with continual depredations surprised and sacked his Towns in Spain and America and had very lately put the Queen of Scots to death therein violating the Majesty of all Kings Again that this War would be no less profitable than just For hereby he might add to his Empire other flourishing Kingdoms extinguish the Rebellion in the Low-Countries hitherto fomented and supported from England secure his voyages from both the Indies and abate his vast expences in convoying his Indian Fleets both forward and backward For proof whereof they suggested that the English Navy was neither for number nor greatness nor strength comparable to that of Spain especially having the Portugal Fleet now annexed unto it That England was not fortified and it wanted Commanders Souldiers a Cavalry and Ammunition was bare of Wealth and Friends That there were many in all parts of it addicted to the Romish Religion and would upon the first opportunity joyn their forces with his In brief that so great was the strength of the Spaniard and so unmatchable was their valour that no man durst oppose against them and therefore they might confidently assure themselves of victory Moreover that now an opportunity was afforded by God himself to the King of Spain to effectuate this great design having no cause to fear any other enemies by reason of a Truce lately concluded by him-with the Great Turk and the French his old enemies being now embroiled in Civil Wars at home They perswaded him likewise that England was an easier conquest than the Netherlands For that he had a shorter cut to it by Sea and that an open Sea neither was it so fortified with Cities Castles c. as the Netherlands were and that England being once conquered the Netherlands would soon follow of course having lost their best supporter These and such like arguments prevailing with the King of Spain in the next place they held a serious Consultation about the manner of Invading England Don Avares Bassano Marquiss of Sancta Cruce who was to command the Armado advised that some Port-Town in Holland or Zealand should suddenly be surprized by the Prince of Parma's Land Forces who was then Governor of the Netherlands under the King of Spain and by some Spanish Ships sent to assist him by Sea that so the great Fleet might have an Harbour from whence to begin their Invasion with whom agreed in opinion the Prince of Parma himself who was very forward to promote this expedition But others opposed this by reason of the difficulty danger expence of time and vast charge that it would require They held that with the same charge England might easier be won and that the Conquest thereof would be assured if a well-appointed Army out of Spain and the Low-Counties might be landed at the Thames mouth and London the Metropolis of England surprised by a sudden assault And this opinion as the more probable prevailed And then again it was advised by some that War should first be denounced by an Herald both to remove suspicion and jealousie from neighbour Princes and to drive our Queen to call in forraign Forces to assist Her hoping that according to the insolent manner of mercenaries they would raise mutinies and spoil the Country which would make the Queens Subjects evil affected towards Her so that all things would grow into confusion in England But this motion was not hearkened to by men grown fierce insolent and confident of their own strength only they desired the blessing of the Pope upon their Armado and the prayers of the Catholicks to God and the Saints for good success And to strike the greater terror into the hearts of the English They set forth Books with printed Maps wherein was expressed the greatness of their Preparations in each particular which indeed was so great in Spain Portugal Italy and Sicily that the Spaniards themselves were amazed at it and procured the Pope to Christen it by the name of the Invincible Armado Now that the wonderful power and mercy of God to us in this poor Nation in protecting us against the same may the more gloriously appear I shall in the next place set down what their preparations were for Ships Mariners Land-Souldiers Ammunition and other provisions for the carrying on of so great an undertaking The Spanish Navy being the best appointed for men munition and all manner of provision that ever the Ocean saw had been five years in preparing consisted of one hundred and thirty Ships whereof these were the principal The Admiral Gallion of Saint Martins of a thousand Tun burden had in her one thousand seventy and seven Mariners three hundred Souldiers fifty Canon c. The Gallion of Saint Johns of one thousand and seventy Tun had in her one hundred and sixty Mariners two hundred and thirty one Souldiers fifty Canon c. The Gallion of Saint Mark of seven hundred and ninety two Tun had in it one hundred and seventeen Mariners two hundred and ninety two Souldiers c. The Gallion of Saint Phillip of eight hundred Tun had in it one hundred and seventeen Mariners four hundred and fifteen Souldiers forty Guns c. The Gallion of Saint Lewis of eight hundred and thirty Tun had in it one hundred and sixteen Mariners three hundred and seventy six Souldiers forty Guns c. The Gallion of Saint Matthew of seven hundred and fifty Tun had in it fifty Mariners one hundred and seventy seven Souldiers forty Guns c. The Gallion of Saint James of five hundred and twenty Tun had in it one hundred Mariners three hundred Souldiers fifty two Guns c. The Gallion of Florence of nine hundred and sixty one Tun had in it one hundred Mariners three hundred Souldiers fifty two Guns c. The Gallion of Saint Christopher of three hundred fifty and two Tun had in it ninety Mariners three hundred Souldiers thirty Guns c. The Gallion of Saint Bernard of three hundred and fifty two Tun had in it one hundred Mariners two hundred and eighty Souldiers thirty Guns c. A Ship of Saint Angelo of seven hundred sixty and eight Tun had in it one hundred and fourteen Mariners three hundred and twenty three Souldiers thirty Canons c. The Gangrine of one thousand one hundred and sixty Tun had in it one hundred and ten Mariners three hundred Souldiers thirty six Canons c. The Ship Saint James of six hundred and sixty Tun had in her one hundred and two Mariners two hundred and fifty Souldiers thirty Guns c. The Manuel of five hundred and twenty Tun had in her fifty four Mariners one hundred and thirty Souldiers sixteen Guns c. The Saint Mary of seven hundred and 7 Tun had in her fifty Mariners two hundred and twenty Souldiers thirty Guns c. But I need not reckon up the rest They had in all one hundred and thirty Ships containing Ffty seven thousand eight hundred and eight Tun wherein were Eight hundred and forty five Mariners
Naples but one of the four Oallions of Portugal but one of the ninety one Callions and great Hulks from divers Provinces only thirty three returned fifty eight being lost In brief they lost in this voyage eighty one vessels thirteen thousand five hundred and odd Souldiers Prisoners taken in England Ireland and the Low-Countries were above two thousand Amongst those in England Don Pedro de Valdez Don Vasques de Silva and Don Alonzo de Saies and others were kept for their ransome In Ireland Don Alonzo de Luzon Roderigo de Lasse and others of great account In Zeland was Don Diego Piementelli To be brief there was no famous or noble family in all Spain which in this expedition lost not a son brother or kinsman And thus this Armado which had been so many years in preparing and rigging with such vast expence was in one month many times assaulted and at length wholly defeated with the slaughter of so many of her men not one hundred of the English being lacking nor one small ship of theirs taken or lost save only that of Cocks and having traversed round about all Britain by Scotland the Orcades and Ireland most grievously tossed and very much distressed and wasted by stormes wracks and all kinds of misery at length came lamely home with perpetual dishonour whereupon Medals were stamped in memory thereof A Fleet flying with full sailes with this inscription Venit vidit fugit It came it saw it fled Others in honour of our Queen with flaming ships and a Fleet in a great confusion and this Motto Dux faemina facti A woman was conductor of the fact In the aforementioned wracks above seven hundred Souldiers and Sailors were cast on land in Scotland who upon the intercession of the Prince of Parma to the King of Scots and by the permission of Queen Elizabeth were after a years time sent over into the Low-Countries But more unmercifully were those miserable wretches dealt withal whose hap was to be driven by tempest into Ireland Some of them being slain by the wild Irish their old friends and others of them being put to death by the command of the Lord Deputy For he fearing lest they might joyn with the Irish to disturb the peace of the Nation commanded Bingham Governour of Connaught to destroy them but he refusing to deal so rigorously with those that had yielded themselves He sent Fowle Deputy-Marshall who drew them out of their lurking holes and cut off the heads of above two hundred of them which fact the Queen from her heart condemned and abhorred as a fact of too great cruelty The remainder of them being terrified herewith sick and starven as they were committed themselves to Sea in their shattered vessels and were many of them swallowed up by the waves The Spaniards charged the whole fault of their overthrow upon the Prince of Parma as if in favour to our Queen he had wilfully and artificially delayed his coming to them But this was but an invention and pretention given out by them partly upon a Spanish envy against that Prince he being an Italian and his Son a Competitor to the Kingdom of Portugal But chiefly to save the scorn and monstous disreputation which they and their Nation received by the success of that enterprise Therefore their colours and excuses forsooth were That their General by Sea had a limited Commission not to fight till the Land Forces were come in to them and that the Prince of Parma had particular reaches and ends of his own to cross the designe But it was both a strange Commission and a strange Obedience to a Commission for men in the midst of their own blood and being so furiously assailed to hold their hands contrary to the Laws of Nature and necessity And as for the Prince of Parma he was reasonably well tempted to be true to that enterprise by no less promise than to be made a Feudatory or Beneficiary King of England under the Seignory in chief of the Pope and the protection of the King of Spain Besides it appeared that the Prince of Parma held his place long after of the Govenment of the Netherlands in the favour and trust of the King of Spain and by the great imployments and services that he performed in France It is also manifest that this Prince did his best to come down and put to Sea The truth was that the Spanish Navy upon those proofs of Fight which they had with the English finding how much hurt they received and how little hurt they did by reason of the activity and low building of our ships and skill of Sea-men and being also commanded by a General of small courage and experience and having lost at first two of their bravest Commanders at Sea Pedro de Valdez and Michael de Oquenda durst not put it to a Battel at Sea but set up their rest wholly upon the Land enterprise On the other side the transportation of the Land Forces failed in the very foundation For whereas the Council of Spain made full account that their Navy should be Master of the Sea and therefore able to guard and protect the Vessels of Transportation When it fell out to the contrary that the great Navy was distressed and had enough to do to save it self and that their Land Forces were impounded by the Hollanders Things I say being in this state it came to pass that the Prince of Parma must have flown if he would have come into England for he could get neither Bark nor Mariner to put to Sea Yet certain it is that the Prince looked for the comming back of the Armado even at that time when they were wandring and making their perambulation upon the Northern Seas Thus we see the curse of God and his threatning in Scripture accomplished They came out against us one way and they fled seven wayes before us making good even to the astonishment of all Posterity the wonderful Judgments of God poured out commonly upon such vast and proud aspirings After this Glorious Deliverance of our Land by the Power of the Omnipotent and the wild Boar repelled that sought to lay waste Englands fair and fruitful Vineyard our Gracious and Godly Queen who ever held Ingratitude a Capital sin especially towards her Almighty Protector as she had begun with Prayer so she ended with Praise commanding solemn Thanksgiving to be celebrated to the Lord of Hosts at the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul in her chief City of London which accordingly was done upon Sabbath day the eighth of September at which time eleven of the Spanish Ensignes the once badges of their bravery but now of their vanity and ignominy were hung upon the lower battlements of that Church as Palmes of Praise for Englands Deliverance a shew no doubt more pleasing to God than when their spread colours did set out the pride of the Spaniards threatning the blood of so many innocent and faithful Christians Queen Elizabeth her self to be an example unto
A True and Full Narrative OF Those two never to be forgotten DELIVERANCES One From The Spanish Invasion in 88. The other from The Hellish Powder Plot November 5. 1605. Whereunto is added The like Narrative of that signal Judgment of God upon the Papists by the Fall of the House in Black-Friers London upon their fifth of November 1623. Collected for the Information and Benefit of each Family by Sam Clark formerly Pastor in Bennet Fink Behold the wicked travelleth with iniquity and hath conceived mischief and brought forth falshood He made a Pit and digged it and is fallen into the ditch which he made His mischief shall return upon his own head and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate Psal. 7.14 15 16. London Printed for J. Hancock and are to be sold at the three Bibles being the first Shop in Popes-Head Alley next to Cornhill 1671 TO THE HONOURABLE And His much Honoured Friends EDWARD RVSSEL Esq Son to the Right Honourable FRANCIS Earl of BEDFORD AND TO The Lady PENELOPE His prudent and pious Consort SIR MADAM I Take the boldness to present you with these Narratives not for that they are new or supposing your selves to be strangers to them but as a Testimony of my Gratitude for these favours I have received from you The high Heavens may be seen in the lowest valleys So may a large heart in the least Gift But truly though the Gift be worthless yet so is not the matter contained in it which sets forth such eminent and signal deliverances as no Church or people in these latter Ages of the world have received And there must be a recognition of Gods mercies or else there will neither follow estimation nor retribution Hence Micah 6.5 O my people saith God many hundreds of years after remember now what Balack King of Moah consulted and what Balaam the Son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal that ye may know the righteousness of the Lord. If there be not such a recognition of former deliverances we that should be as Temples of his praise shall be as graves of his benefits Our souls indeed are too like filthy Ponds wherein fish die soon and frogs live long Rotten stuff is remembred memorable mercies are forgotten whereas the soul should be as an holy Ark the memory as the pot of Manna preserving holy truths and special mercies as Aarons Rod fresh and flourishing Oh! let us imitate that man after Gods own heart If the Lord will be Davids shepherd he will dwel in Gods house to all perpetuity Psalm 23.1 6. If God deal bountifully with him he will sit down and bethink himself what to render for all his benefits Psalm 116.7 12. A Christian counts all that he can do for God by way of retribution but a little of that much he could beteem him and thinks nothing more unbeseeming him than to bury the mercies of God in oblivion His two mites of Thankfulness and Obedience he dayly presents and then cryes out as that poor Grecian did to the Emperour If I had a better present thou shouldest be sure of it What then may we judge of those persons in our daies who labour to extenuate yea annihilate these deliverances that would have no publick commemorations of them that study how to invalidate them and to blot out the remembrance of them To render good for evil is Divine Good for good is Humane Evil for evil is brutish But evil for good is Devillish Yet alas how ordinary an evil is this among us to abuse our deliverances to Gods ' dishonour But Do ye thus requite the Lord O foolish people and unwise Is not he thy Father he hath bought thee c. Deut. 32.6 Should we not remember that good turns aggravate unkindnesses and our offences are not a little encreased by our obligations Ingrateful persons are like the Snake in the Fable who said to the Country-man when he had shewed it kindness Summum praemium pro summo beneficio est ingratitudo Ingratitude is the greatest reward of the greatest benefit How many such Snakes have we amongst us that return evil for good and unkindness for kindness Is not this to fight against God with his own weapons as David did against Goliah as Jehu did against Jehoram and as Benhadad did against Ahab with that life that he had lately given him for the preventing whereof if it may be are these things published being almost worn out of remembrance more than the very names of them Besides though they may be found in larger volumes yet are they not so fit for every Family And as I have presumed honourable and beloved to publish them udder your protection so I doubt not but they will find the better entertainment for the same My earnest desire and prayer for you is that the God of Peace will fill you with all joy and peace by believing multiplying his Blessings upon you and yours And that you would afford me a room in your Albe among those that Sir Madam Love honour and serve you Sam. Clark From my Study in Thridneedle Street Octob. 22. 1657. THE SPANISH INVASION A Commemoration of that wonderful and almost miraculous Deliverance afforded by God to this Nation from the Spanish Invation Anno Christi 1588. THe year one thousand five hundred eighty eight was foretold by an Astronomer of Kâ—nâ—ngsberg above one hundred years before that it should prove a wonderful year and the German Chronologers presiged that it would be the Climacterical year of the world which was in some measure accomplished in that glorious and never to be forgotten Deliverance vouchsafed by God to us in England and in that fatal overthrow of the Spanish Navy A true Narrative whereof followes But that we may the better see what induced the Spaniard to make this hostile Invasion we must be informed both who were the inciters and by what arguments and artifices they stirred him up thereunto The Inciters were the Pope and some traiterous English Fugitives who were entertained in Spain and at Rome The design was The Conquest of England which had been hindred for the space of ten years by reason of the Spanish Wars in Portugal The Arguments were that seeing God had blessed the King of Spain with admirable Blessings and Successes had given him in Portugal the East Indies and very many rich Islands belonging to the same that he should therefore perform somewhat that might be acceptable to God the giver of so great and good things and most worthy the Power and Majesty of the Catholick King That the Church of God could not be more gloriously nor meritoriously propagated than by the conquest of England extirpating Heresie and planting the Catholick Roman Religion there This War they said would be most just and necessary considering that the Queen of England was excommunicated and persisted contumacious against the Church of Rome That she supported the King of Spains Rebels in the Netherlands annoyed the Spaniards
Nineteen thousand two hundred and ninety five Souldiers and two thousand and eighty eight Gally-slaves And so confident were the Spaniards that England should pay the shot that they spared no cost for furnishing it forth with all things necessary For which end they provided of Bullets for great shot two hundred and twenty thousand Of Powder four thousand and two hundred Kintals every Kintal containing a hundred pound weight of Lead for Bullets a thousand Kintals of Match a thousand and two hundred Kintals Musquets seven thousand of Partisans and Halberts ten thousand with store of Murthering pieces double Canon and Field pieces for the Camp they had also store of Furniture for Carriages Mules and Horses so that they were sufficiently provided both for Sea and Land Bread and Bisket ready baked and Wine laid aboard for six months provision They had moreover six thousand and five hundred Kintals of Bacon three thousand of Cheese besides other Flesh Rise Beans Pease Oil and Venegar with twelve thousand Pipes of fresh water They had also store of Torches Lamps and Lanthorns Canvas Hides and Lead to stop Leaks Whips and Butcherly Knives to murder and torment the poor English In a word the Army was thirty two thousand strong and cost the King of Spain thirty two thousand Ducats every day In this Army were five Regiments of old Spanish Souldiers of the Tertio's of Naples Sicily and the Tercera's commanded by five Masters Del-Campo The first was Don Diego de Piementel a Knight of the Order of Saint John and Brother to the Marquess of Taveras The second Colonel was Don Francisco de Toledo brother to the Earl of Orgas The third Don Alonzo de Luzon The fourth Don Nicholas de Illa The fifth was Augustin Mexia each Colonel having in his Regiment thirty two Companies Besides the Castilian and Portugal Bands each of them having their peculiar Commanders and weapons The General of this mighty Army the Marquess of Sancta Cruce being now dead was Don Lodovicus Peres the Duke of Medina Sidonia of the Order of the Golden Fleece The Admiral was Don John Martinez de Richald The Marshal Don Francisco Bovadille Others were chief Counsellors for the War and Don Martin Alarcon was Vicar General for the holy unholy Inquisition in whose train were a hundred Monks and Jesuites and Cardinal Allen was appointed the Superintendent of Ecclesiastical matters throughout England who fearing to be unprovided translated Pope Sexâ—us his Bull into English that it might be the sooner published upon the arrival of the Spanish Fleet in this our Nation Of voluntary Adventurers there were a hundred and twenty four Noble men and Gentlemen of all the greatest houses in Spain hoping to be well paid with the Lands and Riches of England The Prince of Parma also in the Netherlands by the King of Spains Command built Ships and very many flat bottomed Boats each of them big enough to carry thirty Horse with Bridges fitted to them to ship and unship the Horses He hired Mariners from East-Germany set many thousands on work to dig and deepen River from Antwerp to Gaunt and to Bruges lading three hundred small Boats with Munition and Victuals Two hundred more flat-bottom'd Boats were made though not so big as the former which lay ready in the Haven of Newport besides thirty seven Ships of War at Dunkirk He prepared Piles sharpened at the nether ends headed with iron and hooked on the sides to pile up the mouths of Rivers At Graveling he provided twenty thousand empty Casks with cords and other furniture to make floating Bridges to stop up the Havens beside an infinite number of fagots He shipped likewise a great abundance of Saddles Bridles with other furniture for Horse and Horses also for Carriages with Ordnance and other provisions for War Neer unto Newport he had lying under the command of Camillo thirty Companies of Italians two of Walloons and eight of Burguignons every company containing a hundred men At Dyxmew he mustered eighty companies of Netherlanders sixty of Spaniards sixty of High Dutch among which were seven hundred fugitive English under the command of Sir William Stanley who of all others were held in greatest contempt neither was Stanley nor the Earl of Westmoorland not others which offered their service and counsel once heard but for their treachery to their Country barred from all access and as most unfortuate conductors worthily with detestation rejected At Conick also he quartered other four thousand and at Watene nine hundred horse commanded by the Marquess of Guast And to this land-service came the Duke of Pastrana supposed to be the King of Spains base son the Marquess of Buorgon one of the Duke Ferdinands sons Don Vespasian Gonsaga of the house of Mantua a great Souldier who had been Viceroy of Spain Don John de Medices bastard of Florence Don Amadeus bastard of Savoy with many others of the like quality Neither was Sixtus Quintus Pope of Rome any ways backward to shew his diligence and devotion to this intended invasion but sent abroad his Crusado as he used to do against the Turks and Infidels wherein out of the treasure of the Church he gave plenary Indulgences and pardon of all their sins to every one that contributed his assistance hereunto and for the furtherance of this enterprise himself undertook to contribute a million of Gold the one half presently down the other half when any notable Haven in our land should be won yet with this Proviso that the Crown of England should be held as Feudatory to the See of Rome in earnest whereof he bestowed upon the King of Spain his Apostolical Benediction and the Title of Defender of the Faith He sent also Cardinal Allen into the Low-Countries and renewed the Bulls of Pius the fifth and Gregory the thirteenth whereby Queen Elizabeth was excommunicated deposed from her Throne and her Subjects absolved from all allegiance to her Thus we see what preparations were made both at Sea and Land at Rome in Spain and the Netherlands for the subduing of England extirpating the Gospel and subjugating us under the yoke of Spain now let us see what provision and preparations our Queen made to dispel this black cloud that hung over our head And truly the first thing that she did was most Christian For as when Jehosophat was threatned with the like danger 2 Chro. 20.3 He sought the Lord and proclaimed a fast so did She requiring all her subjects to humble themselves by fasting and prayer knowing that these are the best weapons of the Church that they by them might seek unto the Lord and say in the words of Jehosophat O Lord God art not thou God in Heaven and rulest not thou over all the Kingdoms of the Earth and in thine hand is there not power and might so that none is able to withstand thee O our God wilt thou not judge them For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us neither know we
what to do but our eyes are upon thee But in the second place knowing that Prayers without endeavours and means are like Rachel beautiful but barren that She might not be taken unprovided She prepared with all diligence as strong a Fleet as She could and all things necessary for War and She that in discerning mens parts and abilities was of a most sharp judgment and ever most happy having the free choice in her self and not by the commendations of others assigned to every office by name the best and fittest men The charge of her Navy she committed to Charles Howard of Effingham Lord Admiral of England of whose skill she had had former experience and whom she knew both by his Moderation and Nobility to be wary in providence valiant industrious and of great authority among the Seamen and well beloved of them Her Vice-Admiral she made the famous Sir Francis Drake and these she sent to the West parts of England and for the Guard of the narrow Seas she appointed Henry Lord Seimore second son to the Duke of Somerset whom she commanded also to lie upon the Coasts of the Low-Countries with forty Ships to watch that the Prince of Parma might not come forth with his forces By Land She commanded the General forces of the Realm to be mustered trained and put in readiness in their special shires for the defence of the whole which accordingly was done and whereof the Lord Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester was appointed Leeutenant twenty thousand whereof were disposed along our South Coast for the guard thereof besides which she had two Armies one of which consisting of a thousand Horse and twenty two thousand Foot was encamped at Tilbury neer the Thames mouth whither the enemy fully intended to come The other which was led by the Lord Hunsdon consisted of thirty four thousand Foot and two thousand Horse which were to be the Guard of the Queens person Her self in courage far surmounting her sex as another Zenobia or rather Deborah led forth the Lords Host against this great Sisera and her Souldiers valiant and skilful both for courage and quick dispatch might well be compared to those Gadites that came to aid David whose faces were like the faces of Lions and were compared to the Roes in the Mountains for swiftness Arthur Lord Grey Sir Francis Knolles Sir John Knorris Sir Richard Bingham and Sir Roger Williams all gallant men and brave Souldiers were appointed to consult about managing the Land Service These advised that all the commodious landing places for the enemy as well from Spain as from the Low-Countries should be manned and fortified as Milford Haven Falmouth Plimmouth Portland the Isle of Wight Portsmouth the open coast of Kent commonly called the Downs the Thames mouth Harwich Yarmouth Hull c. and that the Trained Bands throughout the Coast Shires should meet upon a signal given to defend the said places and do their best to prohibit the enemies landing But in case he should land that then they should leave all the Country round about wast that so they might find nothing for food but what from their Ships they should carry upon their shoulders and that they should hold the enemies busied both night and day with continual Alarms but not to hazard a Battel till more Commanders with their Companies were come together Some suggested also to the Queen that the Spaniards abroad were not so much to be feared as the Papists at home for that the Spaniards would not attempt the Invasion of England but upon confidence of aid from them She thereupon committed some of them to prison at Wisbeach in the Fenns by her Letters also she directed Sir William Fitz-Williams Lord Deputy of Ireland what he should do The King of Scots she put in mind to beware of the Papists and Spanish Factions By her frequent Letters she wrote to the States of the Vnited Provinces not to be deficient in assisting her what they could But amongst these preparations for War on both sides Philip King of Spain to cast a mist over her Majesties eyes and to rock her into a sleep of security importuned by all means the Realms unto peace imploying the Prince of Parma to be his instrument therein who dealt earnestly by Letters with the help of Sir James Crofts a privy Counsellor and a man much addicted to peace as also by Andrew Van Loey a Netherlander that a treaty of Peace might be entred upon affirming that he had Warrant thereunto from the King of Spain Our Queen measuring other Princes by her own guileless heart gave ear to this deceitful lullaby little suspecting that a deadly snake could be hid in so fair a Garden yet resolved to treat of Peace with her Sword in her hand neither was the Prince of Parma against her so doing In the month therefore of Feb. Commissioners were sent into Flandeas Henry Earl of Darby William Brook Lord Cobham Sir Jamis Crofts Valentine Dale and John Rogers Doctors of the Law who arriving there were received in the Prince of Parma's name with all courtesy who thereupon sent away Dale presently to him to know where the place of meeting should be and to see his Commission from the King of Spain the place he appointed to be neer Ostend the Town it self being then in the English hands and as for his Commission he promised it should be produced at their meeting Only he wished them to hasten the matter lest any thing should happen in the interim to interrupt the treaty and one Richardot which stood by him said more openly That he knew not what in the mean time might be done against England Which being reported to the Queen She sent Rogers to the Prince to know whether there was any design for the Invading of England as he and Richardot by their words seemed to imply The Prince answered that he had never any thought for the Invading England when he wished the Treaty to be hastened and was angry with Richardot who denied that any such words had fallen from him Commissioners for the King of Spain were Maximilian Earl of Aremberg Governor of Antwerp Richardot President of Artois with some other Civilians These stayed at Bruges and for all their pretended haste much time was cunningly spun out about the place of their meeting which should have the Precedency and what hostages should be given for security of the Commissioners yet at length the Spaniards yielded to the English Precedency both in going and sitting and the place wars in Tents near unto Ostend The demands for the Queen were that there might be a surcease of Arms with a present and undelayed Truce she mistrusting the Spanish preparations at Sea The sending away of forraign Souldiers out of the Low-Countries for Englands security A restitution of such sums of mony as the Queen had lent to the States and which the King had promised to restore That the Netherlanders might enjoy their ancient liberties and priviledges nor
be governed by a stranger but by a Native Prince That they might have liberty to serve God with Freedom of Conscience And lastly that the Articles of the Pacification of Gaunt and other like treaties might be observed which things if they were granted she would condescend upon reasonable conditions to deliver up the Towns in the Netherlands which she then had in possession that it might appear that she had not for her own advantage but for the necessary defence of the Netherlands and her self taken up arms To these the Spaniards replyed that touching their preparations at Sea they did assure them that it nothing concerned England That to send away the Souldiers the King could not resolve till the Netherlanders had submitted themselves to him Concerning their priviledges that it appertained nothing to the Queen neither should She prescribe to the King a Law And so far was he from tolerating Religion that he would not so much as hear thereof otherwise then he had allowed to other Towns that had submitted to his obedience And as for those Towns which had been taken from the King and the mony expended about them They said that the Spaniard might demand as many Myriades of Ducats to be repayed to him by the Queen as he had expended upon the Low-Country War from the time that She supported the revolting Netherlanders and took them into her Protection About this time went Dale by the Queens command to the Prince of Parma and mildly expostulated with him about a Book lately published by Cardinal Allen That English Renegado wherein he exhorted the Nobility and People of England and Ireland to joyn with the Spanish Forces under the conduct of the Prince of Parma to execute the Popes sentence already published by his Bull against Queen Elizabeth wherein she was declared an Heretick Illegitimate cruel for putting to death the Queen of Scots c. And her subjects absolved from their Oath of Allegiance and commanded to aid the Prince of Purma against Her And indeed there was a great number of these Bulls and Books printed at Antwerp from thence to be dispersed all over England The Prince denied that he had ever seen any such Book or Bull neither would he undertake any thing in the Popes name howbeit that he must obey his Prince But for the Queen of England he protested that he did so honour her for her Vertues that next to the King his Master he esteemed Her above all others and would be ready to do Her service For the manifestation whereof he said that he had perswaded the King to condescend to this treaty of peace which would be more advantagious for the English than for the Spaniards For said he if the Spaniards be overcome they will soon recover their loss but if You be overcome your Kingdom and all is lost To which Dale made this reply Our Queen is provided with strength sufficient to defend her Kingdom and you your self in your wisdom may foresee that a Kingdom cannot be lost with the fortune of one Battel seeing the King of Spain after so long Wars is not able to recover his ancient inheritance in the Netherlands Be it so said the Prince These things are in the hands of the Almighty After this the Commissioners contended with mutual debates and replies still twisting and untwisting the same thread For when the English pressed that a Toleration of Religion might be granted for the Vnited Provinces at least for two years It was answered That as the Spaniard demanded not this for the English Catholicks so they hoped the Queen in her wisdom would require nothing of him which might be against the Honour Oath and Conscience of the Spaniard When they demanded the mony due from the States of Brabant to our Queen They answered that it was lent without the Kings Knowledge or Warrant and that the accounts being cast up how much the said mony was and how much the King had disbursed about the War it would soon be known to whom the most ought to be repayed With such answers as these they dallied with the English Commissioners till the Spanish Fleet was come within the view of England and the thundring of the Ordnance was heard from the Sea which put the English Commissioners into some suspicion and fear having no hostages for their safe return But they received a safe conduct from the Prince of Parma who had in the mean time drawn down all his Forces to the Sea coast and so were conducted to the borders near Calice Thus came this Treaty to nothing undertaken by our Queen as was conceived to divert the coming of the Spanish Fleet and continued by the Spaniard to surprize England unprovided and at unawares So both sides put the Foxes skin upon the Lions head And now we are come to speak of this Invincible Armado which was the preparation of five whole years at least It bare it self also upon Divine assistance having received a special Blessing from the Pope and was assigned as an Apostolical Mission for the reducement of this Kingdom to the obedience of the See of Rome and in further token of this holy Warfare there were amongst the rest of the Ships twelve called by the names of the twelve Apostles The Gallions and Galliasses were of such a vast size that they were like floating Towers and Castles so that the swelling waves of the Sea could hardly be seen and the Flags Streamers and Ensigns so spread in the wind that they seemed even to darken the Sun and to threaten destruction which way soever they turned On the nine and twentieth day of May this Fleet set sail out of the River â—ayo bending its course towards the Groin in Galizia the place appointed for the general Rendezvous as being the nearest Haven unto England But whilest they hoysed and spread abroad their proud sailes to the wind God who is an enemy to such Nimrod-like undertakings and hating such hostile actions suddenly manifested his displeasure and poured out revenge by a sudden and hideous tempest which drave the Duke of Medina the General back again into the Groin eight other of the Ships being dispersed on the Seas had their Masts broken and blown over board besides three other Portugal Gallies which were driven upon the Coasts of Bayon in France where by the valour of one David Gwin an English slave and the help of other slaves French and Turks they were delivered into the hands of the French and they freed themselves by the slaughter of the Spaniards amongst whom Don Diego de Mondrana was one About the same time the English Admiral and Vice-Admiral who had in all about one hundred Ships whereof fifteen were Victuallers and nine Voluntaries of Devonshire Gentlemen hearing for certainty that the Spanish Fleet was ready to hoise up their sails resolved to put forth from Plymouth and to meet and fight them by the way but were so met with by the same wind that they could not get past