed. Not until September 28th, or later, does any considerable force appear to have been ordered to sea. Not, perhaps, until the beginning of 1387 was
' FroLssart, ii. 48G-188 ; Chnm. tie St. Denis, i. -ioi.i, 4;'.T.
- Knighton, 2678.
' Walsingham iiays that it was twenty feet high, and three tlnuisand paces long, with towers at intervals.
■* Walsingham says, at Sandwich, fur the defence of the town (p. 354); Knighton says, around Winihelsea (2G7;i).
' 'Studies in Xav. Hist.," I'D, 27.
300 MILITABY HISTOIir, 1154-1399. [1387.
a respectable fleet, under Arundel and Sir Hugh Bpencer, in a position to essay the reconquest of the Channel.
In October, 1386, or very early in November, owing to various delays and to internal dissensions, the French put off the venture, and again proceeded to lay up their ships. As before, many of them were wrecked or taken as they dispersed.' Arundel, in the spring of 1387, captured nearly the whole of a Franco-Burgundian fleet, laden with wine and other valuable merchandise ; - bi^t on the way home part of the English squadron under Spencer fell in with a French flotilla off the Normandy coast, and was taken or destroyed. Froissart, who says that the enemy was under Jean de Bucq, Admiral of the Flamand Sea, gives a detailed account of the earlier action, which he declares was fought off' Gadzand (beginning probably on March 24th and lasting three tides) ; but his story differs in most respects from the version generally adopted, and, in some particulars, is manifestly inaccurate. In any event, the success, although most welcome, can scarcely be regarded as a great naval victory.
Jean de Vienne and Olivier de Clisson, Constable of France, organised a more modest scheme of invasion for 1387. They assembled two fleets of moderate size, with the intention of simul- taneously directing one upon Orwell and the other upon Dover. ^ At the critical moment, however, Clisson was taken prisoner by the Duke of Bretagne. Jean de Yienne, who lay at Harfleur, ready to sail for Dover, was anxious to go on in spite of the misfortune to his colleague; but the nobles and knights refused to support him. and, although Clisson was soon liberated, the expedition had ere then finally collapsed.*
In the summer of 1387, all the men-at-arms and archers in the fleet were placed under the captaincy of Sir Henry Percj^ better known in history as Hotspur.^ He probably exercised authority only when the men were landed. In the course of the 3'ear he contributed to the relief of the castle of Brest ; but it does not appear that he was much afloat. In the autumn John Gedney, Constable of Bordeaux, convoyed to Gascony the fleet bound thither
' Walsingham, 354 ; Evesham, Tl.i ; Cliroii. de St. Denis, i. 459.
^ Des Ursins, 58 ; Chroii. de St. Denis, i. 4(i0.
^ Froissart, ii. 578.
' Ik, ii. 581, 583, 588.
•■■ Fr. Trolls, 156 ; Kniglitoii, 2090.
l-JSO.] THE COMMANDS AT SEA. 301
for wine.^ In October, as well as in Februaiy following, there were arrests of shipping.
From the spring to the autumn of 1388 an English fleet was at sea under the Earl of Arundel, and was contributing, by the general character of its operations, to the restoration of public confidence in the navy. It captured and pillaged Marans, attacked La Kochelle, fought an insignificant running action at long gun shot with some French galleys, and plundered several places in Normandy, taking or sinking, while on the cruise, eight vessels.^ No great amount of glory was won ; but the English coasts were relieved for the first time for many years from the fear of the enemy. In the next spring a private merchant of Dartmouth hired some Portuguese vessels, which captured for him thirty-two craft laden with wine.''
The year 1389 saw the temporary termination of official hostilities with France, and the supersession of Arundel as sole Admiral. The changes in the command of the fleet were so numerous that the successive appointments may best be given together : —
May 18th: John, Earl of Huntingdon, Admiral of the
Western fleet. ^ May 20th : John, Lord Beaumont, Admiral of the Northern
fleet.* May 31st : Sir John Eoche, sole Admiral.* June "i'ind : John, Lord Beaumont, Admiral of the Northern
fleet.^ June •22nd : John, Earl of Huntingdon, Admiral of the
Western fleet. ^
No expectation was cherished of the permanence of the truce, and both countries remained in readiness to recommence hostilities at short notice ; yet the state of tension did not prevent the forma- tion in 1390 of a composite force of Englishmen, Frenchmen, Bretons and others to act against the pirates and infidels of Tunis. In the attack on that place the Enghsh archers are said to have fought boldly, and to have been first on shore."
On March 22nd, 1391, Edward, Earl of Eutland, grandson of Edward III., was appointed Admiral of the Northern fleet, ^ and on
' ' t'tedera,' vii. 5G.'j. '" Fiuissart, ii. 701-705, 7-15, 74G, 754.
■' Walsingham, 3G6 ; Otterlxjunic, 175 ; Eve^liam, 10.3.
* Fr. EoUs, 12 Rich. ll. m. 4. ~ lb., 13 Rich. II. m. '26.
•^ Fioissart, iii. 57. ' Fr. RoUp, 14 Rich. II. m. 3.
302 MILITABY IIISTOllT, 1154-1399. [i:Ht9.
November "iOth following lie was made sole Admiral.' He held the office until 1398 when, on May 9th, John Beaufort, Marquis of Dorset, succeeded him as Admiral of both fleets " for life," being already Admiral of the Irish fleet "for life.'- The change of dynasty materially curtailed his enjoyment of his offices, but he served as Admiral again before he died.
The close of the reign of Eichard II. was, navally, uneventful. From tinie to time ships were fitted out for the conveyance of royal or noble personages to Ireland, to Guienne, to Calais, and to other places ; but there were no occurrences deserving of special mention. And when, on July 4th, 1399 — Richard being then employed in Ireland — Henry, Duke of Lancaster, sailed from Boulogne ^ with eight small ships and two "passengers" to take nominally his inheritance but really the Crown, there was no naval opposition whatsoever. He landed at Eavensrode, or, according to Walsingham and Otterbourne, between Hull and Bridlington, where few had ever landed before ; and in less than three months he was the recognised King of England.
1 Fr. Rolls, 15 Rich. 11. iri. 7.
"- Pat, Rolls, 21 Rich. II. p. ;'., iii. 2:!.
' Otterbourne, 201.
( 303 )
CHAPTER IX.
A-OYAGES AND DISCOVErxIES, 1154-18n<,).
H. W. Wilson.
Welsli claiiii tu tlie ili.'icoverv nl' Aiuerifa— Tlie story of Madoc — Believers in the tale — Origin of the tradition — Its first aiipearaiice — Karly autliorities for Madoc — Pliilological conjectures — Llwyd — Powel — Ilerliert — Were the Mexicans Welsli ? — Stories of Welsh Indians — Morgan Jones — The Doegs — Stcdnian's figments — (iritfiths — Evans — Xo Welsh Indians discovered — Antiquarian eviilence lacking — iMexican rites — Explanation of the Madoc story — Madoc went to Ireland — Early navigation of the Welsh — Advance of English sliipping — Kelations with Norway — Scotland — Marco Polo and Mandeville — Trade with Iceland — Continuous inter- course— Did the English get further? — Macham discovers Madeira — Calamities hefall him — First apjiearance of the story — Improliabilities — Nicholas of Lynn — Tlie ' Inventio Fortunata' — The liuyschmap — The Zeni — "/ichinni," an Orkney man — Source of the Zeno storj- — The story — "Frislanda" — Nicolo Zeno goes to " Engroneland" — Tale of the fisherman — " Fstotiland " — " Drogio " — Voyage of "Zichnnu" — Difticidties of the narrative — Who was "Zichmni"? — Identification of names — " Frislanda " the Faroe Islands — Or Iceland — Mistakes of the yoiniger Zeno — The jieople of Drogio — Identification of " Engroneland " difiicult— The Zeno map — Its accuracy — A plagiarism — Evidence against the narratixe.
E^
I NTHUSIASTIC Welshmen liave claimed for one Madoc or Madog, the son of Owain Gwynedd, who, so far as can be ascertained, flourished about 1160, the discovery of America. The story runs that there were constant feuds and contentions between the sons of Owain, and that at this Madoc's heart was greatly troubled, as he foresaw that Wales would be ruined by family discord. Accordingly, to avoid disputes and to escape from the impending fate of his countrj', he made up his mind to voyage in search of some place where he might settle down in safety. The celebrated passage of Seneca, foretelling the discovery of a new world, is said by one of his biographers to have suggested this course to him. With ships, men, and provisions, he at length set out from Abergwilley (Abergele?) in 1170. Favoured by wind and sea, after some weeks' sailing to the west, he descried land, which some have supposed to be Newfoundland.
oOi VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1154-1399. [1170.
With this country he was greatly pleased, and after carefully examining the coast, discovered a convenient spot on which to plant a settlement. Here he went ashore with all his men, fortified a post, and leaving one hundred and twenty of his company to protect it, once more put out to sea. He returned without further adventure to Wales, where he told his countrymen of his vo5'age, the richness of soil in the new discovered land, the amiability of the natives, the wealth to be found there; in short, everything which could attract settlers. He complained to them that they fought for barren lands when there was all this to be had without fighting. Finally he succeeded in inducing many to join him, and once more put to sea with ten ships loaded with provisions. The second voyage occupied eight months and ten days, but in the course of time Madoc regained his settlement. There he found but few of his garrison left, and the storytellers ascribe this to their incautious indulgence in the fruits of a strange country, or to the hostihty of the natives.^ Aided by his brothers Eineon and Idwal, Madoc restored order, andt hen awaited the arrival of more Welsh- men. Xo one, however, had the grace to follow, whether because of wars with England or because courage was wanting. For one generation the colony kept together, with the Welsh law and language, and the Christian religion. Then, as time went on, they intermarried with the natives, and were by slow degrees absorbed. - This is a very pretty story, and may be said to have been universally accepted and believed in Wales at the beginning of this century, whilst the poet Southey was for a time convinced of the discoveries of the Welsh prince, and Baron Humboldt considered that they deserved respectful investigation, adding, "I by no means share the contempt with which some writers treat the story." ^ It
' The substance ol" tliis account is drawn from Sir Thomas Herbert's ' Travels iuto Africa and Asia,' quoted in Stepliens' (T.) ' Madoc,' 30, 31.
- Evans' ' Drych y Prif Oesoedd,' quoted in ' Madoc,' 39.
' 'Cosmos' (Bohn), ii. 010. R. H. Major — a good authority — shares his respect. Cohimlius, Letters, xx. Otlier autliorities wlio appear to have accepted tlie story with some qualification are Torf;eus, ' Historia Yiulaudias'; Carte, 'History of England'; Campbell, ' Admirals ' : Lyttletou, ' Henry the Second ' ; Pinkerton, ' A^oyages ' (xii. 157). Boweu (B. F.), ' America Discovered by the Welsh ' (Phila. 187G), makes a very great deal out of a very little, and seems over-credulous. De Costa, ' Pre-Columbian Voyages of Welsh' (Albany, 1891), accepts Madoc's discovery. But all these writers appear to liave been deceived by the garbled renderings and citations of Powel. T. Stephens' monograpii on Madoc (' Madoc,' by Thos. Stephens, London, 1893) is at once exhaustive, distinguished by critical acumen, and, if sceptical, convincing. A full bibliogwiihy is
llTu.] THE MAD 00 LEGEND. 305-
becomes, therefore, iiuportaut to examine the sources from which the story has been derived and the story itself. It is perfectly obvious that even if it is substantiahy true, many of the details must have no surer foundation than tlie iinai,'ination of writers. How, for instance, was it possible to know the length of time occupied by the second voyage, if with it all intercourse between the new colony and Wales had ceased ? But though one historian has gone so far as to give the exact strength, viz., eighteen vessels, and three thousand men, of the force which sailed on the second expedition,' and the exact date, 1164, with the further details that Madoc took possession of the Mexican throne, and that the family traditions of the Aztecs, when Cortes arrived, clearly showed their connection with Wales ; and though another has recorded the discovery of Madoc's epitaph in the West Indies,- such things add discredit but do not wholly disprove. It is the nature of a tradition to acquii'e detail in transmission.
First, then, as to the sources of the tradition. There is no allusion to Madoc in the 'Brut y Tywysogion,' or ' The Chronicle of the Princes of Wales,' which appears to have been composed in the twelfth century, about Madoc's date, and which makes frequent mention of Owain Gwynedd, his father.^ Madoc is lu'st mentioned by a twelfth-century poet^ as having been slain, apparently in 1)attle. As the poem, in which this reference occiu's, opens with an appeal to Owain, and laments the death of several of his children, it is only fair to conclude that here is the Madoc who was supposed to have sailed to America. Another poem, by its reference to " an assassin slaying Madoc," ^ strengthens this belief. It is not till the middle or close of the fifteenth century that there is any trace of the tradition as we now have it, when Meredydd ap Khys sings,
given in U. V>. Autlerson's 'America not Discovered by Columbus ' (Cliicago, 188.'^), jip. 142-14U. To this should be added the article "Ma<log"in the 'Diet. Xational Biography,' vol. .'So, whicli is distinctly unfavourable. Other references are given in .T. Winsor's 'History of America' (London, 18H!l), vol. i. Ill, note S.
' Jlorgan, ' Hritisli Kymry,' 166.
- Howell, ((uoted in Madoc, 37.
■' Moil. Brit., ;i-t, 05. Vidf also text in the same volume. The d:ilc of the MS. of the Brut is fourteenth century. It is ascril)ed to one t'aradoc. 'i'he absence of all mention of Madoc is not absolutely conclusive, as the book may have been composed before he became prominent.
* CyiKldelw, Madoc, 8.
■"' Idywardi, Madoc, I'J. The oft -quoted passage from lilywarch, "Kcr aber C'ongwy," etc., seems to have notliing wliatever to ilo with Madoc. Madoc, 20-3, notes.
VOL. I. X
30G VOYAGES AND DISGOVEEIES, 11.54-1399. [1170.
•
" Madoc,.tiTie whelp of Owain Gw_vnedd, would not have land or great wealth, but the broad sea," and all^^des to his passion for the sea.^ But even here from the context it appears that the Madoc referred to was a fisherman rather than a navigator, and there is not the slightest indication that he ever made a great voyage.- These passages exhaust all that can be found in the AVelsh bards, as they now survive, which has any relation to Madoc ap Owain.
The Welsh historians are not more satisfactory. A triad which has been often quoted speaks thus : " The three vanished losses of the Isle of Britain : First, Gavran, son of Aeddan, and his men, who went in search of the Green Isles of Floods and were never heard of more ; second. Merlin . . . who went to sea in the House of Glass ; third, Madoc, son of Owain Gwynedd, who went to sea with three hundred men in ten ships, and it is not known where they went." It is to be noted that here Madoc is coupled with two wholly mythical persons, and that no knowledge is expressed of the place to which he went. The triad is by experts ascribed to the sixteenth century, and has no sort of historic value, ^ even if its meaning were altogether clear, which it is not. The next writer cited is leuan Brechva, who is quoted as saying that " an illegiti- mate son of Owain Gwynedd accompanied Madoc across the broad sea to lands which they had found, and there dwelt." ^ But as yet the passage has not been discovered, and the word translated " broad sea " might perfectly well mean the Irish Sea. Guttyn Owain 's chronicle has been as recklessly adduced, as saying that Madoc sailed with ten ships, but here, too, the passage cited cannot be discovered. Some have surmised that the original manuscripts have perished, and that only mutilated copies have survived.^ This is doubtless possible, yet what is required is positive evidence, and the uncritical assumptions of perfervid patriots and annalists cannot be regarded with too great suspicion.
In its present form the story obtains currency late in the six- teenth century, and apparently originates with the discoveries of one David Ingram, who sailed with Hawkyns to the West Indies in 1568, and afterwards travelled on the American continent. Finding that the natives called a certain bird " penguin," he jumped to the conclusion that this was the Welsh word "pengwyn" or "white
' Quoteil Madoc, IS, III. '- M.idoc, 205, 206. ^ Mndoi-, 21, 209.
* leuaii Braliva liourislicd, 14i-'0. Madoc, 22, 23.
'' As to tlie loss ol' tlie AVelsli MSS. through decay, etc., see Madoc, 217, 218.
IITU.] WELSH OLALMfi TO THE DISCOVEUY OF AMEIUCA. 'Ml
head," overlooking the important fact that the penguin has a black liead.' Sir George Peckhani, wlio pubHshed in 1583 a work on the discoveries of Sir Hmnjihrey Gilbert, quotes the evidence of Ingram, and gives the Madoc legend in much its present form.' He was followed by Dr. Llwyd, who left manuscripts, which were used by Dr. Powel in his history of Wales. ^ According to him, Madog • sought adventures by sea, sailing west, and leaving the coast of Ireland to the north. He saw many strange things in an v^nknown land, at which in the course of time he arrived.'' This land " must needs be some part of Nova Hispania or Florida. Whereupon it is manifest that that country was long before by Brytaines discovered, afore either Columbus or Americus Yesputius led anie Spaniardes thither." Though the common folks have added much that is fabulous, " sure it is that there he [Madoc] was." He cites Lopez de Gomara to prove that in Me.xico at the coming of the Spaniards the cross was revered, and explains the almost entire disappearance of the Welsh settlers by the paucity of their numbers. The most interesting fact in this string of assertions, is that there was a general tradition extant of the sailing of Madoc. Powel considers that the Welsh must have landed in Mexico, and cites "Pengwin," "Corroeso,"^ "Bryton,"'' "Gwyndor,"' as " Brytish or Welsh words, which doo manifestlie shew that it was that countrie which Madoc inhabited." Hakluyt simply 'adopted Powel's version.
Sir Thomas Herbert, a member of the Pembroke family, took Llwyd's story and added to it further embellishments,* for which he fails to give us any authority. It is as usual supposed that he had access to manuscripts which have perished.^ He appeals to evident traces of the Welsh in America, to British words, amongst which he gives "craigwen," " nev," " llwynog," " wy," " calaf," "bara,"' " trwyn," " mam," " tad," and many more," apparently relying on
' Madoc, 158.
- 'A true reporte of the late disfoucries aud possession taken in the right nf thc' Oroime of England of the New Found Landes by that valiaimt and worthye genlleuian, Sir Humfrey Gilbert, Knight,' by G. V. 1583. 4to.
' ' Historie of Cambria,' by Dr. David Powel. 1584.
* Madoc, 27.
■' Curacoa, island in tlie West Imlies.
" Cape Breton, some hundreds of miles from Mexico.
' It is uncertain to what place this refei's.
'^ 'Travels into Africa and Asia the Great.' 163-1:.
^ A supposed collection in Kaglaii Castle, which was Ijurned in the Civil War, mentioned.
'" " White rock, heaven, fox, egg, quill, liread, nose, mother, father."
X 2
308 VOYAGES AM) LISCOVEIilES, 1154-l;'.v;». [1170.
Ingram's information. Further inquiry has failed to discover a single one of these words in use in Mexico. The consonants, b, d, f, g, r, s, do not exist in the Mexican language, and even if there were a few chance resemblances, these prove nothing when philology is decisive against the Celtic origin of the Mexican tongue. .The indiscreet zeal of Welsh enthusiasts must indeed cover their cause with ridicule, when we find them claiming Caucasus, Caspian, Crimea, Danube, Berlin, Alleghany, Potomac, America, as Welsh words ! ' Herbert was followed by Howell, who actually quoted the lines of Meredydd, which we have given above,- as the epitaph on Madoc, discovered in the West Indies. For this purpose he mis- translated them. He added that Madoc had embarked at Milford Haven, and emphasised the fact that his voj-age gave England a claim to America. It thus leaks out there were political reasons for putting forward the storj% as about the close of the sixteenth century Englishmen were anxious to find any pretext to excuse their trade with the new comitries.
Other historians have told us the exact length of Madoc's voyage ; that he was, before it, the commander of his father's fleet ; that he defeated the English in 1142 off the Menai Straits, and that he left Wales because of disputes as to the succession to the throne.^ Not one of these statements rests upon any good foundation.
The stories of travellers did, it is true, give some countenance to the tradition — if indeed they did not lead to its origin — in the first instance. For if there were Welsh customs, Welsh language, or Welsh remains to be found on the American continent, the claim of Madoc would be substantiated triumphantly. And thus when one after another the testimonies of voyagers and settlers poured in, to the effect that amongst the Indians there were tribes speaking Welsh, the belief in the tradition grew stronger and stronger. After Ingram, who does not appear to have been a wilful liar, came others who cannot be acquitted of the W'ish to deceive. A clergy- man, the Kev. Morgan Jones, professed to have actually been amongst the Welsh speakers. His story is to this effect. In 166!) he was sent with two ships bj^ the Governor of A'irginia to explore the country in the neighbom-hood of what is now Port Koyal.
' For tlie first of these words see that great inosazine of assertions, 'America Discovered by the AVelsh.' P.. F. Bowen. Phila., 1870.
^ Page 306.
' Doctor Williams, ' Fui'tlier Observations.' His references are given, but do not suiJiiort liis text. Madoc, 40.
1170.] '-WELSH IXDIAS.'i:' 309
Aniving there, iiiul beiiif^ joined In- other vessels, he ascended the river to Oyster Point, where he and others settled. Some eight months afterwards food ran short, and the colonists were obliged to abandon their settlement. They retreated into the then unexplored territory fringing the sea-coast, and came into the country of the Tuscarora Indians, then at war with the English. They were seized and condemned to death, whereupon Mr. Jones exclaimed in Welsh, " Have I escaped so many dangers, and must now be knocked on the head like a dog? " On this an Indian came to him and told him in Welsh that he should not be put to death. The Indian, who was of the " Doeg " tribe, arranged for the ransom and release of all the prisoners. Afterwards, says Jones, he was taken about with the Indians, was well-treated, and in revenge regularly preached to them three times a week. They always consulted him about matters of importance : the locality given is near the Pantigo river.'
There is no evidence for this statement except the writer's assertion. The Doegs, so far as is known, never dwelt where Mr. Jones pretends to have found them ; on early maps they are placed much more to the north. The tribes near the Pamlico — which is probably the original of Pantigo — were, besides the Tuscaroras, the Algonquins and Iroquois, whose language is well known, and had nothing AVelsh about it. The only spark of confirmation is when George Fox records in his journal that the relations between the English and the Tuscaroras were unfriendly in 167'2.- An English colony in close proximity to the supposed AVelsh Indians knew nothing of them.
About the same time or a little later, a Welshman called Htedman landed from a Dutch vessel on the coast of America, and foimd that he understood the Indians' language. They told him that they came from Gwynedd, or Wales, in Great Britain.^ For
' Miir^aii .IiiiK's was an Oxlui-cl israduate. lie iloe.s nut ajiiiear tu liave nientiuneil liis adventures tu anyone till IfiSli. The date of his journey is jjiven diHereutly, as 11)1 iO, in anotlier version. No exiieilitit>n, so far as can be disctivered, was sent to Carolina in either UillO or 1G(>9, thouijh there were expeditions in lOGM, KJliC, and 1(570. It was at the latter date that Oyster Point, now Charleston, was settled. Witli this expedition Virsjinia liad notliing wliatever to do; moreover, tliere was no reason wliy the Ions journey of whicli Jones siieaks should liave been attempted, as there was a settlement close at liand, at Cajie Fear. Madoc, 128, 12!i.
2 Journal, i. 17."., 174. Quoted in Madoc, 130.
' 'Prydain I'awr.' ITnfortunately the name "Cireat Britain " cinuc into use long after the miiiration i<\ Madof. Jlado.', r>:',.
■'!10 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1154-1399. [1170.
some eighty years after this no one seems to have fallen in \Yith the Welsh Indians. About 1750, however, a "Welsh trader named Binon, having penetrated to the comitry west of the Mississippi, then remote and rmknown, found Indians speaking Welsh of great pm-ity. They received him kindly.^ A man, Griffiths, in 1764 professes to have made his way with the Shawnees to Welsh- speaking Indians.- Beatty, in 1768, repeats a tale of Welsh Indians with a Welsh Bible in Pennsylvania ; ^ though this is perhaps only another reminiscence of Morgan Jones. " General Bowles," a Cherokee chief, who visited London in 1792, asserted that there were Welsh Indians, who were the same as the Paducahs. The name meant "white face," and was given them because of their light complexions.^ They had sand}', red, or black hair, and were very warlike.* Finally, a Lieutenant Roberts tells us that whilst in a Washington hotel in 1801, he made some remarks in Welsh, when there were some Indian chiefs within hearing. One of these came up to him and continued the conversation. The chief had heard of Lloegr [England] but not of Wales ; he talked much of the " Saxons." His AVelsh was very free and fiiient, and he explained that by a tribal law, no other dialect could be taught the children till they were twelve years old. This kept the language pure.
The existence of AVelsh Indians north of Mexico was so strongly believed that several Welshmen went out to visit them or preach to them. A John Evans in 1792 started from Wales, and after five years of wandering and exploration, reported that there were no Welsh Indians in existence. The AA'elsh-speaking Paducahs had proved a fraud. It was, however, alleged now that these Welsh Indians were falling back steadily towards the west, and that this was the reason wh^' they had not been discovered. Between 1803 and 1805 the Mississippi basin and Pacific slope were searched with unsuccess ; another expedition in 1821 was not more profitable. With the advance of settlement and exploration it has become
' Madoc, GO.
- AViusor, 'History of Auici'ica," i. 110. Griffitlii-, as usual, was taken prisoner, ami condemned to death.
' Op.cit.
* Bowen, 88. The chief added that a Welshman who had been with him found that he covild talk well with the Paducahs. Bowles is said to liave been an Irishman. Paducahs, explains Mr. Bowen, would be very like Madoc if only the "P" were -cliansed to"M." Others, bolder, have asserted that in l^aducah, Madogwy, descendant of Madoc, can be traced. Others, a^ain, foimd the reipuied nan.e in l\iej;.
1170.] LACK OF EVIDENCE. -311
certain that Welsh Indians no longer exist in this part of the New World, though C'atlin imagined that he detected traces of W'elsh in the Mandan tongne, and found that this trihe was of lighter colour than the other Indians, and that it used skin coracles, similar to the old Celtic "curraghs."^ In certain of their customs he thought he could see traces of a Welsh influence. This, however, has not been confirmed by subsccjuent observation ; and there is no one now who connects the Mandans with the descendants of Madoc.
The indirect evidence does not point decisively to the Welsh settlement. North of Mexico there are no remains which can be referred to them ; the pottery found in the Ohio tombs indicates the presence of a civilised race, but the skulls found near them are Monsolian not Caucasian. There are earth momids in the Ohio valley, which are like those of the Celts, but this resemblance gives no proof.' A silver crucifix, with the letters I.S., dug up in 1844 near the Ohio, was almost certainly lost by some Frenchman or trader from Canada.
In Mexico, we are told, the Spaniards, when they landed, found that the cross was revered, and that baptism was in use. This, however, only proves that certain religious rites are common to all civilised men ; it affords no real grounds for the conclusion that the Mexicans were Welsh. Their language makes this in the last degree improbable, unless the Celtic immigrants were wholly absorbed. The Mexicans, indeed, held some talk with the Spaniards to the effect that white men had visited them before ; and the same tradition has been observed elsewhere amongst the Indians." It may be only a tradition, and does not necessarily point to the reality of the Welsh voyages.
What evidence there is, is, then, by no means strong in favour of the story. If clear traces of the legend could be discovered in Welsh literature before the Columbian discovery of America, the case would be very different, especially if the evidence were of the trustworthy quality of the Icelandic Sagas. The vague, indefinite, and unprecise nature of what testimony we possess, is apparent on examination. The story does not ajjpear in its present shape till
' t'atliii, ' North Ameiican Indiiins,' i. 94, 207 ; ii. 21)2.
- It is well to remeiiibei- that the Xorseiiien who imlisputably reached America ami settled there, have also left no trace.
' AiiKiiigst the Shawneeii of Florida. Major, ' Zeui,' xciii.
312 rOTAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1154-l:»9. [1170.
nearly a century after Columbus' voyage, and more than four centuries after Madoc's presumed disappearance. It obtained its great currency chiefly through fraud and misrepresentation. It. was supported by what can only be characterised as impudent and manifest falsehoods ; for the narratives of those who caiue iipon Welsh-speaking Indians are, from internal evidence, nothing else.
How then did the story originate ? There are traces of a Madoc tradition — though not such a tradition as we find in Powel — in Meredydd. Coupling these with the statement that INIadoc went across the broad sea, or " Morwerydd," it becomes highly probable that Madoc's voyage was only to Ireland. In early Welsh, " iNIor- werydd " regularly means the Irish Sea, and not the Atlantic. In the Brut y Tywysogion, we are told that Owain Gwynedd married an Irish lady. Another early Welsh writer couples Eiryd, Madoc's brother, with Irish estates, and Eiryd is found in the stories sailing with Madoc to America. The truth, perhaps, is then that Madoc retired from his native land and settled down for good in Ireland. If he made a journey back to AVales to persuade more Welshmen to follow him there is nothing very improbable ; from his absence would easily arise the stories of his disappearance. The legend has borrowed many details from Columbus. Both Madoc and Columbus sail west, discover a new country, leave a small force, return home, go back to find the garrison mostly dead, and make speeches to persuade settlers to follow them. It is to be feared that Powel derived more from Columbian sources than from his hypothetical manuscripts.
Nor are the facts of the narrative in themselves probable. It is, to say the least, extremely i;nlikely that the Welsh should have succeeded in crossing the Atlantic in the twelfth century, before the invention of the compass,' and before the art of navigation had been
' The compass, .according to Torfifus, was used l>,v the Xorseuieii al'uut the middle of tlie thirteentli century ('Hist. l{ev. Norvegicarum ' [Hafn, 1711], iv. 4, p. o-lu), in approximately the modern manner. Raymond Lully [1-72] was well acquainteil with it ; Gauthier d'Espinois (middle thirteenth century) refers to its polarity ; Brunetto liatini [12(10] mentions it in his Encyclopa'di.a. It appears to h.ave heen known in Scotland at the l)eginning of the fourteenth century, as Barhour, writing in 1375, says that King David, when crossing in 1300 from Arran to Carrick, "na neilil had na stane." Chaucer, in 1391, alludes to the thirty-two points. Proliahly it was intro- iluced liy the Arahs and the Crusaders, as Jacques de Vitry, Bisliop of Aeon in Palestine [1218], sjieaks of the magnetic needle as "most necessary for seafarers," and the Crusader De Beauvais also alludes to it. A still earlier allusion is found in Neckani, />'■ I'trusilihus [twelfth century]. Encyclopa'il. Brit., ed. ".I, " ( 'ouipass."'
1170.] THE WEI. ^11 XO SEAMEX. HIS
perfected. The Norseuien, it is true, made very long voyages at an early date, but they usually coasted as much as possible, and in sailing from Norway to AVinland would go by Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland, when the tract of open sea to be cro.ssed was comparatively sniiill . The Welsh had no reputation as navigators ;' and their hards do not mention other voyages ; indeed, they hardly allude to ships. Norse literature is full of ships and nothing else. The ships of the Welsh are perfectly unknown to us, and therefore it is useless to speculate upon thcni. There is no evidence to show that they had advanced much beyond the coracle at this date : we do not often meet their navy in English histoiy ; we do not read much of Welsh pirates at a time when every seafaring nation took to piracy : and Welshmen were not prominent amongst our early sailors. There is some ground for thinking that the early Britons were fair sailors ; there is none for supposing that the W^elsh had a navy or ventured upon long voyages in the twelfth century. The tale of Madoc's ship is almost the only naval incident in Welsh archaeology." Of the great naval battle in the Menai Straits we can find no trace in contemporary authorities ; it seems as much a figment as ^ladoc's voyages.^ It is, then, superfluous to discuss the question whether
' Tliey ofcasionally vciyai^t'il ti> Iri'l.-nul; (■/./• Brut y Tywysiioioii : 'Chrcni. aiul Meniiirials of Great liritain,' ]i. 1)2, where the voya<;e of one Owain is noticed. It iloe.'. not neees.'iarily tbyow tliat he went in a Welsli slii[), tliougli this is probable, f^tejiliens, Madoe, 209, is against any voyage, lie thns sums up: — Tliere is no notice ot' any naval expedition of the kind in any contemporary historian, though it is incredible that, if the voyage had taken jilace, it should not have been recorded. Giraldus Canibrensis, who visited Wales in 118K, is silent, though a lover of marvels. The Bardic jwenis a>isert tliat Madoc was slain by an assassin; that Llywarcb was suspected of the murder, and that be was ]iut upon his trial for it. Assuming a mysterious death for Madoc, he explains the tradition from analogies in folklore. I'p. 218, 219.
- Jladoc, 207. ^ladoc was a great sailor, fond of travel, and built a ship without iron, with stag-hom nails, to enter the vortex that the sea might not swallow her up. He called her the l/oin Lady, and voyaged with her to foreign lands. Keturning, she was wrecked off Banlscy. 'I'he story in its ])resent form dates from the close of the sixteenth century, though we are told that it "hail come down from hand to hand \mder creditable warranty to this day [1082]."
■' There was a battle, of course; but all that the scanty allusions to it would seem to iuqily is, that the Welsh stood on the shore and strove to resist the attemjited lauding of the English soldiers. (T. Slcphens, T., 'Literature of the Kynu-y," 17, 18. In Matthew Paris' 't'hroniclcs and Memorials of fireat Britain,' vol. v. (i.'i.'i, uniler the year 12")7, and consenuently a/Irr the Knglisb conquest of Wales, there is notice of the Welsh troul)rmg the English with "massacre, tire and rapine." On this Edward tii'rcatens them with the naval strength of the Irisli ; and the Welsh, to resist the Irish at Rea, furnished themselves, we are told, with a fleet of galleys, "piraticis armls et victualibus conimunitas." From this it woidd appear that they had a fleet before the mi Idle of the thirteenth century. There is in 1212 ((.'lose Bolls,
314 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1154-1399. [1270.
Madoc landed in Newfoundland, in Virginia, in Florida, in Mexico, or in the Azores, all of which have at various times been suggested for his landfall. The Welsh-speaking Indians are as historical as .the Hebrew, Scotch, and Gaelic-speaking tribes which have at A arious dates been discovered in America by various enthusiasts.'
Between the close of the twelfth century and the middle of the fom'teenth, English shipping made great advances, in spite of the pirates who haunted the Narrow Seas. Lundy, at the close of the twelfth century, was one of their strongholds, and more than one ■expedition was sent against them by the English kings.- Continual iembargo£;s on shipping must, however, have interfered gi'eatly with the development of trade. Vessels were wanted for the fleet, and as there was no great difference between a ship of war and a merchant- man in these times, the vessels of traders were stopped and anued. The Crusades carried English seamen into the Mediterranean ; ^ the fisheries took them north to Scotland and the coast of Norway. The treaty of friendship and reciprocity* between England and Norway in 1217 shows that there was intercourse between the two, in spite of the terrible pirates, amongst whom the men of the Cinqtte Ports were not the least formidable. The merchants and subjects of each power were to pass to and fro without let or hindrance. This treaty was renewed in 1269. Yarmouth at or about this time was a flourishing port with a large herring fishery, and Lynn was also a very prosperotis place. Contemporary civic seals show the merchant vessel of that time to have been a ship of some size, carrying one mast and a square sail furled aloft, with a long boat on deck amidships. There are elevated stages at the bow and stern.
Scots voyages must have been stopped for a time by an absurd
Haixly, '!. D., i. 121, 122) an order of John to De Lucy, directing him to send eigliteen galleys for the pui'pose of destroying Llewellyn's ships, galleys, and boats {naves, galeas, hnt'-Uos). See p. 180, aiifea.
' Madoc, 141.
- Dot. de PriKstit., 179.
'• 'I'lie following "voyages" to the lluly Land — sonic on land — arc recorded liy Hakluyt in this jjeriod: — .John Lacy, 1172: William JIandeville, 1177; Richard's Crusade (see p. 165, etc.), 1190; Baldwin Devonius, 1190; Itichard Canonicus, 1200; Kohert Curson [went to Damietta], 1218; Ranulph of Chester and others, 1218; I'eter, Bishop of AVinchester, 1231 ; Itichard of Cornwall and others, 1240 ; William Longesjiee, 1248; Edward, son of Edward IIL, 1270; Anthony Beck, 1305. In tlie early fourteenth century there were also expeditions to 'I'unis and Barbary.
' 'Findera,' ii. 219.
laoo.] rOLO AND MA2^DEVILLE. 'Mb
edict of Alexander III. in 1"24U, which forbade Scots merchants to export any {;;oods in their vessels, because " some of them had been captured by pirates, and others lost by shipwreck and by seizure in foreign ports." Matthew^, of Westminster, in his doleful laments on the decline of England in the fourteentli century, speaks of English ships as in the past, " carrying aromatics and all precious merchandize through the four climates of the world." This is probably a poetic exaggeration, as no record remains of such voyages.
Scotland, as far as can be judged from fragmentary allusions, had as much commerce as England in these times. Inverness ships were in high repute in France, and Matthew Paris notes a wonder- ful vessel whicli was built for the Earl of Blois in 1249.' In 1281 there was an active fishery on both sides of Scotland ; in 128(3 Berwick was so flourishing that it is compared with a " second Alexandria," and we are told "that the sea is its wealth, the water its walls." In 1271 an Englishman, Adam de Bedford, who had formed one of a Scots gang of pirates, was executed at Berwick. But during the fourteenth century Scots trade appears to have declined.
At the close of the thirteenth century, Marco Polo's travels attracted some attention, and stimulated the interest in geography. They were followed, late in the fourteenth centurj', by the pre- tended voyages and travels of Sir John Mandeville, who professed in the year 1322 to have gone oversea to Asia Minor, and thence to Armenia, Turkey, Persia, SjTia, Egj-pt, Chaldea, and India. His "voyages," however, were almost entirely accomphshed on land; though, as the critics have long since abandoned all belief in their credibility, there is no need to discuss them.
In 1804, there is a complaint made by Edward to Erik of Denmark about his treatment of an English ship loaded with wine, which had apparently been seized by the Danish king.- Erik replied that he would cause restitution to be made. Sanuto the Venetian, who, in 1321, published a work upon the trade of Europe, does not say anything about English commerce in the Mediterranean, though as he also omits to mention the Catalans, who were undoubtedly traders and travellers of great enterprise, this does not necessaiily prove anything.^ He alludes to the Danish,
' Matt, r.iris, 771. ^ ' Fanleia,' ii. iMii-ltJO.
■'■ M;u-iiliorsi)ii, '.\Miials of f 'oiamerce,' i. 4!IO-li;?.
316 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1154-i:!',i0. [133C.
Norwegian, and German sailors as good. In 188(), during the war with Scotland, we find the English ships, which were sailing for foreign coimtries, proceeded in strong companies, so as to be the better able to protect themselves against the Scots and
pirates.'
At some date early in the fourteenth century arose a flourishing trade between England and Iceland. There are small traces of this in Enghsh records, but fortunately the Icelandic chronicles leave no possible doubt. Thus the ' Islenzkir Annalen,' under the year 1348, record the fact of the news of the black death in England reaching Iceland, adding that two hundred thousand people had died of the disease. In 1349, the death of English sailors at Bergen in Norway, is mentioned. Such items of news must have arrived by the boats which came to fish and the ships which came to barter cloth and other English manufactures for dried fish. It is possible that early intercourse with Iceland may be reflected in Giraldus Cambrensis' comparatively accurate knowledge of the position of that island. He adds that the people were few but truthful, and that the priests were their kings. -
Following out the history of this trade, we find in 1354 an admiral appointed for the English fleet in the " Boreal," or northern parts, which may possibly have been intended to protect our fisheries. In 139'2 we hear that there was a bad year in ship- wrecks for the Germans, English, and Norwegians, and that many cogs were wrecked on the Norwegian coast. In 1396, Thord Arnisson was killed by " outlander chapmen,"" who had come ashore, and who were probably English.^
It is somewhat remarkable that, after sailing so far as to Iceland, the English sailors and fishennen should not have pushed on across the comparatively narrow strait which separates Iceland from Greenland. The memory of Greenland and Winland cannot, at the date when the English appeared, have died out ; and hence it is probable that English fishermen or adventurers followed the leading of the Icelanders, though record there is none of their doings. There are supposed to be traces of navigators — not more
' Nicolas, 'History of the Koyal Navy,' ii. lil.
'^ 1187 .\.D. Giralilus Cambrensis; ''r<iii. llibeniica," Distinct, ii. xiii.; Hulls Series, v. tio.
'Icelandic Sagas, Knlls Series, iv. iL'ltT. : De Costa, ' hivontio Fortunata,'
11-13.
Joll.] MA( JIA.\rS VOrAdK To MAhElIiA. 317
diuiii^' -the Basques,' on the banks of Newfoundland, in early pre- Columbian maps. If, however, legend and vague reports are to be credited, two very noteworthy voyages were performed by dwellers in the British Isles about this date.
Tlie hrst was that of Kobert Macham,'- to Madeira, in 1344, or therea])outs. The story which has accumulated a suspiciou-s amount of detail, goes as follows : — Macham was greatly in love with a young girl of rank and beauty, Anne Dorset. His love was returned, but the lady's family was against the marriage, and by its influence obtained the arrest of iNIacham, till Anne could be married to a husband of quality. When this, much against the lady's will, had been accomplished, Macham was set free. Furious at his wrongs, he determined to carry her off, and in his project obtained aid from several. Anne and her husband were tracked to Bristol, where one of Macbam's friends, insinuating himself into the house- hold of the newly married couple, found the bride inconsolable. Measures were concerted for her abduction. She was to ride out w'ith the friend, as groom, to take the air ; and by this pretext she escaped to the shore of the Bristol Channel, where a boat lay ready. This carried her on board a ship, and the re-united lovers forthwith put to sea, anxious to gain France, and fearful of vengeance or pursuit. They stood down the Cornish coast, when a violent wind set in, which swept them out to sea. Having no compass, and being unused to navigate the ocean, the mariners knew not whither they sailed. For thirteen days they drove before the tempest on a stormy sea, imagining that heaven was wroth with them for their misdeeds.
At last, on the fourteenth day, the sea tell, and an island stood up before them from the watery expanse. The sun shone upon primieval forests ; the trees were strange and new to them ; alien birds fluttered fearlessly about their rigging, yet there was no trace of man. They forthwith lowered a boat, and proceeded to land. The shore was high and craggy, but they found a convenient landing
o
' Winstir, 'Hist, of Ainerii-a," i. 74, croilits the early ]iR'seiioe of tlie liascincs ii|>(iii the liaiiks; thiiui;li I'mwse, 'History of XewfiiuiKllanil,' 47, does not helievc in their voyaj;es to Xewt'ouiicUaiiil, whilst lie appears to think that they sailed to Cireenland.
- Maeliim, acconlins to the Madeira tradition. 'J'aylor, E., 'iFaileira' (London, 188G), p. 141. The lady is also called Anna d'Arfct. Maihini or Machin is a goiHl West-country name, and a Macham has been Mayor of Gloucester. It would be worth while to examine genealogies to see wliether Kohert Macham can be traced. So far [ have been unable to timl him.
318 VOYAGES AND DISCOVLRIEU, 1104-lo'J'J. [i34i.
where a Yalle\' descended in rich verdure to the sea. Here there was a small stream of pure and delicious water, here, too, a soft glade, encompassed and sheltei-ed hy the interwoven branches of laurel-trees, in which they determined to abide. They built a hut and scoured the island for food, which they appear to have obtained in the forests ; they explored its coasts, and meantime watered the ship.
But only a fortnight after their arrival, fresh calamities befell them. One night, when the greater niimber of the crew were on board the ship, a violent gale arose and carried her once more to sea. jNIacham and his bride were left on the island with but a handful of men ; and the lady saw in this fresh evidence of heaven's anger. She abandoned her mind to despair, and in three days sickened and died. Macham shared her fate. One day only he survived her ; on the second after her death he too died in the arms of his horror-stricken comrades, entreating them with his last breath to bury him beside his lady at the foot of a tall tree, which marked their bower. This they did, placing above the solitary grave a great cross, on which they carved the story of their wanderings and a prayer for Macham's sake, that whosoever might inhabit the place should build there a chapel and pray for the souls of him and his wife.
The handful of survivors took counsel what to do. The place seemed to them ill-omened, and food was very scarce. They found upon the shore the ship's boat, and in this detennined to put to sea. Accordingly they loaded her with food and water and set out, ignorant as to what direction or course to steer. The winds and cm-rents settled the question for them, and carried them to the Marocco coast, where they were seized and imprisoned by the Moors. Here they learnt that the same fate had befallen the ship. In prison they met a Spaniard, Juan de Morales of Seville, to whom they told their adventures. He presently was released by purchase, Don Sancho of Aragon having left a considerable sum of money with which to redeem Christians ; was then captured by Don Gonsalvo Zarco, a gentleman of the court of Prince Henry of Portugal, and himself a voyager of no mean intrepidity and experience, and was brought by Gonsalvo before Prince Henry, who listened to his tale and resolved to send out an expedition of discovery.^
' Waf^liiiiiitdii Trviiis:, 'Voyageis ol' Culuiiiljus' (Lumloii, 1828), iv. 337.
1344.] Til ACES OF MACHAM. 319
The story comes to us first from the so-called Alcaforado's ' Relation of the first Discovery of the Isle of Madeira.' This work purports to have been translated with some abridgments from the original Portuguese of Alcaforado, the voyager of that natioiialit}', who in Jmie, 1420, discovered Madeira. So far as is known the Portuguese original does not exist, and the work cannot be distinctly traced in any form till 1671, when a French " translation " appeared. In 1675 this was done into English,^ and has been frequently republished. A second source is Galvao's work - on the historical geography of the Poiiuguese Indies. This was published in 1563, and translated by Hakluyt. In this version the story, whilst agreeing to some extent with the Alcaforado version, is far less circumstantial, simpler and shorter. Macham does not die, but himself builds a chapel for his bride, and makes a canoe out of u tree trimk, in which he puts to sea and comes without sail or oar to INIarocco. The Moors I'egard this as a miracle, and receive him with high honour.
Galvao fails to give us any authority for his statements, nor does he explain how the story reached him. Washington Irving has pointed out that the dates in the Alcaforado version are ditticult to reconcile. •' The voyage is said to have occurred in the reign of Edward III., or between the dates 1327 and 1378. An interval of forty years separates this last date from 1418 or 1420, when the Portuguese discovered Madeira. Morales was not released till 1416, when he must have been, at the very least, nearly forty years in prison, and must also have been old and ht for little work at sea. Morales's expedition was delayed four years, till 1420,* when he sailed under Gonsalvo Zarco and discovered the island. Here, landing in the same place as Macham, the footsteps of the English were discovered, trunks notched -with hatchets, and, in the forest, a great tree beneath which was the cross. There are wild and obvious improbabilities in this narrative. It is absolutely impossible to suppose that the prints of the English feet would remain forty- two years in the sand or mud of the Madeira shore, especially as there are very heavy rains in the autumn.'^ It is added that the
' 'Historical lielatiun ol' tlie Discovery of the Isle of Mailcira. Written orij;iiiaily in Portuguese by Don Francisco Alcafor.ado.' London, l(!7r>.
^ 'Discoveries of the Worlil.' A. Galvao. Hakluyt Society. Lomlon, l,s(iL'.
■'' Irving, op. eit. iv. 84.").
* By court jealousies and intrigues, says tlie xVlcaforado story.
^ Taylor, E. M., '!JFadeii-a' (London, it^H'J), xv. Tliere is also a vei-y heavy surf.
320 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 11.J4-1399. [1344.
Portuguese, respecting the last wishes of Machani, built a chapel above the grave. At Machico, if the story can be believed, the original wooden cross was still to be seen as late as 1820,' and even to-day the remnants of it are shown to credulous tourists.^ Some accounts represent the Capella de N.S. da Visitacjao at Machico as occupying at least the site of the original chapel, but this again is disputed.^
Galvao omits Morales altogether from his tale, and mentions a Spanish expedition of discovery in 1393 or 1395 on the news of Macham's doings reaching Henry III. of Castille.'' This expedition, we are told, fell in with the Canaries. Barros, the early Portuguese historian, records the discovery of Madeira in 1420 by Zarco and Vaz Teixera, and informs us that the explorers found on the island "the chapel, and the stone and tomb whereupon the foresaid Macham had graven his name." ^ Here be it noticed the monument is of stone.
It is probable, on the whole, that the story had some basis in fact, but the romancers have clearly embellished it with details. There is no large demand upon our credulity in supposing voyagers driven by storm to Madeira. Unless the tradition had been widely prevalent at the close of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth centuries the national pride of the Portuguese historians would surely have prompted them to suppress it. We may take it that some trace of civilised inhabitants, who had come and gone, was found by the Portuguese, and that the rmnour of English discovery was current. ° At the same time there is no first-hand or really authentic evidence, and it is practically certain that the laame Machico has as little to do with Macham or Machin as the remnant of the cross now shown
' Taylui-, ' Mcadeira,' 145.
- lb. 51.
^ lb. 145. I have not lieen able to tiixl any close aii<l detnileil (lescription of the Machico auchorage and liailiour, so as to compare it with the Ak-aforailo account. He mentions a rock, steep-to, and not marked on the charts. This, il' it ever really existed, is not shown on the Admiralty chart, nor is allusion made to it in what sailing directions t liave been able to discover. At Funchal is, of course, the Loo Rock [Purdy, Memoir .... of the Atlantic Ocean (London, 1825), pp. 204-208] ; but then Funchal is not Machico.
■* Cialvao, Hakl. Soc. Ed., ji. 50. Aihiiiral I'etliune, flic editor, (|neries the date 1395.
■' Barros, 14!"K)-15T0, in his 'Asia' (Lisbau, 1552-53): '• jui^e impartial et en memo temps patriote entluisiaste" ('(irande Encyclopedic").
'^ Was the island of O'Brazil, which ajipcars tirst in the Medicean portulano of 1351, Madeira? If so, it may have reflected Macham's discovery.
laoo.] 2^ 10 HOI. A fi OF JAWS. o21
with the original of tlie fourteenth centurj' — if the hitter over existed.
On the strength of a mention in Hakhiyt and an aUusion in Fuller, one Nicholas of Lynn has been credited with a voyage towards the Arctic regions about 13(50. Nicholas of Lynn is known to have been a Canuelite and lecturer in theology at Oxford, where in 1886 he composed a calendar and elaborate astronomical tables.' He is supposed, on not veiy satisfactory evidence, to have been the author of a work known as ' Inventio Fortunata,' or ' Inventio Fortunae.' No copy of the book exists, whether in manuscript or print, and it is indeed not altogether certain that it ever existed. The mention in Hakluyt resolves itself into a quotation from two other authorities, Gerardus Mercator, and John Dee.'' Mercator refers to a description of the North Pole which he had taken out of a voyage by Cnoyen of s" Hertogenbosch,^ who had met a priest at the King of Norway's court in 1364, and from him derived much infonnation. The priest, we are told, was descended from those whom Arthur, the mythical King of Britain, had sent to inhabit " these islands " (probably Iceland), and he, again, reported that " in 1360 a certain English friar, a Franciscan and a mathematician of Oxford, came into these islands ; who, leaving them, and passing farther by his magical art, described all those places that he saw, and took the height of them with his astrolabe."
This is very fourth or fifth-hand evidence. On what Cnoyen said the priest had said that the friar said to him, Mercator based the idea that there were " four indraughts into an inward gulf or whirlpool with so great force that the ships which once entered therein could by no means be driven back," round about the North Pole. And John Dee,'' who is also quoted by Hakluyt, tells us that in 1360 " a friar of Oxford, being a good astronomer, went in company with others to the most northern islands of the world." There he left his companions and proceeded yet farther to the north himself. He described the islands and "the indrawing seas" in a book which he called ' Inventio Fortunata ' or ' Fortuna\' Dee
' ' Diet. Nsit. Biograpliy," Xiclmlas of Lyune.
- Hakluyt, B. L. i. 122.
" Ciioyeu's bouk is lost, tlioiii,'li extracts from it, sent by Merc-ator to .lobii Dee. survive in Cotton MSS. Mercator adils tbat "it contained liis voya<;e all through Asia, Africa, ami the North; that it had been lent him by a friend in .-Vntwerii, and restored Viy him ; but that wanting it again, it could not be found."'
■* The mathematician ami astrologer, 1527-1608.
VOL. I. Y
322 VOTAOES AND BISCOVEniES, 1154-1300. [l^flO.
goes on to ask whether this fiiar was not Hugo, the Irish Minorite, who is mentioned as a traveller, hnt of whom nothing definite is known. He states, however, that from Lynn, irJicnce the friar sailed, was only a fortnight's voyage, with a fair wind, to Iceland.
Hakluyt, without any apparent authority, identifies the unknown friar with Nicholas of Lynn, though the latter was of a different religious order. Fuller, in his ' Worthies,' says of Norfolk in his own pumiing way, " No county doth carry a top and a gallant more high," and warns " none to be offended if a friar be put before the rest," but does not tell us to what friar he is referring. Supposing the identification to be accepted, Chaucer appears to allude to him and his navigations. The Nicholas of the " Miller's Tale " owns an astrolabe, and his navigations may be jestingly alluded to in the incident of the tub.^ This is all the more probable as the Oxford Nicholas was a friend of John of Gaunt, a distinction which Chaucer also shared.
A i^riori there is nothing improbable in the voyage of Nicholas, -especially since there was during the fourteenth century, as we have seen, a thoroughly established trade between England and Iceland. Eanulfus Higden, however, who wrote his ' Polychronicon ' in 1363, does not allude to Nicholas's voyage. His book may, of course, have been composed before the return of the voyager. Nor is there any mention in the contemporary records of Lynn. Here again their silence is not absolutely decisive, as very scanty trace remains of the many voyages to Iceland which we know from excellent authorities did really take place. Lynn was a port with great trade throughout the middle ages, and the sailing of every ship could not be recorded.
The ' Inventio Fortunata ' is mentioned on the margin of a map of the world by John Euysch, and dated 1508. "It is written in the book of the ' Inventio Fortunata ' that there is a very lofty rock of loadstone beneath the Arctic Pole, thirty-three German miles in circuit. Kound this flows an indrawing sea, fluid like a vase, pouring water through openings belo\\-. About are islands, of which two are inhabited. Huge and broad mountain chains surround these islands, of which twenty-four will not allow of settlement by man." -
' As De Costa has suggested. 'Inventio Fortimata,' M, 18.
^ " Legere est ilibro de ivetione fortvnati svb polo arctieo r\pc esse excelsa ex lapide magnete . 33 . iniliarivm Germanorvm ambitv. Hvnc cOplectitvr mare svgenvm flvidvni instar vasis aqvfi deorsv per foramina emittOtis . circv lanle svt . &■ . e qvilws incolvtor dvc amliivnt avtciii lias iusidas continvi niontes vasti latiq: dietis .24. qbu iiegut liondnvni .
"i't ;
\/
^^^■■■:'>^W
.:^.-^Wa
^
Sss?^-
UUYSCH'S CHART, 1308.
CHART FROM THE PTOLEMCEAN CODEX OF CIIiCA 1407. (Tnscrixd in the Zamuiski Librarij at IViirsaic. t'ruin Xiirclnixlii'iihl's ' Fiicsimile Allan,')
[To faec moe 3-'-'.
13(J0.] THE ' IN^ENTIO FOSTUNATA: 323
«
The map of Kuyscli, which is substantially the same as Mercator's, shows in a sector of about 240 degrees round the Pole four large islands, and then an outer fringe of nine- teen islands or peninsulas, covered with mountains and parted by narrow channels. The " Mare Sugenum " lies nortli of a line from Norway to " Gruenlant." The map and the fantastical currents — which have, however, some small basis in nature — are evidently founded upon the topography of Giraldus Cambrensis. There is nothing in them either to prove or disprove the voyage of the supposed Nicholas, as the early voyagers were proverbially fond of drawing the long bow. The magnetic rock is a common feature in such stories, though it does not appear to warrant the conclusion, which has been drawn, that Nicholas had approached the magnetic pole.'
Even this entry of Euysch contains nothing to prove that he had seen the book ; and if he had seen it there is nothing to show that he reproduced Nicholas's ideas correctly. It is improbable that Nicholas would have drawn Greenland as incorrectly as in this map,- that is, supposing him to have made his voyage to the North. At the middle of the fourteenth century there was still intercourse between Iceland and Greenland, and that intercourse must have been reflected in the charts of English traders to Iceland. The four islands reappear in Orontius Fine's map.'
Finallj', Las Casas, the historian of America, mentions burning islands which are to be seen in the sea near the Cape Verde Islands and the Azores, adding that these are spoken of in the book of ' Inventio Fortunata ' ; and the author of Columbus's life tells us that " Juventius Fortunatus relates that there is an account of two islands to the west and a little to the south of the Cape Verde Isles which skim over the water."* The book cannot, however, I^e
lia1>itatio." This is obviously corrupt; probably "dictis" or "e dictis" sliould be read for "dietis," and "qvi" or "qvae" for "qbo." "Svgenvm" is apparently the Latini/.cil Dutch word "zuigeud,"or "indrawing." The general meaning is fairly clear, and is made clearer b.y the map. See De Costa, ' Arct. Expl.,' 22, 23.
■ The dipping of the needle e.xcited great alarm amongst early navigators. Vide the inscription on the Cabot ma]i : " Here the compass loses its power, and no ship witli iron on board can get away."
- 1531 A.D. Reproduced in De Costa, 'Arct. Expl.,' 28., and in Nordcnskjiild's ' Facsimile Atlas,' plate xxxii.
^ Nordenskjiild, ' Facsimile Atlas,' plate xli.
■*■ Op. cit. ?,:;.
T 2
o24 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 115-i-1.3tl0. [1390.
fonnd in the Columbus library or catalogue. If it ever existed, it has perished, leaving only these traces.
If the narrative of Nicolo Zeno — which professes to relate the voyages and travels of two of his ancestors about the end of the fourteenth century — be true or substantially founded on fact, it becomes probable that the half-Norse, half-Scotch inhabitants of the Orkneys and Shetlands had rediscovered Greenland, and that they had some vague knowledge of the American mainland. It is usually assumed that the " Zichmni " of the Zeno narrative was the same as Henry Sinclair, Earl of Orkney and Caithness, and the grounds for that identification will be discussed later on. The authorities who accept the substantial truth of the narrative are sufficiently numerous and impartial to compel a careful investigation of the facts.^
The travels of the Zeni were first published in 1558 at Venice by Kicolo Zeno.'- His story is that when a boy he tore up or mutilated some ancient documents in the Zeni Palace at Venice, ignorant of their value. Some, however, of the papers escaped ; and in later years, on examination, he found they were an accoi;nt, by an ancestor of his named Antonio Zeno, of certain voyages which had been made by this same Antonio and an older brother Nicolo, about the close of the fourteenth century. The account had been based by Antonio upon letters of his own to a third brother. Carlo, and letters of Nicolo to him. Nicolo the younger found this account damaged by the act of bis childhood, and proceeded, as far as he could, to put it in order and copy it out. With it was an old chart in a dilapidated condition, which also he copied, aiid which is said to display a very accurate knowledge of Greenland and northern geography.
The story of the voyage is as follows : Nicolo Zeno was a
' The most euiinent authoritieK favouralile are: Toifanis, T., ' Histoiia Vinlaii(lia\" (ITO.o), preface ; Forster, J. E., ' History of Discovery and Voyages in the Xorth ' (178G), ]ip. 178-209; Zuria, Cardinal I'lacido, ' Dissertazione intorno ai Viaggi e Scoperte settentrionali di N. ed A. Zeni,' 1808 ; Malte-Brun, ' Annales des Voyages ' (Paris, 1810), X. 72-87; Barrow, Sir J., 'Voyages into the Arctic Eegions' (1818), pp. 13-2(j ; Humboldt, A. von, ' Examen Critique de I'Histoire de la Geographie du Nouveau Con- tinent' (Paris, 1837), ii. 120-24; Major, E. H., 'Voyages of the Zeni,' with facsimile of the Zeno map, Hakluyt Society (1873), Introduction ; Kordenskjiild, ' Studier och Forskningar' (Stockholm, 1883-i). A^iews are summe<l up, ' Compte Rendu, Congres des Ainericanistes ' (Copenhagen, 188-1), pp. 120-23.
- Major, R. H., op. cit., gives tlie Italian and a translation. From his text the narrative is abridged.
l;190.] ZENO'S STORY. 325
Venetian of great courage, and after the war between bis country and Genoa, which terminated with the victory of Cbioggia,' he determined to travel. He equipped a ship and sailed through the Straits of Gibraltar to the north." A terril)le stonu, however, arose, and carried him for many days out of bis course, at last wrecking him iipon an island, which he calls "Frislanda." He was saved with his crew and the greater part of the merchandise which he was carrying with him. The date be gives as 1380.^ The in- habitants of the island proved unfriendly and came out in numbers to attack him, but fortunately a great chief named " Zichmni " appeared on the scene with an armed retinue, conversed with him in Latin, and hearing that he came from Italy and was a " fellow- countryman," at once gave him his protection. " Zichmni " was the ruler of certain islands known as " Porlanda," to the south, and he was also " Duke of Sorano, lying near Scotland."
The year before Nicolo's coming " Zichmni " bad defeated the King of Norwaj', who was lord of the island, and who had made an expedition against "Frislanda." "Zichmni" took Zeno on board his fleet and made him bis general. The fleet consisted, we are told, of thirteen vessels, two only of which were rowed. The naval forces captured " Ledovo " and " Ilofe," wbich are small islands in the Gulf of " Sudero," and put into a harbour known as " Sanestol," after sailing through a reef-encompassed sea, where Nicolo's know- ledge of navigation stood him in good stead. Meantime " Zichmni," with the anuy, had subdued the island, and rejoined the fleet at " Bondendon." Thence the combined forces proceeded to " Fris- landa," the chief city of the island, where there was great plenty of fish, and whither ships resorted from Flanders, Brittany, England, Scotland, Norway, and Denmark. From here Nicolo wrote to bis brother Antonio, asking him to repair to "Frislanda," which Antonio forthwith did. They were soon sent by " Zichmni " to attack " Estlanda," wbich bes "between Frislanda and Norway"; but part of tbe fleet was wrecked by a storm, and the ships which were not injured were driven to " Grislanda," a large uninhabited island. In the storm tbe King of Norway's fleet, which was coming to
' A.D. 1377-1381.
- Italian voyages to the British seas were far IVuiu uiRuiamon. CT. Major, ' Letters of Columbus,' xxiv. Genoese ships we meet with often.
^ This must be a mistake for 1390. Major, ' Zeni,' xlvii. Ortelius gi\es the date as 1380; Hakluyt, copying from Ortelius, 13'JO, showing that the mistake is easily made.
326 VOYAGJiS AND DISCOVEEIES, 1154-1399. [1390.
attack " Zichmni," suffered very severely. After this "Zichmni" repaired his fleet and attacked " Islanda,"^ which was subject to Norway, but faiHng in his attempt here, mastered " the other islands in those channels, which are called Islande, Talas, Broas, Iscant, Trans, Mimant, Dambere and Bres," and built a fort on " Bres," where he left Nicolo. Next summer Nicolo set out from " Bres " on a voyage, and sailing north came to " Engroneland," where he found a monastery, a church dedicated to St. Thomas, a volcano, and a hot spring. The water of this spring was used to heat the church and monastery, and also to cook food. Moreover, the monks, watering their garden with it, in spite of the cold climate, grew the flowers and fruits of temperate countries. The monastery was built of lava from the volcano, and mortar made from pumice-stone 'was used. Close to the settlement was a harbour into which the hot spring flowed and raised the temperature of the water, with the result that fish and fowl resorted to it. The houses were hive- shaped with holes at the top, and there was much trade in the summer with Norway. Of the friars many came from Norway and Sweden, but most from "Islande."" The fishing-boats of the people were shaped like a weaver's shuttle made of fish-skins sewn together. The friars for the most part spoke Latin." Finally, in "Engroneland," Nicolo discovered a river. The cold, however, had affected him, and on his return to " Frislanda," he died.
Meantime " Zichmni " had decided to make discoveries. He had found a fisherman who had, twenty-six years before, been carried by a storm a thousand miles or more west of " Frislanda," to an island called " Estotiland."'' Of the four boats in company one was wrecked and six men from it were captured by the inhabit- ants and led to a large city, where they were brought before the king, who conversed with them by means of an interpreter in Latin. They remained five yeai-s in the island and learnt its language. The people were intelligent, had Latin books which they did not understand, possessed abundance of gold, and traded with Greenland. They sowed corn, drank beer, and built ships, but did not know of
' "Islanda," apparently the capital of " Island "*r "Islande," which is seemingly the same as " Estland " and Shetland. Vide page 330.
- Here must stand for Iceland, not Shetland.
^ So at the present day Latin is spoken by the upper classes in Iceland.
* Others read " Escociland." The map has "Estetiland." Possibly this is some tale Virought by the Basques.
l^ilO.] V0rAO£ OF THE ZESI. 327
the compass, which the fishermen showed them.^ Towards the south was a great country rich in gold. Presently the fishermen were sent to the south with twelve hoats to a country called "Drogio";" and on the way they were wrecked and fell into the hands of cannibals. These devoured the " Estotilanders," sparing the " Frislanders," because of their skill in fishing with nets. For thirteen years the fisherman was a prisoner amongst tribes who went naked, suffered much from the cold, and fought savagely amongst themselves. They did not know the use of metals, having only wooden lances and bows and arrows. To the south-west dwelt a more civilised race with cities and temples. These people sacrificed human beings and afterwards ate them.
The fisherman was fortunate enough to make his escape, and alter many wanderings reached "Drogio," where he remained three more years, until, finding a boat from " Estotiland," he returned in it to that island, and trading there grew very rich. Then at last he came home to " Frislanda," and told " Zichimii " all, who at once resolved to start with a large fleet. Three days, however, before sailing the fisherman fell ill and died, and his place had to be taken by sailors who had come with him from " Estotiland." Leaving "Frislanda," " Zichmni " and Antonio Zeno came first to " Ledovo," where they stayed seven days to obtain provisions for the fleet, and then to " Ilofe." Afterwards putting to sea, a great wind caught them and swept them eight days from their course, till they came to land on the west.^ Entering a harbour, a host of armed men rushed down to the shore and menaced them. " Zichmni," by means of a man amongst these savages who was from " Islanda," talked with them and discovered that the country was called " Icaria," and that they would allow no one to land. Upon this he departed and sailed along a mountainous coast, but the natives followed him, shouting and yelling on the hill-tops and attacking his men whenever they landed. "Zichmni" was com- pelled to abandon his attempt to land, and sailed first six days to the west and then four to the north-west, when land came into sight. Entering an excellent harbour, Zeno saw a volcano, and " Zichmni " dispatched a hundred of his men towards it; fish and fowl and birds' eggs were abundant, and there was firewood to be
' On tlie date of tlie discuvei'V oi the conipans, sec page 312, iwfv.
- Others read " Drogeo."
' Da ponente, " on tlie westward side of it," or " on the westward side of them."
328 VOYAGES AND DISCOVEIUES, 1154-13ri[i. [IStiO.
found. The climate was mild and pleasant, but there were no inhabitants to be seen near the harbour, which " Zichmni "" named " Trin." After eight days the soldiers returned with news that they had visited the volcano and found wild men of small stature who dwelt in caves. There was a large river and a good harbour at this place, they reported. On this "Zichmni" conceived the idea of settling there, but his people were not willing, and wanted to go home ; therefore he sent back Antonio Zeno with the ships, himself retaining the row-boats and a few of the people. On his homeward voyage Zeno sailed twenty days to the east, and then five days more to the south-east, when he came to the island of " Neome," which was beyond " Islanda," and subject to " Zichmni." - Hence in three days more he reached " Frislanda."
If the substantial truth of the narrative be accepted there are many difficulties to be explained away. What, for instance, was " Zichmni," an Italian, doing in these northern islands, and how had he obtained his sovereignty ? How is it that the annals of Norway contain no reference to him ? Such awkward questions are avoided by those who hold that Nicolo Zeno, the younger, mis- understood much and interpolated a little.^ This does not necessarily involve bad faith on his part. Moreover, granted the truth of the Zeni's account, the voyages of the fishermen to " Estotiland " and " Drogio " — by far the most marvellous part of the story — are not necessarily true. Their authenticity has little to do with the Zeni voyages and must be considered separately. ^
First, as to " Zichmni." Northern names would natin-ally be somewhat distorted in the Italian attempt at a phonetic equiva- lent, and "Zichmni" is something like "Sinclair." Still, as the Zeni professed to have resided some years in "Frislanda," we should certainly have expected greater accuracy from men of consideralile knowledge, who were, as it appears, well acquainted with Latin. Henry Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, is the only individual
' (.)n the Zt'HO map " 'I'liii " is marked as the e.xtreme southei'ly poiut of Greenlaml, equivalent, in fact, witli Cape Hvarf, or " turning point." Bredsdorff connects " Trin Prom " with Kuingingek (' Proc. Geogr. Society,' London, 1879, xHx. 410).
- " Xeome " is by Forster identified with tlie island of Naalsoe, one of the sriiallcr islands of the Faroe group. Chi tlie map it ajipears considerably to the west of "Frisland," midway between the latter and "Estland."
^ Major, "unquestionable blunder" [of Nicolo], 'Zeni,' xxii. ; "misplacement of localities," ih. xxiii. ; "misreading," ih.; Nicolo, junior, "cause of all perplexity," «6. XXV. ; " hyperbole," )'6. xxviii. ; "deplorable confusion," xxxvii. ; "this excrescence work of Nicolo, junioi-," ib. xcix., etc.
1390.] SINCLAIR AND " ZICEMNI." 329
in Orcadian or Northern history who can possibly be connected with '■ Zichmni," and for this reason the two are usually identified as one and the same/ The ancient Earls of Orkney had become extinct in the middle of the fourteenth century. About 1357 one Malise Sperre had claimed the earldom, but though from his name he appears to have been of Norse descent, his title was not recognised by the Norwegian king Hakon. Instead the islands were granted to Henry Sinclair, whose mother was the daughter of Malise, Earl of Orkney and Caithness, and grand-daughter of the last Scandinavian earl of Orkney, Magnus. In 1379 he made his declaration of loyalty to the King of Norway, promising amongst other things to build no forts upon the islands. The conditions of his tenure were indeed very exacting, but in exchange he required from the Norwegian king a guarantee against vexation by "our cousin Malise Sperre.J' As the sequel to this we learn that in 1391 " the Earl of Orkney killed Malise Sperre in Hialtland " (Shetland) " with seven others, but a certain youth with six others found a boat at Scalloway and escaped to Norway."- In this event has been discerned a historic corroboration of the attack which Zeno mentions as made by " Zichmni " upon " Estlanda " and " Islande." It is not in the least likely that Sinclair, after solemnly promising to support in every possible way the King of Norway, to furnish him with a hundred men when required, to defend the Orkneys and Shetlands, or to aid against foreign aggression, would turn round at once upon his liege lord. He did indeed break his oath by building a fort at Kirkwall,^ but this did not involve a war with his suzerain. The struggle between Sinclair and Sperre might possibly, to Zeno, wear the aspect of a struggle with Norway, as there is some slight ground for associating Sperre with the Norwegian party.*
Sinclair's lordship included the Orkneys, Shetlands, and Faroes. " Sorano " is identified by Mr. Major with the islet of Swona in the Pentland Firth, and " Podanda " or " Porlanda " — for both are read
' Zalirtiiiami (Major, ' Zeni,' xxvi., xxvii.) denies that Sinclair and "Zicinnni " are tlje same, as Sinclair witnesseil certain Norwegian acts in 1388 and 138tt. As a matter of fact the travels could not have taken place before 1390, and this date removes the difficulty. Vide Skene, ' Celtic Scotland,' iii. 452, 453 ; Sir W. Douglas, Peerage of Scotland, ii. 388 ; ' Chronicles and Memorials of Scotland,' Exchequer Rolls, vol. viii. pp. xxxv.-xxxvii. Orkney (apparently with Shetlands and Faroes) was held by the Earl as a fief of Norway, whilst Caithness was a Scotch tief.
- Barry, ' History of the Orkneys,' liMi. See also TortWus, ' Orcades."
^ Excheq\ier Rolls, Scotlaml, viii. p. xxxvii.
■* His name, and the fact that his adherents fled to Norway.
330 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1154-1309. [1390.
— with Pentland, a barren skerry. " Islande "' he regards as a misreading for " Estlanda," and identifies it with Shetland, which is probable and reasonable, as the names are very much alike and correspond geogi^aphically. " Islanda," according to the old custom of naming capitals after the country, was the chief town of "Estland" or Shetland. " Grislanda " is the same as Gross Ey or Gross Island, as the mainland of the Orkneys was called in the past. So " Talas " is Yelli ; " Broas," Barras ; " Iscant," Unst ; "Trans," St. Eonans ; " Mimant," the mainland of the Shetlands ; " Dambere," Hamna ; and " Bres," Bressay. These identifications, too, seem not unlikely. Gross Ey has a very Avild coast and would naturally appear to be uninhabited.
The main difficult}' is, however, with " Frislanda." Some have supposed that this island, or group of islands, has disappeared through some cataclysm of nature,^ for which supposition geologj' and surveys give no ground whatever. Others, and Mr. Major amongst them, consider that " Frislanda " is the Faroe Islands. The old name in Danish was " Faeroisland," - which very easily becomes " Frislanda." The expedition of " Zichmni " against " Fris- landa," with which the story opens, would then be explained by Sinclair's occupation of the islands, which, considering the turbulent character of their Norse inhabitants at that date, and the opposition of Sperre, might have been a matter of some little trouble. The identification of the names mentioned in and near "Frislanda" is not easy. " Monaco " may be Monk Isle, a skerry of most insignifi- cant size to the extreme south; " Ilofe " may be a misreading for " Slofe," and this again the Italian for " Skuoe " ; and " Bondendon " may be — though the resemblance is very faint — Norderdahl. But it is very difficult to see how " Ledovo " can be Little (or Lilla) Dimon ; or " Sanestol," Sandoe. For at " Ledovo " the fleet of " Zichmni " lies to and refreshes. But Little Dimon is a small rocky island, steep-to, with no anchorage, no haven, but only breakers dashing against an iron coast, which rises precipitouslj" 1300 feet.^ It is uninhabited and can only be approached with
' This was Forster's first suggestiun. So also Zui'la.
- Zalirtmann; Major, ' Zeni,' ix.-xiii.; Steeustrup ('Conipte Iveudii, Congres cles AiiiOricanistes' (Copen., 1883), 150-180) holds that the " Frislanda "' of the map is unquestionahh' Icel.and, and not the Faroes ; that the " Frislanda " of the text is Korth FriesUvnd; in part Admiral Irminger agrees with him ('Proceed. Geog. Soc.,' London, vol. xlix. pp. 398-412). Major, following (pp. 412-420), controverts his views.
^ "Like a haycock" (Adm. Irnnngcr). For a woodcut of the island, viih op. cif., 402.
1390.] IDENTIFICATION OF NAMES. 331
the utmost difficulty ; on landing " almost perpendicular rocks " have to be scaled. Nor is it clear how " Zichmni," liavinj^ been put ashore at " Sanestol " or Sandoe, managed to meet the fleet at " Bondendon " or Norderdahl, seeing that the latter place is situated on another island. Sandoe is described as a small, barren, and thinly populated island, and the Bay of Sand, where the fleet apparently landed him, is exposed to the south wind, and is therefore a dangerous anchorage for sailing ships. Nor is the navigation from " Sanestol to "Bondendon " perilous in actual fact, as Zeno describes it. There are only three rocky islands on the way, and these are steep-to, with d^ep water round.
For these and other reasons the Danish Admiral Irminger has argued that Iceland is the " Frislanda " of the Zeni. He considers that the progress of " Zichmni," as described in the story, must have taken place in an island greater and more populous than any of the Faroes. The English and the Scotch, as we have seen already, from quite an early date resorted to Iceland, whilst we hear nothing of their trafiic with the Faroes.^ In 1394, moreover, a fight between the Icelanders and the foreigners took place at Budarhofdi, in Iceland, which may be the war described by Nicolo Zeno. In that case " Zichmni " would be some unknown and obscui's piratical chief. Of the names in the narrative and map many suit Iceland better than the Faroes. Thus " Sudero Gulf" is identified with Faxe Bught ; " Sanestol '" with Buden Stad or Hval Fiord; "Monaco" with Westmano ; "Porlanda" with Portland; "Bondendon" with Budardalr. "Frislanda" is also described in the narrative as larger than Ireland,^ which Major supposes is a mistake of the younger Zeno for " Islande " or Shetland. Iceland, it need scarcely be said, is larger than Ireland, and the description fits it well. On the one hand, "Frislanda" is marked on the Zeno map quite separate from Iceland, and con- siderably to the south-west of that island ; ^ on the other, there is a somewhat close correspondence in size and outline with Iceland. This has been explained by the behevers in the Zeni as due to the
' On tlie other hand the Farues lie on the voyage from Enghinil to Icehiml, and would naturally be visited.
- Ireland, Iceland, and "Islande" or "Estland," or Shetland, appear to he coUKtantly confused.
^ Early maps often repeat a covuitry, ''.//., Greenland apjiears twice on the Ortelius map of 1570 (Nordenskjold, 'Facshnile Atlas,' Stockholm, jil. xlvi., Orocland and Groenlant), so pi. .xlvii., etc.
332 VOYAGES AND DISCOVEIHES, Ur,-l-13y9. [1390.
mistake of Isicolo Zeno, the younger, who foiind the original map much damaged, and perhaps ran together the outhnes of the archipelago. This explanation, however, is not altogether satis- factory. It is also suggested that the size of " Frislanda " was exaggerated because it had to receive a great number of names, and because it was a comfortable habit of early cartographers to adjust areas on their maps to this requirement. The name of " Frislanda," in approximatelj' the same position as it occupies on the Zeno chart, occurs as " Fixlanda "in a sea chart of the fifteenth century at Milan, and as " Frixlanda " in a Catalan chart of the same date. Columbus mentions an island south of Iceland known as "Fris- landa." The Zeno chart affected the cartography of the northern seas till the beginning of the seventeenth century, when at last " Frislanda " began to vanish from the map.' It is to be noted that this chart does not mark the Faroes, which slightly confirms the identification of " Frislanda " with them.
Of the other names, " Icaria " is identified with Kerry in Ireland and not with any part of America. If the records of the voyage are true the distance sailed would have brought " Zichmni " with his fleet to the west coast of Ireland ; and the " pursuit r long the hill- tops, and the howling of the strangers oft' the coast, are Irish all over," says Mr. Major,- who falls back upon his usual explanation of the statement in the text, that " Icaria " derived its name from Icarus, son of Daedalus, King of Scotland, as being " an interpolation of Nicolo Zeno the younger." There was probably a certain amount of intercourse between the Norsemen of the Scotch Isles and Norway, and the Norsemen of Ireland; and that "Zichmni" should have sailed or been driven to Kerry is not unlikely, though there are difficulties. " Zichmni " is described as sailing in search of " Estotiland," which lies a thousand miles to the west of " Fris- land." Kerry lies not to the west of the Faroes but almost due south, ^ and six hundred miles distant. There is no notice in the narrative of so extraordinary a divergence from the course which would naturally be steered. " We were driven we knew not where for eight days," are the words, which suggest, indeed, a divergence, but hardly a voyage in a totally different direction. And the Zeni
' Vide maps collected in Xonleiiskjokrs ' Facsimile Atlas.' ^ ' Zeni,' .\cix.
' The position of " Icaria" on the chart is also against Kerry, miless this is one of the younger Zeno's "interpolations."'
1390.] BOMBASTIC NATURE OF THE STORY. 333
knew of the compass, so that we should expect them to have at least recoi-ded such a change of course.
The story of the fisherman hardly concerns us, as he was not an Orkneyman but a Faroe islander. His " Estotiland " has been identified with Newfoundland, his " Drogio " with Nova Scotia. The civilised people he found dwelling in the " fair and populous city " are assumed to have been the descendants of the Norse colony planted centm-ies before by Leif Eriksson and his followers. There are, however, no clear traces of a Norse settlement in Newfoundland or Nova Scotia ; no ruins of a city and no indisputably Norse relics have been disinterred. The ocean of time has closed upon the Norseman and does not give up its dead. Yet the evidence- of some settlement appears indisputable.^ Others again have seen in this people the remnants of the Irish colonisation with even less prol)a- bihty. The fact that the people drank beer points to a Norse origin. Yet at no time before the coming of the Anglo-Saxon were the gold mines in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia worked ; and we are expressly told that the strange people had " abundance of gold." It is far from improbable that some vague report of a strange new world had reached even the Faroes, from Iceland, at the close of the fourteenth century, when the traditions of Winland and Markland had not been forgotten. -
But it is more probable that Nicolo Zeno intei-polated much of the fisherman's narrative, or at least wrote it up from the tales of Columbus and Cortes, than that the fisherman ever sailed where he says he did. Indeed, the intei-polation of Nicolo the younger is a convenient deus ex machind to fall back upon in difficulty. Mr. Major holds that the "rich and populous city " is only a piece of bombast on a level with the mention of "the Duchy of Sorano," or Swona, and so also he explains the " king's library," where Latin manuscripts wei-e seen by the fisher- man, and the "temples." "Estotiland" some have supposed is Scotland, but the particulars do not fit. " Drogio " would appear to be some part of the American mainland : the wild tribes are in
' For the Xorse settlements, vid,' Winsor, 'History of America,' i. H7-10T, ami the numerous authorities there quoted. Winsor is sceptical, but the evidence npiiears strong to the writer.
2 According to the Sagas, Bishop Eric of Greenland went to Winland, 1121; Adallirand and Helgason are said to have rediscovered Newfoundland, from Iceland, in 1285. Tlie last recorded voyage to Winland was from Greenland in l-i47. Major, ' Letters of Columbus,' xviii. 5.
334 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1154-1399. [1390.
that case Eed Indians, and the ci\dHsed people to the south the Mexicans.
The voyage of " Zeno " from "Bres" to " Engroneland " has fewer traces of the fabulous, though here also there are many difficulties. The monastery of St. Thomas is supposed to be a mistake of one or other of the Zeni for St. Olaus,^ which is men- tioned by an early Norse geographer, Ivar Bardssen. That there were monasteries and Norse settlements on Greenland is a fact proved by numerous remains, ruins of churches and buildings, runes and traditions. The lonely church of Katortok bears silent testi- mony to a civilisation which has long since passed away. We should then expect, if the narrative is true, that the place described by Zeno could be identified. Mr. Major places the monastery at Tasermiutsiak on the Tessermiut in southern Greenland," and finds an extinct volcano in the remarkable mountain of Suikarssuak, which rises nearly four thousand feet above the fiord. Unfortun- ately subsequent exploration has made it certain that Suikarssuak is not an extinct volcano ; " it is a granite rock. Nor are there hot springs on the Tessermint fiord, though it is true that such springs now exist at no great distance, on the island of Ounartok, where are also very plain traces of a Norse settlement. Here, however, the volcano is wanting, and Admiral Irminger asserts that volcanoes have never existed in south Greenland.^ If this be so, and Zeno is in this passage romancing, what value can be attached to the rest of his story ? Or is this another interpolation of Nicolo the younger ? The use of hot water for the purposes which Zeno describes was possibly common in Iceland during his time : there are traces of it still. If he visited Iceland, which is highly probable, he may have heard stories of Greenland, and of the strange boats used b}' the Greenlanders, which agree so closely with the Eskimo boats of to-day that they can scarcely be the product of his vmguided imagination.
The voyage of " Zichmni " to Greenland — if " Trin " was in Greenland — presents the same difficulty of the volcano. There is nothing intrinsically improbable in the voyage itself : to the daring
' St. Tommaso and St. Olaus have in the Italian and Xorse resiiectively a \'ery faint phonetic resemblance.
^ Vide map of Greenland. ' Zeni,' Ixxxii.
" So Irminger.
■* Hot springs, however, as Major justly says, are clear indications of volcanic activity, and glacier action may have oliscurcd the traces of volcanic action.
THE ZENO CHART (Published 1558.)
[To faa: mt/c 334.
i;j!)0.] THE XJiNO MAR -J-J^
Norseman it was a fairly conniion mulertakiii^^ ; and if ships sailed from England and Scotland to Iceland, there is no reason why they shonld not have pnshed a little farther and made Greenland. Some of the details — which look as if they had come from hearsay— alone cause suspicion/ We should, too, have expected to meet with some mention of Sinclair's Greenland colony in either Scotch or Orcadian history. Some doubt apparently hangs over his death, as the writer has not been able to discover whether he died in any portion of his Scotch domains or where he is buried. All we are told of his end is that he "is supposed to have died about 1410." It is, then, just possible that he never returned from his Greenland expedition — presuming that he really made it.
The strongest evidence for the "foundation on fact" of the narrative was, till recently, the Zeno map, though here, as usual, it was necessary to suppose much carelessness and interpolation on the part of Zeno the younger. Nordenskjold considered in 1883 that the topography of the chart was on the whole much in advance of the knowledge of the time when it aj)peared, and accepted the general truth of the narrative.- The mistakes ascribed to Zeno the younger are the misplacing of numerous islands which should be in the Shetlands, and which in the chart appear on the east coast of
' E.;/., tlic volcanic stories, which woulil come nat\irally enough from a romancing Icelander, or from a Venetian who had visited Icelanil.
^ Nordenskjold, ' Congres des Arnericanistes' (1883), p. 121 ft"., is thus summarised: 'riie map in the 1558 edition of the /eni is based upon an old chart of northern origin, anterior in date to 1-182, and probably brought back from his voyages by Antonio Zeno. Of this map no faithful copy is kno\TO, but tliere are two examples with more or less alteration — the map of Zeno the younger, printed 1558, and of Nicolas Donis, printed 1482 (in ' Facsimile Atlas,' text p. 61, a reduced representation), which has not many of the arbitrary modifications of the younger Nicole, but, on the other hand, places Greenland far too much to the north. The common origin of the two maps is proved Ijy tlie identity of a great number of names. Zeno's chart has, then, "an immense importance," equal almost to Andrea Bianco's map of the Mediterranean. It is evidently the tVuit of many years of experience, which has been acquired by active navigation on the coasts delineated. It must have taken place anterior to the Columbian age, as then for a time knowledge of Greenland was lost. He concludes that there was then less ice to the west of Greenland ; that voyages were often made to Greenland ; and that those voyages occasionally extended southward to Canada, etc. Nordenskjijld's opinion must carry weight; but AVinsor ('America,' i. 127) is nnfavom-able to the map, and Irminger totally denies that Zeno had ever been in Greenland. The old Olaus Magnus map, which Zahrtmann conjectured to have existed, has, since Major's and Nordenskjiild's • ipinion was given, turned up. It is evident that Zeno the j'ounger copied much from tins map, and thus the only strong argument for his veracity has passed away. I have this fact from Mr. C. H. Coote, of the Map Department, British Jluseuni, who dis- believes in the Zeno story: I must take tliis opportunity of thanking him for much kind assistance.
336 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1154-1399. [1390.
Iceland ; ' the dubious outline of " Frisland " ; the removal of " Grislanda " from the Orkneys to the south of Iceland ; the placing of St. Thomas's monastery in a situation to the extreme north-east of Greenland, a position which does not suit the narrative and which can certainly have never been reached by the ships of 1410 ; and some other inaccuracies. The date 1380 on the map, as in the text, is also supposed to have been a mistake of his or of some copyist for 1390, and such an error is quite possible. The best points about the map are its comparative accuracy in depicting the coast of Greenland, though if the Zeno outline be compared with a map of 1467 " a certain resemblance will be detected. The outline of Iceland is moderately accurate to the west on the Zeno map, but here again a comparison with the Olaus "Magnus" map of 1539,^ which was prepared, though not printed, at least ten years before the Zeno map was known, will show a slight correspondence. Xicolo Zeno the younger may have seen copies . of this map before it was printed. The names given in the Shetland archipelago — supposing Estland to be Shetland — are ahead of Italian knowledge in 1558, when Zeno's map was published. " Podalida " was perhaps a perversion of Pomona in the Orkneys.
Against the narrative, in its present form at any rate, much can be urged. At the very best we must suppose Nicolo Zeno the younger guilty of altering and interpolating. His story of the torn documents, musty with age, is a very common pretext of the fable- monger. The original documents, which would compel belief, have never been produced or discovered. His work was not published till 1558 by Francesco Marcolini, and this was more than a century and a half after the death of the voyagers. In a damp climate such as that of Venice, there would be no small probability of neglected and carelessly treated documents becoming quite illegible after such long neglect. It has been noted by every critic that the text and the map disagree almost hopelessly, which looks as though, in one or other, there had been much interference with the original. At the date when the work was published Venice was extremely eager to claim for herself some share in the credit of Columbus's discoveries as against her old rival Genoa, from whom Columbus had sprung.
' Owing to confusion between "Islande" (Shetland) and "Island"' (Iceland).
- ' Facsimile Atlas,' pi. xxx. See also AVinsor, ' America,' i. 121.
^ Winsor, ' America,' i. 123. The map is reproduced. See also ' Facsimile Atlas," p. 59. The map dated 1572, Roma, is virtually the same as the old Olau.s map of 1539, reproducel in Brenner, 0., ' Karte des Olaus Jlagnus" (Christiania, 1880).
i*
1390.] VEBDICT ON THE ZENI CASE. 337
It was a time when fraudulent tales were in the air, synchronising closely with the date of the origin of the Madoc myth in England. There was, then, every inducement to foist upon the world a tale which would win glory for Venice and in particular for the family of the Zeni, who were amongst Venice's greatest men. It is, how- ever, true that Nicolo Zeno, the compiler, bore a high character in Venice.^ There may have been a voyage to Iceland, and even to Greenland, but it will be well to suspend our judgment till some trace of the original documents is discovered. The " Drogio " and " Estotiland " of the map give no ground for concluding that in 1390 or 1410 the Zeni knew of America, as these names may easily have been interpolated from the discoveries of Columbus and the Cabots to suit the story of the fisherman, which only reaches us, it is to be remembered, at third hand.'^
' Major, ' Letters of Columbus,' xxiv. quotes Patrizio. Nicole Zeno the younger was born in 1515. There is a trace of the story in 1536, as Marco Barbaro says of Antonio Zeno : " He wrote with his brother Nicolo the voyages of the islands under the Arctic jjole and of those discoveries of 1390," and " by order of Zicno, King of Frisland, he went to the continent of Estotiland in North America." Vide Major, ' Zeni,' xlv. Zahrtmann holds that Nicolo the younger might have interpolated this statement.
^ The imfavourable authorities are, amongst others : De Laet, ' Notae ad disserta- tionem . . . de origine gentium Americanarum ' (Paris, 1643), 20-22 ; Daru, ' Histoire de Venise ' (Paris, 1821), vi. 295-98 ; Irving, Washington, ' Voyages of Columbus ' (London, 1828), iv. 217-2-i; Biddle, R., 'Cabot' (London, 1831), 328-32; Zahrtmann, Proc. Roy. Geogr. Society, v. 102 ; Bryant and Gay, ' Popular History of United States ' (New York, 1876), i. 76-85 ; Irminger, Proc. Roy. Geog. Soo. (London), slix. 398, etc. ; Steenstrup, ' Compte Rendu, Congres des Amerioanistes ' (1880), p. ISO, etc. ; AVinsor, J., ' History of America,' i. 74: (somewliat doubtfvd). Many authorities accept a portion of the voyages as true. A fairly full bibliography will be found in Anderson, R. B., ' America not Discovered by Columljus ' (Chicago, 1883).
''%
VOL. I.
( 338 )
CHAPTEE X.
CIVIL HISTORY OF THE NAVY, 1899-1485.
Accession of the House of Lancaster — New types of vessels — Antiquity of English nautical tenus — Cabins — Ornamentation of ships — Flags — Guns — Officers — An early passenger vessel — Cost of the Navy — Wages — Names of ships — The Navy List of Henry V. — Lancastrian neglect of the Navy — Sale of the fleet — Policing the seas by contract — The ' Libel of English Policie ' — The Hansa league — The value of the sea to England — The re-creation of a navy.
H'
'ENRY IV., of Bo.lingbroke, eldest son of John of Gamit by Blanche, daughter of Henry, Duke of Lancaster, began his reign on September 29th, 1399. Under him and his two successors of the House of Lancaster, there seem to have been comparatively few changes in the material of the navy, though ships grew steadily larger and though the new weapons, which had been introduced early in the fourteenth century, and which were the outcome of the application of gunpowder to the purposes of war, were gradually developed and improved, and yearly became more potent factors in the determination of actions by sea as well as by land. But the period was one of exceedingly slow progress. Engines of more ancient type continued to be employed side by side with cannon, and bows and cross-bows side by side with hand-guns. Indeed, such was the conservatism of the navy, that not until towards the close of the sixteenth century did artillery finally assume the position of dominant arm in the service, and musketry fire altogether displace the arrow and the bolt.
The opening of the fifteenth century introduces us to one or two types of vessels which may possibly have then been new ; but more probably it was the names and not the types which were really novel. The "fare-coast," for example, was, in all likelihood, the earlier " passager " or packet-boat; the " helibot " seems to have been the " hoc-boat " ; and there is no evidence that the " collett "
1300.]
TYPES OF VESSELS.
339
possessed special qualities (listinfj;uisliinf^ it from some pre-existent small craft. As for the " skiff," it may have been a fresh type, but small, light, swift vessels were used by EngUsh seamen in all ages. Carracks and dromons figure as bcroro in the chronicles of maritime occurrences ; but these vessels were never characteristic English
SIIU', XlVTil ClvNTUliV. iFrutii Umidaii MSN., i-im.foUu 149.)
types, and though they occiisionally fought for England, they generally appeared either as mercenaries, or as prizes which had been won from a continental enemy. ^ Some of the carracks of the time were large. In the reign of Henry V. one, building at Barcelona, was of 1300 " botts " or tons, and another of 1000.
^ ' Nicuks, ii. 441, 442.
340 CIVIL HISTOBY, 1399-1485. [1400.
These, however, were quite exceptional.' Vessels of more than 300 tons were still uncommon.
Nor was it usual for a ship to have more than one mast. In this respect, England was certainly behind many foreign countries. As in the previous period, a few vessels had two masts ; but there is some ground for suspecting that most of these had been built abroad. Not until the first years of Henry VII. do three-masters seem to have been known. Many nautical terms that are now familiar were already in use. " Junk" had become a synonym for pieces of old cable ; and " blocks " for pulleys ; and the words "rigging," " capstanspokes," "tacks," and "fore-lock" are met with.^ Cabins in big ships were the rule ; and pantries, butteries, and other domestic offices were constructed "under the hatches."^ Vessels were caulked or " calf acted " with taUow and tow, and some had pumps and " poupes." Some also were very splendidly decorated. In the year 1400, one of the king's barges with ker mast was painted red, and the ship was ornamented with collars and garters of gold, each collar containing a fleur-de-lys, and each garter a leopard, together with gold "lyames" or leashes, having within each of them a white greyhound and a gold collar. The ship Good Pace of the Toioer was likewise painted red, but her bulwarks, cabin, and stern were of other colours. On the bowsprit was a large gold eagle with a crown in its mouth. The Trinity of the Tower was red, too ; on her stern were effigies of St. George, St. Anthony, St. Katherine, and St. Margaret, with four shields . of the king's arms within a collar of gold, and two of the arms of St. George within the garter. Two large eagles were painted in the cabin on a diapered ground. The king's barge, Nicholas of the Tower, was painted black, and covered or " powdered " with ostrich feathers, the scroll-work being gilt. In one part of her cabin were escutcheons bearing the king's arms and the arms of St. George, and in another part was an image of St. Christopher.* The Holy Ghost, built at Southampton for Henry V., was adorned with figures of the supporters of his arms, a swan and an antelope.^ The same monarch's own ship, the cog John, was distinguished with a crown and sceptre, and his crest, the lion of England
' Ellis's Letters, 2nd series, i. 71.
'' Nicolas, citing various Carlton Hide papers, ii. 443.
" Roll C.A. (Carlton Kide papers), 356.
* KoU W.N. (Carlton Ride papers), 1441.
^ Issue Roll, 2 Hen. V. 338, 339 (Devon).
1400.]
FLAGS.
a4i
crowned, on the truck of the mast. Her capstan was " ad modum trium florium dehciarum operatum " — probably capped with a model of three fleurs-de-lys — and she had five smaller and one greater lanterns. The sails of ships were embroidered with badges or arms in colours.^ The sail of the cog John had the king's arms ; that of the Nicholas, the royal badge of a swan ; that of the
>1111'-, MS 1 u ' INI L"l:V. (From Harleian MSS., iiSoJolio 159.)
Katrine of the Toioer, another royal badge of an antelope chmbiug
up a beacon.^
The flags used were various. The cog John, of Henry V.,
flew, besides the royal banner, two streamers, one of the Trinity,
and one of Our Lady, and eight guidons, one of the Trinity, one of
Our Lady, one of St. Edward, one of St. George, two bearing the
king's arms, one with a swan, and one with ostrich feathers. She
' Her auchor was tlie gift of Sir John Blount. ^ IJoll of For. Accounts, temp. Hen. V.
342 CIVIL HISTORY, 1399-1485. [1418.
also had eight standards or other flags similarly charged, and one "banner of council." The Nicholas flew one streamer of St. Nicholas, and four guidons, one of St. Edward, one of St. George, one of the king's arms, and one with the ostrich feathers. And the Katrine flew four guidons, four standards, and a streamer of St. Katherine.^ It will have been noticed that the names of saints were very commonly given to ships. Then, as now, the naming of a king's vessel was accompanied by a religious ceremony or benediction, for, in July, 1418, the Bishop of Bangor blessed the Grace a Dieu, then lately built at Southampton ; and received for his expenses £5.^ But it is probable that the practice of permitting a layman or a lady to " christen " the ship is a much more modern one, and there is no trace, in the fifteenth century, of ship-baptism with wine.
Eeferences to artillery and artillery stores become more and more frequent in the accounts and other papers of the period. There were guns of brass and of iron, hand-guns, and guns with chambers ; and stone as well as iron or leaden shot were employed.^ "With the compass there seems to have been less progress. The accounts tend to indicate that not every ship carried anything of the sort ; and it may be that only flagships or leading vessels were suppUed with " dials " and " sailing-needles." The needle itself appears to have been sometimes called the compass ; for the Christopher is said to have had " iij compas and j dyoU." Nicolas is of opinion that the ballinger Gabriel of the Tower may have carried an instrument closely resembling a compass in the modern acceptation of the word, seeing that among her stores were " j dioU, j compasse," and " j boxe."*
The officers and crews of ships remained as before. There were masters, constables, carpenters, sailors, and boys ; and there was a "clerk" in the king's ships, corresponding with the purser and paymaster of later days. But there were changes in the system of appointment to the office of admiral. It has been already noted that under the Angevins it was usual to appoint an admiral of the north, and another of the west, and that only occasionally was there a commander-in-chief, or Admiral of England. From 1406,
' Roll of For. Accounts, temp. Hen. V.
2 Issue Roll, 5 Hen. V. 35G (Devon).
" Various Carlton Ride Rolls, cited by Nicolas,! ii. 444.
* Roll of For. Accounts, temp. Hen. V.
1440.]
A BALLAD OF A rASSENGER-BOAT.
343
however, there was always an Admiral of England, who commanded in chief the fleets of England, Ireland, and Aquitaine. As this exalted officer could not be in two places at once, subsidiary flag- officers or commanders of fleets or squadrons were from time to time appointed to sei-ve under him, their commissions always providing that they should not be prejudicial to the rights of the Admiral of England. These subsidiary officers were not always styled aduiirals, even when they commanded ships and seamen as well as soldiers and men-at-arms afloat. Sometimes they were designated " captains and leaders of men-at-arms and archers on the sea," or "the king's lieutenants on the sea"; and occasionally an admiral commanded the fleet, while a king's lieutenant commanded the men-at-arms and archers in it ; whereas on other occasions the captain and leader, or the king's lieutenant, acted with the powers of a modern admiral, commanding both the seamen and all soldiers serving in the ships. ^
In 1836, Mr. Thomas Wright copied from an ancient MS. (B. 8-19) in Trinity College, Cambridge, and sent to Monsieur A. Jal for use in his ' Arch^ologie Navale,' the following nautical song or ballad, which may be taken as referring to experiences on board an early passenger vessel, and which dates from the reign of Henry VI. It was afterwards printed in the first part of ' EeliquiEe Antiquae,' edited by T. Wright and J. 0. Halhwell : —
Men ma.y leve all gamys That saylen to Seynt Jamys ; For many a man liit gramys
When thej' begyn to saj'le. For wlien they have take the see At Sandwyche or at Wynchylsee, At Brystow, or where tliat hit he,
Theyr herts begyu to fayle.
Anone the mastyr commandeth fast To his shj-p-men, in all the hast, To dresse hem soue about the mast
Theyr takeling to make. With " howe, hissa ! " then they cry : " What howe, mate, thou stondyst to ny ; Thy fellow may nat hale the by ! "
Thus they begyn to crake.
A boy or tweyn anone up styen, And overt-whart the sayle-yerde lyeu : " Y how talya ! " the remenaimt cryeu,
And pull with all theyr myght. "Bestowe the bote, bote-swayne, anon. That our pylgryms maj' pley thereon, For Bom ar l^-ke to cowgh and grone
Or hit be fid raydnj-ght.
"Hale the bowelyne! Now, vere the shete! Coke, make redy anone our mete. Our pylgryms have no lust to ete:
I pray God give hem rest. Go to the helm ! What howe ! No here ? Steward, felow, a ix)t of here ! " " Ye shall have, ser, with good chere
Anone, all of the best."
' Fcedera,' ix. 202.
344
CIVIL EISTOBT, 1399-1483
[1440.
Som layde theyr bookys on theyr kne, And rad so long they myght nat se. " Alas ! mj-ne hede woU cleve on thfe ! " Thus seyth another, " certayne ! "
Then commeth owre owner lyke a lorde, And speketh many a royall worde, And dresseth hym to the hygh horde
To see all thyngs be well. Anone he calleth a carpentere. And biddeth hym bring with h.yni hys
gere, To make the cabans here and there With many a febyll cell.
" A sak of strawe were there ryglit good," For som must lyg theym ni theyr hood. I had as lefe be in the wood
Without mete or drynk : For when that we shall go to bed, The pumjie was nygh our bedde hedde : A man were as good to be dede
As smell therof the stvnk.
" Y howe ! Trussa ! Hale in the brayles ! Thow halyst nat ! Be god ! Thow fayles ! 0 ! se howe well owre good shyp sayles ! "
And thus they say among, [done ! " "Hale in the wartake!" "Hit shall be "Steward, cover the boorde anone, And set bred and salt thereone,
And tar}' nat to long."
Then cometh oone and seyth, " Be mery ; Te shal have a storme or a pery." " Holde thow thy pese ! Thow canst no whery ;
Thow medlyst wondjr sore." Thus mene cohile the p3dgryms ly. And have theyr bowlys fast theym by, .And cry aftyr^hote malvesy Theyr helpe_^for[;lo restore.
And som wold have a saltyd tost, For they myght ete neyther sode ne rost. A man myght sone pay for theyr cost As for 00 day or twayne.
Freely traiislafed.— They who sail to St. James may bid good-bye to all pleasures; for many a man suffers when he begins to sail; and when" he has put to sea from Sandwich, from Winchelsea, or from Bristol, no matter whence it be, his heart begins to fail. Presently the master briefly orders his men to take up their positions in all haste about the mast in order to handle their tackle. With " Ho ! Hoist ! " then they cry, " What ho ! mate ; you stand too near : your comrade cannot haul when he is so close to you ! " Thus they begin to crack on. Presently a boy or two goes aloft, and lies out on the yard. The others cry, " Y ho ! talya 1 " and pull with all their might. " Now give us the boat, boatswain, that our passengers may ply therein ; for some of them are like to cough and groan ere it be full midnight. Haul the bowline ! Kow, veer the sheet ! Cook, make haste to make ready our meal. Our passengers have no desire to eat. I pray God to give them rest. Go to the helm ! AVliat ho ! Do you not hear ? Steward, fellow, a pot of beer ! " " Sir, you shall have of all the best directly, with good cheer." "|0h, ho ! Trussa ! Haul on the brails ! You are not hauling ! By God ! You are a weakling 1 Oh, see how well our good ship sails ! " And thus they talk among themselves. "Haul in the warp tackle!" "It shall be done!" " Steward, lay the table at once, and set bread and salt on it, and do not be too long about it." Then one comes and says, "Be merry; you will have a storm or other peril ! " " Hold;_yoiu- tongue I You can know nothing about it ! You are a sorry meddler ! " In the meanwhile the passengers lie about, and have their basins close by them, and cry out for hot malvoisie to put them right. And some, who could eat neither boiled nor roast, called for a salted toast. It would not cost more to keep them for two days than for one. Some laid their books on their knees, and read until they could see no longer. " Alas ! my head will split in three beyond all doubt ! " So says another. Then our owner comes up like a lord, and says many a patronising word, and takes the head of the table, to see that aU things go well. Presently he summons a carpenter, and bids him bring his tools with him, to make cabins here and there, with a number of small bunks. " A sack of straw," says the master, " would be well there ; " for some have to lie down in their cloaks. I would as soon be in a wood without meat or drink ; for when we turn in, the pvimps will be close to our bed head, and a man who breathes the I stench of it were as good as dead.
1410.]
COST OF TEE NAVY.
345-.
The approximate cost of such navy as was maintained by the Lancastrian kings may be estimated from the fact that diu-ing one quarter of the year 1410, the tonnage allowance paid to shipowners, together with the wages and rewards of the men-at-arms, masters, constables, and mariners amounted to £8240 17s. M. This would
^ Ktlr''
FROM THE MS. LIFE OF RICHARD BBAUCHAMP, EARL OF WARWICK, BY JOHN ROUS, WHO DIED 1491.
CCulloJI MSS.. j/llilis E. il\ 6.)
be equivalent to about £33,000 a year, assuming fleets to be kept in commission for so long a period. In the same year, the safe guarding of the sea — which may have been expenditure under a different heading — cost £6241 17s. 6f7. for one quarter and half a quarter. This was at the rate of about £16,700 a year. The total expenditure may possibly therefore have been as much as £50,000 or there.abouts
846
CIVIL HIBTOST, 1399-1485.
[1417
in years when the unofficial wars with France and Spain were at their height.
Wages in the navy remained throughout the Lancastrian period as they had been under Edward III. ; but, in addition to their wages, most persons employed by the Crown received a sum called a " reward," which, in the case of a seaman, was sixpence a week. Exactly what "reward" then signified is imknown, nor is it known under what rules and regulations the gi-atuity was granted. But it was probably derived from the wages of fictitious men, not actually borne.
On August 12th, 1417, being then at Touques, near Honfleiu', Henry V. granted an annuity to the master of each of his ships, carracks, barges, and baUingers. The enclosure with the letters missive addressed upon the occasion to the chancellor, the Bishop of Dm'ham, seems to show that the king's ships at that time, and the names of their commanders or masters were as foUows : —
DESCRrmos. Great sliip
Carrack
Sbip
Barge Ballinger
Xame. ilASTEK.
Jesu .Juhn AVilliam
Trinitij Royal . . . Stephen Thomas
Holy Ghost .... Jordan Brownyng
•Peter John Gerard
Paul William Payne
Andrew ....'. John ThornjTig
Cliristoplier .... Tendrell
Mark- William Hethe
Marie William I'icheman
Georye John Mersh
Agues or Ayase (?) . .
Nicholas William Eobynson
Katherine Juhn Kyngeston
Marie Richard Walsh
Flaward (?) . ... Thomas Martyn
Marie William Cheke
Chrisfojjher .... William Yalton
Petite Trinite. . . . John Piers
Ann P.alph Hoskard
Nicholas Robert Shad
Oeorrje Edward Hoper
Cracchere Stephen Welles
Gabriel Andrew Godefrey
Little John .... John BuU
James Janyn Cossard
Su-aii Ruwe
Katherine Janvn Dene
The annuity for each master of a great ship or carrack was £6 13s. 4d. ; that for each master of a ship, £5 ; and that for each
1421.]
NAVY LIST OF HENRY V.
347
master of a barge or ballinger, £3 Gs. 8c7. The James and Swan were attached, probably as tenders, to the Holy Ghost and the Trinity respectively/
It is noteworthy that the revolution which, in 14G0, deposed the House of Lancaster, and set up the House of York, was, to a large extent, a naval one. The attitude of the navy was the almost inevitable result of the commercial policy which had been pursued by the Lancastrian kings, and especially by the last two of them. With the exception of a decreasing number of king's ships, all
' Mr. JI. ()piiciiheim ('History of the Administr.ition of tlie lioyal Navy,' vol. i. p. 12) has compiled from the accoimts of William Cattou and William Soper, succes- sive keepers of tlie ships, a list, which he believes to be the fullest so far printed, of the navy of Henry V. This list is given below, but, for the sake of brevity, the affix " of the Tower," whicli is therein applied to each of the vessels, except the Marie Hampton and Marie SaiuUrich, and which is simply equivalent to the'-modern prefix "H.M.S.," is omitted. The list is, of course, of a date a few years later than tlie one given in the text :—
|
Bum. |
Taken. |
Tons. |
BuUt. |
Taken.! Tone. |
|||
|
Ships : — |
Carracks (cont.) : — |
||||||
|
Jesus . |
1000 |
Aqase |
, , |
n416 .. |
|||
|
Holiijost |
1414 |
760 |
Peter . |
, . |
'1417: .. |
||
|
Trinity Eoyal |
1416 |
540 |
Paid . |
n417 .. |
|||
|
Grace Dieu . |
1418 |
400 |
Andreiu |
n417 |
|||
|
Thomas ' . |
1420 |
180 |
|||||
|
Orande Marie |
n-iie |
420 |
Barges : — |
||||
|
Little Marie |
140 |
Valentine , |
1418 |
, , |
100 |
||
|
Katrine |
Marie Bretton |
, . |
, , |
, , |
|||
|
Christopher Spayne |
*ilii |
600 |
|||||
|
Marie Spayne |
*1417 |
, . |
Ballingers : — |
||||
|
Holiijost Spayne . |
n4i7 |
290 |
Katrine Bretton . |
"1416 |
|||
|
Philip |
■ " |
James |
14i7 |
||||
|
Little Trinity |
120 |
Ann . |
1417 |
120 |
|||
|
Oreat Gabriel |
Swan . |
1417 |
120 |
||||
|
Co<i John |
Nicholas |
1418 |
120 |
||||
|
lied Cog . |
, , |
George |
* ' |
120 |
|||
|
Margaret . |
•• |
Gabriel Gabriel de Harfleur |
|||||
|
Carracks : — |
Little John . |
, . |
|||||
|
Marie Hampiton . |
n4i6 |
500 |
Fawcon |
80 |
|||
|
Marie Sandwich . |
n4i6 |
5.50 |
Boos . |
. . |
30 |
||
|
George |
"- 1416 |
600 |
Cracchere . |
56 |
' Kelmilt.
- Captured by the Duke of Belford.
3 Taken in .Suutbampton "Water or at Dartmouth, -t Captured by the Earl of Htmtingdou.
The Holigost seems to have carried six, the Thomas four, the George and Grace Dieu each three, and the Katrine and Andrew each two guns. The Grace Pirn was accidentally burnt at Bursledon in 1439. The Georges, both carrack and ballinger, Christopher, Katrine Bretton, Thomas, Grande Marie, Holigost Spayne, Nicholas, Swan, and Cracchere, were all sold in 1423. Only two of the vessels, the Trinity and Holigost, seem to have remained in 1452 ; when they, rotten and useless, practically constituted the entire Royal Kavy of England.
348 CIVIL HISTORY, 1399-1485. [1424.
vessels used for war in those days had been built for merchantmen, served as merchantmen in peace-time, belonged to merchants, and were manned by persons nominally in the pay of merchants. The connection between the navy and the general mercantile prosperity of the country was consequently very intimate. If the merchants were discontented, the navy was apt to be inchned to disaffection ; and, under Henry V. and Henry YI., the merchants of England were nearly ruined. Indeed, it was said that the frequent and often unreasonably protracted arrests of shipping, the undue favour accorded to foreigners, and the hea\'y exactions of various kinds, brought about such a decline of commerce that the people became poorer than they had ever been within the memory of persons then living. The natural course of trade was interfered with ; as, for example, by Henry VI., who, not satisfied with mortgaging the customs of London and Southampton to the Cardinal of AVinchester, engaged by indenture to turn sea-borne commerce chiefly to those ports. And the security of personal property was outraged by the same king, when, in his thirty-first year, he seized all the tin at Southampton, and sold it for his own purposes. The business that drifted away from the merchants of England fell into the hands first of those of the Hanse Towns, ^ and then of those of Italy ; " and as the commercial classes, probably with good reason, imagined that the transfer was aided by the corrupt intrigues of the Court and particularly by those of Queen Margaret of Anjou, they were not slow to welcome the Yorkists, among whose professed principles were the encom-agement of trade, the revival of the navy, and distrust of foreigners.
And, indeed, the navy sadly needed revival, for the fleet had practically ceased to exist. Under Hem-y VI., one of the first orders of the Council ^ had directed the sale of most of it, apparently to pay the late king's debts. How little of national feeling there was in the land, and how entirely the navy was regarded as the personal possession of the sovereign, will appear from the fact that the Council parted from the fleet without a qualm, and that the people quietly siifl'ered the iniquity. For the two years ending August 31st, 1439, the whole outlay on the Eoyal Navy was only £8 9.S. Id.
After the sale of the navy, the police of the Karrow Seas, so far
* MoUoy : ' De Jure Maritime,' 341. - Fabiau, 459. See also Grafton and Hall. ^ Acts of the P.C, Mar. Srd, 1423.
14-10.] NAVAL DEFENCE BY CONTRACT. 3-19
as it was carried out at all, was carried out by contractors. In 1440, the seamen employed by one of these, Sir John Speke, received Is. &d. a week as pay, and a similar amount for victuals.^ A few years later, and until 14.50 or afterwards, the Nicholas, which up to 1423 had belonged to the Eoyal Navy, was doing duty on behalf of the contractors. In 1445 the contractors' seamen received Is. 9d. a week, and a weekly reward of 6cl. ; boys were paid Is. l^d. ; and masters obtained i6(Z. a day. At times, the contractors seem to have done their work fairly well ; though one has no means of saying how far they were assisted, seeing that, for example, in 1444-45, a Cinque Ports fleet. of twenty-six vessels was in com- mission. But the contract system was identified with the Lancas- trian dynasty ; and as soon as the Yorkists gained sufficient power, they vigorously set about ending it. As early as 1454, measures with this object were adopted.
It may be said that, upon the whole, the promises foreshadowed by the advent of the Yorkists were fairly performed. Edward IV. did much to encourage trade, and under him it grew greatly ; he devoted steady attention to the recovery and maintenance of the dominion of the sea ; and he was essentially an English king, though a profligate, and sometimes a cruel one. Nor did he greatly oppress his subjects. He drew from them, it is true, benevolences to meet his most pressing needs, and so raised money without the assistance of Parliament ; but these aids came chiefly from the rich, and they were, at least nominally, of a voluntary nature. The poor were not taxed beyond the bounds of reason, and it is not recorded that the rich were ruined. Edward V. reigned only for a few months. Richard III. called but one parhament, and levied but one regular tax — a tenth upon the clergy ; and, no matter what may have been his private character and motives, he was neither in- capable nor unpatriotic as a king. In 1484 he formally abohshed benevolences as "new and unlawful inventions," though it is more than suspected that he continued to raise them until the close of his short reign. On the other hand, he was not particularly extor- tionate, and he was an undoubted friend to commercial development.
Under the Yorkists there were even fewer changes in the material and management of the navy than under the Lancastrians. But the period is remarkable as having witnessed the first publication, apparently in manuscript, of a little anonymous verse treatise, the
' Roll of For. Accts. xi.
350
CIVIL HISTORY, 1399-1485.
[1430.
spirit breathed by which has ever since, and with ever-increasing power, influenced the EngHsh I'ace.
Entitled ' De PoHtia Conservativa Maris,' and as such printed in Hakhiyt,^ it is more generally known as ' The Libel of English Policie.' It is in English ten-syllabled rhymed couplets. Although
PROM THE MS. LIFE OF BICHABD BKAUCHAMP, EAEL OF WARWICK, BY JOHN SOUS, WHO DIED 1491.
{Cotton MSS., Julius, E. iv. li.)
its authorship is a matter of doubt,^ it is known, from statements in the work itself, that it was revised and approved of by Walter, ■first Baron Hungerford, during the lifetime of the Emperor Sigis- mund ; and, as Hungerford, who had served as admiral of a squadron in 1416, was not summoned as a baron until 1426, and
' Voyages, i. 187.
^ It has been attributed, with some show of reason, to Bishop Adam de Moleyns, who was murdered at Portsmouth iu 1450.
1430.] 'LIBEL OF ENGLISH FOLICIE.' 351
Sigismund died in 1437, the date of the ' Libel ' must He between those years. It is divided into an introduction and twelve chapters, and is of sufficient importance to merit some analj'sis here, seeing that the writer was perhaps the first to fully grasp the importance to England of commerce and sea-power.
The general introduction runs : — " Here beginneth the prologue of the processe of the Libel of English Pohcie, exhorting all England to keep the Sea, and namely the Narrow Sea ; shewing what profite cometh thereof, and also what worship and salvation to England, and to all Enghshmen."
After demonstrating both the usefulness and the nscessity of England's preserving the dominion of the sea, and stating that the Emperor Sigismund, who had been in England in 1416, and who had gone to France with Henry V., had advised that king to keep the two towns Dover and Calais as carefully as he would keep his two eyes, the author explains the device on the gold noble ^ struck by Edward III., after Sluis, his text being : —
" Four thiugs our nuble sheweth unto me, King, ship, and swoi'd, and power of tlie sea."
The first chapter contains an account of the commodities of Spain and Flanders, and insists that neither country could live without the other, while Spanish wool could not, without an admixture of Enghsh, be worked by the Flamands. Trade between Spain and Flanders must be precarious unless both countries were at peace with England ; so that, with Calais and Dover in English hands, and the sea under English dominion, Spain and Flanders flom-ished only by the permission of England.
The second chapter deals with the commodities of Portugal, and points out that Portugal had always been friendly to England, and that a valuable trade had always subsisted between the two countries, although the current of the commerce had begun to turn so as to benefit Flanders. Another chapter treats of the commerce of Brittany, and of the general interruption occasioned to trade by the piracies of the Bretons, whenever England failed to assert her dominion of the Narrow Seas. In the fourth chapter, the commerce of Scotland is reviewed, the conclusion being that Scotland might be ruined, should England, strong at sea, see fit to prevent her from drawing her household stuffs, her haberdashery,
' Illustrated, a7ite, p. 1-15.
352 CIVIL BISTORT, 1399-1485. [1430.
her agricultui'al tools, and even her wheel-barrows and cart-wheels from abroad.
The fifth chapter relates to Germanj'^ and the Hanse Towns ; the sixth to Genoa ; the seventh to Venice and Florence ; and the eighth to the non-German Hanse Towns, especially those of the Low Countries. These chapters mainly insist upon the evils resulting from Enghsh encouragement of foreigners, and iipon the advantage to England, should she secure the trade carried on by others, as she might do, were she strong at sea.^
The ninth chapter contains a survey of the commerce of Ireland, with a suggestion that Enghsh trade would be more benefited by a thorough reduction of that island than by all the efforts to conquer France by mihtary methods. The tenth chapter speaks of the trade from Scarborough and Bristol to Iceland, and includes an excm-sus on the importance of Calais. The eleventh chapter is devoted to recalling the naval power of Edgar and of Edward III., and to setting forth the progress made under Henry V. in the con- struction of larger ships than had been previously built in England.
The twelth and final chapter is recapitulatory, and it closes with a strong exhortation to the people of England to consider the importance of the author's pleas, and in particular to bear in mind the necessity of maintaining the sovereignty of the seas, whereon the peace, plenty, and prosperity of the island chiefly depend. The spirit of the conclusion strangely recalls the wording of the preamble
' The evils complained of were already in process of correction. Mr. Oppenheim says : " If the Ivorman conquest gave the first great impulse to English over-sea trade, the events of the close of the fourteenth and the first half of the fifteenth centuries may be held to mark the second important era in the development of merchant shipping by the ojiening up of fresh markets. Hitherto, the products of the countries of the Baltic had been mainly obtained through the agency of the merchants of the Hansa, who had their chief factory in London, with branches at York, Lynn, and Boston. In the same way, English exports found their way to the north only through Hansa merchants and in Hansa ships. For two centuries they had held a monopoly of the purchase and export of the products of the north, by virtue of treaties with, and payments made to, tlie northern powers, and an unlicensed, but very effective, warfare waged on all ships which ventured to trade through the Sound. But the war against AValdemar III. of Denmark, the depredations of the organised pirate republic known as the Victual Brothers, followed by the struggle with Eric XIII. of Sweden, were times of disorder lasting through more than half a century, from which the Hansa emerged nominally victorious, but with the loss of the prestige and vigour that had made its monopoly possible. While it was fighting to uphold its pretensions, the Dutch and English had both seized the opportimity of forcing their way into the Baltic, and when, in 1435, the Hansa extorted from its antagonists a triumphant peace, the real utility of the privileges thus obtained had passed away for ever." — ' Admin, of Koy. Navy,' 10, 11.
1430.] THE INFLUENCE OF SEA POWER. 353
to the modern Naval Discipline Act, and may have originally sngcrested it, though a very similar expression occurs in a com- plaint of the Commons in 1416.'
The doctrine of the influence of sea-power is, therefore, no new one. It has been analysed, and, so to speak, codified by nineteenth- century writers, such as Mahan and Colomb ; but in all its most essential bearings it was fully grasped by this anonymous fifteenth- century rhymester. In the following century it was familiar to Bacon,- who, in his essay, ' Of the True Greatness of Kingdoms and Estates,' wrote : " To be master of the sea is an abridgment of a monarchy . . . He that commands the sea is at great liberty, and may take as much and as little of the war as he will ; whereas those that be strongest by land are many times, nevertheless, in gi-eat straits. Surely at this day, with us of Europe the vantage of strength at sea, which is one of the principal dowries of this kingdom of Great Britain, is great, both because most of the kingdoms of Europe are not merely inland, but girt with the sea most part of their compass, and because the wealth of both Indies seems in great part but an accessory to the command of the seas." And, in the seventeenth century, Ealegh understood the doctrine, when, in his ' Discourse of the Eirst Invention of Ships,' he declared: "Whosoever commands the sea, commands the trade; whosoever commands the trade of the world, commands the riches of the world, and consequently the world itself."
Yet even the unknown author of the ' Libel ' preached an ancient and, in theory, a long-accepted gospel. Cicero wrote to Atticus : "Consilium Pompeii plane Themistocleum est; putat enim, qiii mari potitur, eum rerum potiri."
The reconstitution of the Eoyal Navy was a slow process. At first it seems to have been attempted by the process of buying and adapting merchantmen. As early as July, 1461, a ship, the Margaret, of Ipswich, which carried cannon, was spoken of as " our great ship." ^ In 1463 a caravel was bought for ±'80, and a partial or entire share in the John Evaiitjelist was similarly secured.^ In 1468, the Marij of Grace was purchased ; and in 1470 a ship called the Martin Garcia was acquired from Portugal.^ A St. Peter was
• Pari. Rolls, iv. 79.
" Altliougli this essay was not actually published until 1G12. •' Excheq. Warr. for Issues, July 20tli. •■ Ik, .July 5th, 14G3. '• lb., Dec. 14th, 1408; July 18th, 1470. VOL. I. 2 A
354
CIVIL HISTORT, 1399-1185.
[1485.
bought from Spain at about the same time. The first ship to be built for the new navy seems to have been another Grace Dieu^ in 1473 ; though it is not quite certain that one of the vessels pre- viously purchased had not been so re-named. Other king's ships mentioned prior to the fall of Richard III. are the Triniti/, Falcon, Mary of the Tower (a carrack acquired from France), Mary Ashe (which may, however, be another form of Mary of Grace), Goi^ernor, and Nicholas, the last two being bought at the beginning of 1485.
' Called also Grace a Dk-u, Grace de Dieit.
o.ja
CHAPTEE XI.
MILITARY HISTOIiY OF THE NAVY, 1399-1485.
Unollicial war with France — Fenrs of iuvasion — The Scots in tlie Narrow Seas — Henry IV. illegally attenijits to raise shipping — Operations against the Welsh — Piracy in the (."hannel — Naval discontent — English pirates defeated — French de-scents upon the coast — The English retaliate — The French in the Isle of Wight — The English in Brittany and I'icardy — The French at Portland — And at Dart- mouth— Attack on I^alnioutli — Prince James of Scots captured by Prendergast — Difficulties of a royal adniiral-in-chief — .attempt upon Sluis — The English on the Norman Coast — French invasitm of Wales — Exploits of Harry Pay — Spain assists France — Exploits of Don Pedro Nino — The merchants undertake the guard of the sea — Jersey attacked — Sea fight with the French — Death of the Earl of Kent — Truce with Burgundy — 'J'ruce with Spain — Successes of Umfravill — Excesses of Prendergast and Long — Henr\- V. and tlie Navy — Costliness of Henry's naval glory — A question of international law — Insecurity of the Channel — Attempts to ]iut down piracy — Henry asserts his claim to France — Naval preparations — Alarm of France — Capture of Hartleur — Wrongful prizes — Merchantmen in consort — The Fuiperor Sigismund in England — Harfieur invested — Pienewed attempts on the English coast — British victory off Harfieur — Death of Lord West — Temporai'y truce with France — Preparations for a renewal of war — The Earl of Huntingdon's victor}' — Henry invades France — The treaty of Troves — Henry enters Paris — Provisioning the army in France — Relief of Calais — Collapse of the English power there — Reduction of Harfieur — Truce with France — A disastrous French alliance — Protectorate of the Duke of York — Treason of Queen Margaret — Sandwich ]iillaged — Warwick the king-mal<er — His naval prowess and popularity — Clever- ness of Sir John Dinham — Warwick invades England and surprises Sir Simon Montfort — A^ictory of the Yorkist cause — Successes of the Earl of Kent — Warwick's intrigues — Prompt action of the king — Death of 'Warwick — Piracies of the Bastard of Fauconberg — War with France — Tlie jieace of Amiens in 1475 — The fleet employed against Scotland — Accession of Richard III. — Richmond intrigues in Brittany — England invaded — Death of Richard.
H'
"ENKY IV., at his accession, found England officially at peace with France ; and at peace she officially remained until the day of his death. The long truce continued, and, in theory at least, it stood unbroken during the whole thirteen years of the reign. Yet most of the period was charac- terised by great naval activity. In the first place, war with France was yearh', and often dailj', expected ; in the second place, unofficial hostilities, sometimes on a large and serious scale, were of very
2 A 2
356 MILITARY HISTORY, 1399-1485. [1399.
frequent occurrence. Charles of France never ceased to resent the fate of his son-in-law, Eichard of England ; Henry of England never shut his eyes to the fact that Charles of France steadily encouraged domestic attempts to dethrone him. An atmosphere thus over- charged could not fail to produce sparks and even lurid flashes, truce or no truce.
On November 15th, 1399, Thomas, Earl of Worcester,^ was appointed sole admiral, with jurisdiction over the Irish as well as over the northern and western fleets ; and early in the following year measures were debated for the defence of the kingdom, of Calais, and of the sea. As taxation was unpopular, and Henry's position was not very secure, the spiritual lords agreed to submit to the levy of a tenth upon their property, and numerous temporal peers undertook to raise and support soldiers and seamen. Lords Lovell, Berkeley, Camoys, Powys, St. John, Burnell, Willoughby, and Eoos fm-ther consented each to find a ship with twenty men-at-arms and forty archers, besides a crew, and Lords Fitzwalter, St. Maur, and D'Arcy each to defray the expense of half a ship, and of ten men-at- arms and twenty archers.^ Such navy as there was was ordered to assemble at Sandwich, and a small craft, the Kafherine, of Guernsey, was sent to bring in the king's ships and the other vessels.^
The activity of the French gave rise to alarms of invasion, and in consequence soldiers were collected at various points ; * but Henry, anxious not to provoke any breach of the truce, directed his vessels to commit no acts of war against any people save the Scots, who had begun to make aggressions,^ and who were rendering the Narrow Seas so unsafe that a Venetian galley, which had been detained at Plymouth pending the settlement of a commercial dispute, dared not come on to London until ships were dispatched thence for her convoy.* In the lueantime, Henry proceeded against the Scots, and charged Eichard Clyderow " with the organisation and conduct of a squadron of armed storeships destined to co-operate with him.*
' Previijusly Sir Tliomas Percy. See note, ante, ji. 12111. - Pro. and (3rd. of Prjvy Coimeil, i. 103, lOi.
•' Her master was paid 60s. for the service. Issue lioll, Miciiaelmas, 1 Hen. IV. < ' Fcedera,' viii. 123, 138. •'■ lb., viii. 142, 147.
" Pro. and Ord. of Privy Council, i. 120.
' Clyderow was made Admiral of the Western fleet in 140(1, when the merchants undertook the defence of the Narrow Seas. ' Scots Polls, ii. 153.
1402.] PIRACY. 357
In 1401, to counteract the fear of invasion, Henrj' ordered certain ports and towns each to build him a barge or baUinger.^ Parliament, which had not been consulted, demanded the cancelling of the order, and the king was obliged to submit.- In April, Eichard, Lord Grey of Codnor, was made Admiral of the Northern, and Sir Thomas Kempston, Admiral of the Western fleet, and they appear to have gone to sea in June ; ^ but naval forces other than theirs were simul- taneously employed in the Bristol Channel against the AVelsh, who were led by Owen Glendower. Hotspur was in command against him. At Bardsey Island Hotspur took a Scots ship which had probably been' sent with supplies to the Welsh, and near Milford he captured another Scots vessel full of men.* Few details, however, of the naval campaign in that quarter have been preserved. In the same year a remission of service, to the extent of five ships, one hundred men, and five boys, for the five next occasions of the calling out of the fleet of the Cinque Ports, was granted to the town of Hythe, in consideration of damage caused there by a fire and a pestilence, and of five Hythe ships and a hundred men having been lost at sea.''
The year 1402 witnessed several acts of piracy by both English and French. According to the chronicler of St. Denis,'' the initial fault lay with the Enghsh. Three thousand of the most skilful sailors of England and Bayonne, it was supposed with the approba- tion of Henry, were banded together for piratical ends, and they incessantly harassed the French coasts. Among other acts of theirs, if the chronicler may be trusted, were the ravaging of the Isle of Ehe, and the kidnapping of a hundred poor fishermen of Picardy. Obtaining permission to make reprisals, the French made incursions on the coasts of England, and fought two or three small actions at sea, sometimes being successful, and sometimes being beaten.
The disorganisation of the navy at the time is well shown by the complaints of some peers and others who were sent, at the end of 1402, to bring to England Joan of Navarre, the aflianced wife of King Henry. After saying that they had been eleven days at sea^ and were in sight of Brittany, when contrary winds obliged them either to enter the Spanish Sea (the Bay of Biscay) or to return to
' 'Foedera,' viii. 172. * Pro. ami Oril .of Privy Council, i. 153.
2 Pari. Kolls, iii. 458. '- Patent Rolls, 2 Hen.' IV.
^ Pro. and Ord. of Privy Council, ii. 5(j. '^ Chron. of St. Denis, iii. 52.
358 MILITARY EISTOllY, i;J'J'J-1485. [1403.
England, they declared that no arrangements had been made for paying the wages of the crews of their ships, and that, had not most of the lords paid, or undertaken to pay, the men for fifteen days, the vessels could not have quitted port. They were then at Plymouth, and would sail again as soon as the wind permitted; but if the queen should not be ready to embark upon their arrival, or if bad weather should protract the voyage, the lack of money might imperil the issue of the expedition. Joan embarked at Camaret on January 13th, 1403, intending to make Southampton, but after a rough passage of five days, she was glad to land at Falmouth.'
In the interval the piratical warfare went on. In the course of the winter, several persons of Plymouth or Cornwall, including the celebrated freebooter Harry Pay,^ were summoned before the Council for having captiired a ship of Castille, and a few weeks later some men of Dover, Portsmouth, Fowey, Hull, and Eye had to explain their conduct to certain aggrieved Flamands.^
In July, 1403, similar proceedings brought about a regular sea fight, ending in an English defeat. An Enghsh force was cruising off the coast of Brittany, and committing various enormities, when, by the advice of Olivier de Clisson, the Bretons determined to intercept the passage home of the marauders. AVith the Sire de Penhert, Admiral of Brittany,* and Guilleau'me du Chatel as their commanders, they embarked twelve hundred men-at-arms and a large body of hght troops in thirty vessels at St. Pol de Leon, near Morlaix, and put to sea, having previously sent scouts ahead of them. Next day the scouts returned and reported the English off St. Mathieu, on the coast near Finistere, and the Bretons, proceed- ing, sighted their enemy at about sunset. In the night, the Enghsh got under way, as if steering for home, and at dawn each fleet was formed into two divisions, and the Bretons attacked. After six hours of hot fighting, the English, finding their formation dis-
' Pro. and Ord. of Trivv Council, i. lilO.
- Or Henry Pay : the same who assisted in the taking of twenty-nine French vessels in 1405. He is said to have lived at Poole, Ijut is believed to have been a Sussex man. He is sometimes called a knight. In 1-114 he was paid £5 (Js. Sd. for going to Calais to ascertain the position of affairs there. Beyond the account given here and elsewhere in the text, little is known of him.
^ Close Polls, 4 Hen. IV.
* There was tlien an admiral of each maritime duchy in France. In 1G25 the Duke de Guise called himself Admiral of Provence, and only in 1695 was the office of Admii-al of Brittany abolished.
1403.] WILFORD'S SUCCESSES. 359
advantageous, re-formed their fleet into one body. The Bretons did the same, and the action was renewed lantil the English had exhausted all their missiles, and had five hundred men killed or drowned. Then forty of their ships and one carrack surrendered. Those Englishmen who had flung their weapons overboard were thrown after them by the Breton commanders. The rest, a thousand in number, were carried into Breton ports. ^
Another notable French exploit of the year was a descent upon Haverfordwest by a hundred and twenty ships, with twelve hundred soldiers, under De Tries," Admiral of France, who subsequently joined the Welsh i;nder Owen Glendower ; but after the Battle of Shrewsbm-y, the contingent went back to St. Pol de Leon.^ In August a force under Du Chatel — perhaps the same squadron which had defeated the English at sea — threw a body of men ashore near Plymouth and pillaged and burnt the towu, subsequently departing unhindered.*
In retahation for the affair at Plymouth, a squadron, with six thousand men on board, sailed across to Brittany in November, burnt St. Mathieu, and massacred a great number of the in- habitants. A French force which assembled by the following day was defeated in a bloody battle, and most of the Breton vessels on the coast were taken, and their crews murdered. From St. Mathieu the Enghsh went to Guienne, and captured in the Gironde a number of French vessels laden with wine.=* This Enghsh squadron seems to have been commanded by a gentleman named William Wilford ; but its success did not free the coasts of England from the attacks of French pirates, and in September, when Winchester appeared to be threatened, special means were adopted to provide for its defence.'' On November 5th, Thomas, fifth Lord Berkeley,' was appointed
' Monstrelet; Chron of St. Denis; Des Ursins; Gucrin, 'Hist. Marit. de Fiance,' i. 31.5.
'^ Some authorities saj', under Cliateaubriand and De la .Jaille.
^ Monstrelet, xv.
* Walsinghani, 412 ; Chron. of St. Denis, iii. 113 ; Fabian (Ellis), o71 ; Otterbourne, 245. Many French historians appear to confuse the various attempts made at about tills time.
^ Des Ursins, 1.57 ; Chron. of St. Denis, iii. llli, 113.
« Close Rolls, 4 Hen. IV.
' His ancestors had been barons by tenure since the Conquest. He succeeded his father Maurice in 13C8, being then lifteen. He subsequently served ashore iu France and Wales. This seems to have been his only naval command. He died in 1415. His daughter Elizabeth married Richard, Earl of Warwick.
360 MILITARY EISTOBT, 1399-1485. [1404.
Admiral of the Western, and Sir Thomas Beaufort/ Admiral of the Northern fleet, and at about the same time, an embargo was laid upon shipping in all the ports, ^ and troops were levied to resist an apprehended attack bj^ the Count de la Marche upon Southampton. ^ That winter, when the usual convoy went to Bordeaux for wine, it was directed to return to England at the earliest possible moment, and the best ships and barges were not permitted to form part of it/
Soon after Christmas, the French landed in the Isle of Wight ; but while carrying off booty, they were attacked by a superior force, and driven back, with the loss of some of their spoil.^
In view of all this, it is astonishing that Parhament, in 1404, instead of taking notice of the illegalities of the French, turned its attention rather to English breaches of the law, and complained of unjust prosecutions in the Admiralty and other courts.'*
The French renewed their attempt upon the Isle of Wight in February, and lying off with a large fleet, sent ashore to demand tribute in the names of King Eichard and Queen Isabella. The inhabitants replied that Eichard was dead, that Isabella had been sent home in peace without stipulations for the payment of any ribute, and that they would pay nothing, but that if the French cared to fight the matter out, they might land and first refresh themselves for six hours without molestation. This curious offer, similar to one which, jt may be remembered, had been made on a previous occasion, was not accepted ; and the enemy, probably because he had news of an English fleet in his neighbourhood, departed without doing anything further.'
In the spring, the English again laid waste part of the coasts of Brittany and Picardy, behaving, according to the French account, with detestable cruelty. As a counterstroke, the French resolved upon a regular siege of Calais, by sea as well as by land ; and not having suflicient ships for that purpose and for other necessary objects, they obtained a promise of a contingent of vessels and cro^bow-men from Spain.'
' A natural son of John of Gaunt by Katherine Swinford, and so half-brother to the king. He was Admiral of England from 1408 until his death in 142G. In 1410-1412 he was also Chancellor. Created Earl of Dorset, 1411, and Duke of Exeter, 1416. He died in 1426.
'^ Patent Rolls, 5 Hen. IV. ^ ' Fcedera,' viii. 342, 343.
* Pro. and Ord. of Privy Council, ii. 81. '' 'Walsingham, 412.
* Pari. Rolls, iii. 539. ' Otterbuurne, 247 ; AValsingham, 412. ' Des Ursins, IGl : Chron. of St. Denis, iii. 160.
140i.] THE BR OTHERS DU CIIATEL. 361
Yet although the French did not consider themselves to be strong enough, unaided, to make the attempt on Calais, their activity elsewhere did not cease. In April, 1404, a French knight, with a small squadron, was reported to be besieging Caernarvon and Harlech, and five ships were ordered from Bristol to endeavour to raise the siege ; ^ and a little later a party of young Korman nobles, who were weary of peace, and among whom were representatives of the famihes of De la Eoche-Guyon, De Bacqueville and Martel, made a descent upon the Isle of Portland, which they ravaged. They were, however, encountered by a thousand hastily armed peasants, forced to surrender, and all thrown into prison."
A further expedition of Bretons, in three hundred vessels under the Sires De Chateaubriand, De la Jaille, and Du Chatel, set out with the intention of landing at Dartmouth ; but the force was ill-disciplined and ill-organised, and on its way across the Channel, it could not resist the temptation of plundering some Spanish vessels laden with wine, in spite of the fact that France and Spain were at the time in close alliance. The resultant drunkenness and quarrels caused the ships to separate, instead of proceeding together. In the meanwhile, six thousand men assembled to prevent the Bretons from disembarking, and a ditch was constructed along the seashore. When part of the Breton force under Du ChS,tel and De la Jaille arrived off the coast, a premature landing was effected, and after a sharp fight, all the invaders were either killed or taken, Du Chatel himself being mortally wounded.'
The expedition returned, but Tannegui, a brother of Guillaume du Chatel, at once collected another force, and surprising Dartmouth, took and pillaged it, subsequently ravaging the neighbouring coast for eight weeks.*
In August, a descent upon Wales was threatened by the Count de la Mai-che, who had collected sixty ships at Harfleur, and measures were adopted to oppose this expedition.^ But great difficulties appear to have stood in the way of any effective defence, for the wages of the seamen were in arrears, and the shipowners
■ Pro. and Ord. of Privy Council, i. 220.
2 Chron. of St. Denis, iii. 108, IGil.
^ Ih., iii. 172.
■* AValsingham, 412 ; Otterbourne, 2-17 ; Chrou. of St. Denis, iii. 17'J. Fabian, 571, varies the story, and malies Tannegui to have been mortally wounded. He lived, however, till 1449. He was a great leader of the Annagnac party.
^ Pro. and Ord. of Privv Council, i. 234.
362 MILITARY HISTORY, 1309-1485. [1405.
who had temporarily transferred vessels for service with the admirals seem to have been miable to obtain their tonnage dues.^ The count, however, did not proceed to. Wales. He contented himself with an attempt upon Falmouth in November, but though he burnt the town, he was ultimately repulsed by the country people." Other events which probably belong to the same year were the capture by Bretons and Flamands of numerous English merchantmen,^ an abortive English attempt upon La Rochelle, ■* and the taking by the Captain of Calais of seventeen ships laden with wine ; ^ but all of them are involved in much obscurity.
On February 20th, 1405, Prince Thomas of Lancaster, second son of the king, though less than eighteen years of age, was appointed sole Admiral of England, and sent to cruise against the French. This prince was afterwards created Duke of Clarence. At about the same time, Henry gi'anted licences to two privateers of Bristol, the Trinitt/ and the James, to cruise against the enemy at their own expense, and to keep as their own whatsoever they might take.*
The year was remarkable for the capture of Prince James, the heir to the throne of Scotland, then only fourteen years old. He was on his way from Leith, attended by the Earl of Orkney and a bishop, to be educated in France, when, on March 30th, he was taken off Flamborough Head by an "outlaw" named Prendergast, in a ship fitted out at Cley, in Norfolk. Prendergast, possibly in order to secure his own pardon, handed over his distinguished prisoner to Henry, and the prince was detained, and liberally educated, in England for about eighteen years, although he succeeded to the Scots throne as early as April 4th, 1406.' He has himself, in his poems, ^ made allusion to his capture : —
" Upon the wavis weltering to .iml fro, So infortiinate was we that fremyt day. That, maugre jiLainly quether we wolJ or no, "With strong hand by force, schortly to say, Of inyiiiyes taken and led away We weren all, and brought in thair contrie."'
' Tarl. Ui.Us, iii. 554. ^ Chron. of St. DeLis, ill. I'JT.
■* Walsingham, 413. ■■ Chron. of St. Denis, iii. 181.
■^ Otterbourne, 248. « Patent Rolls, 6 Hen. IV.
' Otterbourne, 259, and Walsingham, 419, place the capture in 140(i. The Scoti- clironicon ascribes it to March 30th, 1404. Wyntown, ii. 415, gives the date as Palm Sunday, 1405. The best Soots historians adopt the year, 1405.
* He wrote ' The King's Quhair,' and is supposed to have written ' Christis Kirk of the Grene ' and ' Peebles to the Play.'
1405.] EXPLOITS OF PRINCE THOMAS. 363
Under Prince Thomas, the fleet experienced as many difficulties as under less exalted admirals. A squadron under the Marshal de Eieux, Eenaud de Hangest, and others, was reported to be meditating an invasion ; but the prince, who seems to have been anxious to proceed against it, had to write from Sandwich to the Council, on May 6th, that from the day of his appointment until then he had been at great and unbearable costs and expenses ; that he had personally paid nearly the whole wages of his people ; that he had himself received neither wages nor reward, and that he could not beheve that the king, his father, intended that he should be thus inconvenienced. Nor could he sail, he added, unless suitable sums Were assigned to him.* Money must have been sent to him, for he sailed in June, and proceeding to Sluis, burnt four large ships there and landed some troops ; " but his attack upon the castle was repulsed, and he re-embarked upon learning of the approach of a relieving force under the Duke of Burgundy.^
Cruising southward, the fleet fell in with three carracks, one of which endeavoured with much gallantry to run down Prince Thomas's flagship. But the English pilot or master averted the shock, receiving only shght damage. A smart action followed, the carrack was overmatched, and when the Earl of Kent's ship came up she surrendered. Her two consorts were also taken. The vessels seem to have been Genoese. One of them was afterwards burnt by accident off Camber Castle. The fleet sub- sequently burnt La Hogue, Harfleur, and thirty-eight other towns, and pillaged the coast of Normandy inland for thirty miles.*
De Eieux and De Hangest, however, were not intercepted, and they arrived at Milford at the beginning of August with a hundred and forty ships and a large army. This was an invasion which could scarcely have been more serious had a formal state of war prevailed ; and it excited great alarm, and led to the levy of troops throughout England.^ But the voyage of so considerable a fleet was not unattended with disaster. Fifteen of the French ships were cut off and burnt by a division under Lord Berkeley and the renowned Harry Pay ; and fourteen more were taken by Lord Berkeley, Sir Thomas Swinburne, and Pay.** The situation
' Pro. and Ord. of Privy Council, i. 2G.3. ^ Otterbourue, 253.
^ Monstrelet, xxiv. 36 (Buclion). * Otterbourne, 253.
'- ' Fcedera,' viii. 403, 407. " Walsingbam, 418 ; ' Yjiodignia NeustriK,' 1G9.
364 MILITARY HISTORY, 1399-1485. [1405.
demanded, however, the presence of the king on the scene of action, and Henry went to AVales with an army.
The Spanish contingent, which had been demanded in 1404 for the siege of Calais does not seem to have been employed on that service. The ships, nevertheless, were supplied, and otherwise utihsed. They assembled at Santander, and consisted of forty ships under Don Martin Euiz de Abendaiio, and three galleys under Don Pedro Nino, later Conde de tBuelna. The two divisions were directed to act in conjunction ; but they separated. The pro- ceedings of the division of Nirio have been chronicled by that officer's standard-bearer, Gutierre Diez de Gamez.^
Nino went to La Kochelle, where it was determined that, with the co-operation of two French vessels, he should harass the English in the Gironde. Proceeding thither, he burnt a hundred and fifty houses within sight of Bordeaux, and then returned to La Eochelle, where he was joined by Charles de Savoisi,- with two galleys of his own. The pair of adventurers then agreed to try their fortunes on the coast of England.
Upon their first attempt at crossing the Channel, they were driven back by bad weather; but, upon their second trial, they made the Cornish coast, captured some fishing boats, and so obtained information, and then attacked an open town called " Chita " by the chronicler. For Chita, we may perhaps read Looe, since there was anciently a small place called Shuta, on the river very close to Looe ; or the town may have been Ceton, a few miles farther to the eastward. The enemy landed, slew or captured many of the inhabitants in spite of their gallant resistance, plundered and burnt the place, and sent two prizes which were taken to Harfleur. Thence they went to Falmouth, but, finding the people ready for them, did not go ashore, and returned eastward to Plymouth, where, we are incidentally informed, there was then a bridge of boats across the river. The vessels lying off the town retired as far as this bridge, when they sighted the Spaniards and French, who followed them, but were driven back by a heavy fire from the fortifications. The next attempt was upon Portland, where a landing was effected, and a few houses were burnt. Presently
' 'Cronica de Don Pedro Niuo,' printed in Madrid, 1782. Few of De Gamez's statements are fully corroborated b}' contemporary writer.s.
- He was then imder condemnation to exile, and was anxious, by distinguishing himself, to obtain panlon.
1405.] EXPLOITS OF NINO. 365
succour arrived from the mainland, and, after a skirmish, the invaders withdrew. Continuing eastward, and occasionally ravaging the country, they reached Poole, which, so Nino had been informed, belonged to Harry Pay, or " Arripay," as the Spaniards called him.
Pay, in the course of his numerous cruises, had done much to earn the special enmity of both French and Spaniards, and Niiio determined to pay a return visit to the celebrated privateer. Savoisi^ deemed a landing unsafe, and refused the co-operation of' his people ; but Nino sent his kinsman Fernando Niiio and a party to the shore, and so gained partial possession of the town. When reinforcements came in from the country, the English occupied the remaining houses, turning each into a fortress, and pressing the foe so severely that, had not Nino himself landed with the rest of his force, there w"Ould have been no retreat. AVith difficulty the English were repulsed, and the Spaniards re-embarked, leaving among the dead one of Harry Pay's brothers. The further record of the expedition is obscure, owing to the chronicler's confusion of the Solent with the Thames, and of London with Southampton. The Spaniards seem, however, to have landed in the Isle of Wight ere they returned to France, and laid up their ships at Eouen for the winter.
Towards the end of the year, the king's intended departure for Guienne having been long postponed, to the great inconvenience of the shipowners whose vessels had been arrested for the voyage, Henry desired his Council to cause the masters and mariners to be " refreshed," or paid money on account. He also wrote to the King of Porti^gal, begging for a reinforcement of galleys to assist him in Guienne." And at about the same time the Council took measures to send a squadron against the Earl of Mar, who had been committing much damage in the North Sea, and threatening Berwick.^
In the year 1405 the naval power of the countr}' had fallen so low, and the royal authority had become so torpid, that the merchants, in self-defence, undertook the guard of the sea, upon certain conditions. They did not purpose to withstand regular fleets of foreign powers, but only the privateers and corsairs, from whose operations the country had so severely suffered ; and they
' Guerin, i. 321, without any justification, gives all tlie glory of this cruise to liis compatriot, Savoisi, and does not even mention the Spaniards.
2 Pro. and Ord. of Privj- Council, i. 280. ^ Ih. ii. 94.
066 MILITARY HISTORY, 1399-14S5. [140fi.
stipulated for a considerable share in all prizes, without regard to any privilege or prerogative of the king, his admirals, or others ; for a quarter's payment of the usual tonnage allowance after the cessation of hostiUties ; and for commissions under the great seal empowering them to nominate their admirals, and to exercise admiralty jurisdiction.' These and other conditions being assented to, the merchants nominated Eichard Clyderow, then a member for Kent, as their admiral in the south and west, and Nicholas Black- burne as their admiral in the north ; and commissions were duly issued to these officers on April 28th, 1406.-
One of Admiral Blackburne's first duties was to convoy to Denmark the Princess Philippa, who had been contracted to Eric, king of that country. The ship which conveyed her carried two guns, with forty pounds of powder, forty stone shot, forty tampons or wads, twenty-four bows, forty sheaves of arrows, forty pavises, four touches (perhaps firing-irons), and two fire-pans.^ Later, Blackburne was paid a sum of iJlGG 13s. Ad., most of which appears to have been due to him for this service.*
After having wintered at Eouen, the galleys of Nino went to Harfleur, where they were joined by the gallej's of Savoisi, and whence they sailed with the intention of surprising some place on the Orwell ; but they were driven to sea by a gale, and obliged to take shelter off Sluis. The French would have seized four Portuguese ships which arrived there, on the plea that Portugal was assisting England ; but the Portuguese appealed to Niiio on the strength of a truce which subsisted between Portugal and Castille, and the Spanish commander intervened for their protection. When the squadron sailed again, it proceeded off Calais. Niiio desired to cut out some vessels there, but was deterred by the guns of the garrison. AVhile he was still in the neighbourhood, an English fleet of superior force appeared in the offing. After a desultory action, the allies took refuge in Gravelines, and, when the English had gone elsewhere, obtained Breton assistance, attacked Jersey, and exacted 10,000 crowns from the islanders. This was the last exploit of the combined expedition, for immediately afterwards the Spaniards were ordered home.^
' Pai-1. Hulls, iii. 5G9-5T1. - Ih. iii. G02; 'Fccdera,' viii. 439.
^ ' Foedera,' viii. 447. * Issue Rolls, 9 Hen. IV. 309 (Devon).
'' 'Ci'onica de Dun I'edru Nifiu." The Clirun. uf St. Denis gives a different version of these events.
HOG.] THE FIRST LOUD HlOn ADMIRAL. 367
In the autumn, some efforts were made to arrange a definite peace with France, and a mamage between the Prince of Wales and a French princess was thought of ; ^ yet, at the same time, troops were being levied in all the counties of England to accompany Henry to Calais,' the siege of which was threatened by the French ; and thirty-eight French ships, eight of which fell into the hands of English cruisers, were actively assisting Owen Glendower in Wales. Fifteen other French vessels, laden with wine and wax, were taken by the ships of the merchants.^
The experiment of leaving the guard of the sea to the merchants did not give satisfaction, and in October or November their commissions were withdrawn. On December 23rd-, the appointment of Admiral of England was revived and conferred upon John, Earl of Somerset.* He may be considered as the first of the Lord High Admirals, seeing that, since his time, save when the office has been in commission, there has always been a single administrative head of the nav}', and there have never again been separate admiralties of the north and west. As has been seen, there were sole admirals of England before him ; but with him began the regular succession. The title is, however, less ancient than the position. The Earl of Somerset's style was Admiral of the Northern and Western Fleets. He was succeeded on May 8th, 1407, by Edmund, Earl of Kent,^ whose style was Admiral of England.
The Dukes of Orleans and Burgundy were harrying Guienne, and the latter was besieging Bourg-en-Blaye. Henry, therefore, signified his intention, early in 1407, to proceed in person to oppose his enemies." It was probably with a view to secure him an uninterrupted passage that a large English fleet cruised in the Channel and the Bay of Biscay, and it was no doubt in order to prevent him from crossing that Clugnet de Brabant, Admiral of France, put to sea with twenty-two ships full of men-at-arms. The two fleets met, and a partial action ensued, the French losing
1 ' Fcodera,' viii. 4.5;^. - i/j., viii. 450. ■' Walsingliaiii, 410.
* John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset and Marquis of Dorset, K.G., was a natural son of .John of Gannt. From him was descended Margaret, mother of Henry VIL, and the Tudor dynast)-. He died in 1410.
•'' Brother and heir of Thomas Holland, tlunl Earl of Kent and Duke of Somerset. He was hom about 1.383. As has been seen, lie distinguished himself in Prince Thomas's action in 140.5. He was then made a K.G. At his death, from an arrow wound received in Brittany, in Seiitember, 140S, his honours became extinct.
■^ ' Fa?dera,' viii. 4W).
368 MILITARY HISTORY, 1399-1485. [1408.
one ship.' Another success was, according to Walsingham, won the same year hy Harry Pay, who, with some vessels of the Cinque Ports, took a hundred and twenty craft laden with salt, iron, and wine, as they lay at anchor " in mari Britannico." " But details of both events are lacking.^
In March, 1408, the merchants represented to the Council that the sea was very inefficiently guarded, and were informed that the admiral was about to put to sea to protect the trade.* AVhether he made any cruise before September does not ajjpear ; but in that month the Earl of Kent proceeded to the coast of Brittany, and attacked the Castle of Brehat, before which place he fell mortally wounded by an arrow in the head on the l-5th.^ He was thus the first, but not the last, of the lord high admirals to die for his country. His successor, appointed on September 21st, was Sir Thomas Beaufort,*^ who, later, during his tenure of the office, was also Lord Chancellor — surely a strange collocation of functions — and who subsequently became Earl of Dorset and Duke of Exeter, and, reappointed in 1413, remained high admiral until his death in 1426.
In October, 1408, it was agreed with the Duke of Burgundy that there should be a three years' truce on the sea between St. Valeiy and Winchelsea.' This was chiefly for the benefit of the fishing populations on both sides of the Channel, and of pilgrims and ecclesiastics travelling between England and Home ; but it also improved the position of the merchants. Another truce, to last until May 1st, 1410, was arranged with France, to apply to the sea generally, the French coast from the Somme to Gravelines, West Flanders, Aquitaine, and the county of Toulouse.'^ The two truces were eventually prolonged. Although they did not put a complete stop to informal hostilities, they materially lessened the number of conflicts between English and French subjects. A truce with Spain was also concluded.® In the framing of these truces, provision was made for international action against pirates.
' Moiistrelet, xxviii. 45.
- Probably oif Brittany, but tlie British peas may be meant. ■' Walsingham, 418. * Pari. Rolls, iii. 609.
•"■ Walsingham, 420 ; Chron. of Lend. 91 ; Otterbourne, 204.
'' Sec. note, ante, p. 360. This appointment was as admiral for life of the North Fleet. A new i)atent as sole admiral was issued to him on July 2Tth, 1409.
' ' Fu'dera,' iii. 537-550. « Ih., iii. 552. '■" Ih., viii. 025.
J412.] PIltACIES OF ITiENDEUGAST. 3G9
111 1409 or 1410, Sir Robert Umfravill, who had been made Vice-Admiral of England, with ten ships of war, harassed the Scots coasts, biirnt a Scots galHot and other craft off Blackness, and took fourteen vessels laden with cloth, pitch, tar, meal, and other merchandise, which, being brought to England at a time of great need, earned for the captor the nickname of Robert Mendmarket.^
In 1411, when Heniy sent an envoy to Castille to settle certain disputes, he desired him to endeavour to purchase a Castillian ship, the St. Marij, which was then at St. Sebastian.'-^ In the same year,' and again in 1412,* ships and seamen were impressed for the king's service to Gruienne ; and in the autumn of the latter year. Prince Thomas, Duke of Clarence, went to Guiennc with a large army to the assistance of the Dukes of Berry, Orleans, and Bourbon, who had agreed to deliver Guienne to England.^
The capture of James of Scotland by an "outlaw" named Prendergast in 1405 has been noted in its place. Prendergast seems to have subsequently entered the king's service and to have been knighted ; for, in 1412, Sir John Prendergast and William Long, who had been employed in keeping the seas free from pirates, were accused of robbery and other illegalities. They were fifteenth-century prototypes of the notorious Captain Kidd. Prendergast took asylum under a tent near the vestibule of West- minster Abbey. Later he again served at sea. Long was found at sea by the admiral, who, by a promise that no harm should be done to him, induced him to surrender ; but the prisoner was, nevei'theless, committed to the Tower.'* What afterwards happened to this rover does not appear. It is certain, however, that, whether owing to these men's neghgence or to their feebleness, the Narrow- Seas were inefficiently policed in the last days of Henry IV. In 1412, some vessels and goods belonging to Brittany, improperly cap- tured by seamen of Devonshire and Cornwall, had to be restored,^ and letters of marque and reprisals were issued to persons who had suffered by the depredations of the Baron de Pons. And in 1413 other letters were granted against citizens of Genoa, and against the inhabitants of Santander.' The king died on March 20t]i, 1413, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Henry V., of Monmouth.
' Hardyng, 365, 3G6 (Ellis). ^ Pro. and Ord. of Privy Council, ii. 12.5, 118, IIU.
■' 'Foedera,' viii. 700. * Ih., viii. 730, 733. '^ lb., viii. 7i<i, 717, 77^. " Walsingham, 423 ; Otterbourno, 271 ; ' Ypodigma Neustriii;,' 571. ' ' FcEdera,' viii. 764. » Ih., viii. 755, 772, 773.
VOL. I. 2 B
370 MILITARY mSTOEY, 1399-1485. [1413.
Nicolas says : " No monarch of England ever took greater interest in her navy than Henry the Fifth. He not only commanded large ships to be built, but personally inspected their progress ; and though he was not, as has been said, its founder, he gave more powerful vessels to the Eoyal Navy than it ever before possessed, with the determination to acquire the dominion of the sea. His efforts to restore and improve the English navy were amply rewarded ; for while the most celebrated event of his reign rivalled Poitiers and Crecy, the battle of Agincourt was, like those other glorious victories, followed by encounters on the ocean in which British valour was displayed in the usual manner, and was attended by the usual success." '
Much of this is true ; but it should be recollected that although Henry V. undoubtedly improved the navy, he made few impiove- ments in the manner in which the navy was managed, and that the weapon, which, in his hands produced such brilliant resiilts, was fashioned and wielded at terrible expense to the commerce of the country. The Navy Eoyal was still small. The bitlk of the fighting fleet was composed, as in previous ages, of vessels taken, almost by actual force, from the merchants, and frequently collected long before they could be employed, and retained long after they were needed. In later days, when the Navy Eoyal had become laree enough for the duties of national defence at sea, trade was able to flourish, even at the height of a sanguinary war ; but, under the Lancastrians, war and trade could not be adequately carried on together, seeing that the material required for the latter was also required for the former. Henry's naval glories, therefore, were frightfully costly ones.
At about the time of Henry's accession, an interesting inter- national dispute arose. Certain merchants of Dartmouth and other ports, owners of eight ships, represented to Parliament that their vessels had been impressed at Bordeaux by the Duke of Clarence, Lieutenant of Guienne, to bring troops to England, under the command of Sir John Colville, who was " governor and captain " of the squadron. Off Belle Isle, they fell in with two Prussian hulks, laden with wine from La Eochelle. Anxious to discover whether the hulks and their cargoes belonged to the enemy, Colville sent a boat to examine their bills of lading, and to inform the masters that if they had enemy's property on board, they must
' Nicolas, ii. 402.
1414.] JiEPBESSTON OF PIBACY. 371
deliver it to him, and he would pay them for the freight of it. The Prussians refused an answer, and next day attacked the English who were still on board the hulks and killed many of them. Colville thereupon captured the hulks, and carried them into Southampton and Poole ; and the merchants prayed that the prizes might not be restored until the case had been adjudicated upon by the Admiralty Court. ^ An inquiry was ordered, but unhappily the result of it is not recorded. Under international law as now accepted, the Prussian ships would be forfeited in a like case in war time, for they violently repelled the searchers, who were acting under a duly commissioned authority ; but nominally a truce prevailed with France, to which country the cargo was suspected to belong, so that it is doubly regrettable that the decision has not been preserved.
The truce was re-ratified in May, 1413 ; - yet so perilous were the Channel and the Bay of Biscay, owing to the depredations of French and other corsairs, that in August it was ordered that no vessels should proceed for wine to Guienne, unless in numbers sufficient to defend themselves.^ By the terms of a new truce with Spain, it was stipulated that no armed ship of either nation should leave port without first giving security not to molest subjects and property of the other.*
But Henry, to his honour, did much more than he could have effected by mere international agreement to put down piracy and the infraction of truces. It was enacted in 1414 that all such proceedings should be accounted high treason.^
In July of the same year the king formally asserted his right to the crown of France, and, although hostilities did not at once follow, orders were issued in September to the king's master-gunner and engineer to impress workmen ; and the export of gunpowder was prohibited.'^ New ships, including the Holy Ghost, the Grace a Dieii, and perhaps the Trinity, were laid down,' and the chancellor's speech at the opening of Parliament foreshadowed war. In the autumn, Patrick Coterell and James Cornewalshe were appointed Admirals of Ireland for life.^
' Pari. Rolls, iv. 12, 13. - ' Ftc<iera,' ix. 3G, 3il. ■' Ih., ix. 47.
* lb., ix. 115. ^ 2 Hen. V. c. 0. '' ' Fcedera,' ix. 159, 160.
' In .July, 1414, £496 was paid on account of the Ho!;/ Ghost, and in Jlarch, 1417, £500 on accoimt of the Grace a Dieu, both building at', Southampton. The latter had been begun at the end of 1416, and was constructed by Robert Uerd, in the Ilanible.
" Fat. Rolls, 2 Hen. V. m. 22.
2 B 2
372 MILITARY fl'/STOiJr, 1399-1485. [1415.
Early in 1415, when it was known that Henry was about to go abroad, the Council made provision for the custody of the sea during the king's absence, and ordered two ships of 120 tons, two barges of 100 tons, and one ballinger to be stationed between Plymouth and the Isle of Wight ; two barges of 100 tons and two ballingers to be stationed between the Isle of Wight and Orfordness, and one barge and two ballingers to be stationed between Orfordness and Berwick, each ship and barge to have forty-eight mariners, twenty-six men-at- arms, and twenty-six archers, and each ballinger, forty mariners, ten men-at-arms, and ten archers.'
The imminence of active war, the fact that the enemy had a large fleet at sea, and the absence of the Admiral of England on the king's service abroad, necessitated the appointment of additional flag-officers ; and on February 18th, Sir Thomas Carew and Sir Gilbert Talbot of Ircheneld were made captains and leaders of the men-at-arms destined for sea, and were given the usual powers of admirals.^ A little later, Richard Clyderow, who had been the merchant's admiral in 1406, was sent to Holland to treat for ships, for the king's service,^ and all vessels of twenty tons or more, foreign as well as English, in English ports were ordered to be arrested and collected at Southampton, London, or Winchelsea, by May 8th.* The masters of the royal vessels were empowered to impress men ; an army was raised, and every other preparation for an expedition on a grand scale was made.
The French became alarmed, and dispatched ambassadors, who met Henry at Winchester in June, and offered large concessions of territory and the hand of the Princess Katherine, with an immense marriage portion ; but the overtures were rejected, and the king proceeded to Titchfield Abbey, near Southampton, where the fleet was assembled. He embarked on Saturday, August 10th, in the Trinity Roijal,^ and at once ordered her yard to be hoisted to the middle of her mast as a signal that he was ready for sea, and that all the vessels in the neighbouring ports were to join the fleet.'' Saint Eemy says that during this period a large ship took fire, and that the flames extended to two others, all being consumed ; ' but the circumstance is not mentioned by English writers of the time.
' Pro. and Ord. of Privy Council, ii. 145, 146.
- ' Fredera,' ix. 202. " Ih., ix. 160. * IK, ix. 216, 218.
"* 'Hiat. of the Battle of Agincourt,' 25-45. Much of what follows is from this source.
" Cott. ISIS. Julius E. iv. f. 115i. ' St. Eemy, 82.
1415.] CAPTUBE OF HABFLEUR. 373
The fleet of fourteen hundred vessels/ with six thousand men-at-arms, and twenty-four thousand archers, sailed on Sunday, August 11th, and entered the Seine on the following Tuesday afternoon. It met with no resistance on the passage. Indeed, it does not appear that any considerable French force was then at sea.
Henry anchored about three miles above Harfleur, and signalled^ to his captains to attend him at a council of war. At daybreak on Wednesday, the 14th, the landing began, most of the army reaching the shore between six and seven. Still there was no opposition. By Satm-day, the 17th, siege was laid to Harfleur. The mouth of the harbom- was closed by a chain drawn between two fortified towers that flanked the entrance, and by a boom of stakes and trunks of trees ; and behind the obstacles lay a small French squadron, upon which many vain attempts were made by the English fleet. The navy, however, co-operated mainly by enforcing a strict blockade, and by keeping up communications across the waterways. When the town had fallen, on September '22nd, some of the prisoners, with the sick, were sent to England with the fleet, sailing on October 8th ; and the army marched inland on its way to Calais. The victory of Agincourt was won on October 25th, and on Saturday, November 16th, Henry embarked at Calais, and reached Dover late on the same day.
The passage was very boisterous, and though the king did not suffer in the least, most of the French noblemen who were his prisoners were so sea-sick that they would have preferred to face again the dangers of the battle. The fleet was in part dispersed, several ships being driven into Zierikzee at the mouth of the Ooster Schelde. Two, according to one writer, went down with all hands.
While these great events were passing in Francej^cots vessels were harassing the northern coasts, and two citizens of Newcastle, named Hornsey and Strother, fitted out two baUingers to cope with the foe. What success the baUingers had against the Scots we know not, but they took two Flamand vessels, laden, as was alleged, with the enemy's property, and carried them into Shields, whence a king's officer removed them to Newcastle. The captors complained of this, and obtained an order to the officer to deliver to them the cargoes, or to state to the Council his reasons for not doing so. The
' A hundred others which had been collected cuukl not be utilised. - B)' hoisting "a banuer of council" in the middle of the mast. 'Black Book of the Admiralty.'
374 MILITARY HISTORY, 1399-1485. [1416.
officer chose the latter course, and so completely justified himself that the vessels were returned to their Flamand owners in January, 1416.^
The Parliament which met on March 16th of that year com- plained of the seizure of private craft by king's ofiicers, who paid nothing for their use ; of the discontinuance of the payment of tonnage allowance for ships regularly taken up by the government, and of the consequent ruin of shipowners ; and it made use of the remarkable expression to which attention has been called in the previoiis chapter : " pur taunt qe la dit navye est la greinde substance du bien, profit, et prosperitee du vostre dit roialme." The king promised to do what justice seemed to require.^
It is clear, from a petition presented during the same session, that it was customary in the fifteenth century for merchantmen sailing in consort to elect the master of one of their number as their " admiral " for the voyage, and for the other masters to swear obedience and loyalty to him. This had been done in the case of a home-coming flotilla of wine ships from Bordeaux, the master of a ship called the Christopher, oi Hull, being the "admiral" for the occasion. On the voyage, the Christopher had been attacked by some carracks, and taken in consequence of the cowardly desertion of her by all her friends. The owners prayed that, in view of what had occurred, the owners of all the other ships should be made responsible for the value of the lost vessel. The matter was referred to the chancellor, and it would seem not only that the owners were held liable for the value of the Christopher, but also that the cowardly masters were imprisoned.^
The Emperor Sigismund came to England in May, chiefly to
endeavour to»^rrange peace between England and France. Vessels
were impressed to convey him from Calais, and he spent some
months in England; but the action of the French prevented any
thought of peace. Their army, under the Count d'Armagnac,
invested Harfleur on the land side, and their fleet,* reinforced by
eight carracks hired from the Genoese, and commanded by the
Bastard of Bombon and Kobinet de Braquemont, Admiral of France,
blockaded the port, while another French squadi'on ranged the
Channel, did much injury to shipping, endeavoured to destroy the
EngHsh vessels at Southampton, and ravaged Portland and other
' Pro. and Ord. of Privy Council, ii. 187, 188. ' Pari. KoUs, iv. 86.
2 Pari. EoDs, iv. 79. ■• St. Kemy, 103.
14 IG.] EXPEDITION TO FRANCE. 375
points on the coast, bein^, however, resisted everywhere, and receiving as much harm as it occasioned.^
Men were raised, and ships were ordered to assemble at Orwell.' The Admiral of England was engaged at Harflem*, and to take his place at sea, John, Earl of Hmitingdon, John, Lord Clifford, and Sir Edward Courtenay were appointed,^ though without the nominal rank of admiral. The general rendezvous, previous to the departure of the expedition, was Southampton,* and King Henry went thither with the intention of leading the fleet in person, though at the request of the Council and on the advice of his guest, the emperor, he finally abandoned the idea of doing so.^ Thomas, Lord Morley, a grandson of the hero of Sluis and L'Espagnols sur Mer, was given command, with admiral's rank, of the contingent of ships sent to Southampton from London ; Sir Walter Hungerford ^ was made admiral of the entire fleet destined for the relief of Harfleur, and Prince John, Duke of Bedford, received the general military command of the expeditionary forces.
The fleet is said by Monstrelet to have consisted of three hundred,' and by Hardyng, of four hundred vessels, with twenty thousand men on board. ^ Nicolas " considers that both these estimates were exaggerated. It sailed at the beginning of August, but was dispersed by a storm, and part of it driven into Camber. It re-assembled off Beachy Head," and, the wind becoming favour- able, weighed and crossed the Channel, entering the mouth of the Seine on the evening of August 14th. ^' The prince anchored for the night, and hoisted lights to indicate his position to the fleet, while he sent out pulling boats to reconnoitre the situation of the enemy, with a view to making an attack on the following morning. All the caj)tains were ordered to make sail simultaneously with the prince's ship, and to go down with her towards the foe.
At dawn, on Saturday, the 15th, the French were in sight. The English crews went to prayers, prepared for action, and then
1 Anon. Chron. Add. MSS. 1770, f. mh. ' ^ Tai-I. Rolls, 4 Hen. V. m. 24 d.
3 'FcEdera,' is. 344, 34.5. * Ih., ix. 364. '■ Ehnham, 78.
® Sir Walter Hungerford, son of Sir Thomas Hungerford, of Farley and Heytes- bury, had been attached to the suite of the Emperor Sigisniund during that monarch's visit to England, and had served at Agincourt. In 1418 he was made a K.G., and in 1426, Treasurer of England, and a baron. As is noted elsewhere, he revised ' The Libel of English Policie.' He died in 1440.
' Monstrelet, xxiii. ' tiardyug, 377. ' Nicolas, ii. 420.
'" " Bayanchiefe " is conjectured to mean Beachy Head.
" Anon. Chron. in Add. MSS. 1770, f. 676.
MILITARY HISTORY, 1399-1485.
[1416.
■weighed. Both sides were equally eager to get to close quarters, and the French advanced handsomely ; but very little wind was stirring, and it was nine o'clock ^ ere the battle opened. The ships grappled one another as they came violently into collision, and, as usual, the people in the lofty Genoese carracks enjoyed great
FivOM THE MS. LIFE OF l:l( HAKI' 1!1;aL i 11 A.Ml', LAUL UF WARWICK, BY JOHX liOUS, WHO DIED 1491.
{.Cuttoii MSS.. Julius E. iv. 6.)
advantage over those in the comparatively low-built English ships, the latter being hardly able with their pikes to reach the soldiers on the decks of the larger vessels ; but the English were not to be denied, and after between five and six hours of hot conflict,- victory began to declare itself. Several French ships were carried, where-
' Elmham, 80.
^ Anon. Chron. in Add. MSS. 1770, f. 676.
1416.] VICTORY OFF IIARFLEUR. "77
upon many other vessels endeavoured to disengage themselves and to make sail.' Some took refuge in Honflenr, but at least two of the carracks ran ashore and foundered in their efforts to escape. Three carracks,^ with one hulk and four balHngers,^ seem to have been taken ; fifteen hundred Frenchmen were killed," and about four hundred were made prisoners. The total loss of the victors did not exceed one hmidred men,' and among them there was apparently no person of note ; but of the French, Jean de Braquemont, son of the Admiral of France, was killed, and the Bastard of Bourbon was taken. "
This battle of Harfleur seems to have been fought in the narrow channel immediately opposite the town and north of the Amfar bank. Such wind as there was probably blew from the north, thus enabling both fleets to manoeuvre, and favouring the escape of the remnant of the enemy into Honflem-. The employment of lances, arrows, darts, stones, and masses of iron and lead is mentioned ; but there is no allusion to the use of guns, which were nevertheless then quite common. There is little doubt that the French were outnumbered, and that the English were, as Des Ursins says, in fine order and condition.'
After the action it fell calm, and the galleys which had escaped ventured out of port, and harassed the fleet as it was in the act of landing provisions and stores ; but the Enghsh manned their boats and drove the enemy back to Honfleur. Attacks of this sort were made on several days, the French employing " wildfire " (Greek fire) in their efforts to biu-n the English ships, but no harm was done. After reheving the town, the Duke of Bedford re-embarked, and returned to England with his prizes.*
King Henry received the news of the victory as he was returning from a visit to some ships that were building, probably at Eye; and he conveyed it to his guest, the emperor, at Canterbury, where a Te Deum was consequently sung. The emperor then crossed from
' Elmham, 80, 81. The battle is described in ' Tlie Libel of English Policie.'
^ These were re-named Marie of Hamilton, Marif of lianda;ich, and George, and were added to the navy.
^ Of these vessels, taken and aiUled to the navy, were those subseciueutly called the Katrine Breton, and the Grande Marie.
■* Otterbourne, by pretty obvious error, says 15,000.
^ Anon. Chron. in Add. MSS. 177G, f. OTi.
« St, Rem}', 103. '' Des Ursins, 334.
' Anon. Chron. in Add. MSS. 177G, f. 68 ; Elmham, 83.
378 MILITARY HISTORY, 1399-1485. [1416.
Dover to Calais/ and Henry prepared to follow him thither. A squadron for the purpose was quickly collected at Sandwich, apparently from the Cinque Ports, and on September 4th, the King sailed thence with forty ships, and landed at Calais on the same day, being received by the Emperor. -
In the interim, a large carrack belonging to the enemy seems to have foundered off Southampton, with eight hmidred troops on board, ^ and another carrack, a Genoese, laden with merchandise, had been taken by the merchants of Dartmouth, having been driven into that port by a gale of wind.
Lord Morley, after having survived the battle of Harfleur, where he had greatly distinguished himself, died of dysentery at Calais. His funeral mass, he having been a K.G., was attended by the king and the emperor, with their suites.
Soon after mid-day on September 24th, a large carrack of the enemy was sighted from Calais, running before the wind, with all sail set, between that place and Dover, and evidently bound for Sluis. Six ballingers were hastily armed by the Earl of Warwick, Captain of Calais, Lord Talbot, Thomas, Lord AVest,* Sir Gilborn Umfravill, and some soldiers, and although the foe was out of sight ere they could put to sea, they started in chase. ^ One returned on the 26th, reporting that she had been separated from her consorts. Another returned on Sunday, the 27th, and reported that at dawn on the 25th, Warwick, with five of the ballingers, had come up with the carrack, which was loftier by the length of a lance than any of them, and had grappled her and fought her until both parties were at a standstill. Both had, as by common consent, rested, and then renewed the combat until night, when the people of the carrack seemed to be nearly exhausted. But the English missiles were by that time all expended, and there were no scaling ladders in the ballingers, so that the carrack eventually got away. A storm obliged the English to make for Orwell, where one of them grounded, but was re-floated and later proceeded to Calais. Another ballinger reached the town on the 29th, after her crew had nearly perished for lack of food ; and on the same day Warwick himself returned, with the news of the death of young Lord West, who, while putting on his armour for the attack, had been crushed by
' Anon. C'liron. in Add. MSS. 177U, f. G9.
^ ' Fcedera,' ix. 385. * He had served at Agincourt.
* Walsingham, 4-tl. ^ Anon. Chron. in Add. MSS. 1776, f. 69.
1417.] EXPEDITION TO NORMANDY. 379
a stone accidentally dropped as it was being hauled up into the top of his own vessel. In the action Sir Baldwin le Strange also fell.'
The account of this little affair is of interest as affording an early illustration of the superiority of one large vessel over a number of smaller ones of, probably, greater aggregate force.
A four months' truce having been concluded with France in October, 1416,^ Henry returned with a small squadron to Dover. Early in 1417, preparations were made for an expedition to Nor- mandy ; ships were arrested ; and fifteen hundred vessels, sixteen thousand four hundred soldiers, and one thousand workmen were assembled at Southampton for the king's passage.^ The vessels of the western ports were directed to proceed to sea under Sir Thomas Carew, the Sire de Chastillon, and Sir John Mortimer, and to cruise from March 1st to November 1st, against French, Bretons, Castillians, Genoese, and Scots, unless orders were given to the contrary.^ Carew's squadron consisted of an unnamed ship canying seventy-five men-at-arms and one hundred and forty-eight archers, the king's great carrack, called the Mary of the Tower, of 500 tons, the "other carrack of Venice," the barge Katherine of Salisbury, the " Bukky's barge," the Ellen of Greemvich, of 180 tons, the Anthony, Captain Eobert Carew, the Trinity of the Tower, of 102 tons, two ballingers of Trebost and Plymouth respectively, and Sir Thomas Carew's own barge, the Trinity.^ The fleet of the Cinque Ports was called out in March ; ^ and in April the assemblage of ships at Southampton was hastened, the passage thither being apparently deemed somewhat perilous by the shipmasters owing to the large force of the enemy that was at sea.'
Up to the last moment, Henry, as in the previous year, intended
to lead the fleet in person ; but he suffered himself to be dissuaded ; '
and in July, he appointed Edmund, Earl of March, to be his
lieutenant on the sea, to bring back the fleet from Normandy,
and to return thither with reinforcements, and John, Earl of
Huntingdon, to cruise with all the usual powers of an admiral.'
> Elniham, 88, 89 ; Anon. Chron. in AiUl. M«S. 177G, f. 70i. 2 ' Foedera,' ix. 399, 400.
' Elmham, 92; Anon. Chron. in Add. MSS. 1776, f. 72. * Pro. and Old. of Privy Council, ii. 209.
' Muster Eoll 'E. B. 1G2G' at Carlton Uidc, cited by Kicolas; Issue Rolls, Easter Term, 4 Hen. V.
" Close Rolls, 5 Hen. V. m. 17. ' Issue Rolls, 4 Hen. V. 351 (Devon).
» Elmham, 92. " Patent Rolls, 5 Hen. V. m. 22.
380 MILITARY HISTOET, 1399-1485. [1417.
Huntingdon must have sailed very quickly, for, on St. James's Day, July 25th, 1417,^ he fell in with the French, and engaged them with great gallantry, and with so much impetuosity that, in the shock of collision, several vessels had their foreparts carried away, and the people on them hurled overboard. The forces engaged, and the scene of the action are alike unknown. All that is certain is that, after grappling and fighting at close quarters for nearly the whole day, the French and Genoese were completely defeated. Four carracks, besides other vessels, seem to have been taken, and carried into Southampton on or about July 29th. ^ The king, who awaited the earl's return, and the assurance that the seas were clear, must have sailed very soon afterwards ; for on August 8th,^ he wrote to the Council from France, and made mention of the victory.*
Henry seems, in fact, to have departed on July 29th or 30th, and to have arrived at Touques, a few miles from Harfleur, on August 1st. He had with him two hundred and thirty vessels of various kinds, including one hundred and seventeen which had been obtained from Holland, and a considerable army.' Having landed his troops, he sent his transports home, retaining only those vessels on board of which were stores and artillery too heavy for land carriage."
This invasion of France was perhaps the first one that was attempted on scientific principles. The manner in which it was prepared indicates that Henry had a full understanding of the importance of sea power, and of the danger of making any effort of the kind in face of a "potent" fleet. Instead of crossing at once, while the enemy was still undefeated, and so running the risk of having to fight an action with his huge convoy of transports in company, he first sent out a squadron to clear the way, and then, as soon as he had learnt of the success of the preliminary step, passed unmolested over the path freed for him.
While Henry was absent, measures were taken to render Portsmouth a securer haven than it had previously been for the
' Otterbourne, 278.
''Anon. Chron. in Add. MSS. 1776, f. 72; Otterbourne, 278; Elmham, 92. Among the prizes were the vessels which were added to the navy, as the Christopher Spayne, Marie Spayne, Holigost Spayne, Peter, Paul, and Andrew.
^ Or August 11th.
* Add. MS. 4601, f. 95.
^ Norman liolls, 5 Hen. V. 320-329 (Hardy). 'J'Le list gives names of ships, names of masters, etc.
" Elmliam, 9G.
U'ZO.2 TIIK TliKATY OF TROYES. 381
king's ships in war time. A tower was built at the entrance of the harbour, and an office for the Clerk of the King's Ships was erected.'
The naval events of 1418 were of no importance. In 1419, to meet an apprehended design of the Spaniards upon Portsmouth and Southampton, troops were repeatedlj' arrayed for the defence of the coast. ^ In May, the Earl of Suffolk was appointed Admiral of Normandy ; ^ and in August a large arrest of shipping was ordered in the western counties, in order to furnish a force to oppose a French squadron which, it was reported, was about to proceed to the assistance of the Scots by way of the Irish Sea. This force appears to have been entrusted to the command of William, Lord Botreaux." A few weeks previously, two merchants of Bristol, and one William Camoys, of Bayonne, had captured some carracks and other vessels belonging to the enemy, laden with merchandise, and had received the thanks of the king.'^
In February, 1420, shipping was arrested for the passage of the Duke of Bedford to Normandy, and of the Earl of Ormond to Ireland ; ° there was a fresh alarm of a projected Spanish invasion ; ' and the Scots committed some depredations by sea ; but, as before, the naval events were not important.
On May 21st, the conclusion of the Treaty of Troyes put an end to the hostilities between England and great part of France ; for although the Dauphin * and the party of the Armagnacs declined to recognise the arrangement, Henry, Philip of Burgundy, and Katherine, Queen Eegent of France, were parties to it, and one of its conditions was the marriage of the Princess Katherine, daughter of the imbecile Charles VI., to the King of England. The king and his new queen landed at Dover on February 1st, 1421, amid great rejoicings.'
When, in March, 1421, Sir Wilham Bardolf" was appointed admiral and given command of a cruising squadron, it was stipulated in his commission that none of the rights of the Duke of Exeter, as Admiral of England, should be prejudiced. The squadron assembled
' Issue lloUs, 5 Hen. V. 35i (Devon) ; Pro. and Ord. of Privy Uouucil, ii. 315.
2 ' Fn-dera,' ix. 702, 703, 7'J3. ^ Jb., ix. 753. ■• lb., ix. 791, 792.
■'■ Pro. and Ord. of Privy Council, ii. 2G7.
" Patent Rolls, 7 Hen. V. m. i d. m. 6 d. ' Jb., S lien. V. ni. 17 d.
' Later, Charles VII.
» Elniliara, 296; Walsingham, 453; Anon. Chron. in Add. MSS. 177li, f. 79.
'" ' Fccdera,' x. 68.
'S82 MILITARY HISTORY, 1399-1485. [1422.
at Dover/ and it seems to have been fitted out with special reference to the continued menaces of the Spaniards against the coast in the neighbourhood of the Isle of Wight, ^ but there is no record that it came into conflict with the enemy.
A little later in the year, the Dauphin and his party having defeated and killed the Duke of Clarence at Beauge, Henry felt it necessary to go again to France to re-establish his prestige. Ships for the voyage were furnished by the Cinque Ports ; and the king embarked at Dover at dawn on June 10th ; reached Calais by two in the afternoon ; ^ and, after driving back his enemies, entered Paris in triumph.
Just before his departure from England, hostilities with Genoa had been terminated by a treaty which provided that the Genoese were not to furnish any enemies of England with ships or cross- bow-men, but that if vessels of Genoa or England were forcibly compelled to serve against the other party, such compulsory service should not be held to constitute a breach of the engagement.*
In the spring of 1422, Queen Katherine went to France to join her husband, landing at Harfleur on May 21st.^ Three months later, while he was following up his successes over the Dauphin and the Scots who were co-operating with him, the king was attacked by fever, which terminated fatally at Vincennes on August 31st.
Henry V. was succeeded by his only son, Henry VI., of "Windsor, who was then less than nine months old. Not long afterwards, the inbecile Charles VI. also died ; and, under the Treaty of Troyes, the infant English prince became sovereign of both kingdoms. John, Duke of Bedford, in accordance with the late king's will, took the regency of France, and Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, that of England, with the title of Lord Protector. To Thomas, Duke of Exeter and Admiral of England, was confided the custody of the king's person."
In the earlier part of the reign, France, rather than the. sea, was
the chief scene of the military activity of England, and no naval
events of any importance took place. Indeed, the role of the navy
was mainly restricted to the transport of reinforcements to the
English armies abroad. Ten thousand men were thus sent to the
• ' Fadera,' x. 68, 69.
'^ Pro. and Ord. of Privy Cuuncil, i. 362.
^ Muustrelet, ccxlii. ; Wal.'iingham, 454; Anon. Chrun. iu Add. M!S8. 1776, f. 80.
' Goodwin : ' Life of Henry V.,' 305, 306.
''. ' Foedera,' x. 175 ; Walsingham, 456. " Walsingham, 407.
1436.]
DECLINE OF ENGLISH POWER IN FRANCE.
383
Duke of Bedford in 1423 ; in the following year five thousand men accompanied the Duke of Gloucester to Calais and the Netherlands, to assist him in prosecuting the claims of his wife, Jacqueline of Hainault, to territory in Brabant ; and early in 1427, Bedford, who had come to England late in the previous year, took back with him to France a considerable army. The duke had, in 1426, been appointed Admiral of England in succession to Thomas, Duke of Exeter; and he held the oiiice until his death in 1435. Further troops went to France in 1428, when Eichard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, by agreement with the Council, raised five or six thousand men at his own charge for service there. The journey of the young king to be crowned in France in 1430 also necessitated an arrest of shipping, for he went attended by a great number of nobles and a large body of servants, although he was still less than nine years old.
In these and the immediately succeeding years, the position of the English in France went steadily from bad to worse, ^ in spite of the heroic efforts and great abihty of Bedford ; and in 143(5, the Diike of Burgundy, who had by that time embraced the French cause, and who was exceedingly exasperated by the '^'■■ forays which had been made by the garrison of Calais into the territories of his cousin of Brabant, laid siege with a large force of Flamands and others to ahnost the last great stronghold that remained to the English on the continent.
On the death of Bedford, John Holland, Earl of Huntingdon and Duke of Exeter,- with succession to his son Henry,^ had been appointed Admiral of England ; but the Duke of Gloucester led the expedition for the relief of Calais. A large army, and a fleet of about five hundred vessels, large and small, were collected, and the expeditionary force was landed on the French coast on July 27th,
' William of Worcester, 455, 457. Fur this period see 'Wars of the Eu^lish in France,' in Rolls Series, and Brougliam'sj' England under the House of Lancaster.' ^ Son of the degraded first duke. ' Attainted in 1461.
\
^
\L OF JOHN HOLLAND, FIHST EARL OF EXETER, LATER DUKE OF EXETER, J.ORD HIGH ADMIRAL OF ENGLAND.
384 MILITARY lUSTORY, 1399-1485. [1444.
1436, and advanced at once towards the beleaguered town, which had then been invested for about six weeks. The approach of reUef encouraged the garrison to make a responsive effort. The Duke of Burgundy had prepared a number of hulks laden with stones, with which it was his intention to block the mouth of the harbour, and so prevent approach to it from seaward ; but before the vessels could be placed in position for scuttling they were attacked and burnt by seamen from the town. This disaster, and the rapid approach of Gloucester, obliged the enemy to abandon the investment and to retire.''
Yet, in spite of this local success, the English in France rather lost than gained ground during the next two or three years. John Talbot, who, in 1442, was created Earl of Shrewsbury," was the last remaining effective champion of the English cause on the continent ; and in 1439, with the co-operation of a fleet under the Duke of Somerset,^ he reduced Harfleur after a four months' blockade. In 1442, again he landed with a small expeditionary force in Normandy, and gained some advantages. But his ability and bravery were almost neutralised by the incapacity, or worse, of the Duke of Somerset, who, sent in 1443, with about five thousand men, to assist in the blockade of Dieppe, which appeared to be near the point of surrender, if vigorously invested, postponed his arrival until the English had been obliged to raise the siege.
The weakness of England led, in 1444, to the conclusion of a disadvantageous truce ; and in the following year Henry VI. married a French princess, Margaret of Anjou, daughter of Eene, Coimt of Guise, and niece of the King of France. The alliance was a very injurious one to England, the queen becoming a violent political partisan, and identifying herself with the cause of the unpopular and corrupt Dukes of Somerset and Suffolk, to the prejudice of the Yorkists. Her intrigues seem to have encouraged an Irish rising, which the Duke of Y''ork, with a small force, suppressed in 1449. They also necessitated the dispatch to Normandy in 1450 of reinforcements under Sir Thomas Kyriel. And they brought about the far more serious domestic troubles known as the Wars of the Eoses, during which the power of England was almost paralysed. Indeed, even before these wars formally broke out, the jealousy of
1 Polyd. Vergil, xxiii. 619, 620.
2 Killed at Castillon in 1453 : " the English Achilles."
^ Edmund Beaufort, a grandson of John of Gaunt; killed at St. Albans in 1455.
1457.] FRENCH RAID ON THE COASTS OF KENT. 385
rival parties had reduced England to comparative impotence. Her successive losses in France were due as much to her neglect of her subjects there as to any desire on their part to become French, or as to the ability of France to compel them against their will to range themselves on her side. This was shown in 1452, when the Gascons betrayed a decided desire to resume their old allegiance, and when, had they been properly supported, they would probably have returned to it. The Earl of Shrewsbury, who was sent thither, took Bordeaux by surprise, and gained some other suc- cesses ; but the advantage was not followed up, and the Gascons, disgusted, easily resigned themselves a few months later to final severance from England, after three hundred years of union with it.
The misfortunes of England were precipitated by the insanity from which the king began to suffer in 14.53. The queen's party could not prevent the appointment of the Duke of York as Protector ; but when Henry temporarily recovered his faculties in 1455, the duke found it expedient to retire to the north, and to take up arms. The first battle of St. Albans and the death of Somerset in May, 1455, combined with the renewed insanity of the king, restored York to the Protectorship, and, for a brief space, some sort of quiet to the country ; but the intrigues of the queen did not cease ; and, Henry once more recovering in Februaiy, 1456, the duke was again displaced, and Margaret found better opportunity than ever for the prosecution of her treasonable designs.
One of the results of her machinations was a descent by France i;pon the coast of Kent. In August, 1457, Pierre de Breze, Seneschal of Normandy, with a fleet and four thousand soldiers, threw eighteen hundred men ashore near Sandwich, surprised the place, taking some vessels which were there, pillaged and burnt the town, and then retired, though not until the inhabitants had caused them considerable loss. In the fight, three hundred English are said to have fallen.' The moral effect of the raid was not great, for the French remained at Sandwich only for one tide ; ^ and, on the other hand, the more than suspected complicity of the queen increased the distrust with which she was regarded, and improved the position of the Yorkists in the estimation of the more patriotic of the people. Nevertheless, in March, 1458, a solemn pacification was agreed to in St. Paul's between the rival parties ; and, for the
' Fabian, 462 ; Grafton, 630 ; Hall, f. 88a. - Guerin, i. 268 ; Daniel, vi. 2'J2.
VOL. I. 2 C
386 MILITARY HISTOBT, 1399-1485. [1458.
moment, the struggles between York and Lancaster seemed to have ended.
There is a strange, though by no means perfect, similarity between the parts played in England by Godwin and his sons in the eleventh century, and by Eichard Neville, Earl of Warwick, in the fifteenth. Both Godwin and Warwick were naval heroes ; both were able and unscrupulous and yet patriotic ; and both succeeded in using the fleet, and the sentiments of the maritime population, as weapons for effecting a revolution.
Warwick had fought on the side of the Duke of York at the first battle of St. Albans, and had been afterwards appointed to the important post of Captain of Calais, with powers as an admiral. In the latter capacity he appears to have sent to sea several squadrons, one of which, on Trinity Sunday,' 1458, fell in with a convoy of ships of Genoa and Liibeck. There are no means of knowing why these vessels were treated as enemies ; but it seems that five of them, with cargoes worth £10,000, were taken, and twenty-six sunk or driven ashore,^ and that Warwick was summoned to London to explain his action. While there, some kind of ixrsult was offered to him — it is even said that his life was attempted — and he angrily returned to Calais. Somerset was appointed to supersede him in his captaincy, but such was the popularity of the earl, that the people refused to admit the duke, who, in consequence, had to retire.
The action of Warwick encouraged the Duke of York to renew the war ; but, after having gained a success at Blore Heath, the defection near Ludlow of some of his supporters alarmed him, and he went to Ireland.
In the meantime, Henry was feebly taking measures to oust Warwick from Calais. The earl, when he had last quitted England, had left behind him some ships which were not ready to sail. These and others were collected at Sandwich, and placed under the command of Richard Woodville, Lord Elvers, who was instructed to carry over succours to the Duke of Somerset, who lay at Guines, and to assist him in obtaining possession of his caj)taincy. Warwick, however, informed of what was in preparation, sent over Sir John Dinham, who, with a small squadron, reached Sandwich
' May 29th.
^ Speed, 608 ; Pabiau, 464. " And, as men sayne, ther was not so gret a batayle upon the sea this XL. wyntyr." ' Paston Letters,' (Gairdner), i. 429.
14G0.] NAVAL ACTIVITY OF WARWICK. o87
at break of day, seized Lord Rivers and his son, Anthony Woodville, in their beds, made himself naaster of the fleet, and carried both ships and officers into Calais/ At about the same time, the vessels which had carried Somerset across the Channel and which were still with him, revolted and joined Warwick, who thus had a very large force at his disposal. One Sir Baldwin Fulford offered to burn the earl's fleet, but proved incapable of effecting the enterprise ; and Warwick, having left Calais in good hands, sailed for Ireland to consult with the Duke of York as to futiire proceedings.
Such fleet as remained faithful to Henry put to sea under the Duke of Exeter, Admiral of England, to intercept the earl; but when the two forces sighted one another in the Channel, the loyalty of the royalists seemed so doubtful, and Warwick was so strong, that the duke shrank from provoking an action ; while, on the other hand, Warwick was unwilling to unnecessarily destroy any English ships ; so that no collision took place.
When the earl was once more at Calais, a petition reached him from the inhabitants of Kent, who begged him to land on their coasts, and assured him of their support. Warwick, always cautious, dispatched William Neville, Lord Fauconberg, to examine into the disposition of the people and the nature of the opposition likely to be offered. Upon Fauconberg returning with an en- couraging i-eport, Warwick sent word of his intention to the Duke of York, and presently sailed with his whole force.
But in the interval. Sir Simon Montfort, Warden of the Cinque Ports, had been entrusted by the king with a squadron, with which he was ordered to prevent a landing. Like Kivers, Montfort was not sufficiently on his guard. Warwick surprised him off Sandwich, took him, captured or destroyed all his squadron, and, being opposed on his landing, sacked the town. According to some accounts, Montfort fell in the action ; according to others, he and twelve of his captains were sent to Calais and there executed.^
Warwick was joined by Lord Cobham and other Yorkists ; the Duke of Y'ork himself also invaded the country ; the battles of Northampton, Wakefield, Mortimer's Cross, and St. Albans followed; and in spite of the fact that at Wakefield the Duke of York was killed, the crowning battle of Towton, on March 29th, 1461, estabUshed the duke's son on the throne as Edward IV.,^ although
1 Grafton, 035; Fabian, 465-467. - Holingshed, ii. 652; Speed, C60.
2 Polyd. Vergil, xxiii. ; llall, f. lOlh ; Grafton, 056, 057.
2 c 2
388 . MILITARY HISTORY, 1399-1485. [1462.
it did not end the struggle. Warwick's reward was the Captaincy of Dover, with the Wardenship of the Scots Marches, the offices of Lord Chamberlain, and Lord Steward, and large grants of land ; but Edward's marriage, in 1464, with Elizabeth Woodville, displeased the king-maker, who for the sake of peace would have preferred an alliance with France, and who presently, as will be seen, opposed both king and queen.
At his accession, Edward IV. was in his nineteenth year, of handsome appearance, and of equal geniality and vigour ; and he at once became popular. The sea had made him king, and he appears to have determined from the first never to neglect his fleet. Nor could he well afford to do so ; for scarcely had he assumed the crown when the ex-Queen Margaret went to France with the object of raising a naval armament there, and of so attempting to recover England for her husband, who had taken refuge in Scotland.
For a short time after the triumph of the House of York, Warwick himself was Admiral of England.^ Later, in 1462, he was superseded by William Neville, Lord Fauconberg,^ who, in 1461, had been created Earl of Kent. Kent, whose tenure of office was terminated by his death within three months, at once put to sea with a powerful fleet, carrying ten thousand soldiers, and commanded, under him, by Henry Bourchier, Earl of Essex, and Admirals Audley and Clinton ; and, after scouring the Channel, attacked and burnt the town of Le Conquet in Brittany, ravaged the Isle of Ehe, and took many prizes and much booty. ^ The death of Kent * may have put an end to the cruise, which does not seem to have been immediately re-commenced after the appointment, on October 12th, of Eichard, Duke of Gloucester and brother of the king, to the office of Lord High Admiral.
The temporary withdrawal of the fleet to port seems to have been seized upon by Margaret as a good opportunity for making her contemplated descent. She sailed in 1463 with a squadron, under the command of Pierre de Br^ze, with the intention of landing at Tynemouth, but, although she entered the bay, she was driven out
' He was so appointed for three j-ears by an agreement of February 1st, 1462. Excheq. Warr. for Issues ; but was succeeded by Kent on July 30th following.
° Son of Ralph, Earl of AVestmoreland, and brother of the Earl of Salisbury.
» Grafton, 659 ; Stowe, 416.
* There are some grounds for supposing that both Kent, and John Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester, who, in the summer of 14G3, was " captain and keeper of the sea," acted as "Warwick's deputies.
1470.] CLARENCE CONSPIRES WITH WARWICK. 389
again by a gale of wind before sbe could disembark, and was obliged to proceed to Berwick.' With Scots and French help, she main- tained for a year a desultory war on the border ; but after the battle of Hexham, in May, 1464, she found it expedient to flee to Flanders. In the following year the ex-king, Henry VI., fell into Edward's hands ; and from that moment all might have gone well with the new House but for the king's ill-considered marriage with Elizabeth Woodville. Perhaps even the marriage would not have alienated Warvpick, had not Edward shown signs of an intention to exalt his wife's relatives at the expense of the Nevilles. A rupture resulted in 1467, Warwick being joined by the king's brother, the Duke of Clarence. Yet, though Edward was for a time a prisoner in the hands of the king-maker, that astute statesman foresaw that the downfall of York would probably lead to the restoration of Lancaster; and, as he was not then prepared to face such a consequence, he released his captive, and a pacification was made. But in 1470, Edward discovered that his brother Clarence, who had married Isabel, Warwick's eldest daughter, was once more plotting with his father-in-law. The two conspirators fled to Calais, the navy for the most part adhering to them ; and they opened negotiations with Queen Margaret. It was, no doubt, the temporary loss of so much of his fleet that prevented Edward from opposing their passage across the Channel. They landed in September, 1470 ; and the king, not without difficulty, fled by way of Lynn to Flanders.^ For a few months Henry YI. was restored ; but the fact did not apparently please the Duke of Clarence,* who may have anticipated that the king-maker would offer him the crown instead of only a contingent interest in it ; and within a very short time Clarence was in treacherous correspondence with Edward.
Edward, for his part, did not sit still amid his misfortunes. Obtaining help from the Duke of Burgundy, he sailed from Flushing with four ships of war, fourteen transports, and about two thousand men;* and on March l'2th, 1471, was off Cromer. He would have landed there had the weather been favourable ; but on the 14th he was able to put into Bavensrode. Clarence, after betraying his father-in-law, joined Edward ; and in the result Warwick was
1 Fabian, 473, 493; Speed, 670; Holingshed, ii. 666. ^ Landing near Alkmaar. Fabian, 500 ; Hall, f. 17-19 ; Speed, 681. ' Although the crown was entailed upon him, in case of failure of the male line of Henry VI. Fabian, 501 ; Speed, 681. * Hall, f. 246 ; Stowe, 412.
'600 MILITARY HISTORY, 139^-1485. [1471.
defeated and killed at Barnet on April 14th. The ex-king was imprisoned in the Tower ; and Margaret, who, almost at the very hour when the battle of Barnet was being fought, had landed at Weymouth, was on May 4th defeated and taken at Tewkesbury, her son. Prince Edward, being afterwards disgracefully murdered in cold blood. ^ Margaret was ransomed by the King of France, but was not suffered to depart until she had formally renomiced all her claims to the English throne.
Edward had regained his crown but not his navy, the greater part of which, upon the death of Warwick, had fallen into the hands of the king-maker's heutenant, Thomas, an illegitimate son of William Neville, Earl of Kent. This adventm-er, known as the Bastard of Fauconberg, went to Calais, embarked part of the garrison, and, anticipating that the capital would espouse the cause of Henry YL, who was still in the Tower, sailed to the mouth of the Thames, after having touched at Dover and reinforced himself there, and landed with seventeen thousand men. He was deceived. Far from joining him, the citizens opposed him, in spite of the large body of troops at his disposal, and, closely pursued, he retired to Sandwich, where, upon a promise of pardon, he surrendered himself and his ships. He was spared, and even employed, until, being detected in fresh intrigues, he was beheaded." At about the time of the Bastard's descent, in May, 1471, the ex-king, Hemy VI., died in the Tower. It is difficult to resist the conclusion that Edward reahsed that so long as Henry lived, civil strife was ahnost inevitable; and that, directly or indirectly, he was responsible for his rival's death, although the circumstances of the tragedy have never been explained.
Freed at length from domestic troubles, and master of his kingdom, Edward determined on a war with France, which had so often assisted his enemies, and against which he had many old grounds of quarrel. His preparations occupied him for some time, and not until about June, 1475, were they completed. By that time he had collected five hundred craft of various descriptions at Sandwich ; and at the end of the month, or the beginning of July, he crossed to Calais with a large army.^ Louis XI. and Charles, Duke of Burgundy, were at war, and Edward, in pursuance of his
' Holingslied, ii. 688 ; Habington, 453 ; Speed, GS4.
- Hall, f. 33 ; Speed, 685 ; Stowe, 424.
^ Polyd. Vergil, xxiv. ; Fab:an, 5C8; Graftun, 719; Cooper's Cbron. 267i.
1475.] THE PEACE OF AMIENS. 391
old continental policy, allied himself with the latter ; and, upon landing, sent a herald to Louis to formally demand the whole of the kingdom. Unfortunately, Charles was an untrustworthy ally. He desired Edward to march to St. Quentin ; but, on arriving before that town, the English king was fired at from the walls. Having thus good caiise to distrust his professed friend, and learning of the gi'eat anxiety of France for peace, he listened to Louis's overtures, and agreed to a truce for seven years. The conditions included the payment by Louis of seventy-five thousand crowns down, and a pension of fifty thousand crowns ; and the betrothal of the Dauphin to Edward's daughter, the Princess Elizabeth. This arrangement, known as the Peace of Amiens, was signed on the bi-idge of Picquigny on August 29th, 1475.' The result was not dis- honourable, and certainly not disadvantageous, to England. Louis became in some sense the tributary of Edward, and, it is said, paid annually large sums to Englishmen of high position, as well as the pension to the king, as inducements to them to assist in the preserva- tion of peace. But more important was the effect upon trade, which soon began to flourish as it had never flourished before.
The peace, however, did not seem destined to last long ; for France played a double game. Louis omitted to carry out the stipulation for the betrothal of the Dauphin ; and, in 1480, by the employment of subtle diplomacy, won over to his side the Emperor Maximilian, who had, but a short time previously, promised his son Philip in marriage to Edward's daughter, the Princess Anne, and who, upon the strength of that contract, had obtained from Edward the assistance of a squadron under Sir John Middleton." War with France would perhaps have ensued then, had not Edward's attention been distracted by war with Scotland. Kichard, Duke of Gloucester, the Lord High Admiral, was employed there with a large army as well as a powerful fleet ; and James III. was soon obliged to concede most of Edward's demands, although no permanent advantages were gained.*
As soon, nevertheless, as the Scots war ceased, and when Louis, in defiance of the undertaking arrived at at Picquigny, gave his son, not to Elizabeth of England, but to Margaret of Austria, Edward
' 'Foedera,"xii. 17; Daniel, vi. 461-463 ; Pliil. de Coiniues, iv. ; Fabian, 509; Hall, f. 46, 47.
" Speed, 689 ; Grafton, 473.
» Buchanan, xii. 399, 400 ; Speed, 689; Leslie, 'Pe IJeb. Gest; Scot.' viii. Z'll, 322; Stowe, 432.
892 MILITARY HISTORY, 1399-1485. [1483.
decided to stay his hand no longer, and, with the general approbation of his subjects, prepared to settle his account, once and for all, with Louis. He was in the midst of his preparations when he died on April 9th, 1483.
The reign of Edward's young son, Edward V., lasted for less than three months, and was, not unnaturally, barren of naval incident. Eichard, Duke of Gloucester, the king's uncle, formally accepted the crown on June 26, 1483, and was crowned on July 6th, following,^ the late king, and his younger brother, the Duke of York, disappearing soon afterwards, having been, as is generally believed, murdered in their prison in the Tower by Richard's orders.
Eichard III., who had been Lord High Admiral for many years, surrendered the office immediately after his accession to John Howard, first Duke of Norfolk, the "Jockey of Norfolk" of the ancient couplet.
The naval events of the reign are almost entirely connected with the efforts of Henry, Earl of Eichmond, to secure the crown. These may be briefly narrated.
Henry was, at the time of Eichard's accession, in Brittany, as guest of the Duke Francis, a weak potentate with a strong minister in the person of Pierre Landais, who, being of low origin, was very unpopular with the Breton nobihty. Landais knew of Henry's aspirations, and of the project for marrying him to the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV., and for thus uniting the Houses of Lancaster and York ; and he seems to have believed that if he aided Henry to win a throne, Henry would help him to crush the nobles who troubled him. He therefore enabled Henry to procm-e a squadron of forty ships and about five thousand men, with which an abortive attempt at invasion was made in 1483. Sir Thomas Wentworth was at that time in command of a strong force of English ships in the Channel, and vessels from the Cinque Ports were cruising to observe the movements of the Bretons. Moreover, craft to assist in the defence of the country had been specially procured by Eichard from Spain ; so that the invader had every- thing against him. To make things worse, his squadron was dis- persed by a gale, and as the coast was found to be carefully guarded, Henry was obhged to return." In the meantime, Eichard had
' Fabian, 516.
"^ Hall, f. 16J ; Grafton, 824-826 ; Stowe, 465 ; Polyd. Vergil, xxv. ; Holing- Bhed, ii. 745 ; Argentr^'s ' Hist, de Bretague,' xii. ; Daniel, vi. 601.
1485.] rilCn.VOXD'S INVASION. 393
taken and executed Buckingham, one of Henry's most powerful supporters in England, and had made such good use of his resources as to impress Landais with the conviction that he would not be easily ejected from his position. This caused the Breton minister to change his attitude, and to negotiate with Richard,' the result being that Henry narrowly escaped being handed over to his enemy. He lied to France.
It is difficult to understand why Eichard, who must have learnt from time to time of Henry's pertinacious efforts to obtain money, ships, and troops, did not keep his fleet at sea_ until a final settle- ment had been reached ; but he appears to have laid it up in the .spring of 1485. This encouraged Henry and his party to renewed exertions. John de Vere, Earl of Oxford,- who, after the battle of Barnet, had led a life very similar to that led for a time by Prince Rupert after the fall of Charles I., and who had later smxendered to the Captain of Calais', was able to give valuable advice, and to lend still more valuable help. At length a very inefficient squadron was collected, and two or three thousand indifferent troops were embarked in it ; ^ and on August 1st, 1485, Henry and his friends sailed from Harfleur. The Earl of Richmond was, on his father's side, a Welshman, and, confident of a good reception in Wales, he made for Milford Haven, landing there on August 6th. As he marched eastward, he was joined by numerous supporters ; and on August '2'2nd, 1485, at AVhitemoors, near Market Bosworth, he decisively defeated Richard, who fell in the action. The Duke of Norfolk, Lord High Admiral, also perished.
> Hall, f. 21, 22; Graftnii, S.32.
^ The second earl. After maiutaining himself by iiirac}', he had held St. Michael's Mount for several iiumths. On the accessitm of Henry VIIT. he was made High Steward and Lord High Admiral. He died in 1513.
" Stowe, 407; Speed, 721; Daniel, vi. 002; Hall, f. 27.
( o9i )
CHAPTEE XII.
VOYAGES AND DISCOVEKIES, 1399-1485.
H. W. Wilson.
Traik' with Spain — Pirates — Voyages to the Ijaltic — Relations with Piiissia — Voyages to the MediteiTanean — Trade witli tlie North — Voyages to Iceland — Depredations of the English there — English ships forliidden to visit Iceland — Further depreda- tions— ' Libel of English Policie ' — Search for O'Brazil — English Consul at Pisa.
[ TPvUBING the fifteenth century, on the eve of
' ' -^ the great Spanish and Portuguese clis-
' coveries, or mdeed whilst these were actually
being made, the records of English voyages are ■ provokingly slight. Erom the allusions in the
' Libel of English Policie,' we know that there must have been considerable trade with Spain and Portugal ; but our seas appear to have been very insecure till Henry VII. came to the throne. The Paston Letters contain more than one allusion to pirates, who landed and swept the vicinity of the coasts of valuables and kidnapped men. Under Henry VI. there existed an organised band of pirates who called themselves " Eovers of the Sea." London and Norwich even had to defend themselves against such attacks by booms and chains. Ships sailed in large companies to protect one another, and the whole convoy was usually under one selected captain. So great were the English losses that an Act was passed in Henry VI. 's reign directed expressly against the neutrals who were stealing the English trade.
Throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth-century voyages to Norway and the Baltic appear to have been common.' In 1.361 the English merchants had factories at the now strangely decayed town of Wisby in the island of Gotland. In 1388 there was a treaty of reciprocity with the Grand Master of Prussia, whose territories then
' From tlie number of letters, treaties, etc., in Hymer's ' Fccdera ' (q.v. for these years), the volume of trade to the Baltic must have been considerable.
1400.] TRADE WITH THE NOBTE. 395
lay between Danzig and Memel.' There is in the treaty mention of Enghsh ships at Danzig and of Prussian ships at Lynn. Both sides seem to have pkmdered one another freely, and hence the trouble. At the same time there is mention of negotiations with the Hanse Towns. In 1893 three Lynn ships of large size were allowed to aid Margaret of Denmark against the Hanse Towns. It does not, then, surprise us to discover in 1899, that the English merchants complain of bad treatment on the part of Prussia in the Hanse Towns, Liibeck, Wismar, Eostock, Stralsund, and Greifs- wald, where pirates plundered them right and left. In 1394 Bergen in Norway was burnt by freebooters, and twenty-one houses, valued at £146, belonging to merchants of Lynn, were destroyed. In 1401 there were more complaints of Prussia against ships of Lynn,- and counter-charges on the part of the English king for the seizure of English ships by Prussia. Acts of piracy were not, however, repressed, and in 1403 there are tlie old complaints again, settled by a fresh treaty of reciprocity and amity between England and Prussia. In 1408 we find that the English settlement at Bergen is important enough to have a governor of its own, who resides there for the direction of the English trade to Scandinavia. In 1409 the Hanse Towns and Henry IV. exchanged sums of money for damage done by pirates on either side, and piracy appears to have somewhat abated. William "Waldron, Lord Mayor of London in 1412 and 1422, ships dG24,000 worth of cargo to the Mediterranean in 1412, which was promptly seized by the jealous Genoese. In 1417 a patent was issued granting annuities to the masters or owners of large ships. Some years later is a treaty of reciprocity between Scotland and Norway. In 1429 the King of Denmark forbade English merchants to sail to Finmark, or indeed to any place but Bergen.
In 1446 one Gibson of Glasgow is mentioned as trading to Poland, France, and Holland, in piclded salmon. In 1449 John Taverner of Hull built a very large merchant ship, and was graciously permitted to sail with her to Italy for trading purposes. Now, too, Canyng, Mayor of Bristol, was sending ships to Danzig, Iceland, and Finmark, in spite of the Danish prohibition. In 1467 there was a treaty of reciprocity with Denmark. A large passenger trade was also springing up with Spain ; and in 1445 we find ships which could contain two hmidred passengers sailing ' ' Foedera,' vii. .590. - lb., viii. 20i3.
396 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1399-1485. [1420.
in summer for Spain, with pilgrims who wished to visit the shrine of Compostella.
During the fifteenth century that intercourse between England and Iceland, which we have noted as existing in the fourteenth century, continued and developed. Thus we know from the Icelandic annals that in 1407 news reached the Icelanders of the mui-der of the Archbishop of York. In 1412 we hear that a fishing vessel arrived from England at Dyrholm Isle, and that five men came ashore from her, as she was short of provisions, and wintered in the island. Next year came an English merchant in a vessel freighted with wares, which he was, by the King of Norway's leave, to be allowed to land without toll. Thirty English "fish doggers" also arrived, whilst it is noted, seemingly as strange, that "a ship came safe and soimd from Norway to Iceland." Already the English adventiurers were taking the Viking Norseman's place in the northern seas. The English fishermen, we read, seized sheep and were disorderly. In 1414 there were five English ships, apparently all laden with goods ; the annals notice in the course of this year the destruction of the "English yard" at Bergen by fire. In 1416 there were six English vessels, one of which conveyed home fifty lasts of stockfish and much bmiit silver. In 1419 twenty-five Enghsh ships were wrecked round the coast on Maundy Thursday, when there was a heavy gale. All the men were lost, but the goods were cast on shore. In this same year, Thorleif Arnisson sailed from Iceland to Denmark to complain to the Danish king of the harm done by the English, who, it appeared, ill-treated the Icelanders, and were guilty of rapine and manslaughter.' The King of Denruark had already complained to Henry V., who in 1415 had ordered that during this year no subject of his should visit the coasts of the islands belonging to Denmark and Norway, least of all Iceland, for the purpose of trading and fishing, otherwise than according to ancient custom.- The notice was sent to Lynn, Scarborough, Whitby, Hull, and other places, but it does not seem to have had much effect. It has been conjectured that the English were ordered only to refrain from fishing inshore. Thorleif Arnisson on his way to Denmark was attacked by an English pirate, but took refuge at the Faroes, and finally came safely to his destination. In 1420, too, English ships, under John Marris and Eawlin Tirrington, were
' Proceedings of the I'oyal Geographical Society, xlix. 404 ft'. ' Rymer, ' Fa'dera,' ix. 322.
1445.] ENGLISH MISCONDUCT IN ICELAND. 397
at Vestmannayjar in Iceland, and stole nine lasts of the king's stockfish. About the same time we hear of ten Enghsh clerks or merchants, by name, who traded with Iceland, and dwelt there through the winter. So also the English crews landed, killed a Danish officer, and robbed and plundered. In 1424 they carried off six more lasts of dried fish, and had actually entrenched bases on the detached islets of the coast. In 1425 they carried off Hans Paulsson and one Balthazar, besides despoiling the cloisters of Helgafell. In 1430 the Icelandic annals end, but in 1436 the Bishop of Iceland is licensed to engage John May with his ship Katherlne to sail to Iceland; and in the same year the name of a London stockfish dealer is well known to the Icelanders. In 1440 two ships are sent by the king laden with goods, as the Icelanders had neither wine nor salt in the coiintry. In 1450 a treaty between England and Denmark prohibits Enghshmen from trading to Iceland ; but Thomas Canyng, Mayor of Bristol, is exempted, because he has done the Icelanders great service. He was allowed to send out two ships to load with fish. In 1445 two men of Lynn are pmiished for kid- napping a boy in Iceland. And, in 1478, Eobert Alcock, of Hull, was permitted to send a ship, which was to bring back fish or other goods.' The 'Libel of English Pohcie,' devotes several lines to the " commodious stockfish of Iceland," adding that—
" Out of Bristowe and costes many one Men have practised by nedle and by stone, Thider wardes within a little while Within twelve yei'S and witliout perill, Gon and come, as men were wont of old. Of Scarborough mito the costes cold. And nowe so fele shipjies this yeere there ware That moch losse for unfreight they bare." ^
Again, in his letters, Columbus writes : ." I sailed (in February, 1477) a hundred leagues beyond the island of Tile, the southern part of which is not as some will have it 63° but 73° from the equinoctial line. It lies much more to the west than the western meridian of Ptolemy. This island is as large as England, and the English, especially those of Bristol, go there with their merchandise. At the time that I was there the sea was not frozen." ^ His statement that the sea was not frozen is corroborated by the Icelandic annals, and
' Icelandic Sagas, Cluonicles and l!olls Series, iv. 421 tl'.; and Do Costa, 'Inventio Fortunata,' pp. 11-13.
2 Hakluyt, B. L. i. 201. » ^^^^^^ .gleni,' xviii.
398
VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1399-1485.
[1485.
his Tile must have been Iceland or " Thule." His testimony to the activity of the Bristol traders is interesting. On July 15, 1480, Thomas Lloyd sailed from the port of Bristol, with " ships of 80 tons burden " belonging to John Say. His object was to dis- cover the mysterious island of Brasylle or O'Brazil, which was reported to lie out in the Atlantic — to the west of Ireland. His voyage lasted nine months, but it was fruitless.^ But all these early voyages want a vatcs sacer. The last indication of early travel with which om- record fitly closes, comes from the other extreme of Europe, where Strozzi was in 148-5 appointed English consul at Pisa for the Mediterranean, and where a treaty of reciprocity was concluded with Florence."
' Harrisse, 'Discovery of Xorth America,' 659.
^ A few events wliicli riglitl}' belong to the latter part of this period are, for the sake of convenience, dealt with in Chap. XYI.
( 399 )
CHAPTEE XIII.
Civil History of the Navy, 1485-1603.
Progi-essK in navigation — " EplienicriJes " — The astrolabe — The ci-oss-staff^Behaim's globe — "Lunars" — Variation of the needle — Mercator's charts — Books on naviga- tion— Davis's quadrant — The telescojie — The fleet — Shiiis of Henry VII. — 'I'he Henry Onice a Diiu — Ordnance — Naval literature — Arms — Gear — Ships of Henry VIII.— Shiiis of Edward VI. — Shijjs of Elizabeth— Naval pay — Agreement between Henry VIII. and Sir Edward Howard — Howaid of Effingham's instruc- tions— Pensions — The chest at Chatham — Naval arsenals — Docks — The first dry dock — The government of the service — Reforms of Henry Vlll. — The Navy Board — Trinity House — Punishments — The seafaring population — Encouragement of trade — Elizabeth's care of her country's interests.
TDEFOEE the end of the fifteenth century, European seamen had ceased to be mere unscientific gropers in darkness.^ They knew ho%v Eratosthenes had calculated the obhquity of the ecliptic by means of the armillce, or great copper circles, fixed in the square porch of the Alexandrian Museum, and how he had determined the cir- cumference of the earth. He had heard that deep wells in Syene were enhghtened to the bottom on the day of the smiimsr solstice, and he therefore reasoned that Syene must be on the tropic. He had ascertained the latitude of Alexandria by observation, and he assumed that the two places were on the same meridian. The arc thus measured enabled him to calculate the proportion it bore to the whole circumference of the earth, and his result was a fair approximation to the truth.
Then again, the fifteenth-century seamen had the catalogue of the stars and constellations, the system of mapping by decrees of latitude and longitude, and the theory of the precession of the
' For much of what here follows, concerning the improvements in the art of navigation, recognition is due to Chap. viii. of Sir Clements Markham's admirable 'Life of John Davis, the Navigator,' in 'The World's Great Explorers' series London, 188i). '"'
400
CIVIL HISTORT, 1485-1603.
[1514.
equinoxes — all bequeathed to them by Hipparchus, and preserved for them by Ptolemj'. The system of Ptolemy was the navigator's text-book in the Middle Ages ; and the Almagest, the Arabic translation of his work, was the foundation of astronomical knowledge. It was to learned men, well versed in the Almagest, that Alfonso X. of Castille, had entrusted the preparation of the astronomical tables which are called after him, and which, after they had remained in manuscript for about two hundred years, were first printed in 1483. Before the accession of Henry VII., Georg Peurbach and Johann Muller, better known as Eegiomon- tanus, had lived and done their work, and the latter had not only constructed valuable instruments, but had also published his " Ephemerides," with tables of the sun's declination calculated for the years from 1475 to 1566.
It was, however, in the lifetime of Henry VII. that greater progress was made than in any previous period of thrice the diu'ation, and the chief authors of this remarkable progress were the two celebrated navigators, Martin Behaim, of Nm-emberg, and Christopher Columbus.
Behaim, a merchant, was a pupil of Eegiomontanus, and a student of the Almagest. While in Portugal, he adapted for
Joao I., as an instrument of navigation, the astrolabe, which had previously been used only in astronomy. A graduated metal ring, held so as to hang as a plummet, with a movable limb across it, fitted with two perforated sights, enabled the seaman to observe the angle between the horizon and the sun at noon; and with this, and the daily declination of the sun, as given by Kegiomontanus, the dis- covery of the latitude involved only a simple calculation. This seems to have been about the year 1483. Not many years elapsed ere a more suitable instrument for observing the sun's altitude was devised. This was the cross-staff, the first known description of which dates from 1514, and is by Werner of Niirn- berg. After accompanying Diogo Cao on his West African voyage in 1484-85, and then living for a time in the Azores, Behaim returned to Niimberg, and constructed his great globe, concerning
EABLT ASTROLABE.
(.From Martin Cortes' 'Arte del Xaveoar,' Seville, 1556.)
141:12.]
IMPROVEMENTS IN NAVIGATION.
401
(From DavW
CROSS-STAFF.
' Scantan'ti Sccirf.^' Lnndun, Ijlll.)
which Baron Nordenskiolcl has written as follows to Sir Clements Markham : —
"The globe of Beliaim is, without comparison, the most important geo2;rai)liic;\l document that appeared between a.d. 150, the date of the composition <if Ptolemy's Atlas, and a.d. 1507, when Ruysch's map of the world was published. This globe is not only the oldest known to exist, but, from its size and its wealth of geographical detail, it far surpassed all analogous monu- ments de giographk; until the ap- pearance of the globe of Mercator. It is the first geographical document which, ^vithout any reserve, adopts the existence of antipodes. It is the first which plaiuh' shows the pos- sibility of a passage by sea to India and Cathay. It is the first on which the discoveries of Marco Polo are clearly indicated. It is true that the Behaim globe may be said to have been preceded, in some respects, by some other earlier maps of the fifteenth century — for instance, the ma]) in a codex of Pomponius Mela nf 1427, in the library of Kheims, antl that of Fra Mauro. But if these
are impartially studied, it will be found that they are based on the idea of Homer, that the earth is a large circular island encompassed by the ocean, a conception totally incompatible with the new geographical discoveries of the Spaniards. These and analogous maps are, therefore, not in the slightest degree comparable with the globe of Behaira, which may be said to be an exact representation of the geographical knowledge of the period ininiediately preceding the first voyage of Columbus."
The ascertaining of the longitude continued for many generations to be a difficulty, although Werner of Niirnberg proposed the method of observing the distance of the moon from the si;n with simultaneous altitudes — a method subsequently known as taking a "lunar"; and Gemma Frisius of Louvain had an idea, made public in 1.530, that longitude might be found by comparison of times kept by small clocks, a foreshadowing of the modern use of the chronometer.
Columbus was the first to observe the variation of the needle. This was on September 14th, 1492. It afterwards attracted the attention of Sebastian Cabot. But the peculiarity was very generally believed at the time to be non-existent, the observations being inaccurate ; and, as late as 1571, Sarmiento doubted it.
Globes, and not charts, were chiefly used by the early sixteenth- VOL. I. 2d
402 ■ CIVIL EISTOEY, 1485-1603. [1550.
century navigators who ventured into distant seas. The j)lane charts were fruitful soi;rces of error and danger, owing to the degrees being shown in them as of equal length. Therefore the discovery of a method of projection which obviated these dis- advantages marked a very great advance in the progress of the art of navigation. The discoverer was Gerard Cremer, better known as Mercator. Gerard learnt astronomy at Louvain from Gemma Frisius, pubHshed his first map in 1537, and constructed his gi-eat globe, two feet in diameter, in 1.541. But the chart of the world, oh the new projection, did not appear until 1569. The advantage of the system lies in the fact, as the author explains, that, although distances are distorted, the relative positions of places are correct. The actual chart is incorrectly drawn, and if Mercator really had a definite theory, he supplied others with no practical methods of working it out. The idea was not utilised in a scientific manner until Edward Wright of Garveston, in 1594, the year of Mercator's death, discovered the method of dividing the meridian. Five years later he published his treatise on ' The Correction of Certain EiTors in Navigation,' and onty thereafter did charts, on what is still nevertheless called Mercator's projection, come into general use.
Other valuable aids to the advancement of the science of navisa- tion were furnished, in the sixteenth centmy, by the work of Pedro Nunez, or Nonius, Martin Fernandez Enciso, Pedro de Medina, Martin Cortes, Bourne, William Borough, Blundeville, Hondius, Blagi-ave, Thomas Hood, Hues, Heriot, John Davis, and Gilbert of Colchester. Nonius gave the solution of several problems, including the detennination of the latitude by the sun's double altitude, and was the first to introduce rhumb lines on charts. Enciso's ' Smna de Geografia ' was the first practical navigation book for the use of sailors. Medina, though a Spanish writer, was the mentor of the early Dutch navigators. Cortes's ' Com- pendium ' appeared in an English translation in 1561, and was used by John Davis, the navigator. Bourne's ' Eegiment of the Sea ' (1573) was the earliest original English work on Navigation, and contains the first account of the modern method of measuring a ship's run by means of the log and line, an apparatus which Bourne elsewhere says was the invention of one Humphrey Cole, of the Mint in the Tower. Borough wrote on the Magnet and Loadstone in 1581. Blundeville pubHshed his very popular ' Ex- ercises ' in 1594, with a table of meridianal parts as furnished to
lo'JO.]
WlUTKkS UN NAVIGATION.
4u;j
him b}' his friend Edward Wi'ight, cand an explanation of the principle of Mercator's projection. Hondius, in 1595, published at Amsterdam a new chart of the world on Mercator's projection, in the preparation of which he utilised Wright's tables. Blagrave and Hood improved the astrolabe and cross-staff. Hues expounded various problems in navigation, and included in his ' Tractatus de (ilobis ' (1594), a chapter by Heriot on the use of rhumbs. John Davis, the navigator, wrote ' The Seaman's Secrets ' in 1594, and invented the back-staff or, Davis's quadrant, which rapidly- super-
, llACK-STAl'l', OK DAVISS yUADKANT.
(^Fnmi .h'hii Rulteriatm' n ' Elements of Navigation,' London, 17-1-.)
seded the cross-staff, and which, improved by Flamsteed, remained in common use until Hadley's reflecting quadrant took its place in 1731. And Doctor Gilbert of Colchester, in the last year of the century, followed up the previous works by Borough, Norman, and others, on magnetism, by propounding the theory that the earth itself is a magnet. Nor must the invention of the telescope be forgotten. It is due to Zacharias Janssen, of Middelberg, about 1590, and the instriuuent, quickly improved, soon became part of the sea captain's equipment.
Henry VII., unlike some of his fifteenth-century predecessors,
2 D 2
404 CIVIL HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1489.
deemed it of importance to build some vessels specially for war, instead of relying entirely upon ships hired from the merchants, and more or less hastily and imperfectly adapted for it, and he strengthened the Navy Eoyal by adding to it at least two finer men-of-war than had been previously seen in England.
With the crown he acquired the Grace a Dieu,^ the Governor,'^ the Martin Garcia,^ the Mary of the Totver* the Trinity, the Falcon, and possibly the Bonaventure. He purchased the Carvel of Ewe'^ (Caravel of Eu, in Normandy), and perhaps also a small craft called the King's Baric; he captured the Margaret in 1490; and he built the Regent, the Sovereign, the Sweepstake, and the Mary Fortune.
The tonnage and dimensions of the Begenf ^ a,nd the Sovereign are unknown ; but it is tolerably certain that both ships were larger and more powerful than any of their predecessors in the English navy.
The Regent was constructed in Eediug Creek, on the Bother, rmder the supervision of Sir Eichard Guildford,' and seems to have been launched in 1489 or 1490. She carried '22.5 serpentines, all apparently on the upper deck, forecastle, and j)oop. She had a foremast and foretop-mast,* a main-mast, main top-mast, and main top-gallant-mast, a main mizen-mast, a bonaventure mizen- mast, and a sprit-sail on the bowsprit. Each mast seems to have carried a yard. The Regent was burnt in 1512.
The Sovereign was constructed, partly out of the remains of the broken-up Grace a Dieu, under the superintendence of Sir Eeginald Bray,' and, in all likelihood, was launched in 1488. She was smaller than the Regent, carrying only 141 serpentines. Her masts were like those of the Regent, except that she had no main top- gallant-mast."
' Probably bovight or built, 1473.
^ Bought, 1485. Excheq. Warr. for Issues, January 31st, 1485.
' Probably bought, 1470. Excheq. Warr. for Issues, July ISth, 1470.
* Bought, 1478.
. * Re-uameii Mary and John.
^ It is known, however, tliat the Regent was copied from a French ship, the Columbe, of 600 tons.
' Son of Sir John Guildford, of Hempsted. He was made Master of the Ordnance in 1486, then Controller of the Household, and, in 1500, a E.G.
* These top-masts were separate spars, but fixed, and not strikable.
" Later, a Privy Comicillor and K.G. He was the architect of St. George's Cliapel, Wmdsor, and of Henry \'II.'s Chapel, AVestminster.
'° Nav. Accts. and Inventories of Henry YII. (Oppenheim), pref. xix-xxiv.
15U.] THE "HENRY GRACE A DIEU." -105
The Sweepstake ^ and Mary Fortune were built in 1497, and were small craft, each with three lower masts, a main top-mast, and a sprit-sail on the bowspit." One had eighty and the other sixty oars, for use as sweeps.
The Regent, the principal warship, bequeathed to Henry VIII. by his father, was, as will be seen later, bm-nt in the action off Brest, on August 10th, 1512, and it would appear that it was as a sub- stitute for her that the famous Henry Grace a Dleu was laid down at Erith in the course of the autumn of the same year. On Juno 13th, 1514, the not extravagant sum of 6.s. 8(7. was offered at her " hallowing," ^ from which fact it may be concluded that she was then launched ; and in the course of the following year she seems to have been completed for sea. "William Bond, the master-shipwright who built her under Brygandine's direction, is supposed to have been the first master-shipwright of the Eoyal Navy. A MS. Augmentation Office account, quoted by Charnock,* indicates that in November, or December, 1514, she was moved from Erith to Barking Creek by a party which included twenty-one seamen who had been discharged from the Lizard, each of whom received 8f/. for his share of the work.
Several alleged representations of this interesting ship exist, and some of them are reproduced here. One is found in a picture which was long hanging in Canterbury Cathedral, and which was presented to Sir John Norris, Admiral of the Fleet, by the dean and chapter. It is still in the possession of Sir John's descendants, and was exhibited at the Eoyal Naval Exhibition, 1891. Another occurs in the picture by Volpe of the embarkation of Henry VIII. at Dover on May 31st, 15'20, to meet Francis I. on the Field of the Cloth of Gold. This picture, the property of the Crown, is at Hampton Coui-t Palace. Another occurs in the well-known drawing preserved in the Pepysian collection at Cambridge. And there are two models in the museum at Greenwich. The authenticity of these last was, however, so much doubted by the models com- mittee of the Naval Exhibition, that they were merely described in the catalogue as probably representing large ships of the six- teenth century. Upon the whole, Volpe's picture, long ascribed to
' Ee-named Katlieriite Pomegranate uudei' Heuiy YIII. " Nav. Accts. and Inventories of Henry VII. (Oppenheim), pref. xxvii. ^ Letters and Papers, Heu. YIII. pp. 146-1, 14G5. Record Oftice. ■* Charnock, ii. 43.
406
CIVIL HISTORY, 1485-1603.
[1514.
Holbein, seems to be the most trustworthy, although it does not represent the vessels which actually convoyed Henry, but rather those vessels which would have convoyed him, had the harbours where the king embarked and disembarked been deep enough to admit them. The following account of Volpe's picture, which is of
THE " HEXRY GRACE .-i DIEU."
iFfom a supposed contemporarij panel, furmarh/ in Canterhunj Cathedral, given hij the dean and chapter to Admiral' of the Fleet, Sir John Norris. By kind permission of B. C. Nurris, Esq.)
necessity here reprodiiced on a very diminished scale, and does not, therefore, show details with great clearness, will assist the student. Of it Pepys says : " I came a little too late (to receive the Com- munion at AVhitehall), so I walked up into the house, and spent my time in looking over pictures, particularly the ships in King Henry VIII. 's voyage to Bullaen, marking the great difference between those built then and now."
1520.]
VOLPE'S PICTURE.
407
The Henry Grace a Dieii is the vessel which is saihng out of harbour, and which is immediately above the right tower. She has four pole masts, with two round tops on each, except the shorter mizzen, which bears only one. Her sails and pennants are of cloth of gold damasked. The royal standard of England flies on each of the four angles of the forecastle, and the staff of each standard is sm-rounded by a flem--de-lys Or. Pennants fly from the mastheads, and at each angle of the poop is a banner of
THE "henry grace A DIEU." (^From the drawing in the Pepi/aian Llhrarij In Magdale/i CoUctjp, CamhrUhje.")
St. George. Her quarters and sides, as well as her tops, are hung with targets, charged differently with the Cross of St. George, Azure a fleixr-de-lys Or, party per pale Argent and Vert a union rose, and party per pale Argent and Vert a portcullis Or, alternately and repeatedly. In the waist stands the king, in a garment of cloth of gold, edged with ermine, the sleeves, jacket, and breeches, crimson. His round hat bears a white feather, lying on the brim. On his proper left stands a person in a dark violet coat, slashed with black, and with red stockings. On his right are three other persons, one in black, another in bluish-grey, and the third in red, guarded with black, and with a black slashed jacket. Behind are yeomen of the
408 CIVIL HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1520.
guard, with halberts. Two trumpeters, sounding their trumpets, sit on the break of the poop, and two more are on the break of the forecastle. On both forecastle and poop are many yeomen of the guard. Beneath the break of the forecastle are shown, party per pale Argent and Vert, within the garter, the amis of England and France, quarterly crowned ; the supporters, a lion and a dragon, being those then lased by the king. The same arms appear on the stern. On each side of the rudder is a porthole, showing the muzzle of a brass gun. The figure-head seems to represent a lion. Under the stern is a boat, having at her head two banners of St. George, and at her stern the same. Two yeomen of the guard, and other persons are in her. Both stern and forecastle
TMVS COCVERVN BASTARD
CULVERIX BAST.^RD, XVITH CEXTUEY.
are two decks higher than the waist, which itself appears to be two clear decks above the water.
Four other ships, all large, are shown in the picture. The king's squadron actually consisted of the Great Bark, the Less Bark, the Katherine Pleasaunce, the Mary and John, and two row barges, all comparatively small craft ; but the painter obviously shows us some of the crack ships of the time. The visit to France was paid in Henry's twelfth year. In the thirteenth year of his reign, 1521-22, according to a MS. in Pepys' Miscellanies,^ the five largest ships in the EngHsh navy, with their tonnage, were as follows: Henri/ Grace a Dieu, 1500;^ Sovereign, 800; Gabriel Boijal, G50 ; Mary Bose, 600 ; ^ and Katherine Forteleza, 550 ; and it is very probable that these five vessels are the five depicted. On
' Miscellanies, viii.
'■^ Most authorities, however, agree that the tonnage was but 1000. The more probable tonnage of all these ships will be found in the table printed infra, p. 410. ^ Klsewhere generally described as of 500 tons.
1514.]
GUNS OF THE " IIENBY GRACE A DIEU."
40!)
this assumption, the sliip wliich men are boarding, and which is the innermost of the three lying alongside one another, would natm-ally be the Sovereign, since she alone, except the Hennj Grace a Dieu, has four masts.
The heavy guns of the Henri/ Grace a Dieu, according to an account in ' Archipologia," ' taken from a MS. in the Pepysian Collection at Magdalen College, Cambridge, were twenty-oue in number, and were all of brass. The following are the types and
RO&ARTAHO JOHN OWVN BROTH ERS MAO'f. this DCKVI canon V.AV,NC1S77 ANNO DI<il ISii.
BRASS GUX FK05I THK " MAr.Y ROSE.
numbers of each, with the number and natui'e of the shot carried for them : —
Shot.
Cannon
Demi-cannon . Culverin . Demi-culveiin .
Saker .
Cannon Perer (Cannnn Petro)
Falcon ,
There were also the following light guns, viz. : port pieces, 14 ; slings, 4 ; demi-slings, '2 ; fowlers, 8 ; bassils, (50 ; top-pieces, '2 ; hail-shot pieces, 40 ; and hand-guns, 100. Her complement was made up of 301 mariners, 50 gunners, and 349 soldiers, making 700 in all.
It would be waste of time, in default of specific information on
' ' Archwologia' (App. III.), vi. I'lii.
410
CIVIL HISTORY, 1485-1603.
[1545
the subject, to endeavour to indicate bow and wbere tbe different heavy guns were mounted ; but some particulars as to the guns themselves can and should be attempted. In this we are assisted by the fact that several guns which went down in the above- mentioned Mary Base in 154.5, off Portsmouth, have been recovered, and are still in existence, and by the further fact that little change in the size and nature of ships' heavy guns took place during the sixteenth century. A table of the principal guns of that period, compiled from extant specimens, and from what appear to be the most trustworthy ancient authorities,^ is therefore appended : —
|
Name of Piece. |
Cal.bie. |
Length. 1 |
Weight of Cjun. |
>VeiBht of siiot. |
Charge of Powder. |
|
Cannon Royal . |
lus. 8-54 |
Ft. Ins. 8 G |
I.hs. 8,000 |
Lbs. 74 |
Lbs. 30 |
|
Cannon |
8-0 |
C,000 |
GO |
27 |
|
|
Cannon Serpentine |
7-0 |
5,500 |
42 |
25 |
|
|
Bastard Cannon |
7-0 |
4,500 |
42 |
20 |
|
|
Demi-Cannon . |
6-4 |
11 0 |
4,000 |
32 |
18 |
|
Cannon Pedro, or I'etro^ |
6-0 |
3,800 |
26 |
14 |
|
|
Culverin' .... |
5-2 |
10 11 |
4,840 |
18 |
12 |
|
Basilisk |
o-O |
4,000 |
14 |
9 |
|
|
Demi-Culverin . |
4-0 |
3,400 |
8 |
6 |
|
|
Culverin Bastai'd |
4-56 |
8 6 |
3,000 |
11 |
5-7 |
|
Saker* |
3-65 |
6 11 |
1,400 |
6 |
4 |
|
Minion |
3-5 |
6 G |
1,050 |
5-2 |
3 |
|
Falcon |
2-5 |
G 0 |
680 |
2 |
1-2 |
|
Falconet' .... |
2-0 |
3 9 |
500 |
1 |
•4 |
|
Serpentine .... |
1-5 |
400 |
•5 |
•3 |
|
|
Eabinet or Robinet |
1-0 |
300 |
•3 • |
•18 |
1 MuDSon puts tbe lcn;th of tbe guiis meutioued by him at 8 ft. 6 in, ; but specimeus still extant, dating from ab<-'ut his time, indicate that this was uut always correct.
2 "Cannon Pedro" was the English form of "canon pierrier," and means a gnu primarily intended for thniwiug stone shot.
3 I.e. couleuvrinc — serpent. Compare Basilisk.
* Named after the Saker hawk. Compare Falcon.
5 In the grounds of the Selgnenrie, Sark, is a well-preserved brass gnu, apparently a falconet, 57 inches in length, and Ig inches in calibre, bearing the following inscription : — "Dun de :?a Majeste la Koyne Elizabeth au Seigneur de Sarcq, A.n. ISTS." See p. 412.
* See Sir W. Monsou's 'Tracts' in Churchill's Voyages, iii. ; ' Archa3ologia,' vi. 189, xi. 170, xiii. 27, etc. Tartaglia's ' Three Books of Colloquies,' translated by Lucar (LonihiD, 1588); and S. P. Dom, Eliz. ccxlii. G-i. Hardly any two of these agree. The |ja))er Dom. Eliz. ccxlii, 0^, is printed at length as an appendix to the * State
1588.]
HEAVY auNs.
41 J
The weights of guns of the same denomination, and of the shot foi- them, nay, even the cahbres, seem to have varied considerably, and the windage was greater than was ever allowed in the seven- teenth or eighteenth century. In the cannon royal it must have amounted to a full half-inch at least, and if, as some authorities say, the cannon royal threw onlj' a sixty-six pound shot, the windage must have been in some cases as much as three-quarters of an inch. In his preface to the ' Defeat of the Spanish Armada,' Professor Laughton speaks loosely of the shot being " a good inch and a half less in diameter than the bore of the gun." This is surely an exaggeration. Had the proportions been so, the iron shot for an 8-in. gun would have weighed less than 40 lbs. ; that for a 7-in. gun less than '24 lbs. ; that for a 6-in. gim about 13 lbs. ; and that for a 5-in. gun only about 6 lbs. The relatively large charges of powder may be explained by this great windage, and the excessive badness and weakness of the explosive. In the eighteenth century, twenty- five pounds was a proof charge for a 4'2-pounder, and the heaviest sea-service charge for it was only seventeen pounds, while the proof
Papers relatino; to the Defeat of tlie Spanish ArniaJa ' (Nav. ]Jec. Sol-.), and contains a table from wliich the followinsr is extracted: —
|
T'Mint |
||||||
|
Height (calibre) of the Piece. |
Weight uf the Piece. |
^VeiKlit of the shot. |
Weight of the Powder. |
blank (range) by the |
Eauiioni (range with elevation). |
|
|
Quadrant. |
||||||
|
Inches. |
Lbs. |
Lbs. |
Lbs. |
Score Paces. |
Paces. |
|
|
Cannon Eoval |
8^ |
7000 |
GC |
30 |
1930 |
|
|
Cannon |
H |
6000 |
GO |
27 |
17 |
2000 |
|
Cannon Serpentine |
'h |
5500 |
53- |
25 |
20 |
2000 |
|
Bastard Cannon . |
i |
4500 |
41 |
20 |
18 |
1800 |
|
Demi-Cannon . |
<H |
4000 |
30i |
18 |
17 |
1700 |
|
Cannon Pedro . |
6 |
3000 |
24i |
14 |
16 |
1600 |
|
Culverin . |
5i |
4500 |
17i |
12 |
20 |
2500 |
|
Basilisco . |
h |
4000 |
15i |
10 |
||
|
Demi-Culverin |
•ii |
3400 |
OJ |
8 |
20 |
2500 |
|
Bastard Culverin . |
4 |
3000 |
7 |
Ci |
18 |
1800 |
|
Saker .... |
H |
1400 |
5J |
5| |
17 |
1700 |
|
Minion |
3i |
1000 |
4 |
4 |
16 |
1600 |
|
Falcon of 2J- indies |
2i |
800 |
3 |
3 |
15 |
1500 |
|
Falconet . |
2 |
500 |
li |
li |
14 |
1400 |
|
Serjientine. |
u |
400 |
1 3 |
X |
13 |
1300 |
|
Kobinet |
1 |
300 |
i |
i |
12 |
1000 |
|
Falcon. . . . |
. 1 2J |
GGO |
2i |
— 4 |
15 |
1500 |
The charges are for " cannon corn powder " (serpentine meal powder). AVlien " fine corn powder" (small arm powder) was used, 25 per cent, less of it was to be eiiiiiloyed. The table and directions are signed " Jo. Sheriffe."
412
CIVIL HISTORY, 1485-1603.
[1514.
charge for an 18-ponncler was fifteen pounds, and the sea-service charge was hut nine pounds.^
The ships of Henry VII. appear to have been the first Enghsh ones to be fitted with regular port-lioles. The Regent and Sovereign certainly had them in their poops and forecastles. The invention
of the device has been as- cribed to Descharges, a ship- builder of Brest, about the year 1.500, but there is no doubt that it was of a rather earlier date. The numerous small guns of the Henry Grace a Dieii, and of the other large ships of her time, were mounted on the upper deck, in the tops, in the poop and forecastle, and under the break of the poop and fore- castle, so as to command the waist and sweep it, should boarding be attempted there. Among these small guns were : — Fowlers, short, light weapons, with or without a separate breech which could be unshipped and reloaded while another was being discharged ; port-pieces, small fowlers with the same peculiarities ; curtalds, short heavy guns, apparently employed for high-angle fire ; slings, demi-slings, bassils or small basilisks, and top-pieces, all of diminutive calibre and relatively large powder-charge, working on swivels or pivots ; hail-shot pieces, carrying a charge of cubical dice ; and hand-guns or calivers, which, though fired from the shoulder, required to be supported on a pivot or staff.
Among the stores of the Henry Grace a Dien at her commis- sioning were two lasts, or 4800 pounds of " serpentyn " powder in barrels, and six lasts, or 14,400 pounds of " corn " powder, also in barrels.^ This, and the provision of shot, must have been more than ample, for the larger guns could be fired only very seldom, there being no mechanical contrivances for working them ; and it is recorded as a marvellous thing by Du Bellay that in the action
' Montaine's 'Practical Sea Gunner's Companion,' London, 1747, p. 71. '' From a MS. in the Pepysian Library, printed in Charnook,|ii. 44.
ELIZAISETIIAX FAIAONET, AT THE SEIGSEURIE, SARK.
1545.]
PnOOIlESS OF FIREARMS.
413
of 1545, when about two hundred ships were hotly engaged at close quarters for two hours, there were not less than three hundred cannon-shot fired on both sides. Du Bellay, as a military con- temporary, no doubt wrote what was quite true ; ' but he probably included only the shots thrown from the heavier guns engaged, and paid no attention to the fire of light pieces. Still, the expenditure
■iriSMBfcJ
A GENOESE CARUACK.
iFruiii ClKiriwck, who sails tliiil it is ivpiitl from an original drawing made in UTA)
was remarkably small, and it cannot have permitted the heaviest guns to be discharged more than twice or thrice apiece. The seamen of the period had not, however, begun to depend exclusively, nor even chiefly, upon firearms as their weapons of offence, and this abundantly appears from the fact that, among the stores of the Henrij Grace a Dieu were 500 bows of yew, ten gross of bow-
' Tliough aiicitliei- coutemjiorary says that iiut kss than 300 guns were enga"C(l.
414 CIVIL HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1521.
strings, 200 morris jjikes, 200 bills, ten dozen lime pots, and great quantities of arrows and darts. As late as 1578,^ there were, among the stores of Queen Elizabeth's ships, 300 bows, 380 sheaves of arrows, 460 morris pikes, and 460 bills ; nor had the gun fully asserted its supremacy until several years after the time of the Armada. It should be added that in the case of the largest guns of the Tudors, the powder was made' up on board into cartridges in canvas cases, paper cases being used for the charges of the medium and hghter guns. Hence the comparatively early origin of the term cartridge-paper.
No picture, print, or model of the Henry Grace a Dicn suggests to the modern technical critic that the vessel was in the least suited for sea work ; yet the ship was undoubtedly a good sailer, for, writing to the king on June 4th, 1522, from the Downs, Vice- Admiral Sir William Fitzwilliam reported that she sailed as well as, and rather better than, any ship in the fleet, weathering all save the Mary Bose.
An inventory of her gear, ma^e in 1521, shows that she possessed a 22-inch, cable, a 20-inch cable, and an 8-inch hawser. Her mainstay was sixteen inches in diameter. AVhen she was still building, the authorities paid for a streamer or pennant, fifty-one yards long, for her mainmast, a sum of £'d, and for two flags ; with crosses of St. George, lOd. each. These last may have been boat- flags ; for, of course, she carried boats, though it is not clear how she hoisted them out and in, and where she stowed them. They must have lain, possibly on chocks, on deck in the waist. The boat davit was a much later invention. Some notes as to the prices of certain gear for other ships, from records of the year 1513, may be added here: For the Trinity of Bristol, otherwise the NicJiolas of Hampton, a spirit-sail yard cost 9s. (she was a craft of 200 tons) ; 100 feet of oak plank, 6.s. ; a hundredweight of small ropes, lis. M. ; a boathook, M. ; a compass, 2s. ; a foreyard, 14s. ; and two gallons of vinegar, "to make fine powder for hand-guns," 8«Z. A mizzenmast for the Katherine Pomegranate, otherwise the Sweepstake, of 65 (or 80) tons, cost 10s., and an anchor for the same craft, 20s.
Contemporary literary references to naval matters of the six- teenth century are so rare, and so very few of them are attributable to writers who seem to have been at all familiar with the technical ' As sliown in a list printed in Campbell, viii., from a MS. of Dr. Samuel Knight.
15-! 8.]
'THE GOMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND:
415
aspects of naval life, that no excuse is necessary for printing here an extract from a volume which was published at Edinburgh in 1801, and which is entitled ' The Compla3'nt of Scotland.' The work was written by an unknown author in 1548 ; and it takes the form of a satire directed against those responsible, or supposed to be responsible, for the misf or times of the northern kingdom. In the first part, the author laments his country's woes, and considers the causes of them ; in the second, as if endeavouring to escape from the sadness of his reflections, he gives a vivid description of a
K
■A
N
T\k^
^
Miifii.i'-'r-f '^Wli*^
\T^~;
^^^
VESSELS, XIVTU CENTURY. (.Froiilixpiivr lu " L'Artc ilcl A'arcgar," Teiiicc, 1555.)
number of characteristic scenes. Among these (page 61) is the following naval pictm-e ' : —
" Than I sat doune to see the flouying of the fame; quhar that I leukyt fart furth on the salt flude. There I beheld ane galiasse gayly grathit for the veyr, lyand fast at ane ankir, and her salis in
' The following is a fairly i-luse translation, so far as tlic above extract appears to be translatable. In the original, some inconsistencies of spelling and obvious inaccuracies arc corrected, hi the translation, obscure j^assages are left in italics : —
"Then I sat down to see the flowing of the foam; where I looked far forth on the salt flood. There I beheld a galliass gaily caiiarisoned for (lie war, lying fast at an
416 CIVIL EISTOST, 1485-1603. [1548.
hou. .1 herd many vordis amang the marynahs, hot I vist nocht quhat tai iiienit. Zit I sal reherse and report ther crying and ther cal. In the fyrst, the maister of the gahasse gart the botis man pas vp to the top, to leuk fart furth gyf he culd see ony schips. Than the botis man leukyt sa lang quhit that he sae ane quhyt sail. Than he cryit vitht ane skyrl, quod he, ' I see ane grit schip.'
" Than the maister quhislit, and bald the marynalis lay the cabil to the cabilstok, to veynde and veye. Than the marynalis began to veynde the cabil vitht mony loud cry. And as ane cryit, al the laif cryit in that saniyn tune, as it hed bene ecco in ane hon heuch. And, as it aperit to me, thai cryit thir vordis as eftir follouis : ' Veyra, veyra, veyra, veyra, gentil gallandis, gentil gallan- dis ! Veynde ; I see hym : veynde ; I see him. Pourbossa ; pour- bossa ! Hail al and azie ! Hail al and ane ! Hail hym vp til vs ! Hail hym vp til vs ! '
" Than, quhen the ankyr vas halit vp abufe the vattir, ane marynal cryit, and al the laif follouit in that sam tune ; ' Caupon caupona ; caupon caupona ; caupun hola ; caupun hola ; caupun holt; caupun holt; sarrabossa ; sarrabossa.' Than thai maid fast the sthank of the ankyr.
"And the maister quhislit and cryit: ' Tua men abufe to the foir ra ! Cut the raibandis, and lat the foir sail fal ! Hail doune
anchor, with her sails furled. I heard many words among the mariners, but I knew not what they meant. Yet I shall rehearse and report their crying and their call. In the first [place] the master of the galliass bid the boatsman ' pass up to the top, to look far forth if he could see any ships. Then the boatsman looked so long out that he saw one white sail. Then he cried with an oath, quoth he : 'I see a great ship.'
" Then the master whistled, and hade tlie mariners lay the cable to the cable-stock ^ to wind and weigh. Then the mariners began to wind the cable with many [a] loud cry. And as one cried, all the rest cried in that same tune, as it had been [an] echo in a cave. And, as it appeared to me, they cried their words as after follows: 'Veer, veer, veer, veer, gentle gallants, gentle gallants ! AVind ; I see him. Wind; 1 see him. Pourbossa; pourhoss<i\ Haul all and one! Haul all and one! Haul him up to us ! Haul him up to us ! '
"Then, when the anchor was hauled up above the water, one mariner cried, and all the rest followed in that same tune : ' Caupon caupona ; caupon caupona ; caupuH hola; caupjun hola; caupun holt; caupun holt; sarrabossa; sarrabossa!'^ Then they made fast the shank of the anchor.
"Then the master whistled, and cried: 'Two men above to the foreyard ! Cut the lashings, and let the foresail fall ! Haul down to starboard ! Luff hard aboard ! Haul aft the foresail sheet ! Haid out the bowline ! '
' The boatsman was the first officer. - Windlass.
' Apparently corrupted Mediterranean terms. Cajione (Ital.) means " cable."
1548.] ' THE COMPLAYNT OF SCOTLAND.' 417
to steir burde ! Lufe harde aburde ! Hail eftir the foir sail scheit ! Hail out the bollene ! '
" Than the maister quhislit and cryit ; ' Tua men abufe to the mane ra ! Cut the raibandis, and lat the mane sail and top sail fal ! Hail doune the lufe close abm-de ! Hail eftir the mane sail scheit ! Hail out the mane sail bolleiTe ! ' Than ane of the marynahs began to hail and to cry, and al the marynalis ansuert of that samyn sound : ' Hou ! Hou ! Pulpela ! Pulpela ! Boulena ! Boulena ! Darta ! Carta ! Hard out strif ! Hard out strif ! Afoir the vynd ! Afoir the vynd ! God send ! God send ! Fayr vedthir ! Fayr vedthir ! Mony pricis ! Mony pricis ! God foir lend ! God foir lend ! Stou ! Stou ! Mak fast and belay ! ' Than the maister cryit and bald : ' Eenze ane bonet ! Vire the trossis ! Nou heise ! ' Than the marynalis began to heis vp the sail, cryand : ' Heisau ! Heisau ! Vorsa ! Vorsa ! Vou ! Vou ! Ane lang draucht ! Ane lang draucht ! Mair maucht ! Mair maucht ! Zong blude ! Zong blude ! Mair mude ! Mair mude ! False flasche ! False flasche ! Ly a bak ! Ly a bak ! Lang suak ! Lang suak ! That ! That ! That ! That ! Thair ! Thair ! Thair ! Thair ! Zallou ha}i- ! Zallou hayr ! Hips bayr ! Hips bayr ! Til hym al ! Til hym al ! Viddefullis al ! Viddefullis al ! Grit and smal ! Grit and smal ! Ane and al ! Ane and al ! Heisau ! Heisau ! Nou mak fast the theyrs ! '
" Than the maister cryit : ' Top zour topinellis ! Hail on zour top sail scheitis ! Vire zour listaris and zour top sail trossis, and
" Then the master whistleil, and cried : ' Two men above to the mainj-ard ! Cut the lashings, and let the mainsail and topsail fall ! Haul down the luff close aboanl ! Haid aft the mainsail sheet ! Havil out the mainsail bowline ! ' Then cue of the mariners began to hail and to cry, and all the mariners answered that same soimd : 'Hou! Hou! Pulpela! Pidpela! Boulena! Boulena! Darta! Darta !^ Hard out strif! Hard out strif! ^ Before the wind ! Before the wind ! God send ! God send ! Fair weather ! Fair weather ! Many prizes ! Many prizes ! Good fair land ! Good fair land ! Stow ! Stow ! Make fast and belay ! ' Then the master cried, and bade : ' Out with a bonnet ! ' Veer the trusses ! Now hoist ! ' Then the mavir irs began to hoist uji the sail, crying : 'Heisau! Heisau! Vorsa! Vorsa! Vou! Voh^ One long pull ! One lung jiuU ! More power ! More power ! Young blood ! Yoimg blood! More mud! Morenmd! False flesh! False flesh ! Lie aback ! Lie aback! hon^ suak! Long suak! That! That! That! That! There! There! There! There! Yellow hair ! Yellow hair! Hips bare! Hips bare! To him all ! To him all! Viddefullis al! Viddefullis al ! Great and small ! Great and small ! One and all! One and all ! Heisau! Heisau! Now each make fast his ! '
" Then the master cried : ' Top your topinellis ! Haul on your topsail sheets ! Veer your leeches, and yom- topsail trusses, and hoist the topsail higher ! Haul out the
' Proljably more ^Mediterranean corruptions. ^ Unintelligible.
* A bonnet was an extra cloth laced to a sail or course for line-weather sailing.
VOL. I. 2 E
418 CIVIL HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1548:
heise the top sail hiear ! Hail oiit the top sail boulene ! Heise the myszen, and change it ouer to leuart ! Hail the loriche and the scheitis ! Hail the trosse to the ra ! '
" Than the maister cryit on the rudirman : ' Mait, keip ful and by ! A luf ! Cunna hiear ! Holabar ! Arryva ! Steir clene \'p- the helme ! This and so ! '
" Than, qiAen the schip vas taiklit, the maister crj'it : " Boy to the top ! Schaik out the flag on the top mast ! Tak in zour top salis and thirl them ! Pul doune the nok of the ra in daggar vyise ! Marynalis, stand be zoui' gej'r in taiklene of zour salis ! Euery quartar maister til his aen qi;arter ! Botis man, bayr stanis and lyme pottis ful of lyme in the craklene pokis to the top, and paucis veil the top vitht pauesis and mantillis ! Guuuaris, cum heir, and stand by zour astailzee, euyrie gmmar til hir aen quartar ! Mak reddy zour cannons, culuerene moyens, culuerene bastardis, falcons, saikjTS, half saikyrs, and half falcons, slangis, and half slangis, quartar slangis, hede stikkis, murdresaris, pasauolans, bersis, doggis, doubil bersis, hagbutis of croche, half haggis, culuernis, and hail schot ! And ze soldaris and coapaugzons of veyr, mak reddy zour corsbollis, hand boUis, fyir spe3'T:is, hail schot, lancis, pikkis, halbardis, rondellis, tua handit sourdis and tairgis ! '
" Than this gaye galiasse, beand in gude ordour, sche follouit fast the samyn schip that the botis man hed sene ; and for mair
topsail bowline ! Hoist the mizen, and change it over to leeward ! Haul the leeche and the sheets ! Haul the truss to the yard ! '
"Then the master cried to the steersman: 'Mate, keep full and by! Luff! Con her ! Steady ! Keep close ! Steer straight ahead ! That will do ! '
" Then, when the ship was imder sail, the master cried : ' Boy to the top ! Shake out the flag on the topmast! Take in j-our topsails and ihirl them! Pull down the nok of the yard in dagger-wise ! Mariners, stand to your gear for handling of your sails ! Every quartermaster to his o\vn quarter ! Boatsman, bear stones and lime-pots full of lime in the craklene pokis to the top, xaA. paucis veil the top with pavises and mantlets ! Gunners, come here, and stand by your artillery ; every gunner to his own quarter! Make ready your cannons,- medium culverins, culverins bastard, falcons, sakers, half sakers, and half falcons, slings and half slings, quarter slings, head sticks, murdering pieces, passevolants, bassils, dogs, double bassils, arquebusses with crooks, half arquebusses, calivers, and hail shot! And ye soldiers and companions of war, make ready your crossbows, hand-bows, fire spars, hail shot, lances, pikes, halberds, rondels, two-handed swords, and targes ! '
" Then this gay galliass, being in good order, she followed fast the same ship that the boatsman had seen; and for more speed the galliass put forth her studding' sails and a himdred oars on every side.
' If "stoytene" be really "studding," the vessel emjJoyed studding sails as well as bonnets. The translation is doubtfid.
1547.]
SBIF8 DISPOSED OF UNDER HENRY VIII.
41i^
Bpeid the galiasse pat fuibt hir stoytene salis, and ane himdretht aris on euerye syde.
" The maister gart al his marynaHs and men of \ejv hald them quiet at rest, be rason that the mouyiug of ihe pepil vitht in ane schip stopes hyr of hyr fair. Of this sort the aid gaUasse in schort tyme cam on vynduart of the tothir schip. \ "^han eftir that thai hed hailsit vthirs, thai maid them reddy for battel.
" Than quhar I sat. I hard the cannons and gunnis mak mony hiddeus crak — duf, diif, duf, duf, duf, duf. The bersis and falcons cryit tirduf, tirduf, tirduf, tirduf, tirduf. Than the smal artailze cryit tik, tak, tik, tak, ti'k, take. The reik, smeuik, and the stink of the gimpuddir fylit al the ajT, maist lyik as Pluto is paleis hed been birnand in ane bald fyer. Qiihilk generit sik mirknes and myst that I cnld nocht see my lynth about me."
As the period now under consideration was that of the infancy and early growth, if not of the actual birth of that magnificent creation, the British Navy, some lists of the royal fleet, as it stood at different dates, will here be appropriate : —
List' op WARSHrps Built, Purchased, ok otherwise Acquired, by
Henrv YIII. (1509-1547), and Api'arextly Lost or Disposed or before
THE Accession of Edward VL
|
•Huilt. |
■ |
•Built. |
||||
|
SHIP. |
tlSougbt. JTakeu. |
Tous. |
ship. |
tBuught. :J;Taken. |
Tons. |
|
|
1. Anne OaUant . |
tl512 |
140 |
13. |
Great Elizabeth . |
tl514 |
900 |
|
2. Artifio .... |
tl544 |
100 |
14. |
Great Nicholas |
tl512 |
400 |
|
3. Bark of BouUeri . |
tl522 |
80 |
15. |
Great Zabra ■ . |
*1522 |
50 |
|
4. Bark of Mor/aix . |
11522 |
60 |
16. |
Eenry Galley . ■ . |
*1512 |
? |
|
5. Black Bark . . |
tl513 |
? |
17. |
Henry of Hampton |
tl513 |
120 |
|
6. Christ .... |
tl512 |
300 |
18. |
Jennet Perwyn |
tl511 |
70 |
|
7. Dragon . |
'1512 |
100 |
19. |
John Baptist . |
11512 |
400 |
|
8. Fortune |
*1522 |
160 |
20. |
John of Greenwich |
J1523 |
50 |
|
9. Gabriel Royal ' |
tl509 |
700 |
21. |
Katherine Galley . |
*1512 |
80 |
|
10. Oallcij niancherd . |
il54G |
? |
22. |
Katherine Forteleza |
tl512 |
700 |
|
11. Great Bark |
*1512 |
400 |
23! |
Katherine P I e a-\ saunce |
*1518 |
100 |
|
12. Great Barbara, . |
tl513 |
400 |
1 Compiled mainly from iufurmatiuu iu Oppeuheim's ' Admiu. of Royal Navy.'
"The master bid all liis mariners aud men of war hold themselves quietly at rest, by reason that the moving of the peojile within a shij) stops her on heV course. In this manner the said calliass in short time came to windward of the other ship. Then, after that tliey had hailed one auothei', they made them ready fur battle.
"Then where I sat I heard the cannons and guns make many hideous cracks — duf, duf, duf, duf, duf, duf. The bassils and falcons cried tirduf, tirduf, tirduf, tirduf, tirdut. Then the small artillery cried tik, tak, tik, tak, tik, take. The reek, smoke, and the stink of the gunpowder filled all the air, most like as Pluto's jialace had been burning in one bad fire: which generated such murkinoss and mist that I could not see my length about me."
2 E 2 I
420
CIVIL BISTORT, 1485-1603.
[1548.
List of WARSiiirs Built, etc. — continued.
|
*Bnilt. |
*Bmlt. |
|||||
|
SHIP. |
t Bought. JTaken. |
Tons. |
SHIP. |
tBonght. JTiken. |
Tons. |
|
|
24. Less Bark . . . |
*1512 |
• 160 |
37. |
Mary James (II.) . |
tl545 |
120 |
|
25. Less Pinnace . |
*1545 |
60 |
38. |
Mary Odierne |
tl545 |
70 |
|
26. Lesser Barbara |
tl512 |
160 |
39. |
Mary Bose. |
*1509 |
500 |
|
27. Lesser Zahra . |
•1522 |
40 |
40. |
Mary Thomas . |
tl54o |
lO'J |
|
28. Lion .... |
tl511 |
120 |
41. |
Maivdlyn of Dept-\ ford . . ■ . ./ |
*1522 |
120 |
|
29. iJzfH-d .... |
*1512 |
120 |
||||
|
30. Mary George . |
tlolO |
300 |
42. |
Minion |
*1.523 |
180 |
|
31. Mary Gloria . . |
tl517 |
300 |
43. |
Primrose . |
*1523 |
160 |
|
32. Mary Grace |
::1522 |
? |
44. |
Bose Galley |
*1512 |
V |
|
33. Mary and John |
■1521 |
y |
45. |
Boo |
*1545 |
80 |
|
34. Jlfary Guildford . |
*1524 |
160 |
46. |
Sovereign (rebuilt) |
*1509 |
600 |
|
35. Jl/a)'!/ Imperial |
*1515 |
120 |
47. |
Swallow . |
*1512 |
80 |
|
36. J/ary J(«nes (/.) . |
tl509 |
300 |
48. |
Sweepstake. |
*1523 |
65 |
2. Called also i'Jrti'^ue. Soldl547.
3. '* Bulleu," i.e. Boulogne.
5. Also called Black Bark, Chris-
topher, and J/arfc Florentine.
6. Alsot^led C'/^rts( o/LyHTi. .She
was captured in 1515. 9. Perhaiis called a.Uo Mary Lorette. 10. Taken from the French. 12. Formerly Maudlin.
13. Formerly Salvalor, of LUbeck.
Wrecked iu 1514. 15. Zahra means pinnace.
18. Taken from Barton.
19, Vo^iaeTly John Supton. 22. Genoese built.
27. See 15.
28. Taken from Barton.
30. Probabl.y ex Mary Howard.
35. Eebnilt'l5'23.
36. Possibly ex James, of Hull. 39. Eebuilt 1536. Overset 1545.
42. Rebuilt of 300 tons, about 1536.
Given to Sir T. Sej-mour. 45. Taken by the French, 1547. 47. Eebuilt 1624.
List of the Royal Navy on Januaet 5th, 1548 (1 Bdw. VI.) in
Akch^ologia v., 218 (with dates supplied fob the most part from
Oppenheim, 'Admix, of Rot. Navy').
^ Henry Grace a Dieu (rebuilt)
' Peter (rebuilt)
^ Matthew
' Jesus
' Pauncy (Pansy) . . . .
' Great Bark
^ Less Bark'
' Murryan''
^ Struce of Datvske ' .
' Christopher''
^ Trinity Henry
' Sweepstake
' Mary Willoughhy'
* Anne Gallant
* Salamander
*Hart
* Antelope
* Swallow
* Unicorn'
* Built, t Bought. J Taken.
*1540 *1536
tl539 tl544 *1544 1 15.39 1 1539 1 1545 tl544 tl546
* 1519
* 1539 *1536 *1545 tl544 *1546 *1546 *1544 1 1544
1000 600 600 700 450 500 400 500 450 400 250 300 140 450 300 300 300 240 240
700 400 300 300 300 300 250 300 250 246 220 230 160 250 220 200 200 100 140
i The Hrmaniontcertiiiuly varied at different times. - At Woolwich.
3 At Portsmouth,
* Galleys at Portsmouth.
Brass,
19 12
10
8 13 12 11 10
0
2
1 6
0
16
9
4 4
Iron.
103
78
121
66
69 85 9S 53 39 51 63 78 23 46 40 52 40 45 30
• Ordered to be rebuilt, 1551. b Sold, 1551. .
• Dawske— Danzig. Sold, 1551.
" Ordered for sale, 1551, but noi sold till 1556.
" Takcu by the Scots; retaken, 1547 ; rebuilt, 1551.
f Ordered for Bale, 1551 ; eold, 1555.
1548.]
NAVr OF EDWARD VI.
421
List of the Royal Navy on' January 5t», 1548. — continued.
|
* Built. |
|||||
|
temp. |
) HouKht. |
Toss. |
Men. |
Gu.s-s.i |
|
|
{ Takeu. |
|||||
|
Brass. |
Iron. |
||||
|
* Jennet |
* 153i) |
180 |
120 |
6 |
35 |
|
* New Bark |
* UrSA |
200 |
140 |
5 |
48 |
|
* Grei/Iiound' |
* 1545 |
200 |
140 |
8 |
37 |
|
* Tiyer |
* 154(! |
200 |
120 |
4 |
39 |
|
* Bull |
*154G |
200 |
120 |
5 |
42 |
|
* Lion'' |
* 153G |
140 |
140 |
*^ |
48 |
|
■* Geoiye |
t 1540 |
60 |
40 |
2 |
26 |
|
* I)ra<jon' |
*1544 |
140 |
120 |
3 |
42 |
|
'' Falcon |
*1544 |
83 |
55 |
4 |
22 |
|
■' Black Pinnace |
9 |
80 |
44 |
2 |
15 |
|
'Bind' |
*154o |
80 |
55 |
2 |
26 |
|
° Spanish Shallop |
•p |
20 |
26 |
0 |
|
|
' Hare |
* 1545 |
15 |
30 |
0 |
10 |
|
" Sun |
* 154(! |
20 |
40 |
2 |
6 |
|
^ Cloud in the Sun |
* 1546 |
20 |
40 |
Q |
7 |
|
° Harp |
* 1540 |
20. |
40 |
1 |
6 |
|
" Maidenhead |
*154G |
20 |
37 |
2 |
6 |
|
'■' Oillyftoirer^ |
* 1540 |
20 |
38 |
0 |
0 |
|
'■ Ontrirh Feather |
* 1540 |
20 |
37 |
1 |
0 |
|
" Rose Slip |
* 1540 |
20 |
37 |
2 |
6 |
|
" Flower de Luce |
* 1540 |
20 |
43 |
2 |
7 |
|
" J lose in the Sun |
* 1.54 G |
20 |
40 |
3 |
7 |
|
'^ Portcullis |
* 154G |
20 |
38 |
1 |
G |
|
" Falcon in the FetTerlocl; . . . |
* 1,546 |
20 |
45 |
3 |
8 |
|
' Grandmisfress'' |
* 1545 |
450 |
250 |
1 |
22 |
|
1 1545 |
40 |
50 |
4 |
8 |
|
|
' Galley Subtle, or Row Galley |
* 1544 |
200 |
250 |
3 |
28 |
|
' Bryyandiiic |
*1545 |
40 |
44 |
3 |
19 |
|
' IJoy Bark |
9 |
80 |
60 |
0 |
5 |
|
' Hawthorn |
*1546 |
20 |
37 |
0 |
0 |
|
* Mary JIamborow' |
1 1544 |
400 |
246 |
5 |
67 |
|
* Phoenix |
tl546 |
40 |
50 |
4 |
33 |
|
» Saker |
*1545 |
40 |
50 |
2 |
18 |
|
*1546 |
20 |
43 |
3 |
6 |
|
|
53 ships |
11,268 |
7,780 |
237 |
1,850 |
1 ilie armament certainly varied at tiiffereut times. 5 Pinnaces at I'urtsmonth.
•i How Barges at Portsmuutti. Most of these were sold in 154^—19. ' At Deptford Stroude. s In Scotland.
e Wrecked off Eye, 1562. >> Ordereil to be rebuilt, 1551. ' Ordered to be rebuilt, 1551.
J Sold in 1555.
"* Condemned, 1551 ; sold in 1551.
' Sold in 1655.
Of the 7780 men in the fleet, 188.5 were soldiers, 5136 mariners, and 759 gunners. The importance of Portsmouth, where no fewer than forty-one of the fifty-three vessels were stationed, will not fail to-be noticed.
By August, 1552, as a list in Pepys's Miscellanies, viii. 14.3, shows, there had been added to the above the Primrose (launched in 1551), Gyrfalcon (120 tons), Swift (30 tons). Moon, Seven Stars (35 tons).
422
eiriL EISTORY, 1485-1603.
[1558.
and Barh of Bullen (60 tons), a'''' the Henry Grace a Dieu had apparently been re-named the Edward.^ There had also been added a French prize, the Black GaUeij, taken in 1549, and the Lion, taken from the Scots by the Paitncij, but presently lost off Harwich.
In 1558, the year of the death of Queen Mary, the Eoyal Navy had been reduced to twenty-six vessels of 7110 tons in all. In 1565, the eighth year of Elizabeth, there were but twenty-nine ships, of an unknown total tonnage. In 1575, the eighteenth year of
THE GALLEY ' SUBTILE. {From the drawiitfi bij Anthony Antboinj in the British Mnsctwi.')
Elizabeth, the niimber of ships had further fallen to twenty-four,
and the tonnage was but about 10,470. At that time there were in
England one hundred and thirty-five other ships of 100 tons and
upwards, six hundred and fifty-six of from 40 to 100 tons, about a
hundred hoys, and a large but unstated number of small barks and
smacks. Practically the whole of the Koyal Navy was engaged
against the Spanish Armada in 1588 ; and an accomit of the fleet
then employed will be found later in the appendix to the history of
Philip's attempted invasion.
■■ But she was again known as the Henry Grace a Dieu when she was accidentally burnt on August 25th, 1553. — Machyn's ' Diary ' : Camd. Soc.
IGOO.]
NAVT OF ELIZABETH.
423
I insert, for reference purposes, an alphabetical key-list of all the vessels (except a few small prizes taken in 1562, and apparently returned in 1564), which, I have been able to satisfy myself, were acquired for the Eoyal Navy during the reign of EHzabeth. The tonnages given are only approximate. Almost every contemporary docmuent that pretends to show them differs more or less from •every other : —
Achates '
Adrantage .
Advantagia
Adventure .
Advice .
Aid^ . . .
Ansrver .
AnteJope (rebuilt)
Ark Itoyal .
Black Do(j .
Bonovolia, galley
Bryqandine
BalKyebxaHy .
Charles .
Crane .
■Cygnet .
Defiance
Dreadnought '' .
[Z'uc] Repulse .
EngJe'^ . . .
Eleanor, galley ''
[Eiiz(d>eth^ Bonaventure'
Elizabeth Jonas '
Foresight .
Flight . . . ■
French Frigate.
Gallerifa
Oarland
George, hoy (rebuilt)
\_G(>ldeii\ Lion (rebuilt)
Greyhound .
Guide .
Handmaid .
Hope'" . . .
Lion's Whelj) (/.) '
Lion's Wlielp (IL) ''
Makeshift (J.) . .
Makeshift (IL) .
* Bnilt. f Bought. t Taken.
* 1.57.3
* 1.5ii0
* IfiOl
* 1594
* 1.586
* 1562
* 1590 1.581
* 1587
1 1590 1584
*1583
1570
*1586
* 1590
* 1585 *1590 *1573
* 1596 tl592 il563 tl567 *1559
* 1570
* 1592
1 1591 *1602
* 1590 1601 1582
*1585
* 1563
* 1573
* 1559
* 1590
tieoi
* 1563 *1586
100
200
?
250 50 250 200 400 800 ?
90 200
70 200
30 500 400 700
V
? 600 900 300
•J
?
V
700
100
500
?
?
80 600
y ?
9
• BaUt. t Bonght. t Taken.
Tons.
Mary Bose (rebuilt) '" Mercury Mer Honour Merlin .... Minion^* Minnikin . Moon .... Nonpareil (rebuilt) '^ N. S. del Rosario . Popinjay
Post
Primrose '^ . Primrose, hoy . Quittance . Rainbow" . Revenge " . . St. Andrew '^ . St.Mathew^" . . Scout ^' .
Search .... Seven Stars. Speedwell, galley ^^.
Spy
Sun
Superlativa . Swallow'^ . Swiftsure ^* . Talbot .... Tiger (rebuilt) ^^ . Tremuntana Triumph''". . . Trust .... Tryright, galley '■" . Vanguard ^® Victory^ Volatilla Warspite IWliite'lBear'" .
1589
* 1592
* 1590 *1579 tl560 *1595
* 1586 1584
% 1588 *1587
* 1563 1 1560 *1590
* 1590
* 1586
* 1.577 J 1596 1 1596 *1577 *1563 *1586
* 1559 *1586
* 1586
* 1601 ?1573
* 1573 *1585
1570 *1586 *1561 *1586
* 1559
* 1586 tl560 *1602
* 1596 *1563
600
50
60 500
y 800
80 200 500 500 900 1000 120
50 40.
9
360
400
y
200
150
1100
y
y 500 800
y
' 600 1000
» Converted to a lighter.
2 Conrlcmned, 1599.
3 Ex Eteaiwr, rebuilt. Sold 1599.
* Broken np, 1594. s llebuilt, 1592.
* A Lilbecker, useil as a bulk. ' Probably taken from Havre.
8 Rebuilt. 1581.
9 Upbuilt, 159-<.
•0 licbuilt, 15S1 anil 1602.
>' Lost, May 17th, 1591.
I- Bought from E. of Xottiugham.
13 Built, 15513.
n Conderanod, 1570.
ij IC.K Fhilii) and M^irtj, rebuilt.
15 Sold, 1575.
" Rebuilt, 1602.
■8 Taken by .Spain, 1591.
10 Taken at Cadiz.
-0 Takeu at Cadiz.
21 Converted to a lighter.
-- Disposcil of ca. 1580.
-^ i'ondenmed, 1603.
21 Rebuilt. 1592.
2J (Vuvprted to a lighter.
-'i Rebuilt, 1596.
2' Dispose.l of i-a. 1580.
29 Rebuilt, 1599.
29 n) E.\ Great ChrMtipher. Re-
30 Rebuilt, 1599. [built, 1686.
424
CIVIL BISTORT, 1485-1603.
[1603.
At the death of the gi-eat Queen in 1603, the effective Eoyal Kavy, according to a hst preserved hy Monson in his ' Tracts,' corrected and here supplemented, as to certain details from other contemporary sources,^ was as follows (see table on following page.)
During the reign of Henry VII. the position of officers and men,
AN ELIZABETHAN^ SHIP OF WAR. {From Rrtirlbjson MSS. in llie Bodleian, iv., 192, /u/w 20.)
as regards their pay and "rewards," seems to have remained much as before. The men were given Is. a week in harbour, and Is. '3d. at sea. Their victuals, early in the reign, cost Is. O^d., and later Is. 2d. a week. Masters received 3s. 4d. ; pursers and boatswains, Is. 8d. ; quarter-masters, Is. 6d. ; and stewards and cooks, Is. 3d.
' Especially from a MS. list of 1599, which is printed in ' Archa:ologia,' and which, in 1707, beloDged to Dr. Leith of Greenwich.
1603.]
ARMAMENT OF SHIPS.
425
|
Toss. |
MEN. |
GUNS. |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
i |
Heavieb. |
LlGHTEK. |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
SHIPS. |
g |
i |
5 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
2 ca 1 |
i |
1 1 |
"3 1 |
p 6 |
a |
"a i |
1 11 |
'^ 1 |
i 3 38 |
1 |
B-a 2 |
2 5 |
i: 3 c .a |
5- -I 1 i 5,^ |
3 s5 |
||||||
|
Elizaheth' Jonas |
900 |
340 |
40 |
120 |
500 |
3 |
6 |
8 |
9 |
9 |
1 2 |
10 |
18 |
56 |
|||||||
|
Triumph . |
1,000 |
340 |
40 |
120 |
500 |
4 |
3 |
17 |
8 |
6 |
38 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
20 |
30 |
68 |
||||
|
White IJiuv |
900 |
340 |
40 |
120 |
500 |
3 |
11 |
7 |
10 |
31 |
2 |
7 |
9 |
40 |
|||||||
|
Victory |
800 |
268 |
32 |
100 |
400 |
12 |
18 |
9 |
39 |
7 |
13 |
20 |
59 |
||||||||
|
Mere Honour' |
800 |
268 |
32 |
100 |
400 |
4 |
115 |
16 |
4 |
39 |
.. |
2 |
,, |
2 |
41 |
||||||
|
At?c Eoi/al |
800 |
268 |
32 |
100 |
400 |
4 |
4 |
12 12 |
6 |
38 |
4 |
7 |
2 |
4 |
17 |
55 |
|||||
|
St. Matthew |
1,000 |
340 |
40 |
120 |
500 |
4 |
4 |
16 |
14 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
48 |
.. |
.. |
,, |
,, |
0 |
48 |
||
|
St. Andreiv |
900 |
268 |
32 |
100 |
400 |
8 |
21 |
7 |
2 |
38 |
,, |
3 |
7 |
2 |
12 |
50 |
|||||
|
Due Ilepiihf - |
700 |
230 |
30 |
90 |
350 |
2 |
3 |
13 |
14 |
6 |
38 |
9 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
12 |
50 |
||||
|
Ouardland^ |
700 |
190 |
30 |
80 |
300 |
16 |
14 |
4 |
34 |
9 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
11 |
45 |
||||||
|
li' cirs2)ite . |
600 |
190 |
30 |
80 |
300 |
2 |
2 |
13 |
10 |
2 |
29 |
.. |
,, |
, , |
0 |
29 |
|||||
|
Mary Hose |
600 |
150 |
30 |
70 |
250 |
4 |
11 |
10 |
4 |
29 |
3 |
7 |
,, |
,, |
10 |
39 |
|||||
|
Hope . |
600 |
150 |
30 |
70 |
250 |
2 |
4 |
9 |
11 |
4 |
30 |
4 |
8 |
2 |
4 |
18 |
48 |
||||
|
Bonaventure |
600 |
150 |
30 |
70 |
250 |
•? |
2 |
11 |
14 |
4 |
2 |
35 |
9 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
12 |
47 |
|||
|
Lion * . |
500 |
150 |
30 |
70 |
250 |
^^ |
4 |
8 |
14 |
9 |
1 |
36 |
8 |
16 |
24 |
60 |
|||||
|
Nonpart il . |
500 |
150 |
30 |
70 |
250 |
2 |
3 |
7 |
8 |
12 |
32 |
4 |
8 |
4 |
8 |
'l\ |
56 |
||||
|
Defiance |
500 |
150 |
30 |
70 |
250 |
14 |
14 |
6 |
34 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
12 |
46 |
||||||
|
Rainbov . |
500 |
150 |
30 |
70 |
250 |
6 |
12 |
7 |
1 |
26 |
,, |
0 |
26 |
||||||||
|
Dreadm.iKjht |
400 |
130 |
20 |
50 |
200 |
2 |
4 |
11 |
10 |
2 |
29 |
.. |
4 |
8 |
12 |
41 |
|||||
|
Antelope |
350 |
114 |
16 |
30 |
160 |
4 |
13 |
8 |
1 |
26 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
12 |
38 |
|||||
|
Swiftsmr'' |
400 |
130 |
20 |
50 |
200 |
2 |
5 |
12 |
8 |
2 |
29 |
4 |
8 |
12 |
41 |
||||||
|
SicaUow |
330 |
114 |
16 |
30 |
160 |
, , |
2 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
8 |
||||||||
|
Foresight . |
300 |
114 |
16 |
30 |
160 |
14 |
8 |
3 |
3 |
28 |
3 |
6 |
9 |
37 |
|||||||
|
Tide" . . |
250 |
88 |
12 |
20 |
120 |
? |
? |
? |
•? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
',1 |
? |
9 |
? |
? |
y |
||
|
Crane . |
200 |
76 |
12 |
20 |
108 |
6 |
7 |
6 |
19 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
24 |
||||||||
|
Adventure . |
250 |
88 |
12 |
20 |
120 |
4 |
11 |
5 |
20 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
26 |
||||||||
|
Quittance . |
200 |
76 |
12 |
20 |
108 |
2 |
6 |
7 |
4 |
19 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
25 |
|||||||
|
Answer |
200 |
76 |
12 |
20 |
108 |
5 |
8 |
2 |
15 |
.. |
2 |
4 |
6 |
21 |
|||||||
|
Advan tage |
200 |
70 |
12 |
20 |
102 |
4 |
11 |
5 |
20 |
.. |
2 |
4 |
6 |
26 |
|||||||
|
Tiger'' . . |
200 |
70 |
12 |
20 |
102 |
6 |
14 |
2 |
22 |
.. |
.. |
0 |
22 |
||||||||
|
Tremontuna |
140 |
52 |
8 |
10 |
70 |
12 |
7 |
2 |
21 |
0 |
21 |
||||||||||
|
Scout ^ . . |
120 |
48 |
8 |
10 |
66 |
4 |
.. |
6 |
10 |
0 |
10 |
||||||||||
|
Achates ~ |
100 |
42 |
8 |
10 |
6Q |
6 |
.. |
Q |
5 |
13 |
0 |
13 |
|||||||||
|
Cliarles |
70 |
32 |
6 |
7 |
45 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
.. |
2 |
4 |
6 |
16 |
||||||||
|
Moon . |
60 |
30 |
5 |
5 |
40 |
., |
4 |
4 |
1 |
9 |
^, |
0 |
9 |
||||||||
|
Advice . |
50 |
30 |
5 |
5 |
40 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
9 |
.. |
;. |
0 |
9 |
||||||||
|
Spnj . |
50 |
30 |
5 |
5 |
40 |
.. |
4 |
9 |
3 |
9 |
,, |
.. |
0 |
9 |
|||||||
|
Merlin . |
45 |
26 |
5 |
4 |
35 |
,j |
7 |
7 |
0 |
Y |
|||||||||||
|
Sun |
40 |
24 |
4 |
2 |
30 |
1 |
.. |
4 |
5 |
_ |
0 |
5 |
|||||||||
|
Cytjnet. |
20 |
? |
? |
? |
20 |
,. |
,, |
,, |
1 |
2 |
3 |
.. |
3 |
||||||||
|
George, hoy |
100 |
? |
V |
? |
10 |
V |
■; |
? |
? |
•} |
? |
? |
? |
? |
V |
? |
V |
y |
? |
||
|
Pr irnrose 1 hog \ |
80 |
? |
? |
? |
'> |
V |
'} |
? |
? |
1 |
? |
? |
•> |
? |
■p |
? |
? |
149 |
•? |
'5 |
9 |
|
42 ships |
17,055 |
5,534 |
804 |
2,008 |
8,346 |
32 |
60 |
232 |
326 |
213 |
43;50 ! |
o |
958 |
29 |
58 |
78 |
2 316 1 |
1,274 |
1 The original and meaning of this name are obfcnre. The ship sonietinios is called Jfcre Sonour, sometimes Mcr Honour : some- times Ilortonr dc la Mer ; and sometimes Mary Jlonora. • Or Ifieu liepulse. 3 Later corrupted into '* Oailaud." •' Alsncalloil (•olden Lion. ^ I.i:. " Swift I^irsuer " pi'obaMy. Later corrupted into ".Swiftsure." <» Ddulitfiil whether this belonged to the Koyal Xavy : perliaps hired. 7 These, converted to lighters, were iu use to support the chain at L'pnor.
426 CIVIL HISTOEY, 1485-1603. [1512.
a week iu harbour/ and higher pay at sea. But early in the reign
of Henry VIII. an alteration was effected. The nature of this
is shown in an agreement ^ made in 1512 between the king and
Sir Edward Howard, captain-general of the
armed force at sea (or Lord High Admiral).
^i \'' \ ^^^"* *^^ this agreement had better be given at
length. It rims thus : —
" The said admiral sliall have under him in the said service three tliousand men, harnessed and arrayed for the ■warfare, himself accounted in the same nimiber, over and above seven himdred soldiers, mariners and gunners that SIX AXGEL PIECE OF ^-^^^-^ ^^ j^ ^^^ g^jjjg,^ ^j^jp^ ^-^^ Regent. A thousand seven
hundred and fifty shall be soldiers ; twelve hundred and
iFrom Rudimfs'AnnaU of thirty-three shall be mariners and gunners. . . . And the
the Coinage of Great Britain:) g^id 'admiral shall have for maintaining himself, and his
diets and rewards, daily during the voyage, ten shillings. And for every of the said captains, for their diets, wages, and rewards, daily during the said cruise, eighteen-pence. . . . And for every soldier, mariner, and gunner, he shall have, every month, during the said voyage, accounting twenty-eight days for the month, five shillings for his wages, and five shillings for his victuals, without anything else demanded for wages or victuals, saving that they shall have certain dead shares, as hereafter doth ensue ; all which wages, rewards and victual money the said admiral shall be paid in manner and form following : — He shall, before he and his retinue enter into the ship, make their musters before such commissioners as it shall please oiu- said sovereign Lord to depute and appoint ; and immediately after such musters shall have been made, he shall receive of our sovereign Lord, by the hands of such as his Grace shall appoint, for himself, the said captains, soldiers, mariners, and gunners, wages, rewards, and victual money, after the rate before rehearsed, for three months then nest ensuing, accounting the month as above. And, at the same time, he shall receive for the cost of every captain and soldier four shillings, and for the cost of every mariner and guimer twenty pence ; and at the end of the said three months, when the said admiral shall with his navy and retinue resort to the port of Southampton and then and there victual himself and the said navy and army and retinue, he shall make his musters before such commissioners as it shall please his Grace, the King, therefore to ajipoint within board ; and after the said musters so made, he shall, for himself, the said captains, soldiers, mariners, and gunners, receive of our said sovereign Lord, by the hands of such as his Grace shall apjxiint, new wages and victual money, after the rate before rehearsed, for the three months next ensuing ; and so, from three months to three months continually during the said time. . . . The said admiral shall have for his dead shares of the ships as hereafter ensueth, that is to say, for the Regent, being of the portage of 1000 tons, oO dead shares and four pilots ; and for the—
Mary Rose of 500 tons, 30i dead shares.
Pfter Pomegranate „ 400 „ 23i „ „ Nicholas Reede „ 400 „ 23.i „ „
1 Augmt. Off., bk. 316, f. 72. - Printed in Charnock, ii. 36.
1512.] SIR EDWARD HOWARD'S AGREEMENT. 427
|
Mary and John |
of |
200 tons |
24J( |
iead shar |
|
|
Ann, of Greenwich |
)> |
100 |
)) |
24i |
» >> |
|
Mary George |
JJ |
300 |
)» |
20^ |
|
|
Dragon |
»» |
100 |
J) |
22J |
|
|
Barbara |
») |
1-10 |
»J |
20i |
|
|
George, of Falmouth |
5» |
140 |
J) |
20i |
|
|
Nicholas of Hampton |
»> |
200 |
JJ |
22 |
|
|
Martenet |
»» |
140 |
J) |
22i |
|
|
Jennet |
»» |
70 |
J> |
22i |
|
|
Christopher Davy |
>» |
100 |
J> |
224 |
|
|
Sabyan ' |
»J |
120 |
)J |
20 |
And for the victualling and refreshing the said ships with water and other necessaries, the said admiral shall . . . have two crayers, the one being of three score and fifty tons, wherein there shall be the master, twelve mariners, and one boy ; and every of the said masters and mariners shall have for his wages five shillings, and for his victual money five shillings, for every month, accounting the month as above ; and every of the said two boys shall have for his month's wages two shillings and sixpence, and for his victuals five shillings ; and either of the said masters shall have three dead shares ; and the other ci-ayer shall have a master, ten mariners, and one boy, being of the burden of 55 tons, with the same allowances. Also the said soldiers, mariners, and gunners shall have of our sovereign Lord conduct money, that is to say, every of them, for every day's journey from his house to the place where they shall be shipped, accounting twelve miles for the day's journey, sixpence ; of which days they shall give evidence, b.y their oaths, before him or them that our said sovereign Lord shall appoint and assign to pay them the said wages and conduct money. And forasmuch as our said sovereign Loi-d, at his costs and charges, victuals the said army and navy, the said admiral shall therefore answer our said Lord the one-half of all manner of gains and winnings of the war, that the same admiral, or his retinue, or any of them, shall fortune to have in the said voyage, by land or water ; all prisoners, being chieftains, or having our said sovereign Lord's adversary's power ; and one ship royal, being of the portage of 200 tons or above, with the ordnance and apparel of every such prize that shall fortune to be taken by them in the said war, reserving to our said sovereign Lord all artillery contained within any other ship or ships by them to be taken."
The document, to put it briefly, shows that at the time of the armament of 1.512 the daily pay of an admiral was 10s. ; the daily pay of a captain, Is. 6fZ. ; the Imiar monthly "- wage of master,
' There are accidentally omitted from this copy of the agreement : —
" John Hopton's Ship " . . . .400 tons.
Lion ....... 120 „
Peter, of Fowey 120 „
These bring the strength of the tieet up to eighteen sail (as mentioned elsewhere in the indenture), or, mth the crayers, to twenty sail.
^ Lunar months, of thirteen to the year, were there, and long afterwards, the ordinary official divisions of the year. A MS. list of the services of captains from 1088 to 1717 (in the Author's Coll.") contains such entries as one to the effect that Cayitain John Norris entered on the command of the Content, prize, on March 24th, 1005, and
428 CIVIL BISTORT, 1485-1603. [1586.
soldier, mariner, or gunner, 5s., together with 5.s. for victiials, and
the lunar monthly wage of a boy, 2s. M., together with 5s. for
victuals. It also shows that the men were allowed conduct monej'
to the port of embarkation at the rate of 6d. per twelve miles ;
that the profits of prizes were to be divided, one-half, together wdth
one vessel of 200 tons or more, and all ordnance and "apparel"
(? movable fittings) going to the king, and the rest to the captors
in stipulated proportions ; and it appears to show that, as head
money, a sum of 4s. for each captain and soldier, and of '20d. for
each mariner and gunner, was payable to the admiral, although this
is not quite clear. The " dead shares " were non-existent men,
something like the widows' men of a later date. Pay on their
behalf was allowed, aiid the pay so granted was divided among the
really existent ship's company. This extra pay took the place of the
" rewards " of an earlier period. But it does not appear certain
that, after the reign of Henry VIII., the seamen participated in the
dead sjhares.
In the earlier years of Elizabeth, the seaman's lunar monthly
pay was 6s. 8(Z. In 1586, on the representation of Hawkyns,^ this
was raised to 10s., and other pay was raised in
proportion, so that a captain's pay, which had
been Is. 8f?., became 2s. 6d. a day, besides certain
allowances which varied according to ship and
circumstances. The practice of allowing dead
shares continued ; but little, if any, of the proceeds
can have gone to the men, seeing that masters
AN ELIZABETHAN and master-gumicrs each received a whole dead
SEAMAN. share, boatswains probably the same ; quarter-
(.From sMrh ill mirieiaii mastcrs half a dead share; some of the gunners MSS. 167. folio ■m.') ^
one-third of a dead share, and so on. But the
subject is still in much obscurity.
was discharged from it on February 25th, 169G (0. S.), liaving served in the ship for 0 years, 12 months, 0 weeks, and 3 days. For many purposes, the naval month remained twenty-eight days until after the beginning of the nineteenth century. At present, in the Navy, 1 month equals 30 days ; 2 months equal 61 days ; 3 months equal 91 days ; 4 months equal 121 days ; 5 months equal 152 days ; 6 months equal 182 days; 7 months equal 212 days; 8 months equal 243 days; 9 months equal 273 days ; 10 months equal 308 days ; 11 months equal 334 days ; and 12 months (1 year) equal 365 days, unless otherwise provided. ' Dom. Eliz. cl.xxxv. 33, ii.
|
£ |
s. |
d. |
|
3 |
6 |
8 |
|
t> |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
15 |
0 |
1588.] PAY OF OFFICERS. 429
In 1588, the superior officers who served against the Armada had dail}' pay as follows : — '
The Lord High Admiral
Lord Henry Seymour, as his Vice- Admiral ..
Sir John Hawkyus, as his Hear- Admiral
Sir Henry Palmer 1
Sir William WynterV commanding under Lord Henry Seymour .. 10 0
Sir Martin Frobiser J
Thomas Gray, " Vice- Admiral " under Lord H. Seymour (while in
command of a detached force) .. .. .. .. ..068
Sir Francis Drake, "Captain and Admiral" .. .. .. .. 1 10 0
Thomas Fenner, his " Vice- Admiral " .. .. .. .. 0 15 0
Nichi.ilas Gorges, " Admiral " of the merchant coasters, for him and
his lieutenant .. .. .. .. .. 0 13 8
It would appear from the above that both rule and consistency were lacking in the apportionment of the pay of these officers ; and the fact is that the rate depended quite as much upon the social rank and title of the recipient as iipon his position in the fleet. In all these cases there were allowances, though of unknown amount in addition. In the Armada period, it may be added, the master in a flagship was virtually her captain in all senses ; and the Thomas Gray, who is mentioned above as having commanded an in- dependent or detached squadron with the temporary rank of vice- admiral, had previously held, and may have reverted to, the position of master of the Ark.
The instructions of Howard of Effingham and Essex to the officers under their command for the Cadiz Expedition of 1596 are so interesting, and throw so much light upon the naval customs of a very important period in English history, that they are here printed at length, so far as they can be deciphered from the damaged manuscript" in which they are contained. They are among the earliest instructions extant, and seem to have served as a basis for many subsequent regulations of the same sort.
"Instructions and Articles set duwn by us, Robert, Earl of Essex, and Cltarhs, Lord Howard, Lord Eiyli Admiral of England, Generals of her Majesty's forces employed in this action, both by sea and land, to be observed by every Captain and chief officer of the Navy : And that every ships company may nut be ignorant hereof, ive do hereby straitly charge and command all Captains to give order that, at Service time, they may be openly read, twice every week.
" I. Imprimis, that you take special care to serve God, by using of Common Prayers
' From a pajier, printed in 'Defeat of Spanish Armada' (Navy Rec. Soc.) by Prof. •L K. Laughton, ii. 314.
" Cotton MSS. Otho. E. is.
430 CIVIL HISTORY, 1485-1603. ri59f>.
twice every da\', except urgent cause enforce the contrary, and that no man, soldier or other mariner do dispute of matters of religion, unless it be to be resolved of some doubts ; and, in such case, that he confer with the ministers of the army : for it is not fit that imlearned men should openly argue of so high and mystical matters. And if any person shall forget himself and his duty herein, he shall, upon knowledge thereof, receive open punishment to his shame, and after be banished the army. And if any shall hear it, and not reveal it to us. Generals, or to his Captain, or some other especial officers, whereby the knowledge thereof may come to us, the Generals, he shall likewise receive punishment, and be banished the army.
" II. Item. You shall forbid swearing, brawling, diceing, and such like disorders as may breed contention and disorders in your ships ; wherein you shall also avoid God's disjileasure and win His favour.
" III. Picking and stealing you shall severely punish ; and, if the fault be great, you shall acquaint us. Generals, therewith, that martial law may be inflicted upon the oflenders.
" IV. You shall take great care to preserve your victuals, and to observe such orders therein as you shall receive by particular directions from your Generals. And that every Captain of each ship receive an account once a week how his victuals are spent, and what remains, that their provision may be lengthened by adding more men to a mess in time.
"V. All persons whatsoever, within your ship, shall come to the ordinary services of the ship without contradiction.
"VI. You shall give special charge for avoiding the danger of fire, and that no- caudle be- carried in your ship without a lantern ; which, if any person shall disobey, you shall severely punish. And if any chance of fire or other dangers (which God forbid) should hajipen to any ship near unto j'ou, then you shall, by your boats and all other your best means, seek to help and relieve her.
"VII. YouE powder you shall carefully preserve from spoil and waste; without which we cannot undertake any great service.
" VIII. You shall give order that your ship may be kept clean daily, and some- times washed ; which (with God's favour) shall preserve from sickness and avoid many other inconveniences.
" IX. You shall give order and especial charge that your top-masts be favoured, and the heads of your masts, and that you have care not to bear too high sail when your ships go by the wind, and especially in a head-sea ; for the spoil of our masts may greatl}' hinder us, and endanger the enterprises which otherwise (with God's help) we should perform with safety.
" X. All such as are in ships under the government " [of the admiral in char '] " ge of a squadron, shall, as near as in them lieth, keep with it, and not for chase of other ships, or any other cause, go from that squadron, but by the command of the admiral of that squadron ; unless any of the two Chief Generals shall send for them, or, by message, appoint them to any service, or that, by weather, they be separated. And then, as they may, they shall endeavour to repair to the place appointed by such instructions as shall be set down. And if there be any sail perceived by any of the ships of any squadron, it shall be lawful for the next ship, having the wind, to give chase, the ship descried being to the windward; and the like of any that shall be nearest to bear up, if the sail be descried to the leeward.- But because, upon every chase, all will be apt to follow the same, and so be led away upon every occasion from the Fleet, it shall not be lawful for any second ship to follow any chase (one having
' There is a hiatus. These words are conjecturally supplied.
2 This permission is difficult to reconcile with the first clause of the instruction. Apart from that, it is wrongly expressed. But the meaning is clear.
1596.] INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CADIZ FLEET. 431
nnilertaken the saiiie), unless the iidiniral of the squadron hang out two flags, one over another. If it be necessary that three do follow, then shall the General, or admiral of the squadron hang out three flags, oue over another, which shall be for warrant to the next and fittest to follow as aforesaid. But if the admiral bear up, and come upon a wind himself, then may all the squadron give chase, and follow. Which, if it should seem convenient to any of the Lords Generals of the armj', if it please any of them to hang out the flag of coimcil, the same may be a warning that the chase is misliked, and . that then all give over and keep their course.
"XI. Every ship shall, towards the evening, seek to come, as near as she con- veniently may, to speak with the admiral of the squadron, to know his pleasure and what course he will keep ; and that the admiral of a squadron do bear up, or stand upon a wind, to speak with us, their Generals, if he conveniently may. The rest of the squadrons may, notwithstanding, keep their course and distance. And if the admiral of the squadron cannot recover the head of his fleet before night, the rest shall then follow the light of the vice-iidmiral of the said squadron.
"XII. That every squadron keep a good breadth one from another, and that the squadrons do, in themselves, keep a reasonable breadth one from another, that they fall not foul one of another, whereby danger may grow ; and that the great ships have especial regard not to calm the smaller ships. And if any of these smaller ships shall negligently bring themselves in danger of the greater ships, the Captains and Masters especially shall be severely punished. And further, that either the admiral, or rear- admiral of the squadron be always in the rearward of his fleet.
"XIII. When there is a flag of council of the red cross' out in either one of the two Generals' ships, half-mast high against the main niiziien,- then the Captains and Masters of every ship shall repair on board that ship where the flag is so hung ovit. And when the flag of arms^ shall be displayed, then shall the selecteil Council* only come on board.
" XIV. If your ship hapjien to spring a mast, to fall into a leak, or such mischance (which God forbid), you shall shoot off a piece and spring a loose.^ If it be in the night, you shall shoot off two pieces and bear two great lights, one a man's height and a half above another.
" XV. Every Captain and Master of the Fleet shall have a special regard that no contention be foimd betwixt the mariners and the soldiers. And in time of sickness (if any do happen amongst you), you shall, of such good things as are to be had and are needful for them, distribute unto them in such convenient sort as you may.
" XVI.° If you happen to lose conqiany, your token shall be [. . . .] main-topsail twice, if it be foul weather, th [. . . .] strike your main mizzen twice, or as often as you list [. . . .J nder [....] re your white pennant on your mizzen yard. And if you shall be of the company of us, your Generals, you shall find us at such place as we will give you instructions for, at sea.
"XVII. If in chasing of any ship you happen to fetch her up, if she be a ship in amity with her Majesty, you shall treat her well, and bring her to us. But if you find her to be an enemy, you shall make no siwil of the goods in her, but shall take the captain and master of her aboard you, and put into her some sufficient i)crsous to bring
' The St. George's flag.
^ Main mizzen, apparently the third mast of a four-masted ship.
' I.e., with the Queen's arms.
* The Council of Five Officers, and the extra mendiers, if any, appointed by the Generals. See Chap. xiv.
" Seventeenth-century instructions bade the disabled sliip haul up her courses. " Spring a loose " seems to mean, " let fly."
* The MS. is too much damaged to admit of this instruction being intelli'nble.
432 ' CIVIL HISTORY, 1485-1608. [1596.
her forthwith unto us, your Generals, or to such as we shall assign, that order may be taken what shall be done with her.
" XA'III. When you shall be appointed to give chase, and that you shall surprise any enemy's ship that shall have treasure or merchandise of value in her, you sliall take great care that those commodities in her be preserved ; in respect whereof, and for your loyal and faithful service to be done in this voyage, her Majesty's favour, bounty, and pleasure is that a third part of that which shall be taken from the enemy, so it be not the King's treasure, jewels, or a carrack, shall be employed to the commodity and , benefit of the whole company, over and above his ordinary wages, according to his desert.
" XIX. No Captain or Master shall suffer any spoil to be made aboard any ship or bark that shall be taken by them or any of their companies, upon pain to be displaced of their offices, or some great punishment, according to the offence given ; because the rest of the company have interest in everything that shall be taken. Therefore the value of every such thing, be it of great or small importance, must especially be regarded and considered of. And whatsoever soldier or mariner that obeyeth not acconlingly shall be despoiled of that which he hath gotten, and his person extremely pmiished.
"XX. Whosoever shall enter aboard any ship, he shall give accomit of those things which shall be wanting and taken out of her ; for that no other company shall board her, rmless there shall be need of their help.
" 5X1. If we happen to meet with any great fieet, supposed to be the army of the King of Spain, you shall endeavour yourself to come as near us. Generals, or to the admiral of your squadron, or, in our absence, to the vice-admiral, or rear-admiral of the Fleet [as possible], to know what you shall be directed unto, as you will answer it upon the peril of your lives.
"XXII. The watch shall be set every night by eight of the clock, either by trumpet or drum, and singing the Lord's Prayer, some of the Psalms of David, or clearing the glass. And after the watch is set, no trumpet or drmn shall be heard, or any piece whatsoever shall be shot off, without such great cause offered as is before signified, or such like.
"XXIII. Yotr are to take esjiecial care of your watch by night, and that the soldiers do watch, as well in harbour as at the seas, one-third part of them every night, and that there be a captain of the watch appointed, who shall take care that no fire or lisht be suffered, but only such candles in lanterns as are allowed to the quarter- masters, or otherwise upon necessity: and that in harbour a certain number be appointed to keep diligent watch in the forecastle or beak-head of your ships, for fear of cutting of cables, which is a practice much used in hot coimtries.
" XXIV. If at any time the Generals have occasion to order a chase, and that order be given to any other ships [. . . .'] their flags until their return imto the Fleet, all the [. . . .^] shall follow the flag, in what ship soever it be placed : and that whatsoever ship shall be nest, the same shall take up our, your General's, boats,^ when we give chase, or the boats of any of the admirals of squadrons or others whatsoever.
" XXV. No man, upon pain of death, shall presume to land in any country until his return into England, without order from us, your Generals, or such as we shall appoint to command.
"XXVI. No person shall depart out of the ship wherein he isjplaced into another, without special leave of his Captain: and no Captain or Master shall receive any
' Possibly insert, " to take them on board, and to carry." ^ Probably insert, " other ships."
^ i.e., the boats in which the Generals had proceeded on board the temporary flag-ships.
iriOO.] THE CHEST AT CHATHAM. 433
such person without the kni)\s'Ieil<!;e of us, your| Generals, or such as we sliall appoint.
" XXVII. In fogs (if any liappen), when yoiu- sliips are becalmed, you shall cause some noise to be made, by drum, by trumpet, by sliooting off a musket or calliver now and then, or by some other like means, tliat, hearing you to be near, every one may take heed lest he fall foul of another.
"XXVIII. No person whatsoever shall dare to strike any Captain, Lieutenant, Master, or other officer, upon pain of death. And, furthermore, whatsoever he be that shall strike any inferior jiersou, he shall receive punislmient, according to the offence given, he it l.\y death or otherwise.
" XXIX. There shall be no report or talk raised in the Fleet, wlierein any officer or gentleman in the same may be toiiclied in reputation; or matter of importance spoken, without his author sliali be severely pimislied as an evil member amongst us."
Up to the twenty-third year of Queen Ehzabeth there was no regular provision for the maintenance of seamen disabled in the service of their country. In that year an Act was passed to assess every parish at a certain weekly sum for the support of the disabled
GOLD KIAL OF ELIZABETH. (From liiulim/y 'Aniiah of the Colnadf'')
sailors and soldiers belonging to the county. In 1.590, thanks to the interest displayed in the matter by Nottingham, Hawkyns and Drake, the Chest at Chatham was established. The origin of the mutual benevolent fund known by this name arose out of the consideration " that by frequent employment by sea for the defence of this kingdom "... divers and sundry, " masters, mariners, shipwrights, and seafaring men, by reason of hurts and maims received in the service, are driven into great poverty, extremity and want, to their great discouragement." It was therefore determined that perpetual relief should be afforded in such cases, and, in order to be able to afford it, it was voluntarily agreed that every man and Ijoy in the navy should regularly forfeit to the fund a small proportion of his monthly wages, such contributions to be from time to time placed " in a strong chest with five locks, to that purpose especially provided." The chest, which is of iron, still
VOL. I. • 2 F
434 CIVIL HISTORY, 1485-1G03. [H40.
exists in Greenwich Hospital, where it was placed by the Admiralty in 1846. The fund, which, before the utilisation of banks, and the value of investments became properly appreciated, the chest con- tained, continued, under varying regulations, to exist, until in 1803 it was transferred to the supervisors and directors of the chest at Greenwich, and practically became part of the relief funds at Greenwich Hospital. Not until 1829 did the stoppage on behalf of it of sixpence a month from the wages of every seaman of the Eoyal Navy cease.
Henry VIII. contributed greatly to the creation and development of the bases and arsenals of the navy, and built numerous important works of defence along the coast. He founded Woolwich Dockyard, and much improved the yards at Portsmouth ' and Deptford, erecting at the latter large magazines and storehouses.
The fortification of Gravesend and Tilbury was his work, as was also the building of the castles at Walmer, Deal, Sandgate, Sandown, Portland, Hurst, Cowes, Camber, Southsea, Queenborough, Pen- dennis, and St. Mawes. At several of these places there were earlier
' " The land here, on the east side of Portsmouth Haven, rimneth further by a great way straight into the sea, by south-east from tlie haven moutli, than it doth at the west point. There is, at this point of the haven, Portsmouth town, and a great round tower, almost double in quantity and strength to that which is on the west side of the haven, right against it ; and here is a mighty chain of iron to draw from tower to tower. About a quarter of a mile above this tower is a great dock for ships, and in this dock lieth part of the ribs of the Henri Grace a Dieu, one of the biggest ships that have been made in hominum memoria. There be above this dock creeks in this part of the haven. The town of Portsmouth is fended from the east tower . . . with a mud wall armed with timber, whereon are great pieces both of iron and brass ordnance ; and this piece of the wall, having a ditch without it, runneth so far flat south-south-east, and is the most apt to defend the town there open on the haven. There runneth a ditch almost flat east for a space, and within it is a wall of mud like to the other, and so thence [it] goeth roimd about the town to the circuit of a mile. There is a gate of timber at the north-east end of the town ; and by it is cast up a hill of earth ditched, wherein are guns to defend entry into the town by land. There is much vacant gi'ound within the town wall. There is one fair street in the town, from west to north- east. I learnt in the town that the towers in the haven mouth were begun in King Edward the Fourth's time, and set forward in building by Richard the Third. King Henry the Seventh ended them at the procuration of Fox, Bishop of Winchester. King Henry the Eighth, at his first wars into France, erected in the south part of the town three great brewing-liouses, with the implements, to serve his ships at such time as they should go to the sea in time of war. One Carpenter, a rich man, made of late time, in the middle of the High Street of the town, a Town House. The town is bare, and little occupied in time of peace." — Leland, ' Itinerary,' iii., pp. 81, 82. Leland was on his journey between 1536 and 1542 ; so that this description of Portsmouth applies to the town as it then was. The allusion to the ribs of the Henri Orace a Dieu is obscure, seeing that the ship was in existence until a later date.
1450.]
COAST DEFENCES.
435
castles or towers, but Henry's strongholds were, for the most part, much finer coast defences than had previously been seen in England. The sums thus spent may be regarded as having been to a large extent wasted ; for, even in those days, they might have been to
CHART OF THAMES MOUTH, 1580.
{From uri'jiinif in tiw po^m'ssion uf Ihr Marqni:ss o/ Sniishurf/. Capird hti pirtiii^xiini.)
better advantage assigned to the increase of the fleet ; but in an age when ships were much more at the mercy of the winds and waves than they were when the art of navigation had somewhat further progressed, it would perhaps have been injudicious of the govern-
2 P 2
436 CIVIL BISTORT, 1485-1603. [1496.
ment to neglect these works altogether. At one crisis during his reign, Henry was threatened with a combination between France and the Empire ; and, had such an alliance attacked him with all its resom-ces, and seized the most favourable occasion for doing so, it is possible that the coast castles might have proved very useful. Upnor Castle on the Medway, and works at Portland, Hurst, Southsea, Calshot, and elsewhere were built under Elizabeth, who also foimded Chatham Dockyard,' on the site of the modern gun- wharf. The yard was transferred to its present situation about 1622. Elizabeth, too, improved the defences of Plymouth.^ Scilly was first garrisoned, and St. Mary's Guernsey, and Jersey were fortified in 1593, when the Treaty of Melun was concluded with France against Spain.
The first real dry dock in England was built at Portsmouth mider Henry VII., the superintendent of the work being Eobert Brygandine, Clerk of the Ships, and the business being completed in 1496. This dock was of wood and stone, but was not closed by a caisson, or a dock gate on hinges. What were called the " dock gates " were two walls of wood or stone, one within the other, which overlapped and partiallj* blocked the entrance. A\Tien a ship, after passing between these walls, had been berthed, the space between the two walls was filled with earth, etc., and the dock then pumped out. Such, at least, are the only conclusions to be plausibly drawn from contemporary accounts of the manner in which this dock was utilised.^
Although, as has been said, dockyards were estabHshed or improved, the number of dry docks in the country remained very
' Camden describes Chatham Dockyai'd as " stored for the finest fleet the sun ever beheld, and ready at a minute's warning, built lately by our most gracious sovereign Elizabeth, at great exijense, for the security of her subjects and the terror of her enemies, with a fort on the shore for its defence." The original dockyard became the gun wharf in the reign of James I., who began the existing j'ard on a site farther to the north. This was enlarged and much improved imder Charles I.
^ The most ancient fort- for the defence of Plymouth was built in the reign of Edward III. by Edmund Statford, Bishoj] of Exeter, and is described by Leland as " a strong castle quadrate, having at each corner a great round tower." This fortress stood on the south of the town, near the Barbican. In the reign of Elizabsth, numerous blockhouses and platforms were erected on different points of the shore of the harbour ; and several of them were, about the year 1592, combined into a fort, called the Fort on the Hoe Cliffs. This was demolished upon tlie building of the citadelju 1670-71.
^ Cliapter House, bk. vii. y«/.s.bt//i, jirinted in Ojipenheim's ' Xav. Accts. and Inventories of Hen. VII.'
1546.] NAVAL REORGANISATION. 437
small until after the end of the sixteenth centiuy. From a letter addressed to the Lord High Admiral in 1588, and preserved among Pepys' 'Miscellanies' (viii. 198), it appears that there were then only two queen's dry docks in the Thames, one at Woolwich, and the other probably at Deptford. The writers, Sir John Hawkyns, WilHam Wynter, and William Folstoke, proposed "to enlarge that at Woolwich to that length and bigness that two royal ships at one time might be brought in to be repaired and built within the same."
Before the time of Henry VIII., the general executive govern- ment of the navy and some of the various other functions now discharged by the Admiralty were for a long period in the hands of the Admirals-in-Chief, no matter whether they happened to be called at the moment Admirals of the North and of the West, and held divided but co-equal authority, or whether the single head was Lord High Admiral. The civil work was done by the Clerk of the Ships, and occasionally by the King's Chancery. But the increasing business of the service necessitated the erection of more elaborate machineiy. A Lord High Admiral continued to be appointed as before. To relieve him, however, of various branches of his duty, especially in his administrative work, civil officers, known as Commissioners, were appointed in April, 1.546, to attend to victualling, construction and repair of ships, procm'ing of suitable ordnance, etc. These civil officers constituted the Navy Board. ^
' The Xavy Board was established b.y patent of A]iril 24th, 1546. The officers then appointed were a Lieutenant of the Admiralty (whose post was never retilled after the deatlx of the .second occupiaut) ; a Treasurer ; a Comptroller ; a Surveyor ; a Master of the Ordnance of the Xavy (whose post was not refilled when it fell vacant for the third time, in 1598) ; and, at first, a couple of extra officers. In 1550, a Surveyor of Victuals' was also appointed. The sequence of officers in these posts, up to the end of the reign of Elizabeth, was as follows : —
Lieutenant of the Admiralty : I Comptroller of Ships:
April 24, 154fi, Sir Thomas C'lere. I April 24, 1546, William Broke.
Dec. IG, 1552, Sir William Woodhouse. Dec. 12, 1561, William Holstock.
1589, William Borough. Treasurer of Marine Cause, : ^ec. 20, 1598, Sir Henry Palmer.
April 24, 1546, Ilobert Legge. , , , „/ •
', , ^ . . ^ Surveyor of Ships :
July 8, lo4'J, Benjamui Gonson, senr.
Jan. 1, 1578, John Hawk.yns. April 24, 1546, Benjamin Gonson, senr.
(In abeyance from Xoc. 12, 1595.) July 8, 1549, William Wynter.
Dec. 22, 1598, Fulke Greville, ' Lord July 11, 1589, Sir Henry Palmer.
Brooke Dec. 20, 1598, John Trevor.
438 CIVIL HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1566.
To assist in the executive business of the Lord High Admiral, the Admiralty Office or Admiralty Board was formed. Fiall regulations for the conduct of all these officials do not seem to have existed until the time of Edward VI. ; and, indeed, it may be assumed that no department of such great importance could, at the mere fiat of an individual, leap at once into full activity and usefulness. The Commissioners of the Navy Office met, apparently from the time of their first appointment, on Tower Hill, in a building which, under Ehzabeth, was known as the Queen's Consultation Eoom. The Board of Admiralty, in the earlier days of its existence, had no fixed home, and met sometimes at the Lord High Admiral's residence and sometimes even afloat.^
At the instance of Sir Thomas Spert,^ Henry VIII. also, in 1513, established what is usually known as Trinity House, but is properly entitled " The Guild of the Holy and Undividable Trinity and Ht. Clement, at Deptford Strond." It was at first associated to some extent with the navy, part of its duty being to examine into the professional qualifications of officers and petty officers, and to supply seamen as they were needed. In 1566, the master, wardens, and assistants of the Guild were empowered to set up beacons and sea- marks ; and, gradually, lighting, buoying, and pilotage fell more and more under their control, until their original connection with the navy became obscui'ed.
Naval punishments, "according to the custom of the sea," which was extremely barbarous, were much the saine in the
Clerh of the Ships : Master of the Ordnance of the Savy :
A -1 o< i-i/. TT 1 1 TT , ,. I April 24, 1546, Sir William VVooilhouse. April 24, lo46, Eichard Howlett. -r,^ ,„',..'„,, ,„. „
Oct. 10, lofaO, George \V ynter. „ ' _,.._ ,„.,,. ,,. , ,
■hf 1,01 i-uA TiT-ii- T3 u ^O'^'- '-) l''»i, William \\ viiter (who
March 24, l.>bO, AVilliam Borough. j , , , ' .J. ^, „ „ _■,„,•„ ,„„:,
Xov. 6, 1588, Benjamin Gonson, junr. 1600, Peter Buck.
held it, with the Surveyorship, until his death in 1589, when the office ceased to exist).
Extra Officers : \ ^"'■''^^'"' "-^ ^''=*""'^ •"
June 28, 1550, Edward Baeshe.
April 24, 1546, William Holstock. June 30, 1587, James Quarles.
April 24, 1546, Thomas Morlev. Kot. 8, 1595, Marmaduke Darell.
[A continuation of these lists will be found in Chapter X>'II.]
' It may still meet wherever convenience dictates.
' He died in 1541. On his monument in St. Dunstan's, Stepney, he is called "Comptroller of the Navy," but there was no such office in 1541. The error arises from the monument being of a much later ]ieriod. He was ( 'lerk of the Shi])s in 1538.
1583.] ■ THE SEAFARING POPULATION. 439
sixteenth century as they had been in previous ages ; but in the account of Drake's dealings with Thomas Doughty, in 1578, and with Captain Wilhaiu Borough, and the other mutinous people in the Golden Lion in 1587, we have indications of the gradual evolution of the court-martial, and of a more just, if scarcely less severe, administration of marine law. Doughty, charged with a plot against Drake's life, was brought before a body of officers, who, hearing him confess himself guilty, as is alleged, unanimously signed the sentence by which he was condemned to death. Borough, convicted before " a general coiu't holden for the service of her Majesty aboard the Elizabeth Bonaventure," was, with his abettors, sentenced in contimiaciam, " to abide the pains of death " in case of their being caught. "If not, they shall remain as dead men in law." ^
The regular seafaring population of England, as distinct from the numerous other people who went to sea upon occasion, was small at the beginning of the sixteenth century, and not large even in the early days of Elizabeth. In 1583, a census of the maritime inhabitants of the country, Wales being excluded, showed that there were 1484 masters, 11,515 mariners, 2299 fishermen, and 957 Thames wherrymen, or in all, 16,255 persons who were in some sort accustomed to the water.
The number does not seem to be proportionate to the very con- siderable sea-borne trade of the country at that time. Henry VII. had furthered commerce, and at the same time benefited himself, by hiring out to the merchants his own men-of-war, when they were not needed for the service of the State. He also enacted navigation Acts in his first and fourth years, for the encourage- ment of English shipping. Henry VIII. had hired out many of his ships of war ; but the practice had fallen into disuse about 1534. The discoveries of Columbus, Cabot, and the Portuguese had opened fresh markets. The trade with Iceland had received great impetus, owing to the convention of 1488, whereby Denmark under- took not to interfere with it. An advantageous commercial treaty had been concluded with Castille. Henry VIII. had freed the principal rivers of England from weirs and obstructions ; suppressed illegal tolls ; improved many of the harbom-s, including Dover, where he built a new pier ; encouraged commerce, especially with the Levant, where he appears to have appointed the first consul ; ' This quanel between Drake and Borough was afterwards peaceably ])atclied up.
440 CIVIL HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1600.
and employed his diplomatic agents to advance the interests of the merchants. Under Edward, and under Mary, the Newfomidland trade had been increased and freed from restrictions ; English merchants on the continent had been signally protected and en- couraged ; the African trade had largely grown ; the judicial privileges of the merchants of the Steelyard had been withdrawn, and their other privileges curtailed ; the Eussia Company had been established ; and there had been enlarged commercial inter- course with Spain.
But it is true that in 1583, the date of this census, the stimu- lating atmosphere of the Elizabethan era had not yet j)roduced its full effect upon the energies of the country. The letters patent to the Company of Traders to Barbary were not granted until 1585 ; and the origins of the East India Company date only from 1600.
Elizabeth seldom neglected an opportunity of asserting the dignity of her country, and vindicating the interests of her subjects, especially where trade was concerned. Her conduct in 1597, in the matter of the dispute with the Hanse Towns, may be taken as typical of her general attitude in such cases. Commercial jealousy had induced the Hanse Towns to persuade the emperor to prohibit the traffic of English merchants with Germany. Elizabeth made remonstrances to the emperor and the electoral princes, and, obtaining no satisfaction, adopted prompt retaliatory measures. By proclamation she ordained that upon the day fixed for the English traders to leave Germany, all merchants of the Hanse Towns should quit England, and the Lord Mayor should seize that locality in London known as the Steel Yard, which the merchants of the Hanse Towns had been privileged to occupy. This was the deathblow to the influence of the Hanseatic League in England. The viltimate effect of it was to throw into English hands great part of that Northern European trade which had previously, for a long period, been the almost exclusive appanage of foreigners.
( 441 )
CHAPTEE XIV.
MILITARY HISTORY OF THE NAVY, 1485-1603.
Heni'V VII. — The Earl of Oxfurtl, Lord Admiral — Siiiiners invatiion — 'Woodvilles expedition — Sir'Andrew Wood — War with France — Expedition against Kavenstein — Siege of Boulogne — Peace with France — Warheck in Ireland and in Scotland — His invasion of England — Philip of Austria in England — Henry VIII. — Co-opera- tion with Spain against the Moors, and with Burgundy against Gelderland — Sir Andrew Barton— The Lord Admiral's whistle — Lord Edward Howard, Lord Admiral — Action with the French off Brest — A French account of it— Portzmoguer — Blockade of Brest — Proceedings of Echyngham — Actions near Brest- Death of the Lord Admiral — Lord Thomas Howard, Lord Admiral— Pregeut's raids — Howard's revenge — The Field of the Cloth of Gold — Alliance with the Emperor — Surrey, admiral of the combined fleet— He raids the French coasts — A Scots squadron defeated — Peace with France — Pdchraond, Lord Admiral — Fitz William, Lord Admiral — Bedford, Lord Admiral— Lisle, Lord Admiral — War with France and Scotland— Expedition to the Forth — Boidogne blockaded — Seymour's cruise — " Cajiitaine Polain " — D'Anncbaut — Attack on Portsmouth — Action at Spithead — Loss of the Marii Hose — Indecisive action in the Channel — Lisle burns Treport — Plague in the tleet — Naval skirmishes — Edward VI. — Lord Seymour of Sudely, Lord Admiral — French expeditions to Scotland — Capture of the Lion — An English fleet in the Forth— Villegagnon— Seymour defeated — Unofficial war with France — Open hostilities — Wynter in the Channel Islands — Clinton, Lord Admiral — Peace with France — Piracies in the Narrow Seas — Exploit of the Falcon — The first voyage to Guinea — JIary I. — Lord Howard of Effingham, Lord Admiral — AVynter and 'J'hrogmorton — Philip comes to England — He is obliged to salute the flag — Clinton, Lord Admiral — Loss of Calais — Clere defeated in Orkney — The tleet assists Count Egmont — Elizabeth — Peace with France — Renewal of the war — Peace with Scotland — AN'ynter in the Forth — Evacuation of Scotland by the French — The Queen and the continental Protestants — Le Havre handed over to Elizabeth — Francis Clarke — War with France — Evacuation of Le Havre — Peace with France — Detention of treasure — Spanish irritation — Elizabeth assists La Eochelle — Gabriel de Montgomeri — Privateering — Holstock and the pirates — Significance of the struggle with Spain — Spanish expedition to Munster — Lord Howard of Effingham, Lord Admiral — Elizabeth assists the Low Countries — The case of tlie I'l-iiurom — The case of the Turkey shi])s — War with Sjiain — The first prize of the war — Leicester goes to Flushing — Ciuuberland's first voyage — Alliance with Scotland — Drake at Cadiz — Capture of the Sun Frlipp — The Spanish Armada — Assistance given to Don Antonio of Portugal — Drake and Norreys on the coast of Portugal — Michelsou to Mexico — Hawkyn's and Frobiser's expedition to Spain — Action between merchant ships and Spanish galleys — Ciuuberland's fourth expedition — Lord Thomas Howard to the Azores — Loss of the Ttrrenijc — Fight off Cape Corrientes — Exploit of the Ccntvrioii — Expedition of Frobiser and Biu'gh —
442
MILITABY HISTORY, l-i85-1603.
[1485
Cumberland'*! filth voyage — Cruises of Newport and King — White and the quick- silver ships — Cumberland's sixth exjjedition — Frobiser at Brest — Death of Frobiser — Cumberland's seventh expedition — Last expedition of Drake and Hawkyns — Cruise of Preston and Somers — Eighth expedition of Cumberland — Expedition to Cadiz — Cumberland's ninth expedition — Spanish designs on Ireland — The voyage to the islands — Fisliing difBculties with the French — Cumberland's tenth expedition — Rapid moViilisation of a fleet — Leveson to the Azores — Attempted Spanish descent on Ireland — Leveson defeats Siriaco — Parker's privateering cruise — Ex- peilitions of Gosuoll, Mace, and Weymouth — Leveson and Jlonson on the Spanish coast — Death of Elizabeth.
TTENEY VII. loved commerce, and was himself a great trader; he was a miser, and disliked any expenditure which did not appear to him to be absolutely necessary ; his title to the throne was bad, and his seat upon it was consequently pre- carious ; and he was a wise man, possessed of marked diplomatic ability. His qualities moulded his policy. His reign was, upon the whole, pacific ; and, although he invaded France, he had no insatiate thirst for military glory, and no tyrannous lust of conquest ; and he gladly seized the first opportunity for concluding a fairly honourable peace. His only other important foreign expedition, that for the repression of Bavenstein, in 1492, was undertaken in the interests of commerce.
Upon his accession, he appointed John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford, to be Lord High Admiral from September '21st, 1485, and this officer held the post until after the king's death.
It was Henry's misfortune that the fallen House of York remained for many years popular with the common people of the comitry, and especially of Ireland, and that the lost cause still had a most powerful and unscrupulous supporter in the person of Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy, a sister of Edward IV. Her court became the natm-al headquarters of all conspirators who sought the overthrow of the House of Tudor.
The best possible claimant among the Yorkist princes to the crown was Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick, son of George, Duke of Clarence and nephew of Edward IV. ; but Warwick was a prisoner in the hands of Henry. As, therefore, Warwick was not available as a tool for the malcontents, a false Warwick was in- vented in the person of Lambert Simnel, a baker's son, who appears to have been carefully trained for his part by Kichard Simon, a
1488.] LOUD WOODVILLE'S EXPEDITION. 443
priest in the confidence of the Yorkist leaders. Lambert was re- cognised by the Earl of Kildare, Lord Deputy of Ireland, by John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln, a nephew of Edward IV., and, of course, by the unscrupulous Margaret of Burgundy ; and at Dublin the pretender was proclaimed King of England, as Edward VI., in May, 1487.
Henry replied by parading the real AVarwick through the streets of London ; but this measure seems to have had little or no effect upon the infatuated people, and the movement continued. It may have been owing to Henry"s parsimony that the Narrow Seas were so inefficiently policed as to allow the pretender and his friends, accompanied by two thousand Germans, under Martin Schwartz, to land in Lancashire ; but it is more probable that the king, realising the importance of capturing his impudent rival, deliberately prefeiTed to permit him to invade England. Here Simnel gathered few fresh adherents, except a small body of men under Sir Thomas Broughton. He determined to attack Newark ; but Henry judiciously placed himself between the rebels and that town, and so, on June 16th, 1487, provoked the battle of Stoke, where, after a well-fought action, Simnel was defeated and taken. His patron Simon was imprisoned for life. Hardly one of the remaining supporters of his claims who happened to be present escaped with his life. As for Simnel himself, he was contemptuously made a scullion in the royal kitchen, and subsequently promoted to be a falconer.
Edward, Lord Woodville, was the indirect cause of the hostilities with France. This nobleman, an uncle of the queen, was Governor of the Isle of Wight ; and, happening to be in sympathy with the Duchess of Brittany, who was then in conflict with Charles VIII. of France, he took advantage of his position, and, in spite of Henry's positive orders to do nothing of the kind, raised four hundred men early in 1488, and crossed to the assistance of the princess.^ He and his followers were cut to pieces at St. Aubin, on July 28th, and the disaster, though perhaps richly merited, gave rise to so much public feeling in England, that Henry felt himself obliged to send to Brittany eight thousand men under Lord Brooke. But he still had some kind of secret arrangement with Charles, and possibly no further forces would have been dispatched, had not Anne of Brittany, in 1491, betrayed her English friends and astonished Europe by marrying her whilom enemy Charles VIII. ' 'I'liis expedition is iiienticmed liv Holinsherl.
444 MILITARY BISTORT, 1485-1603. [1492.
In 1490, Scotland, which, owing to the unworthy machinations of Henry VII. with the object of seizing the person of the young king, James IV., had no cause to spare England, dealt her two small but stinging blows at sea, and at the same time discovered that she possessed at least one exceptionally able naval officer. This was Sir Andrew Wood, of Largs. Upon the mm-der of James III. he had declared, against the Council, for that monarch's son, James IV., and he served the new king bravely; for not only did he, with two ships, captui'e five English vessels,' but also, when three more were sent against him under the command of Stephen Bull, he took them likewise. The only capture from the Scots during these operations seems to have been the Margaret, which was added to the navy. James IV. established the first efficient navy ever possessed by Scotland. Towards the end of his reign he had thirteen men-of-war, the largest of which, the Michael, was, in her day, a marvel of size. And in Sir Andrew Wood, and the equally famous Andrew Barton, he had commanders who, \i\ a very short period, gave the young Scots navy all the prestige it needed. Both Wood, and Barton whose exploits will be noted later, were somewhat piratical in their methods, although they acted under letters of marque ; but piracy — especially on land, and where cattle was concerned — was a recognised and characteristic Scots institution until a much later day. It must also be remembered that the Scots of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were, in most respects, less civilised than their soiithern neighbours.
The maiTiage of Anne with Charles VIII. gave Brittany to France, and was midoubtedly a great blow at English prestige, the more so seeing that she had been previously supposed to be about to marry the Archduke Maximihan, the ally of Henry. These and other considerations determined Henry to appear to fall in with the obvious desires of his people for a war with France ; and in 1491 and 149'2 great preparations were made in consequence. But, privately, the king had no wish for hostilities. The acts of Woodville had forced his hand in 1488 ; the excitement of his people might force his hand again. The king, however, made up his mind that he would not be driven so long as he could stand still ; and that if he should be driven, he would do his latmost to bring the war to a speedy conclusion. In the meantime, the patriotism of Pai-liament and the enthusiasm of his subjects
' Apparently hired craft.
1492.] UAVENSTEIN AT SLVIS. 445
supplied him with large sums of money, some of which were expended in preparations, but still more of which remained in the coffers of the tenacious monarch, much to his personal advantage.
An occasion soon arose for pleasing the people by dealing a bye-blow at France, while, at the same time benefiting commerce, and obliging the Archduke Maximilian. A subject of the latter, Philip von Kleve-Bavenstein, was in rebellion against his sovereign, and, aided by citizens of Ghent and Bruges, had seized the town of Sluis, and had formed a piratical stronghold there. It is siapposed that he was in receipt of some countenance from France, for his master, Maximilian, was, like Henry, on unfriendly terms with Charles, and Philip himself subsequently entered the French service. Be this as it may, it is certain that the pirate chief had done much harm to Enghsh trade and shipping in the North Sea, and that for this reason, if for no other, Henry was glad to tender his help to Maximilian against the rebel. A squadron of twelve ships was in consequence fitted out, and the command of it was entrusted to Sir Edward Poynings.'
Sir Edward cruised at sea for a few days, and then approached Sluis, where he learnt that the place was besieged on the land side by the Elector of Saxony. He therefore blockaded it by water, and attacked it on that side. Its main defences consisted of two towers or castles, which were connected by a bridge of boats. Poynings made attempts on one or other of these castles every day for twenty days in succession ; but failed to produce any impression, and suffered considerable losses, until he succeeded, during a night assault, in burning the bridge of boats. This brought about the surrender of the town to the elector, and of the castles to the English. In the course of the siege, a brother of the Lord High Admiral, the Earl of Oxford, lost his life.
In the same year (1492), on October 2nd, Henry reached Dover with an army of twenty-five thousand men and sixteen hundred horses, and was transported to Calais, by the aid of a large fleet which had been assembled for the purpose. About October 19th, he laid siege to Boulogne ; but he had not been many days before the town ere peace with France was in principle agreed on. Peace
' Second son of Robert, 5th and last Lord Poynings under writ of 11 Edw. III. He was a lifelong friend of Henry VII. He died in 14 Hen. VIII. a K.G. One of his natural sons, 'I'liomas, was created Baron Poynings in 1545.
44fi MILITARY HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1496.
was, in fact, signed at Etaples on November 3rd ; ' and on Decem- ber 17tb, tbe king retui-ned to London. The chief article in the stipulations was the payment to Henry of the sum of £149,000. Another was that the person calling himself Eichard, Duke of York, should receive no more shelter and assistance in France.
This person was in reality one Perkin Warbeck, or Osbeck, supposed to be the son of a Jew of Tournay, but by a few believed to be a natural son of Edward IV. He claimed to be the Prince Bichard whom Eichard HI. is generally charged with having caused to be murdered in the Tower ; and in 149'2 he appeared as such in Cork, and was so well received there that Charles VIII. of France invited him to Paris. He had previously been recognised by the unscrupulous Margaret of Burgundy. But, as has been seen, the Treaty of Etaples drove him out of France ; and he went to his patroness Margaret. His presence in Flanders encouraged a dangerous conspiracy in England ; but Henry was ruthless in searching it out and stifling it; and when, on July 7th, '1495, the pretender, furnished by the duchess with a few ships and troops, landed some men near Sandwich, the intruders were at once captured by the country people. This miserable attempt led to the hanging of one hundred and sixty persons.
Warbeck returned to his patroness in Flanders ; but the conclusion in February, 1496, of the treaty known as " The Great Intercourse," between England and Burgundy, proved that com- mercial advantages were stronger and weightier than dynastic considerations. The treaty stipulated for his expulsion ; and the pretender went, first to Ireland, and then to Scotland. James IV. welcomed him as the lawful King of England, and gave him in marriage Lady Katherine Gordon, a member of the Scots royal house. Twice Warbeck attempted an invasion from the north. By July, 1497," James had gi'own tired, if not suspicious, of him ; and Warbeck, escorted from Scots waters by the celebrated Andrew
' ' Foedera,' xii. 497.
^ At about that time there was in Scots waters a considerable English force under Eobert, Lord Willoughby de Broke, including, besides the king's ships Regent, Mary Fortune, and Siueepstahe, the hired vessels, Anthony, of Saltash, Henry, of Bristol, Mary Bird, of Bristol, Mary Tower, of Bristol, Andrew, of Plymouth, Miehael, of Dartmouth, and a bark of Penzance (Augm. Off. bk. 316), as well as, possibly, the Margaret Bull, Hermitage, Ellen, of Calais, Christoplier, of Calais, Mary Hastings, Peter, Anne, of Maiden, John, of Hampton, Gregory Ismay, John Castelyn, and niunerous transiwrts. ' Nav. Accts. and Invts.,' 1485-88 and 1495-97, p]i. xlv., 84-102, 341-343.
1497.] sephession of piracy. 447
Barton, again became a fugitive. He was leading a precarious existence in Ireland, when he was invited by some malcontents of Cornwall and Devonshire to join them. On September '27th, 1497, he accordingly arrived in Whitsand Bay, near Penzance, with four small vessels, and landed with a few followers. He took St. Michael's Mount, gathered as many as three thousand men, and laid siege to Exeter ; but on the approach of Giles, Lord Daubeney,' with the royal forces, he fled to Taunton, and subsequently to Beaulieu Abbey in Hampshire, where, on October Sth, he sur- rendered himself. His life was spared, and he was generously treated, until repeated attempts to escape, and participation in a plot with the Earl of Warwick, led to his execution in 1499.
During the earlier years of the reign of Henry VII. there were fewer examples than might have been expected of piracy and unofficial warfare in the Narrow Seas ; and in 1497, the year of Warbeck's surrender, England and France came to an agree- ment which had the effect of rendering such proceedings less common than ever, especially in time of nominal peace between the two countries. A treaty was signed, in pursuance of which shipowners were required, ere sending their vessels to sea, to furnish good and efficient bail that they would obsevre the peace. .
In the year 1500, the plague then raging in London, the king and his family went to Calais, arriving there on May 8th, and returning about the end of June. Thereafter, until the death of Henry, there were few events which, by any stretch of the imagination, can be associated with naval affairs. The voyages and explorations undertaken during the reign are separately dealt with elsewhere ; and it only remains to note that when, in 150(3, Philip of Austria, who had succeeded to the kingdom of Castille, and who was on the way, with his queen, from the Netherlands to Spain, was driven by bad weather into Weymouth, and, contrary to the advice of his suite, ventured ashore, he was speciously detained by Henry, under various polite pretexts, until he had consented to a renewal, very advantageous for England, of the treaty of commerce between the two countries,^ and had engaged to deliver up Edmund de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk,^ who had fled the kingdom, and who, being a nephew of Edward IV., was a possible thorn in Henry's
' Sixth Baron Daubeney. He lUeil a K.G. in 1507.
2 'Ftrdera,' xiii. ]42.
^ Stowe, 484; Holinsliecl, ii. 703; Bacon's 'Hist. Hemy VI[.' ii. 350.
448 MILITARY BISTORT, 1485-1603. [1511.
side. The clnke, on his surrender, was sent to the Tower. The king died at Eichmond on April 22nd, 1509.
Henry VIII. came to the throne, a handsome and accomphshed young man, in his eighteenth year. He was as able as his father, but in eveiy other respect utterly unlike him. Generous, genial, and fond of amusement and display, he was also intensely ambitious ; and, as his treasmy was full, and the state of Europe was troubled, he was able to indulge his inclinations.
In the second year of his reign he joined Ferdinand of Spain and Maximilian of Germany in the Holy League against Louis XII. of France ; and, about the middle of May, dispatched a body of a thousand archers imder Thomas, Lord d'Arcy, to co-operate with Ferdinand against the Moors. The expedition left Plymouth, escorted by four men-of-war, and landed at Cadiz on June 1st. Its mere appearance was sufficient to secm:e the objects for which it had been demanded. The Moors made terms with the king, and the Enghsh, dismissed with presents, retiorned, without fighting, about August.^
In July of the same year, another force of fifteen hundred men, under Sir Edward Poynings, was sent into Flanders to assist the Duke of Burgundy against the Duke of Gelderland. After effecting the desired ends, it returned with small loss and much honour.^
But by far the most important naval event of 1.511 was the action off the Goodwin with the famous Scotsman, Andrew Barton. Barton had obtained from his sovereign letters of marque and reprisals against the Portuguese, who were alleged to have killed his father, and seized his father's ship, and who had afforded no satisfaction for the outrage. Barton had thereupon equipped two vessels, the Lion, carrying thirty-six, and the Jennet Per ivy ?i, a "pinnace" or tender, carrying thirty gmis, if we may trust the popular Ehzabethan ballad on the subject.^ The one seems to have had upwards of three hundred, and the other, one hundred and eighty men on board. But, under pretext of cruising against the Portuguese, Barton seized and plundered many neutral vessels, including English ones, under the pretence that they had Portu-
-■ ' Holinshed, ii. 802 ; Hall, 11.
^ Grafton, tl58 ; Cooper, 274 ; Stowe, 488.
^ Their gun strength, unless tlie guns were extremely small, must be greatly exaggerated in the ballad, for the tonnage of the vessels was but 120 and TO respectively.
1511.] ANDllEW BARTON. 449
guese goods on board ; ' and complaints on the subject were made to Henry VIII.-'
To Lords Thomas and Edward Howard, the two sons of Thomas, Earl of Surrey, and subsequently second Uuke of Norfolk, was apparently entrusted the duty of dealing with this piratical adventurer. According to the generally received account, they were assigned by the king two ships for the piu-pose ; but CoUiber,'' though he does not say on what authority, states that these young noblemen fitted out two vessels at their own charges. "* Lord Edward Howard, the younger of the two brothers, had been knighted for his bravery in the expedition against Kleve-Eavenstein, and, perhaps on account of the experience thus gained, was appointed senior officer.
The brothers fell in with Barton off the Goodwin, brought him to action, and, after a determined struggle, killed him, and captured his vessels.^ The ballad has it that they sunk the pinnace with all on board, and took only the Lion ; but the fact is that both vessels were added to the English navy.
The ballad mentions Barton's use of a whistle, probably to direct his men ; and adds that Lord Edward Howard, or Sir Edward, as he is commonly called, received as part of his reward Sir Andrew's jewel and chain. Soon afterwards, on August 15th, 1512, Lord Edward •" was made Lord High Admiral.' The account of his death, presently to be given, shows that as badge of his rank he wore a gold whistle, besides a chain of gold nobles about his neck ; and it may well be that this whistle was the one which had been taken from Barton, and that the practice, long continued by Lord High Admirals, of wearing a whistle as their ensign of office, com- memorated the defeat and death of the noted Scots seaman.
I Hall, f. 15 ; Buchanan, xiii. 424, 425 ; Leslie, ' De Reb. Gest. Scot.' viii. 355.
^ Surrey, on hearing the complaints, remarked that " The Narrow Seas should not he so infested while he had estate enough to furnish a ship, or a son capable of com- manding it." Lloyd's ' State Worthies,' 143.
^ ' Columna Kostrata,' 49.
* Surrey's words quoted in the note above seem to indicate that he fitted out tlie vessels.
^ Stowe, 489, says that the Lion struck to Lord Thomas. Herbert's 'Life of Henry VIIL' 7, says that both ships were brought into the Thames on August 2nd, 1511.
" Lord Edward Howard, second son of the nid;e of Xorfolk. He had served with Sir Edward Poynings in the expediticju against Sluis in 1492. Henry VIIL made him his standard-bearer (Pat. 1 Hen. VIII. p. 1, m. 24). He fell in action, as will be seen. He had married Alice, daughter of William Lovel, Lord Morlev.
' Pat. 4 Hen. VIII. p. 2.
VOL. I. 2 G
450 MILITARY BISTORT, 1485-1G03. [1512.
The Barton affair caused much ill blood between Scotland and England, and ultimately served as one of the pretexts for the invasion which ended at Flodden Field on September 9th, 1513. Henry's attitude, when James IV. remonstrated, was "that pmiishing pirates was never held a breach of peace among princes." '
In 151'2, in furtherance of the objects of the Holy League, Henry VIII. fitted out a fleet of twenty vessels, and entrusted it to the command of Lord Edward Howard, whom he had made Lord High Admiral for the purpose.^ The immediate mission of this force was to convoy an English army, under the Marquis of Dorset, to co-operate with King Ferdinand in the south of France. The troops were carried in Spanish ships ; and the expedition sailed on May 16th, and reached the coast of Guipuscoa on June 8th. ^
As soon as the army had been landed, the Lord High Admiral proceeded on a cruise off the coasts of Brittany, where he attacked several places in the neighbourhood of Le Conquet and Brest, and burnt some shipping.
France had afloat in the same waters a force under Jean de Thenouenel, Admiral of Brittany ; another of her admirals, Pregent de Bidoux, was on his way from the Mediterranean with a re- inforcement of four large galleys ; and a French ship of great force, the Marie la CordeUere,^ which Anne, Queen of France, had some years before caused to be built at her own cost, had lately been commissioned by a noted Breton seaman, Captain Herve de Portz- moguer ; ^ and King Henry, .conscious that Howard's command was •scarcely equal to contending with such a combination, collected twenty-five other vessels at Portsmouth, and, after having himself reviewed them, dispatched them to the assistance of the com- mander-in-chief." Among these ships were the Begent and the Sovereign, the two finest in the service. The former was com- manded by Sir Thomas Knyvett,' Master of the Horse, with Sir John Carew as his second ; and the latter by Sir Charles
' Hall, f. 15i ; Dmmmond, ' Hist, of Five .Jameses," 130.
^ Pat. 4 Hen. VIII. p. 2.
' Hall, 17 ; Hist, du Roy. de Navarre (Cliappuy), G20.
* Said to have carried 1200 men.
■"' Tlie name was amusingly Anglicised as " Sir Pier.s Morgan."
« Holiushed, ii. 815 ; Hall, 21. "
' Sir Tliomas Knyvett, of Buckenham, had been made a K.G. in 1509, on the occasion of Henry's coronation. He married Muriel, daughter of Tliomas, Duke of Norfolk, and widow of John Grey, Lord Lisle.
w
►J
1512.] BATTLE OFF BREST. 451
Brandon/ with Sir Henry Guildford.^ In each case hoth officers were called captain ; so that in the arrangement we may distinguish a foreshadowing of the modern practice of appointing a commander as well as a captain to a large man-of-war. Other captains in the fleet were Sir Anthony Oiightred, Sir Edward Echyngham, and William Sydney.''
Howard, with his reinforced fleet, made the mouth of Camaret Bay on August 10th, just as the French fleet of thirty-nine sail was coming out. Grafton, his spelling modernised, shall continue the story.
" When the Englishmen," he says, " perceived the French navy to be out of Brest Haven, then the Lord Admiral was very joyous ; then every man pi'epared according to his duty, the arcliers to shoot, the gunners to loose, the men of arms to fight. The pages went to the topcastle with darts. Thus, all things being provided and set in order, the Englishmen approached towards the Frenclimen, which came fiercely forward, some leavhig his anchor, some with his foresail onlj-, to take the most advantage ; and when they were in sight, they shot ordnance so terribly together that all the sea coast sounded of it. The Lord Admiral made with the great ship of Dieppe, and chased her still. Sir Henry Guildford and Sir Charles Brandon, being in the Sovereign, made with the great carrack of Brest" {Marie la Cordeliire') "and lay stem to stem with the carrack; but by negligence of the master, or else by smoke of the ordnance, or otherwise, the Sovereign was cast at the stern of the carrack, with which advantage the Frenchmen shouted for joy; but when Sir Thomas Knyvett, which was ready to have boarded the great ship of Dieppe, saw that the Sovereign had missed the carrack which Sir Henry Oughtred chased hard at the stern and bowged " (rannned) "her in divers places, and set afire her powder as s(]nie say, suddeulj' the JiegeiU grappled with her along board ; and when they of the carrack iierceived that they could not depart, they let slip an anchor, and so with the stream the ships turned, an<l the carrack was on the weather side, and the Itegent on the lee side. The fight was very cruel, for the archers of the English part, and the crossbows of the French part, did their uttermost ; but, for all that, the Englishmen entered the carrack, which seeing, a varlet gunner, being desperate, put Are in the gunpowder, as others say, and set the whole ship of fire, the flame whereof set fire in the Regent; and so these two noble ships, which were so grappleil together that they could not part, were consumed by fire. The French navy, perceiving this, fled in all haste, some to Brest, and some to the isles adjoining. The English, in manner dismayed, sent out boats to help them in the Regent; but the fire was so great that no man dared approach; saving that, by the James, of Hull, were certain Frenchmen that could swim saved. This burning of the carrack was happy for the French navy, or else they had been better assailed of the Englishmen, which were so amazed with this chance that they followed them not. The captain nf this carrack was Sir Piers Morgan, and with him nine hundred men
' Created Viscount Lisle in 1513, and Duke of Suffolk in 151L He w.as .also a K.G. Ho died in 1545.
^ Sou of Sir Richard Guildford, of Hemsted, who had been Master of the Ordnance under Henry VII. Sir Henry died a K.G., 2?> Henry VIII.
' Sydney, who was knighted at about this time, became cliamberlain and steward to Henry VIII , and died at the end cf the reign of Edward VI.
2 G 2
452 MILITARY HISTORY, U85-1603. [1512.
slain and dead. And with Sir Thomas Knyvett and Sir John Carew, seven hundred men drowned and burnt ; and that night all the Englishmen laj' in Bartram " (Bertheaunie) " Bay, for the French fleet was dispersed as you have heard."
Such was the EngHsh account. As might be expected, the French accounts bore a somewhat different complexion ; and it is perhaps but fair to append Monsieur Guerin's summary of them, although it must be premised that he attributes the battle to a wrong year,^ that in some other particulars, his story is demon- strably incorrect, and that the entire description is obviously rather picturesque than historical in its mode of expression.
" The English fleet," he says, " appeared on August 10th off Saint Mahe or Saint Mathieu, at the extremity of the peninsula of Brittany. The French fleet, wliich was chiefl)' composed of JSTorman and Breton vessels, was inferior in number by one-half, and, moreovei-, believing the enemy to be well occupied in Picardy, Avas taken vmawares. Tlie presence of mind of the leaders compensated for the awkwardness of the moment; their courage and that of their men took the place of numbers. The Preach fleet, which Pregent de Bidoux had hiu'ried to join with his galleys,- was careful to retain the advantage of the wind, and it paid its attention sole)}' to boarding, smashing or sinking about half the enemy's vessels. In the midst of this general French attack, there was to be noted above all others a large and beautiful carrack, decorated superbly, and as daintily as a queen. She, of herself, had already sunk almost as many hostile vessels as all the rest uf the fleet ; and now she found herself surrounded by twelve of the principal English ships, wliich had combined all their efforts against her. She was the Marie la Cordeliire, which Anne of Brittany, Queen of France, had caused to be built at great cost at Morlaix, and the command of which she had entrusted to the gallant Portzmoguer, the worthiest Breton captain of his da}'. The Cordeliire, alone among so many foes, struggled with a courage whicli was almost miraculous. Of the twelve vessels surrounding her, she put several out of action and drove off some more. A large English ship, commanded by Sir Charles Brandon, had been completely dismasted by the gun-fire of the Cordeliire, whose triumph was on the point of being assured, when, from the top of a hostile vessel, tliere was flung into her a mass of firewoiks, the flame from which instantly took hold of her. Some of the soldiers and seamen were able to save themselves in boats, Init Captain Portzmoguer, after having given every one the option of relinquisliing a fight which now seemed hopeless, declined, in spite of the entreaties of his people, to avail himself of the chance, open to him also, of saving his life. His life was entirely bound np with the existence of the vessel which had been so specially entrusted to him by the queen ; the one was to end with the other. Suddenly the Cordeliire sighted the Regent, of 1000 tons, in which Thomas Knyvett, squire to Henry VIII., fulfilled the fimctions of vice-admiral of England ; and, like a floating volcano, bore down, a huge incendiary torch, ui>on her, pitilessly grappled her, and wound lier in her own flaming- robe. Tlie powder magazine of the Regent blew up, and with it the hostile ship, her commander, and thousamls of burnt and mangled limbs went into the air; while the Cordellere, satisfied, and still proud amid tlie disaster, blew up also, and, a whirl of fire and smoke, vanished beneath the waves, like her immortal Captain Portzmoguei,
' l.'ilS, as Daniel and other French historians also do.
- It is extremely doubtful, however, whether Pregent did join at all that year.
1513.] BLOCKADE OF BREST. 453
who from a top had thrown himself, fully armed, into the sea. The ships of Diepi^u were in great danger, when they were very opportunely succoured by three or four Breton ships belonging to Croisic, which made chase after the enemy. The English fleet took to flight, and was followed up as far as the coast of England."
Portzmoguer appears in many French histories as "Primoguet"; and Hubert Veille, the continuator of Eobert Gaguin, latinises him as Primangaius. The fight of the Cordelih-e, Hke that of the Vengeur in 1794, and of our own Revenge in 1.591, has, thanks to patriotism, poetry, and vulgar tradition, been clouded over with the rosy mists of myth, and has become a naval legend. So much so is this the case that, although the French fleet in modern days has always included a vessel supposed to be named after the gallant captain of the Cordeliere, he is commemorated, not as Portzmoguer, but as Primauguet.
Little or nothing was done during the winter, it being then and long afterwards the opinion of naval officers that it was almost madness to attempt to keep fleets of heavy ships at sea between the end of autumn and the beginning of spring.^ But in March, 1513, the Lord High Admiral sailed again for the coasts of Brittany, with forty-two men-of-war, besides small craft. Among his captains were Sir John Wallop,- Sir Thomas Cheyne, Lord Ferrers,^ Sir Henry Sherburn, Sir William Sydney, Sir Wilham Fitz-Wilham,^ Sir Edward Echyngham, Sir Eichard Cromwell, Stephen Bull, Compton, and others. The immediate object of the expedition seems to have been to clear the seas in order to permit Henry himself to pass over to France and personally conduct the campaign there.
Upon arriving off Brest, Lord Edward learnt that the French fleet lay within ready to sail, and awaiting only the appearance from the Mediterranean of the galleys^ under Pregent de Bidoux. He blockaded the enemy, who, to protect himself, threw up batteries on each side of the harbour, and drew across it four-and-twenty hulks
' This was the view even of Sir Clowdisley Shovell at the beginning of the eighteenth century.
^ Sir John "Wallop was made a K.G. in 1.J44. He died in the fifth year of Edward VI.
* Sir Walter Devereux, K.G. lie was the third Baron Ferrers, and in 1550 was created Viscount Hereford.
* Scm of Sir Thomas Fitz-AVilliam, Kt., was knighted after the siege of Tournay, and was wounded off Brest in the action of 151.3. In 153() lie was made Lord High Admiral and Earl of Southampton. He died a K.G. in 154.3. '
° As noted above, they do not ajipear to have arrived in 1512.
454 MILITARY HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1513.
chained together.' The Enghsh fleet entered Le Goulet, the narrow mouth of the harbour, and, manning its boats, made a feint as if to attempt a landing. This brought down the French in great numbers to the shore ; and while the admiral held them there, he advanced farther into the harbour, and landed a force on the peninsula of Plougastel, opposite the town. Bodies of men ravaged the country between the rivers Landerneau and Aven ; but, owing to the lack of stores and provisions in the fleet, the operations could not then be followed up. Howard, however, continued to hold Le Goulet, and to blockade the port. These events took place in the first and second weeks of April.
The expected stores were meanwhile on their way, under the convoy of Sir Edward Echyngham, who, in a letter preserved in the Cottonian Library, has left an account of his proceedings. He left England on Wednesday, April 13th, and almost immediately sighted a vessel which he recognised as French, and which he chased until she made for the coast of Friesland. On Thursday, the following day, he sighted fifteen sail, which proved to be Spanish, and which appear to have Joined company with him. On the morning of the 1.5th he fell in with three French ships and prepared for action, making arrangements to protect his people with cables and mattresses, encouraging his men, and getting ready his morris pikes and other weapons. Observing his good countenance, the French fled, making for Fecamp, under the walls of which Echyngham chased them. When beyond pursuit they fired at him. On the 16th the wind was S.S.W. Nothing particular happened on the two following days; but on the 19th, at 10 a.m., while chasing a Breton ship and some transports, Echyngham discovered several French galleys among the rocks. The chased transports were two miles from the galleys. The Spaniards are reported to have been extremely terrified on this occasion. Presently Echyngham sighted the masts of other ships, and, approaching them, found, when he had made about ten miles, that they were those of the English fleet in Brest Harbour. He went on board the Admiral, who received him very cordially ; for the stores which he brought wei'e sadly needed, the English, for the previous ten days, having been reduced to a single meal a day.
The French galleys which Echyngham had observed must have been those of Pregent de Bidoux from the Mediterranean. Four
' HolinBhcd, ii. 816.
1513.J LOBD EDWARD HOWARD AT LE CONQUET. 455
had originally started, but there were now six ; and with them were four " foists " or tenders. Echyngham, of coiarse, reported to Howard what he had seen, but no steps seem to have been then taken to deal with Pregent ; and the omission had serious con- sequences ; for on Friday, the '2'2nd, Pregent, with his galleys and tenders, made a dash at part of the English fleet, probably with the idea of joining his friends at Brest, or of forcing the raising of the blockade. He sank the vessel commanded by Compton, and so severely damaged another ship commanded by Stephen Bull, that she narrowly escaped foundering. One of the tenders was taken by the English boats ; and Pregent, apparently baffled for the ti:ne, went into Blanc-sablon Bay, where he remained throughout Satm-day, the 23rd, placing his squadron between the two islets at the mouth of the bay, and fortifying both.
On the night of Saturday he intended to disembark six thousand men on the little peninsula between the bays of Blanc-sablon and Le Conquet, so as to take the galleys in the rear, but the move- ments of the enemy caused him to abandon his design and to take his fleet back to Le Goulet, it appearing to him that an effort was to be made to throw supplies into the town of Brest.
On St. Mark's Day, Monday the 25th, Howard determined to essay an attack upon the galleys, which were so situated that they could not be approached at all by large vessels, and that the batteries on the rocks commanded the approach of even boats. Captains Sir Thomas Cheyne, Sir John Wallop, Sir Henry Sher- burn, and Sir AVilliam Sydney, with Lord Ferrers, were associated with him in the hazardous venture ; and two small galleys, two large barges and two boats formed the cutting-out force, which advanced to the attack at about 4 p.m.^
Howard, in the galley which he personally commanded, got alongside the galley of Pregent. He had told off fifteen men to fling into the French vessel his own anchor, so as to hold her, and to make fast the cable of it to his own capstan, with directions that if the French ships caught fire, the cable was to be cut ; but either the cable was at once cut by the enemy, or the Englishmen failed to carry out their orders ; for, as Howard, followed by a Spaniard named Charrau and sixteen others, clambered into the forecastle of Pregent's ship, his own craft swmig clear and drifted away, leaving
1 Du Bellay, i. ; Herbert, 13 ; ' Reg. of Garter' (Austis), ii. 1^75 ; Dupleix, iii. See also Stowe, Speed, and Godwin.
456 MILITARY HISTORY, 1485-1 G03. [1513.
the admiral and his gallant companions fighting for their lives. At the instant of boarding, Charran, who had forgotten his pistol, sent a servant back for it. When the man had found it he was unable to rejoin his master owing to the distance between the vessels. The admiral and his followers were quickly driven overboard by the pikes of the Frenchmen, and nearly all were drowned. Charrau's servant saw the admiral swimming, and hailing his galley to come to him. When he saw that he could not be saved, he took off his chain of gold nobles and his gold whistle of office, and threw them from him, so that the insignia of an English admiral, even after his death, might not fall into the hands of the enemy. After that he disappeared.
A second English craft came up, but her commander being killed, she retired. Cheyne, Wallop, Sydney and Sherburn all arrived not long afterwards ; and the two latter boarded Pregent and did him some damage ; but, seeing that the other vessels had withdrawn, and not knowing that the Lord High Admiral had ever quitted his galley, they also withdrew and rejoined the fleet.
For a short time Howard's fate was in doubt. To ascertain it, Cheyne, Cromwell, and Wallop presently went ashore in a boat tinder a flag of truce; and, upon hearing of their arrival, Pregent rode •down on horseback to meet them. He assured them that his only prisoner was a seaman, but added that an officer with a gilt shield on his arm had boarded him, and had been thrust into the sea by the pikes ; and that the prisoner declared this officer to have been the English admiral.
Lord Ferrers, in the second English galley, had engaged the other French vessels, but, after expending all his powder and shot and two hundred sheafs of arrows, saw that the admiral's galley had relinquished the combat, and followed it out of action.
On Saturday, April 30th, the fleet, in mourning, reached Plymouth ; and on the following day it disembarked its sick, two of whom, according to Echyngham,^ fell dead as they landed
Echyngham makes some suggestive comments on this lamentable disaster. He says that after Howard's death it was the unanimous wish of the fleet that the king would send it a commander who, in addition to noble birth, should possess wisdom and firmness, and who should make himself equally loved and feared, no fleet having ever been more in need of a man wlio would keep it in good order. ' r^iuu whose letter the above aecouut.is chiefly based.
1513.] LORD THOMAS HOWARD AND PREOENT. 457
To do better in the future against the French, there must he brave captains and better seamen ; the rowers must be chained to their benches ; there must be plenty of archers ; and those who should distinguish themselves must be rewarded, and those who should fail in their duty, punished. These expressions seem to imply that Howard, brave and able though he certainly was, had suffered the discipline of the fleet to deteriorate ; that some, at least, of the captains had disappointed expectations ; that the seamen were inefficient ; that the rowers had abandoned their posts ; and that these and other shortcomings had not been duly punished. It may well be that such were the facts. Yet Howard's devotion and gallant death deserve to be remembered.
Lord Thomas Howard,' who had but recently returned from the expedition to Picardy, was at once - appointed Lord High Admiral, in succession to his younger brother, and took the sea within a very few weeks ; but, in the meantime, Pregent de Bidoux had followed up his success, landing some men in Sussex and ravaging the country. During the course of this raid he lost an eye. Lord Thomas Howard chased him back to Brest, then returned to convoy the king and a large army in four hundred vessels to Calais, and on July 1st, 1.513, landed at Blanc-sablon Bay and pillaged the adjacent country in revenge for Pregent's raid upon Sussex.^ Thence he hurriedly returned to co-operate against the Scots, who were endeavouring by an invasion of England to get satisfaction for the ■death of Andrew Barton. Howard, who had been so intimately concerned in that affair, commanded the van of the English army when it crushed the invaders at Flodden Field on September the 9th.'' In the following year, the Lord High Admiral, for his various services, was created Earl of Surrey.
In 1514, Pregent again made a descent upon Sussex, and burnt Brighton, or, as it was then and long afterwards called, Brighth elm- stone. Sir John Wallop was entrusted with the duty of carrying out the retaliatory measures, and he did it thoroughly, landing in Normandy and burning twenty-one towns and villages ere he withdrew. This was one of the last operations of the war of the
' Later, Earl of Surrey, was eldest sun of tlie Duke of Norfolk, whom he succeeded. He died 1.554, aged 6fi. 2 On May -Ith, 1513.
^ Hall, 246; Godwin, 12, 13; Stowe, 491. * Grafton, 084 ; Speed, 755.
458 MILITARY HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1522.
Holy League, and for about seven years following there was peace with France.
The naval events of the peace were neither numerous nor im- portant, the most striking of them being, perhaps, the transport by Vice-Admiral Sir William Fitz-William of Henry VIH. to Calais in 1520 to meet Francis I. of France on the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Some notice of the ships engaged on that occasion will be found in the previous chapter.
The war recommenced in 1522, England again allying herself with the emperor. Vice-Admiral Sir William Fitz-William was at once sent to sea with a fleet of twenty-eight sail to protect English commerce and annoy French trade, which he effectually did. Another squadron of seven ships went to the Firth of Forth, and, as a precautionary measure, burnt such Scots vessels as lay there. A little later, on June 8th, a great compliment was paid to England and to her Lord High Admiral, by Surrey's appointment as commander-in-chief of the combined fleets of England and the Empire. The emperor's patent to Surrey, signed in London, after reciting that Henry had fitted out a fleet "under the command of the most illustrious Thomas, Earl of Surrey, our most dear cousin, Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter, Lord High Admiral of England, Wales, Ireland, Normandy, Gascony, and Aquitaine," and that it had been determined that the English and Imperial fleets were to act together, and that one captain-general was better than many, gave the command of the whole to the said Admiral of England, he to exercise exactly the same power and authority over the Imperial as over his own fleet.
Sailing immediately after the receipt of this patent, Surrey, with the combined fleet, appeared off Cherbourg, and, landing on June 13th, executed a rapid raid on the neighbouring country. After having returned to Portland, he recrossed the Channel, and on July 1st, landed near Morlaix, and took and sacked that town. He also burnt seventeen sail of French ships, and then carried a great amount of booty ^ to Southampton, leaving Sir William Fitz-WilHam to cruise in the Channel. At Southampton, Sm-rey found the emperor waiting for a passage to Spain. His majesty and suite embarked on board the fleet on July 6th and were conveyed without mishap to Santander.
' Inchuliiig, apparently, the ships later taken into the navy, as the Bark of Morlaix, Mwry Grace, anil Bark of Boulogne. Roy. MSS. 14, Bk. xxii. A.
1523.] FITZ-WILLIAM AT SEA. 459
In this and the following year, the Lord High Admiral served on land as well as afloat, and was continuously and very arduously employed. It was probably owing to his many preoccupations, and to the fact that he had to provide for the transport to France of an army of thirteen thousand men in August, 1523, that he did not cruise during that summer. Sir William Fitz-William com- manded the main fleet of thirty-six vessels ; and Anthony Poyntz '■ was entrusted with an inferior, yet still considerable, squadron which cruised to the westward.
Fitz-William's orders were, if possible, to intercept John, Duke of Albany, who, after having been Admiral of France, had become Eegent of Scotland, and who had collected in France a large force with which he intended to enter Scotland, or to invade England. The vice-admiral was so fortunate as to meet a Scoto-French division of twelve vessels which had on board, among other dignitaries, the Archbishop of Glasgow. He took two- of these ships and chased the rest into Boulogne and Dieppe, off which places he left small blockading squadrons. With the rest of his fleet he ravaged the French coast, took and burnt Treport, destroyed many vessels, and captured much booty ; but he returned prematurely to England ; and Albany, who had recognised the futility of attempting to cross the sea while Fitz-AVilliam was active there, and who had laid up his ships and quartered his troops ashore, no sooner learnt of the withdrawal of the vice-admiral than he quickly re-manned his vessels, sent his troops on board, and sailing with great promptitude, landed in Scotland on September '24th. ^
In the same year, one Duncan Campbell, described as a Scots pirate, was, according to Holinshed, taken after a long fight by John Arundel of Cornwall.
Peace was made with France in 1525 ; and thenceforward for many years, few naval events of sufficient importance to demand notice occurred. On July 16th, 1525, Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Eichmond, a natural son of the king by Elizabeth Blount, later, wife of Sir Gilbert Baron Tailbois, was, though only about nine years of age,* appointed Lord High Admiral in supercession of Surrey, who
' Afterwards knighted. Seems to have been High SheriiT of Gloucestershire in 1522 and 1527, ami to have died 26 Hen. VIII.
- Possibly including the one which was added to the navy as the John of Greenwich. ^ Drunimond, 180; Buchanan, xiv. -148; Leslie, 'Do I!eb. Gest. Scot.' ix. 400, 407. * He was already a K.G.
460 MILITARY HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1544.
had succeeded to the dukedom of Norfolk in 1524 ; but when Rich- mond died in 1-536, the office was more deservedly conferred upon Sir William Fitz-William, K.G./ who, in the following year was made Earl of Southampton and Lord Privy Seal, being already Treasurer of the Household and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. At the end of 1539, Southampton, with a fleet of sixty sail, escorted Anne of Cleves to England. This was almost his last naval service. In 1540 he was succeeded as Lord High Admiral by John, Lord Eussell, afterwards Earl of Bedford ; - and he in turn was succeeded on January 27th, 1543, by John Dudley, Lord Lisle, who sub- sequently became Earl of Warwick and then Duke of Northumber- land, and who was the father-in-law of Lady Jane Gre)'.
The year 1544 found Henr}^ VIII. again in alliance w-ith the emperor, and again at war with France and Scotland. Lisle, with a considerable fleet, ^ picked up at the mouth of the Tyne a convoy of two hundred transports laden with troops under the Earl of Hereford, and escorted them to the Forth, where the army was landed near Leith on May 5th.'' Edinburgh was taken and sacked, but the castle held out so stoutly that the English withdrew, and the fleet returned to the south ravaging and plundering the Scots coasts on its way. Later in the year the Earl of Lennox, father of Lord Darnley, who had temporarily joined the English party, manifested his zeal by heading a squadron of twelve or fourteen ships, with which he harassed Arran, Bute and Argj'll. He brought back much spoil to Bristol, and then made a second raid with a smaller force.
More important operations were undertaken in France. Henry in person landed at Calais on July 14th, and took the field with an army of thirty thousand men. He laid siege to Boulogne, Lord Lisle at the same time blockading it by sea ; and on September 14tli the place surrendered.^
Sir Thomas Seymour, afterwards Lord Seymour of Sudeley, was appointed vice-admiral, and directed on October "29th, ^ 1544, to take command of a fleet for the conveyance of a quantity of stores to the
' He assumed office on August 16th, 1536. ^ He assumed office on .July 18tli, 1540.
^ Speed, 782 ; Stowe, 585 ; Leslie, ' De Reb. Crest. Scot.' x. 472. Sir Williaui AVyntei- was in this fleet.
* At Leith were taken the Unicorn and Salamander,v;\\\c\\ were added to the nav\-. " 'Foedera,' xv. 52; Hall, 2586; Holinshed, ii. 004. « S. P. Dom. 1544.
1544.] FAILURE OF SIR TIlOMAS SEYMOUR. 461
newly captured fortress, and, after having accomplished that service, to lie in mid-Channel, and, " if opportmiity may serve thereunto, appoint a convenient number of the small shallops and other small vessels to pass in the River Estaples " (the Canche) " and there burn and bring away such vessels of the enemy as may be there found, or do other such annoyance to the enemy as the time will serve." If the ships in the Canche could not be attacked, other amioyance might be caused on the coasts of Normandy. Finally, after leaving a certain number of ships to cruise in the Channel, Seymour was to return to Portsmouth for more supplies for Boulogne.
Seymoiar proceeded at once, and on November 6th ' wrote from off Dover to the Privy Council that he had quitted the mouth of the Orwell in a fog ; that be had learnt of seventeen men-of-war being at Etaples ; that the place was difficult to approach, and more difficult to get out of ; and that he begged to be allowed to operate instead upon the coasts of Brittany.
Permission to attack Brittany was given, provided Boulogne was first attended to, and fourteen ships were left to guard the Narrow Seas ; ' but, in the meanwhile, Seymour was driven from Dover by , a gale. He tried to make Boulogne, but was carried too far to the westward ; and then, hearing that seventeen sail of the enemy lay in Dieppe, and seventeen more in the Seine, determined to attack them. But the gale veered to E.S.E., and he was obliged to abandon his design. With much difficult}', and with the loss of all his boats, he reached the shelter of the Isle of Wight. ^
Henry wrote angrily to Seymour on November 13th ; but the sailor returned a straightforward explanation,* and the king was satisfied.^ The supplies, however, did not go to Boulogne that winter.
This loss of the valuable fortress spurred France to great exertions. Francis I. concentrated his whole available western fleet on the coasts of Normandy under Claude d'Annebaut, Baron de Betz and Admiral of France, and reinforced it in 1.545 with twenty-
1 S. P. Bum. i. 772. 2 Ih., i. 773. ■' lb., i. 774.
* lb. i. 778. A transpnrt, with 25!) uiit of 300 souls ou board, was lost. Another transport, under Sir Henr_y Seymour, went aslmre at Dartmouth, but her ]ieople were all saved except three.
^ Pat. PioUs, 30 Hen. VIII. 23, where Seymour is given a grant of land on January IGth, 1545.
462 MILITARY HISTORY, 1485-1G03. [1545.
five galleys from the Mediterranean rinder Polain/ Baron de la Garde, and Strozzi, Prior of Capua. Second in command under D'Annebaut was Vice-Admiral de Moiiy de la Meilleraye. Polain's own galley was the largest and strongest built up to that time, and was remarkable as having five slaves to each oar. Previous galleys had never had more than four. This combined fleet was directed to take station so as to prevent English supplies from being thrown into Boulogne, which Francis purposed to besiege by land.
In the meantime, English cruisers and privateers captured many richly laden vessels ; and wine and fish became drugs in the markets of London. HoHnshed, quoting Stowe, also mentions that the English fleet under Lord Lisle looked into the mouth of the Seine where the French fleet lay, and exchanged some shot with it, so inducing the galleys to come out ; but that, it beginning to blow, both parties drew off, the galleys because they made very bad weather of it, and Lord Lisle because he had not sufficient sea room amons the shoals. The latter returned to Portsmouth.
D'Annebaut, while waiting for Polain, had collected from between Montreuil and Bayonne all the merchantmen and pri- vateers which he could lay hands upon, and had got together an enormous fleet, which, when Lord Lisle saw it in June, numbered two hundred sail without the galleys. Du BeUay says that when it sailed it consisted of one himdred and fifty large ships, fifty vessels of smaller burden, and twenty-five galleys ; and although some modern French writers admit only forty-eight ships, fifty smaller craft, and twenty-five galleys, they do not appear to be able to give any good authority for their figures. Francis, not being yet ready to begin the siege of Boulogne, ordered this large force to attack Portsmouth. The English fleet at anchor at or off Portsmouth included only sixty sail, apart from small craft.
The various divisions of the French fleet sailed simultaneously
from Le Havre, Honfleur, Harfleur, and other ports in the estuary
of the Seine, on July 6th. Francis I. had gone to Le Havre to
watch them put to sea, and had intended to give a grand banquet
on board the flagship Caraquon, 800 tons, while some of the other
ships were moving out. Owing to the negligence of the cooks, the
' This distinguished seaman's real name was Antoine Escalin. For some imknown reason, he was niclaiamed Polain (young horse) or Le Toulin. He was born about 1498 of poor and luimble parents at La Garde, in Dauphine. He gained his rank of captain in an infantry regiment, and always was known as Captain Polain, even when he had attained the highest commands. (Life by Richer, and by Turpin.)
o - < i
1545.] ATTACK OX POUTSMOUTR. 463
ship caught fire, and the flames could not he extinguished. The galleys managed to approach and take off the treasure which had heen placed on board for the payment of the seamen and troops. The king, his suite, and some of the ship's company were also saved. But in consequence of the heating of the guns, which were loaded, the galleys were soon obliged to pull clear to avoid the shot, and numbers of people perished miserably.^
Arrived off the Isle of Wight on July 18th, D'Annebaut sent Polain with four galleys to reconnoitre the situation of the English fleet which still lay within, and which had for the time completely surrendered the command of the sea. Fourteen English vessels weighed with a very light land wind, and stood out of harbour as if to cut oft' the galleys, which fell back upon the advancing body of the French. Thereupon, the rest of the English ships weighed and went slowly out ; and an interchange of shot at long range ensued, no particular damage however being done on either side. The English manoeuvred to draw the enemy among the shallows on the Spit Sand and under the guns of the defences of the town ; but D'Annebaut was too wary to be thus caught, and, as night came on, retired to St. Helen's Eoad, where he found that his largest ship, the Maitresse, was making so nmch water that he had to send her back to Le Havre to be docked.
During the night D'Annebaut rearranged his order of battle, dividing his larger ships into three squadrons, with himself in command of thirty vessels in the centre ; De Boutieres with thirty- six vessels on the right, and Baron de Curton with thirty-six vessels on the left. The galleys under Polain were ordered to approach the English in the morning, and attempt to induce them, by firing at them, to follow the French to sea. But it would seem that these orders were not ciU'ried out very early.
On the 19th, King Henry was with Lord Lisle in the Hcunj Grace a Diew when the first movement of the enemy was noticed, and he at once ordered an attack and went ashore. In moving out the Mary Bose, of 500 tons, being very low in the water, heeled so much when her helm was put hard over, that the sills of her open lower ports, only 16 inches out of the watet ere she heeled at all, were submerged.'" She rapidly filled and sank, carrying down with
^ Guerin, ii. GO, 01.
- Djijienhciiii, 'Admin, of Royal Navy,' 60, says, referring to this statement, ■\vliieli ccnies from Ralegh, " There is the great improbability that, after at least fifty years'
464 MILITARY mSTOET, 1485-1603. [1545.
her her captain, Sir George Carew, and all hands, except about thirty-five persons. This awful catastrophe was witnessed from the shore, not only by the king, but also by Lady Carew, the wife of the gallant and unhappy commander.^
French historians are almost unanimous in asserting that the Mary Bose was sunk in action, some, as Du Bellay, attributing the result to gun-shot, and others, as Guerin and other modern writers, claiming the ship as the victim of the galleys of Polain. There is not a shadow of doubt that she perished as has been related, before she had an opportunity of getting into action.
The wind was too light to enable the English ships to manoeuvre properly ; and, as the French galleys did not depend upon wind, they were able to inflict a certain amount of annoyance, especially upon the Henry Grace a Dieic. But the armed boats of the fieet and the row-barges made a good fight with the enemy until, late in the day, the wind freshened. The galleys were then driven off, and, had not D'Annebaut moved to their assistance, would have suffered heavily. No serious effort, however, was made to engage the main force of the French ; and once more the English spent a night among the shoals.
On July 20th, the French landed men at three separate places in the Isle of Wight and plundered some villages, but were easily driven off. Soon afterwards the whole fleet withdrew, coasting as far as Dover, landing at Brighton and Newhaven, but being repulsed there ; and then crossing to Boulogne, near which place D'Annebaut put ashore four thousand soldiei's and three thousand workmen to assist in the long-deferred siege.
An easterly wind presently drove D'Annebaut from off Boulogne, and obliged him to anchor near the English coast, probably some- where off the Sussex shore. By that time Lord Lisle, his fleet reinforced to one hundred sail, was cruising in the Channel, and, on August 15th, sighted the enemy to leeward. D'Annebaut had
experience of gunports, they shoukl have been cut so low, since she (the Mary Hosi') liad been rebuilt in or before 1536. Moreover, Anthony's drawings show them to have been pierced very much higher in other vessels." The ' Life of Sir Peter Carew,' in fact, attributes the disaster to the insubordination and disorder which reigned on board. Yet still, the port-sills may have been low, and even lo\yer than normal, and so may have conduced to the accident. When the Duke of WeUin(jton left Siiithead during the llussian war, her lower port-sills, owing to the extra men and stores on board, were little more above water than those of the Mary liosr are alleged to have been. ' 'Life of Sir Peter Carew' (Maclean), 3-t.
•J3510I5IIIO
■n.tia >i 3'>»-iO "■"'■'H
laaij qonoj^.i
1545.] EXPEDITION TO T RE PORT. -105
already weighed, and most of the day was spent in nianituivrinf,' lor the weather gauge ' which the EngHsh eventually lost ; whereupon the galleys under Polaiii attacked, hut were not properly supported by their consorts ; and, the wind increasing considerably towards night, the galleys knocked about so much and shipped so many seas that they were in danger not less of foundering than of being taken. The skill of Polain, the best gallej' commander of his age, saved them ; and although firing continued until dark, little damage was done on either side. This does not prevent I)u Bellay from declaring that in the morning the French saw a number of dead bodies and much wreckage floating on the water. Night separated the combatants. The English returned to Portsmouth, and the Fx'ench, who had undoubtedly gained the honours of the affray, went to Le Havre.
The indignities thus put upon England were in part revenged by Lisle, who, crossing to the coast of Normandy, landed 6000 men near Treport on September 2nd, defeated the French forces opposed to him, burnt the town, the abbey, and thirty ships in harbour, losing only foiu'teen men, and went back unmolested to Spithead.
All this time the plague was raging to a terrible extent in Lisle's fleet. The number of men who returned from Treport was 12,000. This was about the 4th or 5th of September. Some were sub- sequently discharged, but it is clear from the tone of a letter written on September 11th by Lisle, Seymour, and Lord St. John - (who reported that thirteen out of thirty-four ships were then infected) that the disease was very virulent ; and musters taken on the 12th showed that only 8488 men remained fit for duty.^ This number was on that day further reduced by discharges to 6445, a nmnber far too small for the exigencies of the service, even on the brink of winter, for as Lisle and St. John lamented, " the men fall daylie sick." *
The discharges, however, were very necessary. Eussell, writing to the Council from Exeter on August 22nd, when the fleet was still fully manned, said, alluding to the Devon and Dorset fishermen, " Many of them, or the most part, are taken from hence as mariners to serve the king, and all the coast here (is) so barren of them that
' S. P. 1)0111. i. 815.
^ Sir William Paiilet had been creatoil Lurd St. .Juliii iu loS'.i. In 15-15 lie was made Lord Steward; in 1550 Earl of Wiltshire, and in 1551 Marquis of Winchester. He died a K.CK in 1572.
' S. P. Dom. i. 834. , * lb., i. 833.
VOL. I. . 2 H
466 MILITARY HISTOBT, 1485-1603. [1547.
there is no fish almost to be gotten here for money ; but that such as we have, the women of the fisher towns, eight or nine of them, with but one boy or one man with them, bring it in, adventuring to sail sixteen or twenty miles into the sea afishing ; and have been sometimes chased home by the Frenchmen. And I myself, being upon occasion on the coast, have seen the fisher boats brought in with women which I think hath not been seen (before)." ^
In 1546, the French renewed their attempts on Boulogne, and, in order to sever the communications by land with Calais, tried to seize Ambleteuse. But they were disappointed by the vigilance of Lord Lisle and the Earl of Hertford ; and a force of nine thousand troops encamped near it for its protection. In the spring there were several naval skirmishes off the place ; and in one of these, which occurred on May 18th, eight English men-of-war engaged an equal number of French vessels, and took a galley^ with one hundred and eighty soldiers and one hundred and forty rowers ; but the operations were of no great importance, and they were put an end to by the conclusion of peace on June 7th.' In the following year D'Annebaut, Baron de Eetz, came over with a large suite and with twelve galleys, to pay a state visit to England. He landed under a salute at Tower Wharf, and, proceeding to the king at Hampton Court on August 24th, solemnly swore in the name of his sovereign to perform the articles of peace.
This was the last naval event of the reign. On January 28th, 1547, Henry VIII. died, leaving the crown to his son Edward VI., who was then little more than nine years of age. On Febnaary 17th, Sir Thomas Seymour, who was brother of Edward, Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector, and who seems to have been already •on excellent terms with the Queen Dowager, Katherine Parr, whom he married a few weeks later, was created Lord Seymour of Sudeley and Lord High Admiral.
Henry VIII. in his last years had cherished a project for the marriage of his son Prince Edward with the Princess Mary, daughter of. James V. of Scotland ; and he had succeeded in inducing the Scots Government to enter into an agreement that the marriage should take place. After Edward's accession, the plan was as warmly taken up by the Lord Protector; but the idea of the
1 S. p. Doiii., i. 827, 828.
- Taken into the navy as the Galley Blancherd.
■' MontUic, i. 237; Hall, 260; Du Bellay, x.
1547.] THE FLEET IN THE FORTH. 467
union was unpopular in Scotland, and was especially ofifensive to France, which, as a Catholic power, strongly objected to see a Catholic princess of a house long friendly with France allied to a Protestant prince of a house which was France's traditional enemy. The Lord Protector determined to endeavour to force Scotland- to observe its undertaking. On the other hand, France determined to endeavour to secure the princess for the Dauphin, and dispatched Leo Strozzi, general of the galleys of France, with a force which on July 3rd, 1547, seized St. Andrews, in Fifeshire, and there captured the leading Scots Protestants who were partisans of the Enghsh match.
Before England conld strike any forcible blow there were several border skirmishes and small encounters at sea. In one of the latter, if Hayward may be credited, an English man-of-war called the Pensee^ was attacked by a Scots ship called the Lion, which, although of superior force, she took. But the prize, with most of her men, was lost off Harwich as she was being brought south.
There was no unnecessary delay in England. A fleet of sixty-five sail, including thirty-four large ships and one galley, was placed under the command of Admiral Edward, Lord Clinton, and Vice-Admiral Sir William Woodhouse, and a large army under Somerset in person marched northward." On September 10th, the Scots were defeated with enormous slaughter at Pinkie Cleiach,^ near Musselburgh, the fleet co-operating with great effect on the Scots flank ; and Leith * was taken immediately afterwards and Edinburgh plundered.^ But in spite of this decisive English triumph, and of the damage done along the coast by the fleet, which burnt many towns, and practically annihilated the little Scots fleet, ^ the Scots were more than ever determined to oppose the English marriage, and more than ever inclined to further a French one. France reciprocated in 1548 by sending to Scotland six thousand men under Andre de Montalembert, Baron d'Esse,
' Oi- Pauncy, or Pansy. Slie was of 450 tons, Imt her force is uiikuown.
2 Speed, 804 ; Holinshed, ii. 980 ; Burhanan, xv. ; Keith, 53.
' The engagement is often called the battle of Musselburgh. Grafton, 128G ; Stowe, 594 ; Cooper, 338i ; Buchanan, xv. ; Keith, 54.
* Here the Mary WiUouijlihy, which had previously' been taken by the Scots, was re-taken. Holinshed, 989.
^ Speed, 805 ; Holinshed, ii. 990.
' Cotton MS., Cleop. A. 11 ; Stowe, 586, 587.
2 H 2
468 MILITARY BISTORT, 1483-1603. [1548.
and by carrying into practice a cleverly laid scheme for the transport of Mary Stuart, the subject of the dispute, from Scotland to Brittany.
Villegagnon,^ Vice-Admiral of Brittany, commanded the squadron which conveyed the expeditionary corps to Scotland. He landed the troops at Dunbar on June 18th, and they proceeded to lay siege to Haddington, while he, announcing his intention of returning to France, put to sea. But as soon as he was out of sight of the shore, he steered north instead of south, and passing between the Oi'kneys and the Shetlands, rounded Scotland, and so reached Dumbarton, where, by arrangement, Mary Stuart awaited him. Sailing again without unnecessary delay, he entered the Channel by way of the Irish Sea, and safely landed his charge in Brittany on July 13th, 1548.^
A month afterwards, a squadron under the Lord High Admiral, Lord Seymour of Siideley, was sent to the eastern coast of Scotland to cause a diversion.^ Seymour landed a force at St. Ninian's, in Fifeshire ; but it was met by James Stuart,* later known as the Kegent Murray, and driven back to its ships with a loss of six hundred killed and about one hundred taken. Seymour made an attempt upon Montrose, but he fell into an ambush organised by Erskine of Dun, and losing six hiandred men was obliged to retreat. Although in the course of his cruise he destroyed a few vessels, he returned to England with little gain and no glory.
Peace nominally continued with France ; but in July, 1548, the French off Boulogne fired on people who were engaged in building a mole there, and subsequently they captui-ed three or four English victuallers, and made incursions within the English pale.' Remon- strance was in vain, and at length the Council decided to permit the people of the western ports secretly to proceed to sea to intercept the home-coming French fishery fleet from Newfoundland, and to entrust the conduct of this strange privateering expedition to Seymour, Sir Peter Carew, and other officers of rank. But the political events preceding the fall and execution of the Lord High
island and fort of Villegagnon in Rio de Janeiro Harbour.
- Guerin, ii. l-tiJ.
•'' Burnet, il. 17].
* Xatural son of James V., liy Lady Margaret Erskine : born 1530 ; Earl of Murray 1.502 ; Regent 1567 ; murdered 1570.
'- S. P. MSS. &jm. N. 39.
15-19.] WYNTER IN THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 469
Admiral hindered the carrying out of the design. Sej'mour was deprived of his office in January, 1549, and was beheaded on March 20th.
Open war with Fi'ance was resumed in 1549. Henry II. attacked Boulogne ; and Leo Strozzi, with twelve galleys convoy- ing transports with two thousand troops, blockaded Jersey and Guernsey. It was then that Captain William Wynter, who, under Elizabeth, showed himself to be a commander of unusual ability, first began to build up his reputation, although he had served as early as 1544 during the operations in the Firth of Forth. Entrusted with a small squadron and eight hundred soldiers, he, in spite of his inferior force, so boldly attacked Strozzi that he took or burnt all his galleys, killed a thousand of his men, and drove the rest of the expedition ignominiously back to France.' It is but just to add that the French histories contain no mention of this affair. They do, however, assert that on August 1st, 1549, Strozzi off Boulogne gained a brilliant victory over an English fleet, and drove the shattered remnant of it to Guernsey ; and this action is not mentioned by English writers. The evidence as to Wynter's victory is, nevertheless, too strong to be neglected ; while the evidence as to the French success is exceedingly and even sus- piciously weak. There is less doubt as to the successes of the French on land. They pressed Boulogne ^ severely, cutting off all communication with it save by sea ; and by the treaty of March 14th, 1550, ^ they were given possession of it and its dependencies upon payment of 400,000 crowns.
Dudley, Earl of Warwick, who, since October '28th, 1549, had held the office of Lord High Admiral for the second time, relin- quished it on May 4th, 1550, to Edward, Lord Clinton, who had been governor of the beleaguered fortress, and who had negotiated the treaty.*
The peace between England and France was very displeasing to the emperor, who, in consequence, allowed and probably encouraged his Flamand subjects to cruise against the French in the English seas in a manner destructive to all security of commerce and inter- communication. Tlie French naturally retaHated, the result being
' Godwin, 233; Speed, 811; Fox, 'Acts and Monuments,' ii. G71; Holinslied, i. 1055.
2 Edward's Diary ; Cotton MS. Nero, C. x. 5.
^ ' Fa'dera,' xv. 211 ; Leonai'd, ii. 472.
' Strype, ii. 230; Edward's Journal, 11, 13; Grafton, 1314.
470 MILITARY BISTORT, 1485-1603. [1553.
that the Narrow Seas became the scene of all sorts of piratical irregularities. The English Government did its best to stop these proceedings, and to protect the merchants, whose interests were seriously prejudiced. A squadron of six ships with four pinnaces and a brigantine was sent on a preventive cruise in July, 1551 ; and the brigantine in question, or another craft of the same type, was dispatched to Dieppe to warn the French against the Flamands in the Channel. It is noteworthy as showing the respect with which the English naval power was then treated, that when this brigantine in her course encountered some Elamand vessels, they lowered their topsails to her. Yet the Flamands were not in- variably so subservient. In February, 1552, a Flamand ship had the temerity to attempt to search the Falcon — probably the English pinnace of that name — for Frenchmen, whereupon the Falcon boarded and took her.
In 1551 there occurred the earliest recorded English voyage to Guinea. It was made by Thomas Windham, who, in the following year, repeated it, and opened a remunerative trade. In 1553 he made a third voyage, with three ships, but perished on the coast.
On March 1st, of 1552, four barks and two pinnaces were sent to reinforce the cruisers policing the Channels, and on March 26th Sir Henry Dudley, with four ships and two barks, was sent to sea with directions to protect the trade. He captured two pirates and carried them into Dover ; but he appears upon the whole to have performed his task but indifferently,^ for the lawless proceedings continued, and those of the French, which in a space of twenty months cost English merchants a loss of £50,000, became so in- sufferable that very sharp remonstrances were addressed to the court of France.^ These led to strained relations, and a rupture appeared to be imminent when, on July 6th, 1553, Edward VI. died.
Mary, who in spite of the opposition of the partisans of the unfortunate Lady Jane Grey, succeeded her brother, owed her elevation, in a large measure, to the attitude of the navy. The ■ Duke of Northumberland, on behalf of Lady Jane, sent a squadron of six ships, immediately after the king's death, to blockade Yarmouth with a view to preventing Mary, who was in the eastern counties, from leaving the country. But it happened that forces for Mary's support were at that moment being levied in the town,
' Edward's Journal, Mar. 20, 1552 ; Strype, ii. b. ii. c. x. ^ Ih., 62-66 ; Strype ii. 332.
1554.] PHILIP OBLIGED TO tiALUTE THE FLAG. 471
where the princess's interest was strong. Sir Henry Jernegan, one of the officers engaged in this levy, had the courage to put off to the squadron in an open boat, and the abihty to persuade the whole command to declare for Queen Mary. At about the same time the Warden of the Cinque Ports took the same course, and the result of these and other pronouncements was that opposition ceased before blood had been shed, and that Mary mounted the throne peaceably.' In the following year, on March 26th, she appointed William, first Lord Howard of Effingham, to be Lord High Admiral. -
In the meantime. Captain William Wynter had been sent with a squadron to Ostend to bring to England the ambassadors of the Emperor Charles V., who were charged to negotiate the pre- liminaries of a marriage between his son, Philip of Spain, and the new queen. ^ The emperor on this occasion sent Wynter a chain of gold, which upon his return to England the honest seaman showed to Sir Nicholas Throgmorton, who exclaimed : " For this gold chain you have sold your country."* Such indeed was the unpopularity of the proposed match that Sir Thomas Wyatt's abortive rebellion was the instant outcome of the arrival of the ambassadors. But nothing sufficed to stay the execution of the project, and in the summer of 1-5.54, Philip with an imposing fleet of one hundred and sixty sail set out for England.
Effingham, with twenty-eight ships, had ere this begun to cruise . in the Channel, nominally to guard the trade, but really to welcome the arrival of the future King Consort. He welcomed it in strange fashion. Philip came up Channel with the Spanish flag at his main, and when he sighted Effingham's squadron, proudly kept the flag flying in expectation that Effingham would salute it. The Lord High Admiral did salute, but it was with a shotted gun. It did not seem fitting to him that any foreigner, no matter his rank and pretentioias, should enter the seas of the Queen of England without paying the accustomed deference to her rights there. The shot caused Philip to strike his colours and lower his topsails, the marriage being too important a part of his plans to permit of his then disputing the English claims ; and the gallant Effingham at
' .Tuurnal of P. C. (Haynes), 156; Stowe, 611, 612; Holinshed, ii. 1087; Gmlwin, 268, 271 ; Speed, 817.
2 Pat. 1 Mary, 7 ; ' Fadera,' xv. 382.
' Holinshed, ii. 1106 ; Stryi^e, iii. 59.
* Botli Wynter and Throgmorton nearly suffered for this. Tlie trial is in Holinshed.
472 MILITAFiY inSTOIiF, 1485-1603. [1557.
once returned the salute in the usual friendly way. Hervey calls this " a noble instance of spirit which well deserves to be com- memorated." Campbell considers it "a circumstance worthy of immortal remembrance, and one would think too of imitation." ^
Philip landed at Southampton on July 19th, and the marriage took place at "Winchester on the 2.5th of the same month. On August 12th, the royal pair made their public entry into London, amid the barely repressed disgust of the greater part of the nation.
Philip remained in England only until September, 1555, and did not revisit the country, save for a short period in 1557 ; yet he was not without influence upon its policy ; and his accession to the throne of Spain, upon the abdication of his father in January, 1556, enabled him to involve England in disastrous wars with France and Scotland. Nor, in all probability, was be entirely irresponsible for the supercession, on February 10th, 1557, as Lord High Admiral, of Howard of Effingham by Edward, Lord Clinton ; although, no doubt, Howard's devotion to the Princess Elizabeth was the osten- sible reason why the change was made.
The French campaign opened well. William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, with seven or eight thousand men, and in co-operation with Spanish troops, contributed to the victory of St. Quentin, in Picardy, on July 7th, 1557 ," but there was soon a great misfortune to be set off against this somewhat useless success. On January 1st, 1558, Francis, Duke of Guise, suddenly appeared at the Bridge of Nieullay, close to Calais, and sui-prised the defences there. Next day, D'Andelot de Coligny^ seized Fort Kisban on the sea front; and on the 5th, the citadel was can-ied by assault. On the 7th, Lord Wentworth, the governor, who had but five hundred men at his disposal, capitulated ; and so, after upwards of two hundred years of English occupation, this important strong place was lost, owing to the culpable indifference of the English Government, which, although it was war time, had failed to provide it with necessary men and supplies.^ On January 20th, Earl Grey de Wilton had to surrender Guines ; " and presently there remained to England not a single foot of her once splendid dominions in France.
' See also Monson's 'Tracts,' in Cliurcliiirs Voyages, 243; Speed, 824; Holinshed, ii. 1118.
^ Brother of Gaspard, the Admiral uf France.
' Grafton, 1354, 1355; Godwin, 330, 331; Daniel, viii. 210; Stowc, 031, 632; Burleigh's Diary (Murdin), 747 ; Dupleix, iii. 576, 577 ; Guerin, ii. 174, 175.
* Grafton, 1357-1359; Godwin, 331, 332; Stowe, C32.
1058.] AC'CESmON OF QUEEN ELIZABETH. 473
Thirty j^ears later, bad England still held Calais, the Spanish Armada might, in all probability, have been completely destroyed there.
The naval campaigns of 1557 and 1558 were hardly more satis- factory. In the former year a squadron of twelve sail, under Sir John Clere of Ormesby, Vice-Admiral of England, was sent to sea to annoy the Scots, and to protect the home-coming Iceland fleet of fishing vessels. A descent was made by it on the mainland of Orkney on August l'2th ; but on the day following, an over- whehning force of Scots fell upon the landing j)arty, killed three captains belonging to the squadron, took all Clere's artillery, and drove the survivors to their ships. Clere's boat, as he was being pulled off, was upset, and he was drowned.^
In the summer of 1558, Lord Chnton put to sea with a fleet of one hundred and forty sail, reinforced by thirty ships belonging to Philip's Netherlands possessions, with orders to attempt the reduction of Brest. Part of the command seems, however, to have been detached to the northward ; for, on July 13th, twelve English ships, chancing to find themselves off Gravelines, where a battle was being fought between Count Egmont and the Marshal de Thermes, were able so to gall the French with their gun-fire as to decide the fight, which resulted in a decisive victory for Egmont.
But the main fleet, under the Lord High Admiral, effected no good. It landed seven thousand men in Brittany, and on July 31st, 1558, took and burnt Le Conquet. Against Brest, however, it did nothing; and a party of Flamands, who had wandered into the country out of gun-shot of their ships, was cut off by the French. '•^
Queen Mary died on November 17th, 1558.
Queen Elizabeth, who succeeded her sister, was a little more than twenty-five years of age. " There never was, perhaps," as Campbell remarks, " a kingdom in a more distressed condition than England at the accession of this princess. It was engaged in a war abroad for the interest of a foreign prince ; at home the people were divided and distracted about their religious and civil concerns. Those of the reformed religion had been lately exposed to the flames, and those of the Koman communion found thenaselves now in a decUning state. On the continent, we had no allies ; in this
' Leslie, 'De Reb. Gest. Scot.' .\. ; Strype, iii. 420; Bialuiuaii, xvi. 2 Grafton, 1363,1364; Stowe, G33; Godwin, 334; Dupleix, iii. 583,584; Daniel, viii. 232.
474 MILITARY HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1558.
very island, the Scots were enemies, and their queen claimed the English crown. The exchequer was exhausted, most of the forts and castles throughout the kingdom were mouldering into ruins ; at sea we had lost much of our ancient reputation, and a too sharp sense of their misfortunes had dejected the whole nation to the last degree." ^
Happily, Elizabeth was a woman of ability, good education, lofty patriotism, high spirit, devotion to her exalted duties, and something more. Her youth had been stormy, and she had often been the unwilling centre of intrigues, which had taught her much concerning both men and women. She never forgot her early lessons, nor did she fail to apply them. They made her independent and self-reliant ; and although she was fortunate in having as able advisers and servants as had ever lent aid to an Enghsh sovereign, she trusted, throughout her long reign, first of all to herself ; and she deserves, in consequence, the first credit for the many glories and triumphs of the Elizabethan age.
The naval affairs of the time are intermixed, more than those of any other period, with affairs not purely naval. During much of the reign, unofficial warfare, not now very easily distinguishable from piracy, was waged by the queen's subjects against foreign powers ; and many of the chief leaders in these operations had been, or were to become, officers in the Eoyal Navy. Again, queen's ships were, on more than one occasion, employed for purposes of private gain, adventure, or discovery, and were whoUy or partially fitted out and maintained at private charges. And still, as previously, vessels and seamen of the merchant marine were frequently used for national purposes. Unusual difficulty is, therefore, experienced in drawing a satisfactory line between the naval operations proper of the reign and those operations which were more particularly adventurous, commercial, exploratory, or piratical. It is hoped, however, that assisted by the references in the notes below, the reader will easily find in Chapter XVI. an account of such expeditions as are not here treated of ; since it has been deemed most convenient to confine the present chapter mainly to the consideration of the warlike under- takings of the State, and of those naval events which directly affected, or proceeded from, the national policy.
One of Elizabeth's first cares was for the safety of the Narrow Seas. On November 21st, ere she had been queen a week, she ' Campbell (ed. 1817), i. 407.
1560.] THE FRENCH IN .•SCOTLAND. 475
ordered Malyn, the vice-admiral, to collect as large a fleet as possible for the protection of the trade, and for the prevention of un- authorised persons from entering or leaving the kingdom. So strictly was the service performed that it was presently found necessary to relax the orders, and to explain that the queen had no intention of unduly restraining her subjects in the prosecution of their lawful concerns.^ Lord Clinton, although he had not been conspicuously successful in his operations during the previous reigns, was confirmed in his office as Lord High Admiral.
On April 2nd, 1.559, peace was concluded with France at Cateau Cambresis.^ Among the stipulations was one for the restitution of Calais to England at the expiration of eight years, or for the payment then of fifty thousand crowns by way of penalty. Another stipulation was to the effect that the fortresses built and manned by the French upon the Scots border should be evacuated and razed ; and it was further agreed that the Dauphin, later Francis II., and the Dauphiness, Mary of Scots, should , confirm the treaty and recognise the right of Elizabeth to the crown of England.
But nothing came of these arrangements. Eeligious considera- tions had induced Elizabeth, as early as February '27th, 1559,^ to take the Protestant party in Scotland under her protection ; and similar considerations induced France to strain every nerve to assist the Eoman Catholic party there. Nor would the Dauphin and Dauphiness confirm the treaty. And when the Dauphin, in July, 1559, by the death of his father, was elevated to the throne of France, and, in the character of King of Scotland also, sent large forces thither, open war naturally recommenced.
Early in 1560, Elizabeth concluded the Treaty of Berwick with the Scots Lords of the Congregation, promising to assist them in the expulsion of the French ; and, iimnediately afterwards, she dispatched to the north an army under Earl Grey de Wilton, a fleet under Wynter having already sailed for the Firth of Forth. Wynter attacked the French ships in the roadstead, and took or destroyed them. He then rigidly blockaded Leith ; and, had the army of Grey and the Confederates been as active as the navy was, the place would probably have fallen. Wynter had not only to co-operate with the besiegers, but also to guard against the daily
' Strype, Ann. i. 6.
^ Forties's Coll. S. P. i. ; Buchanan, xvi. xvii. ; Holinslicil. ii. 118-1.
^ Treaty of Berwick. ' Foedera,' xv. ."lOD.
476 MILITAEY HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1562.
expected arrival from France of a relieving fleet under the Marquis d'Elbeiif. This fleet, however, was dispersed by a storm, and obliged to return to France ; and Francis II., realising the difficulty of conducting operations at so great a distance from his bases, and the probabihty that, in spite of all his efforts, Leith would fall sooner or later, came to terms.
The Treaty of Edinburgh, signed on July (5th, 15(50,^ procured the evacuation of Scotland by French troops, the razing of the fortifications of Leith and Dunbar, and the payment of a fine for Mary's blazoning of the arms of England with those of Scotland and France.
Mary declined to be a party to this arrangement ; but as her husband, Francis II., died on December 5th, 1560, and as France was thenceforward less intimately concerned with the affairs of Scotland, Mary's refusal gained her nothing. Indeed, a full and frank concession of the Enghsh demands in 1560 might have spared her the long tragedy which ended at Fotheringay in 1587. Mary returned to Scotland from France in August, 1561. An English squadron, then at sea, is generally supposed to have received orders to intercept her, in order that she might be detained in England until she should ratify the Treaty of Edinburgh ; but she was not sighted by it, and she landed without any interference.
It was ever part of Elizabeth's policy to encourage and support the Protestant party on the continent. After the accession of Charles IX. to the throne of France, the long growing tension between the Protestants and Catholics in France reached breaking point ; and in 1562," as a consequence of the massacre of Vassy, religious war broke out there. As the chief strength of the Protestants lay along the north-west coasts of the country, the civil war extended to the Channel, whither each party dispatched numerous privateers. Most of these vessels confused piracy with their privateering, and the trade of neutrals suft'ered so intolerably that Elizabeth found no difficulty in discovering a pretext for lending material support to the Huguenots.^ They had long begged for her assistance, and had offered to put the port of Le Havre into her hands. In 1562, therefore, she accepted the offer, and in
1 'Fccdera,' xv. 593.
^ This year .Julm Ha\vk\'ns made his first voyage to tlie AVest Indies. See Chap. XYI.
' The queen's niauifesto is given liy Stowe.
156.3.] EVACUATION OF LE HAVRE. 477
October sent over Ambrose Dudley, Earl of Warwick, with a squadron conveying a considerable body of troops, to occupy the place.'
France at once declared all English ships good prize, so long as Elizabeth held Le Havre. The queen replied by declaring all French ships good prize also. In this informal war the English privateers made immense gains at sea.'^ One Francis Clarke, for example, by means of three vessels which he had fitted ov;t, captured no fewer than eighteen ships, valued at i'.50,000, within three weeks."' But the English privateers, like the French ones, soon developed piratical tendencies ; it became necessary to restrain their operations by proclamation, and an embassy was sent to France to excuse their practices.'' Sir William Woodhouse, with a small squadron, composed of the Lion, Hope, Hart, Sivallow, and Hare, was sent to sea to repress piracy, and at the same time to render such aid as might be possible to the Huguenots ; and he seems to have cruised with success, lying at intervals at Ports- mouth, during the winter.^
But Elizabeth was soon deserted by her proteges. On March l'2th, 1-563, the French Protestant and Cathohc leaders concluded peace at Amboise ; and, as the English continued to hold Le Havre, formal war between France and England was declared on July 7th, and the re-united parties combined to press with equal energy the siege of the town, under the direction of the Constable Anne de Montmorenci. Warwick held out until the .28th, a fleet of sixty sail, sent to succour him, arriving only in time to carry off his forces. The campaign was put an end to on April 11th, 1.564,^ bj' the Treaty of Troyes.' In virtue of this, the French queen-mother agreed to pay 120,000 crowns to England ; free trade between the two countries was conceded ; and French hostages in English hands were released.
Late in 1.566, a little trading expedition, under George Fenner,
' Strype, i. 367; Forbes's Cull. S. P. ii. ; Burleigh's Diary (MurJin), 753,754; Leonard, ii. 571. Eleven small French vessels were taken in the \«-<vi.
^ Cauulen, i. 94; Speed, 835; Hulinslieil, ii. 111)6.
^ Stowe, 653.
■* Camden, ' Ann.' i. 08.
" S. P. (Haynes), 3'J4; S. P. (Forbes), ii. 171 ; Stowe, G52; Strype, i. 367; Holiu- shed, ii. 1197.
* This year. .John Hawkyns made his second voyage to the West Indies. See Chap. XVI.
' ' Fcedera,' .w. 640.
478 MILITAEY HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1568.
consisting of three ships and a pinnace, left Plymouth for Guinea and Cape Verde. In May following, off Terceira, one of the English vessels was treacherously attacked by seven Portuguese craft, nearly all of which were of superior force. She gallantly resisted them for two entire days, and finally beat them all off.^ --
A new religious war broke out in France in 1667 ; " and once more, in spite of the treatment which she had previously received from them, EHzabeth rendered assistance to the Protestants, sending them 100,000 crowns in gold and a park of artillery. She also showed favour to the persecuted Protestants of the Spanish Nether- lands. Her attitude was even more resented by Spain than by Prance ; and soon other difficulties arose to intensify the ill-feeling which had been sown early in the reign by Elizabeth's refusal to listen to the matrimonial advances of her brother-in-law, Philip.
Early in 1568,^ some Genoese merchants, purposing to establish a bank in the Netherlands, obtained from King Philip a licence to transport thither in Spanish bottoms a large sum in specie. As the vessels entered the Channel, they were chased by some French privateers into Plymouth, Falmouth, and Southampton, where they were well received. At the request of the Spanish ambassador, the specie was carried ashore. But in the meantime, the queen was informed that the Duke of Alva, who was Governor of the Nether- lands, intended to seize the money on its arrival, and to use it to the prejiidice of the Protestants. She therefore impounded it, promising, however, to return it with interest to the Genoese, should it prove to be indeed intended for their legitimate business, or to hand it over to the King of Spain, should he make good a claim to it.* The real object of the somewhat high-handed proceedings appears to have been to prevent Alva from getting improper possession of the treasure. Both Alva and Philip strongly resented the act. Philip attempted to tamper with certain English statesmen, and to stir up a rebellion in Ireland ; and Alva laid hands on all English property in Flanders and granted letters of marque and reprisals.^ Elizabeth thereupon permitted reprisals also ; but, as before, the privateers soon developed piratical tendencies, and
' Hakluyt, ii.
^ This year John Hawkyns made his third voyage to the West Indies. See Chap. XVI.
* This year the Eussia Company sent agents to Persia. ' Camden, i. 175 ; Stowe, 6G2 ; Turquet, ii. 1-132. " Burleigh's Diary (Murdin), 760 767.
1573.] BLOCKADE OF LA BOCHELLE. 479
had to be repressed by proclamation.' The matter was presently • compromised, hiit it did not fail to leave much bad blood on both sides. Nevertheless, when in 1570 Philip was about to marry his niece, the Archduchess Anne of Austria, Elizabeth very politely sent a squadron under Charles Howard, afterwards Lord Howard of Effingham, to honourably escort the princess from Zeeland to Spain.'
In 1572 ^ there was a new treaty with France ; yet Elizabeth was unable to regard the proceedings of her nearest continental neighliour without the gravest anxiety and suspicion. The massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day served to increase her misgivings ; and, as a fourth religious war, which centred about La Kochelle, had broken out, the sympathies of most Englishmen were in an excited condition, which, even taken alone, was a soiirce of difhculty and of danger to peace. Nor was the Protestant struggle going on only in France. The Prince of Orange had entered the Netherlands at the head of an army recruited in Germany.
Elizabeth was as desirous of avoiding foiTnal war as she was of befriending the Protestant cause. She dispatched help to the Prince of Orange, under Thomas Morgan and Sir Humphrey Gilbert ; and, at first less openly, she assisted the Protestants of La Eochelle. The celebrated Captain Polain blockaded that port ; but he had only five galleys and three ships, besides small craft ; and the success of one of the Protestant commanders named Miran, in running the blockade and throwing provisions into the town, seems to have encouraged Gabriel de Montgomeri, a Protestant leader who was at the time a refugee in England, to attempt an entei-prise of a similar kind on a larger scale. He fitted out a fleet of fifty -three vessels, not, of course, without the more or less active co-operation of the English Government ; and he had as his second in command Jacques Sore, the best naval commander that Protestant France had then produced. Yet, in spite of these advantages, when, in April, 1573, he appeared off the beleaguered town, he effected nothing ; nor, although he persisted in his efforts, did he si;cceed in breaking down Polain's guard before the conclusion of the arrange- ment in virtue of which the siege was raised on June 25th.
"When the French ambassador in London complained of this
' S. P. (Murdin), 257, 274 ; Meteren, ' Hist, des Pays Bas.' iii.
2 Camden, ' Ann.' ii. 220, 221 ; Hawkyns's ' Observats.' 22.
' In this year Drake made his first great expedition. See Chap. XVI.
480 MILITARY HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1575.
expedition having been suffered to leave the shores of England, and of English merchants having supplied the besieged with provisions, the queen was able to disown personal knowledge of Montgomeri's design. Concerning the other allegation, she very aptly said that merchants were men who followed their gain, wheresoever they hoped to find it ; and that since they, being Protestants, were in danger of being butchered in every other port of France, it was no wonder that they carried their goods where they might hope to vend them in safety.
A fifth war of religions raged in France from 1574 to 1576. As usual, Elizabeth, while countenancing the Huguenots, endeavoured to keep on terms of peace with France ; and, at the height of the stn;ggle, she sent the Earl of Worcester on a complimentar}' mission to the French Court. The Protestants of La Eochelle had, as on previous occasions of the kind, taken advantage of the civil strife to fit out privateers, which eventually began to commit piratical acts against vessels of all nations. Some of these cruisers were so rash as to seize a vessel containing part of the Earl's baggage, and in the affray they killed three or four people.^ This was more than the queen could suffer, even from her proteges. The Lord High Admiral, who, in 1572 had been created Earl of Lincoln, was instructed to clear the Narrow Seas of all freebooters, Protestant or Catholic. He appointed the Controller of the Navy, WiUiam Holstock, as his vice-admiral, and entrusted him with the command of three fast vessels, having three hundred and sixty men on board. With these, in about six weeks, Mr. Holstock took twenty privateers, with nine hundred men, and retook fifteen merchantmen. The prizes were sent into Sandwich, Dover, and Portsmouth ; and in one of them were found three of the persons who had been concerned in the plundering of the Earl of Worcester's baggage. These, after trial, were hanged as pirates."
In 1575,^ the Prince of Orange and the States General of the Netherlands offered Elizabeth the possession, or, if not, the protectorate of Holland and Zeeland. The queen graciously de- clined the offer, but promised, if possible, to use her influence with Spain to procure peace for the United Provinces. Had she accepted
' Camden, ii. 270, 275 ; Daniel, viii. 750 ; Stowe, 074. ^ Strype, ii. 171, 172 ; Holinsbed, iL 1257.
' In this year Jolin (^xenham made a voyage to tlie " Soutli Seas." Sn Chap. XVI.
1576.] REPRESSION OF PIRACY. 481
the responsibility, she would iDrobably have experienced great trouble in controlling her new subjects ; for in the following year, 1576, the privateers of Holland and Zeeland, under the pretence that English merchants had been assisting Dunquerque, Spain and Antwerp, did so much damage to English shipping that the re- pressive services of Mr. Holstock had to be again called for. He proceeded to sea with a small squadron and captured a number of Dutch seamen, two hundred of whom he sent to English prisons. The queen, moreover, sent Sir William Wynter and Mr. Eobert Beal,^ Clerk of the Council, to Zeeland to endeavour to obtain restitution of wrongfully captured goods ; but in this they were not successful. -
Elizabeth, nevertheless, did not cease to show numerous kind- nesses to the continental Protestants, and especially to those of them who took refuge in England. This pohcy of hers had the incidental effect of drawing into her realm many excellent artificers and workpeople, whose advent greatly benefited the trade and manufactures of the countrj' and correspondingly weakened those of the places whence they came. Spain deeply resented the injmy thus done to her Netherlands dominions ; and signs are not want- ing that, as early as 1.580 or before, the more far-seeing of English statesmen realised that Spain's enmity was of a kind which would not exhaust itself in vapourings, nor indeed in hostile action of the ordinary kind. It was perceived that sooner or later there must coine a moment when the great champions of Catholicism and of Protestantism, antagonised not only by differences of religion and by trade rivalry, but also by the savage piratical warfare that had long unofficially subsisted between them in the New World, ^ would stake their all, the one for dominion, and the other for liberty and existence.
Yet probably it was not then understood, and assuredly it has not always been since comprehended, how much depended upon the result of the straggle. It was not merely that Spain and England were pitting themselves one against the other; it was not merely that Catholicism challenged Protestantism ; it was not merely that the Latin race threatened the Anglo-Saxon one.
1 Stowe, 681 ; Hulinsliea, ii. 12G2 ; CamJen, ii. 303, 30i.
^ In 1576 Jolin Barker made a voyage to the AVest Indies, and Martin Frobiser started on the search for a K.AV. passage. See Cha]i. XVI.
' Drake began his famous voyage round tlie world in 1577. Sue Chap. XYI. VOL. I. 2 I
482 MILITARY HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1580.
Viewed from the present, the long growing and carefully nourished hatreds, which settled their disputes in the English Channel in 1.588, were mainly important to the world at large because, in- directly, they involved the fate of America. Had Spain, and not England, been victorious, the American continent might still have developed into a congeries of republican states ; but we may be sure that the prevailing republicanism of those states would have been rather of the central than of the northern American type, and we may well doubt whether a republican union, such as was founded under Washington, and kept together under Lincoln, would have been ever possible in the New World. ^
Before publicly putting forth her whole strength against England, Spain more than once tried to injure her enemy by surreptitious blows. In 1-580,^ for example, Munster was in the throes of civil war, and the opportunity seemed a good one for dispatching from Corunna a little expedition to foment the rebellion against the English power. Italians as well as Spaniards took part in it. They landed at Smerwick, in Dingle Bay, in September ; but Arthur, Earl Grey de AVilton, who, as Lord-Lieutenant, had gone to Ireland earlier in the same year with a large body of picked troops, speedily made himself master of a fort which had been built on the coast in the previous year by James Fitzmaurice and a feeble Papal force, and which was occupied by the new invaders, hardly one of whom escaped to tell the story. In his preface to Vol. XII. of the new series of Acts of the Privy Council of England, Mr. J. E. Dasent notes a curious coincidence in connection with this abortive invasion.
"On some unknown day^ in 1580," he saj's, "the PeUcan, soon to he re-named the Golden Hind* which liad sailed with her consorts from Plj'mouth in November, 1577, returned alone to England, laden with the plunder of the Spanish settlements in the Pacific, and cast anchor in Plymouth Soimd after circumnavigating the globe, thus narrowly escaping, as she crossed the mouth of the Bay, the Spanish squadron which bore the invaders from Corunna to Dingle. As these luckless invaders, who could show no commission from Philip, were treated by Grey, so, no doubt, would the Spaniards have treated Drake, who had no commission from Elizabeth. . . . The Smerwick invasion following so soon after that of James Fitzmaurice no doubt rendered it difficult for the Spanish ambassador to press his complaints against Drake." '
' In 1578 Martin Frobiser again attempted a N.W. passage. (S'ce.Chap. XVI. ^ In this year Charles Jackman and Arthur Pett sought a N.W. passage. See Chap. XVI.
* Generally said to have been September 26th.
* She had, in fact, been so re-named in August, 1578.
^ In 1582 Edwanl Fenton set out on his voyage to South America, and in 1583 Sir Hum^jhrey Gilbert set out on his expedition to Newfoundland. See Chap. X'N'I.
1585.] HELP TO THE UNITED PSOVINCES. 483
On the death of Edward, Eail of Lincohi, in 1585, the office of Lord High Admiral was conferred, on July 8th, upon Charles, Lord Howard of Effingham, K.G.^
After Elizabeth's refusal to become cither sovereign or protector of Holland and Zealand, the United Provinces had made a similar offer to, and had received a similar refusal from, Henry III. of France. In 1585," being hard pressed by Spain, they renewed the offer of the sovereignty to Elizabeth. The queen dechned once more ; but this time she agreed to fm-nish them with five thousand infantry and a thousand cavalry, upon condition that after the conclusion of an advantageous peace, the States should pay the cost, and that, in the meantime, as secimty for the payment, Flushing and Eammekins in Zeeland, and Brielle in Holland should be delivered to her. She also agreed to take the United Provinces under her protection, and she stipulated that if she should see fit to send a fleet to sea, the States should contribute an equal number of ships, to be placed under the command of an English admiral.^
These measures and the increasing boldness of the English in the West Indies might well have provoked Spain to an immediate plunge into active war, but that slow-moving power was not yet ready to deal the great blow which she had in contemplation. She only redoubled her enonnous preparations and the strength of her determination. Indeed, England risked much by the Netherlands alliance. And she risked scarcely less by the attitude which she adopted in the same year towards the Huguenots of France. Henri de Conde came as a suppliant to Elizabeth's court. She received him well, gave him 50,000 crowns in money, and lent him ten ships, with which he was able to contribute to the relief of La Kochelle, where Henry of Navarre was besieged. Happily for England, the Spanish cause in the Netherlands was already a lost one, and the star of Henry of Navarre in France was in the ascendant ; so that Elizabeth, in both instances, ranged herself with the winning side. But Spain was still strong at sea — the strongest Power in the world. It had already been determined to launch the whole sea power of Spain, of Spain's Italian dependencies, and of Portugal, all under Philip's direction, against the island kingdom. It was now determined to launch it with as little delay as possible.
' He was tlicn forty-nine. He had succeeded his father, the first Lord, in 1573. '^ Tliis year Sir Kichard Grcynvile made a voyage to Virginia. Scv Chap. XVI. 3 ' Foedera,' xv. 793.
2 I 2
484 MILITAIiT niSTORY, 1485-1003. [1586.
The nature of Spanish feeling and pohcj^ was shown in the case of the Primrose, 150 tons, of London, Foster, master. On May 26th, 1585,' the ship, a trader, lay off Bilbao, and was visited by seven Spaniards, including the corregidor, or chief magistrate, of the province. After these people had been hospitably entertained, four of them, including the corregidor, returned to the shore. Presently a boat containing seventy people, with another containing four-and- twenty, was observed approaching the vessel. The people looked like merchants. They betrayed a desire to go on board ; but Foster, being suspicious, and having only twenty-seven men with him, refused to admit more than the corregidor, who was of the party, and three or four others ; and he made the rest promise to remain in their boats. But, instead of doing so, they all, in a short time produced hidden arms and boarded, the corregidor summoning Foster to yield and causing him to be seized. The men, however, determined to rescue their captain, and, attacking gallantly, killed many of the enemy and drove the rest overboard. Four of them, who were wounded and drowning, were taken up again, one being the corregidor ; and they were carried prisoners to England. Asked for explanations of his treacherous conduct, the ofhcial produced a commission from the King of Spain for a general embargo upon all English, Netherlands, and German shipping along the coast. ^ Thenceforward, the two countries were in a state of war, although, for a time, Spain still postponed her grand stroke.
Another case was that of the engagement in the Mediterranean, on July 13th, 1586, between some vessels of the Turkey Company and thirteen Spanish craft. Not content with the produce of the embargo which he had laid on ships in his ports, Philip had ordered his galleys in the Levant to take all English ships which they could meet with, the intention being to utilise for the service of the Armada, then preparing, all craft that might be deemed suitable for the purpose. The Turkey Company, in consequence, took care to send only well-built ships to sea ; to arm and man them thoroughly ; and to oblige several of them to sail in company. Five left England together in November, 1585, the Merchant Boyal, the Toby, the Edward Bonaventure, the William and John, and the Susan. Off
' Tliis year Drake led an expedition to the West Indies. See Chap. XVI.
^ Hakluyt, ii. P. ii. 112. Doubtless by error, the affair is attributed to May 2Gth, and Philip's commission of embargo, to May 20th, 1585. Tlie latter was, of course, anterior to the former.
1586.] GALLANT FIGHT OF THE TURKEY SHIPS. 485
Sicily they separated, eacli proceeding to her port of destination, and all agreeing to a rendezvous off Zante for the return voyage. When they met again, having learnt that the Spaniards were in search of them, they appointed Edward Williamson, master of the Merchant RoijaJ, as their " admiral " or leader, and undertook to ohey him. Off Pantelaria, they sighted eleven galleys and two " frigates" (fast sailing vessels), flying the colours of Sicily and Malta, places then in the pay and service of Spain. The " frigates " were sent forward to order the English captains and pursers to repair on board the Spanish admiral, Don Pedro de Leyva. The captains and pursers, as a body, refused ; but sent a supercargo, Mr. Eowet, who was very haughtily received, and informed that the English ships must sur- render at discretion. Eowet, in the name of all, declined, and had no sooner retm-ned to his ship than the Spanish admiral fired a shot ; whereupon a general engagement began. After live hours' hot fight, the enemy's vessels, some of which appeared to have suffered badly, made off"; nor were they pursued ; for the English, who had lost only two men, had no wish to hazard their ships.'
Eeprisals were, long ere this, of course allowed by the English government. Sir William Monson says :
"I was then (1585-86-) a youth of sixteen years of age, and so iudined to see the world abroad that, without the knowledge of father or mother, I put myself into an action by sea, where there was in company of us two small ships fitted for men-of-war, that authorised us, by commission, to seize upon the subjects of the King of Spain. We dejiarted from the Isle of AVight, to which place we returned with our dear-bought prize. 8he was a Biscayner, of three hundred tons, well manned, sufficiently fiu-nished, and bravely defended.^ She came from Grand Bay, in Newfoundlaixl, which, at our first arrival upon the coast of Spain we met with, and (she) refusing to yield to Ub, we suddenly boarded, and by consent of all our men entered her. But, the waves of the sea growing high, we were forced to ungrapple, and to leave our men fighting on board her from eight of the clock in the evening till eight in the morning. The Spaniards betook themselves to their close-fight, and gave two attempts, by. trains of powder, to blow up her decks on which we were. But we happily prevented it by fire-pikes. Thus continued the fight till seven in the morning, when the Spaniards found they had so many men killed and disabled that they were forced to yield. When we came to take a view of tmr people, we found few left alive but could show a wound or shot through their clothes in that fight. We were a woeful spectacle, as well as the Spaniards; and I dare say that in the whole time of the war there was not so rare a maimer of fight, or so great a slaughter of men on b"th sides."
It was in 1586 that George Clifford, Earl of Cumberland, one of
' Hakluyt, ii. P. ii. 285.
- 'l"he year of John Davis's departure to search for a N.W. passage. See Chap. XVI. ^ This vessel, which afterwards belonged to Sir Geo. Carew, was re-named Comraander.
486 MILITARY EISTOEY, li85-1603. [1586.
the most distinguished adventurers of an adventurous age, fitted out the first of his numerous privateering expeditions. It consisted of three small ships, the Bed Dragon, Burl: Clifford, and Boe, and a pinnace, the Dorothy, belonging to Ealegh, the whole being under the command of Kobert Widrington. In the Channel, the adven- turers rifled some Hambiirg ships which were alleged to have Spanish goods on board ; on the west coast of Africa they came into what appears to have been unnecessary hostile collision with the negroes ; off the Rio de la Plata they captured two Portuguese craft, from one of which they learnt of the taking of John Drake of the Francis, of Fenton's expedition ; at Bahia they seized more Portuguese ships ; and, after making other prizes, they returned to England, having abandoned their original design of cruising in the Pacific.^
In the same year, Ealegh fitted out two little pinnaces, the Serpent and the Mary Sparke, for a cruise to the coast of Spain and the Azores. After having taken several prizes and started on their return to England, they fell in with four-and-twenty Spanish merchantmen, with which they maintained a running fight for thirty-two hours. Ealegh did not himself accompany this expedition. -
In pursuance of her promise to the Netherlanders, Elizabeth, at the beginning of 1586, sent the Earl of Leicester to Flushing with a fleet of .fiftj'' sail, and, in addition to troops, a body of five hundred gentlemen. Leicester, to the great displeasure of his royal mistress, accepted from the States the title of Governor and Captain-General of Holland, Zeeland, and the United Provinces, and was informed by the queen that although she was ready to relieve her distressed neighbours, she never meant to assume any power over them. The earl, in spite of his considerable force and large powers, did no good, and returned at the end of the year in something very like disgrace.
A more important event of 1586, as bearing upon the prospects of England, around which the thickest clouds were gathering, was the conclusion of a treaty of alliance and " stricter amit_y " with Scotland. The execution in the following year ^ of James's mother, Mary of Scots, did not disturb this alliance nor prevent King James from co-operating in the preparations against the Spanish Armada.
' Harris, ' Voyages,' ii. 685 ; Hakluyt, iii. TOO. - Hakluyt, i. P. ii. 121.
lu 1587 Cavendish departed ou liis voyage round tlie workl. Si-e C'haji. XVI.
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1587.] •' tilNGEINO THE KING OF SrAIJN','i BEAEDr 487
Philip's preparations were not ignored in England, nor was there any misapprehension concerning their aims and objects. AValsyngham, always -well-infonued, had private intelligence from Madrid to the effect that the King of Spain had written to the Pope, advising him of the projected invasion of Elizabeth's dominions, and asking for the Papal blessing upon the undertaking. And not only the intentions of the Spaniards, but also the whereabouts and extent of their ever-growijig armaments were matters of common know- ledge among English naval officers, who, although there was then not even an embryo Naval Intelligence Department, made up in individual zeal, keenness, observation, and intelligence for what they lacked in corporate organisation.
It was therefore determined, early in 1-587, to attempt a blow at the Spaniards while they were still in their ports and busy with their imcompleted preparations ; and Sir Francis Drake was chosen to lead a naval expedition for the purpose.
The squadron entrusted to him was not a powerful one. Strype says that it included forty sail : Hakluyt and Monson put the number at only thirty. But nearly all these were hired merchant- men, not to be compared, either force for force, or in general efficiency, with regular war ships. Only four large vessels and two small pinnaces seem to have belonged to the Navy Eoyal. Drake hoisted his flag in the Elizabeth Bonaventure, of 600 tons, 250 men, and 47 guns. WiUiam Borough, a distinguished navigator and hydrographer, but no warrior, either by inchnation or experience, was second in command, and sailed in the Lion, or, as she was commonly called, the Golden Lion, of 500 tons, 250 men, and 38 guns. Captain Henry BeUingham commanded the Bainbow, of 500 tons, 250 men, and 54 gmis ; and Captain Thomas Fenner, a most excellent ofiicer, had command of the Dreadnought, of 400 tons, 190 men, and 32 guns. These ships, and the majority of their officers and men, undoubtedly formed the backbone of the expedi- tionary force. Borough, however, contributed little to the end in view. The temerity of Drake's projects frightened him and, having been put under arrest, he fled home with his vessel, professing to go in fear of his life. In a rambling letter to Burghley,^ dated from the White Bear, off Queenborough, on February 21st following, he pleaded that he had received " gi'eat discontent" "through Sir Francis Drake's injurious, ungodly, and extreme dealings, which are
' S. P. Dom. ci-viii. "7.
488 MILITARY HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1587.
unsupportable," and complained that he had been "openly defamed and causelessly condemned ; " but as Drake had sentenced hnn in contumaciam, and as the formal document which Borough styled " mine answer touching an objection against me for the coming away of the Lion," though enclosed with the letter to Burghley, has not been preserved, it is now impossible to sift all the merits of the case. We know, however, that, thanks to Burghley's good offices, the affair was smoothed over, and that in 1588 Borough commanded the galley JBonavolia against the Armada.
Early in April the squadron sailed from Plymouth. On the 16th, when off the mouth of the Mondego, it fell in with two Middelbm-g traders, and from them learnt that at Cadiz there were enormous supplies of provisions and ammunition, ready to be sent to Lisbon, where the Armada was collecting. Passing Lisbon, therefore, Drake steered for Cadiz, and arrived off the to\\^l on April 19th.
He at once di'ove in, iinder shelter of the castle, six galleys which made a show of opposing him, and then, boldly entering the bay, sank or took about a hmidred vessels, chiefly laden with stores and ammunition. Most serious among the Spanish losses were a galleon of 1'200 tons, belonging to the Marquis of Santa Cruz, and a richly freighted Kagusan merchantman of 1000 tons, mounting 40 brass guns. The whole brilliant operation was performed with insignificant loss in the space of a day and two nights, and the comparative ease with which it was carried to a conclusion cannot have failed to give Drake and his companions an encom-aging assurance for the future.
From Cadiz, which he quitted on the 21st, Drake ravaged the coast westw^ard as far as Cape St. Vincent, where he surprised the castle and three neighbouring works. His methods were stern and perhaps a little barbarous. He regarded not only the military forces of Spain, but also Spanish fishermen and their nets, as legitimate objects on which to wreak his vengeance ; but he effectually attained the end which he had in view, and most thoroughly in- timidated the enemy. So much, indeed, was this the case that when, on arriving off Cascais, at the mouth of the Tagus, he formally invited the Marquis of Santa Cruz to come out and engage him, the distinguished vanquisher of Strozzi neither accepted the challenge nor adopted any measures for stopping his opponent's further depredations. Drake therefore took and plundered or
1587.] THE "SAN FELIPE" TAKEN. 489
burnt about a hundred more sliips, besides again harrying the coasts.
Huge quantities of iniHtary stores were thus destroyed or taken. But there was small gain of rich stuffs, of spices, and of treasm'e, and the nmuerous merchant adventurers who had associated them- selves with the fortunes of the expedition naturally looked for some other reward than the spectacle of exploding powder-magazines and burnt accumulations of provisions. It was to satisfy them that, after quitting Cascais, Drake, although his ships were falHng short of food and water, headed westward for the Azores. On a day in June, off the island of St. Michael, the English squadron fell in with the great carrack, San Felipe, homeward bound with a rich cargo from the East Indies. Her foes were too many for her, and she was speedily taken. The booty found in her more than dehghted the merchants, yet it was perhaps the least valuable part of her lading ; for in her cabin were discovered papers which so convincingly drew attention to the enormous profits of the East India trade, and so clearly described the methods by which that trade had been prosecuted by the Spaniards, that the Enghsh adventurers, upon returning home, were able to establish a similar trade upon their own account, and, a very few years later, founded the East India Company — probably, upon the whole, the most successful as well as the most gigantic commercial association of which history provides any record.
It has been said that Drake's descent upon Cadiz had the effect of postponing the sailing of the Spanish Annada from 1.587 to 1-588. This scarcely appears to be true. But, undoubtedly, Drake's oj)era- tions greatly confused and complicated the difficulties in Philip's way, and rendered the attempt of 1588 not only much more costly, but also far less formidable than it would otherwise have been. The whole expedition was well planned and well carried out ; and at that jmicture England could liardly have been better served, the enemy more seriously injured, or the adventuring merchants more signally benefited.'
The history of the Armada of 1588- is of so much importance, and has to be told in such detail and at so much length, that it has l)een made the subject of a separate chapter.
' Letter of Drake to Burgliley, A\n-\\ 27tli, 1")8T, in Strvpo, iiu 4.51; Monson's 'Tracts,' 170; Camden, .551; Ilakliiyt, ii. jit. ii. 121; Kisdon's '(Survey of Devon,' iii. 261. ' .
490 MILITARY EISTOBY, 1485-1603. [1589.
The objects of the Armada were effectually frustrated ; but when the immediate danger was overpast, thinking minds began to ask themselves whether, after all, the general policy of national defence would not be furthered rather by attacking the enemy in his own waters, than by merely checking his attacks upon England, The victory over the Armada had been won in English waters, and within sight of the English shores. Should the struggle have been fought out there ? Ought it not to have been fought out in Spanish waters, seeing that Queen Elizabeth claimed to be sovereign of the Narrow Seas, and that, gi'anting her claim, her realm had been actually invaded, and that the invasion had been repelled only after it had insulted her territory ?
These and similar considerations led to the adoption of a more active policy. The moral value attaching to a vigorously offensive defence obtained recognition ; and, while Cumberland, to whom the queen lent the Golden Lion for the purpose, was commissioned to undertake a privateering venture to the South Seas,^ it was deter- mined to vigorously attack Spain at home, ere she should have time to organise a new offensive expedition.
Philip, as has been seen, had added Portugal to his dominions. The popular candidate for the throne of that country, Dom Antonio, was a refugee in England," and believed that, with a little naval assistance, he could gain a crown. Moreover, Portugal had been the scene of the fitting out of one Armada, and might be the scene of the fitting out of a second, Lisbon being the most convenient Atlantic port in Spanish hands. For more than one reason, there- fore, Portugal seemed to be the best pioint at which to strike.
An expedition was accordingly fitted out in 1589, partly at the queen's expense, but chiefly at the charges of private individuals, among whom Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Norreys, with their immediate friends, were the most conspicuous.^ The States of Holland also co-operated. Some pieces of artillery for land service, a number of horses, several Dutch ships, and a considerable body of men either failed to join the fleet ere it sailed, or failed to get across the Bay of Biscay ; so that the expedition was in many respects ill-found, and inadequate for the work in hand. It put to
' In tliis expedition, the Earl accomplisheil very little. Purchas, iv. 1142 ; Harris, ' Voyages,' i. 086.
- Stuwe, 752 ; Camden, iii. 600, 601 ; Faria y Souza, v. c. 3. 3 Ualduyt, ii. P. ii. 134 ; Purchas, iv. !)14.
1589.]
EXPEDITION OF DIIAKE AND NOB HE VS.
491
sea, however, in April from Plymouth, with eighty, or, as some say, one hundred and forty-six ships,' of which six belonged to the Royal Navy,- and with eleven thousand soldiers under Sir John Norreys. Dom Antonio was with the fleet, and the Earl of Essex, in some vessels privately fitted out at his own expense for other objects, joined it off the coast of Portugal.
The first attempt was made upon Corunna, where troops were landed, and the defenders driven into the town. On the following day, the lower town, after an assault by land and by water, was carried, and the governor, Don Juan de Luna, was taken, a great quantity of ammunition and stores being destroyed. The English dis- cipHne was, unfortunately, lax, and the men got drunk with the captured wine in the cellars, while the Spaniards annoyed them by burning such of their own ships as lay in harbour, after having first overloaded their guns, which as they burst or went
off caused some damage to the invaders. An attack upon the upper town was unsuccessful. Hearing of the approach of a Spanish relieving force, Norreys, on May 6th, advanced with about two-thirds of his troops to meet it, and defeated it with great slaughter, and with very httle loss to himself. But when, having burnt the enemy's camp and the neighbouring villages, he returned, the chiefs decided to abandon the siege. On May 8th, therefore, the lower town was set on fire, and the expedition re-embarked.
From Corunna the fleet proceeded to the coast of Portugal, and on May 16, arrived off Peniche, in Estremadura. The troops were landed, and, after the place had surrendered to Dom Antonio, were marched overland towards Lisbon,-' taking Torres Vedras on their
FKIlKCIt, AXD €ORUNSA (THE GROYNe). (Fn)//( a chuil puliUshrd hii Joinr Gold, 181«.)
' Strj-pe, iii. 538; Speed, 863.
^ lievenge, Sir Francis Drake; Dreadnoui/ht, Capt. Thomas Feiiner; Aid, C'apt. William Fenner ; Nonpareil, C'apt. Sackvile ; Foresight, Capt. AVilliaui Wyuter, jim. ; i)wiftsu7-e, Capt. Goring.
" Monsou's ' Nav. Tracts,' 17-1 (Churchill).
492
MILITABY HISTORY, 1485-1G03
[1589.
LIbBOX. (From n chart published bij Joijce Gold, 1318.)
way. As for the fleet, it coasted southwards as far as Cascais, at the mouth of the Tagus.
The army amved before Lisbon on May 25th, and seized the suburb of Santa Caterina ; but the inhabitants betrayed no en- thusiasm for Dom Antonio, guns and ammunition for a siege were wanting, and there was a great amount of sickness. A council of war decided upon a retreat, and, after lying unmolested for two days, the force marched to Cascais, which in the meantime had been taken by the fleet.
This expedition did no good to the cause of Dom Antonio, and was in many ways a faihu'e ; yet it greatly injiu'ed Spain. On its way south, it had captured many vessels, including fifteen bound for Lisbon with men and provisions destined for the preparation of a new Armada ; and at Cascais it took sixty sail, belonging to the Hanse Towns, laden with provisions and stores for the same object
The army was re-embarked, and the fleet weighed to return home. No sooner was it at sea than it was set upon by about twenty Spanish galleys, which, however, were easily driven oft'. On the way north, Vigo was attacked and burnt ; but nothing further occun-ed until England was reached.^ Camden and others aver that a hundred and fifty cannon, and a large booty rewarded the adventurers, but this is doubtful ; and there is evidence that the expedition cost a great number of lives, ^ the amount of sickness in the fleet being most terrible. The captured ships belonging to the Hanse Towns would have been released, after the confiscation of the goods found in them, had not the queen been piqued by the action of an assembly which was convened at Liibeck to consider the matter, and which talked somewhat wildly about measures of revenge. Her majesty, upon this, made prize of all but two,
' Stowe, 757 ; Ferrara, ' Hist, de Espaiia,' xv. s. 16 ; Strj'pe, iv. 8. ' Captain Thomas Fenner, of the Dreadnought, was mortally wounded in the attempt on Lisbon.
1589.] CUMBERLAND TAKES FATAL. 493
which she returned that they might inform the authorities of the Hanse Towns of the fate of the rest.
Sir WiUiam Monson, commenting on the affair, points out that the landing at Corunna imperilled the main ohject of the expedition, not only b}'^ permitting the men to drink new wine, which seriously affected their health, but also by exposing them to a check which acted as a discouragement. But the real cause of failure was the ill-provided state of the fleet, some of the ships not having four days' victuals when they left Plymouth. Drake was blamed for having lain at Cascais instead of pushing up the Tagus to Lisbon ; but it must be remembered that his ships were not in a position to supply the army, and that, had he mounted the river, he would have had to run the gauntlet of three castles, one of which Monson held to be the most im- pregnable, from seaward, in Em'ope. Moreover, if he had gone up, he might have been unable to get down again, the place being subject to contrary winds, and a strong current running in the estuary. And finally, there was a squadi-on of galleys at Lisbon.
During the absence of Drake and Norreys, Cumberland, having returned from his abortive second expedition, fitted out a new one of seven sail, including H.M.S. Victory, lent him by the queen, and commanded, under the earl, by Christopher Lister, and the armed vessels Megg, Captain William Monson, Margaret, and a caravel. Quitting Plymouth on June 18th, 1589, they took several prizes in the chops of the Channel, and were able to relieve some of the home-coming ships of Drake. Off the coast of Spain, they removed a quantity of Portuguese goods from some Hansa merchantmen. Off St. Michael's, in the Azores, they cut out some valuable vessels. At Faj'al they did likewise, and, moreover, took the town. Numerous other successes were won, but not without considerable loss. Lister, on the way home in charge of one of the prizes, was drowned, and the rest of the expedition, including two or three English vessels which had joined it at sea, suffered great privations ere it again reached England.^
Another privateering voyage was made in 1.589 by the Bog, 70 tons, William Michelson, master. She took several prizes in the Gulf of Mexico ; but a number of her people were treacherously
' Mouson's ' Tracts ' ; Hakluyt, ii. P. ii. I.j5 ; Purtlias, iv. 1142 ; Ilaiiis, ' VoyageH,' i. U86.
494 MILITARY HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1590.
killed by the Spanish under a flag of truce, and she had to come home owing to being short-handed.^
The disappointments of Drake's voyage did not discourage either queen or country. In 1-590, Elizabeth patriotically set apart £'8970 yearly out of her revenue for the repair of the navy ; and ten ships, in two squadrons, under Sir John Hawkyns and Sir Martin Frobiser respectively, were commissioned to cruise off the coast of Spain to intercept the trade from the Indies. Philip heard of these preparations, and fitted out a squadron of twenty ships under Don Alonso de Bazan to cover the home-coming of his rich carracks. But, presently thinking better of the matter, he recalled Don Alonso, and sent a dispatch to the Indies, ordering the treasure ships to postpone their departure. Spain had learnt to depend for much of her prosperity upon the annual arrival of the carracks ; and the delay caused much distress and many bankruptcies. But on the other hand, the English squadrons spent seven months in fruitless cruising, without taking so much as a single prize. As they returned, they made an ineffectual attempt upon Fayal, which since its capture by the Earl of Cumberland in 1589 had been re-fortified.
In the same year, 1590, a very gallant action was fought near Gibraltar between ten English merchantmen, homeward bound from the Levant, and twelve Spanish galleys. It occurred on April 24th. In the course of it, two Elamand vessels joined the English ; but, seeing the great odds against them, one of them presently struck. Eor six hours the fight continued, and then the galleys, much disabled, withdrew, the English having lost neither ship nor man."
Cumberland fitted out a fourth expedition in 1591, consisting of H.M.S. Garland and seven armed vessels. He took some prizes; but two of them were subsequently recovered by the Spaniards, Captain William Monson being taken with them and carried prisoner to Peniche. Learning of the Spanish preparations at Corunna, the earl inquired as to them, and sent word to Lord Thomas Howard, and then, his ship being in an tmsatisfactory state, returned to England.^
In 1591, also, an effort, somewhat similar to that of 1590, to
' Hakluyt, iii. 557.
- Ih., ii."p. ii 1G6.
^ Monsons 'Tracts': Purchas, iv. 1145; Harris, 'A'oyages,' i. 686.
1591.] THE LAST FIGHT OF THE ''REVENGE:' 495
capture the treasiire ships was made by a squadron of seven vessels^ of the lloyal Navy, with six victuallers and some pinnaces, under Lord Thomas Howard,'-^ who sailed to Flores, in the Azores, and remained in the neighbourhood for six months. He narrowly escaped being surprised there by Don Alonso de Bazan, who had been sent out with a fleet of fifty-three ships to meet and convoy home the expected carracks. The Earl of Cumberland, as has been mentioned above, had happened to learn of the fitting out of this fleet at Corunna, and had, with much foresight, ordered Mr. Middle- ton, master of the Moonshine pinnace, to discover its force and object, and then, if necessary, to proceed with all speed and warn Lord Thomas. Middleton kept the Spaniards in sight until there was no longer any doubt of their intentions ; and thereupon set all sail for Flores, arriving very little ahead of the enemy.* This was on August 31st.
Howard at once weighed. His second in command. Sir Kichard Greynvile, of the Bevenge, had a number of men ashore, and, according to some accoimts, waited for them. Camden, and others, have it that he refused to turn his back upon the enemy, and so allowed himself to be hemmed in between the Spaniards and the island. Some also suppose that he mistook the squadron of Don Alonso for the expected treasure ships, and therefore disobeyed the orders of his commander-in-chief. But, be this as it may, he was presently surrounded and attacked by practically the whole of the best part of the Spanish fleet. Howard, with the remaining six men-of-war, seems to have been engaged for a considerable time with the enemy, but not in such a position as to afford any support to Greynvile. The Foresight made a serious effort to assist the Bevenge, but, owing to the wind, could not get very near her.
The Bevenge fought against these overwhelming odds for fifteen hours ; and Greynvile, no matter whether he was, as has often been asserted, or was not, blameworthy as being rash, stubborn, and .-. I, - ■
■ * 'J5>e/d?!ce, Lord Tliomas Howard; IlMenge, Sir Richard Gre3'nvile (as vice- admiral); Nonpareil, Sir Edward Denny; Bonaventure, Captain llobert Crosse; Lion, Captain Tliomas Feuner; Foresic/lit, Captain Thomas Vavasour; Crane, Captain Dufficld.
^ Hakhiyt, ii. P. ii. 169; Piirchas, iv. 1G78. Lord Thomas was second son of the Duke of Morfolk.
' For accoimts of the expedition and fight, see Monson's 'Tracts,' 178, 179 (Churchill); Camden, iii. 637, 638; Ralegh's Report in Hakluyt, ii. 169; Carew's ' Surv. of Cornwall,' 62 ; Hawkyns's ' Observats.,' 10.
496 MILITARY HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1591.
disobedient, immortalised himself by a defence such as has never, either before or since, been witnessed upon the sea.
At one time his ship was simultaneously laid aboard by five large vessels, including the San Felipe, of 1500 tons and seventy- eight guns. At no time had she less than two vessels alongside, and in hot and close action. As one Spaniard withdrew disabled, another, with fresh men, cool guns, and new supplies of ammunition, took her place. Fifteen ships engaged her. Of these she sank at least two, including the Asuncion. Early in the fight, one of the victuallers, the George Noble, of London, at great peril to her- self, drew near, and, falling under the lee of the Bevenge, asked Sir Eichard if he had any commands. Greynvile bid her shift for herself, and leave him to his fortune.
The fight had begmi at about three o'clock in the afternoon. Soon afterwards Greynvile had been wounded, but he refused, until 11 P.M., to quit the deck, and then, receiving a wound in the body from a musket bullet, went unwilhngly below to get it dressed. The surgeon who attended to him was killed at his side, and, for a third time, Greynvile was wounded, on this occasion in the head.
In the small hours, the situation of the devoted ship was deplorable. All her best men lay killed or wounded ; she was perfectly mmianageable, and her last barrel of powder had been expended. Greynvile, seeing the futility of further fighting, ordered the Beveuge to be sunk ; but to this the surviving officers would not agree, and terms were at length made with the Spaniards upon the understanding that the lives and liberties of the gallant ship's company should be spared.
When the Bevenge surrendered, she had six feet of water in her hold, not a mast standing, and but about sixty men, nearly all of whom were wounded, alive, out of a crew which, at the outset, may have numbered two hundred and fifty, if all were on. board. But sickness had been rife in the fleet, and no matter what may have been the number of men victualled in the Bevenge on the day of the action, only about a hundred of them went into the fight fit for duty.
Greynvile, with every mark of admiration and respect, was carried on board the Spanish admiral. Two days later he died. His ship, overtaken five days after the battle by a storm, foundered off St. Michael's with two hundred Spaniards in her, and in the same storm there perished fifteen or sixteen Spanish men-of-war.
1591.] ESCAPE OF THE " CONTENTS 497
Within twenty-four hours of the fight, the home-coming carracks fell in with the fleet of Don Alonso de Bazan, and by it were safely convoyed to Spain.
Lord Thomas Howard's squadron, after maintaining a distant fight mitil nightfall, got away. On its homeward passage it made several valuable prizes. A httle force of victuallers, fitted out in London to carry suj)plies to it, had sailed on August 17th, but had been dispersed by bad weather, and obliged to put back. Some of the vessels, however, before they reached port, picked up three rich prizes in the Bay, and took one of them into Plymouth.
That year, 1591, saw some other very gallant actions, which, although not strictly naval, must l)e here recorded. Three English ships and a barque, belonging to Sir George Carey, who was after- wards second Lord Himsdon, were in the West Indies, engaged apparently in trade, when, off Cape Corrientes, they fell in with six Spanish vessels, four of which were large. The English promptly attacked the three ships, two of which were named Hopewell and Swalloic, engaging one, and the barqiie, named the Co)itent, en- gaging the other of the two biggest Spaniards. After some fighting, the three English ships, for some reasons not fully explained, drew off, leaving the little Content to her fate. For three hours, after she had got away from her original opponent, she fought the two smallest Spanish vessels. She then maintained a rmming fight with two of the large and one of the small ships, endeavouring meanwhile to get into shallow water by using her sweeps. The Spaniards, when they could no longer follow her with their deeper craft, double-manned the small vessel, and towed and rowed her after the Content. The Englishman was being slowly forced between the big ships and the shore, and was in a most precarious position, when a lucky shot from her temporarily disabled one of the larger Spaniards. This accident freed her, and enabled her to make an offing ; but no sooner had she done so than she fell in with two fresh Spanish galleys, one of which presently tried to board. But the Content drove off her enemies on two occasions, and at last, after a contest which lasted, with intermissions, from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m., made her escape with a loss, strange to say, of but two men wounded, though her hull and rigging were cut to pieces. She had no more than twenty-three officers and men on board, and of these only thirteen took part in the action, the rest being below. ^
' Hakluyt, pt. iii. 5C5. The Content's maeter was Xicholas Liste. VOL. I. '2 K
498 MILITARY HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1592.
Another gallant affair was the action fought by the Centurion, Turkey merchant, Eobert Bradshaw, master, with five Spanish galleys, near the Gut of Gibraltar. Three vessels simultaneously tried to board her, but she drove them all off, and, after more than five hours, induced them to leave her. Bradshaw, whose crew consisted of forty-eight men and boys, lost four killed and ten wounded.^
Attempts against Spanish treasure and Spanish treasure ships remained for many years among the most attractive ventures for English seamen. One of these attempts ^ was organised in 1592 by Sir Walter Ealegh and his friends, with assistance from the queen's government. Ralegh's original plan seems to have been either to await the home-coming Spanish fleet in the Atlantic or to cross to the Isthmus of Darien and seize the town of Panama, where the Spaniards were accustomed to assemble treasure, prior to shipping it home by way of the East Indies. Sir Walter was at the time in a restless and dissatisfied condition, owing to the queen's favour for him having diminished, and he may have thought it necessary to achieve some new exploit in order to reinstate himself.
Two only of her majesty's ships, the Garland, of 700 tons, 300 men, and 45 guns, and the Foresight, of 300 tons, 120 men, and 37 guns, participated in this expedition. With them were associated thirteen armed inerchant vessels. Sir Walter Kalegh, in the first instance, took chief command, but, as will be seen, retm-ned ere the adventure had fairly begmi, and was superseded by Frobiser. Captain Robert Crosse commanded the Foresight, and the land forces on board the squadron were under Sir John Burgh, ^ although he also exercised some kind of naval direction.
After two or three months' detention by contrary winds, the expedition sailed on May 1st ; but on the day following, Sir Martin Frobiser, in the Lord Admiral's pinnace Disdain, overtook it, bringing from EHzabeth letters revoking Ealegh's command in favour of Frobiser, and commanding Ralegh to return. Sir Walter seems to have been hurt and disappointed, and to have determined to proceed in defiance of orders ; but when, upon reaching the
' Ihikluyt, ii. pt. ii. 168.
'' H)., ii. pt. ii. p. 104; Monson's 'Tracts'; Caindeu's 'Annales'; Oldys's 'Life of Kalegh,' 63-65.
" Sir John Burgh, a descendant of tlie famous Hubert de Burgh, was third son of William, fifth Baron de Bixrgh. He was killed in action on March 7th, 1595, being then in his fifty-third year, and lies buried in Westminster Abbey.
1592.] CRUISE OF FROBISER AND BURGH. 499
latitude of Cape Finisterre, he learnt that the Spaniards had received intelligence of his preparations, and had, in consequence, decided that none of their ships should leave America that year,' he quitted the squadron and went home.
His departure caused much confusion, many of the merchant captains never having undertaken, and being unwilHng, to sei've under Frobiser. Several, therefore, quitted the squadron, and
SlU MAKTIN FROBISER, KT.
(^Frutn thi' ' Hcroulufjia.*')
cruised on their own account ; but before they separated they took, off the coast of Spain, a Biscayan ship of 600 tons, laden with ironwork, and sent her to England. After the parting, Sir John Burgh captured a fly-boat, which, however, cost him a long chase to the southward, and drew him within sight of a considerable Spanish fleet, which was to seaward of him, and which threatened to hem him in with the shore. He nevertheless escaped by the
' Judging from the result, tliis intelligence was false.
•2 K 2
■500 MILITARY HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1592.
exercise of superior seamanship, and rejoined the Foresight and one other vessel which had been placed by Frobiser under his command, with orders to cruise to the Azores. Frobiser himself, with three or four ships, remained off the Spanish coast, and his craft being all indifferent sailers, did hut little.
Taking several caravels on their passage. Sir John Burgh and Captain Crosse reached Flores, and there fell in with three ships belonging to the Earl of Cumberland's expedition^ which were in chase of a carrack. The Portuguese crew, despairing of escape, ran this carrack ashore, took out some of her cargo, and set her on fix-e ; but the English, landing a hiindred men, extinguished the flames, and saved part of the lading. They also captured the carrack's purser, who was by threats induced to admit that another carrack had been ordered to make the island, and was probably in the neighbourhood.
Sir John Burgh joined his friends in the search for this vessel, and the ships of the two commanders were so disposed northward and southward, on a hne about seven leagues westward of Flores, as to cover and observe one hundred and twenty or one hundred and thirty miles of sea.
Thus the united squadrons lay, from June 29th to August 3rd, when some carracks being sighted, a sharp engagement presently ensued with them. The English were still scattered, and the enemy appears to have concentrated on the ships of Sir John Burgh and of those captains nearest to him. Sir John himself w"as reduced to an almost sinking condition, and might have been taken had not Captain Kobert Crosse, in H.M.S. Fy;'t'.s('r//i^,- placed himself athwart the threatened vessel's stern, and gallantly borne the brunt of the attack for three hours. This gave time for other Enghsh ships to come up. How many carracks were originally engaged does not appear, liut it would seem that ere the bulk of the Enghsh forces arrived on the scene, all save one of the enemy had withdrawn from the fight. Crosse then carried that remaining one by boarding. She proved to be the Madre de Dios, a seven-decked ^ ship, measuring one hundred and sixty-five feet from stem to stern, and carrying six hundred men, and a miscellaneous cargo valued, upon its arrival in
' This was tlie fifth of the earl's expeditions. Sac below. - Some accounts say Providence ; but Crosse's ship was the Foresight. ^ Among these seven decks were, of course, included the numerous superimposed short decks, forming the lofty stern-castle or poop.
1592.] DISGRACE OF DON ALONSO DE BAZAN. 501
England, and after the vessel had been partially looted, at i'150,000. The Madre dr Dios, which was of KlUO tons' burthen, w-as brought to England. Most of the profits of the venture were confiscated by the queen, in spite of the fact that only two of her ships had been concerned, and that of these the smaller alone had had a hand in the taking of the carrack. The adventuring merchants were, in consequence, greatly discontented.
Don Alonso de Bazan, who had been directed by his sovereign to proceed direct to Flores to await the coming of the carracks, had disobeyed his instructions, and had sailed instead, with twenty-three galleons, to St. Michael's, for which he had a consignment of guns, intending to go on to Flores later. When he heard of what had occm-red, he pursued the English resolutely enough for a hundred leagues, but failing to catch them, he was, upon his return to Spain, and in spite of his great previous services, broken for his disobedience and negligence.
Cumberland's fifth expedition, which had thus iniited with Burgh, consisted of five vessels, none of which belonged to the navy. The earl did not accompany it, but gave the command to Captain Norton.
Other expeditions of 1592, were Christopher Newport's privateer- ing voyage, in the course of which Ocoa, and two other towns in what is now Haiti, were sacked, Puerto Caballos, in the Bay of Honduras, was plundered, and several ships were taken or destroyed ; and William King's voyage to the Gulf of Mexico. This was not less successful than Newport's venture, though King's operations were confined to the sea. The Amity, of London, Thomas White master, on her way home from a voyage to Barbary, fell in with two Spanish vessels, both of which, after a very stubborn fight, he took. They proved to be laden with quicksilver, wine, missals, and indulgences, and were extremely valuable prizes.^
The year 1593 witnessed the setting out of Richard Hawkyns's expedition to the South Sea.- The following year saw the inception of Lancaster and A^enner's expedition to Brazil,^ and of Dudley's voyage to Trinidad.''
Few purely naval events occun-ed in 1598, the year of the Treaty of Melun ; but, in the course of it, the Earl of Cumljerland went to sea in command of his sixth privateering expedition, with
1 Halduyf, iii. 5(17, 570; ii., pt. ii. 193 ; Lansdowiie MSS. 70, I". 2:11. ^ &f Chap. XV!. ^ Ih. * Ih.
502 MILITARY HISTORr, 1485-1603. ' [1593.
H.M. ships Golden Lion and Bonaventure, and seven armed vessels, and with Sir WiUiam Monson and Sir Edward Yorke as his seconds. Monson records that his ship, the Lion, during this cruise, obUged twelve foreign " hulks " to strike to her, in spite of their refusal to do so until they were forced. The earl, on account of illness, had to return prematurely ; but three of his smaller vessels went on to the West Indies, and there did a good deal of damage to the Spaniards.^
Even prior to the conclusion of the Treaty of Melun, friendship between England and France, to the prejudice of Spain, had become very close and cordial, and Elizabeth had sent Sir John Norreys with three thousand men to co-operate with Henry IV. against the League, and against the Spaniards who were actively supporting the League in the neighbourhood of Brest. Henry, fearing lest Spain might dispatch naval as well as military assistance to his domestic enemies, persuaded Elizabeth, in 1594, to send a fleet to blockade Brest by sea. The League had by that time collapsed, owing to Henry's abjuration of Protestantism in 1.593, and Norreys, with his troops, had been withdrawn. But the Due de Mercoeur-, who had pretensions to the independent sovereignty of Brittany, and whose only hope lay in Spanish help, was still hostile to Henry, and rather than submit, delivered to his Spanish friends Blavet, now Port Louis, in Morbihan, and winked at, if he did not actually facilitate, their seizure of the peninsula of Camaret, between the Bay of Douarnenez and the roadstead of Brest. The Spaniards began to strongly fortify themselves there ; and as their position threatened Brest and Le Conquet, and bade fair presently to enable them to obtain the mastery of the chief naval station on the Atlantic seaboard of France, Norreys was ordered back to assist Marshal d'Aimaont on the land side, and Sir Martin Frobiser, with a squadron, was directed to co-operate from the sea for the expulsion of interlopers who, had they ever securely established themselves in Brest, must have become highly dangerous neighboiu-s for England.
Frobiser's force, according to Monson, included only four of her majesty's ships," but to these there seem to have been added six, or possibly more, armed merchantmen. The main Spanish work was
' Purchas, iv. 1147 ; Monson's ' Tracts ' ; Harris, ' Voj-ages,' i. 687.
^ Vanguard, 500 tons, Sir Martin Frobiser; Raiiiboiv, 500 tons, Captain Thomas Feuuer; Dreadnouyld, 400 tons. Captain Alexander Cliflbrd ; and Quittance, 200 tons. Captain Savile.
159i.] ■ DEATH OF FROBISER. 503
at Crozon, and to the Bay of Crozoii Frobiser proceeded in October. Norreys and D'Aumont, in the meantime, reduced Morlaix and Quimper, and on November 1st, arrived before Crozon and opened communications with the squadron. The attack on the fort was at once begun, and prosecuted with great energy ; but the defence was not less sturdy, and the loss of life on both sides was great. The final and successful assault was made with the help of Frobiser and the officers and seamen of his sqiiadron. In the course of it. Sir Martin received a ball in the side. The wound was not in itself very serious, but it was rendered so by the inexperience of the surgeons ; and although Frobiser brought his squadron back to Plymouth, he sui-vived but a few weeks after he had landed.^
He was one of the most able seamen of an age which produced an unusual number of distinguished sailors ; his courage and resource were remarkable, and he seems to have been in private life an admirable character ; but he v/as blunt in manner, and so exceed- ingly strict a disciphnarian that he was never popular with his commands.^ It is probable, from the fact that no holograph letters of his appear to be extant, that he had been ill-educated, and that he could write little if any more than his name.*
The Earl of Cumberland's seventh expedition left Plymouth on April 6th, 1594. The squadron consisted of the armed ships, Boijal Exchange, 250 tons, George Cave, master ; Mayflower, 250 tons, Wilham Anthony, master ; Samson, Nicholas Downton, master ; a caravel and a pinnace. It made for the Azores, and, about ten days after having sighted them, fell in with a large and very richly laden Spanish carrack. The Boijal Exchange, May- flower, and Samson engaged her simultaneously at close qiaarters, but had to cast off from her, as she presently caught fire, and the flames threatened to involve them also, and actually did them some damage. The carrack finally blew up, very few out of about 1100 souls on board being saved. In the struggle, AVilliam Anthony was kiUed,' and George Cave was so badly wounded that he died in consequence after his return to England. The expedition refreshed at Flores, and, on June 29th, met with and engaged another large carrack. She beat them off, yet not without difficulty, and, having
' Dying in January, 1595.
^ Churchyard's ' Memorable Service of Sir J. Norreys,' 135-141 ; Fuller's ' York- shire Worthies,' 202 ; Monson's ' Tracts,' 182 ; Stowe, 808 ; Camden's ' Annales,' G80. ' Laughtou's Introd. to Span. Armada Papers, p. Ixxvi.
504
MILITARY HISTORY, 1485-1603.
[1594.
suffered severel_y, the English vessels made their way back ta England.^
In the meantime there were apprehensions of renewed Spanish attempts upon a large scale against England. There was some small foundation for the rumours which prevailed, but the report received unmerited attention, especially in Ireland, where local dis- affection was always in haste to credit foreign enemies with more than Irish hatred for Elizabeth and her representatives.
These apprehensions led to the fitting out, in the simmier of 1594,^ of a small English squadron, which, designed to cruise in home waters, effected nothing, and met with no extraordinary adventures ; for, although an insignificant Spanish force of four galleys did, in fact, make a descent in July upon Mount's Bay, and burnt Mousehole, Newlyn, and Penzance, the English squadron was not then in the neighbourhood, and the enemy escaped without interruption. The affair was relatively of smaU importance, and did not cost a single Englishman either his life or his liberty.^ It was, indeed, a mere momentary raid.
Another squadron, designed to act against the Spanish possessions in the West Indies and Central America, was placed in 1595 under the command of Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkyns, and consisted of six-and-twenty vessels, of which the following, and possibly others, were ships of her majesty : —
|
Ships. |
Tous. |
Meu. |
Guns. |
CommaiKiers. |
|
Defiance |
500 |
250 |
46 |
Sir Francis Drake. |
|
Garland |
TOO |
300 |
45 |
Sir Jolm Hawkyns. |
|
Hope .... |
600 |
250 |
48 |
Captain Gilbert Yorke. |
|
Bonaventure . |
600 |
250 |
47 |
Captain Troughton. |
|
Foresight |
300 |
160 |
o- |
Captain Wj-nter. |
|
Adventure |
2r,o |
120 |
26 |
Captain Thomas Drake. |
The land forces embarked were commanded by Sir Thomas BaskerviUe.
This squadron was fitted out upon the express recommendation of Drake and Hawkyns. Both were, no doubt, animated by a sincere and patriotic desire to injure Spain, as well as by the
' Purchas, iv. 1147 ; Harris, ' Voyages,' i. 688. See also Hakluyt. ^ For Lancaster's and Dudley's voyages of this year, see Chap. X^'I. * Camden, iii. 697 ; Carew's ' Survey of Cornwall,' 115.
1595.] LAST CRUISE OF DRAKE AND HAWKYNS. 505
personal desire of gain and glory ; but Hawkyns was probably influenced by yet another motive. His son Richard, in the Duinfij, had been captured by the Spaniards on June 21st, 1594,* and was still detained by them ; and the father may have hoped to take some distinguished Spaniard who would form a suitable exchange. '"
The original intention was to proceed to Nombre de Dios, land there, and march across the isthmus to Panama, in order to seize a Spanish treasure reported to have been brought thither from Peru. But five days before the squadron sailed, the commanders were advised by the queen that, according to news received from Spain, a treasure ship dismasted had put in for shelter at Puerto Eico ; and they were ordered to call at that island on their way, and, if possible, to possess themselves of the disabled vessel and her contents, Puerto Eico being but weakly defended.
The squadron left Plymouth on August 28th, 1595,^ and arrived off Grand Canary on September 27th. Drake and Baskerville were of opinion that the place should be attempted in oi'der that the ships might be victualled. Hawkyns desired to proceed at once ; but as the people were importunate, provisions short, and Baskerville confident that he could gain his object in four days, Hawkyns reluctantly consented to an attack being made. It was, as he had anticipated, unsuccessful ; and the squadron, no doubt somewhat discouraged by the initial failure, steered for Dominica, where it arrived on October 29th. Time was wasted there and at Guada- loupe in trafficking with the natives, and in building pinnaces ; and opportunity was given to the Spaniards, not only to learn all that was intended against them, but also to concert measm-es of defence. The enemy captured a small English vessel, the Francis,* which had straggled from the main body, and by torture forced her master and seamen to disclose the English plans. They then forwarded the intelligence with all haste to Puerto Eico, where the treasure was promptly buried ; and they warned both the islands and the main of the impending blow.
Thus, when, on November 12th, Drake and Hawkyns found themselves before San Juan de Puerto Eico, the place was prepared to receive them. As the squadron anchored, it was fired at by the
' &e Chap. XVI.
^ Sir R. Hawkyns's ' Observations on Voyage to the South Seas,' 133. ' This was also the year of the departure of Sir Walter Kalegh for Guiana (see Chap. XVI.).
* On October BOtli.
50G MILITARY HISTORY, 1485-1C03. [1596.
forts, and Sir Nicholas Clifford, second in command of the troops, was mortally wounded. A still heavier blow to the expedition was the death of Sir John Hawkyns, which occmred on the same day. According to Hakluyt, this great comznander had been dispirited by the knowledge that the capture of the Francis could not but result in the disclosure of all his j)lans to the enemy, ^ and had from that moment sickened.
The Spaniards had blocked the mouth of the port by sinking a ship across the centre of the channel, and by fixing booms thence to the forts on shore ; and within they had five well-armed and well-manned vessels ; but on the evening of November 13th, Baskerville, manning and arming the pinnaces and boats of the squadron to the number of five-and-twenty, forced a way in under a heavy fire from the Spanish guns, and set fire to the five ships. A most obstinate fight was carried on for some time in the harbour. The English, however, were finally repulsed, and, concluding that any further attempt would be equally futile, they re-embarked, and sailed across to the mainland.
On December 1st, they bizrnt La Hacha, in the modern United States of Columbia, in spite of the willingness of the inhabitants to ransom the place for thirty-four thousand ducats. Other places in the neighbourhood were treated with similar barbarity, and some prisoners and pillage were secured. Santa Marta was taken and burnt on December 19th, but no loot was found there. The Spaniards at Nombre de Dios made some resistance ; but that place also fell on December 28th, and with it were caj)tiu-ed several vessels, and some silver, gold, jewels, and money.
From Nombre de Dios, a landing party of seven hundred and fifty soldiers, under Sir Thomas Baskerville, started across the isthmus for Panama, but, finding the march very arduous, being galled by fire from unseen foes, and learning that forts obstructed their passage, the troops returned, and, harassed and half -starved, rejoined the squadron on January 2nd, 1-596.
The misfortune affected the health of Drake, who fell ill with dysentery. He was, nevertheless, contemplating an attack upon Puerto Bello when, on January 28th, death overtook him." His
' Ilakluyt, iii. 583. See also Purchas's ' Pilgrims,' 1133; Monson, 183, attributes Sir Juhu's death to causes which could not have influenced it.
- Monson says that Drake "grew melancholy upon this disappointment, and suddenly, and, I hope, naturally, died." He seems to have suspected a violent death, but upon what grounds is unknown.
159(1.] DEATH OF DRAKE. 507
body, enclosed in a leaden coffin, found a fitting resting-place in the sea ; and the expedition, deprived of both its admirals, set sail for England.
Thus, within a space of less than three months, did a single and only very moderately succes.sful expedition cost England the hves of two of her most notable sea captains.
Hawkyns was a man of unusual and cultivated ability, and of exceptional skill as a seaman. Although his early life had been stormy, and his whole career had been adventm-ous in the highest degree, he remained to a large extent rmspoilt to the end, in that he was merciful in action, ready to forgive, and ever a strict observer of his word. Unlike some of his distinguished naval contemporaries, he was cautious, reserved, and slow in making up his mind. The navy, of which he was treasurer for seventeen years, owed, and still owes, much to him ; and although he had faults, chief among which may be ranked extreme blmitness of manner, jealousy, and an excessive love of money, he was withal a man of great and remarkable character.'
Drake possessed at least equal ability, but had little acquired knowledge of many arts save those connected with navigation and war, in which he stood imrivalled. Less cautious and provident than Hawkyns, he was also less greedy of gain, and, indeed, appears to have generally set the welfare of his queen and country far above his own private advantage. He had many fine qualities, most of which were expressed in his person, which was that of a healthy, strong, and genial adventurer ; and among his defects there seem to have been none much more serious than love of display, occasional quickness of temper, lack of reserve when among his equals, and a habit of boasting.^
This fatal expedition was brought home by Sir Thomas Basker- ville and Captain Troughton. A Spanish fleet had been sent from Europe to intercept the squadron, and lay waiting for it near the Isla de Pinos, off Cuba. There were twenty sail of Spaniards in company when the English were sighted ; and, the forces on each side being nearly equal, a hot action resulted. After about two
' Monson's 'Tracts,' 183, 371; k'ttor liy "1!. M." in Purchas's 'Pilgrims,' iv. 1185; Camden, 700; Stowe, 807. For a diKcussidn of Hawkyns's pulilic i-liaracter, .so; Oppenheiiu, 'Admin, of Eoyal Navy,' A|i|i. V. (p. .392).
2 'Eelation of a Voy.age to the W. Indies,' 58; Fuller's 'Holy ^tate,' 130; Stowe, 808; Camden, 700; 'English Hero,' 207: Monson's 'Tracts,' 3'J9 ; Pui-chas's 'Pilgrims,' vi. 1185; Holinshed, ii. 15G7 ; Hakluyf, iii. 583.
508 MILITARY HTSTOBY, 1485-1603. [1596.
hours' firing, the enemy sheered off, having lost one vessel hy fire, and having had several hadly mauled ; and the English, proceeding, reached England without further adventure in Ma}', 1596.^
The year 1595 witnessed two other expeditions of some im- portance. One was the voyage of a httle squadron under Amyas Preston and George Somers to the West Indies. It was a privateering venture, and, in the course of it, the island of Porto Santo, near Madeira, was taken and pillaged, and considerable damage was done to the Spaniards on the coast of what is now Venezuela.^ The other was the eighth of the Earl of Cumberland's voyages. For the occasion the earl had built the Scourge of Malice, 900 tons, at Deptford. His intention was to personally lead the expedition, and, indeed, he actually started with it, but was recalled by the qiieen. The other ships were the Alcedo, Captain AVilliam Monson ; the Anthony, David Jarret, master ; and an old " frigate." Cumberland's appointment of Captain Langton to take his place as " admiral " disgusted Monson, who left the other ships, and cruised, but to no effect, on his own account. The remaining vessels made several prizes, but narrowly escaped falling into the hands of a large Spanish fleet. ^
It is interesting to note here that the Scourge of Malice, a famous ship in her day, was sold, after Cumberland had done with her, to the East India Company, and, re-named the Dragon, distingiiished herself against the Portuguese in the Eastern seas in the time of James I.
Rumours of a renewed intention on the part of Spain to invade England still persisted. Indeed, Spain had apparently forgotten the catastrophe of the Armada, and, there is little doubt, harboured some fresh designs against Elizabeth, and particularly against her dominions in Ireland. Yet it is more than possible that the great English expedition of 1596 would not have sailed when, and struck as, it did, but for the fact that, owing to French mismanagement and folly in declining proffered Enghsh help, the Spaniards suc- ceeded in making themselves masters of Calais.* This stirred England, just in the same way as the probability of a Spanish occupation of Brest had stirred it in 1594. Preparations for an
* The year of Ke.vmis's Voyage to Guiana, of Shirley's expedition to tlie West Indies, and of Parker's cruise to the West Indies, see Chap. XVI.
' Hakluyt, iii. 578.
" Monson ; Purclias, iv. 1148 ; Harris, ' Voyages,' i. 6S8.
* Cal. of Hatfield MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.), pt. vi.
1596.]
THE CADIZ EXPEDITION.
509
expedition against Cadiz were in progress before Calais fell. After the fall of Calais, they were hastened to such good effect that the fleet sailed about six weeks later.'
The ships of her majesty engaged in this important adventure were —
Ships.
|
Ark lioyal . |
800 |
400 |
55 ; |
|
Repnhe . |
700 |
350 |
50 |
|
Mere Honour . |
800 |
400 |
41 |
|
Warspite |
600 |
300 |
29 |
|
Lion |
500 |
250 |
60 |
|
Bainhow |
500 |
250 |
26 |
|
Nonpareil |
500 |
250 |
56 |
|
Vanguard |
500 |
250 |
31 |
|
Mary Bose |
600 |
250 |
39 |
|
Dreadnouqht . |
400 |
200 |
41 |
|
Siviftsure |
400 |
200 |
41 |
|
Quittance |
200 |
108 |
25 |
|
Tremontana . |
140 |
70 |
21 |
|
Crane . |
200 |
lOS |
24 |
Commauiiers.
/The Lunl High Admiral, Juint-Aihiil. jiCaptain Amyas Prestuii. i JRobert, Earl of Essex, Joint-Ailmiral. \Captain William Monsou.
Lord Thomas Howard, Vice-Admiral.
8ir Walter Kalec;h, Kear-Aduiiral.
Sir Robert Southwell.
Sir Francis Vere.^
Sir Robert Dudley.^
Sir John Wingfeild.
Sir George Carew.*
Alexander Clifford.^
Robert Crosse.''
Sir George Gilford.
— King.
with probably three more, making seventeen in all." With these, according to Speed, there were associated three vessels belonging to the Lord High Admiral, twenty-four belonging to the States- General, and armed merchantmen and victuallers sufficient to bring up the total nmuber of sail to 150. De Jonge ' says that eighteen of the twenty-four Dutch vessels were of from 200 to 400 tons burden, and carried from sixteen to twenty-four guns apiece, with from 100
' For the account of the expedition, Monson, Hakluyt, Purchas, Camden, the Appendix to Harris's Collection, Speed, Stow, and MSS. in the Cottouian Library, as well as various State Papers have been consulted.
2 Son of Geoffrey de Yere, and grandson of the fifteenth Earl of Oxford. He wrote 'The Commentaries of Sir P. Vere' (published in 1057). Dying in 1608, he was buried at Westminster.
^ Son of Robert, Earl of Leicester, by Douglas Howard, sister of the Lord High Admiral. He married as his third wife a daughter of Sir Robert Southwell. His great nautical work, ' L'Arcano del Mare,' was written while he was serving the Grand Duke of Tuscany, with wliora he took refuge \ipon failing to establish his legitimacy, his father having denied the marriage.
* Created Baron Carew, of Clopton, 1005, and later Earl of Totness; author of ' Hibernia Pacata.' He died Master of the Ordnance, March 27th, 1629.
^ Knighted for this service.
° There were originally to be only twelve ships of her majesty, twelve ships of the City, and twenty ships of the Netherlands ; but the force was considerably increased. Cal. of Hatfield MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.), pt. vi.
' ' Nederlandsche Zeewesen,' i. 143.
510
MILITAEY HISTORY, 1485-1603.
[1596.
to 130 men. The contingent was under the orders of Jonkheer Jan van Duijvenvoorde, Lord of Warmoiid and Admiral of Holland ; but the English Lord High Admiral was naval commander-in-chief, and for the first time a Dutch fleet obeyed an English flag-officer.^ On board the fleet there were, in addition to the Dutch, 7360
JAN VAN DUIJVENVUOKDE, ADMIBAL OF HOLLAND. (From the enijrnrUnj hij H. GoU^ius, 15T9.)
landsmen and 6772 seamen. The troops were under the Lord High Admiral and Essex, as joint generals.'^
' For the first time, also, the Dutch fleet seems to have carried a regular national flag to sea. A Resolution of the States-General of April 5th, 159G, directed that the arms of the States, a lion and arrows, should be worn on the colours, which were a tricolour of orange, white and blue. The flag was afterwards changed, red being substituted for orange on account of its superior visibility, and the arms being omitted. In Tromp's time, the orange (or red), white and blue flag was kno-ivn as the Prmce's flag, since it represented the colours of the Prince of Orange.
'' This arrangement foreshadows the appointment under the Commonwealth of ' Admirals and Generals at Sea,' and, to some extent, the later practice of giving naval officers concurrent commissions in the Marines.
150G.] INSTRUCTIONS TO lIOWAItB AND ESSEX. 511
Queen Elizabeth's iustiuctions to Howard of Effingham and Essex' may be briefly summarised. The generals were advised that the armament had been originally collected because of the prevalence of reports that Spain was preparing a greater Armada than that of 1588 to invade England, and to aid the Irish rebels. The reports had tm-ned out to be exaggerated. Moreover, the Spanish fleet had been scattered, partly for the pursuit of Drake and partly for the reinforcement of the Indies. But there was still danger that the Irish rebels might be assisted, and that might best be prevented by the capture or destruction of " some good number " of the King of Spain's ships in his ports. The duties of the generals would, there- fore, be to discover the strength, whereaboiits, and designs of the Spanish navy, and the nature and quantity of stores collected in Spain for purposes of aggression over sea ; to destroy any vessels intended for Ireland, the Narrow Seas, or Calais, to generally injure the naval power of Spain, to avoid the unnecessary hazarding of ships and men, to take undefended towns, especially if they should be understood to contain treasure; not to injure non- combatants, and to preserve all booty for her majesty's disposal. The two generals were to be assisted by a council of five, composed of Lord Thomas Howard, Sir Walter Ealegh, Sir Francis Vere, Sir Conyers Clifford, and Sir George Carew ; ^ and the proceedings of the generals and council were to be from time to time recorded for the queen's information by Anthony Ashley,^ one of the clerks of her Privy Council, who would accompany the fleet for the pui-pose. If, after the attainment of the main objects of the expedition, the generals should learn of the home-coming of any rich Spanish carracks from the Indies, they might exercise their discretion as to effecting their capture ; but the fleet was not to be kept abroad longer than needful.
Before the sailing of the expedition, the queen's attitude towards it, and especially towards Essex, changed ; and, almost at thfe last moment, the two leaders received letters of recall. These were vyithdrawn only upon the urgent remonstrances of Lord Thomas Howard, Sir Francis Vere, and other subordinate officers.
' Cotton MSS., Otlio E. ix.
" The generals lunl power to add to this Connrih
' Anthony Ashle}-, grandfather of the first Earl of Shafteslmry, Ijecanie Secretary to the Privy Council under James I., was made a baronet in 1022, and died in 1C28.
512 MILITARY HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1596.
The instructions issued by Howard of Effingham and Essex ^ to the captains of the fleet will be found at length in the previovis chapter. Before sailing, the joint generals also published in Spanish, French, Italian, and Dutch a manifesto "to all Christian people," setting forth the causes and objects of the expedition, proclaiming friendship to neutrals, and hostility to Spain and her allies, and requiring all who might have aided PhiHp in the past to withdraw from him upon pain of being made to suffer for their continued adherence to Elizabeth's enemies.
The fleet sailed from Pl3Tiiouth on June 1st, 1596. With a north-easterly breeze, it quickly made Cape Ortegal ; and there, being off the enemy's coast, was organised for instant action. We do not know what was its formation ; but Monson says that the True Love, the Lion's Wlielp, and the Witness,^ the three best sailers in the command, were dispatched ahead to look out for Spanish scouts or advice-boats, and to prevent any such from returning with news of the approaching danger. By way of additional precaution, a com-se was taken well out of sight of land. Every captain had been already provided with sealed instructions, to be opened only in case of separation from the fleet, or after rounding Cape St. Vincent, directing him to make rendezvous off Cadiz ; and he had been ordered, in the event of his captm-e by the enemy appearing imminent, to sink these instructions.
On Jmie 10th, the three advanced ships, two of which were commanded by Kichard Leveson^ and Charles, Lord Mountjoy,* respectively, fell in with and took three Hamburg fly-boats, fourteen
' It is noteworthy that in all the documents relating to this expedition, Essex is given precedence over Howard, although the latter was Lord High Admiral, and the former was new to naval command. The navy was not yet recognised as the senior service.
^ It is probable that these were the three vessels belonging to the Lord High Admiral. A Lioti's Wlielp was bought from him for the navy in 1601. Pipe Oif. Accts. 2239.
^ Richard Leveson, of Lilleshall, born 1570, served as volunteer in the Ark against the Armada, and was knighted for his service in the Cadiz expedition. He died in 1605, Admiral of the Narrow Seas and Vice-Admiral of England. He had married in 1587 Margaret, a daughter of Lord Howard of EfBngham. He lies buried at Wolver- hampton.
* Second son of the sixth Lord Mountjoy, bom 1563. He had been knighted in 1587, and had succeeded his elder brother in 1591. In 1603 he was made Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and created Earl of Devonshire. He died in 1606. But in some accoimts it is saiil that not Lord Mountjoy, but Sir Christopher Bloimt was with the advanced squadron.
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1596. ATTACK ON CADIZ. 513
days out from Cadiz. From them they learnt that the garrison had no suspicions of the intentions of the Enghsh. On June 12th, the Swan, a London ship, commanded by Sir Eichard Weston, was added to the advanced squadron. She presently came up with and fought a Flamand fly-boat, homeward bound from the Straits ; but the stranger got away, and was next day making for Lisbon with the intention of alarming the Spaniards, when, within a league of the shore, she was fortunately taken by the John and Francis, another London ship, commanded by Sir Marmaduke Darell. Thus everything contributed to keep the Spaniards in ignorance of the Enghsh design ; and on June 18th, when an Irish craft returning from Cadiz was spoken, the generals had the satisfaction of learning from her that the people of the town were tranquil in their fancied security, that the garrison was small, and that the port was full of vessels richly ladun for the Indies.
Owing to some miscalculation on the part of the masters, the fleet arrived off Cadiz a few hours sooner than had been anticipated, early in the morning of June 20th. At a coimcil held previously, it had been determined to land on the peninsula of San Sebastian, the westernmost point of the Isle of Leon, on which Cadiz stands ; and the fleet therefore dropped anchor off the peninsula ; but, the wind being brisk and the sea high, and four galleys lying in such a position under the land as to be able to intercept in-coming boats, nothing was that day attempted.
After some hours had been spent in communications between the generals, a scheme, which Monson says that he had himself recommended, was resolved upon. The project of first landing was given up, and it was decided to begin operations by boldly entering the harbour and seizing the shipping.
Essex demanded to have the honour of leading the way in ; but the Lord High Admiral had been strictly charged by the queen not to suffer the earl to expose himself unnecessarily, and Essex had to appear to submit. That night the order of attack was arranged, the posts of honour- being assigned to Lord Thomas Howard,^ Sir Walter Ealegh, Sir Eobert Southwell, Sir Francis Vere, Sir George Carew, Captain Crosse, and others of less note.
At dawn on June 21st, these officers, having rounded the north end of the island, passed Fort San Fehpe and the galleys moored near it, and, in the face of a heavy fire, made for the mass of
' Who, as the Mere Honour drew too much water, went, on board the Nonpareil. VOL. I. ' '" 2 L
514
MILITARY HISTORY, 1485-1603.
[1596.
CADIZ HAKBOOR.
CFrom a chart published by Joyce Gold, 1809.)
Spanish ships within the port.^ These feU slowly back, but the galleys, which were so stationed as to present their heavy bow armament to the advancing English, and which were covered by
the town batteries behind them, very severely galled the advance, and especially inconvenienced Sir Francis Vere in the Bainbow. Essex, who witnessed this from the northern side of the entrance to the port, could no longer be restrained, and gallantly threw himself into the fight. Howard of Eflingham, at about the same time, entered in a pinnace, being iin- Avilling to risk the Ark Boyal in such narrow waters. The English pressed forward steadily, driving the Spanish galleons and mer- chantmen up the harbour past more galleys, which were moored in Puntal Eoad, and which fought furiously. The Isle of Leon was joined to the mainland by a bridge at Suaco. Upon reaching the neighbourhood of the bridge, the fugitive Spanish vessels fell into great confusion. There was, however, a narrow canal whereby they could reach the open sea on the south side of the island. Entrance to this canal seems to have been obtainable by means of a swing opening near the island end of the bridge." Into the canal the fleeing ships crowded pell-mell, only to discover that at the seaward end of it was stationed Sir John Wingfeild in the Vanguard. A good many, however, succeeded in thus escaping, though Sir John was exceedingly vigilant and arrested several.
In the meantime, very hot fighting between the English and Spanish men-of-war continued in Puntal Eoad, where Howard himself was engaged. But towards noon the action slackened,^ many of the Spanish vessels having by that hour been destroyed by the English fire, or sunk or set fire to by their own people to
' Slonson says that Ealegh, having entered, anchored out of gunshot of the Spaniards, and urged lack of water as an excuse for not going farther in ; and that not until the Rainhow had passed him did Ealegh weigli and proceed.
'' Monson says that the fleeing ships broke through the bridge itself.
' It did not wholly cease until 4 p.m.
1596.] CADIZ TAKEN. 515
save them from capture. The Spanish flagship San Fehpc, a ship of 1500 tons' burden, blew xv[) and, by her explosion, destroyed two or three craft that lay near her. So rapidly did the flames make progress that the Spaniards, having fired their vessels, often had no time to take to their boats, and, throwing themselves into the water, would have perished, had they not been taken up by the English. Numbers, however, were drowned.
Two ships only of any importance were taken, the San Mateo and the San Andres, galleons of 1200 tons. These were saved by the exertions of the Lord High Admiral and Sir Thomas Gerard,^ and for several years afterwards they figm-ed in the English navy as the St. Matthew and the St. Andrew. All the rest, except those which escaped by way of the canal, were sunk, bui-nt, or driven ashore.
^Vhile these events were in progress, the Dutch contingent gallantly attacked and carried Puntal, and Essex soon afterwards landed - eight hundred men a league from the city, with a view to storming it on the land side. But first Sir Conyers Clifford, Sir Christopher Blount, and Sir Thomas Gerard were dispatched with a party to Suaco to destroy the entrance to the canal by which the fugitive ships had escaped, and to cut the bridge in order to prevent the arrival of succours from the mainland.
When these measures of precaution had been carried out, Essex advanced iipon Cadiz. The town was fortified on the south by means of a wall running across the island, and from this wall the enemy kept up a troublesome fire upon the English. But it is probable that the wall was enfiladed by the guns of the English ships in the port, and that it could not have been held easily. A body of about five hundred Spaniards outside the wall retired precipitately, and was so closely followed up that the attackers almost succeeded in entering with it. Sir Francis Vere, at the head of a small body, was one of the first to reach the gate ; and while he was forcing it, another party, led by some young military officers, scaled the wall. In a few moments the English were in the narrow streets. From the flat roofs of the houses the inhabitants aided those of their friends who still struggled below, by flinging
' Created Baron Gerard in 11)03. He was at the time a colonel of the land forces. He died in 1(518. It may be of interest to add that he returned home in the St. Matthew.
^ The landing-place, according to Monson, was commanded by Pimtal Fort, but the garrison promptly abandoned that work. Monson also declares that Essex landed without Howard's privity.
2 L 2
516 MILITARY EIST0B7, 1485-1603. [1506.
down stones, and by firing occasional shots ; but the defenders were gradually driven into the market-place, where, at length, the fight ceased. Such of the garrison as retreated to the castle and the townhouse surrendered the next day, promising 520,000 ' ducats for their hves, and giving forty hostages for the paj^ment of that sum.
The loss of hfe on the English side was exceedingly small ; but Sir John Wingfeild was killed while serving ashore, and Sir Walter Ealegh was wounded.
Immediately after the place had fallen, the generals, by pro- clamation, ordered that no violence should be offered to unoffending citizens ; and that the women, priests, and children should be conveyed across the harbour to Piierto Santa Maria in English vessels. Essex in person superintended the embarkation of the ladies, suffering them to carry off their richest apparel and jewels, and preser\ang them from all insult.
Ealegh's wound was not serious, and he was at once detached by the Lord High Admiral to proceed with a hght squadron to Puerto Beale, to burn, such merchantmen as had taken refuge there. The Spaniards offered Howard 2,000,000 ^ ducats if he would stay his hand ; but the Lord High Admiral answered that he had come to bm-n and not to ransom. The short time spent in negotiation, however, enabled the Duke of Medina Sidonia to remove a certain amount of goods from some of the ships ere they were fired.
The loss to Spain was estimated at 20,000,000 ducats. Besides the merchantmen which were destroyed and the two large galleons which were taken, thirteen men-of-war, eleven ships freighted for the Indies, and thirteen miscellaneous vessels were sunk, bm-nt, or bilged. About twelve hundred pieces of ordnance were also taken or sunk. Nearly sixty naval and military officers, whose names are given at length by Camden, were knighted in consequence of their behaviour upon the occasion ; and Howard of Effingham, for the service, was subsequently created Earl of Nottingham.
Having gained the to\vn, the leaders discussed what they should do with it. Essex desired to retain it, and offered to hold it with four hundred men and three months' provisions. Sir Francis Vere and Admiral Duijvenvoorde were also of opinion that it should be
' Stow says 620,000.
2 Hakluyt and Harris say 2,500,000.
1596.] ' RETURN OF HOWARD AND ESSEX. 517
garrisoued and kept ; but Howard aud all the other senior officers were opposed to the project, and anxious to return to England. The place, therefore, was given over to pillage, its fortifications were razed, and many of its principal buildings, the churches excepted, were burnt.
On July 5th, the fleet weighed again and proceeded to Faro in Algarve, a hundred miles to the westward. The town had been deserted, the inhabitants carrying off nearly all their goods, and little spoil beyond the bishop's library was taken. ^
Essex was not wholly satisfied with what had been done, and suggested sailing to the Azores, and there lying in wait for the home-coming East Iirdia carracks. Lord Thomas Howard and Admiral Duijvenvoorde concm-red ; but all the other officers seem to have been beset by a fear of losing what they had gained, and by a desire to hasten home to enjoy it. Essex thereupon asked that those ships which were short of stores or had many sick on board might be sent to England, together with the land forces, and that he, with two of her majesty's ships and ten other vessels, might be suffered to go to the Azores and look for the carracks. The council would not, however, consent even to this ; whereupon Essex insisted upon each member delivering his views in writing, in order that his own attitude might be vindicated.
The sole concession that he succeeded in obtaining was that on the homeward voyage a visit should be paid to Corunna ; but neither in Corunna, nor in the neighbouring port of Eerrol, was a single Spanish ship found. Essex, still anxious to effect something more, would have taken Corunna, and attacked such Spanish vessels as were in Santander and San Sebastian. Once more the gallant Duijvenvoorde supported him, and once more the two were over- ruled.^ And so the fleet returned to England,^ with the two galleons, a hmidi'ed brass guns, and an immense amount of very valuable miscellaneous booty.
Then followed an amusing and undignified struggle for the plunder, most of the officers protesting that little or none had fallen
' This booty fell to Esses, wlio succeeded in retaining it in spite of Elizabeth's efforts to secure it. He afterwards gave part of it to Sir Thomas Bodley, and so it became the nucleus of the Bodleian Library.
- For Essex's defence of his conduct, see Cotton MSS. Julius, F. vi. 103, fol. 271.
^ Reaching Pl3'moutli on August 8th, 1696. Essex, who convoyed the St. Andrew, and a tly-hoat laden with ordnaTice, arrived two days later.
518 MILITAET HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1596.
to tliem, and the queen's commissioners doing their best to secure as much as possible. The queen's anxiety on the subject was probably well reflected in a letter ^ addressed on August 10th from the Council at Greenwich to the joint generals.
In spite of aU his efforts to vindicate his conduct, Essex fell into some disfavour at coui-t. Lediard suggests that the uneasiness thus occasioned him may have led him into the extravagant projects which in the end cost him his life. Probably he proved himself at times a difficult colleague of the Lord High Admiral : possibly he often allowed zeal to outrun discretion. But it is abundantly clear that in aU he did during the Cadiz expedition he was animated by the best motives, and not by that personal greed which remains a blot upon the record of some of his most noted contemporaries : and the fact that all his proposals for the more complete humiliation of Spain seem to have been supported by Duijvenvoorde,^ a seaman of experience, is one which speaks very strongly in favour of his general conduct.
In 1596, Cumberland sent his ninth expedition to sea. He first fitted out the Scourge of Malice, obtained the Dreadnought from her majesty, and chartered some small craft. With these he sailed, but the Scourge of Malice was presently disabled in a storm, and the expedition had to put back. He then fitted out a vessel called the Ascension, of 300 tons and thirty-four guns, and dispatched her to cruise under Francis Shngsby. She also was damaged and forced home by a gale, but, saiUng again, fought some gallant, though indecisive, actions off Lisbon ere she returned.^
The immediate effect of the Cadiz expedition was to stimulate Spain to a fresh effort. Phihp lost no time in assembling at Lisbon as many ships as he could coUect from all parts of his extensive dominions and in taking up such suitable foreign vessels as lay in his ports. The fleet thus formed proceeded in the spring of 1597 to Ferrol, and there received on board a considerable body of troops and a great number of fugitives from Ireland. The intention seems to have been to land all these forces in Ireland ; but soon after the fleet had quitted Ferrol it fell in with such terrible weather, and suffered so severely,^ that it put back, incapable of prosecuting its
' Printed at length in Lediard, 336, 337.
^ He was knighted fur his services on the occasion. Camden, iii. 737, 738.
' Purchas, iv. 1148.
* Thirty-six sail were reported to have been lost in this storm.
1597.] TEE VOYAGE TO TEE ISLANDS. 519
mission. The attempt is said, by contemporary writers, to have been so secretly and so quickly prepared that the news of its dis- ablement and dispersion actually reached England before the news of its saihng.
The failm.-e, costly though it was, did not deter Philip from at once organising a fresh attempt. He was upon the point of liberating some of his resomrces by concluding a separate peace with France, which had been the ally of Elizabeth since 1593 ; there still remained a considerable part of his shattered fleet ; there were yet other vessels in his Galician ports ; and the state of affairs in Ireland appeared, as before, to invite him thither. This time, however, early news of Philip's intentions reached England, and steps were promptly taken for providing employment for the enemy ere he should be in a condition to sail.
A fleet was fitted out with a view, first, to surprise the Spaniards in Corunna and Ferrol, and then to seize Terceira or some other island of the Azores, so as to secure a base from which to watch for the home-coming Spanish treasure ships from the Indies. The expedition, known as the Voyage to the Islands, was entrusted to the supreme command of the Earl of Essex, who had as his vice- admiral Lord Thomas Howard, as his rear-admiral. Sir "Walter Ealegh, and, as general of his land forces, Charles Blount, Lord Mountjoy. Sir Francis Vere went as camp-marshal or, as would now be said, general of a brigade ; Sir George Carew as lieutenant of the ordnance, and Sir Christopher Blount as first colonel. Among the volunteers were the Earls of Kutland and Southampton, and Lords Cromwell,^ Grrey de Wilton,- and Kich.^
Accounts of the expedition have been left by various participants, including Sir Aiihur Gorges, Essex, Lord Thomas Howard, Lord Mountjoy, Sir Walter Ealegh, and others whose relations will be found in Purchas's ' Pilgrims,' * Sir William Monson, and several more ; yet there is some little doubt as to the exact number of her majesty's ships taking part in it, and as to the names of their commanders at different periods. Careful comparison of the lists
' Edward Cromwell, third Baron, lie joined in Essex's rebellion, but was pardoned, and lived till IGOT.
^ Thomas Grey, fifteenth Baron Grey dc Wilton. Involved in Ralegh's conspiracy, he died in the Tower in ltil4.
' Robert Rich, third Baron. In 1618 he was created Earl of Warwick, and in the same year died.
• ' Pilgrims,' iv. 1035.
520
MILITARY BISTORT, 1485-1603.
[1597.
and statements seems to indicate that the naval portion of the fleet was composed and officered as follows : —
|
Ships. |
Tons. |
Guns. |
Men. |
Commanders. , MUitory Officers. |
|
|
Mere Honour ' |
800 |
400 |
41 |
(Earl of Essex. 1 Sir Robt. Mansell, Capt. |
|
|
Due Repulse ^ |
700 |
350 |
50 |
Lord Thos. Howard, V.-A. \ — Middleton, Capt. |
|
|
Warspite . |
600 |
300 |
29 |
|Sir AValter Ealegb, E.-A. \Sir Arthur Gorges, Capt. |
|
|
Garland . |
700 |
300 |
45 |
(?) |
f Henry, Earl of \ Southampton.^ |
|
Defiance . |
500 |
250 |
46 |
Sir Amyas Preston, Capt. |
Lord IMountjoy. |
|
Mary Rose . |
600 |
250 |
39 |
John Wynter, Capt. |
Sir Fras. Vere. |
|
St. Mattheio . |
1000 |
500 |
48 |
(?) |
Sir Geo. Carew.* |
|
St. Andrew . |
900 |
400 |
50 |
— Throckmorton, Capt. |
|
|
Rainbow . |
500 |
250 |
26 |
Sir "Wiu. Mouson, Capt. |
|
|
Bonaventure . |
600 |
250 |
47 |
Sir \Vm. Harvey, Capt. |
|
|
Dreadnought . |
400 |
200 |
41 |
Sir Wm. Brooke, Capt. |
|
|
Swiftsure |
400 |
200 |
41 |
Sir Gelly Meyrick,'' Capt. |
|
|
AntclojJe'^ |
350 |
160 |
38 |
Sir Thos. Vavasour, Capt. |
|
|
Nonpareil ' . , |
500 |
250 |
56 |
Sir Rich. Leveson, Capt. |
|
|
Foresifjht. |
300 |
160 |
37 |
Carew Eeynell,' Capt. |
|
|
Tremontana . |
140 |
70 |
21 |
— Fenner, Capt. |
|
|
Moon . |
60 |
40 |
9 |
Edw(L Mitchelbume, Capt. |
|
|
Lion . |
500 |
250 |
60 |
(?) |
|
|
Hope^ . . |
600 |
250 |
48 |
(V) |
"Some of her Majesty's small pinnaces" also "attended the fleet." "
To the whole force was added a Dutch squadron of ten men-of- war under the command of Admiral van Duijvenvoorde.
The fleet sailed on July 9th, 1-597, from Plymouth, but it met
' Essex afterwards shifted his flag to the Due Repulse.
^ Howard afterwards shifted his flag to the Lion, which went out with stores after the main fleet had sailed.
° Henry Wriothesley, third Earl of Southampton, seems to have gone as a military volunteer, although in Monson's and Gorges's lists he appears as commanding the Oarland. He was attacked and imprisoned for complicity with Essex, but re-created Earl in 1603, and made a K.G. He died in 1624.
* In Gorges's and Monson's lists, Carew figures as commanding the St. Matthew. He may have held naval as well as military command.
* Son of Eowland Meyrick, Bp. of Bangor, 1559-63 ; had been knighted for services at Cadiz. He was executed in 1600 for complicity with Essex.
° Sir John Gilbert, who did not sail, seems to have been originally appointed to the Antelope.
' Sir Thos. Vavasour seems to have been originally appointed to the Nonpareil.
® Fifth sou of Eich. Eeynell, of East Ogwell, was knighted in 1599 for services in Ireland, and died in 1624.
' Sir Eich. Leveson seems to have been originally appointed to the Hope. '° Account of Gorges.
1597.] TEE FLEET AT TEE AZORES. 521
with l)ad weather, was obliged to put back and repair damages, and did not sail again until August 17th. Monson says that, before the second departure, five thot;sand troops were disembarked, and only one thousand veterans remained on board. This step was taken with a view to making the provisions and stores last longer than had been originally intended.
In the Bay more bad weather overtook the expedition. The Mere Honour sprang a dangerous leak ; the St. Mattliew carried away her mainmast and some yards, and narrowly escaped driving ashore ; and the St. Andrew for a time lost sight of the fleet. After the gale had moderated, the coui'se was ill-advisedly steered parallel with the coasts of Asturias and Galicia, so that the ships were sighted from the shore, and warning of their approach was conveyed to the enemy in Cormma.
The English and Dutch stood on and off for some time between Cape Ortegal and Cape de San Adrian in hopes of enticing the Spaniards to come out. When it appeared that they would not do so, Essex was desirous of entering Eerrol and Corunna ; but the risk to the ships and to the larger objects of the expedition, and the smallness of the available landing party, seem to have led to the abandonment of the project ; and, after a council of war had been held, it was decided to proceed to the Azores. Ralegh, in the Warspite, which had lost her mainyard, was not present when this decision was arrived at, but rightly conjecturing what would be the result of the council, he steered for the Azores as soon as he had made good his damages, and there rejoined the fleet.
There was an arrangement — of which, however, Ealegh may not have been fully apprised — that, of the three generals, Essex should devote his attention to Fayal, Howard to Graciosa, and Balegh to a third island ; this was not adhered to. Ealegh, while watering, was suddenly ordered to proceed to Fayal, there to join Essex for an attack upon the place. He sailed at once ; but at Fayal there were no signs of the commander-in-chief. Seeing that the inhabitants were carrying off their effects, and that the works were being rapidly strengthened, Ealegh would have attacked immediately, but was persuaded to wait for four days ere taking action, and then to land only in case the earl should not in the meantime have arrived and assumed the command. Essex did not arrive within the stipulated period, and, at the expiration of it, Ealegh, being denied permission to send his casks ashore for water, landed about four
522 MILITARY BISTORT, 1485-1603. [1597.
miles from the port, drove the Spaniards before him, filled his casks, and seized the town.
Next day Esses entered the harbour. His friends, more than he himself at first, appear to have resented Balegh's independent action ; and the latter vi^as summoned to explain his conduct before a coimcil of war. He showed the necessity of the measm-e and, persuaded by Howard, made some kind of apology. Gorges, who was Ealegh's captain, suggests that, in spite of this affair, Essex seemed to be satisfied with Sir Walter ; but Monson is of opinion that, but for the fact that Ealegh was extremely popiilar in England and that Essex feared public opinion, the rear-admiral would have been severely punished by his chief. The probabiUty is that the earl originally paid, and would have continued to pay, little atten- tion to the matter had not Ealegh's numerous enemies steadily worked upon the mind of the commander-in-chief. It is certain, however, that in the result, first coldness, and then active hatred arose between the two flag-officers, to the great prejudice of the service.
After the fall of the town, the Spaniards abandoned the only fort remaining in their hands. In it the English found an Englishman and a Dutchman with their throats cut. A few days later the guns of the defences were embarked, the place was burnt, and the iinited fleet sailed to Graciosa, which submitted. Essex had intended to make this island his headquarters while awaiting the home-coming of the Spanish treasure ships from America ; but his pilot, Grove, represented that the harbour was inconvenient for the purpose. Essex, therefore, went to Saint Michael's with the bulk of the fleet,' leaving a small squadron, comprising the Marij Bose, under Sir Francis Vere and Sir Nicholas Parker, to cruise between Graciosa and St. George's, and another, including the Garland and the Rainbow, imder the Earl of Southampton and Sir William Monson, to cruise to the westward.
This was a most unfortunate arrangement, for no sooner had Essex departed, and the two small squadrons left for their cruising ground, than the treasm-e squadron of forty sail — seven of which had specie on board — arrived, and was warned off by the inhabitants. It bore away for Terceira and reached that island, with the exception
' Monson says that Essex quitted Graciosa in consequence of having received reports of Spanisli vessels, supposed to be the treasure ships, being in the neighbour- hood, and that he himself warned Essex that the Spaniards would go to Angra.
1597.] CAPTURE OF VILLA FRANCA. 523
of only three vessels/ which, losing sight of their consorts, were ultimately made prizes by Essex. At Terceira the Spaniards took refuge in the weU-fortified and garrisoned port of Angra.
Vere, Southampton, and Monson, who had followed, endeavoured to enter the harbour in boats by night and to cut the Spanish cables, so that the vessels might drift to seaward ; but the enemy was so alert that the project failed. Word was then sent to the com- mander-in-chief at St. Michael's of what had happened, with an assurance that the Spaniards should not be permitted to put to sea. In due course Essex, with his whole force, reached the scene of action ; but, although at first he was strongly in favour of hazarding an attack, a reconnaisance convinced him and most of the other officers that the idea was impracticable ; and presently the English fleet returned to St. Michael's, and anchored before Punta Delgada. That place was judged too strong to attempt, and Ralegh was left to hold it in check, while Essex proceeded to Villa Franca, about six miles distant. The town was easily taken, a considerable amount of booty was captured, and for several days the people from the fleet refreshed themselves on shore. ^ While Essex was thus engaged, Ealegh, who awaited his return with great impatience, sighted an East India carrack, and a nierchantman from Brazil. The com- mander of the former ran his ship aground under the town, hui-riedly removed as much as possible of her cargo, and then burnt her. The Brazil-man was taken, but, being in a leaky condition, was not manned. Her goods were put on board the English vessels, and she was destroyed.
Very httle had been done, and none of the main objects of the expedition had been attained ; yet it was decided to retui'n to England, and the fleet accordingly quitted St. Michael's on October 9th. Three days afterwards it was dispersed by a violent storm. The same storm dealt even more hardly with the Spanish fleet, which, taking advantage of the presence of the English at the Azores, had put to sea from Ferrol with the object of efl'ecting a landing in Cornwall and seizing some port there. Several of the
1 A "great ship" lielonging to tlie Governor of Havana, a frigate of ttie King of Spain, and a frigate belonging to a private person. — Essex's account. The largest was of 400 tons' burden, and very rich. Monson says that Southampton, in addition, sank a pinnace by gunsliot.
^ The idea had lieeu to march overland and attack Punta Delgada from the rear, but the difticult nature of the country caused the reliuquishmeut of the project. — Monson.
524 MILITARY niSTOET, 1485-1603. [1597.
ships were lost, and one, sorely damaged and very short of pro- visions, was driven into Dartmouth. The English vessels, on. the other hand, aU reached port in safety.
Essex and Ealegh were each blamed for the failm-e by the friends and partisans of the other, and in consequence the quarrel between the two leaders became very bitter. They, however, agreed upon, and both signed, a common accomit of the fortunes of the expedi- tion. This accomit ended characteristically as follows : —
"And now we have given an account of all our whole carriage till we bare for England. If our coming home scattering be objected, we must plead the violence of storms, against which no fore-directions nor present industry can avail. We must conclude with this : that, as we would have acknowledged that we had done but our duties if we had defeated the Adelantada, taken the Spanish treasure, and conquered the islands of the Azores, so, we having failed of nothing that God gave us means to do, we hope her majesty will think our painful days, carefid nights, evil diet, and many hazards deserve not now to be measured l\v the event. The like honourable and just construction we promise ourselves at the hands of all my Lords. As for others, who have sate warm at home, and discant upon us, we know they wanted strength to perform more, and believe they wanted cour.age to adventure so much."
Alluding to the dispersion of the Spanish fleet, Monson says : " We must ascribe this victory only to God, for certainly the enemy's designs were perilous, aud not diverted by our force." The Spanish design was to seize Fahnouth, and to use it as an advanced base for operations against Ireland. England seems to have little realised at the moment the seriousness of the blow which had missed her so narrowly.
A small expedition, which left England in the course of the same year, is of interest, and deserves mention here, on account of its connection with disputes which, in succeeding ages, greatly influenced the relations between Great Britain and France. It was in no sense a naval expedition, but essentially a fishing venture. Nevertheless, hke most of the maritime expeditions of the period, it led to some fighting.
Charles Leigh and Abraham van Herwick, merchants of London, fitted out the HopeweU, 120 tons, William Grafton, master, and the Chancewell, 70 tons, Stephen Bennet, master, to fish in the waters of Cape Breton and Newfoundland, where the French already fished for cod. Charles Leigh himself and Stephen van Hervdck, a brother of his partner, went as managers of the voyage ; and the two vessels, with a pinnace of seven or eight tons, quitted Gravesend on April 8th, 1.597. On May 18th, they were upon the banks of Newfoundland. On May '20th, the Hopeicell, without Leigh's
1597.]
DISPUTES WITH THE FRENCH.
525
knowledge, fought a French vessel. On June 18th, off Eamea Island, other French ships were encountered, and quarrels arising, were fought with. The English fared ill, and were obliged to retire with the loss of their pinnace and an anchor and cable. Worse still befell on June 23rd, when the Chanceivell, which had become separated from her consort, was wrecked on Cape Breton Island.
GEORGE CLIFFORD, EARL OF CUMItERLAXD, K.G. iFrotn C. PicarCs enijravitio ttftcr the picture formerhj in the Bodlehin.)
The French pillaged her people, stripping them to their very shirts ;-. but most of the survivors seemed ' to have gained the Hopewell, which, ere she returned to England, amply avenged the unfortunates by boarding and captm-ing a French craft of 200 tons, and spoiling her of her fish and oil.'
The year 1598 witnessed the last and most ambitious of the numerous privateering expeditions of that distinguished maritime adventurer, the Earl of Cumberland. The squadron collected on
' Hukluyt, iii. IVlo.
526
MILITARY HISTORY, 1485-1603.
[1598.
the occasion comprised no fewer than twenty sail of ships/ none of which belonged to the navy, and it formed a force more formidable than had ever been assembled by a subject. It sailed from Plymouth on March 6th, 1598. The first intention of the commander-in-chief appears to have been to proceed to the West Indies ; but, learning soon after he had put to sea that certain rich Spanish carracks were about to cross the Atlantic in company with twenty merchantmen bound for Brazil, he lay in wait for a time for the convoy. The Spaniards, however, apprised of his presence off their coasts, kept their ships in port ; and the Earl's only captures at the beginning of his voyage were a Hamburger, with a miscellaneous cargo of contraband goods, a Frenchman laden with salt, and two Flamands full of corn.
Convinced that the carracks would not venture out while he was in the neighbourhood, Cumberland steered for the Canaries,
Ships.
Commanders.
|
(The Earl of Cumberland, "Admiral." |
|
|
Scourge of Malice |
. \ John Watts. |
|
[(later) James Langton. |
|
|
Merchant Royal ' |
. Sir John Berkeley, " Lieut.-General and Vice- Admiral |
|
Ascension ■ |
. Robert Flicke " Rear- Admiral." |
|
Samson . |
fHenry Clifford (died). ■ (Christopher Clolthurst. |
|
Alcedo ' . |
/John Ley. ■ ((later) Thomas Cotoh. |
|
Consent '^ . |
. Francis Slingsby. |
|
Prosperous |
James Langton. I(later) John Watts. |
|
Centurion ' |
Henry Palmer. ■ l(later) William Palmer. |
|
Constance, gallion ' |
Hercules Foljauibe. |
|
Affection . |
— Fleming. |
|
Guiana . |
( Christoplier Colthurst. ■ ((later) Gerald Middleton. |
|
Scout |
. Henry Jollifle. |
|
Anthony * |
/Robert Careless (died). (Andrew Andrews. |
|
Pegasus ' ^ |
. Edward Goodwin. |
|
Royal Defence , |
. Henry Bromley. |
|
Margaret and John . |
John Dixon. |
|
Barkley Bay |
. (? later) John Ley. |
|
Old frigate ^ |
. William Harper. |
|
And two barges ' * for landing troops. |
' Left with Sir Jolm Berkeley at San Juan de Puerto Rico.
- Lost, returning, on the Goodwin Sands.
' Lost, returning, off Ushant.
■* One barge was sunk at Puerto Rico, the other was wrecked on the Bermudas.
1598.] CUMBERLAND'S GREAT EXPEDITION. 527
took and plundered the island of Lanzarote, and then pushed across to Dominica, where he landed on May '23rd, and remained till June 1st, keeping, meanwhile, on good terms with the natives. From Dominica he sailed to the Virgin Islands, where he landed, mustered all his men, and announced his intention of attacking Puerto Eico. He arrived off San Juan in that island on June 6th, landed a thousand men, and speedily made himself master of the place, with but small loss, though he was at first repulsed.^ His intention was to make the town a base for his future operations, but it proved so extremely unhealthy to the troops on shore, of whom more than half died, that he decided to quit it. This he did on August 14th, leaving, however, the better part of his squadron, under Sir John Berkeley, his second-in-command, to arrange for the ransom of the island. Before his departure, the earl captm-ed a caravel from the island of Margarita, off the coast of Venezuela, as she came unsuspectingly into harbour, and a ship from Angola. In the first was pearl worth one thousand ducats, in the second was a cargo of negroes.
Cmnberland, with his division, made the best of his way to the Azores, where he hoped to intercept the Spanish Mexico Fleet, or at least some carracks ; but he reached Floras only to learn that a few days earlier twenty-nine large Spanish ships had weighed thence. At Flores he was, in course of time, rejoined by Sir John Berkeley, though not until both divisions of the squadron had suffered severely in a storm. The miited force sailed again on September 16th, and in the following month reached England without further adventure.^ The expedition, which must have been a very costly one, does not seem to have materially increased the earl's estate, but it was of undoubted benefit to England, seeing that it greatly annoyed the Spaniards, prevented that year's saihng of their regular carracks for the Indies, and caused the postponement of the retm-n of the Plate Fleet from America. It would probably have been more successful bad the earl taken greater pains to keep secret his objects and his movements.
Two non-naval events of considerable importance occurred during 1-598, and, since they intimately affected naval policy, deserve mention here. One was the conclusion by England of a new and
' Here were taken a French and a Spanish vessel, which were added to the squadron.
^ I'urchas, iv. 1150; Mouson's Tracts; Harris's Coll. i. 688.
528 MILITARY BISTORT, 1485-1603. [1599.
advantageous treaty with the United Provinces of the Netherlands.^ The other was the death of Ehzabeth's hfe-long enemy, Philip II.- of Spain.
Eeferring to 1599, Sir Wilham Monson says : —
"I cannot write of anything done this year; for though there was never greater expectation of war, there was never less performance. Whether it was a mistrust one nation had of the other, or policy held on both sides to make peace with sword in hand, a treaty being entertained by consent of each prince, I am not to examine : but sure I am, the preparation was great on both sides, one expecting an invasion from the other. It was, however, generall}' conceived not to be intended by either."
The Spaniards had collected ships and galleys at Corunna. The object of the concentration was supposed to be a descent upon England or Ireland in 1-599 ; but, as the event proved, the prepara- tions were made against the Netherlands. In Ireland, Essex was supposed to be hatching schemes of ambition and revenge. Jealous watch, therefore, had to be kept upon at least two quarters ; and, to meet the necessities of the moment, a fleet was mobilised with a rapidity previously unexampled. The work of rigging, victual- ling, and completely fitting out was accomplished in twelve days. Monson assures us that foreigners declared that " the queen was never more dreaded abroad for anything she ever did." Happily the fleet was not called upon to act, and, after having lain for three weeks or a month in the Downs, was sent peaceably back to its ports ; but, both as a demonstration of the perfection to which the organisation of the English navy had attained, and as an exercise in hurried preparation for war, the experimeiit was well worth the comparatively small sum of money which it cost. In more than one respect it resembled the mobilisation of the Particular Service Squadron in January, 1896. Looking, however, to all the circum- stances of the two cases, it must be admitted that the results attained in 1599 were much more remarkable than those attained in 1896. The mobihsation of 1599 seems to have really taken officers, men, and dockyards by surprise. The mobihsation of 1896, on the other hand, had been unoflicially prepared for several weeks. Yet the interval between the moment when the formal order went forth from London and the moment when the mobilised ships were fully ready to go anywhere and do anything, was actually as short
' 'Fa;dera,'svi. 341.
^ On September, 13th, the anniversary of the birth of his rival Burghley, who had predeceased him on August 15th.
1600.]
lEVESON TO THE AZORES.
529
in 1599 as in 189G. The constitution of this memorable Elizabethan fleet is given below.
|
Sim-. |
Tuns. |
Jleii. |
tJuus. |
Cumiuauiicrs. |
||||
|
Elizabeth Jonas |
000 |
500 |
5G |
liUi'il Tli(}S. ITowarJ, Admiral. |
||||
|
Ark Royal . |
HOO |
400 |
55 |
Sii- Waltei- Halejih. |
||||
|
Triitmph |
1000 |
500 |
68 |
Sir Fulke GmviUe. |
||||
|
Mere Honour |
800 |
400 |
41 |
Sir Henry Taliiier. |
||||
|
Repulse |
700 |
350 |
50 |
Sir Tlios. Vavasour. |
||||
|
Garland |
700 |
300 |
45 |
Sir Wm. Harvey. |
||||
|
Defiance |
.500 |
250 |
46 |
Sir Will. Moiisuii. |
||||
|
Nonpareil |
r)Oo |
250 |
50 |
Sir Robt. Crosse. |
||||
|
JAon . |
500 |
250 |
60 |
Sir Hiclid. Levesou. |
||||
|
Rainbow |
500 |
250 |
26 |
Sir Alex. Clifford. |
||||
|
Hope . |
(iOO |
250 |
48 |
Sir John Gilbert. |
||||
|
Jf'oresUjlit |
300 |
KiO |
37 |
Sir Thos. Shirley. |
||||
|
Mary Rose |
GOO |
250 |
39 |
— Fortescue. |
||||
|
Bonaventure |
0)00 |
250 |
47 |
— Troughton. |
||||
|
Crane . |
200 |
108 |
"24 |
— Jones. |
||||
|
Swiftsure |
400 |
200 |
41 |
— Bradi;ate. |
||||
|
Tremontana |
140 |
70 |
21 |
— Sliui^sby. |
||||
|
Advantage |
200 |
102 |
26 |
— White.' |
||||
|
Quittance |
200 |
108 |
25 |
Carew Keynell. |
In 1600, commissioners met at Boulogne to treat for peace between England and Spain. They separated in consequence of disputes concerning precedence, and effected nothing. Elizabeth and her ministers, foreseeing the probability of a lame issue of the sort, and altogether distrustful of Spanish sincerity, meanwhile quietly fatted out the Bepulse, Sir Eichard Leveson, Admiral of the Narrow Seas, Warspite, Captain Troughton, and Vanguard, Captain Somers, as if intending them to cruise against the Dmiquerque corsairs on the western coasts. When it was no longer doubtful that the Boulogne negotiations were destined to fail, Sir Bichard was suddenly ordered to proceed with his little squadron to the Azores, there to lie in wait for, and endeavour to capture, the home- ward-bound Spanish carracks and the Mexico fleet.
Spain was equally wary. In view of the failure of negotiations she equipped a squadron of eighteen ships, and sent them also to the islands. The two squadrons heard of, but never sighted, one another ; nor did Leveson sight the treasure ships. Having ex- hausted his supplies, he returned to England. The only good effected by this expedition was the casual relief of some distressed home-coming Dutch East-Indiamen.'
' "White" in the printed ' Tracts ' ; but "Hore" (? Gore) in MS. in the Cott. MSS. ^ Monson's ' Tracts,' and MS. in Cutt. Librai'y.
VOL. I. 2 M
530 MILITAIiY EISTODY, 1485-1603. [1001.
The year 1601, which, on February 25th, witnessed the execu- tion of Eobert Devereux, Earl of Essex,^ saw an attempted invasion of Ireland by a Spanish fleet of forty-eight sail under Don Diego de Borachero. Upon the news of the intended descent reaching England, Leveson was again placed in comnaand of a small squadron and ordered to hasten to the threatened point. The squadron consisted of the Warspitc (flag); Garland, Sir Amyas Preston; Defiance, Captain Gore ; Swi/tsitre, Captain Somers ; and Crane, Captain Mainwaring.
In Ireland, Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, was in rebellion at the head of all the tribes of Ulster. In 1598 he had defeated Bagnall at the Yellow Ford, and had roused Munster ; and ever since, without risking a general engagement, he had harassed the English power. The arrival of a strong force of allies from Spain seemed to promise triumph to his cause, provided only that he could join hands with the foreigners.
Leveson was not in time to intercept the Spaniards, the main body of whom effected a landing at Kinsale ; but he gallantly entered a bay in which a belated Spanish contingent, under Vice- Admiral Siriaco had anchored, and, after a sharp action, destroyed the whole of that division. Siriaco, who escaped, disguised himself, and returned home in a French ship. The remaining Spaniards, under Don Juan d'Aguila, held Kinsale against Lord Mountjoy, who besieged it, until December 24th, when Tyrone, who attempted to succour the place, was defeated ; whereupon the invaders sur- rendered upon condition of being transported to their own country in English ships."
Late in the autumn of the same year an adventurous privateering expedition, under "William Parker, of Plymouth, left England to Kjruise against the Spaniards in the AVest Indies. It consisted of the Prudence, 100 tons, 130 men, William Parker, master and "admiral'"; the Pearl, GO tons, 60 men, Eobert Eawlins, master and "vice-admiral"; a pinnace of 20 tons and 18 men; and two little shallops. Among the gentlemen embarked for operations on shore were Edward Giles, Philip Ward, — Fugars, — Ashley, and — Loriman.
Sailing in November, the httle squadron was at the beginning
1 And whifli also witnessed Lancaster's voj'age to the East Indies, for wliicli see Chap. XVI.
- Monson's ' Tracts,' and MS. in Cott. Library.
]ii02.] EXPLOITS OF WILLIAM PAItKEH. 531
unfortunate, losing the pinnace and all on board, save three, in a squall. Parker steered for the Cape de Verde Islands, and, upon reaching them, threw a hundred men ashore at St. Vincent, captured the island, and pillaged and burnt the town. Thence he stretched across to the American continent, and attacked La Eancheria, in the small island of Cubagua. Although the Governor of Cumana, with a body of troops, was on the spot and gave the invaders a warm reception, the place was taken. Parker allowed the inhabitants to ransom it for five hundred pounds of pearl. Off Cape de la Vela he fell in with and captured a Portuguese ship of 250 tons, bound from Angola and Congo to Cartagena. Her also he accepted a ransom for.
At Cabecas he transferred a hundred and fifty of his men to the shallops and two small pinnaces, and, proceeding to the Bastimentos, engaged negro guides, with whose assistance he entered the harbour of Puerto Bello on the night of February 7th, 1602. It was moon- light ; and the English were hailed by the sentries in the castle of St. Philip, a strong work, mounting thirty-five brass guns. They replied in Spanish, and were ordered to anchor. Parker obeyed, but, an hour later, leaving the pinnaces before the castle, he sud- denly landed at Triana with the shallops and thirty men, set the place on fire, and entered Puerto Bello ere the people had fairly recovered from their first confusion. In front of the Koyal Treasury he foimd a body of troops and two brass field-pieces drawn up to receive him. An obstinate fight resulted ; and, if Fugars and Loriman, who had been left in the pinnaces, had not opportunely landed with a hundred and twenty fresh men, Parker's little force would have been annihilated. The timely assistance soon brought about the fall of the town, in which the victors found 10,000 ducats in specie, belonging to the King of Spain, and a considerable amount of other money, plate, and merchandise. This Parker divided among his men. Two small vessels which lay in the harbour were taken possession of and retained.
Parker's behaviour, judged by the standard of those rough times, was unusually generous. Because the town was well built, he abstained from burning it ; and because he was pleased at having taken so important a place with so small a force, he dismissed all his prisoners, including the Governor,' without exacting any ransom.
' 'I'lie Governor, Don Pedro Melcndez, had fouglit gallantly, and retx'ived eleven wounds.
2 M 2
532
MILITARY BISTORT, 1485-1003.
[IC1O2.
After reinainirig for two days he sailed again, and, after an luievent-
ful voyage, reached Plymouth in due course.'
" The action," says Ledianl, " of taking a town of so great strength with so few men Tired such an idea of the English valour in some of the Spaniards that the Governor of Cartagena, in particular, swore he would give a mule's lading of silver to have a sight of Captain Parker and his company. And had they been sure he would have jiarted witli wliat he had upon so easy terms as they of Puerto Bello had done, it is verj- likely tliey miglit have sold him that favour. But his strength being imcertain, as well as his pay, they did not think tit to visit him."
The year 1602, -which saw the return of Parker, saw also the setting out of several private voyages which may be briefly men- tioned here. Bartholomew GosnoU,' in a small bark, carried a little party of thirty-two persons to Elizabeth's Island, in 41" 10' N., on the American coast, and would probably have established a per- manent colony there had not dissensions arisen and compelled the return of the expedition. William Mace, of Weymouth, employed by Ealegh, who was uneasy as to the fate of the colonists left in Virginia in 1587, pretended to make search for them, but wasted his time, and came home prematurely. Finally, George Weymouth,^ employed by the Eussia Company, sailed with two fly-boats, one of 70 and one of 60 tons, from Eatcliff, hoping to discover a north-west passage. But, meeting with much ice and fog, his men refused to proceed, and he was obliged to return after an absence of little more than four months.
There were also two purely naval expeditions of considerable importance. Both were fitted out with the object of preventing Spain from again attempting to interfere with the course of affairs in Ireland.
The first consisted of the following vessels : —
|
Sllll'S. |
Tons. |
Men. |
Guns. |
Cummantlers. |
|||
|
Repulse |
700 |
350 |
50 |
Sir Pichard Leveson, Admiral. |
|||
|
Garland |
700 |
300 |
45 |
Sir Wilhani Monsou, V.-Admira |
1. |
||
|
Defiance |
500 |
250 |
46 |
Captain Gore. |
|||
|
31arii Rose . |
600 |
250 |
39 |
Captain Slingsbv. |
|||
|
^Varspite |
000 |
300 |
29 |
Cajitain Somers. |
|||
|
Xi III pa nil |
500 |
250 |
56 |
Captain C'arew lievnell. |
|||
|
J>ri-'aditoiii/ht . |
400 |
200 |
41 |
Captain Mainwaring. |
|||
|
Adventure |
250 |
120 |
26 |
Captain 'i'revor. |
|||
|
A caravel |
9 |
'> |
'P |
Captain Sawkell. |
' Purchas's 'Pilgrims,' iv. 1243; Harris' supp. to Prince's 'Worthies of Devon.'
2 Harris's 'Voyages,' i. 816; Purclias, iv. 164 ' Harris's 'Voyages,' i. 587.
Vo3'agss,' i. ill ; 'Life of Parker," in Smith's ' Hist, of Virginia.'
1G02.] ATTACK ON CEZIMBRA. - 533
The mission of this fleet was the observation of the Spanish coasts, and, generally, the doing of as much damage as possible to the enemy in his own waters. Leveson, with five of the ships, sailed on March 19th, 1G02. Monson remained to await the arrival of a Dutch contingent of twelve ships, the co-operation of which had been promised ; but news reaching England that the Spanish Plate fleet was at Terceira, his departure was hastened, in spite of the fact that he was still only partially manned and provisioned ; and he followed his chief on March 26th.
Leveson, with his division, met the Plate fleet soon after it had quitted Terceira, and engaged it ; hut having only five ships, while the enemy had eight-and-thirty, he could effect nothing, and was, indeed, fortunate in being able to escape capture. Had the Dutch and Monson's division been present with the flag, the result must have been very different ; and the failure may undoubtedly be regarded as distinctly due to Dutch remissness. A rendezvous off Lisbon had been arranged between the two English admirals. Monson proceeded thither, and then, after waiting in vain for his chief for a fortnight, cruised to the north-west. He presently met with three ships which Leveson had dispatched to look out for him, and at almost the same time spoke some French and Scots vessels which informed him that five galleons lay in San Lucar ready to sail for the Indies, and that two other galleons^ had sailed three days earlier, carrying Don Pedro de Valdes, as governor, to Havana.
Taking the three English ships under his orders, Monson steered for the probable course of the San Lucar galleons, and quickly sighted five sail which he at first took to be them. They proved, however, to be English merchantmen coming out of the Straits. Next day he chased a Spanish Indiaman, but although he took her, she led him so far to leeward that during the following night, the galleons passed him in safety. Soon afterwards the two admirals met.
On June 1st, being close to Lisbon, they took two ships from the Levant, bound for the Tagus. While they were examining them, a caravel signalled that she desired to speak. Leveson approached the stranger, and from her learnt of the recent arrival at Cezimbra of a carrack of 1600 tons, richly laden from the East Indies. She also reported that sixteen galleys lay in the same harbour, three of them Portuguese, and the rest about to sail for the coast of Flanders, to ' These were fallen in with one nijjlit by the Wnrspite, but escaped lier.
534 MILITAEY HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1602.
cruise under Federigo Spinola against the Dutch ; and she explained that she had been sent to the admiral by the Nonpareil and Dreadnought, which were at the moment detached.
Leveson at once ordered Monson to rejoin him, and the ships then in company, i.e., the Warspite^ (flag), Garland, Nonpareil, Dreadnought, Adventure, and the two captured vessels, proceeded off Cezimbra, and that very night exchanged a few gunshot with the galleys there.
Early in the morning of June 2nd, a council of war was summoned on board the commander-in-chief, and after considerable discussion, it was determined to attack next day.
The place and shipping were most advantageously situated for defensive purposes. The towii stands at the head of a bay which affords a good anchorage in northerly winds. Before the town, and close to the waters, was a strong and well-armed fort, and upon a hill behind the town was a fortified convent commanding the whole. Immediately under the fort lay the great carrack. Behind a neck of rock on the west side of the bay lay the eleven galleys, so disposed with their sterns foremost, that with their bow guns, of which each had five, they could cover the advancing English, while they were themselves protected by the rock, so long as the enemy remained out of giinshot of the fort and the carrack. In addition the place was full of troops.
On June 3rd, a breeze springing up at abo^^t 10 a.m., the admiral weighed, fired a warning gun, and hoisted his flag at the maintop. The vice-admiral hoisted his at the foretop. It had been arranged that Leveson should lead in and anchor as near as possible to the carrack, and that the other vessels following should fight under sail, striking as opportunity might offer and occasion suggest ; but this plan was not followed out. Leveson led in as stipulated, but Monson, who entered last, instead of fighting rmder sail, luffed up as close to the shore as he could, dropped his anchor, and hotly engaged town, fort, carrack and galleys all at once, fighting both broadsides simultaneously, while Leveson, owing to the mismanage- ment of his master, drifted altogether out of the roadstead, and his ship was miable to enter it again imtil next day. Leveson in person, however, missed very little of the action, for he shifted his flag to
' The liejiulsc, being leaky, had lieon sent home, and Leveson had shifted Ids flag to the Warspite. As her master proved incompetent, he later shifted it to the I)readnou(/hf.
1602.] MONSON AT CEZIMBRA. 585
the Dreadnought. In the coiu'se of the afternoon he went on hoard the Garland, and puhHcly embracing Monson, assured him that he had won his chief's heart for ever.
Monson was so placed as to be able to enfilade the galleys, which soon fell into disorder, many of the slaves leaving them and swimming ashore. At 2 p.m. the Dreadnought anchored near him, but the fight went on steadily until 5 p.m., at about which time Monson, who perceived that the two prizes, which had been ordered to run on board the carrack and bui-n her, were not doing their duty, went to them and made preparations for himself leading them on that service. Leveson, however, had begun to hope that the carrack might be taken, and, following Monson to the prizes, carried him back with him to the Dreadnought to concert measures to that end.
In the result, the English ships were directed to cease firing, and one Captain Sewell, an English prisoner who, in the course of the fight, had escaped from the town, was sent to the carrack to offer terms, and to represent that, the galleys being beaten and the English in possession of the roadstead, further resistance would merely provoke the victors.
The captain of the carrack, Don Diego Lobo, sent representatives on board the Dreadnought to treat, but it appearing that the people in the carrack were not all dispos&d to surrender, Monson expedited negotiations by going in his own boat and personally arranging matters with Don Diego, who, after some discussion, siurrendered his ship.^ She was worth a million ducats. Of the galleys two " were taken and burnt, and all the rest would have shared the same fate had the English had at their disposal boats wherewith to board them. The loss on the side of the victors was but six killed and about as many wounded.
On June 4th, the fleet sailed on its return to England. On the way it fell in with a packet bearing dispatches to the effect that a new English squadron was in readiness to reinforce the one already out, and that the Dutch squadron^ was at length on its way south. Upon receipt of this news it was decided that Leveson should continue his voyage, and that Monson should return to the Spanish
' Her name was Srio Valnitiiio. She belonged to the vice-royaUy of Portiin;al, aud had lately come from the Indies, wintering by the way at Jlozambiijue. - The Trinidadc 3.\v\ Occasion. ^ The Dutch squadron passed the lleet unseen in the course of the following night.
■'536 MILITARY BISTORT, 1485-1603. [1602.
coast to assume commaud of the reinforcing fleet upon its arrival on the station. The Garland being in need of a refit, Monson shifted his flag to the Nonpareil, which was in better condition than the other ships, and in her he parted company and went south again. Very severe weather, however, overtook him, and after it had continued for ten days, he was prevailed on by his people to put the ship before the wind and run for Plymouth. He reached that port in safety, found that the captured carrack had arrived before him, and learnt that the squadron which he had gone back to take charge of had not yet left England.^
It should be added here that the nine galleys which had escaped destruction at Cezimbra subsequently left that port mider Federigo Spinola to carry out the object of their original commission, and cruise on the coast of Flanders against the Dutch. On Sep- tember '23rd, while passing through the strait of Dover, they fell in with a squadron which, under Sir Kobert Mansell, was there stationed to intercept them. The English attacked with such success that, of the nine galleys, only the one commanded by Spinola himself got away to Dunquerque, all the others being sunk or driven ashore on the Flanders coast."
No sooner had Monson reached Plymouth than he was sent for by the queen, and entrusted with the command of another squadron, destined to watch the coast of Spain, and especially the harbours of Corunna and Ferrol. As before, the safety of Ireland was the chief object of the government. If Monson could satisfy himself that the Spaniards were not threatening Ireland, he might join the Dutch squadron at a given rendezvous, and act on the Spanish coast according to his discretion ; but his first care was to be for Ireland.
He sailed from Plymouth on August 31st, 1602, with the following force (see next page).
Bad weather attended the squadron, which, however, remained off Corunna mitil Monson had ascertained that the Spanish ships which had been collected there, and which had been suspected to be intended for Ireland, had gone southward to Lisbon, there to join the force under Don Diego de Borachero. Monson also went south, earning by means of the caravel, which he sent inshore for inteUi-
' Monson's 'Tracts,' and MS. in the Cott. Library; CoUiber's 'Columna Eostrata'; Camden.
This is the account of Colliber and others. Camden says that Spinola sailed with sLk galleys, and lost two sunk and one taken in a contlict with an Auglo-Dutch force ill the Channel. With the other three he escaped to Sluis.
1602.]
MONSON AND THE SPANISH FLEET.
537
gence, of the presence on the coast of a Spanish fleet of twenty-four sail ; and capturing two French merchant vessels, which he liherated upon receiving from them a pledge that they would return home direct instead of proceeding to Lisbon, their port of destination.
|
SHirs. |
Tons. |
Jlen. |
Guus. |
Ommanders. |
|
|
Swiftsure |
400 |
200 |
41 |
Sir William Monwiii, |
Admiral. |
|
Mary Rose . |
600 |
250 |
39 |
Captain Trevor. |
|
|
Dreadnomjht . |
400 |
200 |
41 |
Captain Cawtielil. |
|
|
Adventure |
250 |
120 |
26 |
Captain Korris. |
|
|
Answer |
200 |
108 |
21 |
Captain Bradgate. |
|
|
Quittanre |
200 |
108 |
25 |
Captain Browne. |
|
|
Lion's Whelp ' |
, , |
, , |
Captain May. |
||
|
Parar/OH^ |
. , |
. , |
Captain Jason. |
||
|
A small caravel |
Captain Hooper. |
In the com-se of a chase, Monson, in the Swiftsure, with the Dreachwuglit in company, was led into Cezimbra, the scene of his exploits earHer in the year. He exchanged shots with the fort, which protected the chase, and while in the roadstead, captured a caravel, which came in unsuspectingly, and which, volunteering information concerning the state of affairs at Lisbon, was allowed to depart again. But he could hear nothing of the Dutch squadron.
Proceeding off Lisbon, which was the appointed rendezvous, he sighted a light on the night of September 26th, and beheving it to come from some richly laden vessel bound for the Tagus, chased it. He had with him at the moment,^ besides his flagship, only the Adventure and the Lion's WheJp. To his astonishment he presently found himself in the midst of the Spanish fleet. The enemy recognised the Adventure, and opened fire on her, wounding some of her men ; but had darkness lasted a few hours longer, the English would have got away without much fighting. Daylight, however, discovered the Swiftsure, Adventure, a.nd Lion's Whelp only a short distance ahead of the Spanish fleet, and the latter gave chase.
Three of the Spaniards, being better sailers than the rest, soon gained upon the English, and threatened the Lion's Whelp ; but Monson lay to to await the three, and after a time had the satis- faction of seeing them recalled by their admiral, who stood in with the shore.
1 Bought from the Lord High Admiral, IGOl. Pipe Office Accounts, 2239.
- A merchantman.
^ The other ships had parted company in a storm four nights earlier.
538 MILITARY HISTORY, 1485-1603. [1603.
The early autumn was occupied in watching, but in vain, for the home-coming San Domingo convoy. On October 21st, Monson, in the Swiftsure, chased a galleon under the castle of Cape St. Vincent, and gallantly attempted to run alongside and carry her by boarding. He was prevented from doing this by the cowardice or ineptitude of the man at the helm, who bore up at the critical moment ; and in the result he found himself exposed to a very heavy fire which, in his oviTi words, " rent his ship so that a team of oxen might have crept through her under the half-deck, and one shot killed seven men." During the fight a Spanish squadron looked on from the westward, and several English men-of-war from the eastward, neither caring to intervene for fear of being hit by friends as well as by foes. Monson, during the night, extricated his ship, and after an ineffectual attempt to reach Terceira, returned to England, di-opping anchor in Plymouth Sound on November 24th. The other ships came home independently.
The Dreadnought and Manj Rose, both very sickly, had returned before the admiral. The Adventure arrived an hoiu' after him, reporting that she had fallen in with the home-coming Brazilian fleet, and had been badly mauled by it, but had taken nothing. The Paragon had captured a rich prize laden with sugar and spices. As for the Quittance, she had pluckily engaged two Dunquerquers, and had borne herself very well with them, but had unhappily lost her captain, Browne, in the action.^
This was the last naval expedition of the reign of Elizabeth. That great queen died on March 24th, 1603.
' Monson's 'Tracts,' and MS. in Cott. Library.
( 539 )
CHAPTER XV.
The Campaign op the Spanish Armada.^
Origin uf the "Most Uappy Armada" — l^catli "f Santa Cruz — hicompt'teuce ul" the uew leader — Philip's instructions — Tlie strategical plan — Its ambiguity — Pliiliii's secret instructions — Co-operation with Parma — Clianges in the schemt — Sidonia's general orders — The Armada leaves Lisbon — Philip's view of England — England's view of Pliilip — English preparations — Desire of the English leaders to strike at tlie Armada while still on the coast of Spain — Difficidties concerning stores and victuals — Anxiety of Howard — News of the enemy — The government forl)iils the rieet to cruise in distant watei-s — Howard puts to sea — Disjiosition of tlie tloct — Dutch co-operation — Tlie Armada leaves Corunna — It encounters a storm — English and Sjianish armaments — The Armada sighted — Howard leaves Plymouth — The action of Jul}' 21st — Capture of Don Pedro de Valdes — Cajiture of the San Snlvddor — The action of July 2ord — The action of July 2;jth — The Armada off Calais — The fireships — The action off Gravelines — Flight of the Armada — The English pursue — Seymour and Wynter detached — The Spanisli losses.
rpHE history of the Spanish Armada,^ regarded from the naval, and not from the pohtical point of view, begins with the year 1583, when the Spanish admiral, Santa Cruz, intoxicated b)' the success which he had recently gained off Terceira, proposed to Philip to employ his victorious arms against England.^ At considerable length he explained what preparations would be necessary ; and he endeavoured, by anticipation, to combat some of his master's possible objections to the scheme. " If," he wTote, " we fall to considering the difticulties of the task, nothing will be done." '
' The reproductions fixna Pine's engravings of the tapestry hangings in the old House of Lords (with which this cliapter is illustrated) possess a sjiecial historical interest. The tapestries were made, after designs by (!. Vroom, l"or Howard of Effingham himself, prohaUy to some extent tmder his ilirection. tJames T. bought them, and gave them to the House of Lords ; and they perished in the tire of 18;H.
'■^ "La Felicisima Armada" (the Most Ilajjpy Arm.ada), was its oflicial description. The origin of the description, "The Invincible Arm.ada," is a little obscure; but Captain C. F. Duro has adopted it as the title of his book ' La Armada Invencible," ( Madrid, 1884:), numerous documents printed in winch are cited below.
^ An invasion of England had, indeed, been proposed by Alva as early as 1569.
* Duro, i. p. 242.
540 THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH ARMADA. [1588.
But, at that early date, nothing was attempted. Santa Cruz did not, however, rest satisfied with making his original proposals. In January, 1586, he again wrote to the king. " For a long time," he began, "your majesty has cherished an idea of undertaking something against England." ' He then stated the argmnents in favour of an expedition. Queen Elizabeth had fitted out vessels to carry war and rapine into Philip's seas, islands, and Indies. The veteran seaman was frank and honourable enough to pay his tribute of admiration to the heretical sovereign. "Looking at the matter," he wrote, " merely from the statesman's standpoint, one must admit that she has adopted a courageous policy, and one which, while it has won her glory, has enriched and inspirited her subjects." Seeing that the Turks and the French were otherwise occupied, the admiral recommended his sovereign to assume the offensive.
This energetic communication did not fail to produce some effect. At the desire of the king, Santa Cruz sent him, in the following March, a very detailed list of the vessels, men, ammu- nition, and stores which would have to be provided if the necessary fleet and army were to undertake an eight months' campaign. He also estimated the cost. His proposed Armada was powerful indeed. It consisted of 556 vessels, including 150 large- ships of war, with a total burthen of 77,250 tons ; and the fleet was to carry no fewer than 91,222 men."
Santa Cruz died in February, 1588, but, ere that, Philip had finally made up his mind to delay no longer.^ A fleet was to join Parma for the pui-pose ; and, as its leader, Don Alonso Perez de Guzman, Duke of Medina Sidonia, was selected.* The choice was an extremely bad one. Medina Sidonia hesitatingly accepted the command,^ after having protested his absolute inexperience at sea and in war. He had only been enough at sea to discover that he was liable to sea-sickness." But his scruples were overcome, and Philip wrote thanking him for having accepted the post.
On March 22nd,' the commander-in-chief received his instructions from the king. There was to be no further postponement. The
> Duro, aoc. 2, 11. 243. ^ Ih., doc. 7. = lb., doc. 53, p. 414.
* Kanke, ]i. 314, suggests that one of the reasons may liave been tliat the duke liad distinguislied himself at the defence of Cadiz.
'•> baro, doc. 60. ■= 76., doc. 53, p. 415.
' Duro, doc. 94. Tlie date, according to the K.S. then used in Spain, sliould be April 1st ; hut as the O.S. was used in England, all dates in this chapter ai'e given in tlie English form.
1588.] PHILIF'S STRATEGICAL SCHEME. 541
English were not to be allowed to perfect their preparations. Victory being the gift of God, Medina Sidonia was to see to it that crime should not disgrace the Armada/ and especially that there should be no blasphemy on board the ships. If committed, blasphemy was to be severely punislied, lest all, for suffering so great an iniquity, should inciir divine vengeance.
Then the strategical plan was unfolded. " When you have received my orders," ran the instructions, "you will put to sea with the whole Armada, and proceed direct for the English Channel, up which you will sail as far as the point of Margate, there opening communication with the Duke of Parma, and ensuring him a passage across." " While still on his voyage, Medina Sidonia was to keep up a correspondence with Parma ; and, to facilitate this, the king promised to forward a crj-ptographic code. In view of the possibility of the ships being dispersed by bad weather, places of rendezvous were appointed. The coasts of France and Flanders, on account of their shallows, were to be carefully avoided.^ On the other hand, the English coast was to be closely followed. An English fleet might create a diversion ; but Medina Sidonia was, nevertheless, to continue his voyage, and not to seek an encounter with the enemy afloat. If, however, Drake should pursue closely, he was to be attacked.* He was also to be attacked if he were fallen in with near the mouth of the Channel. For Philip was of opinion that only part of the English fleet would be with Drake. In case the Armada should sight the enemy off the point of Margate, " even if Drake's and the Admiral's squadrons were found to be united," the Spaniards would stiU be in superior force ; and, neglecting neither the weather gauge nor any other possible advantage, might attack and hope for victory.
The king issued no special directions as to the order of battle. That was to be formed as circumstances might dictate. He re- minded the admiral, however, that the English, on account of their superiority in artillery, would seek to fight at long range. The Spaniards, therefore, should .endeavour to get to close quarters. The English, it was also said, mounted their guns so that they could
' Duro, doc. !)4, ]>. (1.
- lb, doc. !I4, ]). 7. rariiia w.is in the Xi'flitMliiiids.
^ The old beUel' in Kn^land was that tlic Sjianianls liad boon instructed to Iiul; the French coast.
' Duro, doc. 94, \i. 0. Philip seems to have sjiecially feared Drake, who in the previous year had " singed the King of Spain's beard."
542 THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH ARMADA. [1588.
shoot low/ Philip, moreover, impressed upon his admiral that he must engage the enemy only if it should become apparent that Parma's passage across could not be ensured without an action. For Medina Sidonia was to spare his Spaniards as much as possible, with a view to assisting Parma with six thousand men, in case there should be no battle, or with fewer, in case losses should be incurred.^ This exhortation to avoid an unnecessary action must have been rather embarrassing to the commander-in-chief, since Philip had elsewhere directed him to fight if Drake pui'sued, or were fallen in with near the mouth of the Channel.
If Parma landed in England,^ Medina Sidonia was to station his fleet at the mouth of the Thames, and to guard that river. He would then be able to keep open and safe the communications with Flanders, and to co-operate in the most efficacious manner.
According to the instructions, Medina Sidonia was only to act independently of Parma, in the event of an action having to be fought at sea, which action was nevertheless described as being "after all the chief thing."* Above all, he was to remain on the English coast until the business should be brought to a satisfactory termination.
These instructions are vague and ambiguous. ° They leave one in doubt as to what Philip really had in mind." The orders admit of the following intei-pretation.
Margate Eoad was to be the immediate destination of the Armada. There, for the first time, touch was to be gained with Panua, as soon as possible after the arrival of Medina Sidonia.' Philip says nothing definite as to Medina Sidonia convoying Parma, but directs him to ensure the latter's passage across. This order is so indeterminate that one may conjectm-e that after his arrival off Margate, the admiral might act according to circumstances. The Idng, perhaps, expected that Medina Sidonia would manage to drive the enemy from the Channel as the result of a battle fought off Margate before the fleet anchored in the Eoad. In that case, Parma might cross without assistance. But, if the enemy still remained
' Duro, doc. 04, p. 10. - lb., due. 'Ji, pp. 10, 11. See .ilso Fnnide, 33-1.
= Ih., doc. 9-i, p. 11. ■* Ih., doc. 94, pp. 10, 11.
^ Yet Duro, doc. i. p. 48, comnieuts : " No caba nada mas meditado, claro y preciso que esta instruccion."
''■ It is true that Philip had delivered to the two dukes certain plans which have not l)een preserved. These may possibly have been more precise. Duro, doe. 94, p. 7.
' Duro, doc. 95.
1588.] MEDINA SIDONIA'S INSTRUCTIONS. 543
in the neigbbouihood, then it would be the duty of Medina Sidonia with part, or the -whole, of the Annada, to convoy Panua. This intei-pretation is the more probable, seeing that Philip, in bis instructions, ordered his admiral, after Parma's landing, to guard and keep open the passage between Flanders and the mouth of the Thames.
At first sight, it seems illogical to protect Parma's passage from Flanders from a base at the mouth of the Thames. But it must be remembered that on the coast of Flanders there were no ports suitable for the Armada, whereas at the mouth of the Thames, and in the Downs, there were good anchorages, where storms might be ridden out, and where favourable opportunities might be awaited.
Medina Sidonia's business, then, was to ensure Parma's passage to Margate ; to there reinforce his anuy with, in the most favourable event, six thousand men ; ^ and thenceforward to co-operate with him in the mouth of the Thames. The admiral's mission was subsidiary to that of Parma, but might nevertheless be a very important and honourable one, especially in the case of a great action being fought at sea. It is clear that Philip entirely failed to comprehend the only principles in accordance with which successful invasions of insular States with respectable navies can be carried out. Had he understood them, he must have ordered the projected invasion to wait upon the fighting of a decisive action with the English fleet, instead of exhorting his admiral to avoid a battle. "We may, there- fore, take it that his characterisation of an action at sea as " after all, the chief thing," was mere consolatory flattery, designed to compensate Medina Sidonia, in some measure, for having been vouchsafed no more than what was intended to be a secondary part in the drama.
The secret instructions- confirm the supposition that, after Medina Sidonia's arrival off Margate, Parma was to pass over with his fighting force. But if, they continue, God should fail to permit the hoped-for issue and should prevent I'arma from crossing, thus rendering impracticable the desired co-operation, then, still remaining in coiTCspondence with Parma, the admiral should endeavour to make himself master of the Isle of Wight. This would give the Spaniards a secm-e harbour whence they might pursue the various
' Parma greatly counteil u]Km thc.'ie men, ami callcil tlicni "cl nicrvo iivinciiial" of his force. Compare Motley, ii. 441.
2 Duro, doc. ;i5. Writteu March 22ii(l.
544 TEE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH ARMADA. [1588.
undertakings rendered possible by their possession of that important position.
With these secret instructions, the king sent a sealed letter^ which Medina Sidonia was to hand to Parma, either after the latter had landed in England, or after he had abandoned all hope of being able to do so. By this missive, Parma was empowered, in case neither England nor Spain should have gained a decisive victory, to treat for peace. The king prescribed three main con- ditions, viz. (1) Free exercise of the Catholic faith in England, and the repeal of the sentence of exile upon those already expelled from the country on account of holding that faith ; (2) Surrender of the places held in the Netherlands by the English, and especially of Flushing ; (3) Compensation for the great injuries inflicted on Spanish possessions and subjects. From this it is apparent that some time before the sailing of the Armada, Philip admitted the possibility of the failure, whole or part, of the expedition.
The instructions, secret as well as pubhc, were drawn up on March 22nd. The confusion and ambiguity noted in them may be noted also in the supplementary instructions which were subse- quently added to them. The Armada did not leave Cormma i;ntil July 12th, so that there was plenty of time for the reconsideration of the plans put forward in March.
On May 18th, Medina Sidonia wrote to the king a letter" in
which he discussed the project. His views then expressed agree
with Philip's instructions, in so far as they indicate that the admiral
considered it as settled that he was not to seek the enemy previous
to the moment of Parma's junction with him. He does not,
however, mention the place of junction. And the letter opens up
some entirely new questions. In common with his most experienced
officers, Medina Sidonia considered that it would be risky to hand
over many of his troops to Parma so long as the enemy's fleet had
not been rendered harmless.' His idea was rather to unite with
Parma, and then to seek and destroy the EngHsh fleet, before
attempting a landing. If he should succeed in doing this, he would
give Parma as many men as the latter might ask for. The land
attack would thereby be rendered the more secure and certain.
This pre-supposed, of coiu-se, a junction between Medina Sidonia
and Parma previous to the discovery and disabling of the enemy.
' Diiro, doc. OG. ' Ih., doc. 113, p. 101.
' lu a word, he recognised the gravity of neglecting a " potent " fleet.
1588.] MEDINA SIDONIA AND PARMA. 545
It is nowhere expressly said that it would be for Parma's transports to wait off the English coast, somewhere near Margate, mitil the EueUsh fleet should be beaten. Yet that seems to have been Medina Sidonia"s meaning. At all events, Panna was to have no sliare worth mentioning in the victory which it was pm-posed to gain after the junction liud been effected. Parma's contingent was not regarded as hkely to very considerably strengthen the fighting power of the Armada at sea. The letter further indicates that I'hilip had proposed that, after the junction had been effected, the English fleet should, if possible, be blockaded in some port, and then harassed simultaneously by land and by sea.
After the departure from Lisbon, Medina Sidonia wrote to Parma ^ that the Armada ^^•as on its way, and that the people were in good spirits and burning for a fight, "if the enemy would wait for them." Still, apparently bearing in mind the original in- structions, he said that the king had ordered him to proceed directly to Parma's assistance. He laid stress upon the fact that he had only to clear the way, attacking if the enemy annoyed him. But he was not to follow the Enghsh fleet far, if it gave way. In this letter, the scheme of junction with Parma was touched upon with the same perplexing vagueness as on jorevious occasions. Medina Sidonia begged Parma, immediately upon receiving the dispatch, to set sail in order to meet the Annada, and at the same time to send a messenger to the fleet, to inform the admiral how far Parma's preparations had advanced, and where the junction was to take place. Supposing Margate to have still been the destination of both forces, Medina Sidonia evidently contemplated the possibihty of a junction previous to his arrival off that town.
Eecalde's opinion of the plan is noteworthy. Kecalde was vice-admiral- of the entire fleet; and it would be his duty to exert himself to the utmost in the battle. His remarks are to bi; found in a letter^ which, on July 1st, shortly before the final departure of the fleet from Spain, he addressed to the king.
The object of the fleet was, according to the little which Recalde had been able to learn,'' to fight the enemy at close quarters and
' Duro, doc. lia
'' I.e. " almiianto," or Becoml in coniinaiid. The commander-in-chief was Btyled €aj)taiu-General. Duro, doc. 110.
" Duro, doc. 140.
* llecalde's expression to this effect indicates liow ill-iiilbruicd even the highest officers were as to tlie nictliods to be imrsued.
VOL. I. 2 N
546 THE CAMPAIGN OF TEE SPANISH ARMADA. [1588.
disperse him, if he accepted action, as Becalde felt siu-e he woiild. But it has aheady been shown that PhiHp preferred that Parma's passage should be managed without a battle. If there should be no fight, continued Eecalde, the fleet was to proceed to the Dowus,^ and thence reach out a helping hand to the forces at Dunquerque. The next measure was to be the taking of such precautions as would enable Parma's army to safely reach England, landing at the place which PaiTna should designate as being the most suitable for the purpose.
If we may trust Eecalde's impressions, the orders then in force prescribed neither that the junction should be effected off Margate, nor that Medina Sidonia and Parma, after their junction, should proceed thither. Indeed, he himself offered suggestions as the most suitable place, declaring that it should be one as httle as possible removed, either northward or southward, from the mouth of the Thames. Margate would, of course, be such a place ; but, if Margate had already been- specified to him as the point selected, Eecalde would scarcely have written as he did. Parma's passage would, he thought, probably occupy several days, for cavahy was to be sent over ; and as all could not cross at once, the transports would have to make at least two trips. After Parma had crossed successfuU}-, it would be necessary, according to Eecalde, to seek a port in England for Medina Sidonia's fleet. He suggested several, and expressed the opinion that even if the Spaniards beat the English fleet, the latter would hardly be reduced to so impotent a condition as not to be able to again appear at sea in fighting tidm.
As has thus been indicated, the details of the original plan were not adhered to. The plan seems, in fact, to have been modified little by little until not Margate, but the coast of Flanders became the immediate destination of the Armada. For, on July '20th, the day before the first action with the Enghsh, Medina Sidonia ^ wanted to remain off' the Isle of Wight until Parma's preparations should be so far advanced as to admit of a junction being effected as soon as the Armada should arrive at some place in the neighbour- hood of Dunquerque. It is clear that the admiral then no longer thought of proceeding first of all to Margate Eoad. Had he
' " Las Dunas." But the expression might mcau The Dunes, or the linnks on the Netherlamls' coast. * Duro, doc. 160.
1588.] THE PLAN OF JUNCTION WITH FARMA. 547
contemplated such a step, Margate would have been as convenient a place of waiting as the neighbourhood of the Isle of Wight.' The junction was not to be needlessly postponed, the coast of Flanders being a dangerous one, and the Anuada having to fear that many of its ships might be driven ashore in case of heavy weather arising. For this reason Parma was requested to join immediately upon Medina Sidonia's arrival on the coast, and not to cause the fleet a moment's delaj'. But again the exact place of junction was not specified.
Valdes, however, wrote'- that, on July -0th, Dunquerque was the point of destination. On July '21st, after tlie first l)attle, Medina Sidonia's idea^ was to continue his passage without halt, until he should learn from Parma what to do, and where to wait for him. If Margate was still the goal, it is evident that M;^diua Sidonia understood that the junction was to be effected before his arrival off that place. The coast of Flanders, then, in spite of the dangers of its shoals, may be accepted as the locality for the intended meeting. Moreover, on July 26th, Medina Sidouia, as Valdes had done previously, indicated Dunquerque as the point. Parma was to join the Anuada as soon as it came in sight of Dunquerque.*
But when the Spanish admiral drew near Calais, he was informed by the pilots that, owing to the currents, it would be risky to proceed farther on his intended com'se. He therefore altered his plan. The new scheme was that Parma should join off Calais.^ After the junction had been effected, the combined fleet was to seek some secure harbour, in default of which the large ships of the Armada would certainly drive ashore. Nor is it clear that there was any longer an idea of making Margate the common point of destination. On the contrary, Medina Sidonia seems to have again turned his mind to the Isle of Wight, and to have proposed to Parma to seize the requisite secure harl)our in that neighbourhood. °
In spite of all this vagueness, alteration, and ambiguity, one
' Duro, lioc. 95, pp. 14, 15. The duke is therein stiictl}' lbrbid<ieii to attemiJtlaiiy- thiiig against tlic Isle of Wight before first proceeding to Margate.
= S. P. Doni. ccw. 3G.
' Expressed in a letter to Parma of July 21st. Fronde's Transcripts in B. Jr.
♦ Duro, doc. 165, p. 238 ; doc. 1()8, p. 259.
° lb., doc. 1C5, p. 238; and Meilina Sidonia to Parma, July 27tli, in Fronde's Transcripts.
« lb., doc. 183.
2 N 2
548 THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH ABMADA. [1588.
perceives that the leading idea of the expedition was that if the Enghsh fleet should follow Medina Sidonia, it was to be dispersed, so that, the Channel being cleared, Parma could cross it. If the Enghsh fleet should not appear, or if it should appear and be decisively defeated, the minor details of subsequent operations would present no difficulties, provided that a secure harbour or anchorage could be found for the Armada, and that Parma should have favourable weather for his passage. The actions fought before the arrival of the Armada off Calais imperilled the carrying out of the leading idea. It is not astonishing that the scheme of minor details, vague as it was even before the first action, became afterwards hopelessly confused.
So much for the general plan of operations. The preparations in Spain may now be retm-ned to. And, first of all, Medina Sidonia's general orders to his fleet ^ demand attention. They laid stress upon the religious aspect of the expedition. The people were to iinderstand that they were participating in a crusade. Their behaviom- must be worthy of their holy aims.
All, high and low, must realise, above all things, that the king undertook the expedition mainly for the service of God, and for the leading back to the bosom of the Church of souls subjected to the enemies of the Holy Catholic faith. Lest they should forget these aims, the people, before proceeding on board, were to humbly confess, and to receive the Sacrament. No one in the fleet, on pain of severe punishment, was to " idly make use of the name of our Lord, or of our Lady, or of the Saints." Even less sinful exclamations were to be punished, apparently by stoppage of the offender's ration of wine. As men swear most lightly while at play, certain games were to be forbidden, and others were to be played as httle as possible. In no case was play by night to be permitted.
During the entire dm-ation of the expedition, and for a month afterwards, aU contentious questions, challenges, and so on, were, upon pain of death, to be referred to Medina Sidonia. This rule applied to all, great as well as small. Loose women were not to be suffered on board the ships.^ Every morning at sunrise,
> Buio, doc. 99.
- But there were some women with the Aimada. A lady and children were with Oquendo's (second in command : Duro, doc. 171, p. 281 ; and " la urea de las mujeres " is mentioned : Duro, doc. 137, p. 164.
1588.] MEDINA SID ON J A DISHEARTENED. 54 f>
in accordance with the Spanish custom, the ships' boys were to call out the morning salutation at the foot of the mainmast. On the approach of night thej' were to recite the Ave Maria, and, on certain days, the Salve and Litany. As symbolising the Catholic faith and Spanish dominion,' bannei's bearing the figure of Chinst, the figure of the Virgin, and the arms of Philip, were to be carried by the fleet.
At last the Aimada was in a condition to sail. It put to sea from Lisbon on the morning of May 20th, 1588,^ and on June 9th, Medina Sidonia, with part of it, entered Conmna. The rest of the fleet was to have entered the same port on the following day, but was scattered, and to some extent damaged, by a violent storm. Medina Sidonia was at once disheartened, and advised Phihp, seeing tliat the ships were separated, many of the people sick, provisions bad and scarce, and officers and men unfit for their work, to make an honourable treaty with the English.^
The commander-in-chief of the Armada, in a word, wished to give up his undertaking before he had left Spain or caught sight of the enemy. And, indeed, he Iiad reasons for not feeling entirely satisfied. He mentioned the absence of many of his ships ; and that the crews had complained of the victuals. Yet he showed clearly enough, by his attitude on that occasion, how unsuitable he was for the leadership of men.
It is remarkable that Philip, thus informed b}' Medina Sidonia himself of the character of that officer, did not appoint a stronger man to supersede him. Philip, however, kept his admiral, while he wholly neglected his admiral's advice. He directed Medina Sidonia to await the arrival in port of his heaviest ships, and expressed a hope that they would be ready for sea on July 2nd.''
In the course of a short time, almost all the missing vessels safely reached Corunna and other Spanish ports. Some of them had been driven nearly as far as the Scilly Isles.^ Haste was made over the repairs of the damaged ships, and in the furnishing of
' Duio, doc. \0U, p. 82.
= lb. doc. 115, p. JO(J; doc. 118, p. 113. May 30tli, N.S. ^ "Medios lionrosos." * lb., doc. 131.
" Wliere they siglited and chased several Englisli traders :il)iiut June 13tli : S. 1'. Dora. ccxi. 47, 48 ; Duro, docs. 135, 137, 140.
550 THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH ABM AD A. [1588.
proper victuals. In the meantime the religious aspect of the expedition was kept prominently in view by the erection on an island in the harbour of tents and altars, where the people once more confessed, and received the Sacrament.
Philip's motives, viewed from our present standpoint, are sufficiently apparent. He was animated by personal pique, for his matrimonial advances had been repulsed by Elizabeth, and he knew that he was detested in England. He had patriotic reasons for his action ; for his huge empire oversea had suffered sorely from the depredations of the wild spirits of England, and his subjects in the Low Countries were being abetted in their struggle for freedom by English help and sympathy. And he had the religious incentive ; for, himself a zealot of the most extreme type, he could have regarded no mission as more glorious or more worthy of a Christian sovereign than the bringing back of England to the fold of the Boman Church.
Yet, in the eyes of the England of the third quarter of the sixteenth centmy, Philip, naturally enough, found no justification whatsoever. If he had been repelled by England and her queen, his gloomy and fanatic character had richly merited the rebuff. If he had suffered in his possessions oversea, the attitude of his representatives there had invited, nay, even compelled, hostile English action. If his Netherlands subjects were in arms against him, Spanish tyranny and oppression were merely ixieeting with their inevitable reward. And, if he stood for the Eoman Catholic faith, Elizabeth stood as conspicuously for a faith which, though new, was already much dearer to the majority in England. Even the English Eoman Catholics were not, with very rare exceptions, won over by Phihp's assumption of the Crusader's cross. They were not religiously free, it is true, in those days ; yet they knew well that, upon the whole, they were little worse off under Ehzabeth than they would have been under Philip. In England, liberty had shown its head, and could not but grow and flourish. Akeady toleration was slowly extending. And the inspirations of a new and lusty youth had seized upon all Englishmen and rendered them proud of their nationality, no matter whether they agreed or disagreed with the Eeformation. So it was that many English Eoman Cathohcs gallantly fought for England in that crisis, with arms as well as with diplomacy ; and that few, indeed, cared to range themselves, even passively, against her.
1588.] THE ENGLISH CASE AGAINST SPAIN. 551
After the Armatla liiid failed, an official English account ' of the proceedings against it was drawn up, and has been preserved. It will be much quoted from later, since it possesses the signal merit, from the naval point of view, of having been prepared under Howard's direction. But it is also interesting because it contains, in the form of a curious preamble, a statement of what was certainly the generally accepted English case against Spanish ambition and duplicity.
"AVhereae," it runs, "the Queen's most excellent 'Majesty liad of late years sundry and most certain intelligences of the great warlike jireparation both for sea and land which the King of Spain of late years made from all parts, not only of the mightiest and most puissant ships ami vessels that he could prepare, as well from foreign places as in his own dominions, and by arresting of the ships of other countries that came into his dominions, but also of all kind of numition and victuals, and of captains, soldiers and mariners, and of all other provisions for a mighty army by seas, to come out of Spain and Portugal; for the more strength whereof it was notorious to the world liow he had drawn into Spain and Portugal his principal and most experimented captains and old soldiers out of Naples, Sicilia, Lombardy, and other parts of Italy, yea, ami from sundry remote ]>laces of the Indies; the prejiaration whereof, with the numbers of ships, men, victuals, onlnance and all kind of munition, was made patent to the world by sundi-y hooks ]irinteil ami imblislied both in Sjiain, Portugal, and in many other coimtries of Christendom, carrying the titles of the ' Hapjiy Armada of the King of Spain,' and, in some, sjiecially expressed to be against England : And, in like sort, where[as] her Majesty had the like knowledge of the mighty and puissant forces of horses and footmen, sufticient to make many armies, prepared in the Low Countries imder the conduct of the Duke of Parma, the King's Lieutenant-General, and of multitude of ships, bilanders, boats and other vessels tit for the transporting and landing of the said forces, armies from the coast of Flanders, with a general publication to the world that all these so mighty forces, both by sea and land, were intended to the invasion of her Majesty's realms, and, as was iiretcndcd, to have made there\vith a full conquest: Yet for that, in this time of their preparation, the King of Spain, by his Lieutenant-General, the Duke of Parma, caused certain oflers to be made to her ]\Iajesty for a commmiication of a peace betwixt their Majesties; howsoever, by the common judgment of the world, the same was done but to abuse her ^fajesty and to win time whilst his preparations might be made coMi]ilete; her Majesty, nevertheless, like a most godly and Christian prince, <lid not refuse to give ear to so Christian an offer, for which purpose she sent certain noblemen ^ of her Privy Coimcil into Flanders to treat with certain Commissioners, who contimied there without any good success by reason of the imreasonable delays of the King's Commissioners;-' yea, they continued tlicrc until the Navy of Spain was overcome and force<l to tl y."
' Cotton MS. Julius F. x. fV. 111-17. The credit of showing that this docmucnt has an otTicial character, and, moreover, that it veiMCsents the views and conclusions of Howard himself, is due to Professor Laughton, Pi.N. Sec ' State Papers relating to the Defeat of the Sjianish Armada,' ii. 3S8 (App. H.)
* The English Conunissioners were Henry, Earl of Derby ; William, Lonl Cobham ; Sir James h Crofts ; and Doctors Valentine Dale and John Kogers.
' The demands and oilers of the Commissioners are set forth in Cott. MS. Julius, F. vi. 23, f. 51 b.
552
THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH ARMADA.
[1588.
The impression, therefore, in England was to the effect that Phihp was bent not so much upon the settlement of grievances, if he had any, as upon the subjugation of the country ; and the prevalence of this impression cannot but have had an important
AN ENGLISH snil" OF WAR, 1588. (.J//0- ///(• TiijjistrU's ill Ike ohl House of Lonl.i.')
influence upon the attitude of an independent and self-reliani people.
While, therefore, Spain prepared for the spring, England made ready to receive the shock without flinching.
Early in the year^ the Lord High Admiral, Lord Howard o: Effingham, had warned Walsyngham^ that it would be dangerous then to weaken the English fleet. He was of opinion that Parma at Dunquerque, was hatching something against Scotland, anr complained that English prestige had diminished. He wrote thai the enemy was aware that the English were like bears tied tc stakes, and that the dogs might worry them with impunity. Or
' February 1st : S. P. Dom. coviii. 4(i. From on board tlie IFViiYe Bear. " Howard had been sjjecially couimissioned on December 21st, 1587, to commanc af;ainst the Spaniards : S. P. Dom. ccvi. 41.
1">88.] FEELING OF ENOLISTI OFFICEIiS. ij53
the same day Hawkyns appealed to Walsynfjbaiu ' lor bold and decisive action.
"Having of long time seen,"' he wrote, "the malicious practieeR of the luqiists combined generally tlinmgliout Cliristendom to alter the government of this realm ami to bring it to palmistry, and .consequently to servitude, I have a good will from time to time to do and set forward something as I could have credit to imijeach their iiurjiOKe. But it hath prevailed little, forithat there was never any substantial ground laid to be followed efl'ectually. ... If we stand at this point in a mammering and at a stay, we consume, and our Commonwealth doth utterly decay. . . . We have to choose either a dishonourable and uncertain peace, or to put on virtuous and valiant minds, to make a way through with such a settled war as may bring forth and counnand a quiet pe.ice." He went on to recommend ," that tliere be always si.K principal good sliips of lier Majest3''s upon the coast of Spain, victualleil for four months, and accompanied with some six small vessels, which shall haunt the coast of Sjiain and the islands, and be a sufficient company to distress anything that goeth tliroiigh the seas. And when these must return, there woul<l be other six good ships, likewise accompanied, to keep the jilace. . . . For these sis ships we shall not break the strength of the navy ; for we shall have a sufficient company always at home to front any violence that can be any- way offered uuto us. . . . And therefore I conclude that witli God's blessing and a lawful ojjen war, the Lord shall bring us a most honourable and quiet j)eace, to the glorv of His Church, and to tlie honour of her Majesty and this realm of England."
On February 29th, Howard learnt that the Armada was about to sail from Spain. He had recovered from his dejection, and, writing to Burghley,^ said :
"If I may have the four great ships come to me in time, and 20 good hoys, but with 20 men apiece, which is but a small charge, and each of them but with two iron pieces, I doubt not but to make her Majesty a good account of anything tliat shall be done by the Spanish forces, and I will make him wish his galleys at home again. . . . I protest before God, and as my soul shall answer for it, that I think there were never in any place in the world worthier ships than these are, for so many. And as few as we are, if the King of Sjiain's forces be not hundreds, we will make good spoit with them. And I pray you tell her Majesty from me that her monej' was well given for the Ark Ralegh^ for I think lier tlie odd ship in the world for all conditions; and truly I think there can no great ship make me change and go out of her. We can see no sail, great nor small, liut how far soever they be off, we fetch them and speak with them."
And Sir "William Wynter, writing on Februaiy 28th, to the Principal Officers of the Na\y* after the winter had tried the fleet, spoke with equal enthusiasm of the vessels.
"Our ships," he said, "do show themselves like gallants here. I assiue you, it will do a man's heart gooil to behold them ; and would to Ood the Prince of Parma were
' S. P. Dom. ccviii. 47. From on board the Bonaventure. ' S. P. Dom. ccviii. 87. From on board the Ark.
" Bought from Sir W. Kalegh for £5000. The sum was in 1502 dcluctcd from his debt to the Crown.
* S. P. Dom. ccviii. 85. From on board the Vanquard in the Do^vns.
554 THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH ARMADA. [1588.
upon the seas with all his forces, and we in the view of them. Then I doubt not but that you would hear that we would make his enterprise very unpleasant to him. But with sorrow I speak it, I am afraid that they will keep me from the baths of Bath by their long detraction, where I meant to have been to seek healtli by tlie beginning of May next."
Drake was another of those who advised and longed for an energetic offensive. Writing on March 30th to the Conncil,^ he said :—
"If her Majesty and your Lunlship thinks that the King of Spain nieaneth any invasion in England, then doubtless his force is and will be great in Sjiain; and thereon he will make Ids groimdwork or foundation, whereby the Prince of Parma may have the better entrance, which, in mine own judgment, is most to be feared. But if there may be such a stay or stop made by any means of this fleet in Spain, that they may not come through the seas as conquerors — which, I assure myself, tliey think t(i do — • then shall the Prince of Parma have such a check thereby as were meet."
Bnt he added that the ships had not enough powder on hoard for more than a day's, or a day and a half's fighting, and that more ought to be sent to them ; " for it importeth but the loss of all." Nor did he underrate the importance of increasing the active navy. To the queen, on April 13th, he wrote : — '^
" If your Majesty will give present order for our proceeding to the sea, and send to the strengthening of this fleet here four more of 3'our Majesty's good ships, and those 16 sail of ships with their pinnaces which are preparing in London, then shall your Majesty stand assured, with God's assistance, that if the fleet come out of Lisbon, as long as we have victual to live withal upon that coast, they shall be fought with. . . . God increase your most excellent Majesty's forces both by sea and land daily ; for this I surely think, there was never any force so strong as there is now ready or making ready against your Majesty."
Drake continued to press his opinion ^ that the Spaniards should be met and fought off their own shores. On April "iSth he again wrote to the queen: "These great preparations of the Spaniard may be speedily prevented as much as in your Majesty lieth, by sending your forces to encounter them somewhat far off, and more near their own coasts."
But the Channel was to be the scene of England's defence. This, however, was not the desire of the naval commanders. Writing to Burghley* on May 23rd, the Lord High Admiral related what had so far been done.
"Upon Tuesday Last," he says, "being tlie 21st of this instant, tlie wind serving exceedingly well, I cut sail at the Downs, assigning unto my Lord Henry Seymour
1 S. P. Dom. ccix. 40. Prom Plymouth. '■> lb., ccix. 112.
" lb., ccix. 89. From Plymouth. •• lb., ccx. 28. From Plymouth.
1588.] LACK OF Pit 0 VISIONS. 555
thoHc ships appointed to stay witli liim on tlie Narrow Seas; ami so partiii}; companies tlie same mornini; atliwart of Dover, and witli a pleasant gale all the way lonjc, came and arrived this day, being the 23rd, alumt eight of the clock in the morning, at this jKirt of Plynioutli, wlience Sir Francis Drake came fortli with sixty sail very well appointeil to meet with me; and so, casting about, he put witli mo into the haven again, where I mean to stay there two days to water our fleet, and afterwards, God willing, to take the opportunity of the first wind serving for tlie coast of Spain, with intention to lie on and off betwixt England and that coast to watch tlie coming of the Spanish forces."
When, on May 28th, Howard again wrote to Burghley ' the fleet was, contrary to the coniniander-in-chief's expectations, still at Plymouth.
"I have received a letter," he said, "from my man Burnell,- wliom I left to come after us with tlie ten ships with victuals. I perceive by his letter tliat the ships, and also the victuals, be nothing in that readiness that I looked tliey sliould be in, nor as Mr. Quarles' did promise me; for he clid ensure me that within seven or eight ilays at the lartliest they should be dispatclieil after my departure from tlie Court, which was the 14th of this month. Burneirs letter unto me bearetli date of the 20th, and signifieth unto me that Mr. Quarles and Mr. Peter told him that it would not be ready to depart in 12 or 14 days after; and besides that the ships were in no readiness that should bring it, and that there would be no mariners gotten for them. . . . We have here now but 18 days' victual, and there is none to be gotten in all this country; and what that is to go witli.al to sea, your Lordship may judge."
He had already learnt that the Anuada was to have sailed with the first fair wind; and, realising the danger of delay, expressed his intention of sailing, short of stores though he was, " for go we will, though we starve " ; seeing that he did not know whether the Spaniards were bound for England, Ireland, or Scotland. " I beheve surely," he added, " if the wind hcjld here but six days, they will knock at our door. If they do so, the fault is not ours ; for I hope we have lost not one hour nor minute of time, nor will suffer any after to be- lost." And in a second letter* of the same day he said: "There is here the gallantest company of captains, soldiers, and mariners that I think ever was seen in England. It were pity they shtiuld lack meat, when they are so desirous to spend their lives in her Majesty's service."
Walsyngham <in June 9th, at the queen's direction, wrote ^ to Howard, desiring him not to cruise, as he had intended, so far to
' S. P. Dom. ccx. 35.
- Francis Burnell, of Acton Burnell. lie was then captain of the Mary Hose, and later joined the Ark. From one branch of liis family are descended the Italian Actons, and Lord Acton ; from another. Captain .John Coke Burnell (1883), H.N.
■'' .James Quarles was B.aeshe's successor in the Victualling Department.
* S. P. Dom. ccx. 30. " Ih., ccxi. 8.
556 THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH ARMADA. [1588,
the southward as Bayona/ since the Spaniards, by taking a westerty course, might circumvent him and " shoot over to this reahu " during his absence. Howard received this command on June 14th, and was much embarrassed by it, Drake, Hawkyns, Frobiser, and, in fact, all the most experienced captains, being in favour of endeavouring to meet the Spaniards as near as possible to their own coasts, where, it was then the admiral's conviction, they intended to remain while the English wore themselves out and expended their supplies." Howard remonstrated vigorously.
" If," he said, " we had heen on their coast, tliey durst not have put off, to have left us on their hacks ; and wlien thej- shall come with the south-westerly wind, which must serve them if they go for Ireland or Scotland, though we he as high as Cape Clear, yet shall we not he able to go to them as long as the wind shall be westerly. And if we lie so high, then may the Spanish fleet bear with the coast of France, to come for the Isle of Wight ; which for my part, I think, if they come to England, they will attempt. Then are we clean out of the way of any service against them. But I must and will obey ; and am glad there be such there as are able to judge what is titter for us to do than we here."
On June 19th, Howard was still waiting at Plymouth for supplies.^ Nor had they reached him by June 22nd,* when he wrote : —
" If the_y come not, our extremity will be very great, for our victuals ended the loth of this month; and if that Mr. Darell'' had not very carefully provided us of 14 days" victuals, and again with four or five days' more, which now he hath provided, we had been in some great extremity. . . . Men have fallen sick, and by thousands fain to- be discharged, and others pressed in their stead."
At about that time the Lord High Admiral naturally became exceedingly anxious, and on June 22nd, being still at Plymouth, he w'rote to AVals3'ngham : "
" 1 am very sorry that her Majesty will not thoroughly awake in this perilous and most dangerous time. ... I put out on AVedaesday to the sea in hopes to have met with some of our victuallers, but on Friday we were put in again with a southerly wiuil. I hope now shortly we shall hear of our victuals, for the wind doth now serve them. I pray Goil all be well with them, for if any chance should come to them we should be in most miserable case. For the love of God let the Narrow Seas be well strengthened, and the ships victualled for some good time."
' " The isles of Bayona." Bayona is near the south point of Galicia, and numerous islands lie otf the coast to the northward of it.
- S. P. Dom. ccxi. 18. From on board the Ark in Plymouth Sound. S. P. Dom. ccxi. 26 (June 15th), also from the Ark in Plymouth Sound.
' Ih., ccxi. 37. Howard to Walsyngham.
■* Ih., ccxi. 45. Howard to the Council.
'• Marmaduke Darell, victualling agent for the navy. He was knighted in 1603.
« S. P. Dom. ccxi. 46.
1588.] NEWS OF TEE ARMADA. 557
He was, no doiilft, the more anxious in consequence of having heard, although he could hardly credit, that a squadron of nine great ships had heen sighted on June 13th hetvveen Ushant and the Scilly Isles by an English trading bark, and that other vessels had been chased, and even fired at, by the enemy .^
But at length a month's victuals arrived. Writing to the queen ^ on Sunday, June 28rd, Howard said : "On Saturday, late at night', they came to us. They were no sooner come, although it were night, but we went all to work to get in om- victuals, which I hope shall be done in 24 hours, for no man shall sleep nor eat till it be dispatched ; so that, God willing, we will be under sail to-morrow morning, being Monday, and the •24th of this present." On the same day he wrote to Walsyngham,^ at 12 p.m., " God wilhng, I will set sail within this three hours," and expressed his belief that the Armada was bound to the coast of France to pick up an army under the Duke of Guise.
The fact that Enghsh traders had been sighted, chased, and fired at by Spanish ships at the mouth of the Channel on Jime 13th, and two or three following days, was, as has been seen, scarcely credited at first by Howard. But the report undoubtedly created in time a very general impression, among himself and his subordinates, that the whole Armada was then close to England. We know now that the report was correct, but that the Spanish vessels were merely a few which, by the tempest of June 9th, had been driven from off Corunna, and that most of them retmrned thither before the final sailing of the Armada on Jrdy 12th. For some time after June 13th there was no further definite news of the whereabouts of the enemy ; and it was therefore generally concluded that the Spaniards had, for some unknown reason, put back. Upon that assmnption, Drake* and Thomas Fenner^ strongly counselled that the English fleet should proceed in a body to the coast of Spain.
The advice, however, did not find favour. The dispositions which were actually made are set forth in a letter, addressed by Howard to Walsyngham," on July (5th. The commander-in-chief had put to sea, probably on June 24th, for a cruise in the Channel, and had been subsequently informed Ijy a dispatch from Walsyng-
' S. P. Dom. ccxi. 47, 48. Tliei^e were some of the vesKi'k whicli liad been disiieiseil liy the Ktorin of June '.ith.
^ 76. ccxi. 50. From on board tlie ArJc, at I'lyiiiouth.
» lb., ccxi. 51. ' lb., cexii. it. .Tuly 4tli.
' lb., ccxii. 10. July 14th. « 76., ccxii. 18.
558 THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH APMADA. [1588.
ham that there was no danger of France assisting the Spaniards. After describing how he had looked for Spanish ships off the ScilUes, and failed to find them, he wrote : "I have divided myself here into three parts, and j'et we lie within sight one of another, so as, if any of us do discover the Spanish fleet, we give notice thereof presently the one to the other, and thereupon repair and assemble together. I myself do lie in the middle of the Channel, with the greatest force. Sir Francis Drake ' hath 20 ships and four or five pinnaces, which lie towards Ushant ; and Mr. Hawkyns,' with as many more, lieth towards Scilly." If the Armada were destined for England, he did not doubt of falling in with it ; if it were aimed at Scotland, he would follow it through the Narrow Seas. He did not believe that it was Ijound for Ireland. At the same period Lord Henry Seymour, with his flag in the Rainbow, commanded a detached force in the Downs, to watch Flushing, Dunquerque, and the Straits of Dover ; and two Netherlands fleets were under orders to co-operate.^
On July l'2th, the very day when the Armada quitted Corunna, Seymoiir wrote to Walsyngham,'' and, after recounting how the summer weather on his station had been unusuaUy bad, and ad- mitting that the gales were often favourable for the Spaniards, should they choose to come into the Channel, added : " Yet shall they be as greatly damaged by the raging seas as by their enemies. And to heap on braveries for conquering little England, that hath always been renowned, and now most famous by the great dis- covered strength, as well by sea as by land, the same also united with thousands [of] resolute civil minds — how can the same enter into my conceit they should any ways prevail?" Thus there was-
' Vice-Admiral.
- Rear- Admiral. For many generations afterwards it was customary to write of otherwise untitled tiag-officers in this way.
' A Netherlands contingent, of about 30 vessels, was under the supreme com- mand of Justinus van Nassau, Lieutenant- Admiral of Zeeland, a natural son of Prince William I. The other flag-officers of this squadron were Jan van Wassenaer, Lord of Warmond, Pieter van der Does, and Joos de Moor. This force watched the ports, and especially Dunquerque. Another Netherlands squadron, under Jan Gerhrandtszoon,. cruised off the northern coasts of the United Provinces. A squadron under Captain Cornelius Lonck van Eoozendaal seems to have been intended to join Howard's fleet ; but did not do so. — Jonge : ' Het Nederlaudsche Zeewezen,' i, 136, 137. Justinus van Nassau, with 40 sail, visited Dover in the middle of August. Seymour wrote to' Walsyngham, on August ITtli : " I find the man very wise, subtle, and cunning, and therefore do trust him." S. P. Dom. ecxv. 24.
* S. P. Dom. ccxii. 34.
1588.] THE A It MAD A LEAVES CORUNNA. 55&
an admirable spirit in his clixision. On July 1-Uli, Howard wrote to Walsyngham ' tliat he had four pinnaces looking out on the Spanish coast, and then, echoing Seymour, continued : " I know not what weather you have had there, but there was never any such summer seen here on the sea. God of His mercy keep us from sickness, for we fear that more than any hurt the Spaniards will do."
In the meantime, Howard, having found no Spaniards in the Channel, had cruised farther to the southward from July 8th to July 10th, and then, fearing lest the enemy might pass him un- sighted, had put about, and returned to Plymouth on July l'2th, to re-water and refresh his ships. '•' He seems to have been a little puzzled, for he wrote thence to Walsyngham,^ on July 17th: "I make all the haste I can possible out. . . . Seeing the advertise- ments * be no surer, I mean to keep the three great ships with me yet awhile, to see what will come of it. Some four or five ships have discharged their men ; for the sickness in some is very great, so that we are fain to discharge some ships to have their men to fm'nish the others." But, though perplexed and worried, he was in good spirits, and full of confidence. And, indeed, all in the fleet were in like mood. Thomas Fenner, for example, wrote to Walsyngham^ on July 17th: "There never happened the like opportunity to heat down the Spanisli pride, if it be etfectually followed."
The movements and fortunes of the Spaniards must now, for a time, be followed.
The weather at Corunna had for some days been stormy, when, on the evening of July 11th, it began to improve.* Medina Sidonia thereupon ordered his captains to lie at single anchor only ; and at midnight, the tiring of a gun from the flagship served as a signal to the fleet to weigh. At daylight, a second gmishot from the San Martin directed the ships to make all sail. The light south- west breeze was not sufficient to till the canvas, and between daybreak and '2 p.m. on July l'2th, tlu; Armada did not make three miles' progress, and, at the latter hour, had not rounded Cape Priorino. It then fell quite calm ; but after a short time the wind got up again a little, and the coast was slowly left behind.
' S. P. Dom. ccxii. 42. ■' CotUm MS. Julius, F. .\. 111-117.
^ S. P. Dom. ccxii. fiO. * I.e. reportK conceraing the enemy.
' S. P. Dom. ccxii. 62. From on lioard the NonparfiL * Duro, tloc. 15-t.
-360 THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH AP3IADA. [1588.
All went well until July 17th, when the x^'mada encountered a violent storm.' The Spanish seamen declared that, at a corre- sponding time of jear, they had never witnessed such a heavy sea as was soon aroused. The 18th was clear and sunny, with light winds. Forty ships were found to be missing ; and Medina Sidonia sent forward a dispatch-vessel in the direction of the Lizard, in order to look for them. The gale, however, had done little damage to the vessels which were still in company. A detailed list of the entire Armada, as of the fleet opposed to it, will be found in an appendix at the close of this chapter.
At Lisbon - the Spanish fleet had consisted of 130 sail,^ made up of 65 galleons ; 2.5 iDxas or hulks, of from 300 to 700 tons ; 19 pataches or dispatch-vessels, of from 70 to 100 tons ; 13 zabras ; ' 4 galleasses ; ^ and 4 galleys ; with 2431 guns, and an aggi'egate burthen of 57,868 tons, and carrying officers, seamen, and troops to the number of 30,656,^ besides volunteers, servants, priests, and other civilians. The supplies for this huge expedition included 110,000 quintals'^ of biscuit, 11,117 mayors' of wine, 6000 quintals of pork, 8000 quintals of cheese, 6000 quintals of fish, 4000 quintals of rice, 6000 fanegas ^ of beans and peas, 10,000 arrobas " of oil, 21,000 arrobas of vinegar, and 11,000 pipes of water. There were stores of sheet lead and leather for the repair of shot-holes ; 21 field- pieces, with 40 mules to draw them, and 3500 shot for them ; and, as extra ordnance supplies, 7000 arquebusses, 1000 muskets, 10,000 pikes, 1000 spears, 6000 half-pikes, with spades, axes, shovels, baskets, etc., etc., for work ashore.'"
Nine days after the departure from Corunna, that is, on July 20th, the Armada was but nine craft short of its Lisbon strength ; and of the missing vessels, two had never got as far as Corunna ; so that the dispersion occasioned by the gale of the 17th may have been quickly repaired, although the Armada, since leaving Lisbon, had possibly been reinforced, and, probably, had not been rejoined by all the ships separated from it outside Corunna on the night of
' Duro, docs. 159, 168. - On April 2'Jth : Duro, doc. 110.
^ In addition to twenty small cai-avels and feluccas: Duro, docs. 109, 110. ■* G.alleasses were very large galleys.
'' This, the paper strength, no doubt exceeded the real force : Duro, doc. 113. The estimated strength at Corunna was only 22,500 all told.
^ 1 quintal is 101 "4 lbs. ' 1 mayor is 56-2 gals.
' 1 fanega is 1 • 5 bushels. ° 1 arroba is 3 • 5 gals.
1° Duro, doc. 109.
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1588.] ENGLISH V. SPANISH ABMAMENTS. 5G1
June Utli. Of (J'i ships " of the first chxss," 5'J, avera<,'ii)g 7'2G tons and 26 guns, were still with the fleet.
Captain Duro,' and Professor Laughton - following him, seem to be of opinion that, upon the whole, the Spanish vessels were much more hghtly armed than their enemies. Dr. W. F. Tilton is some- what opposed to this conclusion. Of the guns. Professor Laughton says: "As a rule they were small — four, six, or nine pounders: they were comparatively few, and they were very badly workcnl." Dr. Tilton'' imagines that he can trace the origin of this assertion to the fact that, on July 26th, the day after the fight off the Isle of Wight, Medina Sidonia sent to Parma a request for shot of four, six, and ten pounds. A list, dated May 4th, ^ shows that the Spanish fleet had 1497 bronze guns ^ of all calibres, including many "cannon," i.e., ships' guns of the largest size then employed. Besides them there were 934 iron pieces of all sorts. " For these 2431 weapons," says Dr. Tilton, "there were only 123,790 shot supplied — an average of about 50 shot per gun. It is almost certain that for the lighter pieces the supply was larger than for the greater ; but, supposing that the allowance was the same for all, the quicker running short of the small shot becomes only the more natural " ; and Medina Sidonia's request ought not to be tortured into an implication that he had very few guns bigger than nine or ten-pounders. Dr. Tilton, moreover, points out that Professor Laughton bases at least part of his conclusions upon a statement of force di-awn up on July 9th (N.S.), 1.587,'^ and that he appears to ignore that, as late as March 4th, 1.588, Philip ordered the arma- ment of the Armada to be strengthened.'
It is, however, probable that the thirty-four ships of the English Royal Navj', which were engaged, had a slight superiority of arma- ment over any thirty-four vessels belonging to the Armada ; and it is quite certain, not only that the Spanish gunnery was very inferior, but also that the Spanish practice of making portholes so small as barely to admit the muzzles of the guns mounted behind them, prevented many giins, which might otherwise have rendered excel- lent service, from being effectively employed. On the other hand,
' Duro, p. 7(i.
' hitroii. to 'S. P. relating of tlie Span. Aniiada,' xliv.
' 'Die Katiititroiilie lier Spanisclien Armaila': Frcilmrf;, i. B., 1894.
* Duro, i\w. 110, [1. 83.
' Nearly all the larger guns of the time were bronze or brass.
« Duro, doc. 3',», p. 300. ' lb., iloc. GG.
VOL. I. 2 O
562 THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH ABMADA. [1588.
there is plenty of testimony that, besides their thirty-four best ships, the Spaniards possessed many vessels which must be regarded as having serious fighting importance ; while the testimony is equallj' strong that, beyond the thirty-four vessels belonging to the queen, Howard commanded very few that could serve a much better purpose than, as Wj'nter put it, " to make a show."^ The superior handiness of the English ships, and the superior seamanship of the English officers and men, are undoubted. The largest Spanish ships were but little bigger than the largest English ; and their relatively greater height above the water, although it gave their crews an advantage when boarding or repelling boarding was attempted, was a soui'ce of weakness which ought not to be lost sight of. Their excessively lofty poops and forecastles rendered them very leewardly, and caused them to present magnificent targets to the English gunners.
On July 19th, the Armada, with a favourable wind from the westward, pm'sued its course." On that day the dispatch-vessel, which had been sent in the direction of the Lizard to search for the missing vessels, rejoined the fleet with the intelligence that they were ahead, under Don Pedro de A^aldes, and that he was keeping them together and awaiting the main body.
By the English this detached portion of the Spanish fleet was sighted off the Lizard. The discoverer of them was Captain Thomas Flemyng, of the Golden Hind, a vessel which had been apparently placed on scouting duty by Howard himself. Flemyng was not, as has often been asserted, a pirate, but an honest man, and a con- nection of the Hawkyns family. He reported, or at least conveyed the impression, that he had seen as many as fifty ships in company, and he reached Plymouth on the 19th.
On the afternoon of that day almost the whole of the Ajrmada was once more with the flag,^ the four galleys and one other vessel only being missing ; and the invaders, as a whole, had their first sight * of the English coast. Upon an annoiincement to this effect being made to him, Medina Sidonia hoisted at the fore a flag bearing a crucifix and the figin-es of Om- Lady and St. Mary INIagdalene ; and fired three guns as a signal for general prayer
' S. P. Dom. cc.'civ. 7. Wynter tu Walsyngluim, August 1st, luSS, from the Vanguard.
" Duro, docs. 165, 159. ^ lb., doc. 1G5.
■* At i P.M. : Duro, doc. 159.
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1568.]
HAILINO OF THE ENOLL'ill FLEET.
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and thanksgiving.' On the morning of the 20th, the coast was seen to be studded with signal fires." That day a council of war was held, and it was decided to make for the entrance of Plymouth Sound, and, if circumstances favoured, to endeavour to attack the English fleet at its anchorage.^ Bxit the ]'higlish were not to be caught napping.
As soon as Flemyng had reported, althougli tlie wind was very
TIIK UE.^tONS IX KKNT. lAS'ARRAXGED IN ANTICIPATIOS OP THE SPANISH DESCF.ST, 1588.
(^Frinn * Lumhard'n Pi nithhithitiini ttf Knit.'')
scant, Howard * warped out of harbour ; * but on Saturday, July '20th, he found himself impeded by a south-west breeze.
"Alioiit three of the clock in the afternoon," he writeK, [we] "iles^cried the Siiaiiish fleet, iiiid dill what we covdd to work for the wind, which by this morning" (July lilst) "we liad reeovereil, descryin'; their fleet to consist of 120 nnil," whereof there are four
' Duro, doc. 15!t.
* //>., doc. IGo. The arraiit;enient of the beacons in Kent is sliowii in the map. There was a sinular arrangement in each of the other soutliern counties.
' lb., iloc. IS"). It is (liflicult to understand how the instructions juslitie<l any sucli scheme.
* S. P. Dom. ccxii. SO. To Walsynghani, .Tuly lilst.
■'' With fifty-four sail. Cott. MS. Juhus, K. x. 111-117. About forty sail did not get out until later.
" John Popham, writing to Walsynghani from Willington on July 22nd, says .me iiumircd and si.\ty-two sail : S. P. Dom. ccxiii. 1.
564 THE CAMPAIGN OF TEE SPANISH ARMADA. [1588.
galleasses, and many sliips of great burthen. At nine of the clock we gave them fight, which continued until one. In this fight we made some of them to bear room' to stop their leaks ; notwithstanding we durst not adventure to put in among them, their fleet being so strong.^ . . . The captains in her Majesty's ships have behaved themselves most bravely and like men. . . . For the love of God and our country let us have with some speed some great shot sent us of all bigness[es] : for this service will continue long : and some powder with it."
Drake, ^ b}' Howard's orderfs, at once wrote to Seymour and Wynter, who were detached to the eastward, to apprise them of
what had occurred, and to warn them to be in readiness for the enemj' when he should reach their neighbourhood. Writing on the '2'2nd,'' apparently to the Earl of Sussex, Howard iirgently asked for reinforcements, and added in a A SHIP OF THK AHMADA, 1588. postscript : " Thc shlps j'ou send
{Frvm ihr iiuii^' tif Lonh-" Tapr.itrU'".) shall find me east-nortb-cast, fol-
lowing the Spanish fleet. Since the making up of my letter there is a galleass ^ of the enemy's taken with 450 men in her ; and yesterday I spoiled one of their greatest ships," that they were fain to forsake her."
An account of this first action of July 21st, is thus given in "A Belation of Proceedings,"' the document already mentioned as having been drawn up under Howard's direction : — *
" The next moraing, being Sunday, the 21st of July, 1588, all the English ships that were then come out of Plymouth had recovered the wind of the Spaniards two leagues to the westward of Eddystone ; and about 9 of the clock in the morning the Lord Admiral sent his pinnace, named the Disdain, to give the Duke of Medina defiance," and afterwards in the Ark bare up with the admiral of the Spaniards wherein the didje was supposed to be, and fought witli lier luitil she was rescued by
' I.e. bear away.
- Tlie English fleet was, of course, on this and several following days, without Lord Heurj' Se3'mour's division.
^ S. P. Dom. ccxii. 81i.
* Cott. MS. Otho. E. ix. 1856.
^ That of Don Pedro de A'aldes, the N. S. del liosario, elsewhere called a galleon and a gaUega.
' The San Salvador, of the squadron of Guipiizcoa.
' Cotton MS. Julius F. x. lll-llV.
' See Professor Laughton's note in Append. H to ' Papers relating to the Def. of the Sp. Armada,' ii. 388.
" Bp. Carleton, in his 'Thankful llenieniliranc'e,' says: "To denounce the Battell by shooting ofl;' some Pceces " ; but wrongly gives the name of the pinnace as Defiance.
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1588.] THE VIRUT BATTLE. 06o
divers ships of tlie SiKUiish army. In the lueantiiiic Sir Francis Drake, Sir .John Hawkyns, and Sir Martin Krobiscr I'ouglit witli tlie j^alleou of Portugal, wherein Joliu Martinez ile iiecalde, vice-admiral, was supposed to be. The tight was so well main- tained lor the time tliat the enemy was constrained to give way and to bear up room to the ea&tward, in which bearing up, a great galleon," wherein Don Pe<lro de Valdes was captain, became foul of another ship, which spoileil and bare overboard his foremast and bowsjirit, whereby he couW not keep company with their fleet, but being with great dislionour left behind by the duke, fell into our hands."'' There was also, at that instant, a great Biscayan,'' of 800 tons or thereabouts, that, by tiring of a barrel of gunpowder, had her decks blown up, her stern blown out, and her steerage spoiled. This ship was for this night carried amongst tlie fleet by the galleasses.
"This tight continued not above two hours; for the lord admiral, considering there were forty sail of his fleet as yet to come from Plymouth, thought good to stay their coming before he would hazard the rest too far, and therefore set out a flag of council, where his lordship's considerate advice was much liked of, and order delivered unto each captain how to pursue the fleet of Spain ; and so, dismissing each man to £!o aboard his own ship, his lordship apiHijiitcd Sir Francis Drake to set the watdi tliat night.
"That night the Spanish fleet bare alongst by the Start, and the next day, in the morning,* they were as far to leeward as the Berry. Our own fleet, being disapiK)inted of their light, by reason that Sir Francis Drake left tlie watch to ]iursue certain hulks which were descried very late in the evening, lingered behind, not knowing wliom to follow; only his lordship, with the Bear and the Mary Jiuse in his company, some- what in his stem, pursued the enemy all night within culverin shot; his own fleet being as far behind as, the next moniing, the nearest might scarce be seen half-mast high, and very many out of sight, which with a good sail recovered not his lordship the next day before it was very late in the evening. This ilay Sir Francis Drake, with the Revenge, the Iloehack, and a small bark or two' in his comjiany, took Don Pedro de Valdes, which'' was sjioiled of his mast the day before; and having taken out Don Pedro' and certain other gentlemen, sent away the same ship and coiiiiiany to Dart- mouth, under the conduction of the Roebuck, and himself bare with the lord admiral, and recovered his lordship that night, being Jlonday."
"This Monday, being the 22nd of July, 1588, the Spanianls abandoned the shiji" that the day before was spoiled by fire, to the which his lordship sent the Lord Thomas Howard and Sir Jolm Hawkyns, Ivtiight, who together, in a small skift" of the Victory s, went aboard her, where they saw a very jiitiful sight — the deck of the ship fallen down, the steerage broken, the stern blOwni out, and about fifty poor creatures
' The N. S. del Rosario.
» On July 22nd. See below.
' The San Salvador, of Guipi'izcoa, really of 958 tons.
' That day Howard wrote urgently for more ships, even if they were victualled only for two days.
'^ The Maryaret and Jolni of Lomloii, .Tolin Fisher, master, playeil an importimt part in the capture, having engaged \'aldes's ship long before Drake fell in with her. S. P. Dom. ccxiii. 8'J.
• Valdes's ship was the .V. S. del Rosario.
' Don Pedro de Valdes made the rest of tlie campaign in the Channel as Drake's guest. '
• Howard's immediate object was not so much to decisively defeat the Spmiards as to prevent them from landing. Cott. MSS. Otho. E. ix. 1856. He was still without Lord Henry Seymour.
• The San Salvador.
566 THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH ABM AD A. [1588.
burnt witli jiuwder iu most miserable sort. Tbe stink in the ship was so unsavoury and tlie sight within board so ugly, that the Lord Thomas Howard and Sir John Hawk-TO.': shortly departed and came unto the Lord High Admiral to inform his lordship in what case she was foimd ; whereupon his lordship took present order that a small bark named the Bark Flcmyng,^ whereui was Captain Thomas Flemyng, shovdd conduct her to some port in England which he could best recover, which was performed, and the said ship brought into AYeymouth the next da\\"'
The Spanish accounts of what happened after the two fleets had for the first time sighted one another, throw but Httle further hght upon the events of the '21st and 2'2nd.
On the night of July 20th, the Armada lay to," while Medina Sidonia sent Don Juan Gil, who knew EngHsh, to recoimoitre the land, and to ascertain how things went there. ^ At about the same time, an Enghsh craft from seaward approached the Armada to reconnoitre it,'' and was chased oft' in the direction of the land by Captain Ojeda, who, however, had to retire before he could come up with the Englishman. Towards 1 a.m. on the same night, Don Juan Gil retm-ned, bringing with him fom- English fishermen whom he had seized in their boat. They were taken on board the flagship, but commmiicated nothing of importance. At 2 a.m.^ the moon appeared, and by its hght the Spaniards perceived that the Enghsh were working to windward of them.
At daybreak on the 21st the wind blew from W.N.W.," and the Armada was a little to the westward of Plymouth. To the west- ward of them the Spaniards saw the English, to the number of about sixty sail,' besides eleven more, including three large ones, which were under the land. These last had not then the advantage of the wind, and bore about N.E. from the Armada; but they presently gained the wind and* joined the main body of the Enghsh fleet. While this manoeuvre was being performed, the manoeuvring division exchanged shots with the nearest Spanish vessel.
Perceiving the Enghsh fleet to be united to windward, the Spaniards prepared for action, and Medina Sidonia hoisted the royal standard at the fore, the pre-arranged signal for battle. The
' The Gohh-n Hind, here named after her owner.
" Dmo, doc. 185 ; S. P. Dom. ccxv. oG. " Duru, doc. 165, 168, 185.
* lb., docs. 168, 185. ' P. C. Calderon's account.
" Duro, doc. 165, p. 230. Calderou says W.
' Jb., docs. 168-170 ; and Calderon. Some of the documents given by Dm-o say 80. ' lb., docs. 185, p. 165. They seem to have worked round to seaward of the Spaniards, as shown in Adams's chart.
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1588.] liECALDE ADAiiDOSEl). 507
Amiadii was or(,'anise(l in three squadrons.' The van was under Don Alonso de Lejva, the main bod}' under Medina Sidonia himself, and the rear under Juan Martinez de Eecalde ; but it would appear tliat, in liis course up Channel, Medina Sidonia had Leyva's squadron on his left, and Recalde's squadron on his rif^ht ; and that the terms van and rear apphed rather to the relative ranks of the commanders of the squadrons than to the positions of the squadrons in the fleet. The Armada, there is little doubt, went at this time before the wind in the form of a huj^e crescent, of which the main l)ody constituted the centre and foremost portion, and the van and rear the wings. -
The Enghsh'' contented themselves witli a long-range fire upon the Spanish port (Leyva's) squadron, and, pressing across the rear of the crescent, hotly engaged Kecalde,'' who, continues Medina Sidonia in the report^ sent home by the hands of Don Baltasar de Zufiiga, —
"stood fast Mv\ alioile the assault of ttie enemy, althou(;li he saw tliat he was lieing left uiisupjjoiteil, [most of] the [other] shiiis of his rear<;nanl taking ret'iijie" in the main body of the Aniiada. The enemy assailed with heavy fiuntiie, but did not dose, and his vessel sutVei'cd mueh in her rigf^ini;, her forestay being cut, and her foremast liaving two large shot in it.' In the rear [of the squadron], supportmg Kecalde, were the Oran-Grin, with Don Diego Pimentel, and Don Diego Enriqriez, of Peru. The commander-in-chief's tlagship struck her foretojisail and let tiy the sheets ; and, condng to the wind, waited* for the rear squadron in order to convoy it into tlie main boily of the tleet. Seeing this, the enemy drew off, ami the Duke collected his force; but was unable to do more, because the enemy always liad the wmo, and the enemy's ships were so fast and handy that tlicre was nothing whicli could not be done with them. That day, in the evening, Don Pedro de Valdes ran foul of the ship Saiilii Catalina, of Ids division, losing his bowsprit and foresails, and withdrew into tlie main body of the fleet to repair damages. The Armada manceuvred until 4 p.m., to recover tlie wind of the enemy. At that hoiu-, on board [the flagshi])] of the vice-admiral of (Iquenilo's division, some powder-barrels took fire, and her two decks and poop were lilown up. In lier was the paymaster-general of the Armada,' with part of the king's t easure. The duke, seeing the vessel reuiaining behind, headed the flagship for her, and fired a gun as a signal that the fleet should do the same. He also ordered l)oats to
' Diuo, (liii-. His. See also doc. IGo, p. 2'iO, and doc. ISo, p. 370.
- See an interesting note in Tilton, pp. 50-52.
' Calderon says that they were in very fine order.
' The ships which engaged Kecalde were chiefly those of Drake.
' Duro, doc. 165.
" Both Calderon and Vanegas admit that some captains behaved disgracefully.
' Calderon says tliat otlier Spanish ships were damaged also. Duro, doc. 185, p. 377 (account of Captain Alonso Vanegas), says that three English ships attacked the commander-in-chief. Vanegas jiraises the manner in which the English guns were served.
" Juan de Iluerta : Duro, docs. 110, 171 ; or Juan dr Jucrta : Dviro, doc. 185.
508 THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH APxMADA. [1588.
1)6 sent to her assistance. The fire -was put out, and the enemy's tieet, wliicli had been standing tow.irds the ship,' stayed its course when it saw that the commander-in-chief approached her. The vessel, tlieretbre, was protected, and carried into the main body of the Armada.
" In the course of this casting about, the foremast of Don Pedro's ship - broke off near the deck, and fell upon the uiainyard. The duke turned to help her and to give her a hawser ; but, in spite of all efforts, wind and sea rendered this impossible, and she was left immanageable. This was in consequence of Diego Flores ^ having told the admiral that, as it was night, if he shortened sail, the Armada, being far ahead, would not see him; that by morning more than half the fleet would inevitably be missing; and that, looking to the proximity of the foe, the Armada must not be imperilled,— for it was certain that, if sail were shortened, the expedition would be brought to nothing. On the strength of this opinion, the duke directed Captain Ojeda to remain with four jiinuaces near Don Pedro's flagship. He also ordered the second flagship* of Don Pedro's squadron, the flagship ^ of Diego Flores, and a galleass, to be ready to tow her and take off her people ; but nothing of the sort was found practicable, owing to the heavy sea, the darkness, and the state of the weather.^ As for the duke, proceeding on his course, he rejoined the fleet, and took pains to draw it together for whatsoever might happen on the day following.
" On Monday, July 22nd, the duke ordered Don Alonso de Ley va to carry over his van to the rear, and so make one squadron of van and rear ; and directed the combined divisions, with three galleasses," and the galleons San Mateo, San Luis, Florencia and Santiago — being in all forty-three of the best vessels of the Armada — to turn upon the enemy, so as to avoid all hinderance of the junction with the Duke of Parma. As the duke, with the rest of the Armada, foniied the van, the whole fleet was now divided into but two squadrons, Don Alonso de Leyva having command of the rear, and the didie himself taking charge of the van.
" The latter summoned all the sergeants-m.ijor, and ordered them to go in a pinnace and pass through the fleet in a prescribed order ; and directed each of them in writing to put every ship in his assigned station, and, without delay, to hang * the captain of any ship which shoidd leave her station and not keep order. ... At eleven this same tlay the captain (_if the Almiranta^ of Oquendo advised the duke that his ship was in a. sinking condition ; and the duke ordered the king's treasure and her people to be removed, and the vessel scuttled. On the same day, in the evening, the duke dispatched the ensign-bearer, Juan Gil, in a piimace, to the Duke of Parma, to advise him of the position of the Armada."
Such was the first battle" of the campaign. Howard gained a success, but not an important one. He had, however, made
' "At about 2 I'.ii." : Duro, doc. 185, aiul Calderon. But it must have been later.
" Which collided with two other vessels. She was the N. S. del Hosario.
'■' He was Medina Sidonia's official adviser as to seamanship.
■* The San Francisco.
■'' The San Cristobal.
" Valdes, writing to the king, said nothing of any efforts to aid him. Calderon and A'anegas sa)' that when a boat was sent to him, he refused to quit his ship. Valdes ♦loes not even mention this.
' The fourth was in the van.
" This was no mere threat. Duro, doc. 184, \\ 310.
" I.e. flagship of the second in command ol' Oqueudo's division. She was the San Salvador; and if her scuttling was ever attemjited, it was unsuccessful. '" It was visible from Plymouth. S. P. Dom. ccxii. 81.
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impoi-tant iliscoveiics. He had found by experience that his ships wei"e faster and handier, and that his gunnery was much better, than the Spaniards'; and he had seen some of the Spanish captains disgrace themselves by their abandonment of liecalde. The day was, upon the whole, a veiy encouraging one for England, and it was correspondingly discouraging for Spain, although neither in his report, nor in his letter to Panna, does Medina Sidonia hint at anything of the kind. Others did not conceal the truth. " The desertion of the ship which had blown up," wrote Vanegas, " and the loss of Don Pedro de Valdes, shook the spirits of the people. From that time forward there was no real heart in them."' " These misfortunes," wrote another Spaniard," " presaged our failure. The evil omen depressed the whole Armada."
The Spaniards continued on their course up Channel.
"The niglit of Monday, .Inly 22iul," says 'A Kehitioii of rroceeiliiiss,"^ "fell very (.aim, and the lour galleasses* singled themselves out from their fleet, wliereujion some «loulit was had lest in the night they might have distressed some of our small shiiis ■whioh were short of our fleet, but their comage failed them,'' for they attempted nothing.
" The next morning, being Tuesday, the 23rd of July, 15H8, the wind sprang uji at uorth-east, and then the Spaniards had the wind of the English army, which stood in to the nortii-westward, towards the shore. So did the Spaniards also. But that course was not good for the English army to recover the wind ;of the Spaniards," and therefore they cast about to the eastwards, whereupon the Spaniards bare room, olVering [to] lx>ard our ships. Ui)on which coming room there grew a great tight." The English ships stood fast and abode their coming, and the enemy seeing us to abide them, and •livers of our shiiis to stay for thera, as the Ark, the Nonpareil, the Elizabeth Jonas, the Victory, etc., and divers other shiiis, they were content to fall astern of the Nonpareil, which was the sternmost ship.
"hi the meantime, the 'J'riumpli, with five shii)S, viz., the Merchant It'ii/al," the Centurion,^' the Maryarel and Johii,^ the MarTj Jlose,^" and the Golden Linn," were so far to leeward and separated from our fleet, that the galleasses took courage and bare room witli them, and assaulted them sharply. But tliey were very well resisted by those ships for the space of an hour and a half. At length certain of her majesty's ships bare with them, and then the galleasses forsook them. The wind then shifted to the south-eastward, and so to S.S.W., at what time a troop of her majesty's ships and sundry merchants assailed the Spanish fleet so shar])ly to the westward that they were
' Duro, doc. 18.^. ■ lb., doc. 171.
= Cotton MS. Julius, F. x. 111-117.
' In Duro, doc. 185, is the story of this Irttlc scheme and its failure. ■■' Vanegas also says this. Duro, doc. 185, p. 382. Others attribute the failure to the wind.
" Probabl)' because of the nearness of the slioro ' This action was fought ofl' Portland. " Merchantman under Drake's command. ■' Ships equipjied by the City of London. '" Francis Burnell's victualler, not II. M.S. of the name.
570 THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH ARMADA. [158S.
all forced to give way and to liear room; which his lordship jjerceiviiis;, together with the distress that the Triumph and tlie five merchant ships in her company were in, called unto certain of her majesty's ships then near at hand and charged them straitly to follow him, and to set freshly upon the Spanianls, and to go withm musket-shot of the enemy before they should discharge any one piece of ordnance, thereby to succour the Triumph ; which was very well performed by the Ark, the Elizabeth Jonas, the Galleon of Leicester,^ the Golden Lion, the Victory, the Mary Pose, the Dreadnour/hf, and the Swallow; for so they went in order into the fight. "Which the Duke of Medina perceiving, came out with sixteen of his best galleons to impeach his lordsliip and to stop him of assisting of the Triumph. At which assault, after wonderful sharp conflict, the Spaniards were forced to give way, and to flock together like sheep. In this conflict one William ("oxe, captain of a small pinnae* of Sir William Wynter's, named the Deliijht, showed himself most valiant in the face of his enemies at the hottest of the encomiter, [who] afterwards lost his life with a great shot. Towards the evening some four or five ships of the Spanish fleet edged out of the south-westwards, where some other of our ships met them, amongst which [the] Mayflower, of London, discharged some pieces at them very valiantly, whicli ship and company at sundry other times behaved themselves stout I \-.
"This figlit was very nobh' continued- from morning until evening, the lord admiral being always [in]^the hottest of the encounter; and it may well be said that fur the time there was never seen a more terrible value of great shot, nor more hot fight than this was ; for although the musketeers and harquebusiers of crock ' were then infinite, yet could they not be discerned nor heard, for that the great ordnance came so thick that a man would have judged it to have been a hot skirmish of small shot, being all the fight long within half musket-shot of the enemv.
" This great fight being ended, the next day, being ^^'ednesday, the 24th of July, 1588, there was little done, for that in the fights on Sunday and Tuesday much of our munition had been spent; and therefore the lord admiral sent direct barks and pinnaces unto the shore for a new supply of such provisions.
"This day the lord admiral divided his fleet' into four squadrons, whereof he appointed the first to attend liiraself ; the second his lordship committed to the charge of Sir Francis Drake; the third to Sir John Hawkyns, and the fourth to Sir Martin Frobiser. This afternoon his lordship gave order that, in the night, six merchant ships out of every squadron should set upon the Spanish fleet in sundry places, at one instant in the night time, to keep the enemy waking; but all that night fell out to lie so calm that nothing could be done."
Medina Sidoniti's relation* of events of the two days is as follows : —
"On Tuesilay, July 23rd, tlie day broke fine, and the enemy's fleet, being to leeward, was standing in towards the land, endeavouring to the best of its ability to recover the wind. The duke also tacked towards the land in order to keep \\\e wind, the galleasses going with him in the van, and the rest of the fleet following. The
' With the exception of this vessel, which was a merchantman of Drake'.s squadron, all the relieving ships belonged to the Royal Navy.
- Vanegas, Calderon and Manrique agree in saying that Medina Sidonia's ship fiicd one hundred and fitty rounds. She had several shot-holes in her hull below water.
' Some of the arquebusses of the time were fireil from a rest called a crock or crook.
* Miranda that ilay counted one hundred and twenty English sail. Duro, doc. ICll, p. 268. Bee, too, Duro, doc. 168, p. 258.
° Duro, doc. 165.
lo8S.] THE SECOND BATTLE. 571
enemy Beem<; our ailniiial staiidiiii; lowanls the lainl, and that lie cmilil nut in this manner re.u'ain the wind, i-ast alumt tn seaward; wliereuimn those iit' our sliijis that liad tlic wind of tlie enemy hore away lor Inni ami attacked luni. Captain liertendona ' very gallantly engageci the Knsrlisii admiral's ship, and would have hoardcl her, hut as he nenreil her she bore away and stood to seaward. In this action there also partici- pated the San Marcos, San Luis, San Mateo, llida, Oquendofs flagship, the Santa Ana], San FvUpe, San Juan <lr Sinilia, in which was Don Diego Tellez Enriquez, who had been in action with the foe since the morning, the galleoi\s Florencia, Santiaijo, San Juan of Diego I'Mores's squadron, in which was Don Diego Eiuiquez, son of the Viceroy of Peru, and the Vahna-ra^' of the Levant s(iua.lron, in which was the camp-master Don Alonso de Luzon. The galleasses of the vanguard being carried by the current almost within cidverin shot, the duke sent them directions that by oar and sail they should enileavour to close with the enemy, to which en<l lie also headed his flagship towards him. The galleasses threatened the sliips of their rear, which were engaged with some of our vessels that had closed with and were seeking to board them. These were the galleons !■ lortnria, in which was Ciaspar de Sosa;' the flagship of Ociuendo; the Biiforia,* in which was Garibay ; the Valmara, in which was Don Alonso de Luzon; and the galleon Juan Bautisfa, in which were Don .Juan Maldonado and Don Luis de JIacda ; but all to little piu-pose, for the enemy, seeing that we endeavoured to come to arm's length, liore away, avoiding our attack, thanks to the lightness of his vessels; and afterwards the English returnc<l with tide and wind in their favour, and engaged Juan Martinez de Hecalde, who was in the real-. Don Alonso de Leyva went to his aid, the admiral's flagship'^ being still in the hottest of the fight, occupied in supixirting those vessels which were in action, at a distance from lioth fleets, with the English rear. Captain Marolin [de Juan]" was ordered away in a boat to direct those ships which were nearest to him to att'ord assistance to Juan :^blrtinez de Hecalde, which they did; upon which the enemy relinquished Juan Martinez, and made for the flagship, which was on her way to reinforce the sliijis above spoken of; and the conmiander-in-chief, seeing the enemy's flagship in the van, turned towards her and lowered topsails. And the enemy's flagship and all the fleet passed him, flriug at him ship by ship, while he, on his side, flred his guns very well and ([uickly, so that lialf the enemy's fleet did not draw near, but fired at him from a ilistance. When the fury of the action lia<l worn itself out, there came to the support of the conimander-iu-chief Juan Martinez de liecalde, Don Alonso de Leyva, the Marquis of Penafiel, who was in the San Maram, and Oquendo; whereupon the foe bore away and stood out to sea, their aibniral shortening sail, liaving, as it seemed to us, sustained some damage, ami re-assembling those of his vessels which had been engaged with our van. In this action, which endured for more than three hours, the galleon Florencia was one of the fnreiiiost vessels, and was in close light with the enemy.
"On Wednesday, July 24tli, Juan Martinez de Hecalde once more took command of the rear,' Don Alonso de Leyva remaining with him, and they dividing between them the forty or more ships belonging to it. The enemy approached our rear and attacked
' Of the Itegazona, flagship of the Levant contingent.
* Trinidad Valencera.
' Commanding a body of three thousand Portuguese trooi*.
' N. S. de Begoiia, of the squadron of Diego Elores.
' The San Martin.
" One of the duke's statY in the San Martin.
' Laughton thinks that at about this time he shifted from his original flagship, the .SaHte Ana, which as early as the iilst had been badly damaged, to the San Juan. 1LS60, n.
572 TJIE CAMPAIGN OF TEE SPANISH ARMADA. [1588.
the admiral.' The galleasses fired their stem guns, as also did Juan Martinez and Don Alonso de Leyva and the other ships of the squadron, without quitting station. Thus the enemy drew oft' without any success, the galleasses having damaged their adndral's rigging,- and brought down his main-yard."
The fight off Portland was even more indecisive than the fight off Plymouth. Neither side lost a ship, neither side gained any tactical or strategical advantage. But Medina Sidonia had been betrayed into contravening his instructions by seeking an action.
"The next morning," continues 'A Kelatiou of Proceedings,'^ "being the 25th of July, 1588, there ^vas a great galleon* of the Spaniards short of her company to the southwards. They of Sir John Hawkyns his squadron, being next, towed and recovered so near that the boats were beaten off with musket shot : whereupon three of the galleasses and an armado ^ issued out of the Spanish fleet, with whom the lord admiral, in the Ark, and the Lord Thomas Howard, in the Golden Limi, fought a long time, and much damaged them, that one of them was fain to be carried away upon the careen;'^ and another, by a shot from the ArTc, lost her lantern, which came swimming by ; .and the third his nose. There was many good shots made by the Arh and Lion at the galleasses in the sight of both armies, which looked on and could not approach, it being calm, for the Ark and the Lion did tow to the galleasses with their long boats. At length it began to blow a little gale, and the Spanish fleet edged up to succour their galleasses, and so rescued them and the galleon, after which time the galleasses were never seen in fight any more,'' so bad was their entertainment in this encounter. Then the fleets, drawing near one to another, began some fight, but it continued not long, saving that the Nonpareil and the Mary Pose struck their topsails, and lay awhile by the whole fleet of Spain very bravely, during which time the Triumjih, to the northward of the Spanish fleet, was so far to leeward * as, doubting that some of the Spanish army might weather her, she towed ott" with the help of sundry boats, and so recovered the wind." The Pear and the EUzaheth Jonas, IJerceiving her distress, bare with her for her rescue, and put themselves, through their hardiness, into like perils, but m.ade their jiarties good notwithstanding, until they had recovered the wind ; and so that day's fight ended, which was a very sharp fight for the time."'
' Ajiparently liecalde.
- Duro, docs. 166, 168, 185 ; ]\Ianrique to Philip. But there seems to be no English mention of this, or of the loss of the main-yard.
'' Cott. MS. Julius, F. X. 111-117.
* liecalde's flagship, the Santa Ana. She had been severely mauled on the 21st and 23rd. Kecalde probably shitted his flag from her on the 24th. After the rough handling whicli she received on the 25th, she parted companj- from tlie Armada during the night, and drifted to La Hogue, whence she went to Le Havre, where at length she became a complete wreck.
° An " annado," i.e. a galleon or large ship Ijelonging to an armada, of which armado is an Enghsh corruirtion.
" I.e. heeled over, probably in order to raise her shot holes above the water.
' Yet Medina Sidonia considered that the galleasses that day did very well.
" The wind, nowhere expressly given, must have been S. or S.S.W.
'•' Yanegas says that the way in which the Triumph was hauille<l was much adnnred by the Spaniards. Duro, doc. Ibo, p. 386.
'" It took place off the Isle of '\\'ight, anil, according to Mii'anda, lasted for about four hours. Duro, doc. 171, p. 268.
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"Now, foiasrauch as our powder ;\inl shut was well wasted, the lord ailiiiiral tliouglit it was not good in jiolicy to assail tlieiu any more until their coming near unto Dover, where he should find the army ' which he hail left under the conduction of the I^ird Henry Seymour, and Sir \\'illiain Wynter, knight, ready to join with his lordship, whereby our fleet should be much strenj;tbened ; ainl, in tlie mcaiitinie, lieller store of ammunition mitiht be provideil from the shore.
"On Friday, bcini; the 20th of July, loSM, his lordsldp, as well in reward of tlieir goo'd services in these former lijjhts, as also for the encouragement of the rest, called the Lord Thomas Howard, the Lord Shellield, Sir Roger Towiishend, Sir Martin FroI)iser, and Sir John Hawkyns,- .and gave them all the order of knighthood aboard tlie Ark. All this ilay, and Saturday, being the 27th of July, the Spaniards went always before the Englisli army like sheep, during which time the justices of jieace near the sea-coast, the Earl of Sussex, Sir George Carey, and the cajitains of the forts and castles along the coast, sent us men, powder, shot, victuals ,-11111 slii]is to aiil ami assist us."
The Spanish version of the same events, as ^iven in INIediiia Sidonia's relation,^ runs : —
"On Thursday [July 2.5th], the Feast of St. Domiiiii', the Santa Ana and a Portuguese galleon* were somewhat astern, and the enemy attacked them with great fury. The galleasses, the vessel of Don Alonso de Leyva, and other ships went to their assistance; and the galleasses did so well that they succeeded in I'escuing them, although surrounded by many of the enemy. While this fight was in progress in the rear, the enemy's admiral, with other large ships, attacked our flagship, approaching nearer than on the first day, and firing their large lower-deck guns." They severed the flagship's mainstay .and killed some soldiers. To the help of the flagship came the San Ltih (in which was the cainji-master Don Augustiii Jfexia, who checked the enemy), Juan Martineii de Recalde, and the San Juan of Diego Flores's squadron, in which was Don Diego Enriquez, together with Oquenda. These rangeil themselves for the protection of the flagship, though they were prevented by the currents from keeping together ; and other ships did the same. Thereupon the enemy retired. His admiral," being much damaged, drove a little to leeward of our fleet. Our flagship cast a boat towards her, as did Juan Martinez de Kecalde, the San Juan de Siciiia, the flagship of the galleons of Castille, the Gnni Oriii, and all the other ships of our Arma<la; while the enemy's ships recovered the wind, and guarded their flagship, which was so mauled in the action that she struck her standard and fired guns as signals of distress, and was at length toweil by eleven of the enemy's long boats. Our flagship, and the second in command, and the rest of the ships gained on her so much that the enemy drew close about her to support her, it appearing certain that we would that day succeed in boarding her, that being the only way to victory.' But at that moment the wind freshened in favour of the enemy's admiral, and she began to slip away from us,"
' J.t: armament. Sir George Beeston was also knighted that day. Drake was already a knight.
' Duro, doc. 165.
* Calderon also mentions a second vessel, though the English accounts say nothing about her.
' It may be that the weather had iireviously preventeil tliem from using these, the lower-deck ports of those days being but little raised above the water.
" Clearly not the Ar/c, liagsbip of Howard, but the Triumph, tiag.ship of Sir Jlartin Frobiser, commanding the fourth squadron.
' ' Solo el remedio de la victoria.' 11.237.
' Calderon says that she sailed so fast that two ships of the -Vrmada in pursuit of her, seemed to him to be, comparatively speaking, .anchored.
574 THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH ARMADA. [1568.
aiul to leave tlie boats which hail been towing her: ainl thereupon the enemy's fleet, which had jireviouHly fallen a little to leeward, recovered the wind. The duke, seeing that in the intended attack the advantage would ino longer be with us, and that we were near the Isle of AViglit, fired a gun and proceeded on his course, the rest of the Armada following in very good order, and the enemy remaining far astern.
" The same day the duke dispatched Captain Pedro de Leon to Dunquerque, to the Duke of Parma, to advise liim not only of the place where the duke was, but also of his success, as also that it was desirable that he should come out and join the fleet with as little delay as possible. The duke gave the charge of the squadron of Don Pedro de Valdes to Don Diego Enriquez, son of the viceroy, since he had noted him to be able and careful in matters belonging to the sea.
"Frida\', the 2Gth, broke calm, with the fleets in sight of one another.' The duke disjiatched a pinnace to the Duke of Parma, with Domingo Ochoa as pilot, to obtain from him4-lb., 6-lb., and 10-lb. shot, because much of Ids munition had been expended in the successive tights ; and begging him also to send as soon as possible forty fly-boats to join tlie Armada, so that with them we might close with the enemy, our ships beino very heavy in comparison with those of the enemy, and it being impossible, in conse- quence, to get at close quarters with thera. The pilot was also to inform the duke that it would be well for him to be I'eady to come out and join the Armada on the day when it should arrive in sight of Dunquerque. Thither the Duke of Medina Sidonia was proceeding cautiously, fearing lest Parma might not be there, seeing that Don liodrigo Tello had not returned, nor had any other messenger come thence. At sunset the wind got up, and the Armada pursued a course toward Calais.
" On Saturday, the 27th, at daybreak, the two fleets were very near one another, but did not fire. The Armada had a fair wind, and tha rear was close up and in excellent order. At ten o'clock we sighted that part of the coast of Prance near to Boulogne ; and jjroceeding towards Calais, we arrived oft' that place at four o'clock in the afternoon."
For the third time the fight was indecisive ; but, as before, the balance of advantage turned in favour of the Enghsh. The Santa Ana was obhged to leave the Armada, which she never again rejoined; and, by the admission of a Spanish eye-witness,^ the English inflicted more damage than they received.
Plymouth, Portland, and the Isle of Wight had previously been considered in England as likely places^ for an attempted landing by the Spaniards. It is curious that the first three battles of the campaign took place off those spots ; but the fact seems to be a mere chain of coincidences, and nothing more. Medina Sidonia certainly had no thought of landing, and made no attempt to land, at either Plymouth or Portland ; and although he had thought at one time of seizing the Isle of Wight, and, at another, of remaining near it until Parma should be ready to join him, he had before July 25th, surrendered both those ideas. That the fight of July '25th ever became heavy, and to some extent general, is far
' Several Spanish ships which drifted from the main body of the Armada had to be towed back to it by means of their boats. Duro, doc. It 5.
' Duro, doc. 171. ^ S. P. D. ccix. 49.
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more probably due to the laet that it was St. Dniuinic's Day, and that Medina Sidonia had specially devoted himself to that saint,' in whose honour the Armada had from early morning been dressed with ilags.
The official EngHsh story in ' A Kc^lation of Proceedings,'- is continued as follows : —
"On Saturiby [July 27tli], in the evening,' the SpaniKli Heet came near untu Calais on the coast of Plcardy, ami there smldenly came to an anclior over a<;ainst, betwixt Calais and Calais Cliffs; and our English Heet anrlKJied short ol' them, within culverin shot of the enemy.
"The Spaniards sent notice of tlieir arrival presently untu the Puke I'l' I'arma, hut, because there should be no time detracted to permit their forces to join, the lord ailmiral, the 28th of .July, 15H8, about luidiught, caused eight shijis* to be tired and let drive amongst the Spanish fleet ; whereupon they were forceil to slip or cut cables at half and to set sail. By reason of which fire the chief galleass'' came foul of anotlier ship's cable and brake her rudder, by means whereof he was forceil the next day to row ashore near the haven's mouth and town of Calais; whereupon the lord ailmiral sent his long boat, under the charge of Amyas Preston," gentleman, his lieutenant, and with liiin Mr. Thomas Gerard' and "Mr. [William] Harvey," together with other gentlemen, his lordship's followers and servants, who took her'' and had the spoil of her. There entered into her above one hundred Knglishmen. And for that she was aground and sewed'" two foot, and could not be gotten otT, they left her to Jlonsr. (iourdan, Captain of Calais, where she lieth sunk."
"Now that the Lord Henry Seymour ami Sir William Wyntcr were joined with us, our fleet was near about one hundred and forty sail,''' of ships, barks and pinnaces, etc. During the time that this galleass was iu taking by the lord admiral," Sir Francis
' Duro, doc. 171, J.. 281. ^ Cott. MS. .lulius, V. x. 111-117.
' Lord Henry Seymour and Sir ^Villiam AVynter joined the conuuandcr-in-chief that evening ofl' Calais at about 8 r.M. S. I*. Dom. cc.xiv. 7 ; ccxiv. 2.
■* While Howard was discussing this scheme with ^\'vnter, the Ark narrowly escaped being run down by the Bntr and three other ships. S. P. Dom. ccxiv. 7, Carleton says that the fireships were commanded by Yonge an<l Prowse.
' The San Lorenzo. She became a complete wreck.
* Wounded on this service ; commanded an expedition to the Spanish ^lain in ]5!)5; was captain of the Ark in the exiiediticm to Cadiz in 15tlG, when he was knighted.
" Probably created Baron (ierard in 100.3. If so, eldest son of Sir Gilbert Gerard, Master of the Bolls.
" Knighted at Cadiz in 159G : cajitain of the I'oiniventure in 1.5'.i7.
° Captain William Coxe, of the Deliijlit, was the first to board her. Ho seems to have been killed in the tight off Gravelines. S. P. Dom. ccxiv. 7.
'" "Sewed two foot," ij'., aground in water two feet too shallow to tloat her.
" Don Hugo de Monc.ada, connuanding the galleasses, was killed in this figlit. Gourdan drove the English away.
'- "There were but fifteen of these whicli bore the burden of the battle." Carleton: ' Thankful Remembrance.'
'■' Howard conunitted an error in wasting time over the stranded galleass; for Medina Sidonia ami Parma were so chise to one another, that it had become imjicrative to concentrate all efforts for a decisive victory over the Armada.
576 THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH ARMADA. [1588.
Drake, in the Itevcnge, acconii)aiiieil with i\Ir. Thomas Fenner in the Nonpareil, anil tlie rest of his squadron, set upon tlie fleet of Spain and scare them a sliarp figlit. And witliin sliort time Sir Jolin Hawkyus, in the Victory, accompanied with Mr. Edward Feuton, in the Mary Base, Sir George Beeston, in tlie Dreadnought, Mr. Richard Hawkyns, in the Sirallou; and the rest of the ships appointed to his squadron, bare with the midst of the Spanish army ; and there continued a hot assault all that ^ forem>on. Sir George Beeston behaved himself valiantly. This fight continued hotly ; ' and then came the lord admiral, the Lord Thomas Howard, the Lord Sheffield, near the place where the Victory had been before, where these noblemen did very valiantly. Astern of these was a . great galleon ^ assailed by the Earl of Cumberland and Mr. George Baymond,' in the Donaventure, most worthily ; and, being also beaten with the Lord Henry Seymour, in the llainhom, and Sir AVilliam Wynter,* in the Vanguard, yet she recovered into the fleet. Notwithstanding, that night she departed from the army and was sunk.
"After this, Mr. Edward Fenton, in the Mary Bose, and a galleon encountered eacli other, the one standing to the eastward and the other to the westward, so close as they could conveniently one pass by another, wherein the captain and company did very well. Sir Robert Southwell that day did worthily behave himself, as he had done many times before ; so did Mr. Robert Crosse,^ in the Hope, and most of the rest of the- captains and gentlemen. This day did the Lord Henry Seymour and Sir William Wynter so batter two of the greatest armados ° that they were constrained to seek the coast of Flanders, and were afterwards, being distressed and spoiled, taken by the Zeelanders and carried into Flushing. In this fight it is known that tliere came to their end sundry of the Spanish ships besides many others unknown to us."
The Spanish story' of the occurrences off Calais and GrayeUnes, as set forth in the relation of Medina Sidonia, is as follows : —
"There were divers opinions as to whether we should anchor there" (off Calais), " or sliould proceed further ; but the duke, learning from the pilots who were with him that if he went further the currents would force him out of the English Channel an<l into the North Sea, decided to anchor off" Calais, seven leagues from Dunquerque, whence the Duke of Parma might join him. At five o'clock, therefore, in the after- noon,' order was given for the whole fleet to anchor; and the duke sent Captain Heredia' to visit Monsieur de Gourdan, Governor of Calais, not only to advise him of the cause of our presence there, but also to assure him of our friendship and good intentions. This evening thirty-six ships joined the enemy, whereof five were large galleons. This was supposed to be the squadron which Juan Acles '" had had under
' July 29th, off Gravelines. The Spaniards were in half-moon formation, with the admiral and large ships in the centre, and the galleasses, Portuguese galleons, etc., to the number of about sixteen, on each wing. S. P. Dom. ccxv. 77 ; ccxiv. 7. But tlie exigencies of the fight seem to have quickly destroyed all formation.
^ Probably the Orau Grin.
' Lost captain of the Penelope, 1591.
* Wynter was wounded in the hip, by the overturning of a demi-cannon. S. P. Dom. ccxiv. 7.
* Knighted at Cadiz, 1596. * The San Felipe and San Mateo. ' Duro, doc. 165. ' Of July 27th.
' Pedro de Heredia, attached to the duke's staff in the San Martin. '" "Acles" was the Spanish name for Hawkyus. The supposition about the squadron was, as we know, incorrect.
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liis iliar^'e liel'ore l)iiiii|Uoi-<|iit'. 'I'liuy all aiiclmrtil abuut a Ica^uu IVoiii Dur Armaila. That night Caiitaiu Heieilia letiiincd from (.'alais, anil Baid that the governor juade ^reat offers of service on the part of his majesty, anil showed his <;<>od\vilI by offerinj; the same on his own part. 'I'hat night also the didie sent the secretary Arceo to the Duke of I'arma, to apprise him of the place where he then was, and of the fiict that he cc)\dil not wait there without imiierilliiijj the entire Armada.
"On Sunday, July 28tli, at dtiwn, ('a|itain Don Hodrigo Telln arrived, coming from Dunquerqiie. The duke (of Medina Sidonia) had sent him away on the llUh of tiie month, lie rcjHirtcd that tlie duke (of I'arma) was at IJruges, whither he had proceeded to him; and that, altliouifli he had shown great satisfaction at the news of tlie arrival of the Armivla, yet, on the evening of the 27th, when Telio had ipiitted Duiniuerque, the duke had not appeared there, and that neither men nor stores were being embarked.
"That day; in the morning, the Governor of Calais sent his nepliew, with a jiresent of refreshments, to visit the duke, and to inform lum that the neighbourliood wlicie iie had anchored was very dangerous to remain in, because the currents and couiitciscts of that channel were extremely strong. The duke, seeing the goodwill of the fiovenior nf Calais, sent the jiurvcyor-general, Bernabe de Tedroso, to buy victuals. VVitii liiui went the comptroller. That night likewise tlie duke sent Don Jorge JIanri(itie to the Duke of Parma to m-ge him to come out six^edily. On the Sunday night the secretary Arceo sent a man from Dunquerque to report that the Duke of Parma ha.l not arrived there, that the stores were not embarked, and that in Ids view it was inipossible tliat things could all be got ready in less than a fortnight.
"On Simday, at sunset, nine ships joined the enemy, and at their coming a r;qnadron of twenty-six ships moved nearer to the laml.' This caused us to susjiect that they had arrived with some intention of employing tire; wherefore the duke onlered Captain Serrano to go away in a pinnace, taking with him an anchor and cable, so that, if any tireship should be directed at us, he might tow her ashore. The duke also sent to warn all the ships to be on their guard, and, for that purpose, to have both men and boats ready. At midnight two fires were seen burning in the Englisli fleet. 'I'hese increased to eight ;^ and suddeidy eight sliips with sails set, and wind and tide beliind them, came direct towards our flagship and the rest of our fleet. All were burning fiercely. The duke seeing that, as they drew near, our men did not arrest them, and tearing lest they nuglit be explosion vessels, weighed, and ordered the rest of the Armada to do tlie same,'' designing, when the fire should have passed by, to return and take iqi the same station. The commander of the galleasses,^ wliile keeping clear of one ship, drilted on board the Sua Juan de .Sicilia, and so damaged herself that she had to remain close to the shore. 'I'he current was so strong, and drove our Armada in such a manner, that although the flagship and several of the vessels near her anchored again and fired a gun, the rest did not see them, and were carried as far as off Dunquerque.
" On Monday, the 29th, at daybreak, the <luke, perceiving that his fleet was very far off, and that the enemy was coming up under a jiress of sail, weiglicd U) collect his ships, and, with them, to recover station. The wind was N.W.,'' and strom;, blowing nearly straight on to the coast, and the enemy's fleet of one hundred and thirty-six
' The Knglish accounts have no mention of these movements.
- Of the fireships, which cost £5100, five were: the T/kiiiius [Did/,!], '100 toi;s; Bark Tiillinl, 200 tons; Hdt-k Jioud, 150 tons; Ilupe IJ/aivKi/im'], 180 tons; and Bear YiiiKje, 140 tons. S. P. Doin. ccxvi. 18, ii. 'I'he rest, among which was the EUzahcOi, of Lowestoft, were probably smaller.
' Many of the ships undou\)tedly cut or slipped tlieir cables, and so were unprepared to re-anchor later.
* I.e. his ship, the San Lorenzo.
'- Wynter says R.S.W., and later W.X.W. S. P. Doni. ccxiv. 7.
VOL. I. 2 p
578 THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH ABMADA. [I58H.
hliijis came mi so fast with both wind ami tide in its favour, tliat the dul^e, whu was in tlie rear, chose rather to save his Armada by awaiting the enemy's attack, tlian to bear away ; for bearing away would be destruction, seeing that, as the pilots assured liim, the Armada was already very near the shoals of Dunquerque. He therefore cast about to meet the enemy, and fired guns and dispatched pinnaces to order all tlie ships to ieep a close luft', unless they would drive amid the shoals of Dunquerqiie. The enemy's admiral, with the greater part of liis fleet, attacked our tlagship witli a heavy fire delivered within musket, and even within arquebuss, shot; and tliis went on without cessation from daj'break ; nor did the flagship bear away until our fleet was clear of the shoals. During tlie whole time, the galleon San Marcos, in whicli was tlie Marcpiis de Penafiel, remained by the admiral.
"The commander of the galleasses,' not being able to follow our fleet, made for Calais, and ran himself ashore near the entrance of the port, whither several of the enemy followed him. It is reported that the French in the fortress of Calais covered the galleass with the fire of their guns, and that her people reached the land.
"Don Alonso de Leyva and Juan Martinez de Kecalde, the flagship of Oquendo, all tlie ships of the camp-masters, Castillian as well as Portuguese, the flagship of Diego Flores, that of Bertendona, the galleon San Juan, of the squadron of Diego Flores, in which was Don Diego Enrique?.,^ and the San Juan de Sicilia, in which was Don Diego Tellez F.nriquez,' sustained the enemy's onset as stoutly as was possible; and in consequence all their vessels were very much mauled, and almost reduced to silence, tlie greater part of them being without shot for their guns. In the rear,'' Don Francisco de Toledo '' awaited the attack and endeavoured to grapple with the enemy, whose vessels engagetl him, an<l, by tlieir gunfire, brought liim to great extremity. Don Diego Pimentel '' went to his assistance, and botli were liard jiressed ; upon ■which Juan Martinez de liecalde, with Don Augustin Mexia, went to their help and rescue<l tliem from their difficulties. In spite of their experience, tliese vessels returned, and again attacked the enemy, as did Don Alonso de Luzon,' and the Santa Maria de Begona," in wliich was Garibay, and the San Juan de Sicilia, in which was Don Diego Tellez Enriquez. These drew near to the enemy's ships to board them, but failed to grapple with them, they using their great guns at very short range, and our men returning the fire with arqueliuss and musket."
"When the duke heard the arquebuss and musketry fire in the rear,'" but could not, owing to the smoke, see from the top what was the occasion of it, except tliat two sliijis of ours were surrounded by the enemy, and tliat the whole English fleet, having quitted our flagsliip, was engaging them, he ordered the flagship to cast about for their assistance, although she was badly mauled by great shot between wind and water, it not being possible to stop her leak, and although her rigging was much damaged. Yet when the enemy saw our flagship approaching, he left the ships which he was engaging, namely, the ships of Don Alonso de Luzon, of Garibay, of Don Francisco de Toledo, of Don Diego Pimentel, and of Don Diego Tellez Enriquez. The last three" of these liad been most closely and warmly occupied with tlie enemy, had all suft'ered great damage, and were unfit for service, all their people being killed or wounded ; '- and only tlie slii].
' III the Sail Lorenzo. - Son of the Viceroy of Peru.
■' Son of the Conimendator. * I.e. on the Spanish right wing.
'' In the San Felipe. " In the Sun Mafeo.
' In tiie Trinidad Valencera. " In the list, N. S. de Ber/oua.
^ Sliot and powder for their heavy guns were probably exhausted. Tliis was I'.M. Duvo, ii. docs. 261, 28-4, 390. '" I.e. the Spanish right wing.
" San Felipe, San Mateo, and San Juan de Sicilia. '2 /.(■. iirobably nearly all. Duro, doc. 168, p. 202.
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1588.] Tilt: FIGHT OFF GRAVELINES. 579
of Don Diego 'IVlIe/, Enrique/.,' in (ipitc of Ijcr iiijiiiies, niaiU- sliil't tu follow us. 'I'lie duke collected liis licet, ami the eiRMuy ilid the Kinie.
" The duke ordered boats to j;o to hrinf; away the jieople from the .S'a« Felipe an<l Sail Mateo; and hy this means all the iieople were taken out of the San Mateo, but Don Dicfio Pinientel ilecliiied to leave the ship, and sentilXm Uodrigo de Vivero and Don Luis Vanegas to the duke to licf; him to send some one tu see if it were not ]K)ssible to save her ; whercuiwn tlie duke sent a pilot and a diver from this itallcon,^ thousli there was much risk in sparing the latter ; yet in consequence of the lateness of the hour and of the sea being very heavy, they could not reach the San Mateo, and only saw iier at a distance, drifting towards Zeeland.^
"The galleon San FeHpe got alongsiile tlie hulk Bimnlln* into wliirh all her jieoplc had made their way, when Don Francisco, who was on board of lier, lieard a cry that the hulk was sinking. l'iK>n this, (_'aptain .1 nan Poza de Santiso leapt back into the San Felipe, as diii also Dun Francisco de Toledo,'' which was a great mishap, for the hulk was not indeed shiking; and Don Francisco was carried in the San Felipe towards Zeeland,'^ while the duke understood that he andjall his jieoplc were safe on board the hulk Doncella. 'I'he sea was so high that nothing more could be done; noi- could the damage done to the flagship by great shot be repaired, so that she ran risk of being lost."
"That day the duke had ilesircd tu turn un the enemy with the whole of the Armada, rather than leave the Channel, but the pilots told him that this was imiHissible, liecause with sea and wind setting upon the coast direct from the north-west, it was aVisolutely necessary eitlier to go into the North Sea or tu let the entire Armada drive un to the shoals. Thus, leaving tlie t'hannel was inevitable. Moreover, nearly all the best ships were unfit, and imablc to resist longer, firstly on account of the damage which they had receiveil," and secondly because they had no shot for their guns."
The battle off Gravelines was really the decisive action of the campaign. The direction of the wind, which put the Spaniards on a lee shore, was most favourable for the tactics which Howard had pursued from the beginning. His policy was to concentrate ships upon stragglers lying to leeward of him, and to cripple or cut them off. Howard, however, did not at once grasp the nature of his
' San Juan de Sieilia. ^ The flagship San Martin.
' She made a jioint between Sluis and Ostend, and on July 31st she was attackeil there by three men-of-war, and, after a two hours' tight, surrendered. Holland, hi. Borlas to Walsyngham. She .and the <S'a» J^V^jpc apjjear to have been taken by ships of North Holland, under (_'uunt .Justinus of Nassau, .assisted by a few English small craft. Kyllygrew to Walsyngham.
* "La urea Dnnrella."
" Preferring, if he nuist die, tu perish with liis uwn ship. Duro, doc. 1G8.
* The San Felipe drove ashore on .July ;>lst, Ix-tween Ostend and Nieuiwrt, whitlier the officers escajied. Both the aSV//( Felipe and the San Mateo were taken into Flushing.
' Vanegas says that she was struck one hundred times, but only mentions twelve soldiers as killed and twenty as wounded. Duro, doc. 185, ]). 392.
' The losses in men are put by A'anegas at six hundred killetl and eight hundied wounded. Duro, doc. 168, p. 263. Kich. Tomson, writing on July 30th, says: "Of flic one hundretl and twenty-four sail that they were in Calais Koad, we cannot now And by any account above eighty-six ships and pinnaces." S. P. Dom. ccxiii. 67. The English losses in men, apart IVuiu losses by sickness, do not apjicar to have exceeded sixty in the whole camjiaign. Fenner tu Walsyngham, S. P. Dum. ccxiv. 27.
2 p 2
580 THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH ARMADA. [1588.
success. " Their force," he wrote to Walsyngham, "is wonderfully great and strong ; and yet we pluck their feathers by little and little." ^ But that it should be more or less decisive was entirely in accordance with Howard's plans ; for he had deliberately deter- mined, if possible, to postpone a general engagement until after the junction with him of Seymour and Wynter. Drake was a little more clear-sighted. " God," he wrote to Walsyngham, " hath given us so good a day in forcing the enemy so far to leeward, as I hope in God the Prince of Parma and the Duke of Sidonia shall not shake hands this few days ; and whensoever they shall meet, I believe neither of them wull greatly rejoice of this day's service." - Neither Drake nor Howard can have known that many ships of the Armada had no cannon shot left;^ and both, no doiibt, overrated the amount of fight still left in the Spaniards. That Gravelines had destroyed the moral of the enemy did not become apparent until several days afterwards, when, making no attempt to return for Panua, and so abandoning its main object, the Armada was fairly on its hazardous course of saiive qui pent round Scotland.
On Tuesday, July 30th, Howard ordered Lord Henry Seymour* and Sir William AVynter to return to the Narrow Seas to guard the coasts there against any raids which might be attempted by Parma or others ; and with the main body of the fleet he followed the Spaniards, determining to pursue them "until they should come so far northward as the Frith in Scotland, if they should bend themselves that way."^ The squadrons parted company between seven and eight o'clock on the evening of Wednesday,* being then apparently on the line between Lowestoft and the Brielle ; but the fonnal resolution to chase as far northward as the latitude of the Frith of Forth was not come to until Thm-sday, August 1st,' when a council of war agreed to the project. Seymour's squadron thence- forward consisted of the Vanguard, Rainbow, Antelope, Bull, Tiger, Tremontana, Scout, Achates, Merlin, Sun, Cijgnet, George, and Captain William Borough's galley, besides merchant vessels.*
The decision to pursue as far as the Frith of Forth was not carried out, it becoming clear to Howard that the Spaniards had
' S. r. Doni. ccxiii. 64. .July •JOtli. - //). eoxiii. Co. July 29th.
' Wynter, however, suspected the truth.
* To the great disgust of Seymour, as expressed in his letters.
■■ Cott. MS. Julius, F. X. Ili-IIT. " S. P. Dom. ecxiv. 2, 7.
' B. M. Addit. MS. 33,740, f. 6. « S. V. Dom. ccxiv. 6.
1588.] TIIK a II A UK TO THE XOIiTIIWA£D. 58 1
no designs on Scotland, and were only endeavourincj to make the best of their way home round Scotland and Ireland.
"Wlien,"' saya'A. Kdiitiun uf I'lweeiliiigK,' ' "we were come into 55 tlcgrces ami 13 minutes to tlie uortliw.ard, :!0 leagues east of Newcastle, the lord admiral determined to light with them again on the Friilay, being the 2nd of August ; but by some advice and counsel his lordship stayed that determination, jiartly because we saw their course lUid meaning was only to get aw.ay that way to the northwanl to save themselves, and partly also for that many of our fleet were unprovided of victuals; for our supply, which her majesty had most carefully provided and caused to be in readiness, knew not where to seek us. Tt was therefore conclu<led tliat we should leave the Spanish fleet, and direct our course for the Fritli in Scotland, as well for the refreshing of our victuals as also for the j)crforming of some other business which the lord admiral thouglit convenient to be done; but the wind coming contrary — viz., westerly — the next day the lord admiral altered his course, and returned back again for Englaml with his whole army,- whereof some recovered the Downs, some Harwich,' and some Yarmoutli, almut the 7th of August, 1588."'
The Spanish account of what befell the Annada after Gravelines is here continued from the relation of Medina Sidonia : — *
"On Tuesday, July 30th, the eve of San Lorenzo, .at two o'clock in the morning, the wind freshened, so that our command, though it had remained in hoi>e of returning to the Channel, was driven towards the coast of Zeeland, in spite of the foct that it kept as close a hiff as possible. At break of day the N.W. wind was not so strong. The enemy's fleet of one hundred and nine sail was visible astern, little more than half a league distant. Our flagship remained in the rear with .Juan Martinez de Kecalde and Don Alonso de Leyva, and the galleasses, and the galleons ,Saii Marcos and San Juan, of the squadron of Diego Floi-es, the rest of our fleet being far to leeward. The enemy's ships stood towards our flagship, winch lay to ; tlie galleasses also awaited them, as did too the other ships in the rear; whereuixm the enemy brought to. The duke flred two guns to collect his Armada, and sent a pinnace with a pilot to order his ships to kecii a close luft', seeing that they were very near the banks of Zeelaud. For the same cause, the enemy remained aloof, understanding that the Armada must be lost ; for the pilots on board the flagship, men of exiierience on that coast, told the duke at the time that it would not be possible to save a single sldp of the Armada, ami that with the wind at N.W., as it was, every one must needs go on the banks of Zeeland, God alone being able to jirevent it. The fleet being in this danger, with no kind of way of escaiie, and in six and a-half fathoms of water, Go<l w.as jileascd to change the wind to W.S.W. ; and with it the fleet stood to the northward, without damage to any vessel, the duke having sent orders to every ship to follow the motions of the flagship, at peril of driving un the banks of Zeeland.
"That evening the duke summoned on board the generals and Don Ahinso de Leyva, to consider what was best to be done; ami having explained the state of the
• Cott. MS. Juhus, F. X. 111-117.
^ Except "certain pinnaces" ordered "to dog the lleet until they should be past the isles of Scotland."
" The following reached Harwich on August 8th: II7((7»- lUar, Vidory, Nonpareil, Hope, Siri/tsun; Furesiyht, Mood, ]nile Lion, and Dimliiiit, with twenty-six ships of London. S. P. Dom. ccxiv. 4(>.
■• Duro, .U)c. 105 (ii. 228).
582 TEE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH ARMADA. [1588.
Armada and the lack of shot— foi- which all the largest sliips had made demands — he ilesired them to s.ay whether it would lie best to turn back to the English Channel, or, seeing that the Duke of Parma -had not sent word that he would soon be able to come but, to return to Spain by the Xorth Sea. The council was unanimously of opinion that the Armada should return to the Channel, if the wind permitted ; but that, if not, it should, under the stress of weather, return by the North Sea to Spain, there being great lack of provisions in the fleet, and the vessels that had previously withstood the enemy being damaged and unfit for service. The wind, coming from S.S.W., continued to increase, and the duke stood to seaward, the enemy's fleet following him.'' '
"As to the fighting, and the turning to relieve and assist his ships, and the awaiting tlie attack of the enemy, the duke took counsel with the camp-master, Don Francisco lie Bobadilla, whom, on account of his many years' experience of war by land and sea, lie had ordered at Corunna to go on board the flagshij), and to quit the San Marcos of the same squadron. The Marijuis de Pehafiel, who also was in the San Marcos, had remained there, not desiring, by removing to the flagship, to, leave the gentlemen who were with him. On the question, however, of the conduct of the fleet, and of matters relating to the sea, the duke had the advice of the general Diego Flores, whom also he had caused to remove into the fiagshiji, he being one of the oldest and most experienced ofticers in sea affairs.
"On Wednesday, -July 31st,' the Armada jiursued its course with a strong wind from the S.W. and a high sea, the enemy's fleet continuing to follow it. In the evening the wind decreased, and the enemy, under all sail, closed with our rear; whereujion the duke, there being few ships in the rear with Juan Martinez de Eecalde, struck his topsails and lay to to wait for the rear, firing three guns for the main body also to lie to and wait for the rear and the flagship. Don Baltasar de Zuiiiga will report what our Armada did in consequence. But when the enemy perceived that our flagship had brought to, and that the galleasses of tlie rear and as many as twelve of our best ships had done likewise, their vessels also lirought to and shortened sail, without firing at us. 'i'hat night Juan Acles" turned back with his squadron.
" On Thursday, August 1st, we pursued our voyage with the same strong wind, the enemy's fleet keeping a long way oft'. In the evening, under all sail, it approached our Armada, and we counted the ships of Juan Acles' to be missing. Again tlie galleasses and our flagship lay to and waited for the enemy ; whereupon he also brought to, and did not come within gunshot.
"On Friday, August 2nd, at dawn, the enemy's fleet was close up with ours. Resing that we were in good order, and that our rear had been strengthened, it desisted, and turned back towards England, until we lost sight of it. After that time we had always the same wind, until we were out of the channel of the Sea of Norway, without having found it possible to return to the English Channel; although we desired to return until to-day, the 10th of August, when, having ]iassed the isles at the north of Scotland, we are sailing for Spain, with the wind at north-east."
The Armada passed between the Orkney Islands and the Shetlands, and, turning gradually southwards, skirted the Outer Hebrides, and the west coast of Ireland. The story of its mis-
' "The 30th, one of the enemy's great ships was espied to be in great distress by the captain" (Robert Crosse) "of her majesty's ship called the Hujie ; who, being in si)eech of yielding unto the said cajitain, before they could agree on certain conditions, sank presently before their eyes." S. P. Dom. ccxiv. 4li, i.
- It was not Hawkyns, but Seymour, who then returned.
' The ships, really, of Seymour.
i:)S8.] THE FLIGHT HOUND SCOTLAND. 083
loitunes, after Howard had given up the chase, scarcely belongs to English Naval History, and may be very briefly sunnnarised.
On August 11th, Medina Sidonia sent to Phili]) a dispatch ' in which he admitted ' that the undertaking had failed. "God," he wrote, " has seen good to direct matters otherwise than we expected." He went on to lay down the reasons which had prompted the decision to give up the expedition. His fleet was almost destroyed ; the best vessels had no ammunition ; the survivors had no confidence or spirit remaining. The (jueen's fleet, owing to its peculiar methods of fighting, had proved its superiority to his. The English strength lay in guimery and in seamanship. The Spanish strength, on the contx'ary, lay, un- fortunately, in small-arms and in fight at close quarters ; and as the Spaniards had been unable to get • to close quarters, this advantage had not availed them. Looking to all the circumstances, ^ledina Sidonia deemed that he would best serve Philip by endeavouring to save the fleet by taking the admittedly perilous course home round Scotland. Indeed, the wind, which had steadily blown from the southward, left him no option. Besides liis many wounded, he had three thousand sick among his people.
But the Annada had still the worst of its mishaps before it. In the course of the voyage round Scotland and Ireland, it lost by storm and shipwreck at least nineteen vessels," and probably several more ; for the exact fate of no fewer than thirty-five missing vessels of the great Spanish fleet remains to this day unknown. In addition to almost continuous bad weather, two exceptionally heavy storms were encountered. The galleass Girona went to pieces near Giant's Causeway, on a rock still called Spaniards' Rock, and carried down with her Don Alonso de Leyva, the Count of Paredes, and all her crew. The " urea " or hulk. El Gran Grifon, which belonged to Rostock, was lost on Fair Island, where Juan Gomes de Medina, admiral of the hulks, remained with his men during the whole winter. The Bata Coronada, or, to give her her full name, La Rata Santa Maria Encoronada,^ went ashore and became a wreck on the coast of Erris. Don Alonso de Leyva, who later went on board the Girona, narrowly escaped losing his life in her. The Duquesa Santa Ana, into which he first renaoved, was
' Duro, doc. 104.
^ Duro's estimate. Irish accounts give seventeen as lust in lulainl alone.
^ S. V. Ireland, Kliz. cxxxvii. 3.
584 THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH ABMADA. [1588.
lost in Glennagiveny Bay, near Inishowen Head/ and again De Leyva barely escaped with his life, only to lose it a little later in the Girona. The N. S. de la Bosa went to pieces among the Blaskets.'- The San Marcos,^ the San Juan* of the squadron of Diego Flores, the Trinidad Valeiicera,^ and the Falcon Blanco Mediano,^ also left their bones in Ireland. And the San Pedro Mayor,' after having escaped the perils of Scotland and Ireland, lost her way in the mouth of the Channel, and met her end in Bighury Bay, Devon- shire. These are about all that can be identified, but they are by no means all that perished. Writing on October 1st, to Walsyngham, Sir Eichard Bingham, Governor of Connaught, said : — **
" After tlie SjiaiiLsh fleet liad doubled Scotland and wei'e in their course lioniewards, tliey were liy contrary weather driven upon the several parts of this province and wreckeii, as it were, by even portions, 3 ships in ever}- of the -t several counties bordering upon the sea coasts, viz., in Sligo, Mayo, Galvvay, and Thomond. So that ly ships perished, that all we know of, on the rocks and sands by the shore side, and some 3 or 4 besides to seaboard of the out isles, which presently sank, both men and ships, in the night time. And so can I say, by good estimation, that 6 or 7000 men have been cast away on these coasts, save some 1000 of them which escaped to land in several places where their ships fell, which sithence were all put to the sv/ord." '■'
The cruelties practised on the shipwrecked Spaniards, whose m.iserable situation should have given them a claim to protection, were as bad as any practised by Alva in the Low Countries. There were other wrecks, both in Munster and in Ulster. The ships must have been in terrible straits for lack of provisions, and especially of water. The San Juan, flagship of Juan Martinez de Recalde, seems to have landed a party at- Dingle and to have obtained water by force.'" A prisoner, taken in a skirmish there, said, when examined," that in the San Juan three or four men a day had died of hunger or thirst, although she was one of the best furnished ships in the Armada ; and that men had been dying daily of sickness. Another prisoner averred that two huitdred persons in the Sa)i Juan had died.
Of the one hundred and twenty-eight or one hundred and
(, ■ J S. P. Ireland, Eliz. cxxxvi. 36, iii. ^ 11. cxxxvi. 41, v.
■' D.uro, i. 125. ^ With Don Diego Enriqucz. Duro, ii. 342.
' 8. P. Ireland, Eliz. cxxxvii. 15. <" Duro, ii. 332.
■■ ' ' Xrcli. Kat. de la France,' K. 1592, doss. B. 81. 'I'his wreck was on October 28th, 158H.
* S. P. Ireland, Eliz. cxxxvii. 3.
' A few, however, escaped, in spite of Bingham and his people. '" Duro, i. 210. " S. P. Dom. ccxvi. 17.
1588.] THE SPANISH LOSSES. 585
thirty sail, of which the Armada originally consisted, no fewer than sixty-three are believed by Duro to have been lost. These he thus classifies : abandoned to the enemy, two ; ' lost in France, three ; - lost in Holland, two ; ^ sunk in the action (off Gravelines), two ; ■* wrecked off Scotland and Ireland, nineteen; fate unknown, thirty-five. Of the lost vessels, twenty-six were galleons and ships, thirteen were " ureas," or hulks, twenty were patasses, three were galleasses, and one was a galley.
' N. S. tlfl L'omrio and San Salvadur - Sail la Ana, San Lorenzo, and Diana. ■' San Felipe and San Mateo.
■* Pmliiilily (/ran (irin and San Juan de Sieilia.
A IM' E N D I X.
SHIPS ENGACJED IN THE ARMADA CAMPAIGN.
[The tVillowiiig lists are substantially those given in Professor J. ^K. Laughton's ' State Papers relating to the defeat of the Spanish Armada ' (Navy Records Society), Vol. II. pp. 323-341, and 376-387. The in- formation there collected has, however, been supplemented from other sources, chiefly from certain State Papers, copies of which have l)een kindly furnished by Lieut.-Col. L. Edye, R.N., and from family record.'A. The arithmetical errors have also, so far as possible, been corrected.]
588
THE CAMPAiaX (IF THE SPANISH AR.VADA.
[1588.
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1588.]
THE ENGLISH FLEET.
589
1. I..ir.l Il.nvanl . lli^li Ailiiiii'iil. Sir Eilwani llnliy, Socretary. 'riumiiis Irray, !Master. AiiiViis Preston, Lieutenant.
— Morgan, Captain of soldiers. Samuel Clerke, Master Giuiner. John Wright, Boatswain. Itiehard Leveson, Volunteer. 'I'lionias Gerard, ,, William Harvey, „
.Tolin t.'liidley, „
Thomas Vavasour, „ Francis Buniell, "Admiral's man."
— Newton, „ „
'Z. Earl of Cumberland.' (ieorge Kaymond, Cai'tain. .Tames Sewell, Master, 'i'ristram Seiirelie, Boatswain. Botert Carey, Volunteer.
'A. Lord Henry Seyuiour. liicliard Laine, Boatswain. Sir Cliarles Blount, A'ohmteer. Francis Carey, „
Brute Brown, „
4. Lord 'I'liomas Howard.
.">. Lord Sheffield.
(?) Richard Poulter, Master.
H. Sheffield, Lieutenant.
Bobert Baxter, Boatswain.
fi. Sir William Wynter. John Wynter, Lieutenant.
7. Sir Francis Drake, Vice-Admiral. John Gray, Master.
Jonas Bodenham, Lieutenant. (?) Martin Jeft'rey, Purser.
Bichard Derrick, Boatswain. Nicliolas Oseley, Volunteer.
8. Sir Bobert Southwell. (?)Jolin Austyne, Master.
Jolm Woodrofle, Boatswain.
!l. Sir John Hawkyns, Bear-Admiral. (?) — Barker, ;Master.
John Edmonds, Boatswain.
10. Sir Henry Palmer.
CaPT.VIXS .^ND OfFI(F.I!S of the .MlnVK
f Ertingham, Lonl
11. Sir Martin Frobiser. (?) — Eliot, J.,ieutenant.
Simon Fernandez, Boatsivain.
12. Sir George Bee.ston. (?) — Harvey, Boatswain.
13. Edward Fen ton. Lawrence Cleer, Boatswain. Henry Wliyte, Volunteer.
14. Thomas Fenner.
I — C , Boatswain.
15. Robert Crosse.
(?) John Samjison, Master. John Vayle, Boatswain.
in. William Borough.
17. Edward Fenner.
William !Mychell, Boatswain.
18. Richard Hawkyns.^ John Borm.in, Boatswain.
19. Christoi>her Baker.
James Andrews, Boatswain.
20. William Fennei'.
(?) Richard Blucke, Piuser. John Russell, lioatswain.
21. Jeremy Turner.
Mj-hyll Pyrkyne, Boatswain.
22. John Bostocke.
23. Luke Wanl.
John Pratte, Boatswain.
24. Henry Ashley. ■ • •
25. Gregory lliggs.
20. John Rolierts.
AVilliam Monsou, N'olunteer."
27. Alexander I'lill'onl.*
28. John Harris.
Tristr.am George, Boatswain.
29. Walter Gower.
30. Ambrose Ward.
31. Richard Bucldey, blaster.
32. John Sherifi; Mustei-. George Wilkynson, Boatswain.
33. Thomas Scott.
34. Richard Hodges, XLaster. He rc»-eive:l iiu pay.
* Cuiuberland's real jiosition seems to liave been only Ibat of a volunteer.
■-' Son of Sir.Icliu Ilawkjnis: died 1C22.
3 Monson ilescrlljes himself as Laving Iweu lieutenant of ihc i'liiiilcf, but >lic ua.s allowe I no lieutenant.
< Kninlited 1590.
590
THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH ARMADA.
[1588.
MKni'H.vsT Ships awoixted to serve AVestwards under Sir Francis Drake.
'uus. Men. ■ Captains and Officers.
■JO. GiiUeoii Leicester
.30. MercJiant Poi/al
37. Edward Jlima
venture
■°;}
400
400
300
llemarks
38.
39. 40.
41.
42.
Pioebiieh, of Dart-VgQQ mouth . . . / '
Golden Nuhle . 250 Griffin . . .200
Minion . . . J2OO
Dark Talbot. . 200
43. TliOmas Drake .
44.
45.
4G.
48.
S2>ar7c . .
Hopeivell
Galleon Dudley,) of Barnstajile . )
Virgin God Save Her, of Barn- staple . .
Hope Haivk;/ns,\ ofPlymoutii ./
4(i. Dark Dond
200
200 200 250
200 200
150
160 George Feniief. 160i Eoliert Flkke.
120' James Lancaster.
i 120| Jacolj Whiddon.
1101 Adam Sealer, 100'
Cavendish made liis last vovage in her, 1591.
/Belonged to tlie Levant 1 Conipanv.
1 Belonged to the Le\'ant I Com])any. Made the '- first English success- ful vovage to India and hack, 1591-93.
/Belonged to Sir Walter \ llafesh.
/William Hawkyns.
\Saml. Norfolk, Master.
so:
90 80
fWilliain Wynter.
I Nicholas Maunder, Master.
/Henry Whyte.
IJohn Hampton, Master.
/Henry Spindelow. \John Tranton, Master.
fWilliam Sjiark. \Ricliard Loarie, Master.
90 100 John Marchant
/Burnt as a fireship \ before Calais.
{Belonged to Sir Francis Drake. Bunit as a tireship before Calais.
50. Dark Donner . |150
51. Dark Haivki/ns . 150
52. Unitn . . .80
96
80
70
70
James Erisev.
John Grevnvile.
/John Bivers. \Roger Haley, Master.
/William I'oole. t,John Bock, Master.
i Charles Ca>sar. William Loggin, Master.
_~^|/ Prideaux.
'"[\William Snell, Master.
,^' (Humphrey Sydenham. \Williani Cornish, Master.
{Belonged to Si r 1! icha id Greynvile.
[Belonged to AVilliani ] Hart. Burnt as a fire- ( ship before Calais.
i Belonged to Sir John Hawkyns. Burnt as a fireship before Calais.
1588.]
THE ENGLISH FLEET.
591
Mi:i;i iiANT Sims Ai'i'diNTKH to skrvk AVkstwabds usdei: Siic l'']iAN( IS ])i!AKK. — rontlnmd.
Captains auil Oftkers.
53. Elizahith Drakr,\ p^ .,-,|ri"lionias Cely.
of Lyme . ./ Vlliwnas C'lerkp, Mn
ai-ter.
54. harh Bvggiiis . I 80 50 .Tulm Lans;fiin
55. Elizdbilh Formes ' 80 50 ]!i)i;er Ciiaiit.
50. Mark St. Lnjer . 160
57. Bark Maninfftou 160 80
58. Tlmrhmfr . . V •_>4
80 Julin St. Leger.
Ambrose Manington.
llamiilial Slianiliaiii.
511. Gohliii III ml
50 .".0 Tliniiias Fleinvnj;
60. 01.
62.
0.3.
04. 05.
66.
67. 08.
Makishi/I . . CO
Diamoiii/, of) „„
Dartmoiitli ./
Sjxedu'ell
hear Yomji; <if|
40| I'ieis Lemon. 40; EoLert Holland,
I/vme . ClMiin . Ikh';//,/ . .
NiijlitiiKjuh .
Small Caravel Fly-boat Yonge:
M4 s1h|i.s
00 140
14
Hiisli Hardinge, Master.
60 .50
70 Juliii Yoiige,
I 40
40
40 SO
30 50
20 50
I23!i4
(■James Foimes. IHiigh Coruisli, Master.
Williaiii Coxe.
fjiilin Cii \Habbak
Jiilin Cirisling.
bbakuk Percy, Master.
Nicbulas Webb.
'Brought in the first I news of the Armada.
Was not Drake's
0 olden Flind.
Belougeil to John Yonge. Iturnt as a Firesiiii) before Calais.
ilSeUmged to SirWilliam AVynter.
592
THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH APMADA.
[158S.
Ships Fitted Out axu Paid r.Y Tin; ( 'itv of Tjiinhhn.
|
Tons. |
Men. |
||
|
(i». |
Hercules . |
300 |
120 |
|
70. |
Tohy. . . . |
250 |
100 |
|
71. |
Mnyflown- . |
200 |
90 |
|
72. |
Minion . |
200 |
90 |
|
7a |
Boyal Defence . |
160 |
80 |
|
74. |
Ascension |
200 |
100 |
|
lO. |
Gift of God . . |
180 |
80 |
|
7(i. |
Primrose |
200 |
90 |
Captains aiul OflGcers.
77. Margaret
John .
and\
200 90
George Baine. Robert Barrett. Edward Bancks. John Dale. Jolm Chester. John Bacon. Thomas Liiiitlowe. Robert Briii^l ionic.
r.Tohn Fislier. I John Xasli, Master. I Richard 'romsoii, Lieut. vJohn Watts, Vohmteer.
|
78. |
Golden Lion |
140 |
70 |
|
|
79. |
Diana . |
80 |
40 |
|
|
80. |
Bark Burr . |
160 |
70 |
|
|
81. |
Tiger . . |
200 |
90 |
|
|
82. |
Brave |
160 |
70 |
|
|
88. |
Bed Lion |
200 |
90 |
|
|
84. |
(Centurion |
250 |
100 |
|
|
85. |
Passport. |
80 |
40 |
|
|
m. |
Moonshine . |
60 |
80 |
|
|
87. |
TJiomas Bona venture |
1 |
140 |
70 |
|
88. |
Belease . |
60 |
30 |
|
|
89. |
George Nohh- |
120 |
80 |
|
|
90. |
Anthony. |
100 |
00 |
|
|
91. |
Toby. . . |
120 |
70 |
|
|
92. |
Salamander, u Leigh . |
n f |
110 |
60 |
|
'.)?,. |
Bose Lion, o Leigh . |
1 |
100 |
50 |
|
94. |
Antehqie . |
120 |
60 |
|
|
9."). |
Jewel, of Leijili |
110 |
60 |
|
|
90. |
Pansy . |
100 |
70 |
|
|
97. |
Prudence, . Leigh . . |
1 |
120 |
60 |
|
98. |
7)o?pAu),of Leig |
1 |
110 |
70 |
Robert Wilcox. Edward Cock. John Serocold. William Caesar. William Furtliow. Jervis Wilde. Samuel Foxcrat't. Christopher (.'(jltliiu'st. Jolm Brough.
70, William Aldri<lge.
.John King. (Henry Bellinghaiu. IRichard Ilarjier, Master, (■(ieorge Haiper. \Richard Dnve, Master. j Christopher I'igot. IRobert Cuttle, Master. I — Dam ford.
\WilIiam Goodlad, Master. (Bartholomew Acton. \Robert Duke, ^Taster. ( — Denisoii.
\Abraliam Boimer, Master. ( — Rowell. (.Henry Rawlyn, Master.
■ William Butler, Master. Richard Chester, Master. William Hare, Master.
Belonged to .John Watts. In 1590,
I present at a severe
' action oil" Cadiz between English merchantmen and Spanish galleys.
I Watts was knighted, • 1603; and was^ Lord
' Mayor in 1606.
(Belonged to tlie Levant \ • Company
(Carrieil 14calivers and
\ 10 muskets.
(Carried 12 calivers and
\ 8 muskets.
( Carried 14 calivers and
\ 10 muskets.
(Carried 14 calivers and
\ 8 nuiskets.
j Carried 12 calivers and
), 8 muskets.
jCarried 14 calivers and
I 10 muskets.
( ( 'arrie<l 14 calivers and
I 8 muskets.
j(Jarried 12 calivers and
l_ 8 muskets.
(Carried 14 calivers and
I 10 muskets.
( Carried 14 calivers and
\ 8 muskets.
30 ships
2180:
(Die all JVC, in a'Mitiijii V) tbe liglit ai luaiiieuts specially uotc I, cai ric I ^akeis^ iiiini'.ais, fiilcnii!;, ami iuwlers.)
1588.]
THE ENOLISU FLEET.
093
Mkhchaxt Siiu'S SiCKVixcj uxnKii the Loud IIniH Admiral, ami V\w ny THE Quekx.
(T/i'\f'nlI,,>fiiif/ sofri'il for ahoiif rhjhf tricks.)
|
Tons. |
Men. |
Captaius anil Officers. |
Remarks. |
||
|
!)!). Susan rariu-n . |
220 |
80 |
Nicholas Gorges. |
Belonfieilti) the Lv\ . Company. |
ant |
|
100. Violet . . . |
220 |
60 |
Martin Hawkes. |
||
|
101. Solomon . |
170 |
SO |
Ediimml Mus^rave. |
||
|
102. Anne Frances . |
180 |
To |
l'liarle.s Lister. |
||
|
10.'!. Geon/i' BunuA venture . . j |
200 |
90 |
Eleazar Hickman. |
fBelonseil totlie Le\ \ Company. |
ant |
|
101. Jane BonavenA tiirc . . ./ |
100 |
50 |
Tlioiiuis Ilullwood. |
||
|
105. Vine yard . |
160 |
60 |
Benjamin Cooke. |
||
|
106. Samuel. . . |
140 |
50 |
John Vassall. |
||
|
8 ships |
530 |
(Tlii'/iiUiiirinr/ nerved the ivlmle ti.ne.')
|
Tuns. |
Men. |
Captaius ami O.lii-ers. |
i;<^iii;irk.~. |
||
|
1(17. ]Vhite Lion |
140 |
50 |
Charles Howard. |
f'TIio Lord Hi.sl, Ad- |
|
|
108. Disdain . |
■ |
80 |
45 |
.Tonas Bradbury. |
miral's pinnace," j pussililv licidnf^ed to \ theJi.N. Built 1585. |
|
1011. Lark . . |
, |
50 |
20 |
'rhomas Cliichester. |
|
|
lilt. Ed Irani, Jlal.luM . |
on |
186 |
30 |
William Pierce. |
/Belonged to Kdwaid I Peek. |
|
111. Marlijolil . |
, |
30 |
12 |
William Newton, Master. |
|
|
11 J. lUaek ])mj . |
20 |
10 |
Jdhu Davis, Master. |
||
|
II.!. Katherine . |
20 |
10 |
V |
||
|
114. Fane,, . . |
. |
50 |
20 |
diilin I'niil, Master. |
|
|
11.",. Pippin . . |
. |
20 |
s |
•> |
|
|
llli. Mijldiniiale |
. |
160 |
k; |
John Diiatc, Master. |
10 ships
VUL. I.
•^ Q
594
THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH ABMADA.
[1588.
Vessei,s which TuAxsroRTED Victuals Westwards.
|
Tons. |
Men. |
Captains and Officers. |
Uemavks. |
|
|
117. Mary Hose . |
? |
70 |
fFrancis BurnelL \WiUiam Parker, Master. |
|
|
118. Elizah'th BonaA venture . .) |
? |
60 |
Richard Start. |
|
|
119. PeJican . . . |
9 |
50 |
John Clarke. |
|
|
120. Hope . . . |
? |
40 |
John Skinner. |
|
|
121. Unity . . . |
y |
40 |
John ^Foore. |
|
|
122. Pearl . . . |
•p |
50 |
Lawrence Moore. |
|
|
123. EUzaheth, oi\ Leigh . ./ |
? |
60 |
William Bower. |
|
|
121. ./o/iH, of London |
y |
70 |
Richard Rose. |
|
|
125. Bearsabe (?) . |
? |
60 |
Edward Bryan. |
|
|
12(J. Marigold . . |
? |
50 |
Roliert Bowers. |
|
|
127. Wiite Hind . |
? |
40 |
Richard Browne. |
|
|
128. Gift of God . |
9 |
40 |
Robert Harrison. |
|
|
129. Jonas . |
? |
50 |
Edward Bell. |
|
|
130. Solomon, oU Aklljorougli . / |
■p |
60 |
George Street. |
|
|
131. BichardDuffield |
9 |
70 |
William Adams. |
/Belonged to — Duffield. William Adams, ten years later went, as chief pilot of some Rotterdam ships, to the Far East, and then entered the ser- vice of the Shogim of Jajmn. He died in I 1020. |
|
15 ships |
810 |
1588.]
THE ENGLISH FLEET.
595
Coasters uxder the Liniii IIkiii Aumiiiai., and V.\u< r.v riii-; Quekk.
|
Tous. |
ywn. |
Captains uii'i OfTicers. |
I:<tiiark>. |
|
|
132. Hark Webb . |
80 |
50 |
1 |
|
|
133. Jolin TreJaiDury |
150 |
30 |
Thomas Meek. |
|
|
l.".l. Hart, of D!irt--l mouth . . / |
.60 |
70 |
f James Houghton (or \ Houston). |
(Thomas Anthony, I Master. |
|
13'). Barh Potts. . |
180 |
80 |
Anthony I'otts. |
|
|
13G. Little John. . |
40 |
20 |
Laurence Clayton. |
|
|
137. BarthoJomcw, of\ Apsam . . i |
130 |
70 |
^Nicholas AVright. |
jA]isam is now Top- 1. sham. |
|
138. Bose, of Ajisaiu |
110 |
50 Thomas Saiitlye. |
||
|
139. Gift, of Apsam |
25 |
20 |
? |
|
|
140. J(tcob, of Lyme |
90 |
50 |
? |
|
|
141. Seveiifje, ofl Lyme . . / |
60 |
30 |
liicharil licilfonl. |
|
|
112. Bark of Bridg-'l water . . / |
70 |
30 |
John Smyth. |
|
|
143. C'mrenf, of\ Dartmouth . / |
140 |
75 |
John "Wilson. |
'Christoplicr Wcy- . moutii, Master. |
|
144. Galleon o(\ WejTiiouth . / |
100 |
50 |
Kichard Miller. |
|
|
145. John, of) Chichester . / |
70 |
50 |
.John Youiii;. |
|
|
140. Kafherine, of\ "Weymouth ./ |
66 |
30 |
? |
|
|
147. Ihartij Anne . |
60 |
30, John Wynnall. |
||
|
148. Minion, ofl Bristol . . j |
230 |
110 John Sachlicld. |
||
|
140. Unicorn, of) Bristol . . / |
130 |
60 James Lani;toii. |
Belonpied to John Sat-hlield, or Sack- vile. |
|
|
150. Ilandmuid, of\ Bristol . . / |
80 |
56 Christopher I'itt. |
||
|
151. vl(d, of Bristol. |
60 |
20j William Megar. 1 |
||
|
20 ships |
993 |
596
THE CAJUrAIGN OF TEE SPANISH ARMADA.
[1588.
Coasters txder Lord Hexrt Seymour, some Paid by the Qveen, but
5rOST BY THE PoET ToWKS.
152. 153. 154, 155, 15(3. 157. 158. 159.
IGO. 161. 102.
1G3.
1G4.
165.
li;6. 167.
168.
109.
17(1.
171.
172.
173.
174.
Daniel . Galleon Hutchin Barh Laml) Fancy . Oriffin . Little Hare Handmaid
ofl
Marigold, Hull.
Matthew
Susaji .
William, Ipswich
Katherine, Ipswich
Primrose, Harwich
Anne Bona venture . ./
T^^7?^a?H,of Rye
Grace of God,\ of Dover . J
Tons.
160
150
150
60
70 50
75
150
ol'l
%
Elizahetli, of Dover
Pohin, of Sand- wich .
Hazard, ofl
Feversham . /
Grace, of Yar-\ mouth . . I
Mayflower, ofl King's Lynn/
TFj7Zm»),of Col-\ Chester . . /
John Younij 23 ships
70 60 60 30 35 25 35
Captaius and Officers.
|
35 |
16 |
|
40 |
20 |
|
140 |
50 |
|
125 |
50 |
|
120 |
40 |
|
60 |
50 |
80 CO 5ii ;!0
|
120 |
70 |
|
110 |
65 |
|
38 |
34 |
|
150 |
70 |
|
150 |
70 |
|
100 |
50 |
|
60 |
30 |
|
1090 |
Robert Johnson. Thomas Tucker. Leonard Harliell. Richard Fearne. John Dobson. Jlatthew Railstone. John Gattenbury.
Francis Johnson.
Richard ilitcht41. John Musgrave.
Bamaby Lowe.
Thomas Grymble.
John Cardinal.
Jolm Conny. AA'illiam Coxon. William Fordred.
John Lidgen.
William Cri]ips.
Nicholas Turner.
"William Musgrave.
Alexander ^Musgrave.
Thomas Lambert. Reynold Vesey.
Remarks.
[Carried 6 minions and I 20 muskets.
1588.]
THE EyOLISU FLEET.
597
Voluntary Ships which joixF.n whes the Armada was os the Coast, AND wici;k Paid rv the QrKKX Dfitixc Skkvice.
I TuU8.
175. Siiinpsoii
Fowev
300
Men. 1 Captaius and Ofliccrs.
Kemarks.
108 John \Viu;,'lii'Icl.
I 140 60 John Rashley.
177.
178.
1711.
180. 181.
182.
183.
184. 185.
180.
187.
188. 189. 190. 191. 192. 193.
194.
195.
190. 197.
\\ eyiiioutli . / (rohhii JiidI, oil
Weymouth . / Sai/c Sufloii, olY
Weymouth ./ Carouse Samaritiii), o{\
Dartmouth . J WilHani, iif\
Plymouth .j Gdlhyo, of Ply-\
mouth . . / Bark Ilahc Unicorn, ofl
Dartmouth .) Grace, of Aji-
sara . Thomas Bona-
reiiture, of
Lyme Bat,' o{ Wight . Margaret . Elizabeth . Jtapiiael Fly-boat . . Jvlin, of Barn- staple
ifl, ofl rough . J
Aldljor
Elizaheth, of^ Lowestoft . j
Jonas, of AM-'l borough . . J
i'^oc<»n<", of Al(l-V borough . . /
60
120
70
50
250
120
30 60
7
100
oc
80 60 40 40 60
90
0
J Hugh Pearson.
30
50
40
25
100
60
20,
40 Grenfield Halse.
30 Raliih Hawes.
50J Walter Edney.
30
60 46 30 40 40
C5
John Pciitire.
Gilbert Lee.
William Hubbard, y y ?
40 Michael Pullisun.
30
25 25
(Heldiigeil to the Earl |\ of Cumberland.
^Ueloiigeil to John Jiashley. His pin- nace, the Chris- topher, 15 tons, seems to liave l)ecn also in the tleet.
(Belou^eil to Thomas 1 Middleton.
f Belongeil to Sir Ii ichard \ Orcvuvile.
Belonged to Thomas Mcldrum. Burnt as a lircship before Calais.
23 ships
il044
50S
THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH ARMADA.
[1588.
THE SPANISH AEMADA.
Armada of Portdgal, uxder the Ddke of Medka Sidon'ia.
|
MEN. |
||||||||
|
Soldiers. |
Jlariuers. |
Total. |
||||||
|
1. San Martin, Capitana General ' . |
1000 |
48 |
300 |
177 |
477 |
|||
|
2. San Juan, Almiranta General |
2 |
1050 |
50 |
321 |
179 |
500 |
||
|
3. San Marcos^ .... |
700 |
33 |
292 |
117 |
409 |
|||
|
800 830 |
40 38 |
415 376 |
117 116 |
532 |
||||
|
5. San Luis |
492 |
|||||||
|
750 520 |
34 24 |
277 300 |
120 93 |
397 |
||||
|
7. SnntiaijO |
393 |
|||||||
|
8. Florencia |
OGl |
52 |
400 |
86 |
486 |
|||
|
9. San Cristobal . |
352 |
20 |
3(X) |
78 |
378 |
|||
|
10. San Bernardo . |
352 |
21 |
250 |
81 |
331 |
|||
|
11. Zabra Aur/iist : . |
16(i |
13 |
55 |
ot |
112 |
|||
|
12. Zabra Julia . . |
IGG |
14 |
44 |
72 |
116 |
|||
|
12 ships |
4623 |
^ Returned to Santander with 180 dead, and nearly all the rest sick. ^ Probably J. M. de Eecalde's flagship till July 21st, and again from July 24th, Petunied to Corunna. Burnt there 1589.
' Lost on the coast of Ireland. ' ■* Grounded at tlie mouth of the Scheldt.
AioiADA OF Biscay, rxDEU JrAN MAnxixEZ de Eecalde.
13. 14. 15. 16. 17.
18, 19. 20. 21. 22. 23! 24. 25. 26.
(SV.'nte J;ia, Capiitana' . El Gran Grin, Almiranta
Santiago
La Concepcion de Zuhelzu . La Concepcion dc Juanes Cano .......
La Magdalcna
San Juan
La Maria •luun . . . .
La Mnnuela
Santa Maria ds Monte-Mai/or Patax La Marvi de A'juirrc . Patax La Isahela . . . . Patax de Miguel Suso . Patax San. Esteban . . . .
del)
14 ships
768
1160
666
486
418
530
350
()65
520
707
70
71
36
96
Guus.
30 28 25 16
18
18
21
24
12
18
6
10
6
6
JliCN.
256
256
214
90
164
193
114
172
125
206
20
20
20
20
Mariners.
73 73
102 70
61
67 80 100 54 45 23 22 26 26
Total.
329 329 316 160
260
194
272
179
251
43
42
46
46
2692
' Prulxibly J. M. de Recalde's flagship from July 21st to July 23rd. Was wi-ecked near Le Havre.
1588.]
TEE SPANISH FLEET.
599
|
Armada of tiii: Oai.i.koxs of Castii.i.k, v |
■iw.n 1) |
IK(l(l Fl.DKF.s liK V |
\I.I>I•:^J. |
||
|
(jUilS. |
:mkn. |
||||
|
Solilicra. |
Slarliiera. 1 1 |
Total. |
|||
|
27. San C'ristubal |
700 |
36 |
205 |
120 |
325 |
|
28. San Juan Jtaiifi>t i .... |
750 |
24 |
207 |
136 |
343 |
|
29. SinPudm |
530 |
24 |
141 |
131 |
272 |
|
30. San Juan ' |
530 |
24 |
163 |
113 |
276 |
|
31. S intia</o el Mai/a:- |
530 |
24 |
210 |
132 |
342 |
|
32. San Felipe y San Ikt'/o. |
530 |
24 |
151 |
116 |
267 |
|
33. La Asuncion |
530 |
24 |
199 |
114 |
313 |
|
34. Xiirstra Senora del liarrio |
530 |
24 |
155 |
108 |
263 |
|
35. San Medel y Ci'iilon .... |
530 |
24 |
160 |
101 |
261 |
|
3(>. Santa Ana |
250 |
24 |
91 |
80 |
171 |
|
37. Ntiesti-a Senora (I- lle'/o'a . |
750 |
24 |
174 |
123 |
297 |
|
38. La Trinidad |
872 |
24 |
180 |
122 |
302 |
|
39. Sjnta (.'ataltiia |
882 |
24 |
190 |
159 |
349 |
|
40. San Juan JJaidinla .... |
650 |
24 |
192 |
93 |
285 |
|
41. Patax JV'. S. del Soeorro . . . |
75 |
24 |
20 |
25 |
45 |
|
■i'Z. "Patax S. Antonio de Padua , |
75 |
12 |
20 |
46 |
66 |
|
16 sliips |
HTT |
||||
|
' The ship in whirli was Diego Euriii |
icz. A |
ipparen |
tly lost on |
the coast |
of Ireland. |
AliMADA OF THE S.liPS OF AsllAI.fSIA, fXDKll DoN I'EDIti) DF VaMIF-S.
|
Tons. |
Guns. |
JIE.N". |
|||||
|
Soldiers. |
Mariners. |
Total. |
|||||
|
43. N. S. Del Posario, Capitana ' 44. San Francisco, Ahniranta . |
1150 915 810 569 862 900 730 650 730 976 |
46 21 31 16 20 23 23 13 20 27 |
304 222 245 165 185 280 231 192 228 2-!0 33 |
118 .56 89 .56 71 77 74 80 72 10 |
422 278 334 |
||
|
46. San Juan de (furgarin 47. La Concejjcion .... 48. Durjuesa Santa Ana - . 49. Santa (!<itntina .... 50. La Trinidad .... 51. Santa Maria del Junnd 52. San liartolonn- .... 53. Patax Espirilu Santo . |
221 256 357 308 266 308 312 43 |
||||||
|
11 ships |
3105 |
' Taken, nnil liroken np at Cliatliam. paid a ransom of £3000.
^ Lost in Gleunagiveny ISay.
Don Pedro de 'N'aldes, after aliout tliree years,
GOO
THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH ARMADA.
[1588.
Armada of Guipuzcoa, under Miguel de Oquendo.
54. Santa Alia, Cnpitaiia^ .
55. N. S. De la liosa, Almiranta ^ 5(). San Salrador^ .
57. San Estnbau
58. Santa Marta 50. Santa Bdrbaiu . t)0. San Buenaveiitara. . (il. la Maria San Juan (i'2. Santa Cruz .... 03. Urea Doncella . C4. Patax I,a Antiiicion (i5. Patax San. Be.rnabe
12 ships
|
Tous. |
Guns. |
|
1200 |
47 |
|
945 |
26 |
|
958 |
25 |
|
73G |
26 |
|
548 |
20 |
|
525 |
12 |
|
379 |
21 |
|
291 |
12 |
|
680 |
16 |
|
500 |
16 |
|
60 |
9 |
|
69 |
9 |
MEN.
Soldiers.
303 233 321 196 173 154 168 110 156 156 20 20
|
82 |
385 |
|
04 |
297 |
|
75 |
396 |
|
08 |
204 |
|
63 |
236 |
|
45 |
199 |
|
53 |
221 |
|
30 |
140 |
|
32 |
188 |
|
32 |
188 |
|
23 |
43 |
|
23 |
43 |
2600
' Returned to Spain, liut accidentally blew up. - Lost amon;j; the Blaskets.
^ Seems to have been " Ahniranta " when partially l.ilown up on July 21st. AVas taken to Weymouth, and lost at Studlaud.
Armada of Levant Ships, under Martin de Bertendona.
|
Tons. |
Gtins. |
MEN. |
||||||
|
Soldiers. |
■Mariners. |
Total. |
||||||
|
()6. La Pet/azona, Capitana ' . . . |
1249 |
30 |
344 |
80 |
424 |
|||
|
67. La Lavia, Almiranta . |
728 |
25 |
203 |
71 |
274 |
|||
|
08. La Hata Coronada^ |
820 |
35 |
335 |
84 |
419 |
|||
|
09. San Juan de Sicilia " . |
800 |
26 |
279 |
63 |
342 |
|||
|
70. La Trinidad Valencera* |
1100 |
42 |
281 <> |
79 |
360 |
|||
|
71. La Anunciada . |
703 |
24 |
196 |
79 |
275 |
|||
|
72. San Nicolas Prodaiirti . |
834 |
26 |
374 |
81 |
455 |
|||
|
73. La Juliana .... |
860 |
32 |
325 |
70 |
395 |
|||
|
74. Santa Maria de ]'isoii . |
666 |
18 |
230 |
71 |
307 |
|||
|
75. La Trinidad de Scala . |
900 |
22 |
307 |
79 |
386 |
|||
|
10 shi]is |
3i::'.7 |
' Flag of Bertendona, who is said by Uuro to have been the captor ol' the Pei-eiii/e in 1591. Burnt at Corunna, 1589.
- Wrecked oft" Erris.
' In lier was Diego Tellez Euriquez. Seems to have foundered while negotiating surrender to Captain Crosse.
* Lost on the Irisli Coast.
1588.]
THE SPANISH FLEET.
GOl
Armada of IIii.ks, indki; .Ii ax (muu.s hi: Mkdina.
' A sliiii III' Itostock. Lost on Fair Island. - A llauiliurs ship. Oiliturcd and taken to I'lynioutli to Hamburs, Januaiy 22nd, l,")8'.t.
' Wrecked in Bigbury l!ay, Devonshire. *
|
Tuus. |
Guns. |
MKX. |
|||
|
Soldiers. |
Mariners. |
Total. |
|||
|
76. A'? (rrnj! (rn/oH, Cajiitana' . . |
650 |
38 |
243 |
43 |
286 |
|
77. Sun Salvador, Alniiranta . |
650 |
24 |
218 |
43 |
261 |
|
78. Perro Marina |
200 |
7 |
70 |
24 |
94 |
|
7tl. Fill run Jllanro Mtiijiir'' |
500 |
16 |
161 |
36 |
197 |
|
80. Cd.ttiUtj Xci/ro |
7.-)0 |
27 |
2,39 |
34 |
'*T,'J |
|
81. Jiiirnt </(' Aiuhurij |
COO |
23 |
2.39 |
25 |
264 |
|
82. Casa dr Paz Onindr .... |
650 |
2i; |
198 |
27 |
225 |
|
83. San Pedro Mayor ^ . . . . |
581 |
29 |
213 |
28 |
241 |
|
84. El Sanson . |
500 |
18 18 |
200 157 |
31 23 |
•>31 |
|
85. Sun Piilri) Menor |
500 |
180 |
|||
|
80. Barca de Anzique |
450 |
26 |
200 |
25 |
225 |
|
87. Falcon Blanco Mediano* . |
300 |
16 |
76 |
27 |
103 |
|
88. Santo Andres |
400 |
14 |
150 |
28 |
178 |
|
89. Casa de Paz Ckica |
350 |
15 |
162 |
24 |
1S6 |
|
90. Ciervo Volante |
400 |
18 |
200 |
*>•> |
222 |
|
91. Pidoina Blanrn |
250 |
12 |
56 |
20 |
76 |
|
92. La Ventura |
160 |
4 |
.58 |
U |
72 |
|
93. Santa Bdrhira |
370 |
10 |
70 |
»>>> |
92 |
|
94. Sitntiaf/o |
600 |
19 |
56 |
30 |
8(! |
|
95. iJand |
450 |
7 |
50 |
24 |
74 |
|
96. El Gato |
400 |
9 |
40 |
22 |
62 |
|
97. Esayas |
260 |
4 |
30 |
16 |
46 |
|
98. San Gabriel |
280 |
4 |
35 |
20 |
55 |
|
23 sill] IS |
;;;■_.., |
while returning from Lisbon Lost on the Irish Coast.
602
THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH ARMADA.
[1588.
Tataches and Zabras, under Don Antonio Hurtado be Mendoza.
|
Toils. |
Gnus. |
51 KX. |
|||
|
RolJiers. |
Mariners. |
Total. |
|||
|
99. N. S. del Pilar ds Zaragijm,\ Capitana i |
300 |
11 |
109 |
51 |
160 |
|
1(». La Caridad (Inglosa) .... |
180 |
12 |
70 |
3G |
lOG |
|
101. San Andres (Escoces) .... |
150 |
12 |
40 |
29 |
G9 |
|
102. EJ Cnicifjo |
150 |
8 |
40 |
29 |
6!) |
|
103. N. S. deJ Pui'vto |
55 |
8 |
30 |
33 |
G3 |
|
10-!. La Concepcion de Carasa . |
70 |
5 |
30 |
42 |
72 |
|
105. N. S. d:> Ee(joua |
6-i |
.. |
20 |
20 |
4.i |
|
lOG. La Coiicqicion d:- Capet illo |
GO |
10 |
20 |
2G |
4G |
|
107. San Jcronimo |
50 |
4 |
20 |
37 |
57 |
|
108. y. S. de Gracia |
57 |
5 |
20 |
34 |
54 |
|
109. Ln Conceprioii dr Francisco de) Latent / |
75 |
6 |
20 |
29 |
49 |
|
110. X S. d- Gimd.diipe .... |
70 |
20 |
42 |
62 |
|
|
111. San Francisco |
70 |
20 |
37 |
57 |
|
|
112. Espirit-.i. Santa |
75 |
20 |
47 |
67 |
|
|
113. Trinidad |
•? |
2 |
23 |
23 |
|
|
114. N. S. de Castro |
y |
2 |
2G |
26 |
|
|
115. Santo Andres |
y |
2 |
15 |
15 |
|
|
IIG. La Concepciori de Vahnascda . |
. ? |
2 |
27 |
27 |
|
|
117. La Concepcion de SomaniJa . |
9 |
31 |
31 |
||
|
118. Santa Catcdina |
y |
23 |
23 |
||
|
119. San Juan de Carasa .... |
9 |
23 |
23 |
||
|
120. Asuncion |
"J |
* ' |
23 |
23 |
|
|
22 ships |
1168 |
1588.]
THE SPANISH FLEET.
603
Gallkasses of Naples, csder Don Hugo de Moncada.
|
SiKX. |
|||||
|
Soldiers. |
Marlnere. |
Total. |
|||
|
121. San Lorenzo, Capitixna ' . . . |
? |
50 |
21)2 |
124 |
380 |
|
122. Patrona ZiiTiiga |
? |
50 |
178 |
112 |
290 |
|
123. Girom- |
? |
50 |
169 |
120 |
289 |
|
124. NapotihoHi |
•> |
50 |
204 |
112 |
370 |
|
• .l,i,v. |
KUl -' |
' Driven .nshore and liecanic a wreck at Calais.
- Wrecked near the Giant's Causeway, i)rot)alily witli Don Alonso do lA-yva, the Count of Paredes, and .all hands. ' Witli 1200 rowers.
CiM.I.i;YS (1I-- PoUTfCAL, rxniCK DoX DlKtiO Mkhuaxo.
|
T<iis. |
Guus. . |
MEN. |
||
|
Soldiers. |
Ifariuers. i Total. |
|||
|
•i |
106 101) |
|||
|
12(j. rriiirisa 127. Diana ' |
V V |
5 5 5 |
90 90 94 i 94 |
|
|
9 |
72 72 |
|||
|
I shi]is |
::i;l'- |
' Wrecked at Bayouue.
With 888 rowers.
G04
THE CAMPAIGN OF THE SPANISH ARMADA.
[1588.
SUMMARIES OF THE TWO FLEETS.
English.
Her Majesty's sliips .... Merchant ships imder Sir Francis Drake Ships paid by the City of London . Merchant ships imder the Lord High Admiral
For about eight weeks .
For tlie whole campaign Victuallers .....
Coasters under the Lord High Admiral . Coasters under Lord Hemy Seymour Voluntary ships .....
iital
Ships.
34 34 30
197
Iteu.
G28;i 2394 2180
|
8 |
530 |
|
10 |
221 |
|
15 |
810 |
|
20 |
993 |
|
23 |
1090 |
|
23 |
1044 |
15,551
Spanish.
Armada of Portugal Armada of Biscay Armada of the Galleons of Castille Armada of Andalusia . Armada of Guipiizcoa . Armada of Levant ships Armada of Hulks Pataches and Zabras . Galleasses of Naples (1200 rowers) Galleys of Portugal (888 rowers)
Total
Ships.
|
12 |
4623 |
|
14 |
2692 |
|
16 |
4177 |
|
11 |
3105 |
|
12 |
2600 |
|
10 |
3637 |
|
23 |
3729 |
|
22 |
1168 |
|
4 |
2541 |
|
4 |
1250 |
128
29,522
( GC5 )
CHAPTER XVI.
voyages and discoveries, 1485-1603. Sir Clements Maekham, K.C.B.
English discovery — lietrospect — Meagre records — Clironiclers — Eden — ITakluyt — Early voyages — Nicholas of Lynn — William Canyng — Tliylde — Jolm Cabot — Followers of Cabot — Early voyages — Western voyages — William Hawkyns — fininea voyages — Sebastian Cabot — Voyages to N.E. — WiUoiighliv — Chancellor — Tlie lioroiigbs — John Hawkyns — Francis Drake — John Oxcnham — Martin Frobisor — I'et and Jackman — John Davis — Drake's circunmavigation — Fenton — Cavendish — Merick — Cavendish and Davis — John Davis — Richard Hawkyns — Kesults of discovery — New companies — -Humphrey Gilbert — Walter Ralegh — Walter Ralegh (Virginia) — Walter Ralegh (Guiana) — Lawrence Keymis — Robert Dudley — Preston, Shirley, Parker — Explorers knighted at Cadiz — James Lancaster — Voyages to the East Indies — East India Company — Retrospect.
T'
IHE work at sea, which is now done by three services, the mercantile marine, the royal navy, and the much-neglected expeditions of discovery, was, in the whole earlier period of our maritime history, combined ; our merchant ships going forth to trade peace- ably, if this way was permitted, if not to fight, and always to explore and to discover. All distant lands, if unvisited and un- explored by Englishmen, were practically discoveries, so far as England was concerned, and the daring seamen who reached them were explorers and discoverers as well as traders. In the study of our maritime history we are checked at the outset by the want of records. It is certain that in early times many voyages were made to distant countries of which no accounts are preserved, and that there was a spirit of enterprise abroad among our merchants, and gi-eat activity in om- seaports. The foundations of our naval supremacy were laid in silence, so far as posterity is concerned ; and it seems important that this should be home in mind. Continuous efforts were made, and splendid work was done at sea of which we know little or nothing. Through casual sentences in some of the old chroniclers— of Botoner, of Fabvan, or of
606 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1185-1603. [1450.
Stow — we get a few glimpses of what was goizig on. Eicliard Eden gives us a little light ; but even Hakluyt, with all his devoted energy and perseverance, was able to preserve only portions of the early part of the glorious history of our maritime enter- prises. He could not find a single scrap of the writings of John Cabot. Yet dming a long life he " waded on still further and fui-ther in the sweet studie of the historie of cosmographie," and strove " to incorporate into one bodie the torn and scattered hmnes of our ancient and later navigations by sea." To no writer does England owe so deep a debt of gratitude as to Eichard Hakluyt.
In the fifteenth century William Botoner, better known as AVilliam of AVorcester — the accomplished secretary of that doughty old warrior, Sir John Fastolf, of Caistor — gives us some insight into the activity and enterprise of one of our great seaports. He tells us of William Canyng, the merchant prince of Bristol, who, for many years, employed eight hundred seamen and one hundred artificers, and possessed ten ships which, as mentioned in an earlier chapter, traded to the Mediterranean, to the Baltic, and even to Iceland, where one of his vessels of 160 tons was lost. We hear also how Robert Sturmy, Mayor of Bristol, sent a ship to the Mediterranean in 14.57, which was "spoilt by the Genoese," for which wrong the Genoese in London were arrested and imprisoned until they made good the loss.
A book of saihng directions for the coasts from Scotland to Gibraltar was written in the fifteenth century, and has been preserved. At the time when the Portuguese vessels, under the auspices of Prince Henry, were slowly and cautiously creeping along the coast of Africa, dreading to be out of sight of land, English sailors had no such fears, but habitually faced the storms of the North Atlantic and made voyages to Iceland. They may have gone farther. A map of the coasts from the British Isles nearly to Cape A'erde in Africa, was drawn in London in 1448, including the Azores and other islands in the Atlantic. It has recently been brought to the notice of geographers by Mr. Yule Oldham. Its author was a Venetian galley captain named Andrea Biancho, who is also well known as an accomplished cosmographer. In the margin of his map the outline of a coast is added, with the in- scription— "An authentic island distant to the west 1.500 miles" {" Ixola otinticha X longa a ponente 1500 viia"). As the map was drawn in London, this new information was j)robably received there.
1480.] TEYLDE'S VOYAGE WESTWARD. 007
The distance luiglit mean 1500 miles to the westward of the Enghsh coast, on about the parallel of London, where Biancho drew the map. The information would come from some expedition in the days of William Canynf^/
About twenty years later, voyages of discovery began to be dispatched from Bristol, to discover or re-discover an island called Brazil, reported to be in the ocean to the westward of Ireland. William Botoner knew something about one of these voyages, because his brother-in-law, John Jay, took part in it. He says that the commander's name was Thylde, and that he was the most scientific seaman in all England. Sailing from the port of Bristol, on the 15th of July, 1480, he preceded Columbus by upwards of twelve years. His task, however, was far more difficult and perilous than that of the Genoese. Colunabus merely ran down the trades in lovely weather. But Thylde and his gallant Englishmen, in a little vessel of 80 tons, had to battle against the gales of the North Atlantic in the roaring forties. They failed to discover land, but they deserved success. The time occupied by the voyages of Columbus and Thylde respectively was about the same, one sixty- nine and the other sixty-four days ; but while the Spaniards enjoyed the pleasant weather of the trade wind, the English adventm-ers fought a brave fight against the mighty seas and adverse gales of the boisterous North Atlantic. Thylde returned to Bristol on the 18th of September ; and we owe it to the accident that one of his crew was related to one out of the very few chroniclers of that time, that any record was preserved of the existence of the most scientific seaman in all England, or of his voyage of discovery. Other similar voyages followed ; but the English sailors, in their more stonny latitudes, had no trade wind to carry them easily across the ocean ; while Thylde, as a scientific observer, for a long time had no English successor. The unknown facts which led to the insertion of the coast-line on the margin of Andrea Biancho's map, possibly account for the subsequent eiibrts of Thylde and others to re- discover that land which they called Brazil. It seems certain, from what we are told l)y William Botoner, that such efforts were actually made.
The minds of English mariners were thus quite prepared for another attempt, when the news of the discoveries of Columbus
' Mr. Yule Oltlhain, Imwever, suggests a Portuguese source I'or the infbrniatioa
wliiuh iiiJucetl Bianclio to draw the outline on the niargiu of his map.
G08 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1485-1603. [1498.
reached them. To those among them who were accustomed to
sail from Bristol, a voyage of discovery to the westward was no
new idea. When, therefore, a scientific Genoese seaman, with
Venetian citizenship, named John Cabot, and his three sons,
obtained letters patent for this discovery to the westward from
Henry VII. in 1496, the voyage was made in a Bristol ship called
the Matthew, with a crew of eighteen men, chiefly English seamen.
The surgeon was a Genoese, and one of the men was a Biu-gundian.
It is possible to gather a few particulars respecting this voyage
from State papers, and from the letters of two Italian news' writers
who were in London at the time. The Matthew sailed from Bristol
in May, 1497, first steering northwards, after passing Ireland, and
then westward for a month, dimng which time the vessel must
have been set to the south. For, passing Newfoundland on the
starboard hand, the first sight of land (the "Prima Vista") was
obtained on St. John's Day, the '24th of June, 1497. The "Prima
Vista" is shown on a map drawn in 1544 by John Cabot's son
Sebastian, to be the northern end of Cape Breton. The explorers
can only have remained a very short time on the newly discovered
coast, for the Matthew had returned to Bristol by the end of July
or first days of August. On the 10th of August, Henry VII. granted
Cabot the munificent sum of i^lO.'
The aspirations of Thylde and the other English explorers of the
fifteenth century were thus at length realised. There was every
encouragement to repeat the voyage, and on February 3rd, 1498,
Henry VII. granted his second letters patent to John Cabot.
Nothing whatsoever is known of the important second voyage of
Cabot from any English source, except the facts that the expedition
consisted of five vessels, and that it sailed from Bristol before the
'2.5th of July, 1498. English seamen named Lancelot Thirkill and
Thomas Bradley each received a loan of ;£30 from the king towards
fitting out two of the ships. There was also a gratuity of MiO 5s.
to John Carter " going to the newe ile." Nothing more is recorded.
AVe know nothing more of John Cabot, nor of the expedition,
except that Captain Thirkill returned home — for he is again
mentioned in a document dated June 6th, 1501. But when the
Spanish pilot, Juan de la Cosa, produced his famous map in 1500,
' Mr. Harrisse disbelieves in the legend on the Sebastian Cabot map of 1.544 (wliich is the autliority for tlie " Prima Vista ") both as regards the date and tlie pUice. Ho idaces the landfall of Cabot on the coast of Labrador in 51° 15' N.
1502.] DISCOVERY OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 609
he painted flags with the Red Cross of St. George to show the discoveries made by the Enghsh along the coasts of the New World, which extend from Cape Breton to a point which is probably Cape Hatteras. He calls these discoveries " Sea discovered by the English termiziating to the north with the Cape of England." This grand achievement was the work of the expedition of 1498. The results, in the shape of a map, must have been obtained by the Spanish ambassador in London, forwarded to his government, and handed over to Juan de la Cosa as material for his great map. So it came to pass that the only record of the discoveries of the English Expedition of 1498 is preserved on the bullock's hide which now hangs in the navy office at Madrid.
This is a very striking example of the absence of materials for the history of English maritime adventure during its earlier develop- ment. The Cabot voyages are generally considered to mark an epoch ; and to foi-m the commencement of British maritime dis- covery. They did nothing of the kind. It has been seen that voyages of discovery preceded them ; and they also followed them in quick succession. The importance of the Cabot voyages lies in their success, not in their forming a starting point. English maritime enterprise had been fully aroused half a centmy before letters patent were granted to Cabot, and its development steadily continued without any break. Three years after John Cabot disappeared from the scene, letters patent were granted for the discovery and settlement of what was called the "New Island" to Eichard Ward, Thomas Ashehiust, and John Thomas of Bristol, in conjunction with three natives of the Azores. In 1502, letters patent, for a fourth time, were granted to Hugh Ehot and Thomas Ashehurst ; and Dr. Thome tells us that his father, with another merchant of Bristol named Hugh Eliot, were the discoverers of Newfoundland. Cabot, according to the legend on his son's map of 1544, had left it to the north, and discovered Cape Breton. The State Papers furnish incidental evidence that these and other voyages were actually made across the Atlantic. In 1503, we read of " one who brought hawks from Newfoundland," and in 1504, of " a Preste going to the New Islande." Another expedi- tion returned in Septemlier, 1505.
Maritime discovery was a plant of slow but steady growth in England, established in a rich and fertile soil and destined to spread over the whole earth, to the benefit not only or chiefly of England, VOL. I. 2 b
610 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1485-1603. [1536.
but of all mankind. Progress was continuous. In 1505, the famous Company of Merchant Adventurers received their Charter and enlarged their cormnercial relations with the Low Countries and Germany ; while the number of English ships trading to ports in the MediteiTanean increased year by year. The voyage to the Levant occupied twelve months, and was beset by all kinds of perils, which were faced and overcome by the fighting seamen of London and Bristol.
Voyages to the westward were also continuous from the days of Cauyng and Thylde ; and some record of at least two — which were made during the reign of Henry VIII. — has been preserved. In 15'27 the king sent out two ships, the Sampson and Marij of Guildford, well manned and victualled, under the command of John Kut of Eatcliff, yeoman of the Crown, and having on board a canon of St. Paul's and " divers cunning men to seek strange regions." They sailed on the 10th of June ; but the Sampson was cast away on the coast of Labrador, and the other vessel returned in the following October. The letter from John Eut to Henry VIII., dated at St. John's, Newfoundland, on August 3rd, 1527, is given by Purchas. In the same year, Master Grabe, with two ships, reached Cape Eace. Nine years after, in 1536, a voyage was undertaken by a number of gentlemen of the Inns of Coiu't, led by Master Hore of London, a man of goodly stature, great cour- age, and learned in the science of cosmogi'aphy. The expedition consisted of thirty gentlemen volmiteers, including a son of Sir William Butts of Norfolk, and a hundi-ed seamen, in two vessels, the Trinity, of 140 tons, and the Minion, conmianded by Captain Wade. Sailing from Gravesend they reached Cape Breton, after a voyage of two months, and proceeded thence to an island which, in those days, was frequented by thousands of great auks. The men drove numbers of these helpless birds into their boats and took their eggs, finding them to be "very good and nourishing meat." Many Basque, Breton, and EngHsh vessels came every season, and the wholesale destruction of the birds brought about their extinction in less than two centuries. The exploring vessels were then on the coast of Newfomidland, and " great want of victuals " was brought about by inexperience and mismanagement. The young barristers began to eat each other, which induced Captain Wade to preach a sermon on the impropriety of such conduct. Eventually a French vessel came in sight and was seized
1530.] VOYAGES OF WILLIAM I/AWKYNS. 611
by the adventurers, who appropriated provisions sufficient to enable them to return to England. Hakluyt rode two hundred miles to obtain the particulars of this voyage from young Mr. Butts ; and to his indefatigable perseverance we owe the preservation of records of this and other voyages, which would otherwise have been lost. They may be taken as enterprises typical of many long since forgotten.
The maritime enterprises of the days of Henry VIII. were not confined to these northern voyages. Hakluyt tells ns how old Mr. William Hawkyns of Plymouth, who was much esteemed for his wisdom, valour, and skill in sea canoes, would not be contented with short voyages along the known coasts of Europe. He fitted out a tall and goodly ship of 250 tons, called the Pole, of Plymouth, and made three long and once famous voyages to Brazil, which, in those days, was an enterprise of very rare occurrence. His first voyage was in 1.530, when he reached the Eio Cestos on the Grain Coast of Guinea, and took in elephants' teeth and other com- modities. Thence he continued his voyage to the coast of Brazil, where he behaved with such prudence and judgment that he not only formed friendships with the natives, but even induced one of the chiefs to come to England. These three voyages of William Hawkyns were memorable, and others followed in his footsteps. Several wealthy merchants of Southampton sent ships to Brazil in 1540 ; and trade was carried on with the ports of Barbary from London. But one of the first voyages to Guinea was disastrous, owing to the inexperience, and perhaps to the misconduct, of the commander. The Primrose and Lion left Portsmouth in August, 1553, and returned with the loss of the captain and of a hundred men, out of one hundred and forty men forming the crews of the two ships.
These Guinea voyages were indeed veiy perilous in those days. Their commanders needed to be men of high qualifications — to be endowed with coiirage, patience, perseverance, zeal, and sympathy for their men. Long voyages, the ravages of scurvy, and bad provisions had certainly to be faced, besides the usual perils of the sea, and a probable encounter with a superior force of Portuguese. This was the training of most of the great naval officers of the Elizabethan age ; and such a man appears to have been Captain John Lock, who commanded a fleet of three ships for the Guinea voyage, fitted out by merchants of London, in 1554. He exchanged his outward cargo
•2 u -2
612 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1485-1(303. [1557.
with the commodities of the country at a place four leagues to the east of Lamina. His journal describes the people and the climate, and contains notes on the variation of the compass and on the native products, such as gold, elephants' teeth, dragons' blood, and cinnabar. He suggested instructions for those who would make a voyage to Guinea. They should make a chart with the correct lati- tudes of places ; learn what commodities belong to each port ; what help may be depended upon from the natives ; ascertain particulars respecting water-supply ; and explore the country both along the coast and inland. The voyage of John Lock was followed, from 1555 to 1557, by three voyages sent to Guinea by a merchant of London, named WilUam Towerson, his ships fighting the Portuguese successfully, and bringing back gold and ivory.
The meagre history which Hakluyt has thus presei-\'ed, proves that there was an increasing spirit of enterprise among the merchants and seamen of our principal seaports for at least a centixry before the formation of the great companies gave an additional and abiding impulse to maritime discovery. Nor was this spirit of adventure confined to those whose regular business it was to make trading ventm-es and to navigate distant seas. Young gentlemen from inland counties, barristers from the Inns of Com-t, and even a canon of St. Paul's, came forward as volunteers ; while the policy of the Government was generally to give reasonable encouragement to these undertakings, by sharing in the ventures, by occasionally even fitting out expeditions, and eventually by granting charters.
Young Edward VI. appears to have taken a personal interest in the advancement of the maritime prosperity of his country, and in the science which is a necessary part of a seaman's education. During his reign Sebastian, the son of John Cabot, retm-ned to England, after having served the Spanish Government for many years, been initiated into all the secrets of the hydrographic office at Seville, and been entrusted with the high position of Chief Pilot. He in fact deserted ; and application was made for his surrender by the Emperor Charles V., which was refused because it was thought that his services would be useful to England. Sebastian was very young at the time of the voyages of John Cabot, and it is doubtful whether he accompanied his father. When he returned from Spain he was an old man, and he was welcomed as a learned cosmo- grapher, possessed of the secrets of the Spanish Government. In reahty, he was a treacherous intriguer, disloyal to all his employers,'
1553.] Sin IIUOII WlLLUUUllUY. 613
alike to England as to Spain. But this was never known until the Venetian archives revealed it, centuries after his death. King Edward's government received him as a valuable acquisition, and granted him a pension.
When the monopoly of the foreign merchants of the Steelyard was withdrawn, the Company of Merchant Adventurers resolved to seek for new outlets for English manufactured goods, and, after much consideration, it was resolved that the vessels should be fitted out, to undertake a voyage to Cathay by the north-east. One of the leading promoters was Lord Howard of Effingham, father of the great admiral ; and Sebastian Cabot was chosen as the first governor of the company. The choice of the commander for this expedition fell upon Sir Hugh Willoiighby, a younger son of an ancient Nottinghamshire family. His portraits at Wollaton and in the painted hall at Greenwich, show us a tall, handsome man, with a small head and amiable expression of countenance. He had the title of captain-general, with his flag on board the Boita Hperanza, of 120 tons. His second in command, on board the Edward Bonaventure, of 160 tons, was Kichard Chancellor, an experienced seaman, who had already seen service in the Mediterranean. Stephen Borough was with Chancellor as master, and John Buckland as mate. The third vessel was the Bona Conjidcntia, of 90 tons. Kather elaborate ordinances and instructions were drawn up for Willoughby's expedition, boiTOwed from similar documents in the office of the Chief Pilot of Spain. One, as Mr. Harrisse has pointed out, is copied from the instructions which the Coimcil of the Indies prescribed, in 15'23, to Cabot himself, for the expedition to the Eiver Plate. In these instructions the captains were enjoined to enter daily in their journals the navigations of every day and night. The journals of the different ships were to be compared periodically, and, after debate and consultation, to be entered in a common ledger.
On the 20th of May, 1558, the three ships fonning Sir Hugh Willoughby's expedition were towed down the Thames by boats, with the crews dressed in sky-i)lue clotii. The ships saluted as they passed the royal palace of Greenwich, the roofs and towers of which were crowded with spectators. But the poor young king was too ill even to come to a window. The evidence points to his having been poisoned, probably not through criminal intent, but owing to ignorance and neglect. Five years of terror and mis-
(514
VOYAOES AND DISCOVEBIES, 1485-1603.
[1554.
government were to follow his death, during which period the sister he had loved so well was in deadly peril, expecting to be offered a sacrifice to bigotry and jealousy, " tanqua?n ovis," as she plaintively said. But then all the clouds cleared away, the sun appeared in its splendour, and the spirit of maritime entei-prise was fostered for nearly half a century by the great queen.
As Willoughby's ships were towed down the river, great crowds
SIR HUGH WILLOUGHBT, KT.
CTnhii. hii kimi jjirmission of Lord Mhhlletuii, from' the tAiiiin, hi/ an iiiikiiuwii artist, atWollaloii Hall, A'uMs.)
[Owing to the condition of this ivery interesting portrait, it has been I'ound impossible to obtain a better reproduction of it than, the onel above given. The historical value of the print will excuse its imperfections.]
lined the banks, salutes were fired, and cheers resounded from the crews of all vessels at anchor. The fate of Willoughby's ship is well known. Sir Hugh came in sight of what is now called the "Goose Coast" of Novaya Zemlya, and afterwards took refuge in the Bay of Arzin ain Lapland. Here he and all his crew perished
1555.] VOYAGES TO THE WHITE SEA. 615
during the following spring, after making some efforts to find habi- tations of the natives and to seek their aid. Chancellor was more fortunate. He succeeded in reaching the Russian settlement of IvJiolmogori on the White Sea, proceeded to Moscow, and returned safely to England in the autumn of 1554. Commercial relations were thus commenced with this distant and previously unknown country, which were kept open by vessels periodically dispatched to the White Sea by the Muscovy Company, the title by which it was henceforth known. For in February, 1555, it was granted a charter of incorporation by Philip and Mary, for the discovery of unknown lands.
In June, 1555, the company sent out two ships, the Edward Bonaventure and Philip and Mary, commanded by Richard Chan- cellor and John Howlet, with George Killingworth on board as the company's agent. The former ship proceeded to the WTiite Sea, probably hearing of the sad fate of Sir Hugh Willoughby and his people at Vardo. On her return, the Edward Bonaventure, then in command of John Buckland, visited Arzina and took on board the body of Willoughby, and the papers and merchandise remaining in his ships. The Edward Bonaventure and Philip and Mary returned to the Thames in November. Mr. Harrisse has pointed out that Milton (' Brief History of Muscovia ') was mistaken in supposing that the vessel with Willoughby's body on board was lost at sea. The same two ships were sent to the White Sea again, in 1556, and a third vessel was added, the Searchthrift, under Stephen Borough, with his brother William and a crew of eight men.
Stephen Borough appears to have been in chief command ; and be left Gravesend on the 25th of April, 1556. Parting company with the two other ships off the entrance to the White Sea, the Searchthrift continued the explorations eastward, and Borough reached the mouth of the Pechora. On August 1st, 1556, he landed on the south-west coast of Novaya Zcmlya, and explored the strait between that coast and Waigatsch island. He then proceeded to the White Sea, and wintered at Kholmogori, returning home in 1557.
Meanwhile, Chancellor had again been to Moscow, and returning with a Russian ambassador, embarked at Kholmogori on board the Edward Bonaventure in July, 1556. It was not until November that she aiTived off Pitsligo, near Aberdeen, where she was driven
61(J VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, li85-1603. [1567.
upon the rocks during a heavy gale. Chancellor, the experienced pilot and gallant seaman, perished in an attempt to reach the shore in a boat.
Then, from 1557 to 1572, followed the voyages of Anthony Jenkinson, an able negotiator and intrepid traveller. Jenkinson was the first Englishman to navigate the Caspian Sea. He penetrated as far as Kazvin and Bokhara, and obtained a new charter from the Tsar, for the Russia Company, in 1567.
There are reasons for paying special attention to the careers of Stephen and Wilham Borough. They are the first in the long roll of illustrious seamen who commenced life in the merchant service, became distinguished as explorers, and ended as valuable officers of the Eoyal Navy. They began the establishment of the proof, which the experience of three centimes since their day has now completely demonstrated, that voyages of discovery are the best training-groimds for naval officers. They were the first to perceive that the only point in which English seamen were then inferior to Spaniards or Portuguese was in scientific knowledge ; and the elder Borough was the first to seek a remedy.
Stephen and Wilham Borough were born at Borough in the parish of Northam, near Bideford. After Stephen returned from the White Sea in 1557, he induced Eichard Eden to translate the ' Arte de Navegar,' of Martin Cortes, the navigation text-book of the Spaniards, into English. He thus secm-ed the means whereby our seamen could obtain instruction. In 1563 he received the appointment of Chief Pilot in the Medway, and assumed the duty of instructing and examining seamen in the art of navigation. This meritorious officer died in July, 1584, in his sixtieth year, and was bm-ied at Chatham. His brother Wilham's services were of the same character. He was ten years younger than Stephen, and he continued to serve the Eussia Company in voyages to the White Sea. In 1570 he commanded a fleet bound for Narva in the Baltic. The brothers had been attentive in observing the variation of the compass during the voyage of 1556, and in 1581 WiUiam Borough published his ' Discourse of Variation of the Compass.' In 1583 he became Comptroller of the Navy, and two years afterwards he commanded the fleet which conveyed the Earl of Leicester from Harwich to Flushing. He constructed charts and prepared saihng directions, besides serving with Drake at Cadiz, and under Lord Howard against the Spanish Armada. Such were the services of
1562.] Slli JOHN HAWKINS. 617
these two brothers, who received their training in expeditions of discovery.
But they were only the two first among that galaxy of explorers and discoverers who created the Enghsh navy and saved England. They were the first, but their compeers Drake and Hawkyns were perhaps the greatest as commanders in war and as administrators in time of peace. John, the son of that famous old Wilham Hawkyns of the Brazil voyages, was born in 1532, and in his youth made divers voyages to the Canary Islands, where he obtained much information respecting the trade of the West Indies. He heard, among other things, that there was a great demand for negroes at St. Domingo and in the Spanish Main, and that they could easily be obtained in Guinea. His plan was approved by several London capitalists, as well as by Mr. Benjamin Gonson, the Treasiu'er of the Navy, who became the father-in-law of the young adventurer, probably before he sailed.
John Hawkyns was thirty years of age in 1562, when he received command of three ships, the Solomon, of 120 tons, the Swallow, of 100 tons, and the small barque Jonas. The orders he gave to his sailors were: — " Serve God daily; love one another; preserve your victuals; beware of fire; and keep good company." Proceeding to Sierra Leone, he got on board, partly by force and partly by other means, as many as three hundred negroes, besides other merchandise. Crossing the Atlantic, he visited the ports of Isabela, Puerto de Plata, and Monte Christi, on the north coast of the island of Santo Domingo. He disposed of all his negroes, and received in exchange so valuable a cargo that he returned home in September, 1563, with much profit, both to himself and to the merchant adventurers who fitted out the expedition. But Hakluyt was only able to get but a brief account of the first West Indian voyage of John Hawkyns.
The story of the second voyage of John Hawkyns is well told by John Sparke the younger, who was on board one of the ships as a volunteer. On the 18th of October, 1564, four vessels, named the Jesus of Liibeck, of 700 tons, the Solomon, of 140 tons, and the Tiger and Swallow of 50 and 30 tons respectively, sailed from Plymouth under the command of Hawkyns, who proceeded, as on the previous voyage, to the Coast of Africa, and in January, 1565, made sail from Sierra Leone for the West Indies with a cargo of slaves. After touching at Dominica and other islands, Hawkyns anchored off Burburata on the coast of Venezuela. Here he was
618
VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1485-1603.
[1565.
told that the Spaniards were forbidden to trade with any other nation ; but the authorities agi-eed to supply him with provisions and water ; and in the end Hawkyns also received payment for a number of his negroes. At Eio de la Hacha, by a display of force, Hawkyns again obliged the Spaniards to trade with him, and thus disposed of more negroes.
On the 31st of May, 1565, the EngHsh adventurers departed from the South American coast, sighted Jamaica and Cuba, and
SIR JUHi. HAWKYNS, KT. (From till' ' Memjlogia.'')
arrived at the river in Florida where the French, under Laudonier, had built a fort. Hawkyns found these settlers in want of pro- visions, and presented them with supplies of meal and beans, and also with one of his barques, to help them on their return. Taking leave of the Frenchmen, Hawkyns began his homeward voyage on the 28th of July, and arrived at Padstow on the '20th of September, 1565. This second voyage of Hawkyns was also profitable, and encouraged the adventurers to tempt fortune a third time.
1567.] VO¥AGi:S TO GUINEA AND SOUTH AMERICA. 619
Hawkyns sailed from Pljmouth on the "ind of October, 1567, with a fleet consisting of the Jesus of Lilheck, lent by the queen, the Minion, the Judith, of 50 tons, and two small barques; and in command of the Judith was his renowned cousin, Francis Drake. The needy vicar of Upchurch on the Medway, driven by persecution from his native Devonshire, found it hard to bring up several sons, and Francis was apprenticed to the master of a small vessel which traded along the coast, and across the Channel to Zeeland and France. As a boy of twelve or thirteen, he might have seen, and probably did see, the fleet of Sir Hugh Willoughby go down the river, and he probably joined in the cheering. He was such a good and honest lad that the old sailor who owned the coasting vessel bequeathed it to his apprentice on his death. This was the small beginning of Drake's fortune. He continued in the same business for several years, but in 1565 he made a voyage with Captain John Lovell to the West Indies, which was disastrous, and caused ruinous loss to young Drake. He was, therefore, glad to receive command of the little Judith in the fleet of his relative.
Pursuing his former course of procedure, Hawkyns went fkst to the coast of Africa, took between four hundred and five hundred negi'oes on board, and sailed with them for the West Indies, arriving at Dominica on the 27th of March, 1568. He seems to have found no difficulty in inducing the Spaniards on the coast of Venezuela to trade with him, except at Eio de la Hacha and Cartagena. At the former place Hawkyns found it necessary to land his men and take the town by storm before its citizens could be induced to enter into commercial relations, but after that decisive step, they came by night and purchased two hundred negroes from the English. Leaving Cartagena on the 24th of July, and commencing the homeward-bound voyage, the adventurers encountered a hurricane off the west end of Cuba, which lasted four days, and the Jesus sprung a leak. This was followed by another gale, and Hawkyns was obliged to seek a refuge for his battered ships in the bay of Vera Cruz on the coast of Mexico, on the 16th of September.
Hawkyns made a request to the Audience of Mexico, which was in charge of the government until the new viceroy should arrive, that, having been driven to the anchorage of San Juan de Ulloa by stress of weather, he might be supplied with provisions and allowed to depart peaceably. Meanwhile, the Spanish fleet arrived, having on board the new viceroy of Mexico, Don Martin Henriquez. The
620 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1485-1603. [1570.
viceroy made an agreement with the English commander that his ships should be provisioned ; the fleets saluted each other, and amity was apparently estabhshed. But the Spaniards intended treachery, and at a given signal a general attack was suddenly made on the Enghsh ships. The Minion sUpped her cables, hauled awaj- on a stemfast, and thus escaped from the first assaiilt. The Jesus was next attacked, but she also hauled out, and both the English ships got to a distance of two ships' lengths from their Spanish assailants. Then a heavy fire was opened on the Jesus fi'om a battery on shore, and her masts and yards were so cut about that aU hope was abandoned of getting her out to sea. She was left to her fate, while the Minion, hastily taking Hawkyns on board, made sail, followed by some of the sux-\'ivors of the crew of the Jesus in a boat. The rest were slaughtered. The Minion and Judith put to sea, but parted company next day. The Minion was thus crowded with men, while the provisions had run short, and there was no possibihty of feeding so many. After sailing about for several days in the Gulf of Mexico, she was anchored off the coast, near Tampico. The unfortunate people, pressed by hunger, demanded to be put on shore. There was no alternative. A hundred men were lauded, and Hawkyns commenced the voyage home with about a hundred survivors, who died in great nimibers from scurvy and famine. Some relief was obtained from English ships in Vigo Bay, and on the 25th of January, 1-569, the battered Minion, with her suffering crew, was anchored in Mount's Bay.
The men who were put on shore on the coast of Mexico were, made prisoners, and were at first treated with humanity, but the Inquisition was established at Mexico in 1570, and the most horrible atrocities were committed on the English captives. Only two, named Da\'id Ingram and Miles Philips, ever retiu-ned home, and their accounts of the cruelties of the Inquisition, and of the terrible sufferings of themselves and their comrades, sent a thrill of horror through the land. Both Hawkyns and Drake vowed vengeance, and they were men who kept their word.
John Hawkyns had thus received his training in the conduct of difiicult and perilous adventures by sea. The rest of his hfe was devoted to the naval service of his country. This gi'eat sea captain acquired his rare qualifications during his long service in exploring voyages to the Canaries, to the coast of Africa, and to the West Indies.
1572.] SIR FBANCIS DRAKE. 621
The captain of the Judith was ten years younger than his cousin Hawkyns, and was resolved to see more of the West Indies. The treatment of his comrades who had been forced to land at Tampico made Francis Drake an implacable enemy of the Spaniards. Whether there was peace or war between England and Spain, there was henceforth to be unceasing war between Drake and the countrjonen of the Spanish Inquisitors. In 1570, Drake made a voyage to the West Indies with two small vessels, called the Dragon and Swan, and in 1571 he went out in the Swan alone. He was collecting information and maturing his plans for a hostile expedition ou a more considerable scale.
When he returned to Plymouth, he began to make a very careful selection of young able-bodied seamen to form the crews of two vessels, forty-seven men and boys for one, and twenty-six for the other. A year's provisions were taken on board, and three pinnaces were specially constructed, to be taken out in pieces. The Pasha, of 70 tons, was commanded by Drake himself, and the Swan, of 25 tons, by his brother John. They sailed from Plymouth on the 24th of May, 1572, and Drake shaped a course for the Spanish Main, until he sighted the high land about Santa Marta. He seems to have known of a small mifrequented bay, which he called " Port Pheasant," and here his ships were anchored, and the pinnaces were put together. He was joined by a barque belonging to Cowes, with a crew of thirty men, under the command of a seaman named James Reuse.
Drake's scheme was desperate; but it was very carefully planned. He intended to attack Nombre de Dios in the pinnaces, the point on the isthmus to which all the w'ealth of Pern converged for shipment to Europe. The three pinnaces came silently before the town in the dead of night. At three in, the morning of the 22nd of July, the EngUsh, landing, captured a battery of six brass guns, and spiked them. Unluckity a gunner escaped and alanned the town. ^^Tien Drake entered the market-place at the head of his men, the Spaniards opened fire, but were put to flight. John Oxenham, Drake's trusty lieutenant, found an immense heap of silver bars in the treasure-house. The gallant commander of the expedition had, however, been severely wounded. He fainted from loss of blood, was carried down to his pinnace, and taken to an island where he might be cured of his wound. Here the ships joined them, and Eeuse parted company to retm-n home with his share of the spoils.
622 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1485-1603. [1573.
Drake continued to harass the Spaniards. His brother John was killed in boarding an enemy's ship, and another brother Joseph died of fever with twenty-eight of the men, biit several prizes were captm-ed in the autumn of 1572.
During these closing months of the year, the active brain of the illustrious leader was elaborating a plan for crossing the isthmus of Darien, and intercepting the train of treasure mules. He made his preparations with great care. He had succeeded in opening friendly relations with a chief of the Cimarrones or runaway slaves named Pedro, and he selected the best of his own men. His expedition finally consisted of eighteen picked English seamen and thirty Cimarrones, and he started for the journey across the isthmus on the Brd of February, 1573. The way led through dense tropical forests, up steep declivities, and along rocky water- courses. On the 11th, they reached the top of a hill on which, the narrative tells us, there was " a goodlie and great high tree." Francis Drake climbed into the branches by means of notches cut in the trunk, and, for the first time, beheld the South Sea stretching away to the western' horizon. His mind was fiUed with enthusiasm, and when he reached the ground he knelt down and besought God "to give him life and leave once to sail an Enghsh ship on that sea."
The little party had reached the water-parting of the isthmus. They now began to force their way through the almost impervious tangle of forest vegetation until at length they came in sight of the city of Panama. Drake had inteUigence that eight mules laden with gold were about to make their way from Panama to Nombre de Dios. He secreted his men near the roadside, and after about an hoiu' the tinkling of the leading mule's bell was heard. One of the seamen, unable longer to restrain his excitement, dashed forward. This prevented the plan of a sui-prise, but Drake was not to be beaten. He got his little force in order, and boldly attacked the escort. The Spaniards were seized with panic and fled, leaving their precious charge in the hands of the victors. Drake then re-crossed the isthmus and, near Nombre de Dios, captured another train of 109 mules, each carrying 300 pounds of silver. The quantity was so great that only a portion could be taken away.
When Drake came down to the appointed place of embarkation he found that,, instead of his pinnaces, there were seven armed Spanish boats at anchor in the bay. It is on such occasions that
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1575.] JOnU ox EN HAM. 623
the value of a tniiiiin'; iu exploring expeditions is brou<^ht out. Men have to decide on the instant, when one false step would be fatal. The habit of alertness and presence of mind is acquired ; and the necessary training cannot be secured by study and exercise, but only by long service in the midst of perils and difficulties and oi sudden emergencies. Taking every precaution that his people should be neither seen nor heard, Drake led them quietly down to a part of the bay which was concealed from the Spaniards by a jutting point. Here they built a raft and embarked to search for their comrades with a bread-bag for a sail, and the branch of a yomig tree for a rudder. They were up to their middles iu water, but the ships were found, and Drake prepared for the homeward voyage after dis- missing the faithful Cimarrones loaded with presents.
Drake returned to Plymouth on the 9th of August, 1593, and found himself a rich mau. He served for some years in Ireland, and on his return he was, through the good offices of Sir Christopher Hatton, presented to the great queen.
John Oxeuham was not so patient. He was devoted to the service of Drake, whom he had accompanied through all the stirring incidents of his marvellous voyage to the isthmus, but, while waiting for his old master, he must needs scrape together money from among his Devonshire friends, fit out a small vessel of 140 tons at Plj-- mouth, and start on an expedition of his own in 1575. Proceeding to the same place on the isthmus he heard from the Cimarrones that, since Drake's incursion, the mule trains were guarded by much larger escorts. So he conceived the project of emljarking on the South Sea and intercepting the treasm-e ships before they reached Panama. Oxenham concealed his ship in a creek and buried his guns. He then made his way across the isthmus with all his crew and a large body of Cimarrones. On reaching a river flowing into the Pacific, trees were felled, timbers were shaped, and a pinnace was built, with forty-five feet length of keel. On board this fittle craft Oxenham and his intrepid followers sailed down the river and across the bay to one of the Pearl Islands, thus being the first Englishmen to navigate the Pacific Ocean. They captmed two vessels from Callao and Guayaquil laden with treasure, but Oxen- ham committed the fatal mistake of allowing the crews to depart and give the alarm. The EngHsh retm-ued to the isthmus and went up the river where the pinnace had been built, on their way to their own ship on the other side. Meanwhile, an expedition in pursuit.
624 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1485-1603. [1576.
consisting of a hundred soldiers under Don Juan de Ortega, was sent from Panama to surprise them. Ortega reached the delta of the river, but he was at a loss which mouth to enter, for it dis- charged its waters into the sea by three channels. Presently a quantity of feathers of plucked fowls came iioating down one of them. Ortega at once went up that channel, and on the fourth day came to the pinnace with only six men in her. Soon the Spaniards discovered where the booty was concealed, and were returning to their boats, when they were overtaken by Oxenham and the main body. The fearless Englishman led on a desperate attack, and his men fought with impetuous valour. But they were overpowered by numbers. Eleven were killed, and twelve, including the gallant leader, were captm-ed and sent to Lima. All were put to death except two boys. It was a sad ending for an exploit almost without an equal in the annals of maritime daring. Its reckless audacity has been condemned, though it is a quality which should be fostered and encouraged, for it has made England the mistress of the sea. It must be remembered too that Oxenham and his men showed that, although they knew no fear and counted no odds, they, and espe- cially their leader, had the minds to plan out an undertaking of extreme difficulty, and to execute it with skill and foresight. Above all we should be proud that the cause of their disaster was their generovis humanity. If they had done to their prisoners what the Spaniards did to theirs, they would have returned home safely with their little ship laden with treasure. The training of an explorer alone could have enabled Oxenham to achieve what he did. The noble attribute of mercy to the vanquished caused his failure and death.
While Drake, fired by the sight of the South Sea from the tall tree on Darien, was dreaming of a great voyage round the world, the attention of some of his brother adventurers was turned to the discovery of a way to the Indies by the north-west. Michael Lok was a leading spirit in advocating an attempt ; and the bold Yorkshireman who commanded the expedition was fortunate in having a man on board who was so weU able to give an interesting account of his voyages. Mr. George Best knew what he was writing about, for he had " apphed himseK wholly to the study of cosmographie and the secrets of navigation." He tells us that Captain Martin Frobiser fitted out two very small vessels — the Gabriel of 2.5, and the Michael of 20, tons — and sailed on the 1st
1577.] SIJi MARTIN FBOBISER. 625
of July, 1576, to attempt a passage which has baffled all the skill, energy, and devotion of later times. After a stormy voyage Frobiser sighted high and rugged land, with great store of ice along the coast, which he judged to be the Friesland described by the Venetian brothers Zeni at the end of the fourteenth centuiy. In reality it was the east coast of Greenland, near Cape Farewell. Here the pinnace was lost with four men. The Michael deserted her consort and went home ; but Frobiser, in the little Gabriel, continued his westward course. He crossed what was afterwards called Davis' Strait, and sighted " Queen EHzabeth's Forlande " on the 20th of July. On this voyage Frobiser discovered the deep bay, long called a strait, which bears his name. He returned in August, 1596, bringing home a shining piece of stone, from which the gold-finders " promised great matters." This was fortunate, for it led to the dispatch of two more expeditions under Frobiser. It often happens that such searches for " El Dorado," Prester John, or even for ores existing only in the imaginations of assayers, lead to important geographical discoveries, or, at all events, to voyages being undertaken which form an admirable nursery for seamen ; "which things," says Mr. George Best most truly, "are of so great importance as, being well wayed, may seem to comitervail the adventurers' charges."
Frobiser's second expedition consisted of three vessels — the Aid of 200 tons, with the commander of the expedition himself on board ; lieutenant, George Best ; master, Christopher Hall ; and mate, Charles Jackman. The Gabriel was commanded by Captain Edward Fenton, and the Michael by Gilbert Yorke. Saihng on the 26th of May, 1577, they anchored in Kirkwall Bay to send home letters, and sighted the coast supposed to be Friesland on the -Ith of July. Proceeding onward to the land discovered in the previous year, a more careful survey was made of Frobiser's (Strait) Bay : the names of Yorke and Jackman were given to soiinds, and that of the master, Christopher Hall, to an island. During this second voyage only one man was lost.
On Frobiser's return it was found that the assayers and gold- smiths had become more excited than ever over the worthless, though glittering, bits of mica, and adventm-ers were ready to equip a large fleet to seek for more. The queen named the country discovered by Frobiser " Meta Incognita," and, in the spring of 1578, that valorous commander found himself at the head of an VOL. I. 2 s
626 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1485-1603. [1580.
expedition consisting of no less than fifteen vessels. As his com- panions we again find Fenton, Yorke, and Best, besides others not unknown to naval fame, Carew, Courtenay, Newton, Kendal, Kinnersley. Edward Sellman was the historian of the third voyage.
Much experience in ice navigation was acquired during this third voyage. Frobiser himself landed on the coast of Greenland, which he still called Friesland, and obtained some dogs from the natives — the first communication with Greenland Eskimos since the days of the Norsemen. He called some high land near Cape Farewell " Charing Cross." Jackman, who was chief pilot of the fleet, succeeded in guiding the ships through all the perils of floes and icebergs in the strait, though Captain Fenton was beset for twenty days and in great danger. The " Meta Incognita " was further explored in several directions ; and a small house was built on an island named after the Countess of AVarwick. The American explorer Hall discovered its remains in July, 1861. The ships retm-ned home, and by that time it had been ascertained that the glittering stones were iiibbish. The most distinguished of the ice navigators, Frobiser and Fenton, did good service ten years after- wards at the repulse of the Spanish Armada.
Charles Jackman, who had served as a pilot in two of Frobiser's voyages, continued his Arctic work. It was resolved once more to attempt the north-east passage, and two little vessels set out in the spring of 1580, named the George and the William, under the command of Arthur Pet and Charles Jackman. Mr. Hugh Smith wrote the account of their gallant but ill-fated enterprise. Doubling the North Cape on the '2'2nd of June, they parted company off Kegor to rendezvous at Waigatsch. They attempted to enter the Kara Sea, but were stopped by the ice, and in returning westward they again parted company. The George returned to the Thames in November. The William wintered on the coast of Norway and, sailing for England in February, 1.581, was never again heard of.
This was nearly the last attempt by the north-east, but an interest was maintained in the north-west passage by such elo- quent appeals as the ' Discourse ' of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, and the ' Hydrographical Description ' of John Davis.
Uniting the qualities of a daring seaman and a skilful pilot to those of a scientific scholar, Davis was, in some respects, one of the most notable of Queen Elizabeth's marine worthies. He was a
1585.] JOHN DAVIS. 627
native of Dartmouth, and the neighbour and friend of the Gilberts and of Kalegh, so that an ardent zeal for northern discovery was early implanted in his breast. Throuj^h the munificence of Mr. William Sanderson, a wealthy London merchant of the Fish- mongers' Company, Davis was enableid to equip two vessels for a northern expedition of discovery — the Sunshine of 50, and the Moonahine of 35 tons. Sailing from Dartmouth in June, 1585, Davis touched on the coast of Greenland and acquired experience in ice navigation. Eetm-ning in September, he started on a second voyage in May, 158G, returning in August. Undaunted by failure he induced his employers to fit out a third expedition, this time consisting of three vessels — the Elizabeth, Sunshine, and a small pinnace of 20 tons called the Ellen.
The third was the most important of the three Arctic voyages of John Davis. Being very anxious to make it remunerative to his generous and entei-prising employers, he sent the two larger vessels to fish, while he prosecuted his discoveries along the coast of Greenland on board the little twenty-ton pinnace. He sailed northwards, in an open sea, until he reached 72^ 12" N., where he named a lofty, and now well-known, headland, " Sanderson, his hope of a north-west passage." He reached this point on the 30th June, 1587, hoping to proceed on a prosperous voyage. But soon afterwards he was beset in the ice for several days, which diverted him from his course, and he sailed across the strait that bears his name, returning safely to Dartmoiith in September, 1587. Davis did a great work in the course of these three voyages. He discovei'ed Davis' Strait ; he lighted the way to others who were destined to penetrate farther north and farther west ; he set a bright example of scientific skill, consummate seamanship and dauntless gallantry which was followed by numerous successors ; and he firmly believed in the possibility of making the voyage under more favom'able circiunstances, as he stated in an interesting letter, which has been preserved, to his old friend Francis Drake.
Ten years before Davis commenced his Arctic voyages, Francis Drake had returned from his Irish service resolved to put his plans into execution. For his dreams of navigating English ships in the South Sea had become solid and cai'efully thought out plans. His age in 1577 was thirty-seven. He had been at sea nearly all his life. He had received the training of an explorer, and was a thorough seaman and a scientific pilot. He was a wise and prudent
2 s 2
628 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1485-1603. [1577.
commander. He carefully collected all available information, and weighed every argument before deciding upon a line of action. He carried his designs into execution with dauntless courage, but he always remained cool, and his presence of mind never deserted him. He respected the personal property of an enemy. His men felt absolute confidence in his judgment and sense of justice. They knew that he sympathised with them and understood their feelings. They loved him, and would follow him anywhere. Technically the Spaniards were entitled to apply the term " Corsario " to the renowned " Francisco Drague," whom they feared and hated : at least until 1585. But to call him a pirate in the ordinary accepta- tion of the term conveys an entirely false impression.
The proposal of Francis Drake to navigate the South Sea, in spite of the Spaniards, received the support of several great men at court, especially of Sir Christopher Hatton, who was the renowned sailor's most active friend. Funds were therefore raised for the equipment of live vessels. Drake himself sailed in the Pelican, of 100 tons, as general. He was surrounded with some state, keeping a good table, with music playing during dinner, and having several gentlemen volunteers as his messmates. Among them was his youngest brother and heir, Thomas Drake. He had already lost two other brothers, John and Joseph, in the West Indies. The second ship of 80 tons was the Elizabeth, commanded bj' John Wynter, with William Markham, a younger son of Markham of Sedgebrook in Lincolnshire, and surnamed the " Otter Hunter," as master. The Marygold, commanded by John Thomas, was a vessel of 30 tons ; the Swan, under John Chester, was a fly-boat of 50 tons ; and there was a little pinnace of 15 tons called the Christopher. Drake's famous expedition sailed from Plymouth on the 13th of December, 1577.
The fleet shaped a course for the Cape Verde Islands, and, after leaving them, Drake steered southward into a region quite unknown to Englishmen. For fifty-five days they were out of sight of land, and during three weeks in the equatorial calms there was great heat, the Hue being crossed on the 7th of February, 1578. Drake attended personally to the health of the men, making regular in- spections and seeing that they were suitably clothed and fed. He also took the precaution of bleeding them before encountering the great heat of the equator. In all these respects he showed the qualities of a great commander, and in some points he was in
1578.] DRAKE' H CIUCUMNAVIOATIOX 629
advance of bis age. The fearful ravages of scurvy in those days were of course mainly due to ignorance, partly also to overcrowding ; and this seems to have been suspected ; for commanders some- times thought that they would escape sickness by having their vessels under-manned. Still, much saving of life might doubtless have been effected by close personal attention on the part of the com- mander to the comforts of the men ; and in this respect Drake was distinguished above all the seamen of his time.
At length the terraced shores of Patagonia came in sight, and the little fleet anchored in Port St. Julian. Fifty-seven years before, Magellan had suppressed a mutiny at this very place with \iolence, treachery, and bloodshed. Knowing that the captain of one of his ships was disaffected, he sent an officer to him with a letter and with orders to stab him while he was reading it. This was done ; and he ordered another captain to be strangled. The two bodies were quartered, while a third captain and a priest were turned adrift on the shore to die of starvation. Francis Drake, unfortunately, had to deal with a similar matter, but he did so in a different spirit. One of the gentlemen volunteers, named Thomas Doughty, was accused of insubordination and mutiny. He was an accomplished gentleman and a scholar, but he was also a " sea lawyer," striving to stir up discontent ; and the success of his machinations would, at the very least, have led to the failure of the enterprise. He received a fair trial, and was found guilty of mutiny by a jury. He was executed with all proper formality, after receiving the sacrament with Drake from Mr. Fletcher, the chaplain. Drake's own feeling towards Doughty was friendly, but, in the isolated and somewhat hazardous position of the fleet, he came to the conclusion, undoubtedly with reluctance, that the execution of a just sentence was necessary for the safety of the people entrusted to his charge, and for the success of the enterprise. He aftei-wards spoke kindly, and even in praise, of the deceased. Doughty's young brother, who was in the general's own ship, continued to mess at Drake's table and to be treated in all respects as the other gentlemen volunteers. It was a melancholy business, but the emergency was met by Drake with coolness, firmness, and moderation. It was unfortunate, also, that a skirmish with the natives resulted in the death of liobert Wynter, a brother of the captain of the Elizabeth, and of the master gunner.
The fleet left Port St. Julian and, steering south along the
6130 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1485-1603. [157».
Patagonian coast, came in sight of the land at the northern side of Magellan's Strait, which that commander had named the Cape of the Eleven Thousand Virgins, having come in sight of it on the 21st of October, 1520, St. Ursula's day. On entering the strait, being the third navigator to do so since Magellan, on the 20th of August, 1578, Drake changed the name of his ship from the Pelican to the Golden Hind, in honour of his j)atron Sir Christopher Hatton, whose crest was a hind statant Or.
Drake took his fleet through the strait in sixteen days, Magellan having taken thirty-one days in the same navigation. The English sailors obtained plenty of fresh provisions. In one day three thousand penguins were killed on an island which Drake named after the queen. There was also some friendly intercourse with the natives. Emerging into the South Sea on the 6th of September, the fleet encountered a terrific storm. The little Marygold was never heard of again. The Golden Hind was driven far., to the south, and when the gale moderated, Drake landed on an islaixd at the extreme south of Tierra del Fuego. Although the Dutch .were the first to sail round Cape Horn in 1615, Francis Drake, un- doubtedly discovered that famous island. He named it, and the adjacent islets, the Elizabethides.
The Elizabeth ran back into the strait and, after some hesitajkion, Captain W3'nter resolved to return home, despairing of heing able to join his consorts again. This decision was made .we are .told "'.full sore again the mariners' minds." Wynter remained three weeks in the strait to recruit the strength of his men, and dming his sojourn he collected some aromatic bark from an evergreen tree since named by Foster Drimys Winteri. He used it on the voyage home as .a remedy for scurvy, and the remedy, still known as a useful tonic, has ever since been called "Winter's bark." The Elizabeth arrived safely at Ilfracombe.
The small pinnace Christopher, with a crew of only eight men, was also driven out of sight of the other ships by the force of the storm. The crew got back into the strait, killed and salted many penguins, and eventually brought the little Christopher into the Eiver Plate. Here she was dashed to pieces on some rocks. Six of the crew were killed by the natives. The two survivors, named Peter Curden and William Pitcher, lived on crabs and wild berries for two months, at the end of which time Pitcher died, and his comrade buried him in the sand. After nine months, Peter Curden almost miraculously
1578.] DON I'EDRO SARMIENTO. G31
found his way back to his native land, and related his man'ellous adventures.
The Golden Hind was now left alone to complete the wonderful voyage of circumnavigation. Drake proceeded along the west coast of America, with the intention of waging a war of retribution on the Spanish settlements and shipping. This resolution would have been still more lirmly fixed in his mind if he had known of the cruel fate of his gallant lieutenant John Oxenham and his men. But the news had not yet arrived when Drake sailed from Plymouth.
Having obtained supplies at the island of Mocha, off the coast of Chile, and at Valparaiso, the Golden Hind appeared off Callao, the seaport of Lima, the capital of Peru, and residence of the viceroy. Drake there found seventeen loaded Spanish vessels, and, having obtained tidings of the recent departure for Panama of a, richly freighted ship called the Gacafucgo, he proceeded in chase.
His unexpected appearance at Callao caused the utmost con- sternation. The viceroy, Don Franciso de Toledo, a younger son of the Count of Oropesa, was astonished. No one had ever passed througli the strait since the days of Magellan and Loaysa,' and that English ships should have the audacity to make such a voyage had never been conceived possible. All the fancied security of the west coast of America was gone, and a new and quite unexpected state of affairs had to be faced. The viceroy Toledo was a cruel and heartless politician. He was red-handed with the blood of young Tupac Amaru, the last of the Incas, and with the blood of John Oxenham and his gallant comrades. At the same time he was a statesman of considerable ability. His fii'st step was to fit out two armed vessels, and to send them to Panama in pursuit of the Golden Hind. But it was too late. He then i-esolved to have Magellan's Strait properly surveyed, with a view to its fortification, and to preventing the passage of any more English ships into the South Sea.
For this service he selected the ablest ol'ticer in Peru. Don Pedro Sarmiento had served under Mendana in the discovery of the Solomon Islands. He had accompanied the viceroy in his great tour of inspection through all the provinces of his government, had constructed maps of Peru, and had written a history of the Incas.
' Garcia de Loaysa and Sebastian del Cano passed through the strait in 1526. Simon de Alcazava entered it in 1535, but he was murdered by his men, and his ships never got through.
632 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1485-1603. [1579.
Toledo prepared elaborate, but judicious, instructions, and entrusted Sarmiento with the command of the expedition. No better man could have been formd. He was a scientific seaman, devoted to his duties, and true as steel. He made a careful sui'vej- of the channels leading from the Gulf of Trinidad, and of the Strait of Magellan ; and he then proceeded to Spain and strongly recommended that the narrow channel near the eastern entrance should be fortified, and that a colony should be established to raise provisions, in connection with the garrisons. His plan was approved by King Philip 11. , a large fleet was fitted out, and colonists were put on board. But the business was shamefully mismanaged, owing to the command being given to an incapable and jealous officer, while Sarmiento was to be kept without power until he actually landed on the shore of the strait. At length, however, Sarmiento was put on shore, with the survivors of the colonists and with a small remnant of the supplies intended for them. Two towns were founded ; but food ran short, and Sarmiento returned to Brazil for help. His subsequent efforts were all thwarted, until at length he was taken prisoner by a ship belonging to Sir Walter Ealegh, and brought to England. No succour was sent to the colonists, who perished of starvation and misery. These events were the direct consequences of Drake's appearance in the South Sea.
While the viceroy Toledo was elaborating these defensive schemes, which were destined to terminate so tragically, Drake was pursuing his successful career. He crossed the line on the 28th of February, 1.579, sighted the chase off Cape San Francisco, on the coast of the province of Quito, and soon came to close quarters. A defence was attempted by the Cacafuego ; but one of her masts was shot away, and she was captured by boarding. The prize yielded eighty pounds' weight of gold, thirteen chests of coined silver, and a quantity of bar silver and precious stones, the whole value being i'90,000. A few days afterwards another Spanish ship laden with linen, silks, and china dishes, was overhauled. Drake made prize of the cargo, but not of the private property of the owner, Don Francisco de Zarate, who was himself on board. He did not, as is asserted in Barrow's ' Life of Drake,' rob from the owner's person a golden ornament in the shape of a falcon, with a large emerald set in its breast. A most interesting letter has quite recently been found at Seville, from this very Don Francisco de Zarate to the A''iceroy of Mexico, giving an account of the capture
1579.] A PORTRAIT OF DltAKE. 633
of the sliip. Here we leam the truth, wliicli was, that Drake did nothing of the kind alleged. Zarate wrote that Drake exchanged a sword with a costly hilt, and a silver chafing-dish, for certain toys of his, and he added : " I promise you I did not lose by the bargain."
The whole passage, in Zarate's letter, relating to Drake and his ship is extremely interesting. He wrote :
" 'I'lie English general is about tliirty-five years of age, Short of stature, with a ral beard, and one of the best sailors tliat sail the seas, lx)th in res|ie<t to boldness and to capacity lor tomniand. His sliip is of near -100 tons Inirden, with a liundrcd men on board, all young and of an age for battle, an<l all drilled as well as the oldest veterans of our army of Italy. Eacli one is lK)und to keep his arcjuebus clean. Drake treats them all with affection, and they him with respect. He also has with him nine or ten gentlemen, the younger sous of great jxiople in England. Some of tliem are in his counsels, but he has no favourite. These sit .at his table, and he is served in silver plate with a coat of arms engraved on the dishes ; and music is played at his diiuier and suii|)er. The ship carries about thirty pieces of artillery, and plenty of amnmnitiun and warlike stores."
This is the testimony of a stranger and an enemy, and is particularly valuable because it gives us a glimpse of the internal economy of the Golden Hind. We get some idea of the general's personal appearance, of the sort of state that was observed at his meals, of the discipline he maintained, of his relations with his men, and of the ship's armament. The Golden Hind was evidently kept hke a man-of-war, with all the order and discipline of a queen's ship, and as efficient as she could be made by an able commander, working with a zealous and willing crew.
After the capture of the two valuable prizes, Drake shaped a course for the west coast of Mexico, and anchored in the port of Guatulco, where he took in water and fresh provisions. He then steered northwards, intending to try whether it were possible to find a passage home along the northern shores of America. He had punished the Spaniards for their treachery at Vera Cruz, and for their cruelty to the shipwrecked English sailors who fell into their hands. He had enriched himself and his friends. His voyage now became one of geogi'aphical discovery northwards, beyond the farthest limit known to the Spaniards. In l.)4'2, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo had been as far as Cape Mendocino, in 40° N. on the Californian coast. Drake, sailing onward, succeeded in reaching the 48th parallel, having thus discovered 480 miles of a new region, to which he gave the name of New Albion. Want of provisions obhged him to give up the project of exploring farther in that direction, and to shape a cour.se for the Ladrone Islands. He therefore resolved to circum-
634 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1485-1603. [1580.
navigate the globe. During a voyage of sixty-eight days, without seeing land, Drake crossed the Pacific. At length he reached one of the Pelew Islands, and on the 4th of November, 1579, he arrived at Ternate. He refitted at an island near Celebes, and in the course of some intricate navigation the ship grounded on a shoal, but was got off after an anxious day. On January 9th, 1580, the Golden Hind passed the Cape, was at Sierra Leone on the '2'2nd of Julj', and arrived in Plymouth Sound on the 26th of September.
She was taken round to Deptford, and, on the 4th of April, 1581, the queen dined on board, conferring the honoiu' of knighthood on the great cu-cumnavigator. The Golden Hind was placed in dock, with orders that she should be preserved as long as she would hold together, and the cabin was converted into a banqueting-room. In 1587, Sir Francis Drake purchased Buckland Abbey, near his old home in Devonshire. This was inherited by his younger brother Thomas,, whose descendants continue to possess it.
Drake was the first commander of an expedition who circum- navigated the globe. Magellan was slain in a brawl with the natives of the Philippine Islands, and one of his ships was brought home by a junior pilot. The English explorer, on the other hand, completed the voyage himself, maintaining discipline and order, giving constant attention to the health and comfort of his men, and avoiding disputes with the natives as far as possible. But he did much more ; he discovered Cape Horn, and he discovered 480 miles of new coast to the northward of California. His voyage was the greatest maritime achievement of that centurj'. The rest of the life of Sir Francis Drake was devoted to the naval service of his country. Like nearly all the other great naval commanders of that age, he owed his training to voyages of exploration and discovery. The habits thus acquired — of coohiess and presence of mind, of forming a decision at the moment, of bringing the resources of a mind stored with knowledge and experience to bear quickly and effectively, and his magnetic influence over men — were all now devoted to the service of his queen and country in their great need. First among explorers and discoverers, Sir Francis Drake was, for that very reason, one of the greatest naval com- manders of his age. For it cannot be too often repeated that voyages of discovery form the best nursery for a navy.
The next expedition which shaped a course in the direction of Magellan's Strait was not a success, as it never got beyond the
1582.] CAPTAIN EDWARD FENTON. 6a5
coast of Brazil. It was equipped under the auspices of the Earl of Leicester, and the queen contrilnitcd two of her ships. But the instmctions were ambiguous. The North-West Passage was to be discovered if it was to be found south of 40^ N., but the ships were not to be taken north of that parallel ; they were not to pass through Magellan's Strait ; yet they were to visit the INIoluccas. The command was given to Captain P^dwai-d Fenton, the com- panion of Frobiser in his Arctic voyages. He was on board the galleon Leicester, of 400 tons, with young William Hawkyns, a nephew of Sir John, and Mr. Maddox, the chaplain and historian of the voyage. The other vessels were the Bonaventiire, of 300 tons, commanded by Luke Ward, and the Fmnci.i, of 40 tons, iznder Captain John Drake, with William Markham, who had been in the Elizabeth with Captain Wynter, as master. There was also a pinnace. The expedition sailed in May, lo82, and vent to the coast of Guinea, anchoi-ing at Sierra Leone on the 10th of August. It would appear, from the journal of young Hawkyns, that Fenton wanted from a very early period to give up the voyage, a^d that he was only induced to proceed owing to the protests of his ofi&cers. On the 1st of November the ships crossed the line ; and Fenton seems to have gone as far as 83' S. But he then tui'ued back, and anchored in the Bay of St. Vincent, on the coast of Brazil.
At this time Don Pedro Sarmiento, with indomitable patience and perseverance, was striving to induce the incompetent commander of the Spanish Heet to proceed to Magellan's Strait, and land his colonists. Once this incapable officer, whose name was Valdez, sailed to the entrance of the strait ; but, on the excuse of bad weather, he returned with the ships to ports on the coast of Brazil. Fenton was in the Bay of St. Vincent when, on the '23rd of December, 1582, three of these Spanish ships arrived and opened fire at about ten o'clock at night. The action continued until noon next day. The English succeeded in sinking one of the Spanish ships, and then put to sea, with a loss of six killed and twenty woimded. After being nearly a month off the coast, Fenton anchored in the mouth of the Biver Espiritu Santo, and obtained a small cargo of sugar, with which he sailed home, arriving at Kinsale on the 14th of June, 1583. This was a mismanaged business, although Fenton afterwards did good service in the defeat of the Spanish Armada. He died at Deptford in 1G03.
The Francis parted company in a gale before Fenton put into
636
VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1485-1603.
[1586.
the Bay of St. Vincent ; and reached the River Plate. Here she was wrecked, but officers and crew succeeded in reaching the shore. They were kept among the Indians for fifteen months, when the officers appear to have been given up to the Spaniards. Drake and Markham were sent to Lima, but their fate is unknown.
War was declared between Queen Elizabeth and Philip II. in 1585, and from that time there could be no further talk about
TIKIMAS CAVK.MIlSll.
(From the ' Henohr/ia.'')
piracy. A gentleman named Thomas Cavendish, of Trimley in Suffolk, had been for some time desirous of emulating the deeds of Sir Francis Drake, and in 1586 he equipped an expedition consisting of three vessels, the Desire of 120 tons, the Content of 60 tons, and the Hugh Gallant of 40 tons. Mr. Francis Pretty, another Suffolk man, accompanied Cavendish and was the historian of the voyage. The fleet touched at Sierra Leone, at San Sebastian in Brazil, and at Port Desire on the coast of Patagonia. Cavendish then entered
1586.] THOMAS CAVENDISH. 637
Magellan's Strait, aiul, after passing the two narrows, he anchored the ships and proceeded to explore in his boat along the shore. Presently he saw two men wavin^,' to him from a rock. He pulled in and took one of them into his boat. Tlie man turned out to be one of the survivors of Sarmiento's colony, and he told a harrowing tale. Nearly all had died of starvation. For months they had lived on shell-fisli picked off the rocks. Fifteen were still alive a])out a mile distant, including two women. The man's name was Tomas Hernandez. Cavendish promised to take them all on board, but a fair wind springing up he made sail and left them to their fate. Hernandez was the only one who escaped to tell the tale. Cavendish visited the deserted town called Felipe whicli the colonists had built. They had abandoned it when their provisions came to an end, and had hoped to maintain life by scattering themselves along the shore and living on shell-fish until the long-deferred si;ccour arrived ; and so they perished slowly, the weakest first. The English commander called the place Port Famine.
Hernandez was frequently consulted by Cavendish, especially on the occasion of an encounter with the natives near Cape Froward, the most southern point of America — so named on this- occasion. After entering the South Sea, Cavendish sailed north- wards along the west coast of South America, and anchored at Quintcro, a little bay near Valparaiso, foi: wood and water. Hernandez landed with the watering party, as a guide, several horsemen having been seen on the hills. Tlu'ough his treachery the party was suqirised, and a dozen English sailors were taken prisoners and hanged at Santiago, Hernandez escaping behind one of the horsemen. Sir Eichard Hawkyns tells us that retribution overtook the treachery of Hernandez. In the fight with the Dainty, he served on board one of the Spanish ships and was severely wounded. Three years afterwards Sir Eichard saw him begging on crutches, and in such a miserable state that he had been better dead than alive. He lived afterwards at Lima, and, in the days of the A^iceroy Prince of Esquilache (IG'iO), he made a deposition giving a full account of the sufferings of the colonists in the Strait of Magellan, of his rescue by Cavendish, and of his treachery at Quintero.
Touching at Arica, Cavendish, with his little squadron of three vessels, made his way to the island of Puna in the Gulf of
638 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1485-1003. [1588.
Guayaquil. Here he sank a Spanish ship of 250 tons, and landed a party which was repulsed by the Spaniards with a loss of twenty men. Cavendish then went on shore at the head of a stronger force, routed the victors, and burnt their town. On leaving Puna the Hugh Gallant was sunk, as it had been found that she impeded the progress of the other two ships, A course was next shaped across the line to the west coast of Mexico, and on the 27th of July Cavendish arrived in the Bay of Guatulco and burnt the town. He then proceeded to a port, which appears to have been San Bias, in order to refit and take in water and provisions. The ships were there several months. Hitherto Cavendish had done some injury to the Spaniards by burning towns and sinking ships, but he had not secured any rich prizes.
Sailing from San Bias the Desire and Content cruised off Cape San Lucas, the southern point of California, a lofty and barren headland, with outlying rocks which reminded the English explorers of the Needles off the Isle of Wight. On the 4th of November a tall ship hove in sight, and was captured after a brief resistance. Cavendish had at last secured a rich prize. The Santa And, a ship of 700 tons, had on board 122,000 ^)eso.s de oro. The Spanish crew was landed at Aguada Segura, a little port, with supplies of fresh water, almost under the shadow of Cape San Lucas. The two English ships then steered for the Eastern Archipelago, but a few days afterwards the Content parted company and was never heard of more. The Desire touched at the Ladrones and Philippines, and passed along the south coast of Java on her way round the Cape of Good Hope. She reached home in the autumn to 1588.
Thus was the world circumnavigated for a second time by English sailors. Cavendish, though fortunate on this occasion, was more remarkable for energy and violence of methods than for seamanlike skill, fitness for command, and humanity. The desertion of starving men and women, the burning of towns, and hanging of a Spanish pilot without sufficient cause, make us feel that we have not here a true disciple of Drake and Kalegh.
The enthusiasm for these voyages continued to prevail, and the year after the return of Cavendish, in 1589, a country gentle- man of Devonshire, named Chudleigh, fitted out a vessel, called the Wild Man, for the South Sea. She was joined by the Delight of Bristol, under the command of Captain Merick. We have
15'J2.] UAVI.S JN MAGELLAN 'IS ^THAIT. (J39
no details of Chudleigh's voyage. The young leader appears to have visited Trinidad. He died in the Strait of Magellan, and his ship returned. But the Deliijht had on board Mr. Magroth, who wrote the story of her passage out and home. She reached the Strait of Magellan, where sickness, want of resources, and other misfortunes led to a resolution to return without succeeding in the objects of the voyage. The sole survivor of the miserable colonists who had been abandoned to their fate by Cavendish was found at Port Famine and taken on board the Delight, but he died on the passage to Europe. The ship was w'recked on the coast of France, and only a few survivors found their way home again, including Mr. Magroth, the historian of the voyage.
Cavendish also fitted out a second expedition, which he mis- managed and which was a total failure. He himself reached the Strait of Magellan, shaped a course homeward, and died on the passage. Another ship deserted and returned.
The interest of this expedition lies in the fact that John Davis, the great Arctic navigator, commanded one of the ships, with the idea of attempting to make the voyage intended by Drake, from the coast of New Albion, round North America, to the Atlantic. Davis, on board the Desire, sailed from England in August, 1.591. The ship was ill-found, both as regards stores and provisions, and when Davis reached Port Desire, on the coast of Patagonia, he strove to make good some of the defects. His crew fished for smelts with crooked pins, and caught many seals, which enabled him to salt down twenty hogsheads of seal flesh. He again put to sea with the inten- tion of passing through Magellan's Strait, and on the 14th of August, 1592, he discovered the group now called the Falkland Islands. He then passed through the Strait, but on entering the South Sea he was driven back by gale after gale of wind. In one furious squall the cable of the Desire parted and an anchor was lost. Davis now- only had one anchor with one of the flukes gone, and a cable spliced in two places. Still the dauntless seaman resolved to make another attempt. But again he was met, on passing Cape Pilar, by a furious storm, with hail and snow, and with such a sea running that the people expected every moment to be their last.
At length, worn out with fatigue and the desperate struggle against the elements, even Davis began to despond. The sails were nearly worn out. The foot-rope of the foresail had parted, so that nothing held it but the cringles or eyelet-holes in the clews. The
640 VOYAaES AND DISCOVERIES, 1485-1603. [1593.
seas constantly broke over the poop and dashed with great force against the lower sails.
After nine days of an unequal contest the gallant commander of a resolute crew reluctantly bore up for the Strait. The provisions were spent and the Desire was quite unfit to continue the voyage. It would be necessary to lay in provisions for the return voyage while anchored in the Strait, of which Davis had already made a careful survey. He made salt by evaporation from the sea water, and stored in the hold fourteen thousand salted penguins. The allowance on the passage home was five ounces of meal per week for each man, three spoonfuls of oil a day, five penguins between four men, and six quarts of water for four men. In the hot weather the penguins, having been insufficiently salted, went bad. Scurvy broke out and all the crew died but sixteen, of whom only five were able to move. The whole work of the ship was done by Davis himself, the master, two men and a boy. The captain and .master at first went aloft to the topsails, but latterly they were too weak, and finally topsails and spritsail w^ere blown away. Davis sailed homewards under courses, he and the master taking turns at the hehn. Thus did the great navigator, in spite of almost in- superable difficulties, bring his ship into Berehaven, on the Irish coast, on the 11th of June, 1593.
Such was the type of seamen created by a training in the Arctic regions. Davis was not found wanting when the trial came. He had learnt courage of the highest order, perseverance, readiness of resource, patience, and sympathy for his men, in the best school. No man, without these qualities, would have struggled against adverse circumstances as he did, nor would any less gifted seaman have ever brought the Desire home. The life of Davis was still preserved for useful service to his country as a scholar and as a pilot.
The last Elizabethan voyage to the South Sea, with its memor- able fight against hopeless odds, belongs rather to the militant than to the exploring department of our naval service. Yet its leader inherited the traditions of an explorer, and was himself a born lover of everything that appertained to the work of maritime discovery.
Eichard Hawkyns was the only son of Sir John Hawkyns, and was brought up to a sea hfe from a boy. Born about 15(32, and losing his mother at an early age, he became his father's constant com- panion, and his boyhood was passed in dockyards and on board
1593.] SIR RICHARD HAWKYNS. (j41
ships. At the age of twenty he made his first long voyage to the West Indies, with his uncle William, and displayed hoth boldness and sagacity. One of the ships had been reported to be unsea- worthy, and it had been arranged that the stores should be taken out of her and that she should be sunk. But young Kichard volunteered, with as many men as would stand by him, to take her home. From his return in l.'j.s:5 to ir)8« he was constantly em- ployed, and he commanded the Swallow in the fleet which defeated the Spanish Armada.
At the end of the same year, with the consent and help of his father, he prepared for a voyage to India by way of the Strait of Magellan and the South Sea, with the intention of discovering and exploring unknown lands, and reporting upon their inhabitants, governments, and the commodities they yielded. With this o])ject he caused a ship to be built in the Thames, "pleasing to the eye, profitable for stowage, good for sayle, and well-conditioned." His step-mother asked to be allowed to christen the ship, and named her the Bepottance, saying it was the safest ship we could sail in to purchase the haven of heaven. But when Queen Elizabeth passed on her way to Greenwich Palace she ordered her bargemen to row round her, and said that she misliked nothing but the name. Her majesty christened her anew, and ordered that henceforth she should be called the Dainty. She was a ship of about 350 tons. Other duties delayed the voyage, and meanwhile the Dainty was employed in the queen's service ; but in April, 1593, Kichard Hawkins sailed on his daring enterprise. He was then in his thirtieth year, with several years' experience as a sea-captain, observant and eager to adopt every improvement, and paying close attention to each detail of his work. The most important event in his voyage across the Atlantic was the sighting of land on the '2nd of February, 1594, in 50° S., and about fifty leagues from the Strait of Magellan. He called it " Hawkyns's Maiden Land," not being aware that it had already been discovered by John Davis in 1592.
On the 10th of February, Richard Hawkyns entered the Sti-ait of Magellan. He described the appearance of the land, the different birds met with, and those available for fresh food, and prepared useful sailing directions throughout. His was the mind of an observant explorer. He also enriched his narrative with valuable suggestions respecting the sheathing of ships' bottoms and the
VOL. I. 2 T
642 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1485-1603. [1594.
repairing of anchors. He took the opportunity offered by his detention in the Strait to caulk the ship throughout, and employed the men in collecting Winter's bark, and in various sports, to keep them cheerful and healthy.
Having made a prosperous voyage through the Strait into the South Sea, the Daiutij anchored off the island of Mocha, on the coast of Chile, which was occupied by independent Indians, of whom he wrote an interesting account. They supplied him plentifully with fresh provisions, and he then steered northwards with the intention of passing Callao out of sight of land, so that his presence on the coast might not be known to the Spaniards. But his plan was overruled by the officers and crew, who urged him to attack some of the ships in tne enemy's ports. He very reluctantly consented, and bore up for Valparaiso, where he ransacked four ships and the warehouses on shore, but found nothing worth taking away, except fresh provisions. When leaving the port, however, a ship was taken with some gold on board, and with important passengers who paid ransoms. Hawkyns touched at Coquimbo and Arica, and off Quilca he caused the empty prize to be burnt. But meanwhile news of the arrival of an English ship on the coast had been sent to Lima. The Marquis of Caiiete, a most distinguished soldier both in the wars in Europe, and in those against the Araucanian Indians when he was Captain-General of Chile, was the Viceroy of Peru. With all possible diligence he sent six ships in search of the Dainty under the command of his brother-in-law, Don Beltran de Castro y de la Cueva. She Avas sighted off Caiiete, and the Spanish ships, being much more windwardly, rapidly came up with their chase. Then a fresh breeze began to blow, the Spanish admiral sprung his mainmast, the vice-admiral split his mainsail, and for that time the Daintji escaped. The Spanish ships returned to Callao, while Hawkyns steered for the Bay of Atacames, in the province of Quito, intending to take in wood and water, and then leave the coast.
The Daiufy anchored in Atacames Bay on the 10th of June, 1594. In five days all the empty water-casks were filled, wood was cut and taken on board, and the pinnace was put to rights. On the 15th, sail was made to the Bay of San Mateo, and a few days after- wards Hawkyns weighed with the intention of finally leaving the coast of South America. But it was not to be. The Spanish squadron hove in sight, and the admiral bore down on the little
1594.] THE SURRENDER OF THE ''DAINTY." M?,
Daiiitij. Richard Hawkyns and his splendid crew, hopelessly out- numbered, prepared to make a desperate fight for the honour of their country. First with noise of trumpets and then with artillery did the Dainties defy their enemies, but the Spaniards answered two to one ; for they had twice the number of guns, and ten times the complement of men. Hawkyns had but 75 men and boys, while the Spaniards numbered 1300. All day the action contiimed, and in the evening the Spanish vice-admiral came alongside the Dainty with the intention of boarding. But he met with such a reception from the English sailors that his decks were completely cleared. He forged ahead \\\i\i a loss of thirty men. The English also suffered severely, Hawkyns himself having received six wounds. The Spanish ships then remained at a more respectful distance, keeping up, however, a continual fire, and at intervals calling upon the Dainttj to surrender " (/ hitcna (jiicrra." Hawkyns had been carried below, and at last his captain, named Ellis, came down to his wounded chief and suggested the impossibility of further resistance. But Kichard Hawkyns declared that he had not come into the South Sea to hang out flags of truce. Like Eichard Greynvile he cried, " Fight on ! fight on ! " His captain and men took fresh heart, fought on all that night, and sustained the unequal struggle for the next day and night, and the third day after, being battered constantly with great and small shot by six ships. On the second day a master's mate named William Blanch, by a capital shot, carried away the main- mast of the Spanish vice-admiral close to the deck. But the Dainttj could not free herself from the other ships, and, when nearly all were dead or wounded, Captain Ellis surrendered " a hmna f/iwrra " on a solemn promise from Don Beltran de Castro that all should have their lives and liberties with a passage to their own country.
Eichard Hawkyns was received by the noble Spaniard with great courtesy, and accommodated in his own cabin. The Daiiitij was taken to Panama and re-christened the Visitacioii. Hawkyns and his fellow-prisoners were brought to Lima, and the Marquis of Caiiete treated them with kindness and consideration. But before long, Hawkyns was claimed by the Inquisition. The honour of the viceroy's brother-in-law was, however, at stake. The Marquis of Cafiete defied the Inquisitors, and sent his prisoners to Spain after a detention of three years at Lima. On reaching Spain, Hawkyns was thrown into prison at Seville, in defiance of the terms of surrender. Don Beltran de Castro was indignant at this breach of
2 T '2
644 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1485-1603. [1578.
faith, which compromised his honour, but many years passed away. At length a more powerful man, the Count of Miranda, took up the case. He declared that all future agreement would be impossible if faith in Spanish honour were destroyed. After eight long years of imprisonment Eichard Hawkyns was released. He was knighted by James I. and made Vice-Admiral of Devon ; and he died in 1622, when about to sail as vice-admiral of a fleet for the punishment of Algerine pirates.
The ' Observations of Sir Richard Hawkyns ' were published in 1622, and reprinted by the Hakluyt Society in 1847 and 1878. They are a perfect storehouse of valuable naval information of all kinds, every incident of the voyage leading the writer into reminiscences of former experiences, or into dissertations on sub- jects having reference to navigation, seamanship, gunnery, or naval discipline. Kichard Hawkyns was the ideal of an ardent explorer and of a brave and thoroughly efficient naval officer. If fortune had favoured, he would have made a great name. He has only left us a most charming book ; and Englishmen read it with feelings of pride that the author was their countrynaan, and with warm regret and sympathy for his misfortunes.
The three Elizabethan voyages into the South Sea did not lead directly to commercial intercourse, because the Spanish monopoly was uncompromising, and the undertaking was too difficult and perilous. But in other directions the first voyages of discovery were the forerunners of an active and prosperous trade to the Mediterranean, to the coast of Guinea, to Russia, and to Newfound- land, while the fearless English seamen continued to freqiient the West Indies. In 1581 a charter was granted to the Turkey Com- pany, and consuls were appointed in the Levant ; and in 1588 the first Guinea Company received its charter, with the privilege of exclusive trade to the Senegal and the Gambia.
But the oldest and most continuous traffic was that connected with the fishery on the banks of Newfoundland. According to Mr. Anthony Parkhurst, who reported on " the true state and commodities of Newfoundland " in 1578, there were from thirty to fifty sail frequenting the banks from the west of England, one hundred from Spain for cod, and thirty Basque vessels for whales, fifty Portuguese, and one hundred and fifty Breton vessels of about 40 tons.
On the 11th of June, 1578, Sir Humphrey Gilbert received
ir.78.] .s//,' IHMl'IinFA- GILBERT. 645
letters patent to fomur a colony in Newfoundliuul, and for the discovery of Norunibctja. His training had l)c'cn rather in the war against Spaniards in the Low Countries tlian at sea; l)iit lir was a man of far-seeing views, a patriotic and high-minded gentle- man. He made one disastrous voyage with his half-brother, Walter Italegh, in 1579, and in 1583 he equipped a more important expedition.
Five vessels left Cawsand Bay on the 11th of June; but the largest, named the lialeijJi, put back owing to the outbreak of a mortal sickness. The others were the Delight, of 120 tons, the Siralloir and (hildni H'niil. each of 40 tons, and the little SiiiiinrI, of 10 tons. On the 80th of July they had crossed the Atlantic and sighted land, visiting the island where the Bretons were accustomed to salt down quantities of great auks in casks. At St. John's, Newfoundland, Sir Iluiuphrey Gilbert found thirty-six sail of vessels of all nations, and, in accordance with his orders, he took possession in the name of the queen. On the 4th of August he landed, and was entertained by the English merchants. Leaving St. John's on the 20th of August, the ships were steered in the direction of the Isle of Sables, and on tiic 'iOth the Dclifjiif ran on shore and became a total wreck. Among those who perished were Stephanus Parmenius of Buda, who was to have been the historian of the expedition, tlie captain, and many otlicrs. The master, Kichard Clarke, got away in a small boat, wiiich was dangerously overcrowded. One of the party, named Hedley, proposed that they should draw lots for four to be thrown overboard. But Clarke said, "No! We will live or die together!" After having been Inur days without food they succeeded in landing, and relieved tiunr hunger by eating berries. Finally, they were taken on board a vessel belonging to St. Jean de Luz, and were landed at Pasajes in Spain, whence they found their way home.
These disasters induced Sir Humphrey Gili)ert to resolve upon returning to P^ngland, with the intention of continuing the enter- prise in the ensuing spring. He was urged to go on board the Hind: but as the S(iiiirnl, (nving to her small size, would be exposed to the greatest danger in crossing the Atlantic, he chose to go in her, and his resolution could not be shaken. On the evening of the 9th of September he was seen sitting with a book in his hand, and he cried out to those on board the Hind, when within haihng distance, "We are as near to heaven by sea as by land."
646 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1485-1603. [1584.
On the same night, being ahead of the Hind, the SquinrVs hghts were noticed to have disappeared. The vessel had gone down with all hands. The Hind arrived at Falmouth on the '22nd of September.
Hakluyt has preserved the journals of four Bristol ships which made successful sealing voyages to Newfoundland and Cape Breton in 1593 and 1594.
The mantle of Sir Humphrey Gilbert fell upon his half-brother, Walter Ealegh. This illustrious Englishman was the embodiment of all that was best in the chivalry, the culture, and the entei-prise of the Elizabethan age. Born at Hayes, near Sidmouth, in 1552, Ealegh was educated at Oxford, and passed six years of his life in Huguenot camps in France, probably serving in the battles of Jarnac and Moncontour. He then saw service in Ireland ; and in 1582, at the age of thirty, he was received into high favour by the queen. His greatness then began, and in 1584 he leased Durham House in the Strand. He was knighted in 1585, and became Captain of the Queen's Guard and Lord Warden of the Stannaries in the following year.
On the 25th of March, 1584, Sir Walter Ealegh received letters patent for the discovery and settlement of the region then vaguely known as Norumbega, the coasts of which had been discovered by the English in 1498, as shown by the map of Juan de la Cosa. Ealegh first sent two vessels, under Philip Amadas and Arthur Baiiowe, to proceed to their destination by way of the West Indies, and thus avoid the storms of the North Atlantic. They sailed on the 27th of April, 1584, touched at the Canaries and at one of the West India islands, and, on the 18th of July, landed on a low and sandy beach, and took possession. The country received the name of Virginia, in honour of the great queen, but the spot where they landed is in North Carolina. They found a broad, wooded island, with great abiindance of wild grapes. Seven leagues farther on was the village of Eoanoak, consisting of a hundred houses of cedar. A banquet was given them by the king, and they returned to England with two natives.
Ealegh's second expedition was on a larger scale. It was com- manded by the renowned Sir Eichard Greynvile, and consisted of five vessels — the Tiger, of 140 tons, the Lion, of 100 tons, the Elizabeth, of 50 tons, the Dorothy, a small barque, and the fly-boat Roebuck. Among the volunteers were Ealph Lane, the Governor of Keny,
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1585.] THE COLONISING OF VIRGINIA. 647
Cavendish, the future circumnavigator, Arundel, Eaymond, Stukeley, and Vincent. Sailing on the 5th of April, 1585, Greynvile touched at Puerto Eico and at Isahela, on the north coast of St. Domingo. Passing along the mainland of Florida, he anchored at Wocoken (now called Ocracoke Inlet) on the 'iGth of June ; hut one of his ships went on shore a id was lost. In exploring the country, Greynvile crossed the south part of Pamlico Sound, and visited three towns called Pomeick, Aguascogoc, and Lecoto, where he was well received The plan was, that a small colony should remain under the command of Ealph Lane, and that Sir Eichard Greynvile should return home with the ships. He reached Plymouth on the 18th of October, having during the voyage captured a richly laden Spanish ship of 300 tons. He boarded her in a boat made of the boards of chests, and the fragile craft went to pieces as he and his men sprang up the ship's side.
The colony under Ealph Lane was to remain and explore the mainland. There were with him Captain Philip Amadas, the learned Thomas Heriot, Courtenay, Stafford, Acton, Marmaduke Constable — all historic names — and a hundred men. They made the best use of their time, and Heriot studied the resources of the country, especially the vegetable products, and wrote an important work on the subject, which was of great use to future colonists. In June, 1586, Sir Francis Drake arrived with a fleet, and offered to supply the settlers with provisions ; but they decided to return home. Meanwhile, Ealegh had sent out supplies to the colony in a vessel of 100 tons. Not finding the settlers, she returned to England. Sir Eichard Greynvile also came cmt with three well- appointed vessels, and, failing to find the settlers, he also returned. He, however, left fifteen men at Eoanoak, with provisions for two years.
In 1587, Ealegh obtained a charter for the "Governor and Assistants of the city of Ealegh in A'irginia." He fitted out a ship of 120 tons, a fly-boat, and a pinnace, and sent out a colony of one hundred and fifty souls, under the leadership of John White, with Simon Fernando as pilot. They reached Hatorush on the '2'2nd of July, but found no signs of the fourteen men left by Sir Eichard Greynvile. A colony was landed, consisting of ninety-one men, seventeen women, and nine boys ; and John White went back to England for supplies. But it was not until the '20th of INIarch, 15U0, that he was able to return with three vessels. He landed at
64S VOYAGES ASD DISCOVEEIES, 1485-1603. [1594.
Hatorash on the 15th of August, and went to the place where the colony had been left in 1587. All was desolation. At length he found the word " Cruatoan " carved on a post. It was the name of the place whither the settlers had gone or had been taken. No effort was made to communicate with them, and the ships returned to England. Ealegh had now spent £40,000 on the work of colonising Virginia. In 1602 he again sent a vessel to succour the lost colony, mider Captain Wilham Mace, but she retiu'ned without reaching Eoanoak. The colonists intermixed with the natives, and were finally massacred by order of King Powhatan, instigated by his priests. Four men, two boys, and one young maid were spared, and from them the Hatteras Indians were descended.
Although the first colony was unfortunate, the patriotic efforts of Ealegh were, without doubt, the incentives to future colonisation. He aroused the spirit of colonial enterprise, and thus planted a sturdy tree, which bore fruit even in his own lifetime. The people of the United States must look to Sir Walter Ealegh as the original founder of their nation, and they could not have a nobler nor a purer origin. For Sir Walter's connection with Virginia is a monument of patriotic self-sacrifice ; and that his great merits are not forgotten was shown when a window to his memorj' was placed by Americans in St. Margaret's Church, Westminster.
Sir Walter Ealegh turned his attention to the discovery of Guiana in 1594. In that year he sent Captain Jacob Whiddon on a prehminary voyage of discovery, but Whiddon was thwarted by the Spanish Governor of Trinidad, and returned. Meanwhile, Ealegh himself made an exhaustive study of the subject. He derived his knowledge of Peru and the Incas from Gomara ; he had studied Andrew Thevet and Diego de Ordas, and he knew the particulars of the voyages down the Amazon by Orellana and Aguirre. He had heard of the discovery of gold in the Orinoco basin, of El Dorado, and of the fabulous city of Manoa. He obtained the services of such experienced seamen as Captains Whiddon, Keymis, Canfield, Gifford, and Dowglas ; and he was accompanied by a number of gallant young gentlemen volunteers, some of them being his own relations. John Gilbert was his nephew, Grej'nvile and Gorges were cousins. Leaving England on the 9th of Februarv, 1595, with five ships, with the object of exploring the Orinoco, the expedition arrived at the island of Trinidad on the '2'2nd of March, anchoring at Parico within the Gulf of Paria.
15'J4.] . THE GUIANA KXtEDlTIUN. 649
The Spaniards had a settlement called San Jose on the island of Trinidad, and at that time the governor was an officer of some distinction. Don Antonio Berreo had nian-ied a daughter of Gonzalo Jinienes de Quesada, the famous conqueror of Nueva Granada. Berreo had made a very remarkable journej' from Bogota, by descending the rivers Meta and Orinoco ; and he was only waiting for the arrival of his son from Bogota to undertake the establishment of a settlement on the Orinoco liiver.
Ralegh's first step was the capture of the Spanish town of San Jose. This was done by break of day, and Berreo was taken prisoner. His captor treated the governor with all possible respect as an honoured guest, and received from him as much information respecting Guiana as he possessed ; l)ut Berreo vainly attempted to dissuade Kalegh from attempting to ascend the Orinoco.
The ships were to be left at Trinidad, and the ascent of the river was to be undertaken by a hundred men with provisions for a month. The little flotilla consisted of an old galley, a barge, two wherries, and the long-boat of the Lion's Whelp. Ealegh himself, with most of the volunteers and fifty men, were in the galley ; Captain Gifford and ten more, in one wherry; Captain Canfield, with young Gorges and eight men, in the other ; and the rest, in the two ships' boats.
Reaching the Orinoco delta. Captains Whiddon and Dowglas sounded the Capari mouth, while Captain Canfield examined that of Manamo. The boats then entered the Orinoco, good supplies of cassava bread being obtained from the natives, with whom Ralegh kept on very friendly terms. He was thus able to collect a large amount of valuable information respecting the tribes and the resoui'ces of the country. The stories he was told respecting the yield of gold were chiefly from Spanish sources, and were gi-osslj- exaggerated ; but Ralegh was quite correct in his opinion that Gviiana was a gold-yielding country'.
The expedition was on the whole successful. The explorers suffered considerably from hardships and privations in the ascent of the river, i-owing against the stream, but they got as far as the mouth of the Karoni, and forty miles up that river. The Orinoco was rising rapidlj% which obliged them to return. Ralegh's principal native friend was an old chief named Tapiawari, with wliom he held long conversations.' It was arranged that two volunteers, a man named Francis Sparrow and a boy named Hugh Godwin, should
650 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1485-1603. [159G.
remain to learn the language, and that they should take merchan- dise into the interior, so as to explore and collect information. A son of Tapiawari returned with Ealegh. The boats reached the sea by the Capari mouth, and the explorers found the ships as they had left them, at Curiapan in Trinidad, and returned safely home.
In this ably conducted expedition. Sir Walter Ealegh showed himself to possess all the qualifications of an explorer. He took great pains, before starting, to inform himself, from every available source, of all that was known respecting the region he was about to explore. He equipped his expedition and selected his companions with great care, and with reference to the work that had to be done. He took every precaution in sounding the different mouths of the Orinoco, in navigating the river, and in his intercourse with the natives, that could suggest itself to a thoughtful leader. He was indefatigable in the collection of all useful information. The result was the publication of an interesting narrative which is read with pleasure and instruction down to the present day. The map was not finished when the book was published in 1596, but it is in the British Museum, and has recently been reproduced.
The Guiana voyage of Sir Walter Balegh led to many others in the direction both of the Orinoco and of the West Indian Islands. In Januarj', 1596, Captain Laurence Keymis left Portland in the Darling, of London, and again visited the Orinoco. He found that Sparrow had been captured by the Spaniards and taken to Cumana. In the same year Thomas Masham, in the pinnace Watte, went up the Essequibo.
The most romantic biography of all the Ehzabethan worthies is that of Sir Eobert Dudley, the repudiated heir of the Earl of Leicester. A gallant soldier, a scientific seaman, a gunner, an engineer, he was above all an enthusiastic explorer. He tells us that, " Having, ever since I could conceive of anything, been delighted with the discoveries of navigation, I fostered in myself that disposition till I was of more years and better ability to under- take such a matter." Yet he was only twenty-one when he sailed for the West Indies in command of an expedition consisting of the Bear, of 200 tons, the Bears Whelp, and two pinnaces, called the Frisking and the Earwig. He ordered his master, Abraham Kendall, to steer for Trinidad, and, anchoring at Curiapan, he landed with an armed pai'ty, and marched through the woods. He was joined by a pinnace from Plymouth, coimnanded by Captain Popham, and
IDyu.] FlilVATEEIilNO IN THE WEUT INDIEii. (>5i
the leaders intended to have extended their explorations to Guiana. But the crews refused, and young Dudley was obliged to retiurn. Leaving Trinidad in March, 1595, he touched at Puerto Eico and the Azores, encountering very severe weather. In ^lay he arrived at St. Ives in Cornwall, having sunk and burnt nine Spanish ships and expended all his powder. Owing to unjust treatment after the great queen's death. Sir Eobert Dudley abandoned his native country and lived at Florence, where he wrote that superb work, ' Del Arcano del Mare,' and where he died in 1(530.
In 1595 also Amyas Preston harassed the Spaniards in the West Indies, with two ships, the Ascension and the Gift. He sacked the towns of Coro and Santiago de Leon, and obliged Cumana to pay a ransom. In 159G Sir Anthony Shirley followed in Preston's track with nine vessels. He took Santa Marta and Jamaica, visited Puerto Cabcllo and Truxillo, and returned home by way of New- foundland ; and in the same year William Parker, in the Prudence, made good prizes in the Bay of Campeachy. These audacious voyagers were supplied with a good "Kuttier," or book of sailing directions for the West Indies, translated from the Spanish.
The value of an explorer's training was shown at the taking of Cadiz. Sir Walter Ealegh commanded a division of the fleet, and among those who had been engaged in exploring adventures with him, or at the same time, in the Orinoco and the West Indies, no fewer than four received the honour of knighthood from the Earl of Essex at Cadiz for their gallantry. These were Sir Eobert Dudley, Sir George Gifford, Sir Francis Popham, and Sir Amyas Preston.
In the closing years of the brilliant reign of Queen Elizabeth, the first chapter in the history of British India was commenced. The establishment of factories by the Turkey Company in the Levant led the way. In 1583 Fitch, Leedes, and Newbeny found their way to India overland, and their story drew attention in England to the wonders of the East. But no English ship had yet made the voyage to India, although Drake and Cavendish had rounded the Cape, coming from the East. The first English voyage to India W'as undertaken by James Lancaster in 1591. Lancaster was a native of Basingstoke, who had been serving in Portugal both as a soldier and a merchant, though he is only known to fame as an adventurous and able sea-captain. The expedition consisted of three tall ships, the Penelope as admiral, commanded by George Eaymond, the Merchant Royal, under Abraham Kendall,
652 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1485-1603. [1591.
who had been master to Sir Bobert Dudley in his West Indian voyage, as vice-admiral, and the Edward Bonaventure lender James Lancaster as rear-admiral. The historians of the voyage were Edmmid Barker, Lancaster's lieutenant, and a mate named Henry May.
The expedition sailed from Plymouth on the 10th of April, 1.591, and, touching at the Canary Islands, the ships made the best of their way to the Cape of Good Hope. Kear the line the English explorers fortunately captured a Portuguese caravel laden with wine, oil, and olives. During the long detention by equatorial calms the scurvy broke out, there were many deaths, and the crews were in a very weakly state when the ships reached Table Bay. There oxen and sheep were obtained from the natives, and the sailors began to recover their strength. It was resolved to send the Merchant Boyal back to England with all the weakly men, and to proceed with two strong crews in two ships. Ac- cordingly, Captains Baymond and Lancaster, in the Penelope and Edward. Bonaventure, proceeded on the voyage. On the 14th of September they encountered a great storm, during which the Penelope parted company, nor was she ever heard of again.
The Edward Bonaventure, after losing the master and several men through the treachery of the Comoro Islanders, arrived at Zanzibar on the 7th of November. Lancaster remained there until February, 1.59'2, opening friendly relations with the native merchants, who were disabused of the stories told by the Portuguese to the disadvantage of the strangers. On leaving Zanzibar a course was shaped for Cape Comorin, and then for the Nicobar Islands ; but the first port in which the ship was anchored was Penang, on the coast of Malacca, where Lancaster remained until August. He lost his master, one of the merchants, and twenty-six men during his stay at that place ; and when he put to sea there were not more than twenty-two men fit for duty. Having captured some Portuguese ships laden with pepper and rice, and cruised for some months on the coast of Malacca, Lancaster anchored at Point de Galle. There the crew declared they must return to England, and the homeward voyage was commenced on the 8th of December, 1593. After a long rest at St. Helena, Lancaster took the ship in the direction of the Brazilian coast, and thence to the West Indies, at last finding himself off the island of Mona, between St. Domingo and Puerto Bico, whence, after receiving provisions
1594.] THE FIRST ENQLIfill VOI'ACtE TO JXDJ.i. 653
and water, he directed his course to Newfoundland. Bafflincj winds prolonged the voyage, so that the provisions were exhausted, and it was resolved to return to the ^^'est Indies. Mona was again reached on the 20th of November, 1.5'.):^, but while the captain and a party of men landed to seek for provisions, the carpenter secretly cut the cable, and the ship drifted away to sea with only five men and a boy on board. Lancaster, with his lieutenant Barker, and the men who had landed, were left on the island. During twenty- nine days their only food was the stalks of purslane boiled in water, with a few pumpkins. At length a French ship came to off the island, and took the unfortunate Englishmen on board. Lancaster and Barker were taken home, arriving at Dieppe on the 19th of May, 1594.
It had been arranged by Captain Lancaster that Henry May, one of the mates, should take a passage home in another French ship, to report to the owners the proceedings of the Edward Bonaventure and the mutinous condition of her crew. This ship was commanded by M. de la Barbotiere, who made sail northwards from the port of Laguna in Santo Domingo. It appears that the pilot was quite out in his reckoning, and. on the 17th of December the ship was rmi on a rock, at about midnight, on the western reef of Bermuda. About twenty-six men, including Henry May, reached the shore on a raft. Luckily the carpenter's tools were saved, and they began to cut down trees, and succeeded in building a small vessel of eighteen tons. Water was stored in two great chests, well caulked, and secured one on each side of the mainmast, and the pi-ovisions consisted of thirteen live turtles. On the 11th of May, 1.594, they put to sea and made for the banks of Newfoundland, where a vessel from Falmouth took them on board. Henry May's adventures, of which he wi'ote an interesting narrative, came to an end when he landed at Fahuouth in August, 1-594.
This first English voyage to the East Indies was disastrous. Lancaster's next enterprise was of a warlike character, and was aided by some merchants of London, who fitted out several vessels to attack Pernambuco. James Lancaster was ajipointed to the command, with his old lieutenant, Ediuund Barker, and John Audley of Poplar as his captains. The expedition was ably and resolutely conducted, and was a complete success. The port of Pernambuco was surprised, taken and held for thirty days in spite of repeated assaults by the Portuguese. About thirty ships
654 VOYAGES AND DISCOVEBIES, 1485-1603. [1599.
^Yere captui'ecl, and rich cargoes of sugar, dye-wood, and cotton were brought home. But Captain Barker fell in one of the skirmishes, and several other valuable officers lost their lives. Lancaster was engaged on this service from September, 1.594, to July, 1595, when he brought his ship back to Blackwall in safety. These two expedi- tions showed him to be an able, prudent, and courageous officer, well qualified for the high trust that was about to be placed in him.
In 1599 the merchants and adventurers of London projected an expedition, and eventually formed a company, with the object of establishing a trade with the East Indies. A sum of £72,000 was subscribed, and the preparations were steadily pushed forward throughout the autumn. On the 10th of December Captain James Lancaster was appointed " general " of the fleet, with a com- mission of martial law from the queen. His flag was on board the Dragon, a ship, formerly named the Scourge of Malice, which had been bought from the Earl of Cmnberland for £3700. She was of 600^ tons burden, and had a crew of two hundi'ed and two men. The chief pilot was John Davis, the Arctic navigator, who had just returned from the East Indies as pilot of the first Dutch India fleet. The " vice-admiral " was the Hector, of 300 tons, and a crew of one hundred and eight men, commanded by John Middleton. The Ascension, of 260 tons, with a crew of eighty-two men, was under William Brand ; and John Hay ward commanded the Susan, of 240 tons, and eighty-eight men. The Giiesf was to accompany the fleet as a victualler.
On the 31st of December, 1599, Queen Elizabeth laid the foundation stone of the British Empire in India. The Charter of Incorporation of the East India Company was granted to George Clifford, Earl of Cumberland, and two hundred and fifteen knights, aldermen, and merchants ; Alderman Sir Thomas Smith being chosen the first governor of the company, and James Lancaster and John Middleton being in the list of the first directors. The queen, in council, framed this great instrimient with foresight and wisdom, and, it would almost seem, with some prevision of the future. Her majesty had cordially and graciously approved of the voyage before the issue of the Charter, and she sent John Mildenhall as her envoy to the great Emperor Akbar at Agra, by way of Constantinople and Persia.
' Some accounts make lier to have been of 800 tons. — AV. L. C.
IGOO.] TJIE EAST ISDIA CoMVANY'S FIIiST VKSTCItE. C.JU
All through the montli of Januaiy, 1600, the expedition was being fitted out in the Thames. Each ship was provided with twelve streamers, two flags, and an ensign. Stores and provisions of all kinds were stowed in the holds, as well as merchandise ; and merchants were apj)ointed to each ship to superintend the trading operations. The queen prepared letters to the princes of India, including one to the Sultan of Acheen ; and suitable presents accompanied them. Mi-, liichai-d Hakluyt compiled much useful information respecting the connnodities of the different countries, instructions " touching the preparing of the voyage," and several maps. The officers and others received "bills of adventure" on the gains of the voyage— that is to say, each was to receive a reward on a fixed scale with reference to the yield of the retm-n cargo.
The fleet sailed from Woolwich on the IHth of February, 1()00, but it was long delayed in the Downs by calms, and the ships had to put into Dartmouth to complete their stores ; so that it was the '2nd of April before they Anally sailed for the Canaiies. The usual fatal sickness broke out while the fleet was detained by equatorial calms. Captain Lancaster, however, captured a Portuguese ship and got out of her 146 casks of wine, 176 casks of olive oil, and a quantity of meal, which pi'oved a great addition to the supply of provisions. The victualler Guest was emptied and turned adrift. The expedition crossed the line on the last day of June.
The ravages of scm'vy continued, so that when Table Bay was reached on the 9th of September, Captain Lancaster had first to anchor his own ship, and then to send his boats aw'ay, with working parties, to perform the same office for his consorts, whose crews were too weak to bring their ships to. The Dragon's working parties also hoisted out the boats for the rest of the fleet. The reason why the men in Lancaster's ship were so much healthier than the others was that he took the precaution of providing a supply of lemon-juice. He gave three spoonfuls to each man every morning fasting, by which means he cured many of his sailors and kept the rest from scurvy. The sick were landed and put undei canvas on shore. Very good airangements were made for the traffic with natives, cattle and sheep were purchased, and the sick soon began to gain strength on a diet of fresh meat and vegetables. But the terrible disease had carried off one hundred and five men before any effective remedy could be applied.
656 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES, 1-485-1003. [1602.
On the 20th of October the fleet left Table Bay and, towards the end of December, anchored in the Bay of Antongil, in Madagascar, where excellent fresh provisions were again obtained. But dysentery broke out, and there were several deaths. After encountering numerous dangers in crossing the Indian Ocean, and having touched at the Nicobar Islands, Lancaster anchored his fleet in the road of Acheen, in Sumatra, on the 5th of June, 1601. His reception by the sultan was cordial and satisfactory in every respect. In the first audience the letter from Queen Elizabeth was presented ; and on subsequent occasions Lancaster made progress with the negotiations for opening trade. Pepper, cloves, and cinnamon were bought for the return cargo ; and in October the sultan's answer to the queen's letter was brought on board.
The fleet finally left Acheen on the 9th of November, the Ascension proceeding direct to England with the news, and the Dragon shaping a course along the coast of Sumatra in search of the Susan, which had been previously sent to Priamon for a cargo of pepper. She joined off Priamon, and the ships anchored in the road of Bantam, in Java, on the 16th of December. Here the merchants landed to sell the goods brought from England, in exchange for which further supplies of pepper were shipped. A factory was established under Mr. William Starkey, to provide lading for the ships which were to be sent out on the Company's second venture. The King of Bantam sent a letter and presents to Queen Elizabeth, and on the 20th of February, 1602, the ships began their homeward course. Captain John Middleton of the Hector was taken ill and died at Bantam. His brother Henrj", who was in the Susan, was destined to command the Company's second voyage.
On the 3rd of INIay a great storm was encountered between Madagascar and the Cape ; and early next morning the D rayon's rudder was torn clean away from the stern of the ship. She drifted for some days at the mercy of the waves, once almost down to 40^ S. in sleet and snow, the Hector always manfully keeping company. At last the mizzen-mast was taken out, and passed over the stern to serve as a temporary rudder, but it was found to shake the ship in such a way as to be dangerous, and it was got in again with all convenient speed. The cai-penters then set to work to shape a rudder out of the mizzen-mast ; but the irons had also been carried away, and there were only two wherewith to hang the new rudder. The men wanted to abandon the ship and go on board the Hector.
160^.] THE WOltK OF THE ELIZABETHAN NAVIGATORS. (iJ7
Lancaster said : " Nay, we will yet abide God's leisure, to see what mercy He will show us." The sea became smooth, the rudder was temporarily fixed, and there was no small rejoicing when the Island of St. Helena hove in sight. Here the rudder was properly hung, and plentiful supplies were obtained.
On the 11th of September the sailors of the East India Company's first venture arrived at the Downs, and completed this memorable voyage. Great credit is due to the master, Sauderbole, of the Hector, for the way in which he stuck by his rudderless consort when she was di'ifting lielplessly about in the stormy sea to the south of the Cape. Even when Captain Lancaster gave him written orders to make the best of his way home, he disobeyed, and continued to keep near the Dragon, ready witli all the help he could give, until they both got safe to St. Helena : "for the master was an honest and a good man, and loved the general well, and was lothe to leave him in so great distress."
The gallant commander of the first voyage received the honour of knighthood and became Sir James Lancaster. He afterwards served as a director of the East India Company in London, where his great experience was invaluable in preparing subsequent ventures, and in the general conduct of the Company's affairs. He died in June, 1618, unmarried and childless, leaving large legacies to the grammar-school, and to the charities, of his native town of Basing- stoke. Before the Company's second voyage commenced, the great queen had passed away, and the glorious roll of Elizabethan adventure and discovery was completed.
It is indeed a roll of surpassing splendour : — In the far north, the " Meta Incognita " and Davis Strait, as far as 72° 12' N., discovered, and the intercourse with Kussia, by the White Sea, strengthened and organised ; the Caspian Sea navigated and Bokhara visited ; a great fishing trade established on the Newfoundland banks, besides a considerable seal fishery ; Virginia discovered, and a sure foundation laid for the future thirteen colonies which should form the United States ; the charter granted to the Tiirkey Company, and British trade placed on a solid footing in the Levant ; lucrative trade on the coast of Guinea and the West Indies and Spanish Main kept alive by English cruisers ; the Orinoco explored as far as the mouth of the Karoni ; the world twice circumnavigated ; the Falkland Islands, Cape Horn, and 480 miles of the west coast of North America discovered ; the Cape of Good Hope first rounded l)y an English
VOL. I. 2 V
658 VOYAGES AND BISCOVERIES, 1485-1603. [1C03.
ship ; and a charter of incorporation granted to the East India Company, which opened the first chapter of the history of the British Empire in India.
One of the results of Ehzabethan exploration and discovery was the extension of British commerce in all directions, to the remotest parts of the earth. Almost every important voyage of discovery led to the establishment of a lucrative trade, and was, therefore, of lasting benefit to mankind. Another result was, in the highest degree, to stimulate an enthusiastic feeling of patriotism which no difficulties or hardships could daunt and no disaster could quench. But the greatest result of all was the creation of an admirable training-groitnd for the Eoyal Navy ; so that, when the day of imminent peril came, the great queen's explorers and discoverers saved her throne and her country.
INDEX,
VOLUME I.
Adksdaxo, Don Martin Huiz de, 304
Abercoiiway, 217
Aberdeen, 'Mi, 238 ; pillaged by Orkney- men, 94
Abergwilley, 30;5
Abrincis, William de, 18-!
Achates, 423, 425, o80, 588, 58'J
Aclicen, Lancaster at, (ioG
" Ades," Juan, 570 and n., 582
Acre, action in ll'JO otT, lUil
Kichard I. at, 174
Action, preparing lor, 451
Action in the Bay of Boiirgneul', 285, 280
Acton, liartlioloiiiew, 5!I2
Adam, iSimon, 131
Adamants, 147
Adams, William, 5!i4, his
Adclard of llatli, voyages of, il7
Adnunistration of the Xavv reorganised bv llenrv Viir., 437
Admiral; jiay of an, 150 ; title of, 141, 142 ; the first Lonl High, 307 ; duties of an, 150 ; duty of ships of a tleet to daily speak tlieir, 431
Adndral of Kngland, 342, 343
Adnnrals, 153 ; early connnissions to, 142
Admiralty, Court of, 80, 14i;i, 371
Lieutenants of the, 437 n.
Courts, Parliament complains of pro- ceedings in the, :>00
Otlice, 438
• the Black Book of the, 1411-153
Adumi, 8
Advantdt/c, 423, 425, 52St
Aflraittd'/iii, 423
Advniturt; 423, 425, 504, 532, 534, 537, 538
Adventurers bring about the conquest of Ireland, 102
Advke, 423, 425, 588, 58!) yTjSc, son of Hengest, 'M, 35 ,Escs, 11 n. A (fed ion, 520 African trade, 440 Agincoiu't, battle of, 37."> xVgnellis, Henry de, 102 A(jnis or Aijasc (?), 340, 347
Agricola, Julius, 2!t
Aid, 423, 491 n., 588, 589, 625
of Bristol, 595
Aiguesmortes, 202
Aiguillon blockadeil, 204
Aix, Gerard, Archbishop of, 103
Alard, Admiral Gervase, 132, 136, 142, 21.'.
and n.
Justin, 131 n., 213 n.
Admiral Steplien, 225
Thomas, 213 u.
Alarde, 120
Allianv carries troops to Scotland, John,
Ihikeof, 459 Albini retakes Sark, Sir Phili]) d', 18;i ;
commands umler Hubert de Burgh, 187
and n., 188, 190; behaves piratically, 195 A/cfdo, 508, 520 and n. Alcock, Kobert, 397 Alilborouiih, Isabella, lands near, 229 Aldridge,' William, 592 Alexander 111. forbids Scots merchants to
export in tlicir own ships, .315 Alfonsine Tables, the, 40(3 Alfonso of Castille; supports the rebellion
in Gascony, 199 ; Bayonne aids, 20.3 Alfred, King; 13,37,00; defeats the Danes
at sea, 38 ; his interest in distant lands,
67 ; visited by " Scots" from Iceland, 01 Allectus, 32
Alliance with Philip Augustus, 165 Alliance with Flanders, Knglish, 210 Alliance with the Enijiire, Knglish, 210. Alliances of Kdward 111., 242
unsatisfactory character of naval, 104
unsatisfactory nature of foreign, 212
weakness of naval, 257
Allowances to ollicers, 429
Almagest, The, 400
Alphege murdered, 45
Alva, Klizabcth seizes specie supposeil to
belong to, 478 ; proposes an invasion of
England, 5,'{9 u. Amadas, Philip, 040, 047 Ambleteuse, French checked near, 400 Amboise, Convention of, 477
2 I- 2
660
INDEX TO VOLUME I.
America, Irish claims to the discovery of, 63, 64, 65 ; the Welsh claim to the discovery of, 303-31-4 ; early Orkney and Shetland commmiicate with, 324 ; the struggle ■nith Spain determined the future of Korth, 482
Amfar Bank, 377
Amiens, Peace of (1475), 391
Amity takes two Spanish vessels, 501
Anchors, 116
"Ancient Towns," The, 106
Andalusia, Armada of the ships of, 599
Anderida, 8, 34
Andrew, 346, 347, 380 n.
of Pl\Tnouth, 446 n.
Andrews, Andrew, 524
James, 589
Angles, 10
Anglesey, squadron sent against, 130
"Anglia Vetus" 10
Angola, 527
Angra, Spanish treasure fleet takes refuge at, 522 n., 523 ; English repulse at, 523
Anjou, recovery of, 161
and Maine, loss of, 176
Anlaif, 14, 40
Ann of Green\vich, 427
Anne, 346, 347
Bonaventure, 596
Frances, 593
Gallant, 419, 420
Anne of Bohemia, 294
Anne of Maiden, 446 n. • Annebaut, Baron de Eetz, Claude d', 461, 462, 463, 464, 466
Annot, 137
Annuities to officers, 346
Answer, 423, 425, 537
Antelope, 420, 423, 425, 520 and n., 580, 588, 589 592
Anthony, 379, 508, 526, 592
of Saltash, 446 n.
Anthony, Thomas, 595
William, 503
Antonio, Dom, candidate for the throne of Portugal, 490 : accompanies Drake and Norreys, 491, 492
Anunciada, 600
Apsam, or Topsham, 595
Aquila, Don Juan d', 530
Aquitaine, troops sent to, 242
Arcco, secretary to Parma, 577
Arctic, Nicholas of Lvun's voyage to the, 321
Arculf, voyage of, 66 n.
Ardeuberg, Edward III. at the shrine of Our Lady of, 256
Argyle, Ulster colonists in, 33
Admiral Sir John of, 215 and n., 216-
18
Ari Marsson, voyage of, 64
Ark Eoyal, 423, 425, 429, 509, 514, 529 (or Ark Salei(/h), 553 and n., 555 n..
557 589
n., 564, 569, 570, 572, 575 n., 588,
Armada, origin of the Spanish, 539 ; pro- posed strength of the Spanish, 540; strategical plan, 541 : Medina Sidonia's general orders for, 548, 549 ; sailing of, 549 ; religious aspect of, 550 ; official English accoimt of the operations against tlie S]5anish, 551, et seg. ; leaves Corunna, 559 ; its strength while at Lisbon, 560 ; sighted, tlie, 5H3 ; organisation and forma- tion of the, 567, 568 ; flight of the, 582 : losses of the, 583-585 ; list of Englisli ships employed against the Spanish, 587- 597 ; list of the ships of the Spanish, 598-604 ; Summaries of the English and Spanish fleets, 604
Armagnac, the Count d', 374 ; declines to recognise the Treaty of Troyes, the party of the, 381
Armament of Spanish and English ships in 1588.. 561
Armourer, 147
Arnold, William, 130
Arrest of shipping, 193, 197, 232, 233, 235, 236, 242, 245,' 249, 258, 259, 260, 262, 277, 279, 281, 286, 293, 294, 295, 296, 301, 369, 372, 379, 381
evil results of, 348
Artevelde, Jacob van, 262
Arthur, King, mythical voyages of, 58 n.
death of Prince, 176
Articles of War, early, 151
Artiqo, 419
Artois, Eobert, Count of, 255, 260
Arundel, Admiral Eichard, ninth Earl of, 249 and n., 250, 255, 257, 262, 265, 269
tenth Earl of, 154, 289 and n., 290,
291, 298, 300, 301
Sir John, 244, 292, 293 ; takes Duncan
Campbell, 459
Arzina, Bay of, 614, 615
^sce)iS(on, 518, 526, 592, 651, 654, 656
Ashdown, battle of, 37
Ashehurst, Thomas, 609
Ashley, a volunteer with Parker, 530
■ Captain Henry, 589
Sir Anthony, 511 and n.
Ashman, Admiral Robert, 222 and n.
Ashton, Admiral Sir Eobert, 279 and n., 280, 281, 282
Astrolabe, Kicholas of Lynn and the, 321
Astrolabe adapted bj' Behaim for use in navigation, 400
Asuncion, 599, 600, 602; simk by the Bevenxje, 496
Atacames Bay, Eichard Hawkyns in, 642
Athelstan, King, 14, 40, 66
son of Egbert, 36
Athy, Admiral Sir John de, 218, 221 and n., 224, 233, 240
Atrius, Quintus, 27
Attorney impressed, 146
INDEX TO VOLUME I.
G61
AubsTj, Henry, 131
Audley, Admiral, 388
Aitj/usta, 598
August us Gosar, 7
Aula, John, 131 u.
AuhiK Plautius, IJSJ
Aunu.nt, Marslial .1', 502, 503
Aurea, John de, 241
AurelianuR, AiubrosiuB, 33, 34
Austync, Joliii, 581)
Auxe, Peter de, 178
Azores ; cruise to the, 48G ; Lord Tiiomas Howard's expedition to the, 495, 496; Frobisher and Burgh's voyage to the, 498-501 ; Ralegli rejoins Essex at the, 521 ; Leveson ordered to the, 529
Aztecs said to be connected with the Welsh, 305
Hack-staff, or Davis's quadrant, 403
Bacon, John, 592
Bacon, on SSea I'ower, 353
Bacqiieville, De, 301
Badlesuicre, Sir Bartholomew de, 141
Baeslie, Edward, 438 n.
ISagnall defeated by O'Neill, 530
Bagsecg, 37
Baker, (Japt. Christopher, 589
IJaldock, Robert, 229
Baldwin, of Flanders, 49, 51
Baliol, Edward, lands in Fifeshire, 231 ; is
crowned at Scone, 231 ; is besieged in
Berth, 231 John, 20G ; in alliance with France,
209; surrenders to England, 210 Ballad of a flfteenth-ccnturv passenger-ship,
343, 344 Ballingers, 143 Ballisfjc, 102 Baltic, early intercourse with the, 55 ;
voyages to the, 394 Banastre, Sir Thomas, 272, 292, 293 Bancks, Edward, 592 Bannockburn, battle of, 2L7 Barbara, 427 Barbary, company of traders to, 440;
Wliito's voyage to, 501 ; trade with, (ill Barl^euoire : see Bocanegrti Barbotiere, shipwreck of M. de la, G53 Jiarca de Amixmj, (iOl liarca de Anziijni; (iOl Bard, Admiral Peter, 217 and n., 234, 243,
245 Bardolf, Sir Thomas, 225
Admiral Sir William, 381
Bardsey Island, a Scot's ship taken at, 357 Barlieur, 1U4, 175, 170 ; ships taken at,
263 Baris, William de, 190 Bark Build, 577 n., 590
Bonne}; 590
Buijfiiiiii, 5U1
Burr, 592
Bark CHtford, 486
Flemyiifi, 566
Ilahe, 597
Ilawkyns, 590
Lamb, 590
Maiiini/tun, 591
Bolts, 595
St. Lcgir, 591
Sutton, 597
Tidhot, 577 n., 590
Webb, 595
of Bullen, 419, 422
of Morlaix, 419
Barker (? Master of the Victory), 589
, Edmund, 652, 653, 654
Barking Creek, 405
llarktey Bay, 520
Barlowc, Arthur, 046
Barne, George, 592
Barontus, GO
Barrett, Kobert, 592
Barris, Peter de, 172
BartlwJomew, 595
Barton, Andrew, 419, 444, 44G-449
Basilisks, 410, 411
Basing, 37
Basins, 314
Baskerville, Sir Thomas, 504, 506-508
Bassett, Sir Kalj.h, 227, 236
Bassils, 409, 412
Bastard cannon, 410, 41 1
culverin, 408, 4U>, 411, 417
Bastimentos, the, o.'il Battayle, Hubert de, 137
, A<lmiral Kobert, 224 and u.
Bauck, Berenger, 220
Baudethon, Reginald, l.'U
Bayeux Tapestry, 70-78, 85
Bayona, 556 and n.
Bayonnais seamen rewarded, 229 ; shijis
ordered out, 240; squadron at Sandwich,
248; ships offered to Edward III., 258 ;
summoned to attack the Spaniards, 272 ;
ships take a Spanish convoy, 289 ;
Bayonne ; 462 ; Bernard, Bishop of, 103 ;
hire of ships from, 129 ; the Cinque Ports
at war with, 195, 203 ; ordered to assist
in the defence of the kingdom, 228 ;
called upon for ship]iing, 237 ; vessels
requisitioned from, 203 Baxter, Robert, 589
Bazan, Don Alonso de, 494, 495, 497, 501 /liizaiia, 603 Beacliy Head, 375 Beacons, 139
established on the coasts, 240
fired at the apjiroach of the Armada,
563 and n. Bettr, 423, 425
or \V7iile Bear, 565, 572, 575 n.,
581 n., 588, 589, 050
Yoiifje, 577 n., 591
Bear's Whelp, 650
662
INDEX TO VOLUME I.
Bearsdbe, 594
Beauchamp, Admiral Sir Joliii, 154, 225, 268 and n., 273, 275, 278
Sir William, 2'J7
Beaufort, Sir Bobert, 283 n.
Admiral Sir Thomas (later Earl of
Dorset and Duke of Exeter), 360 and n. Beauge, battle of, 382 Beaulieu Abbev, surrender of Warbeck at,
447 Beaumont, Lord ; his barge taken, 232 : his
cog captured, 234, 301
■ Admiral John Lord, 301
Sir Henry, 229
Beaupel, Admiral Sir Robert, 261 and n.
Beccles, 114
Beche, Sir Nicholas de la, 251
Bedeford, of Hull, 220
Bedford, Adam de, 315
Richard, 595
Admiral Jolm, Duke of, 375, 377, 381,
382, 383, 460 Beeston, Captain Sir George, 573 n., 576,
589 Behaim, Martin, 400, 401 Behuchet, Nicolas, 239, 244 n., 245, 251,
255, 257 Beirut, action off, 172 Belechere, 120 n. Bell, Edward, 594 " Bellatorium," 122
Bellav cited, Du, 412, 413, 462, 464, 465 Belle Isle, 370
Bellingham, Captain Henry, 487, 592 Bells as signals, 240 Beltoft, Simon de, -34 Benevolences nominallj- abolished, 349 Benfleet, 38 Bennct, 222
Stephen, 524
Benstede, Sir John de, 211
Beoni, son of Godwin, 50
Berd, I^obert, 371 n.
Berehaven, 640
Bergen burnt, 395, 396
Berkeley, Admiral Thomas, tifth LojJ
359 and n., 363
Sir John, 526, 527
Bernard, 148
Bishop of Bayonue, 103
of Toulouse, 263
Berreo taken, Don Antonio, 649
Bert, Peter, 136
Bertendona, Admiral Jfartin de, 571
600; said to have taken the Be
600 n. Bertheaume Bay, 452 Berwick, 234, 372 ; strange visitors at, 199 ;
a fleet co-operates in the siege of, 209,
210 ; defence of, 214, 215 ; threatened by
pirates, 219, 220 : taken by Robert Bruce,
221, 222; siege of, 232; taken by the
Scots, 274 ; recovered, 275 ; prosperity of,
>6,
578, entje,
315 ; threatened by the Earl of Mar, 365 ; Queen Margaret at, 389 ; Treat v of, 475 Berwick, Sir John, 211 Best, George, 624, 625, 626 Betour, William le, 214
Beudyn, Admiral Sir Robert, 225
Biancho, map of Andrea, 606, 607
Bigbury Bay, loss of the San Pedro Mui/or in, 584
Bigot, Hugh le, 201 n.
Bilbao, attack on the Primrose ofi", 484
Bingham, Sir Richard, 584
Binon, a Welsh trader, 310
Biscay, Armada of, 598
Biscayner taken, a, 485, 499
Bjorn -\sbrandsson, voj'age of, 64
Blacl- Bark, 419 and n.
Book of the Admiraltv, the, 149
Dog, 423, 593
Galley, 422
Pinnace, 421 '
Prince, death of the, 286.
" Blackbeard " : see Bocanegra
Blackburne, Admiral Nicholas, 366
Blackness, Scots vessels burnt oft', •■',69
Blagrave's improvements in nautical instru- ments, 402, 403
Blancboillv, John, 120
Blanch, William, 643
Blanch Nef, La, or Wliife Sliij), 78, 81, 82
IManc-Sablon Bay, 455, 457
Blankenberglie, English fleet ofl', 251
Blaskets, Loss of the A'. S. de la 1,'osa on the, 584
Blavet, 502
P.l.aye, 206
Blessed Marij, 137, 217
Blocks, 146, 340
Blore Heath, 386
Blount, Sir Charles, 589
Sir Christopher, 512 n., 515, 519
Blucke, Richard, 589
Blue dye used by earl}' Britons for sails and clothing, 6, 57
Blunderville's " Exercises," 402
Blyth, La,_V20 n., 131 (2), 224
Boadicea, i
Board of -\dmiralty, 438
Boats, 121 : how carried, 414 ; in action, 464
Bobadilla, Don Francisco de, 582
Bocanegra, Ambrosio, 282
Egidio, 244 n., 245, 251, 257, 258,
262
Bodenham, Jonas, 589
Bodleian Library, Origin of the, 517
Bohun, Enjuger de, 116
Buna Coiifidentia, 613
iSjjei'anza, 613
Bonaventiire, 404, 423, 425, 495, n.,
504, 520, 529, 553 589, 635 Bonavolia, 423, 488, 588, 589
575 n., 576, 588,
INDEX TO VOLUME 1.
ca.'J
Bund, William, 405
" 15i)U.loniU)n," 325, .V.O, 3:U
Bonner, Abraham, 5i)2
Bonnets, 145, 418 n.
Booms at St. Juan de Puerto Eico, 506
Borachero, Don IJieso de, 530, 536
Bordeiiux, 206, 370, 374; Henry III. at, 107 ; convoy to, 360 ; English \vine sliii)B captured ofl', 268 ; taken bv Shrewsbury, 385
Borman, John, 58!)
Borough, Stephen, 613, 615, 616, 617
Captain William, his writings, 402,
437 n., 438 n., 43'J, 487 ; his desertion of Drake, 487, 488, 580, 589, 615, 616, 617
Bostocke, Captain John, 589
Bosworth, battle ol', 393
Botetort, Sir John de, 142, 205 and n., 210, 218
Botoner, William, 605, 606, 607
Botreaux, William Lord, 381
"liotts," 339
Boulogne; 214; Carausius besieged in, 31 : Danes at, 38; and Flanders, threaten in- vasion, 161 ; Alliance with, 162 ; French Hcet chased into, and partly destroyed at, 247; Henry of Lancaster sails from, 302; besieged by Henry VII., 445 ; blockade of, 459, 460 ; besieged by the French, 464, 466, 469; informal hostilities at, 468; surrendered to France, 469 ; negotia- tions at, 529
Bourbon, the Bastard of, 374, 377
Bourg, 206 ; exploit of Montacute at, 210
Boui'g-eii-Bla3-e besieged, 367
Bourgueuf I'.ay, 282 and n., 285
Bourne's " Itegiment of the Sea," 402
Boutieres, de, 463
Bout on, Sir Tonnai, 283 ,
Bouvincs, battle of, 182
Boves, Sir Hugh de, 183, 184
Bovver, William, 5!i4
Bow-ers, Kobert, 594
Bowles, a Cherokee chief, 310
Bowline, 344
Bowman, Piers, 115 n.
Bows and arrows, 413, 414
Bowsprits, 145
Boyvillc, Hugh de, 139
Sir John, 272
Brabant, mercenaries from, 274 : claims of Hiunphrcy of Gloucester to lands in, 383
Clugnet de, 367
Bradbury, Jonas, 593
Bradeston, Sir Thomas, Lord, 255, 266
Bradgate, Captain, 529, 537
Bradley, Thomas, 61)8
Brailshaw, Kobert, 498
Brails, 344
Brancastcr Bay, 8
Brand, William, 654
Brandan, voyage of St., 60
Brandon, Sir Charles, 450, 451 ami n., 452
Branodnnum, H
Braose, William de, 177 n.
Braquemont, Jean de, 377
Itobinet de, 374
lirnvr, 592
Drawling, 430
Bray, Sir Keginald, 404 and n.
Bra/.il, or ( fBrazile ; a fabulous land, 01 ; William Hawkyns's voyages to, 611 ; voyages for the discoverj- of, 607
Brazilman, Halegh takes a, 523
Ureanung, 123
lirecchloaders, 149, 157
Brehat, castle of, 368
Breme, Albrith le, 137
"Bres,".326, 330, 334
Brest, 285, 450 ; Edwar.1 III. at, 260, 261 : Spanish fleet at, 288 ; John of Gaunt attacks, 298, 299 : the lieifent burnt otl", 405 ; battle off, 451 : blockade of, 453, et seq. ; Howard's fatal cutting out ex- ]iedition at, 455-457 : Pregent cliased into, 457 ; contemplated attack on, 473 ; lilockaded, 502
lint, La, 131
]?retigny, treaty of, 2i8
Bretons defeat English ])irates, 358
Breze, Pierre de, 385, 388
Bridgwater, a bark of, 595
Bridlington, 302
Brielle,^483
Hrighton, 464 ; burnt, 457
Brihtnotli, 42
Brihtric, 44
Bringborne, Kobert, 592
I'.ristol, 197, 233, 234, 381, 395, 397, 398, 460; trade of, 100; galicy.s of, 114: a
squadron of ships, 218; ships burnt,
247 ; ordered to send ships to Wales, 361 ; voyages from, ()06, 607, OOS
Channel ; raid by a son of Harold in
the, 87 ; operations in the, 357
Britain circunmavigated, 29, 57
British Isles, map of 1448 of the coasts of the, 606
Brittany: jiirates, 40: expedition to, 161; Englisli seamen's feud with, 223 ; Duke of, 288 ; English pirates defeated off, 358, 359 ; coast of, ravaged, 360 ; assists the Earl of Richmond, 392 ; and betrays him, 393; transferred to France, 444 ; attacks on the coast of, 450 : Marv Stuart lands in, 468
Brixhani, 139
Broke, William, 437 n.
Bromley, Hemy, 526
Brooke, Captain Sir William, 520
Fulke Ureville, Lord, 437 n.
Kobert, Lord, sent to Brittany, 443
Brooms, 146
Brough, John, 592
Broughton, Sir Thomas, 443
664
INDEX TO VOLUME I.
Brown, Brute, 589
Bro^vIle, Captain, 537 : killed, 538
Richard, 59-t
Brownyn", Jordan, 346 Bruce,Edward, 218, 221
Robert, 213, 215-18, 221, 222, 230
Bruges, 445 ; convention of, 210 ; Parma at,
577 Brunanburli, 40 Brunvna, William, 131 " Brut y Tywysogion," 305 Brute, the Trojau, 55 Bryan, Edward, 594 Admiral Sir Guy, 275 and n., 27G,
277, 280, 281, 282 Brygandine, Robert, 115 n., 405, 436 Bri/(/a»dine, 421, 423, 588, 589 Buchctt, 269 Buck, Sir Peter, 438 n. Buckingham, troops sent to Brittany under
the Earl of, 293 ; he besieges Nantes, 294
Thomas, Earl of, 288
Buckland, John, 613, 615
Buckley, Richard, 589
Bucq, Jean de, destroys an English squadron,
300 Bucy, John de, 177 n. Budleigh, complaint from, 267 Buelna, Condede : see Niilo, Don Pedro BkU, 421, 423, 580, 588, 589 Bidl, Jolm. 346
Stephen, 444, 453, 455
Buoys, laws concerning, 108
Burburata, John Hawkyns at, G17
Bures, Richard I. at, 165
Burgh, Hubert de, 185 and n., 186, 188-190,
194, 257
Sir John,. 498 and n.
Sir Richard de, Earl of L'lster, 215,
217, 218
William, fifth Lord de, 498 n., 499, 500
William and Edward de, 221
Burghersh, Admiral Sir Bartholomew, 240,
242, 243 Burghley, William Cecil, Lord, 553, 554,
555 Burgundy, Duke of, 287, 363 Philip, Duke of, 279 ; partial truce
with, 368 ; assists Edward IV., 389 ;
treaty with, 446 ; alliance with, against
Gelderland, 448 Burnell, Captain Francis, 555 and n., 569 n.,
589, 594
Hugh, second Lord, 356
Burnham Down, camp at, 180
Bury St. Edmunds, 229
Busses, 101
Butler, William, 592
Butsecarls, 51, 52
Butts, Sir William, 610; his son, 611
C.^BKCAS, 531
Cabins, 121, 340, 344 ; in Norse vessels, 71
Cables, 116, 121, 414 ; iron, used by Vene- tians, 4 ; practice of cutting, 432
Cabot, Sebastian : his map, 608 ; enters the service of Edward VL, 612, 613 ; Governor of the Company of Jlerchant Adventurers, 613 ; notices the variation of the needle, Sebastian, 401
John, voyages of, 608, 609
Cabrillo, Juan Rodriguez, 633
Cacafitego, 631 ; taken by Drake, 632
Cadiz, 448 ; instructions for the expedition, 1596. .429 ; Drake's attack on, 487--189 ; the great expedition to, 509, et iteq. ; ex- plorers knighted for services at, 651
Cadsand : see Gadzand
Caen, capture of, 264
Caernarvon besieged by the French, 361
CcEsar, J., invasion, 24 ; fleet of, 27 ; second withdrawal of, 29
Ciesar, Charles, 590
William, 592
Caithness ravaged, 40
Calais, 185, 186, 294, 373, 374, 378, 382, 383, 386, 387, 389, 390, 445, 447, 457, 475 ; Scots ships at, 234 ; Roll of, 265 u. ; French convov taken ofl', 266 ; besieged by Edward HL, 264, 267 ; Edward III. repels an attempt on, 268 ; ceded to England, 278 ; siege of, 287 ; French ships WTecked near, 297 ; besieged by the French, 298 ; threatened, 360 ; captures by the captain of, 362 ; desultory action off, 366 ; threatened by the French, 367 ; besieged by the Duke of Burgundy, 383 ; relieved by Hmnphrey of Gloucester, 383, 384 ; Henry VIII. at, 460 ; loss of, 472 ; Spain takes, 508 ; scheme for Parma's junction with the Armada off, 547 ; ar- rival of the Armada off, 574, 575
Caledonii, 33
" Calfacted," 340
Caligula, 29
Calivers, 412, 417
Callao, Drake at, 631
Callinicus of Heliopolis, 102
Calms, signals in, 433
Calshot Castle, 436
Calverley, Achniral Sir Hugh, 288, 291, 292
Camaret, 358
Bay, 451
Camber, 375, 434
Castle, 363
Cambridge, Edmimd, Earl of, 285, 286; troops sent to Portugal under, 294
Camoj's, Thomas, Lord, 351i
William, 381
Campbell taken, Duncan, 459
Campo Fregoso, Peter de, 284
Camville, Richard de, 103, 167
Canary Islands, 505 ; voyages of John Hawkyns to the, 617
Candles, precautions as to, 432
Caiiete, the Marquis of, 642
INDEX TO VOLUME I.
665
Canfield, Captain, 648, C49
Cannibalism at sea, 610
Cannon {nee also Guns), 148, 409-411, 417
Pedro, or Picrrier, 409-411
Royal, 410, 4 U
Ser[x^ntinc, 410, 411
Cano, Sebastian del, 631 n.
Canterbury, 377
Cathedral, Picture anciently in, 405,
406 Cantilujie, Sir William de, 197 Canute, 17, 4"), 46, 47 ; chosen by the fleet,
18 ; defeated by the Swedes, 46 ; journey
to Rome, 69
of Berwick, 97
Canvas, 120, 121
Canviig of Bristol trades to the north,
William, 395, 397, (i06, 607 Cao, Behaiin. accompanies Dio^o, 40<1 Cape Breton, 609; reached by Hore, 610 Farewell, Greenland, Froliisher ofl',
625
ITatteras, 609
Horn, Drake discovers, 630, 634
Race reached by Urube, 610
('apitiinn, 003
" Captain-General," 545 n.
Captain, 146
Captains, 143
" Captains and Leaders," 343
Capstans, 12, 145, 341
Capstaiispokes, 340
Caragiion burnt, 462, 403
Carausius, 7, 30-32
Cardinal, 120, 192
Carilinal, John, 596
Careless, Robert, 526
Carcw, Captain Sir George, 464, 485 n., 509
and n., 511, 513, 519, 520 and u.
Sir John, 450, 452
Sir Peter, 468
Sir Thomas, 372, 379
Carej', Francis, 589
Sir George, 573
Sir George : see Himsdon, George Carey,
second Lord.
Robert, 589
Coridad, 602
Carlingford, 233
Carouse, 597
Carpenters, 146 ,
Carrack, 3.'!9 ; blown up, Spanish, 503
Carracks, 143 ; taken by Prince Thomas,
363 ; taken by the Earl of iluntingdon,
380 Carrickfergus, 224 Cartagena, John Hawkyns at, 619 Carte, Harry at, 131 Carter, John, 608 Cartridges for heavy guns, 414 Carvel of Ewe, 404 Casa de Paz Chica, 601 Casa de Paz Grande, 601
I Cascais, Drake ofl', 488, 492 ; vesBels taken at, 492
Caspian, Jcnkinson in the, 616
Cassi, 28
Cassivelaimus, 28
Castille, alliance w ith, 129 : reprisals against, 220 ; apology to, 274 ; allietl with France, 279 ; a shij) of, captured by Harry Pay, 358 ; envoy sent to, 369 ; Treaty witli, 439, 447 ; Armada of the galleons of, 599
Castillo Xeijro, 601
Castillon surrenders, 206
Castlewrights, 145
Castro y tie la Cueva, Don Beltran de, 642-4
Caswalon, 28
" Catat," 252
Cateau Canibresis, Treaty of; 475
Cathav, Sir Hugh Willoughby's voyage to, 613
Catlin on traces of Welsh in tlie Mandan tongue, 311
Catton, William, 115 n.
Caulking, 144, 340
Caunton, Sir John de, 214, 215 and n.
Cave, George, 503
Cavendish, Thomas, 590, 636-638, 639, 640, 647
Cawfield, Captain, 537
"Celtas," 120
Celts, Goidelic, 33
Cely, 'J'homas, 591
Ceniniagni, 28
Centurion, 526 and defence of the, 498 •Ceols, 11 n.
Cerda, Don Carlos de la, 268
Don Luis de la, 259 and u. 260, 268,
269, 270
Cerdic, 34
Ceri, 56
Ceton, 364
Cezimbra, 533 ; attack on, 534, 535 ; Monson revisits, 537
Chambers, guns with, 149, 157, 158, 342
Chance, 591
Chancellor, Richard, 613-616
Chanrcwell, 524, 525
Chandos, Sir John, 255, 270
Channel, Harold loses the command of the, 73 ; the passage, 138, 139, 154 ; in- security of the, 236, 237 ; coumiand of the, 265 ; French activity in the, 277 ; French sujieriority in the, 293, 294 ; English juisillanimity in the, 296 ; in- security of the, 371; activity of French cruisers in the, 374, 375
islands, the, 274 ; quarrel lietween the
Bretons and, 196 ; descents upon, 242 ; ships ol)tained from, 280 Chaiilaius, 143 Charges for guns, 410, 411 Charlemagne and Oll'a, 12, 66
n., 569, 592; splendid
66lf3
INDEX TO VOLUME I.
Charniouth, Egbert and Etlielwulf ilefeated
at, 36 Chariti,, 120 n.
Charles, 423, 425, 588, 589
Charles, Aihniral Edward, 142, 213, aud n. '
William, 131 n.
• Count of Valois, 205
Charrau, Senor, 455, 456 '
Charts, William Borough's, 616 ; misleading , nature of plane, 402
Chasing, regulations as to, 430, 431
Chastillon, the Sire de, 379
Cliateaubriand, De, 361
Chatel, Guilleaume du, 358, 359, 361
, Tannegui du, 361
Chatham Chest, the, 433, 434
Dockyard, 436, and n.
Chaucer mentibns the bonnet, 145
Chaucer's Shipman, 156, 157
■ supposed allusion to Nicholas of Lvnn,
322
Cheke, William, 346
Cheibourg, raided, 20S ; burnt, 264 ; ships sent to, 280; transferred by Navarre to England, 289; English defeat oft', 290; blockaded and reinforced, 290; Sui'rey's raid near, 458
Chest at Chatham, tlie, 433, 434
Chester, John, 592, 628
Richard, 592
Cheyne, Sir Thomas, 453, 455, 456
Chichester, Danes at, 39
Thomas, 593
Chidley, John, 589
" Chita," 364
Chivaki; 131
Christ, 419
Christina, 131
Christopher, 146, 147, 148, 342, 346, 419 n., 420, 597 ; taken, 244, 245, 250 n., 251, 253 ; retaken, 254, 256 ; (Drake's), 628, 630
Davy, 427
of Calais, 446 n.
of Hull, 374
iif Westminster, 217 i
of Yarmouth, 218
Spayne, 347, 380 n.
Chronometer, prototyjies of the, 401
Chudleigh's voyage to the South Sea, 638, 639
Cicero on Sea Power, 353
Ciereo Volante, 601
Cimarrones, the, 622, 623
Cinque Ports, 106, 112, 116, 119, 121, 124, 125, 127, 130, 131, 132, 133, 140, 141, 154, 155, 176, 184, 187, 190-198, 202- 208, 212, 213, 214, 217, 218, 221, 223, 224, 227, 231-236, 246-249, 258-262, i 277, 349, 357, 368, 378, 379, 382, 387, j 392 ; piracies of the, 136, 137 ; oppose the Crown, the, 200; jnratical practices of the, 201; and Yannoutli, quarrels be- '
tween the, 211, 212; declare for Queen
Mary, 471 Cissa, 34 Civil AVar, sufferings of England under,
98, 99 Clare, Richard de, Earl of Pembroke, 163 Clarence, George Duke of, 389 Admiral Thomas, Duke of: see Thomas
of Lancaster Clarke, successes of the privateer Francis,
477
John, 594
Richard, 645
Claudius Csesar, 7, 29
" Clavus," 11, 138, 145
Clayes, 116, 214
Clayton, Laurence, 595
Cleanliness, 430
Clear, Sir John Arundel, wrecked near Cape,
293 Cleer, Lawrence, 589 Clere, Sir Thomas, 437 n. of Ormesbv, Vice-Admiral Sir Joliu,
473 Clerk, John, 116, 119 " Clerk," 342 Clerk of Marine Causes, 115 n.
of the Acts, 115 n.
of the Navy, 115 n.
of the Ships, 115 n., 381
Clerke, Samuel, 589
Thomas, 591
Clei-ks, 146
of the ships, 436, 437 and n., 438 n.
Cleves, Robert, 136
Cley, Prendergast fits out a ship of, 362
Cliftbrd, Sir Conyers, 511, 515
Captain Sir Alexander, 502 n., 509
, and n., 529, 589
Henry, 526
Lord, 269
John Lord, 375
Sir Nicholas, 506
Clincher-built, early boats, 11, 56
Clinton, Lord High Admiral, Edward Lord
(later Earl of "Lincoln), 467, 469, 472,
473, 475, 480, 483 Admiral Sir William (later Earl of
Hmitingdon), 232 and n., 236
Admiral, 388
Clisson, Sir Aiuery de, 259
Olivier de, 300, 358
Cloud in the Sun, 421
Clvderow, Admiral Richard, 356 and n.,
366, 372 Clyvedon, Richard, 115 n. Cnoyen of s' Hertogenbosch, 321 and n. Coast defences, 434—436 ('oasters, serving under Lord Henry Seymour
against the Armada, 596 ; serving under
Howard of Efhngham against the Armada,
595 Cobham, Edward Lord, 387
INDEX TO VOLUME I.
667
Cobliani, Admiral Sir John, 2.'M
Ailiiiiral Sir Ut"s;iiialil ilr, Lord, 2.")!,
255, 2t;i and n., 207, 2(;'.»
William, Lord, 551 n.
C(X.-k, Edwaril, 5'.I2
■ Sir John, 273
Cogs, 111, 112, 143
" Coket," 24;i
Cole, Himiiilirey, invents tlie loi; and line,
402 Colisrny, D'Andelot de, 472 and u. " Collett," 3;i8, 3;«l Collision, 108
t'olthurst, Oliristojjher, 526, 592 • 'oluniba, St., 01 ('obimbe. Lit, 401 n. Cohunbers, Sir Jlatthcw de, 130 Columbus, Christoiiher, 400 ; obsen'es tlie
variation of the needle, 40l Colville, Sir John, o70, 371 Colyn, John, 275 Coiiiersall, William, 115 n. " Comes liritanniaruni," 59 "t'omes l.itton's Saxoniei," 30, 58 "Coniitres," 12!), 143 ('omruauder, 385 n. (A)mmeree, Ansjlo-Saxiju, 1!) Commission for naval alVairs, 230
of national ilefenc-e, 237
ConnTiissioners of the Navy Oflioe, 437, 438 ('ominous, eoni]iIaints of the, 280 /
Comnenus opjwses Kichard 1., 170, 171 Company, ol)lii;ation to keeji, 430 Com])ass, the mariner's, 128, 147, 312 n.,
327, 342 "Com[ihmit of Scotland," extract from tlie,
415 H scij. Complement of the Ihnrij Grace ii ])iiu,
40!) Complements, 100, 102, 137, 144 Coni|iostella, |iilj;rims to, 31)0 (Ajuipton, siiikinji: of a ship conimamled by
Captain, 155 Comptrollers of Shi]is, 437 n. Conan of lirittany defeated, 101
( 'nil'r/icioil, 51)!)
./-■ Caprli/I„, 002
'/(■ Cariisa, 002
'/<■ Frnncisco de Latei-o, 002
(/(• Jmincs del C'lino, 51)8
de Sunuiniln, ()02
de Vithmtsedtt, 002
de Zuhelzu, 5!)8
Cond^, Henri de, 483
Conduct-money, 427, 428
Conny, John, 5!)0
(■onipict, Le, 450, 455 ; burnt, 388, 473
Consent, 520 and n.
Conservation of the navy, 338
Constable, Marmaduke, t)47
Constables, 130 and n., 143
Constance, 520 and n.
Constantius, 31, 32
' Consul at Pisa, Stro/.zi appointed English, 31)8 Content, 427 n., 630, 638; brilliant defence I of the, 4il7
i Contraband of war, 219, 220 1 Contract, guardianship of the coasts under- j taken by, 295: jiolice of the seas carrieil out by, 318, 349 ; the war in Flanders undertaken bv, 295 Convoy, 198, 237, 310; to Brittany, 285; I to tiascony, 272, 300, 301 ; neglect of, 248 [ Conyers, Sir Kobert, 272 ! Cooke, Benjannn, 593 j Coracles, 2, 50; ancient Irish, 00 and n.,
61 ; in America, 31 1 I Cordage, 120 Cork, \Varbeck at, 440 Cormac, ^lac Art, 59, 01 Corn trade in early times, 57 ; Comet Castle retaken, 202, 203 : besieged, 284 Cornewalslie, Adinii'al James, 371 Cornlnll, Keginald de, 114, 110
William de, 110
t Cornish, Hugh, 51)1
^ William, 590
\ pirates, 309
Cornwall ravaged, 290; Spanish design on, ; 523 ■
1 Piei's Gaveston, Karl of, 21!, 215 n.,
210 Coro sacked by Preston, 051 Corrientes, action otV ( 'ape, 4!)7 Cortes, ISIartin, his " Comiiendium," 402 Corunna, John of Gaunt at, 299 ; attacked by Drake and Norreys, 491; Spanish ])re- jiarations in, 494 ; Howard and Kssex look into, 517 ; Essex's fleet reported at, 521; Spanish ]ireparations at, 528; Jlon- son directed to watch, 530 ; the Spanish Armada at, 54!) Cusa's map, Juan de la, 008, 009, 040 Cossai'd, Janyn, 340 Cost of the early navy, 345 Cotch, Thomas, 520 Coterell, Admiral Patrick, .'171 Council of Wai', •''.73, 534
to assist Howard and Essex, a, 511
CoutitesK, 110
Count of the Saxon Shore, 30
Courtenay, Sir Hugh, 290 n.
Sir Edward, 375
■ Sir Peter, 290 and n.
- — Adndral Sir Philiji, 282, '285, 290 n., 293
Robert de, 186, 189, 190
Court-martial, eaily examples of, 439
Cowe.s, l.'!4
Cowey Stakes, 28
Coxe, William, 570, 575 n., 591
Coxon, William, 590
Crabbe, John, 2.'!1, 232, 250, 255
Stephen, 1 20
668
INDEX TO VOLUME I.
Cracchere, 346, 347
Crafton, William, 524
Crane, 423, 425, 495 n., 509, 529, 530
Crannoges, 2
" Craudon " : sec Crozou.
C'.rayers, 143, 144, 427
Crecy, battle of, 264
(.'rescent, 595
Crescent formation for fleets, 109
Cressets in lighthoiises, 125
Creye, Admiral William de, 217 and n., 218
Criol, Bertram de, 121
Cripps, William, 596
Crofts, Sir James a, 551
Cromer, 389
Cromwell, Edward, third Lord, 519 and n.
Admiral Sir John de, 225
Sir Richard, 453, 456
Crook, near Waterford, 163, 179
Cross-staff, the, 400, 401, 403
Crosse, Captain Sir Robert, 495 n., 498, 500, 509 and n., 513, 529, 576 and n., 582 n., 589
Crotoy, French convoy taken off, 266
Crown offered to Louis of France, the, 184
Crozon, 140, 141, 503
Crucifijo, 602
Crusade against Tunis, 301
Crusades, the 164, 190, 202; stimulating effects of, 97
Craxenburri, 137
Culverins, 409-411, 417
Cumberland, George Clifford, Earl of : first expedition, 485, 486, 490 ; tldrd expe- dition, 493 ; fourth expedition, 494, 495 ; fifth expedition, 500 n., 501 ; sixth expe- dition, 501, 502 ; seventh expedition, 503, 504 ; eighth expedition, 508 ; ninth ex- pedition, 518 ; tenth expedition, 525, et seg. ; 576, 589 and n., 597, 654
Cumhcrhmd, Lf.S.S., 174
Cunobelinus : see Cymbeline.
Curach, or coracle, 60, 61
Curden, Peter, 630, 631
Curtalds, 412
Curton, Baron de, 463
Curzon, Sir John, 283 n.
Cuttle, Robert, 592
Cycjnet, 423, 425, 580, 588, 589
Cymbeline, 7, 29
Cymon, 34
Cynric, 34
Cyprus, Edward I. at, 203
Dainty, 505, 637, G41-64;5; taken by the
Spaniards and re-nanied Visitacion, 643 Dale, Doctor Valentine, 551 n.
John, 592
Sir Thomas, 293
Dalkey Island, naval force off, 224 Dalriada, 33 Damford, 592
Damme, capture of Spanish ships boimd for, 208; French fleet at, 180; Queen Eleanor collects a fleet at, 201 ; the Earl of Salis- bury's naval success oft', 181
Damnonii, 33
Danegeld, 16, 17, 42, 43, 44; remitted by Stephen, 92 ; revived, 78, 79
Danelagh, 16, 18, 43
Danes, the, banished from England, 48 ; bribed by William I., 88 ; in Northum- bria, 14 ; intimidated by William I.'s fleet, 89 ; massacre of the, 43 ; masters of the Narrow Seas, 18 ; naval action with the, 39 ; storm York, 88
D' Angle, Sir Guichard, 282, 283
Daniel, 596
Danish raiders, 13, 35, 36, 37-45
seizure of an English merchantman,
315
Danzig, trade 's\ith, 395
D'Arcy, Admiral Sir Philip, 298
John, Lord, '-'60
Philip with Lord, 356
Thomas, Lord, 448
Darell, Sir Marmaduke, 438 n., 513, 556 and n.
Darien, Isthmus of, Drake on the, 622 ; Ralegh's plan to cross the, 498
Darlinrj, 650
Dartmouth, 139, 178, 183, 295, 301, 565, 627, 655 ; and Lynn, hostilities between, 124 ; burnt, 287 ; crusading fleet as- sembled at, 165, 166 ; fleet assemliled at, 279 ; French defeat at, 361 ; Genoese carrack driven into, 378 ; pillaged by the French,' 361 ; ships assembled at, 285 ; ships in the Seine, 296 ; Spanish ship driven into, 524
Dasent, Mr. J. R., quoted, 482
Daubeny, Giles, Lord, 447 and n.
" David'," 146
David (Span.), 601
David II. captured, 267
Davis, John, 593, 626 ; his Arctic voyages, 626, 627 ; serves as pilot to Lancaster, 654
John, the navigator, accompanies
Cavendish, 639 ; his voyages, 639-641
Davis's quadrant, or the baek-stafi', 403
" Seaman's Secrets," John, 402, 403
Strait, 627
Davits, 414
Dead Man's Lane, 277
"Dead Shares," 426-428
Deal, 434
Decline of the navy, causes of the, 281
Decoration of ships, 340
Dee, John, cited, 321, 322
Defiance, 423, 425, 495 n., 504, 520, 529,
530, 532 De la AVare, Jolni, 114
Roger, Lord, 255
Deliyht, 570, 575 n., 591, 645
ISDEX TO VULUMK I.
UUU
Deliiiht, of Bristol, 638, G.'JO
l)enieta% 33
Demi-cannon, 40!t-411
Denii-culvcriiis, 40!t— 11 1
Uemi-slings, 4U!I, H'.', H7
Demoixflli; 120 II.
"Den," right (if, \:V2
Dene, .Tanyn, 34»j
Denison, 092
Demnark, prevention of communication be- tween France and, 280; Treaty of re- ci)irocity with, 3ilo
Dennis, a jiirate, 12 I
Denny, Captain Sir KilwarJ, 405 n.
Dcptloni, oOH; Dockyard, 434; in 1048, ships at, 421 ; tlie Oohhii lliiul at, G34
Derby, Ilcnry, Earl of (later Ivarl of Lan- caster), 241, 2r>0, 2r)o, 2()2, 2(;ii
Henry, fourth Karl of, ool n.
Dcnnot, King of Leinster, 102, 1(33
Derrick, Kicliard, ."iS'.l
Descharges, the alleged inventor of port- holes, 412
Desertion, pmiislinient for, 202
Dtsire, (i3ti, G38-(i40
Despencer, junior, Hugh le, 223, 220, 237
Deveryc, -lohn, 137
Devon, Admiral Edward, Earl of, 295
Hugh Courtenay, Earl of, 2G0
ravaged, 200
Devonshire jiiratcs, oiiO
Dewock, 203
Dial's, 147
" Dials," 342
Diamond, 501
Diana (Span.), 585 n., 603
502
Diejipe, 176 ; blocka<led, .384, 450 ; burnt, 170 ; a barge of, takes a shi]i of York, 296
Dien la Oarde, 270
Dikct, Sir William, 232
Dinan taken by De \:\ Cerda, 259
Dingle Bay, tlie Spaniards in, 482
Dinhani, Sir .lohn, 386, 3H7
Diocletian, 20
T'isabled seamen, provision for, 433
Discharge, wrongful, 107
Discoveries, eflects of maritime, 430
Discovery as a nursery for the navy, voyages of, Ol'i, 020, 634
Disdain, 408, 564, 581 n., 593
Dis]iatch after the victory oft" Sluis, Edward lll.'s, 256
Distance, preserving, 431
Diver in the Armada, a, 570
Dives, William 1. collects his lleet in the, 84
Dividers, Ancient, 158
Dixon, John, 526
Doatc, John, 503
Dobson, John, 506
Dock at I'ortsmouth, 4.'!4 n., 436 Docks, 117
Dockyards, 122. 123
" Doeg " tribe of 'ruscarora Indians, 309
Does, Admiral Pieter van der, 558 n.
Dog, 493
Doggers, 144
Dolpliin, 592
Dominica, 505
Cumberland at, 527
Dominion of the Seas, 5, 15, 134, 235, 236
Donri'lla, 579 and n.
Donyngan, Peter, 263
Donynglon, lUchard, 262
Dorchester, 178
Dordrecht, 239; Isabella's fleet at, 228, 229
Doria, Otto, 260
Dorothij, 486, 646
Dorset, Admiral John Beaufort, Marquis of, 302
Admiral John, Marquis of, 154
Double Jiose, 421
Doughty, Cajitain Thomas, 439 ; Drake's trial and sentence of, 629
Douglas, Sir Archibald, 231
Dove, Diehard, 592
Dover, 8, 124, 200, 203, 214, 22.3, 227, 231, 244, 247, 358, 373, 378, 370, 382, 30(», 445, 480 ; ships furnished by, 131 ; French landing at, 208; Harbour, 439; hcldliy Hubert de Burgh, 185; threatened, 280, 287, 300
Dowglas, Captain, 648, 649
Downs, fleet assembled in the, 236 ; return of Howard's ships to the, 581
Downton, Nicholas, 503
Drai/un, 419, 421, 427, 508, 621
, ex Scourge of Malice, 651-656
Drake, Captain John, 621, 622, 635, 636
John, 486
Joseph, 622
•• Captain Thomas, 504.
Sir Francis, 429, 433, 439, 487, 555-
558, 564, 565, 569 n., 570, 573, 575, 576, 580, 589-91, 647 ; his attack on Cadiz, 488,480; hia expedition to Cornnna .and Lisbon, 401-403; his last voyage, 504- 507 ; to be attacked by Medina Sidonia, 541 ; letter to the Council, 5.54; letter to Elizabeth, 554 ; his voyages, 617, 619- 623 ; his circuumavigation, 627-634
Thomas, 628, 634
Drayton, Admiral Sir Thomas, 243, 245
Drmdiiouqht, 423, 425, 487, 491 n., 492 n., 502 n.,'509, 518, 520, 532, 534 and n., 535, 537, 538, 570, 576, .588, 589
Dress of seamen, 613
" Drogio," 327, 328, 333, 337
Dromon, 3.30
Dromons, 101
Drouss, Kobert, 275
Drums on ship-board, 432, 433
Dryby, Adndral Simon de, 222 and u.
Dry bocks, 436, 437
670
INDEX TO VOLUME I.
DubliD, fleet for Scotland assemWed at, 215 ;
taken by Edgar, 41 Hubris, 7 Dudley, Captain Sir Robert, 509 and n.
Sir Henry, -470
Sir Eobert, his voyage to tlie "West
Indies, 650, 651, 652 Due Jicpuhe, 423, 425 : set- also Sepiihe. Dutlield, Captain, 495 n. Duijyenvoorde, Admiral Sir Jan yan, 510,
516-518 and n., 520 Dtiki' of Wellington, 464 u. Duke, Robert, 592 Dumbarton, 233; Villegagnon emliarks
Mary Stuart at, 468 Dunas, Las, 546 n. Dimbar, Earl of, 231 taken, 210; Yillegagnon lands troops
at, 468 ; razing of the fortifications of, 476 Dundalk taken by Edward Bruce, 218 ;
Edward Bruce killed at, 221 Dunquerciue, pretended preparations against,
529; ships obtained from, 276; Spinola
escapes to, 536 ; the supposed point of
destination of the Armada, 547 Dunwich, 114, 191 ; galleys of, 114 Duqiiesa Santa Ana, 583, 599 Duro, Captain C. F., 539 n. Dutch, the, co-operation of in tlie Cadiz
Expedition, 509, 515 ; co-operation with
Leyeson, 533, 535 n., 537 ; co-operation
against the Armada, 558
fleet imder an Englisli admiral, 483
Duty levied on in-coming ships and goods,
292 Dux Britannia', 59 Dyrholm Isle, 396
EAD\yT, "William, 131
EaqU, 423
Eaichere, 36
Earth, circumference of the, determined by
Eratosthenes, 399 Earicig, 650 East India Company, 440: origin of the,
489; chartered, 654; first fleet of the,
654, 655 Ebbsfleet, 34 Echyngham, Sir Edward, 451, 453, 454,
455, 456 Ecliptic, C)bliciuity of the, calculated by
Eratosthenes, 399 Eddystone, action with the Armada ufl' the,
564-567 Ederington, 8 Edgar, 15, 41 ; James II.'s admiration for,
42
Atheling, 53, 80, 87, 89
Edinburgh, taken, 210; sacked, 460; plun- dered, 4(J7 ; Treaty of, 476 Edmonds, John, 589 Edmund, 269, 273 Edmund, 14,41
Edmund Ironside, 17, 45, 46
Edney, Walter, 597
Edred, 14, 41
Edric Streona, 46
Edward the Elder, 13, 14, 40
the Martyr, 16, 42
the Confessor, 48-53
Edward I., accession of, 129 ; goes on a crusade, 202 ; succeeds to the crown, 203 ; assists France, 213
Edward II., accession of, 135, 136, 214 ; abdicates, 229
Edward III., accession of, 143, 229, 2.30; does homage to Philip VI., 231 ; styles himself King of France, 238 ; at Antwer]', 243 ; returns from Flanders, 249 ; re- sumes his claim to the crown of France, 279 ; death of, 287
Edward IV., accession of, 387, 466
Edward V., accession of, 392
Edward VI., list of the fleet in the first ye.ir of, 420, 421
Edivard, 147, 211, 269, 279, 422
taken, 244, 245, 253
of Iilalden, 593
Edward Bonaventure, 484, 590, 613', 615, 652 ; wrecked near Pitsligo, 616
Edwy, 14, 41
Effingham, Lord High Admiral Charles Lord Howard of: see Howard of Effingham
Egbert,"l3, 36
Egmont, Count, 473
Eineon, 304
" Ejections," 133
Blbeuf, the Marquis d', 476
Eleanor, 224, 423 and n.
Elephant said to have been brought to Britain by Ctesar, 6.
Elfinar, treacherj^ of, 45
Elfric, 42
Eliot ('? Lieutenant of the Triumph), 589
Eliot, Hugh, 609
Elizabeth, Queen, accession of, 473, 474 the fleet imder, 422, et seq. ; firmness of, 440; Drake presented to, 623; death of, 538 ; her anxiety about tlie Cadiz boot\', 517, 518
Elizaheth, 597, 646
(Davis"s ship), 627
(Drake's), 628, 629, 630
Bonaventure, 423, 425, 439, 487 ; .see
also Bonarenfure.
yictualler, 594
Elizabeth Brake, 591
Eounes, 591
Jonas, 423, 425, 529, 569, 570, 572,
588, 589
of Dover, 596
of Leigh, 594
of Lowestoft, 577 n., 597
Elizabeth's Island, 532
Elizabethides, the, 630
INDEX ro VOLUME I.
671
Ella, 34, 35
Ellen, 627; of Greenwich, 379; of Calais,
446 n. Ellis, master of (lie Dainty, 643 Elman, Sir \Villi;iin, '_'«"> Eliuliaiu, Aauiirul Sii- William, 292, 293 Elv, Danes at, 88
Embargo on shipping, 183, 262, 360 laiil by Sj)ain upon English, Dutch,
and German shipping, 484 Enciso, Martin Fernandez : his ' Suma de
Geogralia,' 4()2 England at the accession of Elizabeth,
position of, 473, 474 English squadron under Sir Hugh Sjjencer
destroyed, 300 " Engroucland," 326, 334 Enlistment of seamen, 118 Enriq\iez, Don Diego Tellez, 571, .■)78, o79,
600 (of Peru), Don Diego, 567, 571, 573,
574, 578, 599 Ephemerides of Rcgiomontanus, 400 Eratosthenes calculates the obliquity of the
ecliptic, 399 Erisey, James, 590 Erith", 405
Erris, loss of the Rata off, 583 Erskine of Dun, Seymour repvdsed by, 468 Esiti/aif, 601
Escalin, Antoine : see Polain. Esnecca, 101
" Espagnols sur Mer," " L', 144 Espervier, 120 n. Espirifa Saiitu, 599, 602 Essex, Heiuy, Earl of, 388 Robert Deyereux, Earl of, 429, 491,
509, 510, 513-523, 530 William de Mandeyille, Earl of, 164,
166 " Estlanda," 325, 329, 330, 336 "Estotiland," 326, 327, 328, 332, 333, 337 EtapJes, Peace of, 446 Ethelliald, 12 Ethellicrt, :'•' Ethelred, 37
tlie Purposeless, 16, 42, 45, 46
Kthehyald, son of Ethelred, 40
Ethehvulf, 36
Eustace the Monk, 178 n., 183, 184 and n.,
185, 186, 189 Evan of Wales, 283, 294, 285 ICvans, John, journey of, in search of Welsh
Indians, 310 " Exclusa," 117
Exeter, 139; Sweyn at, 44; galleys of, 114 Admiral John, Earl of Huutingilon
and Duke of, 383, 387 Admiral Thomas, Earl of Dorset and
Duke of, 381, 382, 383 Exmouth, Danes at, 43 Export of guiiiiowder prohibited, 371 . of provisions forbidden, 219
I'\mr Island, loss of the Oran Gn'f'oii on,
583 Fatam, 116, 269, 273, 404, 421; retaken,
295
■ or Eawron, '.Wi, 354
takes a Flamand ship, 47<)
Bill II ro Mm/or, 601
nianeo Miiliano, 584, 601
ill the Fetterlock; 421
Falconets, 410, 412
Falcons, 409-411
Falkland Islands discovered by John Davis,
639 Falmouth, 233, 358, 364, 646, 653 ; burnt
by the Count <le la Marche, 362; S]>anish
design on, 524 Fancy, 593, 596 " Fare-coast," 338 Faro attacked, 517
Faroe Islands, 329, 330, 331, 332, 333 Faroes, Norsemen at the, 62 Fastolf, Sir John, 606 Fauconberg, Adnural William Xcville, Lord,
387, 390
Thomas, bastard of, 390
Fayal, taken by Ctuuberland, 493 ; in- effectual attempt on, 494 ; seizeil by
Kalegh, 521 Fearne, Kichard, 596 Fecamp, English success off, 179 ; Echyng-
ham chases ships into, 454 Felton, Sir John, 227
Sir Thomas, 285
Sir William, 255
Fcnner, Captain, 520
Captain Edward, 589
George, 590 ; his voyage to Guinea,
477, 478 Captain Thomas, 429, 487, 491 n.,
502 n., 557, 559, 576, 589 ; mortally
wounded, 492 n.
Captain William, 491 n., 589
Fenton, Captain Edward, 486, 576, 589,
625, 626 ; his voyage to Bi'azil, 635 Ferdinand, Count of Flanders, appeals to
John, 180, 181 Fernandez, Simon, 589 Fernando, Simon, 647 Ferrers, Adndral Sir Kalph, 280, 281, 282
of Groby, Henry Lord, 250, 255
■ Sir Thomas de, 263
Lord, 250
Walter, Lord, 453 and n., 455, 456
Ferrol, Spanish fleet at, 518
Fifteenth granted for the defence of the
realm, a, 295 " Fiudals," right of, 132 Finisterc, 358
Filunark, prohibition of trade to, 395 " Fire-pence," 125 Fire, prevention of, 430 Fireslups, 138; employed against tlie
Armada, 575, 577
672
INDEX TO VOLUME I.
Firinai-irons, 149
Fish,"royal, 139
Fisher, John, 565 n., 592
Fisheries, concessions to the, 139
■ Scots, 315
Fishermen distressed by the press, 465, 466
Drake harasses Spanish, 488
seized by the Spaniards, EngHsh, 566
Fishing-boats, privileges to, 192
Fishing in the Channel prevented, 198
FitzCount, Henry, 116
FitzErard, Stephen, 78
FitzGerald, Maurice, 162 n.
Fitzmaurice, James, 482
FitzSampson, John, 122
FitzStepheu, Robert, 162, 163
. Thomas, 78, 81
FitzSuanild, William, 116, 119
Fitzwalter, Admiral Sir Walter, 295
Walter, fourth Lord, 288 ; mutiny in
his ship, 288
Walter, fifth Lord, 356
Fitz-William (later Earl of Southampton), Admiral Sir William, 453 and n., 458, 459, 460
Flag, honour of the, 470, 471, 472; the Dutch, 510 n. ; the prince's, 510 n. ; Spanish outrage on a, of truce, 493, 494
" Flag of Council," 430
Flags, 103, 125, 135, 147, 341, 342, 414, 655 ; duty of ships to follow, 432 ; car- ried by the Spanish Armada, 549, 562, 566
Flamand fleet off the English coast, 224
piracies, 469, 470
vessels wrongtuUy captured, 373
Flamands, admit the English dominion of the seas, 141 ; at the battle of Sluis, part taken by the, 252, 256, 257, 258 ; com- plain of piracy, 358 ; cut off near Brest, 473
Flamborough Head, 362
Flamsteed improves the Back-staff, 403
Flanders, Godwin in, 51 ; and Boulogne threaten invasion, 161 ; Guy of, 241 ; Expedition to, 242 et sei]. ; the trade with, 243 ; Henry of, 255 ; Edward III. goes to, 262 ; Mercenaries from, 274 ; ships obtained from, 277 ; Peace with, 282 ; Margaret of Anjou flees to, 389 ; Warbeck in, 446
Flanders pirates, 216
FhniHird (?), 346
Fleet of Offer, 12, 35
of Edgar, 15, 41 ; raised by English
nobles, 17 ; Imilt l)y Ethelred, 44 ; dis- tribution of the, 113, 114 ; of Kichard I., order of sailing of the, 169 ; revolt to Warwick of part of the, 387 ; collected by Edward VI., 467; mobihsed in 1599.. 529
Fleming, master of the Alfcdion, 526
Flemvng, Captain Thomas, 562, 563, 566, 591
Fletcher, Drake's chaplain, 629
Flicke, Robert, 526, 590
FH<}hf, 423
Flodden Field, 450, 457
Florence, treaty of reciprocitv with, 398
Florencia, 568", 571, 598
Flores, Lord Thomas Howard at, 495 ; Cumberland's seventh expedition at, 503, 527 ; Burgh and Crosse at, 500
de Valdes Diego, 568 and n., 571, 573,
578, 581, 582, 584, 599
Florida, 307 ; John Hawkvns relieves the French in, 618
Flotsam, 152
Flotte, Pierre, 264
Flower de Lure, 421
Flushing, 389, 483 : Leicester goes to, 486 ; Spanish prizes taken into, 579 n.
Fluves, 144
Fog, a factor in naval warfare, 32
Fogs, signals in, 433
" F'oists,'"" 455
Foljambe, Hercules, 526
Foikestone, 131
Folkestone, 247 ; French attack on, 184 ; burnt, 287
Folstoke, William, 437
Forbernard, William de, 136
Fordred, William, 596
Forecastles, 145
Foreigners, prohiliition of sales of shipping to, 148
" Fore-lock," 340
Foresight, 423, 425, 491 n., 495 and n., 498, 500, 504, 520, 529, 581 n., 588, 589
Forestage, 146
Forestalling, 152
Forindon, William de, 131
Fortescue, Captain, 529
Forth, English fleet in the, 234; Jean de Yienne in the, 297 ; operations in the, 458 ; landing in the, 460 ; Sir William Wynter's successes in the, 475 ; the Armada to be chased as far as the, 580 ; the design abandoned, 581
Fortress, a portable, 299
Fortune, 419, 597
Fortz, William de, 103, 167
Foster, master of the Primrose, 484
Founes, James, 591
Fowey, 193, 358 ; burnt, 290
Fowlers, 409, 412
Foxcraft, Samuel, 592
Fra Mauro, map of, 401
France, war with, 163; seeks aid from Norway, 209 ; truce with, 212, 213, 296, 379, 384, 391 ; assisted by Edward L, 213 ; asks for assistance against Flanders, 219; war with, 225, 390, 469, 477; peace with, 226, 459, 466, 469, 475; Edwar<l 111. renounces his claim to the
INDEX TO iiiLUMK 1.
673
I'ruHii ol, ^78 ; Kilwanl III. R'(iume« Iuh claini to the ciowii of, 27it; aiilH tlie Welsh, .'iuil : luirtial time with, .'(68; Heurj' \ . claiiiiB tlie crown of, 371 ; Henry VII. at war with, 444 ; frieii<lghip with, 502 Frances, 507 Francis, 486, G.35, 086 ; taken by the
SpaniardK, oOf), 506 Franco - Burguiuiian Kiiuailroii taken bv
Arundel, 300 Krankiiili rovers in tlie Mediterranean, 31 Freight, rates of, 122 ; cost of, 147, 154 Frencli merchants expellal, 193
in Enghmd arresteil, 225, 228
raids on the Isle of Wight, 236, 237
raids in the Channel, 247
coast ravaged, 278
fleet built by Jean dc X'ienne, 286
balingcrs taken, 205
ships seized at S(iuthani[)tiin, 2'.I6
vessels taken in the Seine, 2It6
vessels taken near Calais, 2!*7
■ galleys, action with, .">01
descent on Haverfordwest, 35!l
taken prisoners at Portlaml, 3ill
land at Milford, 303
shijis captured, 307
in theCliannel, partial action wifli the,
367, 368
and Genoese defeatetl by Huntingdon,
380
Newfoundland fleet, design to seize
the, 468
forts in Scotland to be razed, 475
— — at Newfoiuidland, difficulties with the, 524
coast to be avoided by the Armada,
541 and n.
vessel seized by Hore and Wade,
610 French Frigate, 423 Frenchmen in England imprisoned, 260 Fries, de, Adndral of France, 359 J''risian invaders, 10 Friskiny, 650 " Frislanda," 325, 326, 327, 328, 330 and n.,
331, 332, 336 Frobiser, Sir Martin, 420, 4'.»8-500, 550, 565, 570, 573, 580 ; blockades Brest, 502 ; fatally wounded, 503 ; on the coast of Spain, 494 ; his voyages, 024-020 ; re- mains of hut discovered in 1861 . . 626 Frobiser's Strait, 625 Frontinus, Julius, 20
Fugars, a volunteer with Parker, 530, 531 Fulford, Sir Baldwin, 387 Furthow, William, 502 Fylle, Pichard, 250
dahrid, 260, 342, \'AG, 317, 024, 625
dc Ilurflrnr, 347
Boyul, 408, 410
Vol,. 1.
Gadzand, 174 : eX|>eiiition against free- iKMiters, at, 241 ; English disswter off, 300 Gaillard, l{ol)ert, 122 flaliotie, 118 Galleasses, 500 n., 564, 565, 508, 569, 570,
571, 575, 577, 578, 581, .583 Onllei/v, 507 (laHeoii Dudliij, 590
Ilulchins, 590
Lrirrstrr, 570, 591), 035
Oulli^ilii, 423
Cfa/I'i/ Jlhiiihird, 419, 466 n. Galley, Uoman, 8
Galleys, 101, 102, 462-466; at Cadiz, 51.3, 514; at Cezimbra, 533-53.5, 5.36; English, connnauded by an Italian, 267, 268; contributeil by the jjorts in 1205, 114 : convoy storeships to Scotland, 241; Drake's action with, 402; from Genoa, 284 ; Genoese, 265, 260 ; in the F.nglish navy, 410, 421, 423: obtained from Genoa, 221 ; taken off Brittanv, Genoese, 258 Galliasses, 101 Gallio, 0, 32 Gallions, 101 (.ralliots, 144 Oalopine, 120 Gambling, 430
Gamez, Gutierre Diez de, •164 ami n. Gaming, Xaval laws against, 105 Gariannonum, 8 Garibav, 571, 578
(larlttild, 120 n., 222, 42.3, 425, 404, 408, 504, 520, 522, 529, 530, 532, 534, 535, 536 Gascony ; ceded to England, 278 ; convoy to, 101, 275, 300, .301; exjiedition to, 225 ; final severance from England of, 385 ; invaded by I'liilip IV., 205 ; negotia- tions concerning, 216 ; rebellion in, 100 (fato, 601
Gattenburg, .John, 596 Gaunt, John of, 298, 200 Gavestou, Piers, Karl of Cornwall, 214, 216 Gavran, 300 Gear and stores, 116 Gear of ships, jirice of, 414 (ieiiney, John, 300 (ieunua, Frisius of Louvain, 401, 402 " Generals " at sea, 429, rf srq. Genoa, 23(>, 237 ; Warwick attacks ships of, and Liibeck, 386 ; galleys obtained from, 221 ; letters of niari^ue granteil against, 369 ; mission to, 242 ; Richard I. at, 167 ; treaty with, 282, 382, Genoese carracks in French service, 374
cogs and carracks taken, 298
galleys, 284 ; taken oft' lirittany, 258
seize English cargoes, 395
- ships seized b)' French in the Downs, 220 Geoffrey of Brittany, 101
674
INDEX TO VOLUME I.
C/'-u/Y/r, 141), 147, 2()U, 2711, 04(1, ;!47, o77 u.,
4:^'l, 42;:!, 425, 580, 588, 58>J, (i2G.
Jioiiavimtiiri', 593
Kohle, 496, 592
of Falmouth. 427
George, Tristaiii, 589
Gerard, Archbisho]) of Aix, lOM
John, 34fi
Sir Tliouias, 515 and u.
Thomas, 575 and n., 589
Gerbrandtszooii, Admiral Jan, 558 n. (iermauicus, 7
Germany, alliance with S])ain, 448 ; mer- cenaries tVoM], 274 ; renewed alliance with,
458; third alliance of Henrv VIII. with,
460 ; trade with, 100 Ge'soriacun), iiO
Gettour, Athniral William, 219, 222 Ghent, 445 ; Edward III. at, 256 ; relief of,
295 Giant's Causeway, loss of the Oiroua near,
583 Gibraltar, battle near, 31, 32 ; fi<;ht between
English merchantmen and Spanish galleys
off,''494 Gibson of Glasgow trades in salmon, 395 Gilford, Captain Sir George, 509, 648, 649,
651 Gift, 595, 651
■ of God, 592
■ of God, "victualler, 594
Gil, Don Juan, 566, 568 Gilbert, Cajitain Sir John, 529
• John, 648
of Colchester's theory of the earth a
magnet, 402, 403 Sir Humphrey, 479, 626 ; his yovage
to North America, 645, 646
Sir John, 520 n.
Giles, Edward, 530
Gillingham, 211
GiUyflowtr, 421
Girona, 583, 603
Gironde, English yessels burnt in the, 359 ;
French yessels taken in the, 359 Glanyill, Ranulf de, 168 Glasgow, Bishoji of, 239, 240 Glaucus, Nicholas, 241 Glenuagiveny Bay, loss of the Dinjiicfid
Siinfa Ana in, 583, 584 Globe of Behaim, the great, 400, 401 Globes, not charts, used by si.xteeuth century
nayigators, 401 Gloucester, Admiial Richard, Duke of
(Richard III.), 388, 391-393
contriliutes a galley, 114
■ Hugh, Earl of, 255, 257
• Huniphrey, Duke of, 382, 383
Godah, 224
Godefrey, Andrew, 346
Godi'li/nc, 131
(Indihiil/r, 269
Godwin and Warwick, parallel hclween, 386
Godwin, Earl, 17, 4i, 48, 50, oi, 52
— Hugh, 649, 650
Oodyere, 131
Godyn, 131
Godyn, William, 131
Gokstad ship, the, 19
Golden Hind, 482, 562, 566 n., 591
(Drake's), ex., PeUcaii, 028, 630-634
(Gilbert's), 645
Lion, 423, 487, 502, 569, 570, 572,
588, 589, 592; mutiny of the, 439; sw
also Lion.
Noble, 590
Rial, 597
Goldesborough, Sir John, 272 Gomara, Lopez de, cited, 307 Gonson, Benjamin, 617
(senior) Benjamin, 437 n.
(jimior) Benjaudn, 438 n.
William, 115 n.
Good Face, 340 Goodlad, William, 592 Goodwin, Edward, 526 Gordon, Lady Katherine, 446 Gore, Cajitain, 529 n., 530, 532 Gorges, Captain Sir Arthur, 519, 520
Nicholas, 429, 593
Goring, Captain, 491 n.
Gosnoll, Bartholomew, \oyagc to North
Auierica of, 532 Gosport burnt, 280 Goulet, Le, 454, 455 Gourdan, M., 575 and n., 576, 577 Goya, 42
Go am or, 354, 404 Gower, Captain Walter, 589 Grace, 596 Grace a Dicu, Grace de Dieu, or Grace Dieu,
342, 347, 354 ; 371 and n., 404 GrcKe de Dieu, 284 Grace of Ajisam, 597 Grace of God, 590 Graciosa, 521, 522 Gratidr Marie, 347, 377 n. Grandison, Sir Otho, 283 Grand mistress, 421 Gran Grifon, 583, 601 Gran-Grin, 567, 573, 576 n., 585 u., 598 Grant, Roger, 591 Grapnels, 270 Grayelines, 185, 366, 308 : action with the
Armada off, 575-579 : naval co-ojieration
at the battle of, 473 ; ships obtained from,
276 Grayesend, 274, 434, 524 ; burnt, 294 Gray, John, 589
Thomas, 429, 589
Great Barbara, 419
Bark, 408, 419, 420
•■ Christopher, 423 n.
Dragon, 18
EUzaheth, 419
Gabriel, 347
INDEX. TO VOLUME T.
675
Great Xicholus, 41'J
Xulmi, 41!l
Oieek tire, 102, lOil, 110, 172, :!77 (iieeiilaiul, ;{2;!, -.VZi, ;i2U, ;tH-l-:<3t! ; early
settlers in, (!.'{ ; Krobislier in, <J2*J (Ireeiiwich Hospital, 4.S4
the inuseuni at, 405
Oregon/ hiutn/, 44G n.
Oreville, Cajitain Sir Kulko, r>2!l
(irev lie Wilton, Artliur, Karl, 482; in
Scotland, 475 ; surrenders (iuisnes, 472 Grey of Codnor, Admiral Hicliard Lord, 357 (i'rn//iuum/, 421, 423, 5!tH (rreynvile, .lolni, 5i)0 Sir Richard, 41)5 ami n., 590 ; his
gallant tiirht, 4!t5-4!»7 ; his voyage to
Virjjiida, (i4ti, t!47 Greynvile, l'a]itain Sir Hiohard, 5'J7 (xrcystock, William, Lord, 2t>S) 'hifli,,, 590, 591) (iriilith of Wales, 50, 52, 53 GrilHths, a Welsh traveller, 310 lirim, Simon, 113 On'iK, the, 113, IIG Grimaldi, Carlo, 260, 2i; I Prince of Monaco, Ue3iier III., 285,
287, 289
Iteyner, 135
(irimshy chapmen, 97
(irimstone, Sir .John, 283 n.
•Mirislan.ia,"' 325, 330, 33(i
(.irislin^ John, 591
"(iro^'ne," 252
Urove, pilot of the Mt ir /luiioiii; 522
Growth of trade, 394
(rriilie reaches Lajie liace, tilO
Grymlile, Thomas, 591!
(fua(ialou|ie, 505
<TU(irilliiiid: si'e (turhind
Guatulco, Drake at, 033 : burnt by (.'aven-
disli, ()38 (iudleif, voyajie of, (il Gueranile invested liy De hi Cerda, 259 Guernsey, 436; raideil by Behuchet, 239;
taken'by the French, 294 if nest y G54, {Sb^y Ouiinifty 526 (lni>l<; 423 Guienne, 369; and I'oitou surrendered to
France, 227 ; ceiled to England, 278 ;
harassed by the Dukes of Orleans and
Burgundy, 367 ; j)recautions for ships
iMiund to, 371 CJuildford, Sir Henry, 451 and u.
Sir Richard, 404 and n.
Guinea Company chartered, the, 644
tirst voyage to, 470; voyages to, Oil,
612 Guise, Duke of, 557
Frani^ois, Duke of, 472
Guisnes ceded to England, 278 Guldlord, Admiral Andrew, 267 Oundy William, 131
Gunner's stores of a ship in 140<j. .306
(funnery, inferiority of Spanish, 561, 5H.3
( tunnibjorn's skerries, 63
Gunjiowder, 148, 411 ii., 412, 413; in- fluence of the invention of, 338 ; exiiort of, iirohibited, 371
Guns, 148, 157, 158, 342 ; of the sixteenth century, 409-412
Guttyn Onain, 306
Guy, Count of Flanders, 210, 241
(i\iy de Lusignan, 171
Gybon, .lohn, 273
(fyr/nlruii, 421
Gyrtb, son of Godwin, 52
Gytha, wife of ("Jodwin, 48
Uacka burnt. La, .506
ILuiley's quadrant, 403
UaM'etha land, 35
Hail-shot pieces, 409, 412, 417
Hainault, Sir John of, 228
Hakluyt, Richanl, England's ilebt to, 606
Hales, Admiral Sir Robert, 28(!
Sir Stephen, 272
Ualey, Roger, 590
Halfdene, 37
Halidon Hill, battle of, 232
Hall, Christopher, 625
" Hallowing " of the Henry Grace u Dkii, 405
Hallwood, Thomas, 593
Halse Grentield, 597
Halton, Sir Chiistopher, 628, 630
Hand)le, the, .371 u.
Hamburger, Cund)erlanil takes a, 526
Hamburg fly-boats taken, 512
ships rilled, 486
Hampshire, Saxons land in, 35
Hampton, John, 590
Hand-guns, 409, 412
llaitdtnaid, 423, 595, 596
Hanekyn, I'eter, 131
Hangest, Renaud de, 363
Hansa ships cajitured by Drake, 492
Hanse Towns, (jommunications with the, .395; Eliz,abeth and the, 440; 'fr;ide falls into the hands of the, 348, 352 and n.
lliirbell, liconard, 596
llarliours improved, 439
Hardicixuute, 47, 48
Hardinge, Hugh, 591
Ihn; 421, 477
Hare, William, 592
Harfleur, 284, 287, 364, .!7.3-38,3, .384; burnt, 363 ; French lleet assembled at, .361; Henry VII. sails from, .393; Jean de Vienne at, 300; victory ofl", 375-377
Harlech besieged by the French, 361
Harold I., 19, 47
Harold II., 50-54
Harold, death of, S6
Ilardrada, 48, 51
of Denmark, 18, 47
2x2
676
INDEX TO VOLUME I.
Ihiiolil, raid in tlio Biistul Cluimiel liv a sun
of, ST llarolil's fleet, reasons lor tlie inaction of,
7i, 73
navv, dispersal of, 78
Jlitrp, 421
Harpeden, Sir John, 283
Harjjer, Richard, 5!t2
William, 526
Harriet, 120 n. Harris, Captain John, 5811 Harrison, Robert, 59-1 Harf, 420, 477, 595
William, 590
Hartlepool, 123, 214; pillaged by tlrkney-
men, 94 Harvey (? boatswain of the Dreadnoiigld),
589 Captain Sir William, 520, 529, 575
and n., 589 Harwich, 228, 229 ; Lion lost off, 422 ; re- turn of Howard's, ships to, 581 and n. Hasting, 38 Hastings, 7, 195, 244, 287, 294 ; luirnt, 287 ;
destroyed, 294 ; raided, 247, 277 ; ships
furnished by, 131 Hatches, 340 " Hatorash, 647, 648 Hatton, Sir Christopher, 623 Haverfordwest, ships sent to, 221 ; French
descent on, 359 Havre, Le, 465 ; delivered to Elizabeth, 476,
477 ; evacuation of, 477 Hawes, Ralph, 597 Hawkes, Martin, 593 Hawkyns, Captain Richard, 505, 576, 589
and n.
junior. Captain William, 635
senior, William, 611
Sir John, 306, 428, 429, 433, 437
and n., 556, 558, 565, 570, 572, 573, 576
and n., 589, 590 ; on the coast of Spain,
494 ; his voyages, 617-620 ; his last
voyage, 504-507 ; letter to Walsyugham,
553 : letter to Burghley, 553 ; Sir Richard, 637, 640, 641 ; his voyage
to the South Sea, 641-644
William, 590
Hawthorn, 421
Hay, David de la, 239
Hayward, John, (354
Hazard, 596
Heartsease, 521
Hearty Anne, 595
Heathen, 597
Hebrides, Edgar at the, 41
Hector, 634, 656
Herctiles, 592
Hegham, Admiral Sir Roger, 233
" Helibot," 338
Heugest, 34
llenncboi'it relieved, 259; the lOnglisli llect
at, 261
Henriquez, Don Martin, 619
Henry galley, 419
Grace' a Dieu, 405-409, 412-41-i, 420,
422, 434 n., 463, 464
of Bristol, 446 n.
of Hampton, 419
Henry I. opposed bv Robert, 91 ; captures
him, 91 Henry II., 98 ; does homage to France, 161 ;
treaty between Barbarossa and, 97 Henry III., assists Brittany, 194; invades
France, 196 Henry lY., accession of, 338, 355 ; in
Wales, 364 ; proceeds against Scotland, '
356 Henry Y., accession of, 369 Henry YI., accession of, 382 Henry VII. and John Cabot, 608 ; com- mercial instincts of, 442 ; lets out ships
to the merchants, 439 ; ships of, 404 Henry YIII. accession of, 448 ; list of ships
lost or disjiosed of inider, 419 ; reorganises
the administration of the Navy, 437 ;
death of, 466 Herbert, Sir Thomas, cited, 307 Heredia, Captain Pedro de, 576 and n., 577 Hereford and Essex, Humphrey, Earl of,
255 Hereford, Humphrey, Earl of, 269 Heregeld, 17, 19, 47 Heriot on the use of Rhumbs, 402, 403
Thomas, 647
Herle, Admiral Sir Robert, 154, 273, 278
Hermitage, 446 n.
Hernandez, Tomas, treachery of, 637
Herring fishery of Yarmouth, 314
Herwiok, Abraham van, 524
Hethe, AVilliam, 346
Hewys, Admiral Thomas de, 217
"Hevras," 116, 120
Heyte, Le, 126
Hialtland, 329
Hickman, Eleazar, 593
" High Admiral," 152, 153
Hijh treason, piracy to be accounted, 3i i
Hind, 421
Hingston Down, 36
Hi])parchus ; his services to naViijatiou, 399,
400 Hire by tonnage, 293, 298
of ships, 345
vessels, 138, 139
Hired vessels, payment for, 114
Hoby, Sir Edward, 589
Hoc-boats, 144
Hodges, Richard, 589
Hog, 120 n.
Hogue, La, 275 : burnt, 363
Holbein, Yolpe's picture wrongly ascribed
to, 405, 406 Holif/oat iSpayne, 347, 380 n. Holland, Admiral Sir riubcrt, 2.".3 ami n. Holland and /jccland, Kli/.abeth olVcrcd the
IXDi:.\ TO VOLUME f.
677
))rotectorate of, 480, 483 ; shiyn* piirchiiseU from, ;i"2
HoUan.i, Robert, 5iU
Sir Tliomas, 269
Holstock, William, 437 n., 438 n. ; as Vice- Admiral, represnes i>iracy, 480, 481
Noll/ Cross, 130, 131
JMy (/host, 131, 340, 34G, 347, 371 anil n.
Holy League, tlie, 448, 450, 458
Home, teTidcncy to retain the fleet at, 204
Hondius's chart, 402, 40.!
Honfleur, 377 ; attacked, 28!)
Ilonorius, 33
Houour of the flag, 119
Hood's iminovemeuts in nautical instru- ments, 402, 403
Hooper, Captain, 537
Hope, 423, 425, 477, 504, 520 and n., 529, 570, 581 n., 582 n., 588, 589
Hope, victualler, 594
Jhpn Htiu-kyns, TVil n., 590
Hoper, Edward, 346
Hopewell, 497, 524, 525, 590
Hore, Captain, 529 ; reaches Cai>e Breton, 610
Hornsey of Newcastle, 373
Horologes, 146
Horsa, 34
Hoskard, Ralph, 346
Hostages required by Ciesar, 27
Hotspur operates against Owen Gleudower, 357
Houghton, James, 595
Houston, James, 595
Howard, Admiral Lord Thomas, 509, 511, 513, 517, 519, 520, 522, 529
Charles, 593
Lord Thomas, 494, 495, 497, 565, 572,
573, 576, 589
Lord High Admiral, Lord Edward,
449 and n., 450, 453-457
(later Earl of Surrey), 449, 457 and n.,
458, 459
■ ■ of Effingham (later Earl of Notting- ham), the Lord High Admiral, Charles Lord, 429, 433, 437, 479, 483 and n., 509, 510, 513, 514, 515, 516-518, 552, 556 ; created Earl of Nottingham, 516 ; letters to Burghley, 552, 554, 555 ; letter to Elizabeth, 557 ; his plan for watching the Channel, 558, 559, 562-585
Charles, 589
William Lord, 471, 472
Sir Edward, agreement concerning the
fleet of 1512.. 426-428
Admiral Sir John, senior, 233 and n.
234, 265, 266
Howlet, John, 615
Howlett, Richard, 438 n.
Ho>i Dark, 421
Hubbard, William, 597
Hucs's 'Tractatus de Globis,' 402, 403
//«<//( (htlhuit, 036, 638
Hugo the Minorite, 322
" Hulks," 144
Hull, 234, 294, 302, 358
Hiunl>er, Danes in the, 45, 88 ; Tostig in
the, 54 Humboldt's opinion of the Jfadoc story, 304 Hungerford, Admiral Sir Walter, 375 and n. :
revises the ' Libel on English Policie,' 3.50 Hunsdon, George Carey second Lor<l, 497 Huntingdon, Admiral John, Earl of, .301,
375, 379, 380 Adnnral William Clinton, Earl of,
237, 249, 250, 255, 257, 262, 263
William de, 136
Hurst, 434
Iluscarls, 47
Hythe, 8, 195, 207 ; remission of service
granted to, 357; shijis furnished by, 131
" IcARiA," 327, 332
Iceland ; Irish in, 61-63 ; English trade with, 316, 322; intercourse with, 396; misconduct of English in, .">96, 397 : Danish |irohibiti(>n of trade with, 397 ; trade with, 439
Idwal, 304
leu.an Brechva, 306
Ilfraeombe, 198, 630
"Hole," 325, 327, 330
Imnges of saints in ships, 148, 340
Immorality in the fleet, 288
Impressment, 146; of goods, 123; of men, 118, 123; of ships, 112, 123
India; travel overland to, 651; the first English voyage to, 651, 652 ; profits of the trade to", 489
Indulgences captured, 501
Ingram, David, 620 ; cited, 306-308
Instructions to Howard and Essex, Eliza- beth's, 511
Intercourse, " The Great," 446
International action against jiirates, 368
Invasion thrfitened from Boulogne and Flanders, 161
" Inventio Fortunata," 321
Inverness shiiis, high repute of, 315
lona, ]iirates at, 44; a missionarv centre, 61
Ipswich, 191, 228; galleys of, 114
Irandah-al-Kabirah, 1)5
Ireland; assists Wales, 50; early inter- course with, 57; galleys of, 114; King's ships in, 124 ; Saltire ot', 162 n. ; Con- quest of, 162, etc. ; John's exijcdition to, 179; Madoc jirobably went to, 312; Warbeck in, 447 ; Spanish designs on, 504, 518, 519 ; Essex in, 528 ; Spanish attempt on, 530; ajiinehensions of a Spanish descent in, 536 ; the .Vrma<la rounds the west coast of, 582, 583
" IrelaiKl the great," 64
Irish; gowl seamen, 58 ; early voyages, .58, 60, etc. ; ilescents on England, 59 : )iilgrims to the Orkneys, lil ; energy of
678
INDEX TO VOLUME 1.
tlie early, 61 ; Englisliraeu enslaved by the, 162 ; riBiiig supi)resBeil by the Duke of York, 384; Danes reduced by Edgar, 41
Ironclads, early, 12
Isabel, 217
Isahcla, 508
Isabella, Queen ; her treachery, 226, 227 ; her banishment, 227 ; expelled from France, 228; collects transports at Dor- drecht, 228; lands in England, 229; is joined hy the j^eople, 229 ; rewards certain seamen, 229 ; her influence, 230
hahdJa, 269
Isla de Pinos, action ofl", 507, 508
" Islanda," 326 and u., 327-331
Islands, voyage to the, 519
Darning, 323
Skimming, 323
Italy, early intercourse with, 55 ; trade falls into the hands of, 348 ; Hidl trades to, 395
Jackmax, Charles, 625, 626
Jacob, 595
Jacobi, Peter, 226
Jaille, De la, 361
James, brother of Eustace, the Monk, 183
King of Aragon, 226
Prince of Scots taken by John Pren-
• dergast, 362
James W. of Scotland assists against tlie ' Spanish Armada, 486
James, 224, 346, 347, 362, 419 n.
of Hull, 451
Jane Bonaventure, 593
Janssen, Zacharias, of Middelberg, 403
Japan, William Adams enters the service of, 594
J arret, David, 508
Jason, Captain, 537
Java, factory established in, £56
Jay, John, 607
Jeffrey, Martin, 589
Jenkinson, voj-ages of Anthony, 616
Jennet, 421, 427
Perwyn, 419; taken from Andrew
Barton, 448, 449
Jermyn, Thomas, 115 n.
Jernegan, promptness of Sir Henrj', 471
Jersey, 436 ; seized by the French, 248 ; taken by the French, 294 ; requisitioned, 366 ; and Guernsey, attacked by Strozzi, are relieved by Wynter, 469
Jerusalem, 269, 273
Jesus, or Jesn, 346, 347, 420
of Liibecl; 617, 620
Jewel, 592
John, accession of. 111 ; concbides a truce with France, 179 ; interdicted and ex- communicated, 180
John, 224, 268, 269, 340, 341, 347, 594
• and Francis, 513
John of Barnstaple, 597
of Chichester, 595
John of Gaunt, 269, 272, 274 John of Greenwich, 419, 459
of Hampton, 446 n.
Bajitist, 419
Castelyn, 446 n.
Evangelist, 353
Hopton, 419 n.
Trelaivney, 595
Youny, 5i36
Johnson, Francis, 596
Robert, 596
Jolliffe, Henry, 526 Jonas, 594, 617
of Aldborougb, 597
Jones, Captain, 529
Eev. Morgan, cited, 308, 309
Jonette, 269
Juan, Captain Marolin de, 571
Judith, 619, 620
Julia, 598
Julian, 32
Juliana, 600
Jmik, 340
Juryinan of the C!ourt of Admiralty,
and duties of a, 153 Jutes, 10
iiatli
Kaea Sea, Jackman in the, 626
Karlsefni, voyage of, 63
Katherine, or Katrine, 224, 253, 268, 341,
342, 346, 347, 397, 593
of Guernsey, 356
of Ipswich, 596
of Salisbury, 379
of Weymouth, 595
galley, 419
Fortelcza, 408, 419
Pkasaunce, 408, 419
Pomegranate, 405 n., 414
Katrine Bretton, 347, 377 n.
" Keels," 144
Keeper of the King's ships, 115
Kenies, John de, 178
Ken, Thomas le, 131
Kendall, Abraham, 650, 651
Henry de, 235
Kent raided by the French, 385
Edmund, Earl of. Admiral of England,
363, 367 and n., 368
'J'homas, Earl of, 288
Kenton, 139
Keymis, Captain Lawrence, 648, 650
Keynor, 34
Kholraogori, 615
Killingworth, George, 615
King, Captain, 509
John, 592
William, 501
King's Bark, 404
" King's Lieutenants," 343
Kinghom, 231
J.VnKX TO vni.UMK 1.
()7!t
Kinijsliriil'ic, lH!'
Kint;st(iM-ii|i(>ii-llull, lieet ncsciiiWeil at, 217
Kiiisalc, G;{">: attaikcl, 'JiH ; S|>niiiKli Iniicl-
\u% at, r>.'{0, fi.'iri
Kiikciidbrijilit, ■J.\.\ Kirklev, L'.ilt
Kirkwall, fort Imilt at, SUH Kittcy, .Tiiliii, LSI KnofklerfjUK, 2ir> Knollys, Sir linlierl, L'S8 Knyvett, Sir 'riiuiiias, 450 and n., 4.">1, 4")2 Kyiigeston, John, 34() Kyricl, Sir Tlioinas, ;i84 Kyriel, Ailiniral Sir Nicholas, 222 and n., 227, 22H
La Hooitk, Edward 111. at, 203: ships
taken at, 20)8 Labienns, 27, 28, 20 Labrador, the fiamjiafni wrecked on, HIO Laburkin, Sir Stepljen dc, 2r)l Lagos, 208 Laine, Iticliard, 58!! Laniberd, .lohn, I'M. Lambert, Tliotnas, olili Laioina, 012
Lancashire, Martin Schwart/ lands in, 44^ Lancaster, Henry of, 14o Sir James, makes the lirst Kuglish
voyage to India, SilO, G51, 052, 653;
takes Pernambuco, G5.'J, 054 ; commands
the East India Company's first fleet, 054—
057 Henry Earl and Duke of (previously
Earl of Derby), 200, 271, 273 and n., 275,
280, 285, 2!:i6, .•'.02
See also Derby, Henry Plarl of.
Thomas of, ojiposes Gaveston, 210;
rebellion of, 22.3 Landaff, capture of the Bishop of, 40 Landais, Pierre, 3SI2, 393 Landing with permission, 432 Lane, Italph, 040 ; leads a colonv to Virginia,
047 Langdale, Walter, 20it Langdon, abbey of, 227 Langford, .John, 5111 Langton, Captain, 508
James, 520, 595
Sir John de, 211
Lanterns, 140, 4.30, 432
Lanton, Sir John, 28.3
Lanzarote plundered by Cumberland, 527
Large vessels, relative suiierioritv of, 379
Lark, 593
Lame, Scots land at, 218
Latimer, William Lord, 28K, 295
Latitude, Hehaim's method of discovering
the, 400 Launch of a ship, ceremony at tljc, .342 "Laurum," 110 iMfia, 000 jMwrence, 269
Ricliai
'■/■
Laws : »■«• Naval I^aws.
League, Spain .sup|Hirls the, 50 J
" Le.lnvo," .325, 327, .3.30
Ledre<le, Itobert, 275
Lee, Gilbert, 597
Legge, liobert, 4.37 n.
Leicester, Hubert Dudlev Earl of, 480, 034,
035 Leif Eriksson, voyage of, 63 Leigh, Charles, 524 Leith taken, 407 ; block.ide of, 475 Lemenemouth, 38 Lenuuanis, 8 Lemon-juice uBe<i as an anti-scorbutic,
655 Lemon, Piers, .")91
Lengthening vessels, early examjile of, 72 Lennox harasses Arraii, etc., 40ii Leot'ric, 17
Lcofwin, son of Godwin, 52 Leon, Isle of, 513, 514
Captain Pedro de, 574
Lfontird of Wrslminsfrr, 217 Leo]iold of Austria cajrtures
174 " L'Es|iagiiols s\ir Mcr," 270 fl i i-ss Jliirk, 408, 419, 420
I'ilDKiri; 419
Lt'ssi-r Bdrharii, 419
yMhrii, 419
Letters of niarijue, 120, 3G9
Patent for discovery, 008, 009
Levant, commerce with the, 439 ; Spain
seizes shi])s in the, 484; the I^evant
Companv, 590, 592, 593, his ; the vovage
to the, O'lO Leveson, Admiral Sir Kichard, 512 and n.,
520 and ii., 529, 530, 532-530, 589 liCwes, sack of, 287 Ley, John, 520 Leybourne, Admiral Sir Robert de, 221
and n., 224, 288 Adnnral William de, 142, 200 and ii.,
211 Levva, Adnnral Don Alonso de, 567, .568,
.571, 573, 578, 581, 583, 584
. ■ Don Pedro de, 485
" Libel of English Policie," 350, 375 n.,
377 n., 397 " Liburna," 25 Lidgen, John, 590 Lieux, 200 Lighthouses, 125 Lightning, 169 Lights, precautions as to, 432
ships', 125
Lima.sol, Hichard 1. at, 171 Lime as a weapon, uiislakeil, 1S8
]jots, 414
Limehill, 8
Lincoln, Edward Earl of: .we Clinton,
Edward Lo;il. Lini^res, Sir Maubruiide, 283
(580
INDEX TO VOLUME I.
I.!nn, 419, 421, 422, 423, 425, 427, 477, 5011, 520, 529, Oil, 046; taken from Andrew I5arton, 448, 449 and n. ; taken by the Panny and lost oft' Harwicli, 407
LIoiCk Wh-Jp, 428, 512, 537
Ulielp's longboat in the Orinoco, 049
Lionel of Antwerp, 274
Liqnes, 144
Lisbon, 209, 533, 537 ; English fleet at, 106 ; English misbehaviour at, 100 ; attacked, 491, 492 : Spanish fleet assembled at, 518; Slingsby"s actions oft', 518; strength of the Armada while at, 560
Lisle, Sir John de, 224
Lord High Admiral John Lord, 460,
402, 463, 404, 405, 4()6
Liste, Nicholas, 497 n.
Lister, Charles, 593
Christopher, 493
Little Han; 596
John, 346, 347, 595
Marie, 347
(or Pefiti-) Trinity, 346, 347
Littlebury, Admiral Sir Humphrev dc, 219
Lizard, the, 56 502
Li7.ard, 405, 419
Llewellyn, death of, 204
Lloyd, Thomas, 398
" Llwyd," Dr., quoted, 307
Loarie, Ricliard, 590
Loaysa, Garcia de, 031 and ii.
Lobo, Don Diego, 535
Lock, John, Oil, 012
Lodeships, 144
" Lodmannagium," 132
Log and line, invention of the, 402
Loggin William, 590
Loire, Caesar victorious at the mouth of
■ the, 24
Lok, Michael, 024
Lomb, John, 131
London, 214, 228 ; attacked by a fleet, 46 ; trade of, 99; galleys of, 114; fortified, 246; ships assembled at, 372; ships fitted out against the Armada by the City of, 592
Long, William, the pirate, 309
Long Serpent, 71
Long ships, 11 n., 13, 111
Longespee, William de. Earl of Salisburv, 110
Longitude, difticulfy of ascertaining the, 401
Looe, 304
Lord High Admiral, 153, 437
Lord's Prayer to be sung at night, 432
Loriman, a volunteer with Parker, 530, 531
Loring, Sir Nele, 255 and n., 256
Lothring and Yrling, 49
Louis (i'Outremer restored, 40
Lovell, John, fifth Lord, 356
John, 619
Loveney, Roger de, 184
Lowe, IJarnaliy, 590
Lowestoft, 114; Wyntcr ami Seymour quit the fleet off, 580 '
Liibeck, convention of Hausa merchants at, 492
and Genoa, Warwick attacks, 386
Lucy, Oeoffrey de, 116, 118, 179, 180
Richard de, 101
Luna, Don Juan de, 491
" Limars," 401
Lundy Island, 198, 229 ; a pirate strong- hold, 314
Lung, John Le, the pirate, 136
Luntlowe, Thomas, 592
Lupicinus, 32
Lusignan, Guj' de, 171
Hugh de, 176
Lutterel, Geoft'rey de, 116
Luzon, Don Alonso de, 571, 578
Lyme, 133, 223
Lynes, 144
Lynn, 238, 389; galleys of, 114; and Dart- moutli, hostilities between, 124; prosperity of, 314 ; Nicholas of, 321 ; Prussian trade with, 395 ; kidnappers, ."i97
Mabely, 131
Mace, William, 648 ; voyage to Virginia,
532 Macham, Robert, voyage to Madeira, 317 Madagascar, Lancaster at, 056 Maddox, Fenton's chaplain, 635 Madeira, Robert Macham's voyage to, 317-
320 Madoc, 303, 337 ; makes a second voyage
westward, 304 ; consideration of his claim
to have discovered America, 305 et saj. Madre de Bios, capture of the, 500, 501 Maeda, Don Luis de, 571 Maenige, 43 Magdalena, 598 Magdalene, 224 Magellan Strait, Spanish colony in, 635 ;
Ricliard Hawkyns in, 641 ; Drake in, 030 Magna Charta, 183 Magnet, the, 128, 147 Magnetic rook, 322, 323 " Magni," 129 Magnus threatens invasion, 48, 49
of Orkne\', success of, 90
Magroth, Mr., 639
Maidenhead, 421
Maikyn, John, 269
Maildun, voyage of, 61
Maine, AVilliam I. recovers, 88; William IL
pacifies, 90 Mainwaring, Captain, 530, 532 Maitresse, 463 Majorcan galleys taken, 226 Makeshift, 591, 423 Malcbieii, Roger, 170 Malcolm of Cundiria, 43 Maldonado, Don J\ian, 571 Malgo, mythical voyages of, 58 n.
TNPRX TO VOLUME /.
()81
Malisf siH'rrc, .'fJ!*
JIali)leoiie, Siivt-ry de, 1!'3
Miilyii, Vic:e-A(liniral, -IT")
Mdlyiie, VAX
Man, Isle of, 215
Maiiileville, William ile, Earl of Kbscx, Itjt,
kk;
Maiulcvillc's travels, Sir John, ^ilu
Manckyn, John, l.'U
Maninjiton, Ambrose, r>'.H
Mannv, Admiral Sir Walter, 'JIO and n.,
241', 2f-', 243, 254, 255, 259, 260, 264,
266, 267, -im, 209 Manrique, Don Jorge, 577 Mansell, Sir Robert, 520 ; defeats Spinola,
5;!6 Manuehi, 598 Ma)) of 1448 of the coasts of the British
Isles, 60G Mar, Earl of, dispatch of a scpiadron airainst
the, 365 Marans taken, 301
March, Admiral Kdmiind, Karl of, .".79 Marchant, John, 590 March, (.'oiint de la, 196, 360, .".fll, .'.62 Marco Polo, 315 " Mare Claiisum " cital, 134 Mare Sugeniim, 323 Marf/ant, 347, 404, 493, 597
taken from the Scots, 444
and John, 526, 565 ji., 569, 592
Bull, 446 n.
Margaret of Anjou, treason of, 384,385,388,
389, 390 of Burgundy plots against Ilenrv VII.,
442, 447 Mnryant of Ipswich, 353 Margarita, island of, 527 Margate, 241, 541-547 ; French (liracies
oft; 219 yiaria de Aijuirre, 598 Mnriii Juan, 598 Muriu San Jnitn, 600 Marie, 346, :!47, ;i54, 377 n., 380 n.
Bret ton, 347
la Curdeliere, 450, 451
Marigold, 593 ; of Hull, 59(i
victualler, 594
Marinelli, 118
Mariner's compass, 147, 312
Mariute, 269
Marisco, Stephen de, 162
William <lc, 114
Marish, Sir William ile, 198
Murk Florentine, 419 n.
Markham, William, 628, 635, 636
Murliun, 421
Marocco, Englishmen in, 318
Marque, letters of, 21)8
Marns, .lohn, 396
Marseilles, Hichard I. :il, HIT
Martel, 361
Martenet, 427
Martin (larcia, 353, 404
Marlyn, 'I'homas, 346
Marv, yueen, the lleet at the death uf, 422
Mari/, 148, 379, 404
Marv 1., accession of, 470; death of, 473
Man/ and John, 404 ii., 408, 419, 427
^ Aslie, 354
Bird, of Bristol, 44<! n.
Fortune, 404, 405, 446 ii.
Oeori/e, 419,427
(Iloria, 419
Grace, 419
Guildford, 419
Haniliorow, 421
Ifastini/s, 446 n.
Ilonora, 425 n.
Howard, 419 n.
Imperial, 419
James, 419
■ Loretle, 419 n.
■ Odierne, 419
Rose, 408-410, 414, 419, 423, 425,
426, 509, 520, 522, 529, 532, 537, 538, 555 11., 565, 5t)9, 570, 572, 576, 588, 589, 594 ; loss of the, 463 and n., 464
• Smrke, 486
Mary Stuart carried off bv Villegagnon, 468
Mar;/ T/iomas, 419
Tovjer, of Bristol, 446 n.
Willoni/lihi/, 420; retaken, 467 n.
o/Guiid/ord, 610
Mar>/!/old (Drake's), 628, 630
Masham, 'I'lioi'iias, 651
Massacre of the ]>ancs, 43
Masts, 138, 145, 146, 340, 404
Master, the captain in an Elizabethan flag- ship, 429
Master shipwriiiht of the navy, the first, 405
Masters of the (Ordnance of the Navv, 438 n.
Matthew, 420, 596
of Bristol, 608
Maunder, Nicholas, 590
Maivdh/n of Dept/ord, 419
Maximian, 29-32
Maximus, 32
May, Henry, 652, 65.".; wrecked at I'.er- nuida, 653
. lohn, 397
Caj.tain, 537
Mavdeston, Thomas de, 234
Mayjloirer, 503, 570, 592
. uf King's Lynn, 596
Meata;, 3.3
Jledina, Adudral Juan Gomez de, 583, 601
1'e.lrode, 402
Sidonia, Don Alonso Perez de Guzman,
Duke of, 51l>, 540, 598; instructions to, 541, 542, 543; his views, 544; his letter to Parma, 545; his general orders to the Armada, 548 ; sails, 549 ; is dishearlenol, 549; leaves Corvuinn, 5.59; leails the
682
INDEX TO VOLUME I.
his failiii-e mid ex
Aniiad;), 5HO-5S5 cuses, .")«;!
Mediterranean iiiivxtes, alliance of Caraiisius with, 30, 31
Scots intercoui-se with the, 93
trade with tlie, 606, 610
Medrano, Don Diego, 603 Meek, Thomas, 595 Megar, William, 595 -V'.'/.'/, i93
Meldrum, Thomas, 597 Melendez, Don Pedro, 531 n. Mehm, treaty of, 436, 501, 502 Menai Strait, Madoo said to have defeated the^ English in the, 308, 313 ; bi-idged,
Mendoza, Don Antonio Hnrtado de 60'^ Mercator (Gerard Cremer), 402 ; cited 3'?1 Mercator's globe, 401, 402 '
projection, 402
Mercer, John, 291
Merchant Adventurers, the Company of, 610,
Merchant Boi/nl, 484, 485, 526 569 590 651, 652 ' ' ' ^ '
Merchant servii'e and the navy, connection between the, 347, 348, 605
■ shijjs serving witli Drake against the
Armada, 590, 591 Merchants, privileges to Scots, 97 ; nnder-
take the guard of the sea, 365, 366, 367 Mercliantmen in consort elect their "ad- miral," 374
serving with Howard of EfKngham
against the Armada, 593 Mercia, 12
Mercocur, the Due de, 502 MiTcury, 423
Mir (or Mere) Honour, 423, 425 Mtrr.^ Honour, 509, 513 n., 520 and n., 521,
Meredydd a)) Rhys on Madoc, 305, 306 308
Merick, master of the DdUjht, of Bristol
638 '
Meridian, Wright's method of dividin.' the
Mrrlin, 306, 423, 425, 580, 588, 589 Mersh, John, 346 Mcrton, 37
Messina, Richard I. at, 167, 168 " Meta Incoi/nita,'" 625, 626 Mexia, Don Augustin, 573, 578 Mexican rites, traces of Christian ritual in 65 '
Mexico Michelson makes prizes in the Gulf
?n« w^,''"''\."*' ^"'^"'^ "'• •^05, 307,
r -A, '"" ''""""** ^'"y^Se to the Gulf of, ijOl
Meyrick, Cajitain Sir Gellv, 520 an,l n
Mirhael, 222, 269, 444, 624, 625
of Dartmoutli, 446 n
Michell, R(il)ert, 131
Michelson, William, voyage of, 493 494
Mieklegarth, 96
Middelburg, 245, 256
Middleton, master of the Muoiinhiue 495
Gerald, 526
Henry, 656
John, 654, 656
Sir John, 391
Thomas, 597
Miguel Suso, Patax de, 598
Mildenhall, John, sent envoy to Agra, 654 Milesian " Invasion, 59
Milford, a Scots shiji taken near, 357 ; the 1" rench land at, 363
Haven, Madoc said to have embarked at, 308 ; Henry VII. lands at, 393 Miller, Richard, 595 Milton, Hasting lauds at, 38 Minion, 419, 423, 590, 592, 610 619 6"0
of ]',ristol, 595
Minions, 410, 411
Minnlkin, 423
Minstrels, 146 ; on ship-board, 270
Mirau relieves La Rochelle, 479
Miranda, Clount of, 644
Mitchelburne, Captain Kihvard, 5'^0
Mitchell, Richard, 596
Mobilisation of an Elizabethan fleet rai.id 528 ' '
Mocha, Isle of, Drake at the, 631 ; Richard Hawkyns at the, 642
Modbury, 139
Moket, John, 131
Moleyns, Bishop Adam de, 350 n
Monaco, 236 n.
" Monaco," 330, 331
Moncada, Don Hugo de, 603
Monson, Admiral' Sir William, 493 50'> 508, 509, 513, 519, 520, 522, 523', 529,' 532-538, 589 n. ; taken prisoner,' 494 • quoted, 485; on Drake's expedition t.' Corunua and the Tagus, 493 Montacute, Admiral Sii' Simon de, 210 and n., 215
A<lmiral Sir William, 216 and n
239 an,l n. Montalembert, Baron d'Esse, Andre ,le, 467 Montalt, Sir Rolieit de, 225 Montegauger, William de, 129 Montfoit, Henry de, 201
Simon de, 200, 201, 202
Sir Simon, 387
Montgomeri, enterprise of Gabriel de, 479
480 '
Montgomery, A.lmii-nl Sir Jolm, "6(1 •'61 265, 266 ' " '
Month, the naval meaninir of a, 427 n. Monthermer, Sir Thomas' de, 255 and n Moutmorenci, Anne de, 477 Montros , Seymour re])ulsed at, 468 Moon, 421, 423, 425, 520, 581 n., 588, 589 Moons/iinr, 4il5, 592, 627 Moor, Admiral Joos ile, 558 n Moore, John, 594
INDEX TO VOLUME T.
683
Mciore, Lawrence, 504
Moors, Portiifial assisted a<;ainsl tlie, 104
c'o-o)ieraticm against tlie, 448
Mora, 7li-7K
Morgan, Cajitnin, o89
Morgan," "Sir Piers, 4r>0 n., 451
Morgan, Thomas, 47SI
Morieux, Sir Thomas, 292
Morkcre, 53 ; William I. crashes, 88
Murlaas, money ol, 12il
Morlaix, 358 ; sack of, 458 ; re<liice(l, 503
Morlcv, Admiral Sir liobert (Lord Morley),
24(i and n. 247, 24tt, 250, 251, 254, 255,
258, 261, 2fi6, 268, 26it, 273, 275, 276,
277
Thomas, 438 n.
Admiral Thomas Lord, 375, 378
Morris pikes, 414
Mortainge, Sir Jolm, 283
Mortimer defeated hv Eihvard Hnuo, Tiord
.lustice, 218
Sir John, 379
Koger, 229, 230
of Wigmore, liogcr l-ord, 22 1
" Mosso," 144
Moimer, John Le, 131
Mount's Bay, 621); Spaniards at, 504
Mountjov, Cliarles, Lord, 512 and n., 519,
520" Mousehole burnt, 504 Moiiy tie la Meilleraye, 462 Mowbray, John, Lord, 269 Miiller, Johanu, 400 Multon, Sir Thomas de, 202 Musster, Spain foments the rebellion in,
482 Min-ray rejiulses Sej^no\ir, tlie Itegent, 468 Murryan, 420 Miisard, 293 Muscovy (or Russia) Company, the, 615,
616 Musgrave, Alexander, 596
Edmund, 593
John, 596
William, 596
Mutinous conduct of the Cinipie Ports'
ships, 212
state of Ethelred's navy, 4.'!
Mutiny in Lord Fitzwalter's ships, 288
of the (lutilin Lion, 439
Mychell, William, 589
Namuu, Jomx, Count of, 270
Sir Robert de, 269, 271
Naples, Hichard I. at, 167
Naptilitann, 603
Narbonne, t'ount of, 284
Narrow Seas, Scots in the, 356
Xascellas, 119, 120
Nash, John, 592
Nassau, Adnnral Justinus van, 558 n., 579 n.
Nauclerus, 101
'Nautical Magazine' quoted, 157
Naval Discij)lint' Act, the prenniWe to tlie,
352, 353
Laws, 101, 104-109
Law, lirst c.xie of, 101, 104
ojierations in winter, 453 and n.
Navarre allied with France, 274 Navigation laws, early, 100; of Hcnrv VII.,
43!) Navy and the merchant service, connection
between the, 347, 348, 474
annual grant for the reiKiir of the, 494
Board, the, 4.'.7, 438
extra otlicers of the, 438
in 1402, disorganisation of the, 357
lack of national contidenee in the, 246
Oflice, 438
on the accession of Mary, influence of
the, 470 , iKirliamentarv remonstrances concern- ing the, 291, 293'
reconstitution of the, 353
the personal projierty of the sovereign,
the, 318
under Henry VI., sale of the, 318
Needle, di]iping of the, 323 n. ; variation of
the, 401 Negroes, ill-treatment of, 486; John llaw-
kyns trades in, 617, 619 Nelson fiuoted, 126 " Neome," 328 and n. Netherlanils, Klizabcth assists the, 473, 486;
ships hired from the, 280 ; treaty with
the, 527, 528 Neutrality, lax observation of, 236 Neutrals, laws resiiecting, 113 Nevill, Kalph Lord, 269 Neville, Admiral Sir William, 282, 285
of liaby, Aihiiiral John Lord, 280, 281
or Nevill, Kobert de, 201
New Albion, Drake discovers, 633
Newark, 443
New Bark; 421
" New Island," the, 609
Newcastle, 234, 294, 373
Newendcn, 8
Newfoundland, 303 ; discovery of,
fisheries, the, 644; fleet, design to
the French, 468; Leigh and Van
ex]>edition to, 524, 52
609;
seize
Her-
trade.
wick's
440 Newhaven, French repulse at, 464; gallevs
of, 114 Newlyn burnt, 504 New[X)rt, voyage of Christojiher, 501 Newton (" Adnurals' man "), 589
Ferrars, 139
William, 59.3
Niall of the Nine Hostages, 59
Nicholan, 131 (»), 224, 340, 341, 342, 346,
347, 349, .354
of Hamilton, 414, 427
of Lynn, .321
Reedc, 420
G84
INDEX TO VOLUME I.
Nicolas on Henry V., 370
Nieullay, Burprise of the Bridge of, 472
Nighfingah, 591, 593
Nino, Don Pedro (later, Conde de Buelna), 364 and n., 365, 366
Njorfa Sound, 95
Noble of Edward III., gold, 145, 351
Nombre de Dios, 505, 506 ; Drake captures, 621
Nonius, or NuiSez, Pedro, 402
Nonpareil, 423, 425, 491 n., 495 n., 509, 513 n., 520 and n., 529, 532, 534, 536, 559 n., 569, 572, 576, 581 n., 588, 589
Nordenskiold, Baron, on the Behaijn T-rlobe, 401
Norfolk, Admiral John, first Duke of, 392, 393
Samuel, 590
threatened with invasion, 225
Norman characteristics, 73, 74
conquerors, jjiratical oVijects of the, 75
influence, beginning of, 48
on magnetism, 403
pirates in the North Sea, 294
towns burnt, 247
vessels captured, 227
Normandy, difficulties with, 17; and Anjou, Henry III. surrenders his claim to, 200; conquered hy the French, 176 ; expedi- tion to, 379 ; pillaged, coast of, 363 : ravaged, coast of, 264 ; Shrewsbury's expedition to, 384 ; unofficial hostilities with, 204 ; Wallop's raid on, 457 ^
Normans prevent fishing in the Channel, 1 9!-
Norrevs, Sir John, 490, 491 ; co-operates with Henry IV., 502, 503
Norris, Admiral of the Fleet, Sir John : his picture of the Henry Grace a Dieu, 405, 406
Captain, 537
Captain John, 427 n.
Northampton, Earl of, 250, 266
William de Bohmi, Earl of, 260
William, Earl of, 269, 273 and n.
North-East Passage to India, the, 626
North Sea, insecurity of the, 239 ; Norman ]iirates in the, 294
Northumberland, Admii-al Henrv, Earl of, 295
North-West Passage to India, the, 624-620, 627, 635
Norton, Captain,'501
" Norumbega," 645, 646
Norway assists France, 209
conquered by Canute, 17, 47
exercises rejirisals against England,
220
intercourse between England and, 314
treaty of 1269 with, 128
voyagej to, 394
Norwegian descent on the Orknevs, 201
Norwich, Admiral Sir John, 333, 235, 237, 238
Novaya Zendya, Willoughby at, (il4 ;
Stephen Borough at, 615 Nuestra Senora de Begoiia, 571 and n.,
578 n., 599, 602
Castro, 602
Oracia, 602
' Guadalupe, 602
del Barrio, 599
de la Rosa, 584, 600
del Pilar de Zaragoza, 602
Puerto, 602
Sosario, 423, 564 n., 565 n.,
568 n., 585 n., 599
Socorro, 599
Nunez, or Nonius, Pedro, 402
Oaks, 144, 146 ; for use as sweeps, 405
Oath of a juryman of the Court nf Admiraltv, 153
" O'Brazil," 398
Occasion, 535 n.
Ochoa, Domingo, 574
Ocoa sacked, 501
O'Connor, Hoderiek, 163
Ocklev, Danes defeated at, 37
Odda,'51, 52
Offa, 12, 35, 66
Offensive, importance of assuming the, 257
advantages of the, 490
Officers ; and men, 342 ; pay of, 103 ; titles of earlv, 103 ; under King John, 115, 116, 118
Ojeda, Captain, 566, 568
Oiaf, or Anlaff, 14, 40
Tryggvesson, 42
Oleron, laws of, 106-109, 133 ; roll of, 106 ; ships furnished bv, 124
O'Neil submits to Edward Bruce, 218
O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, Rebellion of Hugh, 530
Ongressil, Bernard d', 208
Oppenheim, Mr. M., on the office of Clerk of the Ships, 115 n.
Oquendo, Admiral Miquel de, 567, 568 n., 571, 578, 600
Orford, 114
Orforitoess, 228, 372
Orinoco, Ralegh ascends the, 649
Orkney, Earl of, 3(i2
freebooters, 94
Henry Sinclair, Earl of, 324, 328
Sir John Clere defeated in, 473
Orkneys, a Norseman's base, 69
-• the Armada off the, 582
Ormoud, commander in the Irish Sea, 206
Earl of, 381
Oropesa, Count of, 631
Ortega, Don Juan de, 624
Orwell, 238, 241, 366, 378, 461; appre- hended descent at, 228, 229 ; convoys assembled at, 237 ; Edward III. at, 249, 250; fieet assembled at, 242, 24.3, 375; ships assembled at, 259 ; threatened, 300
INDEX TO VOLUME 1.
685
OslHick, or Waiiicck, I't'ikiii, M(>
Oselev, Nic'lioliiK, ")H'J
UBgoi'l ChiiM, 4!l, 50
(Jstorius Scapula, 2!)
Ostrich Feather, 421
Otliona, 7
Oui;litrc<l, Sir Anthony, 451
Owaiu Gwyiiedil, 303, 305
Uweu Gleiiilowcr, 357, 35!); iinsiKted liy the
Fieucl), 31)7 ; of ('uinberland, 40 Oxt-nham, John, ij21, G23, G31 Oxford fortified, 2H0 .loliu de Vcre, Earl of, 393 and u.
Lord High Admiral John, Earl of, 442
Oyster Point, 30y and n.
Pacific, Drake first sights the, 622 ; John Oxenhani the first Englishman to navi- gate the, 623
Padstow, 618
Painting of a Turkish dromon, 172
of Norman shijis, 78
Pallig, 43
Palmer, Captain Sir Henry, 5211, 5H'.I
Henry, 526
■ Sir Henrv, 429, 437 n.
- William, 526 PaJoiua IJlanca, 601 Pamlico Sound, 047
Panama, Baskerville attemiits, 506; Drake near, ()22 ; Ralegh's jihui to seize, 498
Fansy, 592
or Paiincy, 420, 422
takes the Lion, 467 and n.
Pantelaria, engagement oft", 485
Papal encouragement of Spain, 487
Paradise, 116
Paraxon, 537, 538
Paredes, Count of, 583
Paris, Henry \'. enters, 382
Park, Walter atte, 2lj8
Parker, privateering venture ol' William, 530-532
Sir Nicholas, 522
William, 594, 651
Parkhurst, Anthony, 644
Parliament, complains of ]irocecdiugs in the Admiralty Courts, 360 ; comjilains ol' illegal seizure of shi))ping, 374 ; jiorts ordered to build ships without consent of, 257 ; remonstrates concerning the navy, 291, 293, 295, 298
Parma, Duke of, co-operation of Medina Sidonia with the, 541-543; sealed in- structions for, 544, 545, 546, 553, 554 et serj,
ParmeniuB, Steplianus, 645
Particular Service Squaiiron of 1890, 528
Pasajes, 645
Pasha, 621
Passelewe, William, 2(i9
I'as'senger-ship, ballad of a liflccnth century, 343, 344
Passerettes, 119, 120
Passport, 592
Pate, William, 131 u.
Paterik, 120
Patrrnoster, 136
Patrciia ZiiDii/a, 003
Paul, 346, 347, 380 n.
Paul, John, 593
Pavelev, Admiral Sir John, 277
Pay, 130, 131, 137, 138, 143, 150: in 1299,
132; of officers, 103; of officers and men,
424,426-429; of shipwrights, 145 ; under
Henry III., 122; under King John, 11."^
Harry, 358 and n., 363, 365, 308
Paying ships' bottoms, 144
Payne, William, 346
Peace with France, 190, 226, 445, 440, 459,
406, 469, 475
with Scotland, 231
with Spain, 273
Pearl, 530, 594
Pearson, Hugh, 597
Pechora, Stephen Borough at the iiioiilli of
the, 615 Peckham cited. Sir George, 307 Pedroso, Bernabe de, 577 Peek, Edward, 593 Per/asus, 526 and n. Pelirnii, 482, 594
Pembroke, John Earl of, 282 and n.; at- tempts to relieve La Hochellc, and is
taken prisoner, 283
Lawrence Earl of, 255
Richard de Clare, Earl of, 163
Richard Earl of, 185
William Earl of, 472
Penafiel, the Marquis of, 571, 578, 582
Penang, Lancaster at, 652
Penda, 12
Pendennis Castle, 434
Penelope, 576 n., 651, 052
Penhert, Adndral of Brittany, the Sire de,
358 and n. Peniche, capture of, 191 : Mouson taken tu,
494 Pennants, 414 Pennoncels, 147 Pensions for wounded, 119 Pen tire, John, 597 Penzance burnt, 504 Peon, Fernando de, 283 Pejiys, Samuel, 115 n.; on VoIihj's picture
at Whitehall, 406 Pepysian collection, drawing of the Henri/
II race a iJieit in the, 405, 407 Perbroun, Admiral John de, 221 and n., 224,
231, 232 Perceeel, 120 Percv, Admiral Sir Thomas, 291 and n.,
292, 293, 296, 298 Earl of Worcester, Admiral SirTlionias,
356 Hal.l.akiik, 591
686
INDEX TO VOLUME I.
Percy, Henrv Loid, 255, 269
Sir Henrv, 300
Sir Thoiiias, 288
Ferro Marina, BOl
Perth, defence of, 214, 215 ; siege uf, 2.')1
Pessoners, 144
Pet, Arthur, 626
reter, 346, 347, 380 n., 420, 446 u.
of Fowey, 427 u.
Ponayranate, 426
Peter, Count of Brittany, l'J4
" Petei^B Port," 28U
Peterson, Sir John, 282
PetiUus Cerealis, 29
Petit, 'William le, 178
Peurbaeh, Georg, 400
Pevensey, 34 ; fortified, 278
Bay, William I. lands in, 85
I'h'lipe,' La, 144
Fhilqi, 347
and Mary, 423 n., 615
Phili]i Augustus, alliance with, 165 ; at- tacks Normandy, 175 ; co-operation of Kichard I. with, 104, 105 ; threatens to invade England, 180
■ Count of Flanders, assists Kicliard 1.,
169
• Duke of Burgundy, 279
of Austria, polite detention of, 447
II. decides to invade England, 540 ;
contemplates the possihility of failure, 544 ; his motives, 550 ; England's view of him, 550-552 ; death of, 528 and ii.
W. invades Gascony, 205
of Spain, arrival in England of, 471,
472
Fhitij), of Dartmouth, 276
Philips, Miles, 620
Philippa, the Princess, 366
Philpott, John, patriotism of, 291, 294
Phcenician conunerce, 55
Fhiienix, 421
Picard fishenuen kidnapped by English pirates, 357
Picardy ravaged, coast of, 360
Pickards, 144
" Picta;," 6
Pictish invaders, 33
Picts and Scots, 9, 32
Pierce, William, 593
Piers, John, 346
WilUam, 269
Pigot, Christopher, 592
Fihjriiii, 116
Pilgrims delayed by pirates, 127
Pilots, 108
I'imentel, Don Diego, 567, 578, 579
Pine's engravings of the House of Lords tapestiles, 539 n.
Pinkie Clench, battle of, -167 and n.
" Pinnaces," 144
I'innvi-k, 120 n.
Piuos, action oil' Ishi do, 507, 508
Piombino, 167
Pippin, 593
Piracies ; of Hugh le Despencer the younger, 223; of Eavensteiu, 445; of the Flamands, 4611, 470
Piracy, 124, 13G, 394, 395 ; in the Channel, 357 ; in the Narrcjw Seas, 179 ; off Mar- gate, French, 219 ; steps for the preven- tion of, 447; to be accounted high treason, 371
Pirates, captured by Sir Henrj' Dudlev, 470 ; defeated oft" Brittany, English, 358, 359; international action against, 368; in the Mediterranean, English, 94 ; of Holland and Hainault, 215 ; of Zeeland, 224; tlueaten Berwick, 219, 220
Pitched battle between English and Nor- mans in the Channel, 205
Pitcher, William, 630
Pitt, Christopher, 595
Pivots for small arms, 412
Plancti; 120 n.
Plata, Rio de la, 486
Phnty, 120 n., 259, 269
Plougastel, 454
Plymouth, 206, 233, 238, 358, 359, 372, 448, 456, 488, 491, 493, 497, 503, 505, 512, 517 n., 520, 526, 536, 538, 559, 562, 563, 565, 566, 617, 621, 623, 628, 631, 634, 652 ; burnt, 287 ; fleet assemliled at, 267 ; ships assembled at, 285 ; the Black Prince embarks from, 274; vessels burnt at, 247 ; defences of, 436 and n. ; Franco- Spanish attack on, 364 ; Venetian gallev at, 356
Plympton, 139
Point de Galle, Lancaster at, 652
Poitiers, battle of, 275 ; prisoners taken at, 275
Poitou ceded to England, 278; expedition to, 196 ; and Guienue surrendered to France, 227 ; invaded by the French, 27! i
Polaiu, Baron de la Ganle, (.'apitaine, 462 and n., 463, 464, 465, 47!i
Pole, Admiral Sir Micliael de la, 286
Pole, of Plymouth, 611
" Politia Conservativa Maris," De, 350
Polyves, 146
Pomponius Mela, Codex of, 401
Pons, Baron de, 369
• Henry III. at, liMi
Ponthieu ceded to England, 278
Poole, 133, 223, 225, 371 ; burnt, 287 ; Spanish attack on, 365
William, 590
Poop, 340
Pope intervenes between Edward III. and France, the, 263
Popham, (.'ajitain Sir Francis, 650, 651 John, 563 n.
Pupinjaij, 423
Popidation of Knglaud, seafaring, 439
I'orchestei', 263
UDEX TO VOLUME 1.
687
as a iirixoii,
at, .■!()
I'orcliester Castlo UKed as a lirisoii, IH.'i
'■ roilaiula," :;l'.'>, .'.li'.t,
I'lirt Auileiiier, 28!l
J'nilnillix, 421
Port, Danes siuccssful
Desiie, 6;!'J
(lues, 10
— — Famiuf, 6;i7, 0.!;i I'ort-lioles, 412
Portlaml, 4.S4, 4:)6, 458; action with Armada oft', o6!)-oT'J ; Krench lamliiit
the
at.
!74 : ravaf;eil l\v the
.'!()4, .'!(>">; ravaged l-'rench, ;i61 I'ortlemoutli, l;W Porto Baratto, 167
Portotiiio, 1()7 i
Porto Santo ]iillai;eil, ')0S 1
Port Pheasant, Drake at, (J21
(licces, 412
Reeves, 112
Uoyal, :!08
Ports illegally ordered to Imild a ship apiece, 257 j
■ lowness of, 463, 464 and n. 1
Portsniouth, 122, 124, 175, 176, 1!I4, 1!)5, 206, 274, 2(ly, .Mo8, 462, 465, 477, 480 : gallevs collected at, 182 ; s]iii)s ordered to, 1!)2, lii;!, 194, 195, 196; fleets as- senililed at, 199, 225, 228, 288, 249, 259, 450: convoj's assendileil at, 2:)7 ; raided liy BehiK'liet, 239; shii>s in the Seine, 2il(l: burnt, 279, 287: <lestroyed, 294; ]ianic at, 277 ; works at, 380, 381 ; dock- yard, 434 and n. ; in 1548, shi]is at, 420, 421 ; Krcncii attack on, 462-464 Ports, quota of ships furnished liy the, 212
and n., 215 Port St. Julian, Drake at, 629 Ports, watchfulness at the, 227 Port teniu-es, 19 (an- also Cinque Ports) Portugal, Arniaila of, 598 ; assisted against tlie Moors, 164; convention with, 155; Kngland seeks lielp from, 3()5 ; part of Philiji's dominions, 49() : trade with, 394 ; treaty with, 273 Portuguese, lights of liondon ships with the, 612 : Nino protects some shijis, 36() ; vessels hired, 301 ; vessels taken, 486 Porfus Iccius, 24, 28 Portzmoguer, Herve de, 450 ;ind n., 451,
455J, 45:! Posidonius, 3 I'oKf, 423
Postranti, Fulk, 167 " Potent " ticet, iuHuence of a, 380 "Potential Fleet," the, 181, 189
neglect of the, 290
Potts, Anthony, 595
Poulter, liicha'rd, 589
Powderhani, 139
Powder, scarcity of, in tlie Mnglish lieet,
554, 564, 570; preservation of, 430 Pnwhatau, 648
I'owel, Dr. David, quote<l, .■>07
Powys, Lonl, 35t>
Poynings, Sir Kihvard, 445 and n., 448
Poynlz, Antliony, 459 and n.
Pratte, Jolin, 589
Prayers, 429, 4.10
Pregent de Bidoux, .-Vihuiral, 450, 4.52
and II., 453, 454, 455, 456, 457 Prenilergast cajitures James, Prince of ScotR,
John, .362; his |iiraoies, 369 Prest of Wages, Payment in, 119 Preston, Cajitain Sir Amyas, 508, .5119, 520, .530, 575 and n., .589 ; cruise to the West Indies, 651 Pretty, Francis, 636 Price of ship's gear, 414 Prideau.x of the Hark Hair/,!/ n a, 590 " Priinangaius," 453 I'riiitnuijwt, 453
" Prima Vista" of Cabot, the, 608 " Primoguet," 453 Jfrimros^, 419, 421, 423, 425, 592, 6] 1
Spanish attack on the, 481
of Harwich, 596
Prhircxii, 603 Priorino, Ca]*, 559 Privateering, 126
Privateers, 198 ; in the Cliauuel, 476, 477, 478 ; measures for their restraint, 477, 479 ; licensed, 362 ; of Holland and Zee- land, excesses of, 481 Prize in the war with Spain, the lirst, 485 Prize Jloney, 117, 118, 12.'. Prizes, 150, 152; division of, 427, 428; illegal, 177, 178; ransom of, 123; treat- ment of, 431,432; wrongful, 123, 140, 281, 298, 3(19, 373 Probus, .'il Pronan, Jacoli, 281 Proof charges, 411, 412 I'rusjirrons, 52(i
Protestants; in I'' ranee, Klizalieth a.ssists
tlie, 476-481, 483; in Scotland, Klizabelh
protects the, 475 ; in the Netlierland.s,
Klizalieth aids the, 478, 479, 481, 483
Provisions, 125, l.'iO; export of, forbidden,
219 Prowse, a commamler of tireships, 575 n. I'nii/riirc, 5.30, 592
Prussians attack Knglish seamen, :')7o, 371 Prussia, treaty with, 394, ."i95 Psalms to lie sung at night, 432 Ptiilcmaic system, 400 Ptolemy's atlas, 40l
Puerl<i Bello t.aken by Parker, 531 : in- tended attack on, 506 Puerto Caballos plundered, 501
Heale, Palegli sent to burn ships at,
516
Kico, attack on San .loan de, 50.5, .506
If ico, Cumlierlaml takes San .1 iian de, 527
Santa Maria, women from Cadiz sent
to, 51(;
tiS8
INDEX TO VOLUME I.
Pullisou, Micliael, 597
Pumho, 167
Pumps, 340
Pima, Caveudish at, 637, 638
Pmiishraents, 104, ir,l, 152, 438, 431) ■
Pimta Delgada, Kalegh at, 523 and ii.
Puntal Eoad, action in, 514
stormed, 515
Puyano, Peter de, 238, 258 Pyijer, Geoffrey, 126 Pyrkyne, Myliyll, 589 Pytlieas, 3, 55
Quarter, 239, 240
refused, 13, 138, 271, 359
Quarles, James, 438 u., 555 and n.
Queen, 120
Queenborough, 434
Quieret, Hugues, 239 u., 244 u., 245, 251,
255 Quimjier reduced, 503 Quiiujierle, Manny's success at, 259 Quintero, Cavendish at, 637 Quittance, 423, 425, 502 n., 509, 529, 537,
538
iiABiNKTS or Piobiuets, 410, 411 Radyngton, Admiral Sir John, 296, 297 Pagusan merchantman taken, 488 itailstone, Matthew, 596 Hit Mow, 423, 425, 487, 502 n., 509, 514
and n., 520, 522, 529, 558, 576, 580, 588,
589 Paix (or Roye), Jean de, 284, 287 Palegh, Sir Walter, 486, 498, 499, 509, 511,
513, 514 n., 515, 519-523, 529, 553 n.,
590, 645 ; Ins Virginia projects, 646-
648 ; his first Guiana voyage, 648-650
on sea power, 353
lid.letjh, 645 Half, 51, 52 Pam, use of the, 109, 173, 189, 363
John, 269
Kaniea Island, quarrel with the Kiciich ulf,
525 Kammekins, 483 Kanclieria taken, La, 531 I'anduljih, Admiral Heurv, 232 Jliiiilli; 220 Jldjiliilrl, 597 Pashley, John, 597 Mat, 597
Mata, Coronada, 571, 583, 600 Patcliff, 532
Kavenser, see Uavensrode Paveiisiiur, see Kavensrode Uavensrode, 140, 234, 302, 389 Kavenstein, Philip vou Kleve, 442, 445, 449 I'awlins, Robert, 530 Kawlyn, Henry, 292 Ilavmond, Captaii! Geor'^e, 57(i, 589, 651,
652 liccaldc, Mcc-A<lu]iral •hum Marline/, dc,
645 and n., 565, 567, 569, 571-5(3, 578,
581, 582, 584, 598 Rector, 118, 130, 143 Reculver, 8 Red Cog, 347
Dragon, 486
Lion, 592
Reding Creek, 404
Reeves of the ports, 112
Regazona, 571 n., 600
Regent, 404, 405, 412, 426, 446 n., 450, 451
Regiomontanus, 400
Regrating, 152
Regulbium, 8
Reims, Richard I. at, 165
Release, 592
"Eeliquije Antiqua'," ballad quoted from,
343, 344 Rempston, Admiral Sir Thomas, 357 Repentance, later the JJaintg (q.r.) Reprisals, 220 ; letters of, 226 ; against
Spain, 485 Repulse, 423, 425, 509, 520 and n., 529, 532,
534 n. Retz, Baron de, see Annebaut, Claude d' Reuse, James, 621 Revenge, 174, 423, 453, 491 n., 495 and n. ;
her gallant tight, 495-497, 565, 576, 588,
589
of Lyme, 595
Revolt to Warwick of jiart of the fleet, 387 Revolution of 1460, naval character of the,
347 " Rewards," 424, 426 Revnell, Captain Carew, 520 and n., 529,
532 Rhe ravaged by English jarates, 357
ravaged, 388
Rhine, Roman fleet in the mouths of the, 31
Rhodes, Richard I. at, 170
Ria, German de la, 122
Rich, Robert, third Lord, 519
Richard L, accession of, 101 ; allies himself
with Philip Augustus, 165; at Liniasol,
171 ; engages a Turkish dromon, 172 ;
taken ]irisonei', 174 ; death of, 175 Richaril IL, accession of, 156, 287 Richard IIL, 392, 393 Richard, bastard of England, 187, 189, 191 ;
created Earl of Cornwall, 191, 196, 199,
200
Duffleld, 594
Earl of Cornwall, see Richard, bastard
of England
of London, 116
Eichborough, 8, 57
Riche, 131
Richeman, William, 346
Richmond, Henry, Earl of, 392, 393
Lord High Admiral, Henry, Duke of,
459, 460
John, Earl uf, 269, 272
liidcrc, 'Pliomas le, 131
INDEX TO VOLUME I.
689
Rieux, Marshal de, 3G3
Rigging, 340
Riggs, Captain Gregory, 58!)
Kio Cestos, 611
Kio lie la liacha, John Mawkj'ns at, 'US, (Utl
Riryil, brotlifr of Madoc, 312
Risbaii soi/.t'd by Colignj', Fort, 472
Rivers freed from obstructions, 439
.John, olH)
Richard Wootlville, Lord, 380 ; seized
by Sir Joliu Dinhiuii, .'WT
Roanoke, 04t>, (JIT
Itoberd, Hainond, 131
Ifobeniolt, Aihuii, 12*!
Robert oppostw William II., 89; accejits service under him, 811; Ins naval ill- success, 89; ojijioses Henry 1., 90; i'a|i- tured at 'Penchebrai, 91
of Sandwich, Vol
Roberts, a Welsh traveller, .••.10
Cai>tain .John, 589
Robertus Keteueusis, travels of, 97
Itohiii, 590
Kobynson, William, 346
Ji'occdfurlis, 121 n.
Roche, Adnaral Sir .John, 154, 295, 301
Roche-Ciuvon, De la, 301
Rochelle, La, besieged, 282, 364, 370; ex- ]ieditious to, 177, 178, 182; France seizes, 191 ; French squadron at, 190 ; taken, 284; attacked, .301; abortive Englisli attemiit on, 302 ; blockaded, 479 ; Henry of Navarre besieged in, 48.".
Rochester, Danes at, 43
Rock, .lohii, 590
liodf <'o<], 273
Roe, 486
Roebuck, 565, 590, 646
Rogers, Dr. .John, 551 n.
'Ihornas, 1 15
Rognvald, Ear! of Orkney, 09
Rognvald to the Mediterranean, expedition of Earl, 95 ; he hghts with a dromon, 90
Rojas, Rny Diaz de, 28.".
Roke, William, 200
Rokesle, Gregory de, 13.".
Rokke, .John, 209
Rolf, the Ganger, 09
Romney, 195; Godwin lands at, 51; burnt. by William 1., 87; galleys of, 114 ; ships furnished by, 131
Rou, 419
Roos, Adnural Sir .lolni, 14li 239
'I'liomas, seventh Lord,
William, Lord, 269
Roozendaal, (Japtaiii Lonck van, '■ Rosas, Adnural Roderigo de, 28 1 Rose, I'Miuund, 284
Richaril, 594
Rose, 130, 131 (2), 224, 25.3, 595 — ■ — or Roos, 347
VOL. I.
147, 149, 237-
350
Hose, galley, 419
in the Sun, 421
Lion, 592
Slip, 421
Ruther River, 38
llotherhithe, Edward 111. sails from, 274 Rottingdcan, French success at, 287 Rouen, 305, 366; French naval yard at,
285 " Rovers of tlie sea," 394 Rowe, 340 Rowell, 592 Rowet, supercargo of the Merelmnl RminJ,
484 Royal Defence, 526, 592
Ejcchani/e, 503
Royal fish, i:!9
standanl, 147
Roye, .Jean de : nee Raix, .Jean de
Rudder chains, 145
Rudilers, or steering paddles, 102, 138, 144,
145 Rudel.and, Ilarohl IL victorious at, 52 Russell, -.lohn, 137, 589 llu.isia, commercial relations with, 015 Company, the, 440 : see also Muscovy
Comp.any Rust, Robert, 293 Rut, John, 010 Rutland, Admiral Edward, Earl of, 154, .301
Roger, tiftli Earl of, 519
" lluttier," a, 051
l!ulu|iia', 8
Ituysch's map, .John, 322, 323, 401
live, 100, 123, 244, 272, 278, 289, 358,
•377; galleys of, 114; raided, 247, 277;
[iluudered, 287 ; ships retake (he Falcon,
295 Rylle, River, 289
SaBLOIL, RoBKliT UK, 103, 107
Sabyan, 427 SachtieM, John, 595 Sackvile, Ca])taiu, 491 n.
John, 595
I Sacrilege by Sir .John Arundel al Soulli-
hampton, 292 I Saewulf, voyage of, 93 Sail stones, 147
Sailing directions, caily book of, OOO Sailing-needles, 147, ".12 Sails, care of, 4.".0 Sails, 101, 102, 112, 144, 145, 138 ; leather,
used by N'enetians, 4; blue-dyed, used
by early Rritons, 0, 57 ; emliroicU'reil,
.341; striped, 12 St. Agnes, light at, 125 .SV. Andrew, 423, 425, 513, 517 u., 520,
, •■>-!
■ St. Andrew's, Strozzi sei/es Protestants at, I 407
1 St. Anbin, Wooilville killed at, 44.3 ' St. liartholomew's, massacre of, 479
2 Y
690
JJ^'DEX TO VOT.VMK I.
Saint Di-nis, 254
St. Dominic, devotion of Medina Siiloiiia to,
575 St. Edward, 131 (2) St. George, flag of, 103 Saint Georges, 254 St. Gildas, 194 St. Giles, 131
St. Helena, Lancaster at, fl52 St. Helen's road, 463 St. Ives, 651 St. .Tolm, ThoniaK, Lord, 35(i
William, Lord, 465
St. Leger, .Jobn, 5SI1
St. Macaire surreuilers, 206
St. Malo, 285; Henry III. landx at, l!t4;
attacked by the Duke of Lancaster, 2!)0 ;
an army convo\'ed to, 292 St. Mary, 120 n.', 131, 208, 268, 26:i, 273,
369 St. Mathieu, 358, 358 St. Matthew, 423, 425, 513, 520, 521 St. Ma\ir, Kichard, tifth Lord, 356 St. Mawes, 434 St. Michael, 217 St. Michael's, Drake off, 489 ; Cmuberlaud
cuts out vessels at, 493 ; the Reveiuje
fonuders off, 496 ; Essex at, 522, 523
Mount, Warbeck taken, 447
St. Nicliolas, 239
St. Ninian's, Seymour lepulsed at, 46K
" St. Patrick's Cross," 162 n.
.S'^. Peter, 353
St. Peter Port burnt, 239
St. Pol de Leon, 358, 359
St. Quentin, Edward IV. at, 391
St. Sebastian, 369
St. Thomas, 131 (3)
St. Valery, 368
eu-Uaux, William I. at, 84, 85
St. A'incent, action olf, 538 ; Fenton's action
in the Bay of, 635 ; Cape de A'erde
captured, 531 Saints in ships, images of, 340 Suker, 421 Sakers, 409-411 Salamander, 420, 460 n., 592 Sale of the navy under Henry VI., .'MS Salekin of Dover, 122 Sales of shi]iping, 113
to foreigners prohibited, 14S
Salisbui-y, Ilichard, Earl of, 383
William Longespee, Earl of, 181 n.,
191, 192
success off Dauune, the, 181
Admiral, ^^■illiam de Montacute, second
Earl of, 285, 286 and n., 2S9, 290 Salmon, trade in ]pickled, ."/i."! Safvator, 419 n. Samaritan, 597 Samjjsou, John, 589 Sanqison, 597, 610 Samson, .503, 526
Samtiet, 593 San. Andres, 513
Antonio de Padua, 599
San Donungo, John Hawkyns at, 617 San Bartolome, 599
Bernahc, 600
Bernardo, 598
Buenaventura, 600
CristohaJ, 568 n., 598, 599
Esteban, 598, 600
Felipe, 496, 571, 576 n., 578 n., 579
and n., 585 n., 598; ca]iture of tlic, 489 :
at Cadiz, blown up, 515
Felipe ij Santiago, 5119
San Felipe, fort, 513
8a7i Fra'nciseo, 56S n., 599, 602
Gabriel, 601
Jeronimo, 602
San Jose, Kalegh captures, 649
San Juan, 57i and n., 573, 578, 5S1, 584
598 bis, 599 bis
Bautista, 571, 599 his
de Oarasa, 602
de Gargarin, 599
de Sicilia, 571, 573, 577, 578
and n., 579 n., 585 n., (JOO San Juan de Ulloa, S))anish treachery to
Hawkyns at, 619, 620 San Lorenzo, 575 and n., 577 n., 57K n.,
585 n., 603 San Lucar, galleons at, 533 San Luis, 568, 571, 573, 598
Marcos, 571, 578, 581, 582, 584, 598
Martin, 559, 571 n., 576 n., 579 n.,
598 Mateo, 568, 571, 576 n., 578 n., 579
and n., 585 n., 598 ; taken, 513 Medel y Celedon, 599
Nicolas Prodaneli, (iOO
Pedro, 599
Mayor, 601
Me]ior, 601
Salmdor, 564 n., 565 n., 568 n., 585
n., 600, 601
San Sebastian, Peninsula of, 513
Sancho, King of Majorca, coiuplaiuf of. 226
Sanderson, William, (:!27
Sandrekvn, Nicholas, 131
Sandgate, 434
Sandown, 434
Sandwich, 28, 124, 185, 193, 195, 20S, 212, 240, 241, 244, 268, 274, 276, 284, 363, 390, 480 ; naval action off, 36 ; taken l)y the Danes, 44 ; Danes at, 45 ; attacke<l by Lothring and Yrling, 49 ; Edward the Confessor's fleets at, 49, 51 ; galleys of, '114; ships furnished by, 131; burnt, 186 n., 385 ; threatened, 247 ; Bayonnais ships at, 248 ; fleets assembled at, 2.50, 265,286, 356, 378; Edward III. lands at, 2()0, 267 ; jianic at, 277 ; Warwick suriirises Jtontfort off, ■387 ; Warbeck at, 446
/Mi/:.\ m vot.f.ME I.
iWW
572 II., 'u'.'i, "iTI,
tiikiMi liv Cavcii-
Siimlve, 'I'lioiiias, .V.l")
" Saiu'stol," ;!■_'">, :<.".(), ••!.".i
S:iiiit:iiy carctulness of Drnkc, li'JH, liiill
SiuimtH^ OOL
Siiiild ^Inii, 'ill ami ii..
M'> n., oilH, S'J'.l, liOo dish, li38
Bm-huru, (iOO, liOl
Catnliiia, 507, 5Si;i /j/s, liO'J
Santa Catciiiiii taken, -iM'J,
Cniz, tilt; Marquis ile, 488; pniposes
an invasion ot' Enjjland, 5;!',l, 540 Stnitu C'riiz, (!00
M:iria dit Jnncal, 59!>
de Mii)it<-M(iy(ir, o!*8
de Visoii, ()00
Santa Maita burnt, oOtJ ; sacked liv Siiirlov,
(i5l >iiiHt<i Mil rill, 000 Santandi'r, 158 ; Letters of Marque granted
against, Mtii) ; Spanish Hect asscinhled at,
.-it 14 A'((»/i(/</o, 508, 571, 5110 /j/.s, liOl
• de Leon sacked l>3' Preston. 051
■ (■/ Miii/or, 5H!I
Santiso, ('a]>tain Juan Poza de, 57!)
Sniilo Aitilns, (lol, {i02 bis
Hao Viihiilinii, 5;i5 n.
Sark, seined by the I'^encli, 18.S ; retaken, ili.
Sarklanil, 115
Sariniento, Don I'edro, Ool, O.'Jli, O.'l'i, 0.'{7 ;
doulits tlie variation ol' tlie NeudU', 401 Sauva;ie, William Ic, l'_'(i Sauveye, lol Savage, Jolm, LM 1 Savile, Cajitain, 501i ii. Savoisi, ('harles de, otM and n., .'105, MOO Sawkell, ('a|itain, 532 " Saxon " invaders, 10, ■M Saxons, 10 ; in Thanet, '.'A Say, Admiral Sir GeoitVev, 2.'!5, 2.'!0, 2M7
lolm, MlIK
Scandal-monf^erinj; to lie ]mnishcd, 4:!:! 'ScarlKirou;„'h, 21(1; attacked, 2111, 2Si4
ships taken by Jolm Mercer, 2111
Schuyts, 111, 112
Schwartz, Martin, landing in Lancashire of,
44;i Sciliy, loO isles, ships 1
the, 5411 and n., Scot, (iilherl, l.'il Scotland invaded
liam 1. attacks, 88 ;
ships sent to, 21.'!,
22;:, 224; Knjilish
peace with, 2.'il ;
r the Ariiiuda ilriven near
bv
.\lhelstan, 40; Wil-
war with, lOI!, 407 ; !L5 ; truce with, 222,
expedition to, 2.'!1 ;
prevention of com- nnndcation between France and, 280; jirojected French feint against, 2111), 2117 ; Jean de Vienne in, 21i7 ; Gloucester leads a tieet aj;ainst, otH ; makes a treaty of reciprocity with Norway, 31)5 ; in 1.54H, sldps in, 421 ; Warbeck in, 440; assisted
by France, 4l>7 ; resumption ol w!ir with. 475; Mary Sluarl returns to,470; P'rcmh ev;icuation of, 470; alliance with, 480. sujiposed Spanish desij;ns on, 552
"Scots" from Iceland visit .\lfred, 01
Scots; raid u|»)n Sullblk, 2.'!.'!; covertly aided by France, Flanders, Holland, (ielderland, and Norw.ay, 2.'17; ship: taken, 2.'!!i, 2H4 ; trade in" the fourteenth century, decline of, ;U5; aggressions ol the, .'!5li ; ships taken iu the Urislo! ( 'hannel, 357 ; privateers, .■>7.'! ; navy uniler .lames IV., 414; lleet annihilated, 407 ; anil I'icts, !», 32
Scott, Captain Thoiuas, 58t) Walter, 1 10
Nriiiiri/r i)f Mnlirv, .508, 518, 520
!^<-uHt, 42.'!, 425, 520, 580, 588, 581)
Scrope, Sir Henry, 272
- • Sir William, 272
- of Bolton, liichiird, Lord, 272
Sculls, 140
Scurvy, ravages of. Oil, 0211, 030, Oli.i, 05.".'
Seager, .\dam, 511(1
Seals of the ports, ancient, 155, 1.50
Seamanship, superiority of Knglish over Spanish, 5S.'!
Seamen, provision for disabled, 4.'j3 ; wages of, 147, 2(r2
Sea iKiwer, danger of neglecting the inllueiice of, 110; early illustrations of the intluencc of, 181, 1811; inllueiice of, 2.'!0; antiipiity of the doctrine of the inllueiice of, 35.'! : Bacon on, 353; (Ii(^ero on, .'!53 ; Italegh on, 353; understood by Henry V., the inlluence of, 380
Search resisted by Prussians, the right of, 370, .•!7 1
Sriirrh, 42.'!
Scarche, Tristram, 5811
Sinrrlilhri/I, 015
Sea-sickness of l'"reiicli prisoners, .'i73
Seas, dominion of the, 235, 2.'!l>
Secretary of the -Vdmiralty, 115 n.
Seg-boats, 144
Segontraci, 28
Seine, Knglish successes in the, I71i; the Cinque Ports lleet victorious in the, 205; l'"reii(di lleet collected in the, 2711; blockaded, the, 285; .lean de Vienne retires up the, 2110 ; F,nglisli ships in the, 2110; Kiiglisli lleet in the, .■!7.'!, 375: I'lciich lleet collected in the, 41)2; |>arlial action in the mouth of the, 402
Selilen, and early British dominion of the seas, 5 ; on Kdgar's navy, 15
Sellman, Ivhvard, 020
Seneca's pro|ihecv of the discovery of a new world, .'!03
the battle ol', SO, 87
Serocohl, John, 5112
Sirpviit, 480
iJ'J-2
INDEX TO VOLUME I.
Scr]«)itim'S, 40-1, 410, 411
" Seqients," 108, 172
SeiTMiii), t'ii]itaiii, 577
Sotim, AVilliam, 232
,SVccH fitiin, 421, 423
Severn, Harold in the, 51
Sewell, Captain, 535
James, 58il
Seymour, Vice-Ailniiral Lord Henry, 4211
— — Lord Henry, 554, 558, 564, 573, 575, 576, 580, 582 n., 589 ■
Sir Henry, 461 n.
of Sudeley, Lord High Admiral,
Thomas, Lord) 419, 460, 461 and n., 465, 466, 468, 469.
Shad, Kobert, 346
Shar]iham, Hannibal, 591
Sheffield, Cajitain Edmmid Lord, 573, 576, 589
H., 589
Shepeye, William, 131
Sheppey seized by the Danes, 36
Sherborne, 137
Sherburn, Sir Henr.y, 453, 455, 456
SherifC, John, 589
Sherkin, Cape, 293
Shields, 228; round bulwarks, 102, 109; placed along bulwarks, 147
Shi]inian, Robert, 269
Chaucer's, 156, 157
Ship-money, early example of, 44
Sliip not to be quitted ^vithout leave, 432, 433
Shipping arrested, 193, 197, 232, 233, 235, 236, 242, 245, 249, 258-260, 262, 277, 279, 281, 286, 293-296, 301, 369, 372, 379, 381 ; evil results of, 348 ; incon- venience of premature, 365 : survej'cd, 225, 235
Sliips ; early British, 2 ; Venetian, 4, 23 ; Roman, 6; Anglo-Saxon, 11, 19 ; Danish, 18 ; of the time of the Conquest, 71 ; of the twelfth century, size of, 81, 82; mis- leading natuie of many rejiresentations ol', 83 ; joint ownership of, 93 ; ol' Henry IL,' 100
Shi]is of war; hired to the mercliaiits, 120, 124, 439: pictures of ancient, 138; bottoms ]iaid, 144; contributed by Sicily to Richard l.'s crusade, 168 ; furnished by the ]iorts, quota of, 212 and n., 215 ; surveying of, 219 ; drawn ashore to con- ceal them from the French, 277 ; to foreigners, jirohibition of sale of, 282 ; re-taken at Kinsale, 294 ; decoration of, 340 ; in 1415, disposition of, 372 ; formal manning of, 405 ; lost or disposed of under Henry VIII., 419; of the tirst year of Kdward VI., 420, 421 ; in 1565, 422 ; in 1575, 422 ; at the death of Queen Mary, 422
" Shi|iK of assise," 111 n.
Sliipwrights, pay of, 145
Shirle.y, Sir Antliony : liis riuisc in llic West Indies, 651
Captain Sir Thomas, 529
Shoreditch, John de, 139
Shoreham, Alan de, 116 ; 12;',, 175; gallc^•^ of, 114
Shot witli foreign bodies in centre, 158
Medina Sidonia falls short (if, 561
574, 578 and n., 582
Shrewsbury, John Talbot, Eaid of, 384 and n., 385
Shuta, 364
Shutes, 144
Sicily, Edward I. in, 202
Sick, provision for the, 107 ; care of the, 431
Sickness in the fleet, 456, 465, 492, 538, 559
Sidonius Apollinaris, 59
Sierra Leone, Drake at, 634
Sighelm, voyage of, 68
Sigismund, the Enijieror, in England, 374, 377, 378 ; death of, 351
Signals, 150, 372, 373 and n., 375, 431
Silves taken, 166
Simnel Lambert, imposture of, 442, 44.'!
Simon, Richard, 442
Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, Henry, 324, 328
Siriaco defeated bv Leveson, 530
Skiti', 339
Skinburness, 212, 213, 224, 231
Skinner, .John, 594
" Skrellings," jierhajis Eskimos, 64
Sleaford, John de, 148
Slings, 409, 412, 417
Slingsby, Cairtain, 529, 532
'- Francis, 518, 526
Sluis, 211, 238, 273, 366, 378; Scots cogs loading at, 218 ; French licet assendileil at, 247, 250, 251, 296, 299; victory of Edward III. olf, 252 H snj.; shii)s ob- tained from, 276 ; S|ianish fleet at, 2.S8 : expeilition against Riavcnstein at, 445
Smerwick, Spanish lauding at, 482
Smith, Hugh, 626
Sir Tliomas, 654
Smvth, John, 595
.Siiake, 131
Snakes, 101
Sncll, William, 590
Soldiers; on ship-lioard placed umlcr Hof- spiu-, 300; disputes between niarinei; and, 431
tSulomoii, 593, 617
of Aldborough, 594
Solton, John Le, 131
Somers, Captain, 529, 530, 532
George, 508
Somerset, Edmund Duke of, 3i84 and n., 385
Henry Beaufort, Duke of, 386, 387
Admiral John, Earl of, 367 and n.
Soper, William, 115 n.
/A7'/vA' Td vol. r ME I.
(■.!»:{
"Si)riiiiip,"';v2,-), .•!2!), ;w;i
Suit, .laciiiiL'ti, 4T'J
Sdiiiciks, nil, 120
Sosii, Haspaf ilc, 571
South Forelantl, victory oil' tlic, 18H-11I0
Soiitlirtiiiiiton, Tl:\, L'lT), L':!:!, -SM, 2;it;, 2111, -IhO, 275, 279, 2110, 2112, .-{(JO, .•{71, 374, 42(i, 458 ; Danes delcatoil at, ;if> ; galleys of, 114; affray witli Venetians at, 221; raid ii|ion, 243, 244; Normans at, 24(! ; vessels burnt at, 247 ; panic at, 277 ; Ibrtilied, 278; tieet assenililed at, 271), 375; fleet collected at, 2110; Water, licet assembled in, 28() ; threatened, 287 ; French ships seized at, 2110; Henry VI. seizes tin at, 348; sliijis assi'uililed at, 372, 37it ; carrack founders oil', 378 ; jirizes taken to, 381); voyages from, lill ; Henrv, third Earl of, olH, 520 and n., 522, 523 and n.
William f]arl of: si-r l''itzWilliani, Sir
William.
Southev's opinion of llie I\[adoc story, 304
Southsca, 434, 431)
Southwell, Captain Sir I'oliert, 5011, ."jln, 5711, 5811 I
South wohl, Isabella lands near, 2211 '
tiorwtkjn, 404, 408, 409, 412, 419, 4.50, 451
Sovereignty of the Seas, 119^ 14o, 141
Spain, early intercourse \\ ith, 55 ; English .squadron driven to, 197; Edward III. driven to, 2lU ; peace with, 27."> ; promises , to assist in the block.adc of ( 'alais, 3(10, 3(54 ; truce with, 3(18, ,'171 ; trade with, 394; p.assenger trade to, .'>ll5, 3911; inter- course with, 440 ; .and (ierniany, alliance with, 448; rejaisals agahist, 478, 479; significance of the great struggle with, 481, 482 ; prepares to attack England, 483,, 487; negotiations for (icace with, 529
Spaniards defeated olV Winclielsea, 270 li srj.
S[iaidsli shi]is seized, 219
and Elaniand convoy defeated l)y Sir
'I'homas Percy, 288
conv<iv taken by ships of liayonnc,
289
transport taken liv Sir Tlionias Percy,
293
vessels plundered liy the French, .'1(11
invasion, apprehended, 381 co-oper.ation with England, 47.'I
coast, Levcson's voyage to the, 533
Indinman taken by Monson, 5.'i.".
— Ileet, Monson engages a, 5.'17
— prisoners, cruelty of the Irish to, 584 Sjiitiiinh K/kiUoji, 421
tif(ir/,; 590 Sjiark, William, 590 Sparke, junior, .Tolin, (117 Sparrow, Francis, ()49, (j50 Spars, care of, 430 cost of, 144
SpnilwiH, 123, 591
SjXike, Sir .lohn, 349
Silencer, Admiral Sir Hugh, ■li"!
Bishop of Norwich, Henry, 295
S|M.^rt, Sir Thomas, 115 n., 438
Spigurnell, Admiral Sir lialph, 124, 278
ami n. S]iindelow, Henry, 590 Sjiinola, Federigo, 534, 53(1 Spit Sand, 4(!.'i "Spojours," 144 Spy, -123, 125, 588, 589 Siiuirrcl, (>I5 Siptynh-yn, 221 Stafford, Edimnid, liishop of Exeter, 13(1 u.
Ivalph, Lord, 2(10, 2(19
Sir Kichard, 255
Stamford Bride, 54 Starboard, ilerivalion of, 11 Starkey, Williaui, (15(1 Start, the, 5(15
Kichard, 591
Stealing, 430
Stedman, a Welsh traveller, 309 Steelyard, resti'iction of the |)rivileges of the
merchants of the, 440; withilrawal of the
monopolies of the merchants of the, (U-'l Stejihen, Hikeman, 2(1(1 Ste|ilien"s accession, 91 ; he remits the
Danegelil, 92; recaptures Normamlv, 92:
dies, 92 Stern castles, 145 Stewart, Sir .lohn, 2.">!l Stirling, English defeated near, 212 Stockton, Piobert de, lO.'i Stoke, battle of, 443 Stonar, 185
Stones as missiles, 270, 271 Stoppage of wages for theChest at Chatham,
433, 434 Stores, ships", 125, l.'JO; for the English
fleet, lack of, 55(1; on board tlie Spanish
Armada, 5()(.) Storms, 1(12, 1(1(1, 17(t, 175,
202, 20(>, 247, 2(11, 288,
3(1(1, .•;7.",, .■!75, 392, 390,
518, 521, 523, 524, .549,
()39, ()5() Stom-, the, 28 Strabo, 3, 55
Standamore, Thomas dc, I. '11 Strange, iSir Baldwin le, .'hK Street, Oeorge, 594 Striking an oflicer, penalty for, 433 "Stronil," right of, 132 " Strongbow," Kl.'i Strother of Newcastle, ."i7.'! Strozzi appointed Englisii Consul
398
Leo, Prior of Capua, 4(12, 4(j7, 4(J9
Utruce. of Duivski; 42() Studlanil, 178 Sturnianni, 118
|
18.'!, |
LSI, 1 |
97, |
|
293, |
297, I |
99, |
|
47(1, |
49(1, 4 |
97, |
|
557, |
5(10, ( |
19, |
It Pisa,
194
IND/'LX TO VOJJJjVE 1.
Stuniiv, Admiral Sir John, L'lil iiiul ii., 217,
2111,' 225, 227, 228
Hobert, nf ISristol, (iOH
tstygey, Jcilm, 2ti!l
Suaco, tlic bridsjc at, 514, 515
Suard, Sir liicliard, 187
Subsidv, naval, 222
,S'«////c,' galley, 421, 422
" Siideio," Gulf of, ;;!25, 331
Suet<inius Paulinos, 7, 22
Suffolk raided by the Soots, 233
Edniimd de la Pole, Duke of, 447
Admiral Robert Ufford, Karl of: »<■<■
Uflbrd, Admiral Sir Poliert Admiral AVilliani, fourth Earl of, 2Hli,
381, 384 Sulenv, Hascuil dc, 118 San, 421, 423, 425, 580, 588, 589 iSupshine, 627 Sunthorjje, 140 iSiipcrldtim, 423 Surgieres, Sir James de, 283 Surrey, Thomas, Earl of: see Howard, Lord
Thomas. Survey of shijiiung, 225, 235 Surveying of shi)is, 21 !l Survej'ors of ships, 437 n.
of victuals, 438 n.
Susan, 484, 596, 654, 656
Parnell, 593
Sussex, Pregent ivaids, 457
Henry, Earl of, 573
Sutton, 139
Swallow, 262, 419, 420, 423, 425, 477, 497,
570, 576, 588, 589, 617, 641, 645 Swan, 346, 347, 512, 621, 628 Swearing, 430 Swedes defeat Canute, 46 Sweeps, 405
Sircepstake, 404, 405, 414, 419, 420, 446 u. Sweyn Estrithsou, 48
, 17, 42, 43, 44, 45
son of Godwin, 50, 51
Sweyn's attempt against William I., 87
Sivift, 421
Swiftsurc, 423, 425, 491 n., 509, 520, 529,
537, 538, 581 n., 588, 589 Swinburne, Sir Thomas, 363 Swyn, the, 247 n. Sydenham, Hum|ihre}', 590 Sydney, Sir William, 451 and n., 453, 455, 'I
456
Aiii.E Pay, Lancaster at, 655 acks, 340
ierra del Fuego, Drake at, 630 agus, Drake at the mouth of the, 488 ijbot, Sir Piicliard, 236, 249 \ilbol, 423 aibot, Gilljert, Lord, 266
tifth Lord, 378
— of Ircheneld, Sir Gilbert, 372 amar, Danes in the, 43
Tam|iicci, the Minion's jieople left at, 620;
Sjianisli cruelty to them, 620, 621 Tamworth, Admiral Sir Nicholas, 279, 280 Tancred, Piichard I. quarrels with, 168 Tai-iestries formerly in the House of Lord;-.
539 n. Tapiawari, 649, 650 T'arics, 144
Tarste, Sir Aimery de, 283 Taunton, Warlieck at, 447 Taverner of Hull trades to Italy, John, 395 Tavy, raid by the sons of Harold in the, 87 Taxes without consent of Parliament, 154 Tay, the, 231, 232 Telescoiie, invention of the, 403 Tello, Don llodrigo, 574, 577 'i'enchebrai. Battle of, 91 Tenilrell, 346
Tenth granted for the navy, a, 249 volunteered by the spiritual Lords, a,
356 Terceira, Battle of, 539 ; gallant action off,
478 ; Monsoon fails to reach, 538 :
S[)anish treasiu'e ships make for, 522, 523 T'erms, aiitiijuity of some naval, 144 Teruate, Drake at, 634 T'ewkesbury, Margaret of Anjou defeateil al,
300 Thames, tlie, blocked, 246 ; Danes in the,
37 ; fleet assembled in the, 286 ; Godwin
in the, 52; the French in the, 294 Thanet garrisoned, 289 ; raided, 247 Thenoucnel, Admiral Jean de, 450 Theoilosius, 32 ; victories of, 59 Tliernies, Marshal de, 473 Thirkill, Lancelot, 608 Thomas, 144, 256, 269, 270, 347
lieauchaaq^, 269, 273
Bonaventun; of Lyme, 597
Ilonaventure, 592
Drake, 577 n., 590
Thomas, tifteenth Lord Grey de Wilton, 519
and n.
John, 609
of Dover, 116, 119
of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence,
Admiral Prince, 362, 369, 370, 382 ; his
difliculties, 363
Friar, of the Temjile, 192
Stephen, 346
horeton, Ticonard, 115 n. Thorlinn and Karl of Scots, 69, 70 Thome, Dr., 1)09 Thornyng, John, 346 Thorwald, voyage of, 63 Thouars, fall of, 284 Throckmorton, (Jajitain, 520 Throgiuorton, Sir Nicholas, 471 and n. " Thule," Irish in, 62 Thurcytel the 'I'all, 44, 45 Tburkel : sm Thm'cytel. Thylde, the voyager, 607, 608 Tiber, Pichard I. in the, 167
/.\V)/;.V TO VOLUME I.
(ipn
'I'iberius, 7
TUU; 125
at till' I'.attlc iif Sliiii, lime ol' iii'rli,
253 Ti<i<r, l-Jl, -ILM, 41'."). .">,S(i, ASS, .-,«!, "ili^,
(il7, tl4(l Tilliurv, iM "'rile,'';5it7, .iiiS Tillers, 14")
'I'iltmi, Dr. W. F., qmitoil, 501 Till trade with Britain, ;>, 55 'l'i|ptc_)ft. Sir Koliert, 'J05 ami n. Tirringtiiii, Itavvliii, .'tilil Titelilield Aliliey, ;iT-J Tohij, 4S-1, 5!i2 his. 'i'oledo, Don l''raiiriscii ile, 57^ and u„ 57li.
G:n, (;.;i'
Tolls sii|ipresM'd, ille^;al, 4.".!'
Tonison, Iticliard, 5!I2
Tups, fiijlitin.i;, l.')8
Tiiptdiain, l.'ill, 5!I5
'i'op-masts, tixed, 401 n.
Tiip-pieces, 40',l, 412
Torcy, Admiral de, 2K7
Tornellis, lialpli de, lilO
Tnrres Vedras, 4!) I
Tiistig, son of (xodvvin, 51-54
Tcitness, 1.'!!)
Timchet, Sir John, 2!s:!
Toulouse, exijeditiou to, Kil
Touques, 380; Henry \\. at, '.'M
Tower Ilill, Navy Office on, 4;!S
"Meaning of the expression" of the,
148 "Tower" (of the) the old equivalent of
" ll.M.S.," 347 Towerson, William, G12 'I'ownsliend, Sir Ito^er, 573 Trade, lijrowth of, 3!ll ; of Bristol, 100 ; of
Lonilon, D'J ; Saxon encouragement of, (il> ;
with Cieruiany, !li», TOO Transport, cost, of, 147, 154: .see also Freight Traiiton, John, 51)0 Treason of Sir Tliomas de 'I'urliervillc, 207,
208 T'reasurers of Mariue causes, 437 n. Treasure ships, attenqit to ca])ture S]iaiiish,
4114, 4115; attempts u|ion Spanish, 5211;
distress caused by non-arrival of Spanish,
4'J4; Essex takes three, 522, 523;
Italcgli's attemjit ujion the, 4!t8 Treaty; of Cateau (laiubresis, 475; of
Berwick, 475; of Edinburgh, 476; of
Troyes, 477 Tivnioutana, 423, 425, 5011, 520, 529, 580,
588, 589 Trenchemer, Alan, 10:! : Richard, 103 ; Alan,
juni(ir, llfi Tri'iirh-thi-Mcr, 10.". Trcport liurnt, 4511 ; Lisle's success at, 4(15;
Koberfs Meet at. 111) Trevor, (Japtaiu, 5;{2, 537 John, 437 n.
Triana, Parker lands at, 531 Triefs, 145
" 'I'riii," 328 ami n., 3.'M Ti-inidail, 599 his, (i02
(/(• Sat/ii, (JOO
Trinidnde, 535 n.
Trinidad Vithunra, 571 and n., 578 n.,
584, (iOO Trinity, 145, .",79, 404, IJIO
ninri), 420
Trinity House, 438
Trinity, of Jlrialu/, 414
or Triiiiti/ A'oi/o/. •". Ill, :;4i;. .'117, 354.
3(;2, ■M\, 372 Trinobantes, 28 'I'riiinijili, 423, 425, 529, 5r.9, 570, 572 and
n., 57.'! n., 588, 5811 Trivet, Admiral Sir Thomas, 298 Troughton, Captain, 504, .507, 568, 529 Troyes, treaty of, .•!81, 477 Truce with l'''iance, 197, 2(il, 291!. .".TH, .384,
391 ; and Spain, 285
with Scotland, 222, 22.3, 224
True Lore, 512
'J'rumpets on shii>-board, 432, 433
Tnuupington, Sir Nicholas, 293
Trussell, Admiral Sir William, 24ii ami n.,
2.55, 257, 21 il Trust, 42.3 Tryriglit, 423 Tucker, Thomas, .59{! Tunis, international crusade against, .'!lil Turberville, Sir Henry de, 187
Sir Thomas de, 207, 208
Turkey Company chartered, the, r.lt;
factories of, (151 ships and thirteen Sp.aniaids, light
between, 484, 485 Turkeyinan t'vutfiit, defence of the, 498 Turkish dromon, Itichard I. engages a, 172 Turner, Captain Jeremy, 589
Nicholas, 59(1
Turnham, Sir Stephen de, 1(19-171
} Stephen dc, 103
i Tuscarora Indians alleged to undcistainl
Welsh, 309 Tync, convoy in the, 4(10 Tynemoutb, 388 Tyrone's relicllion, 530
Ua CiutiiA, voyages of the sons of, (10 Ufi'ord, Admiral Sir liobert, later Karl of
Sufi'olk, 238 and n., '2111, 2(i'.', 2115, 2illi Ughtred, Admiral Sir Thomas, 235 llltaytel, 44 Ulster, Sir Iticliard de l'.urgli. Earl of, 21.5,
217, 218 Unifraville, Sir Gilborn, .'178
Admiral Sir Itobert, 3(19
Unicorn, 420, 4(10 n.
of Bristol, .595
of Dartmouth, 597
Uniform furnished by the king, 119
696
INDEX TO VOLUME I.
Unity, 590
victualler, 594
Unofficial war with France, 355, 356
Unwvne, Stephen, 131
Ujmor Castle, 436
Ihric, 102
Ursers or vissers, 101
Ususniaris, Nicholas, 238, 240, 241
" Utfangthefl'," 132
A'aca, Cabeza de, 282
Vache, La, 130
Valdes, Admiral Don Pedro de, 533, 547,
562, 564 n., 565 and n., 567, 56.s, 569,
574, 599 Valentine, 347
Valoignes, Admiral Waresius de, 231 Valois, Charles Count of, 205 Valparaiso, Hichard Hawkyns at, 642 Vanegas, Don Luis, 579 ; cited in Cluqi. X^'.,
'Ijassim Vanguard, 423, 502 n., 509, 514, 529, 55.".
n., 576, 580, 588, 589 A'^anishing island, 60, 63 Vanues, blockade of, 260 ; Englis'h shijis
destroyed off, 260 \m\\o, 615
Variation of the needle observed by Colum- bus, 401 Vassall, John, 593 Vassy, Massacre of, 476 Vavasour, Captain Sir Thomas, 495 n., 520,
529, 589 Vayle, John, 589 Vel, Stephen de, 122 Venetan ships, 4 Veneti defeated by Ciesar, 4 Venetian galley detained at Plymouth, 356 Venezuela, raids on the coast of, 508 Vengeur, 453 Venice, trade with, 224 Ventura, 601 A'ere, Captain Sir Francis, 509 and n., 511,
513-516, 519, 520, 522, 523 Vernon quoted, 124 Vesey, Reynold, 596 Vessels, jjrice of, 130 Vezelay, Richard I. at, 166 A'ice-admirals, 153 Victorinus, 33 Victory, 423, 425, 493, 565, 569, 570, 576,
581 n., 588, 589 " Victual Brothers," the, 352 n. Victuals to be economised, 430 Victuallers serving against the Armada,
594 Vienne, Jean de, 284 and n., 285-287, 289,
290, 296, 297, 300 Vigo burnt by Drake, 492 " Vilet," 289
Villa Franca taken by Essex, 523 Villegagnon, Admiral, 468 and n. Vincennes, Henry V. dies at, 382
Vincent of Hastings, 116
Vinesauf cpioted, 167-169, 172
Vineyard, 593
Violet, 593 '
Virgin God Save Her, 590
Virgin Islands, Cumberland at the, 527
Virginia, colonists in, 532 ; taken possession
of, 646 ; first settlers in, 647 Vissers or ursers, 101 Vivero, Don Eodrigo de, 579 Volatilla, 423
Volcano seen by Zeno, 327, 328, 334 \'oliie"s jiicture of the embarkation of
Henry VIII., 405-409 Voluntarv ships serving against tlie Armada,
597 Voluseuus, Caius, 24 Vortigern, 33 Vnrtinier, 34 ','rttat. Admiral Don Alfonso, 298
Wade reaches Cape Breton, 610
Wages, of seamen, 108, 147, 150, 202.
and pay, 346, 349
unpaid, 358, 361, 363
Waigatsch Strait explored, 615
Wake, Lord, 250
Waldron, William, trades to the Mediter- ranean, 395
Waleis, Alan le, 119
Henry le, 133
Walerand, 'Robert, 201 n.
Wales, o]ierations against, 90 ; pre]iarations against, 161 ; John's ex]iedition to, 179, 180 ; expedition against, 204 ; threatened by the Count de la Marche, 361
Wallace, revolt of "William, 212
Wallingford, Treaty of, 92
Wallop, Sir John, 453 and n., 455-457
Walmer, 25, 434
Walney relics, the, 157
Walsh, Ricliai-d, 346
Walsynghani, Sir Francis, 552, 553 ; letter to Howard, 555-559, 563 n., 580
War with France, 225, 469, 477
with Spain, 484
unofficial, 355, 356
Warbeck, imposture of Perkin, 446, 447
Ward, Captain Ambrose, 589
Captain Luke, 589, 635
Philip, 530
Richard, 609
Warden, Gervaise de, 131
Ware, John de la, 114
Warfare, methods of naval, 109
Warham, 133
Colin de, 122
Warspite, 423, 425, 509, 520, 521 530, 532, 534 and n.
Warwick, Ambrose, Earl of, 477
Lord High Adnural, Dudley, Earl of,
469
Edward Plautagenet, Earl of, 442
INDEX TO VOLUME I.
097
Warwick, Admiral Kichard Neville, Earl of
(the "King-maker"), .SSG-aiiO
liichard Beauchaiiip, tii'tli Earl of, 378
Adnural Thomas, ^arl of, 269, 288,
289, 291 Waesenaer, Admiral Jan van, 558 n. Watch to be set at 8 P.M., 432 Watches, division into, 432 Water, Edmund, 115 n. Wateville, Hilary de, 177 Watewauf;, Jolui de, 234 Watte, 650 Watts, Jolm, 526
Sir John, 592 his
Waynepaync, 131
Weajxins of twelfth century, 102
Weather-gauge, manceuvring for the, 188,
465 Webb, Nicholas, 591 Welfare, 268, 269 Welles, Stephen, 346 Welsh sohllers in the army of Edward I.,
211 claim to the tliscovery of America,
303-314
Bible in Pennsylvania, alleged, 310
naval operations against the, 357
Wenstau, John, 131
Wentworth surrenders Calais, Lord, 472
Sir Thomas, 392
Werner of Niirnberg, 400, 401 West, Thomas, Lord, 378, 379 Indies, Madoc's alleged e])itai)h in the,
305, 308 ■ expedition of Preston ami
Somers to the, 508 ; Sir Robert Dudley's
voyage to the, 650, 651 ; Preston's and
Shirley's cruises to, 651 Westminster, naval coimcil at, 285
Abbey, an asylum, 369
Weston, Sir Kichard, 513 Westward, discovery to the, 610 Wexford taken by Fitz Stephen, 16.'! Weymouth, 223, 390 ; Philip of Austria at,
447 ; a galleon of, 595 ; Christopher, 595 ;
voyage of George,- 532 Whencing, 34 Whiddon, Jacob, 590, 648 Whistle, the Lord High AdmiraPs, 449,
456 Whitaker, Sir Simon, 283 n. Whitby jiillaged by Orkneymcn, 94 White, John, 647
Thomas, 501
Captain, 529
White Bear, 423, 425, 487 : see also Bear.
Hind, 594
Lion, 581 n., 593
Whitgaresburh, 35
Whitsand Bay, Warbeck lauds in, 447
Whyte, Henry, 589
(master of the Bark Talhot), Henry,
590 Widrington, Robert, 486
VOL. I.
Wight, Isle of, 263, 274, 279, 372 ; French raiJ.s on, 236, 237 ; French attempt on, 296 ; French repulseil from, 360 ; Spanish landing in, 365 ; tlireatened by the Spaniards, 382; D'Annebaut off, 463; French landing in, 4(J4 ; Medina Sidonia to cairture, 543 ; action with the Armada off, 572-574
Wihtgils, 34
Wilcox, Robert, 592
Wild Man, 638
Wilde, Jervis, 592
Wilford, William, 359
Wilkj-usoii, George, 589
Wille, John, 269
Willey, Roger, 131
William I., 53 ; prepares to invade Eng- land, 76, 84 ; invasion of, 84 ; rapacity of, 79 ; successful in Scotland, 88 ; fleet of, 76, 88
William, IL, accession of, 89 ; his naval successes, 89 ; his energy and bravery, 90
William, 596
(Jackmau's ship), 626
of Colchester, 596
of Plymouth, 597
of Rye, 596
and John, 484
William, John, 346
of Worcester, 606
son of Henry I., death of, 78, 81
William's claim to the English crown, 75
Williamson, Edward, 485
WiUibald, voyage of, 66 n.
Willoughby, Sir Hugh, 613-615, 619
de Broke, Robert Lord, 446 n.
de Eresby, William, fifth Lord, 356
Willow charcoal used for making jxjwder, 149
Wilson, .John, 595
Winchelsea, 106, 123, 125, 196, 211, 244, 270, 274, 284, 289, 368 ; galleys of, 114 ; seamen from Ireland ordered to, 186 ; a Heet assembled at, 226 ; burnt, 277 ; French repulse at, 287 ; taken, 294 ; ships assembled at, 372
Winchester, 136 ; Danes hanged at, 39 ; threatened, 359
Windage, 411, 412
Winilham, Thomas, 438 n. ; his voyage to Guinea, 470
Winding-balies, 144
Wingfeild, Captain Sir John, 509, 614, 516
John, 597
Whiland, 63, 64 n.
Winter, naval ojierations in, 453 and n.
" Winter's Bark," 630
Wisby, English factories at, 394
Wissant, 24, 120, 138, 139, 185, 199, 231, 236
Wistlegrei, Simon, 122
Witness, 512
Wolf Rock, wreck on the, 234
2 ■/.
*v«-'i •f»P*
698
INDEX TOVOhUME I.
Wolreckford, 215
Womeu of bad character in the fleet, 288
with the Armada, 5-i8 and n.
Wood, Sir Andrew, of Largs, exploits of, 44'1 Woodhouse, Admiral Sir William, 437 n.,
438 n., 467, 477 WoodroS'e, Jolm, 589 Woodville, Anthony, 387 Edward IV. marries Elizabeth, 388,
389
expedition of Edward Lord, 443, 444
Woolwich in 1548, ships at, 420
dockyard, 434, 437
Worcester, Earl of, 480 Workmen impressed, 371 Worms, marine, 169 Wounded, pensions for, 119 Wreck, Law of, 81, 106, 127, 128
of the Wiite Ship, 81
Wreckers, 108, 109 Wright, John, 589 Nicholas, 595
Edward, of Garveston utilises Mercator's
theory, 402, 403 Wrotham, William de, 114, 115 Wulfnoth, 44
Wulfstan, voyage of, 67, 68 and n. Wymimd of Winchelsea, 116 Wynnall, Jolm, 595 Wynter, George, 438 n.
John, 115 n.
Captain John, 520, 589, 628, 630
Robert,- 629
Sir WiUiam, 429, 437 and n., 438 n.,
460 n., 469, 471 and n., 475, 481, 553,
554, 562, 564, 570, 573, 575, 576 and n.,
577 n., 580, 589, 591 Captain William, junior, 491 n., 504,
590 Wyse, John le, 131
Valmofth, 139
Yalton, William, 346
Vare, SwejTi in the, 44
Yarmouth, 8, 114, 125, 132, 136, 184, 214, L'24, 225, 239 ; galleys of, 114 ; and the Cinque Ports, quarrels between, 202, 211, •-'12, 235; fleet assembled at, 231, 242, 243 ; Scots ships driven into, 275 ; herring lishery, 314; -blockaded in the interests uf Lady Jane Grey, 470 ; return of ships to, 581 ; Isle of Wight, John embarks at, 178 ; requisitioned, 287
I'ellow Ford, battle of the, 530 onge, John, 575 n., 591 'onge, fiy-beat, 591
ork, the Dulje of, protectorate of, 385 ; death of, 387 .
— popularity of the house of, 442
— stormed by the Danes, 88 orke. Sir Edward, 502
— Captain Gilbert, 504,- 625, 626 orkists with the navy, popularity of the,
348 ■ ■
ares besieged, 295 Jung, John, 595
inn A, meaning of, 419 n.
iii/ibar, Lancaster at, 652
i/atc, Don Francisco, 632 ; his description
f Drake, 633 ZOaud pirates, 203, 224 — Armada driven towards, 581 Zii, travels of the brothers, 324 et seq. Zto, Nicolo, junior, 337 and n. ; narrative
f, 324 " :climni," 324 et seq. Zi ikzee, 37'3 ; battle off, 138 Zi-iga, Don Balthasar de, 567, 582
illi
m
rXJKUON : rUlNTED BY WILLIAM CLOWRS AN1> ,S.% LIMlTliU, StAMfOUD STUEET AND CHARING C15S.
i
--1I.
'^i.5fii>
»y-5c
n 1
698
INDEX TO VOIjUME I.
Wolreckford, 215
Women of bad character in the fleet, 288
with the Armada, 548 and n.
Wood, Sir Andrew, of Largs, exploits of, 444 Woodhouse, Admiral Sir William, 437 n.,
438 n., 467, 477 Woodrofi'e, Jolm, 589 Woodville, Anthony, 387 Edward IV. marries Elizabeth, 388,
389
expedition of Edward Lord, 443, 444
Woolwich m 1548, ships at, 420
dockyard, 434, 437
Worcester, Earl of, 480 Workmen impressed, 371 Worms, mai-ine, 169 Wounded, pensions for, 119 Wreck, Law of, 81, 106, 127, 128
of the Wliite Ship, 81
Wreckers, 108, 109 Wright, John, 589 Nicholas, 595
Edward, of Garveston utilises Mercator's
theory, 402, 403 Wrotham, WiUiam de, 114, 115 Wulfnoth, 44
Wulfstan, voyage of, 67, 68 and n. Wymimd of Winchelsea, 116 Wyunall, Jolm, 595 Wynter, George, 438 n.
John, 115 n.
Captain John, 520, 589, 628, 630
Robert,- 629
Sir William, 429, 437 and n., 438 n.,
460 n., 469, 471 and n., 475, 481, 553,
554, 562, 564, 570, 573, 575, 576 and n.,
577 n., 580, 589, 591 Captain William, junior, 491 n., 504,
590 Wyse, John le, 131
Yalmoitth, 139
Yalton, William, 346
Tare, Sweyn in the, 44
Yarmouth, 8, 114, 125, 132, 136, 184, 214, 224, 225, 239 ; galleys of, 114 ; and the Cinque Ports, quarrels between, 202, 211, 212, 235; fleet assembled at, 231, 242, 243 ; Scots ships driven into, 275 ; herring fishery, 314; .blockaded in the interests of Lady Jane Grey, 470 ; return of ships to, 581 ; Isle of Wight, John embarks at, 178 ; requisitioned, 287
Yellow Ford, battle of the, 530
Yonge, John, 575 n., 591
Yonge, fly-beat, 591
York, the Dulje of, protectorate of, 385 ; death of, 387_^ .
popularity of thS house of, 442
stormed by the Danes, 88
Yorke, Sir Edward, 502
Captain Gilbert, 504, 625, 626
Yorkists with the navy, popularity of the, 348 • ■ :
Ypres besieged, 295
Yoimg, John, 595
Zabba, meaning of, 419 n.
Zanzibar, Lancaster at, 652
Zarate, Don Francisco, 632 ; his description
of Drake, 633 Zeeland pirates, 203, 224
Armada driven towards, 581
Zeni, travels of the brothers, 324 et seq. Zeno, Nicolo, junior, 337 and n. ; narrative
of, 324 " Zichmni," 324 et seq. Zierikzee, 373 ; battle oft", 138 Ziuiiga, Don Balthasar de, 567, 582
TKINTED BV WILLIA3I CLOWnS AKD SONS, LIMITED, STAMKOUD STliEET AND CHAUISG CIIOSS.
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