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4 Feb.
B. M.
Cotton,
Galba, C. IV.
Original draft.
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378. Letter of Intelligence from London (unsigned) to the
Duke Of Alba, Governor of the Netherlands.
My last letter was dated the 30th ultimo, and I now have to
report that on that day the French ambassador was with the
Queen for an hour and a half, expressing to her his master's surprise
at the great rebel preparations being made here, aided by many
Englishman, particularly mentioning Hawkins, with the object of
helping Montgomeri and succouring Rochelle, all of which, he
said, was opposed to the friendship and alliance between her and
the King. He was therefore forced formally to protest, and to say
that, if these matters continued, he should consider their friendship
broken by her act. The Queen replied that these preparations
need not cause any surprise, as the King himself was making
similar preparations at Dieppe and elsewhere, and she should be
very glad of some explanation from the King about them. The
ambassador said they were certainly not for the purpose of offending
anybody, and were only to guard his own coast. He urged her
not to help Rochelle, but to help him to recover it, as it belonged
to him, and he would treat the rebels mercifully. Much more of
the same sort was said, and the ambassador left on good terms
with her, being referred to the Council to discuss the matters at
issue. They promised him an answer at Shrovetide and gave it
him, to the effect that the Queen would forbid piracy in her
dominions, and that no English ships should sail to offend anyone,
but only for the security of her own coast.
They did the same thing last year with great proclamations and
orders in all the ports ; the Count de la Marque being especially
singled out for expulsion, but it was all a deceitful trick to cover
the taking of Brille. I am much afraid they will attempt what I
have said, as I am told the Queen's ships will go out to sea in four
or five days, as well as the merchantmen. A courier came from
Scotland on the 31st ultimo confirming the news of the discovery of
the plot for the delivery of the Prince, who is now in safe hands,
and of the fighting which had resulted. It is affirmed that the
commander of the castle of Edinburgh, the principal fortress of
the country, who is on the queen of Scotland's side, learning of
the intended treason, bombarded half the city, which is attached
to the Protestant cause. Many of the houses were demolished, and
especially the greater part of Morton's house, whose appointment
as Regent he will not recognize because it was brought about
corruptly, and not by the election of the three estates of the realm
as is customary. As these are matters of such vital importance,
and touch the interests of God and the Catholic Princes, I thought
I should err greatly if I delayed the possible provision of some
measures to frustrate them when I learnt of the project, and I
I could think of no better way of acting than divulging what I had
learnt to the French ambassador, as he has much connection with
Scotland. I found he was not so well informed about as I was, and
he thanked me warmly.
I was with him again yesterday, and he told me that, immediately
after I gave him my intelligence, he had sent a speedy
courier to Scotland, and had already received a reply. He said
that he would for ever declare that, after God, I had been the
saviour of the Prince, and had thus been the means of stopping the
iniquities that had been plotted. I do not think I shall be blamed
for acting as I have done in this matter.
These people are again negotiating for the remittance of 150,000
(crowns ?) in bills of exchange to Edinburgh (Hamburgh ?) by
means of the Easterlings, and I will duly report what is decided
on the point. This may be to assist in raising troops in Germany,
for which the 200,000 were sent as advised by me on the
15th December, because, as one out of the three cables they had
twisted has snapped, they will try to save themselves with the
other two, namely, the sending of help to Flanders and the French
rebels, and so, by the help of German troops, keep the two Kings
busy all this year.
The good clergyman I mentioned in my last was summoned
twice by the Treasury, who put a great many questions to him
If the good man wrote well he spoke better, and he exhorted the
Treasurer to such good purpose that the latter got angry and
threatened him with execution. He said he would gladly meet
death in the service of God and the truth. I am told he will
certainly be condemned to martyrdom. The man they sent to
Germany has not yet returned, and they are much surprised thereat.
Orange's people and the commissioners from the rebel places in
this Court are very well entertained, but it is said they will not be
despatched until the man comes back from Germany.—London, 4th
February 1573.
Note.—Damaged by fire.
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16 Feb.
B. M.,
Add. 26,056b.
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379. Antonio De Guaras to the Duke Of Alba.
As was arranged, Lord Burleigh sent for me and told me that
much dispute had taken place with the other Councillors in the
Queen's presence about our negotiations, but that her Majesty and
he had insisted so strongly, that they had agreed to conclude an
arrangement, in accordance with a draft which he showed me, and
which he said I could read and return to him. I did so rapidly
and made a copy, which I enclose. He asked me what I thought of
the terms, to which I replied that I approved of them ; except, in my
humble opinion, the detention only of English delinquents (in Spain)
was an insufficient punishment, unless accompanied by forfeiture.
As to the day for opening the ports, he said that, if your Excellency
approved of it, the 1st of May would do. He insists strongly upon
the first sitting of the commission being held here, in which he says
the Queen and all the Councillors are firm. I told him that another
clause would have to be added, to the effect that the agreement
would have to be signed by your Excellency and himself as representatives
of the sovereigns, pointing out that your Excellency
must do so to avoid delay in opening the ports, and the sovereigns
would afterwards ratify and seal the documents as arranged. He
said he would speak to the Queen about it and the rest of my poor
suggestions, and would give me a clean copy of the draft to send to
your Excellency to sign and seal, which he would do also, the copies
being mutually exchanged. He said, as he has on other occasions,
that he hoped your Excellency would sign willingly, if only out of
respect for the Queen. I therefore detain this special courier for
two or three days to send the documents by him.
Burleigh asked me pressingly whether I had any reply to the
suggestions he had several times made about the prince of Orange,
to which I replied that, although I had written to your Excellency
about it I had no instructions. He said the Queen was very
anxious to have the matter settled, and I said I thought his
Majesty would not listen to any approaches such as this from a
vassal, and particularly such a traitor as Orange, but if Orange
himself, confessing his evil deeds and declaring his repentance, urged
the Queen to intercede for him with the King, perhaps, his Majesty
being so clement a Prince, might overlook his treason, out of
love and reverence for the Queen. Perhaps a settlement might be
arrived at in this way. I do not know whether I did wrong in
saying this, as he spoke of settling this business with Orange in
quite an off-hand fashion, rather than speaking of Orange as a
vassal of the King whom he had offended. Burleigh would not
have endured what I said from anyone else, but he takes everything
from me in good part. He answered excusing Orange, saying that
he only aimed at the common good and resisting oppression, and the
intolerable impositions put upon them by your Excellency without
the knowledge of the King. These were his words, and I told him
he was ill-informed, and he might be sure that, although your
Excellency had authority to govern the States in your own way,
important matters were not executed without his Majesty's knowledge
and consent. Although you were such a grand Prince, you
were, I said, a humble servant of the King. He said he had been
told that your Excellency was very rich since you had been in the
Netherlands, and I said he could learn from anybody that your
ancestors had always served their sovereigns loyally, as your
Excellency had done for 50 years unceasingly in the field, but it was
said that no grandee in Spain had profited less, as you and yours
had always thought first of honour and fidelity rather than of pay.
I said, in truth, that you were so just and upright a Prince that
your first thought was to do your duty in your high position. He
asked me about the duke of Medina-Celi, and said he was informed
that he was a Prince of much merit—did he belong to the Royal
house? To which I said I thought he did. I hope I shall not be
considered impertinent in repeating all this, as it arose out of Lord
Burleigh's questions.
He said he heard you were increasing your army and going to
Haarlem, which, however, he learnt, was very strong, and you would
find great resistance there and at Delft and other places. I said
he was quite wrong if he thought that Orange and his people were
going to prevail for any time, as they must be conquered for the
very badness of this cause, having risen against their natural
sovereign. In the end Holland and Zealand would be brought
down, humbled, punished, and repentant. He said : No doubt ; but
the Queen, both for the present and future, wished to calm the
trouble and bring about a peace.
Of the four commissioners from Holland three have returned with
Casimbrot, the other remaining here. They have gone in a large
vessel loaded with harquebusses and barrels of powder, but have
settled none of the things they came about. They have only got
fine words, and they have left with the Queen a written copy of
their treasonable offers, which I have mentioned. No doubt this
copy will be made much of to show that these English have refused
out of friendship for his Majesty. Some Frenchmen, to the number
of 150, have gone over with the commissioners and separately,
seduced by Casimbrot, but I can hear of no English going. Montgomeri
is preparing for his voyage, and 10 ships are being fitted
out in the river, whilst 20 pirates are on the coast and at the Isle of
Wight ready to accompany them, as well as eight belonging to
Captain Hawkins of Plymouth. I heard that Montgomeri is going
with 3,000 men to succour Rochelle. The French ambassador has
protested to the Queen about it, and begged her to prevent such a
force going against his King, in violation of the recent treaty. She
answered that the King had first broken it by sending arms and
troops to Scotland, to which the ambassador replied that this was
done, not by the King, but by Cardinal Lorraine, the queen of
Scotland's kinsman. The Queen said, if any help was to be sent to
Rochelle, it would not be sent by her orders but by the bishop of
London, out of friendship and in respect of his religion. This is
the way they dissemble, and with strong signs of breaking with
France altogether if the King (of Spain) makes any show of friendship
and approval. I am, however, told from a good source that
the Council is considering whether Montgomeri shall go to Scotland
with this force to get the Prince. They fear he cannot get into
Rochelle in consequence of the King's galleys and ships. They also
talk about the possibility of Montgomeri with his force going to
help Orange, but, such is their confusion and fickleness, that anything
may be suspected of them. The people here continue to send
money to Hamburg, and it is said that Ludovic was raising more
troops in Germany, but your Excellency will know best whether it
is against France or the States.
As I have said, an English pirate named Fenner had assailed
Mongia and I have since heard that he and others have captured
some ships from the Indies at the Azores. It is said that the pirates
have informed the Admiral and certain friends of theirs here of these
robberies, which they keep secret from me, the object being to
trump up some arrangement by pretending that they (i.e. the friends)
are authorised by the owners of the property to settle and give a
quittance. When I have learnt as much as I can I will speak to Lord
Burleigh about it, and will again beg the Queen to order the arrest of
the armed ships and release the prizes.—London, 16th February 1573.
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16 Feb.
B. M.
Cotton,
Galba, C. IV.
Original draft.
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380. Letter of Intelligence from London (unsigned) to the
Duke Of Alba, Governor of the Netherlands.
I wrote last on the 9th instant, and on the same evening Henry
Horne, whom the Queen sent to Germany, arrived here. He came
by sea and disembarked in the Downs, as he was afraid to pass
through France. He appears to have returned in fine feather, with
a gold chain of 700 or 800 crowns round his neck, and a medal
bearing the portrait of the duke of Saxony, which the latter
presented to him.
The next night Casimbrot was sent off to take ship at Sandwich.
From what I can gather, it appears that the Queen has written a
letter for Orange, saying, that as Casimbrot was sent by the
Palatine, she refers him (Orange) to the statement he will make
verbally to him and to the Treasurer's letter. This is to the effect
that a gentleman will be sent to him in a week bearing a decision
on the whole question. It is believed Weston (?), of whom I have
spoken several times, will go. I hear that Orange writes in the
same sense as I have mentioned before, namely, that he has great
understandings in the States, and will be able to cause trouble
there this year, at great expense to his Majesty (Philip).
Three ships of 50 tons each have recently left here for Flushing
loaded with victuals and stores, sent by Ferdinand Pointz, who I
have mentioned as being a good hand at this business. The stores
were bought with part of the proceeds of the goods taken by the
Flushing people from the vessels from Antwerp and brought hither
for sale. The rest of the money was devoted to the payment of
the English captains and soldiers who went to Flushing.
The writing to Scotland, to the effect I mentioned, has not gone
any further yet, but it is believed that the coming of this man
from Germany will cause them to send a person to Scotland, as I
wrote on the 14th ultimo, to inform Morton of affairs in France
and Flanders.
On the 9th instant, at midday, M. d'Anguillière, with a large
train, arrived here from Rochelle, having landed at the Isle of
Wight. He is the Lieutenant-Governor of the place for the
Huguenots. He went at once to Montgomeri's house, but I have
not been able to discover his errand. I hope to do so and will
report.
The gentleman who I said had come from the Palatine, and had
embarked for Rochelle, has not been able to sail yet owing to the
weather. He is no doubt going on this business, as I am informed
that he bears with him a countersign from the Treasurer to enable
him to make an arrangement with the pirates.
We have not heard yet of the arrival in Scotland of M. de Verac,
the gentleman of the chamber to the king of France, who, I said in
my last, had gone thither, but the earl of Morton has taken prisoner
a brother of the captain of the castle of Edinburgh, who accompanied
him. This man is now in Blackness Castle. He was
carrying 5,000 crowns and some papers.
The three Queen's ships, one large and two small, which I said
had gone to sea, are said to have captured seven pirate vessels. This
is very likely, but I do not believe it will be to harm them, but
rather to instruct them as to their best course of action. The earl
of Worcester is daily expected back from the christening, and my
friend will give me full details. I will duly report.—London, 16th
February 1573.
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18 Feb.
B. M.
Cotton,
Galba, C. IV.
Original draft.
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381. Letter of Intelligence from London (unsigned) to the
Duke Of Alba, Governor of the Netherlands.
I wrote on the 16th, and yesterday they sent off their letter to
Scotland, which throws some light on the German mission, and I
consequently give particulars.
The Queen writes to Morton that she has received a message
from the three electors of (Saxony?) Brandenburg and the Palatine,
the second of whom, however, simply confirms what Saxony may
say. This is to the effect that, with reference to the Queen's
suggestion that a reconciliation between her and his Catholic
Majesty might be arranged by the mediation of the Emperor, he
does not think it is practicable whilst the confederation between
them exists, and that it would be best for Orange to push on and
for her to help him, as they too would do in fulfilment of their
obligations. He says she must not forget that if his Catholic
Majesty found his States tranquil he would soon give her plenty to
think about, and would influence the Emperor to turn them out
of their electorships, as the marriage of the (Arch)duke Charles to
the daughter of the duke of Bavaria had this for its sole object.
She says the Palatine sent a gentleman, a secretary of his, to
speak to the same effect and to persuade her to break with France,
where there would be plenty of people ready to rise, and, between
this and April, much might be done with money to keep the
French busy.
The Queen writes to Morton that she is not at all confident of
Rochelle being able to hold out against the extraordinary efforts
being made by the King by land and sea, and if she could be sure
of Spain and Portugal she would at once enter Guienne, where she
has great understandings.
She urges Morton to be on his guard, as she believes that when
the king of France takes Rochelle, he will fall upon Scotland in
union with his Catholic Majesty, although she is not so sure about
this last as the king of France is so suspicious about Don Juan's
delay.
She tells Morton to use every effort to get possession of the castle
of Edinburgh, and says she has given orders to the governor of
Berwick to hold in readiness his forces there, and others that have
been secretly raised on the border. She promises to send him
(Morton) guns, powder, and other stores, which are now being
taken from the Tower here, under the pretence that they are for
Berwick.
She also writes that your Excellency, by means of a Spaniard
resident here, is trying to obtain a re-opening of the ports on both
sides, in order that the States may be supplied with provisions,
which are much wanted. She sees the need of your Excellency
she says, and, if she makes the arrangement, it will only be on
the basis of free intercourse and other conditions advantageous
to her.
She says that the return of Cardinal Ursino to Rome without
doing anything in France was only an attempt on the part of that
King to satisfy her, but it had done nothing of the sort, as she saw
it was all trickery, and she had been informed that Cardinal
Lorraine bore the same powers from the Pope as Ursino did.
Advices from Germany received here say that a Venetian
gentleman, by means of a Jew who is very friendly with the Turk,
is treating for peace. The Turk, it appears, will consent to peace
with Venice if the son of the Emperor is made king of Poland ;
the object being for the Turk thereupon to turn all his force
against Hungary.
In the course of the next few days they will dispatch the Palatine's
secretary, the gentleman to Scotland and another to Orange.
I will see what I can discover on each head and advise.
In six or seven days Montgomeri will leave the Court and
embark, no doubt in consequence of the news of the King's strong
fleet before Rochelle, although people here say that Montgomeri is
not going thither, and even assert that he will not leave this
country until they see whether the king of France is going to
send to Scotland, in which case he (Montgomeri) would go there.
It is impossible, however, to say anything with confidence as they
change their plans daily.—London, 18th February 1573.
Note.—Much damaged by fire.
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23 Feb.
B. M.
Cotton,
Galba, C. IV.
Original draft.
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382. Letter of Intelligence from London (unsigned) to the
Duke Of Alba, Governor of the Netherlands.
My last letter was dated 18th instant, and there will not be
much to report to-day as the Queen is leaving Greenwich, where
she has been staying, to go for a fortnight's round of visits to some
gentlemens' houses near, with a small suite and privately. The
principal reason of this, however, is that they think thus to be able
to carry out their wicked plans more secretly.
The Treasurer has summoned Weston (?), who went to Germany,
another Englishman named Daniel, who is very clever and knows
those parts well, and the Palatine's secretary to be with him
to-morrow at the place, 12 miles off, where the Queen stays
two days. It is probable he (the Secretary?) will be dispatched
from there, although they are hourly awaiting another message
from Germany. I will try to discover what is done and advise, as
I always do. Montgomeri is accompanying the Queen, but will
soon depart, it is said, for Rochelle, and, if he can do nothing there,
he will go to Scotland. Troops are secretly being raised for him
in some parts of the country, the object being to seize the prince of
Scotland by force, as they could not get him fraud. This will
cause a rupture with France, but they will not carry it out until
they know whether they can come to terms with his Catholic
Majesty, upon which point they are awaiting an answer from your
Excellency. It is impossible, however, to speak with confidence of
the plans of these people as they are changing daily. I am always
on the watch, as may be seen by my continual advices, and will so
continue to the utmost of my power.
On the 19th the French ambassador received despatches from
his King, and at once requested audience, which was not granted
until the 22nd. He was with the Queen for an hour, and the
Queen was apparently anything but gay. I do not yet know what
passed, but hope to learn. The earl of Worcester has not arrived
as the weather does not serve for his passage across. His arrival
and the dispatch of the new English ambassador to France will
enable me to learn some fresh particulars.
I am just informed that the Treasurer has received a letter from
Flushing reporting the departure from there of 43 sail, large and
small, with stones and old vessels to block up the approach to the
river (Scheldt) towards Antwerp, and so to prevent the passage of
the fleet which is being equipped there. These people are very
glad at the news.—London, 23rd February 1573.
Note.—Damaged by fire.
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