your Maiestie to a gentleman who had the managing of this businesse and had made an ouerture thereof vnto you did gaine you the affections of all good Frenchmen who did thereupon imprint you in their hearts and much more when it was knowne that your Maiestie had aduertised the most Christian king of the same in the year 1583 Insomuch that his Maiesty did permit you the yeare following 1584. to make an assembly of the chiefe Heads and Lords of the religion at Mountaban where it was well knowne that your Maiesty did sharply reproue those which had plotted these troublesome practises and others which were seene afterwards to bee set abroach by the enemy in the yeare 1585. And that your Maiestie did then make an accord reciprocally neither to enterprise nor to deliberate vpon any thing the one against the other And it was reported that all the pretended reformed Churches in this assembly did require your Maiestie for their Chiefe and secondly Monsieur the Prince of Conde and that all this was done by the permission of the said most Christian King who did greatly repent himselfe that hee had let passe the oportunitie to giue aid and succours to the late king of Portugall for the recouerie of his Realme as himselfe declared to that stranger aboue mentioned being at Bloys in the yeere 1589. At which time he complained of the tyrannie and irreligion of Philip and sent him into England there to entreat vpon his affaires with the Queene and the King of Portugall vnto whom hee promised that the first thing which he would doe after he had recouered Paris should be to send an armie into Portugall and to make warre vpon the enemie within his owne countrey and to constraine him to demand peace as the English with the aid of the Portugals had at other times constrained his predecessors to doe the like And in case that the said King of Portugal did and should vndertake the Voyage as it was giuen him to vnderstand that he was so resolued he prayed him that so soone as he should be arriued thither he would aduertise him hereof to the intent The desire that the Frēch K. Henry the third had to restore Portugall to her libertie that immediately vpon his comming into Portugall or any other part of Spaine if he had but two thousand men yet hee would send them away with all speed because he knew full well and was most assured that if the enemie were once entangled in Spaine and kept busied at home hee should soone be rid of him in France as the euent did make it manifest For as soone as the newes came that the King of Portugall was at Lisbon the most Christian King for the accomplishing of his promise commanded the late Monsieur the Marshall de Biron that he should put himselfe in a readinesse to passe into Portugall with as great speed and diligence as was possible for to succour the Portugals and to giue aide to their rightfull King Don Anthonio to reestablish him in his Kingdome But God which with a iust and equall ballance doth weigh and examine all things did display his wondrous workes where and when it pleased him Portugall the gate of the war in France Hereof then we doe gather two things the first That the enemie to keepe Portugall hath brought and caused the ciuill Warre in France the second That our deliuerance and his ruine doe depend vpon this That there be sent a good army into Spaine whereof he is exceedingly afraid Wherefore most excellent Princes to deliuer your estates from the danger that threateneth them and to set them in assurance you ought to vndertake and to enterprise this Voyage so importune and so necessarie for all Christendome without hauing any regard to the charge thereof be it neuer so great considering that in not doing it and that presently you shall euery day more and more in time to come bring your selues into hazard and extreame danger Take example by the times fore-past and looke vpon the instructions contayned in Histories written by men no lesse curious then vigilant and well affectioned to the weale publike and in reading and vnderstanding them make your owne profit and benefit of them Agathocles after he had beene about seuen yeeres King of Sicily being enuironed both by Land and by Sea within the Citie of Syracusa by the Carthaginians and finding himselfe in great trouble and perplexitie How important a thing it is to make war vpon an enemy in his owne Countrey as being lately forsaken of many people of his owne Realme who had at the first beene partakers with him and perceiuing also that he wanted both victuals money and other necessarie munitions for the warre and that it was not possible for him to escape out of the hands of the Carthaginians if he did not vse some draught or deuice which had not erst beene put in practise He did at the last leaue within the Towne a brother of his owne to whom hee committed the commaund and charge thereof and left with him for the defence thereof a certaine number of men whom he knew to be well affected vnto him and taking with himselfe certaine other troopes he embarked them vnknowne to any whither hee went and setting sayle to Africke hee there landed where hee warred so couragiously vpon the Carthaginians as if they had beene but his equals And hauing at the first beginning defeated certaine of their Captaines that came against him he ouer-ran harried and wasted all their Countrey hee burnt and ransacked all their Townes Villages and houses of pleasure round about Carthage After which victorie and good fortune with a certaine number of souldiers Bandoliers and aduenturers which came and ioyned themselues with him a thing vsuall and ordinarie in such tumultuous and troublesome times he encamped within a League of Carthage By this stratageme his affaires did not onely prosper in Africke but throughout all Sicily also for Antander so was his brother named being certified of the good successe of Agathocles tooke courage vnto him and sallying out of Syracusa vpon the Carthaginians that besieged him hee woon their trenches and hauing slaine a great number of them hee made such hauocke amongst them that this their ouerthrow and the victories of Africke being spread abroad and reported from thenceforth all the strong-holds and places of Sicily that before held with the Carthaginians did then reuolt from them This was about 314. yeres before the birth of Christ and did altogether abandon them which was the occasion also that Agathocles returning victorious into Sicily did all the rest of his life time afterwards enioy it quietly and peaceably After the death of Agathocles and his partizans the Signiorie of Carthage continued the Warre for the Conquest of Sicilia in such sort that in the end they carryed it and held the whole Island in their possession which was about 277. yeeres before the birth of Christ Whereupon the Romanes considering of
touching your incredulitie and the opinion which you haue that the loue of a mans countrey doth easily deceiue them and make the remedie of their miseries and seruitude to seeme easie surely wee may with good reason call this incredulitie a blind â—nueiglement and darknesse of vnderstanding and therefore I come once againe to say as I haue sayd and I doe againe and againe aduise you That to send a good and well conducted Armie into Spaine or other parts of his Dominions will be the onely meane to resist and withstand the enemie to breake the course of his designes to beat downe his pride and to destroy his puissance And albeit that this may well be granted to follow by that which hath beene aboue spoken yet I will proue it by one other example onely which being most true maketh very much to our intended purpose Henry Count of Trastamara The Histories of Castise Portugall England c. the bastard sonne of Alphonsus the Iusticier by the aide of the French had slaine the King Don Pedro his lawfull brother Of this Peter there remayned two daughters The youngest Isabel espoused Edmond de Langley the fifth sonne of Edward the third King of England This Edmond hauing gotten sundry victories in fauâ—ur of the Portugals who accompanied him against the Castillians in Spaine did manage those affaires with such prudence and wisdome that he constrayned the sayd Henry King of Castile to accept and receiue of Fernand King of Portugall who was in a manner brought to vtter destruction both he and his whole Realme such conditions of peace as were most ignominious and dishonourable and very preiudiciall both to himselfe his vassalls and subiects In regard of which his notable deedes and deserts the said Edmond was afterwards made Duke of Yorke by Richard the second King of England his Nephew the sonne of Edward the Blacke Prince his eldest brother in a Parliament holden at Westminster in the yere of Christ 1386. Of these two Edmond and Isabell descended the Queene of England likewise named Isabell The other daughter being the eldest of King Peter and called Constance espoused Iohn of Gaunt the fourth brother of the sayd Edmond both by father and mother and Duke of Lancaster by his first wife Blanche who had by him Henry the fourth afterwards King of England and two daughters of which the eldest Philip was Queene of Portugall the wife of Ivan the Bastard Of John of Gaunt and Constance was borne one onely daughter called Katherine of whom we shall hereafter make further mention The said John of Gaunt in regard of his wife Constance did entitle himselfe King of Castile and Leon Guaribay lib. 15. cap. 25. and for the obtayning of his right to that Kingdome hee passed from Gascoigne which was then vnder the Dominion of the English into Spaine with eighteene thousand footmen and two thousand horse where with the aide of the Portugals who were his good friends he tooke the Groigne From thence he went into Portugal out of which he entred into Castile marching euen to the Citie of Burgos which was distant from the place of his departure more then a hundred and twentie Leagues The entry and inuasion of the English with the Portugals into Castile And from the time of his first arriuall he tooke and made himselfe Lord of all the Cities Townes and Castles which hee found in his way besides such as being farther off did come to render and yeeld themselues for very feare and terror And he might easily haue passed on much further if his people had not died who by reason of their disorder which they kept and by their ill rule and demeaning of themselues were oppressed with extreame famine whereof ensued this plague and pestilence amongst them And they were reduced to such necessitie of Victuals The amitie of the French and English out of their owne Countreyes that they were constrayned to haue recourse euen to the Campe of their enemies where then was in fauour of the King Iohn of Castile Lewes Duke of Burbon accompanied with the French forces of whom they demaunded reliefe for the sustentation of their poore and wretched liues The which being perceiued by John the Bastard then elected King of Portugall he complayned to the Duke of Lancaster telling him that he held it not good nor conuenient that his souldiers should goe to entreat with the enemie affirming that these might more endomage him then the others and that therefore he should immediately recall them and forbid them to haue any communication conference or parley with any of the contrary party otherwise that hee would fight against them altogether The valour of Iohn the Bastard King of Portugall Thomas Walsingham and would cause them all to be put to the sword the one for the loue of the other Thomas Walsingham an English Historiographer doth set it downe in these very words and he sayth that the King of Portugall had then with him foure thousand Portugals well armed Some haue esteemed the saying of this Historiographer as very ridiculous or as a meere Brauado onely The valour of the Portugals but they are much deceiued for these foure thousand Portugals hauing their King for their Chiefetaine and Leader had beene sufficient to defeat twentie thousand Castillians The same King with fiue thousand An Historie worthie the marking and so many Portugals and a hundred and fiftie Englishmen did defeat the said Iohn King of Castile both of them being present in person in the battaile of Aljibarot and put him to flight hauing with him foure and thirtie thousand fighting men of the which died vpon the place twelue thousand and there were of prisoners ten thousand taken by foure thousand and so many Portugals and a thousand Englishmen who remained masters of the field for there died in the fight about a thousand Portugals and fiue hundred English who fought as if they had beene Lyons About the same time Don Nunalvres Pereira This Historie is well worthie the marking the battell was called the battel of Valverde Constable of Portugall with three thousand footmen and a thousand horse defeated fiue and twentie thousand Castillians and slew and tooke the principall and chiefe men of Castile The same King before that he came to reigne and afterwards had many victories vpon his enemies no lesse admirable then that other insomuch that a certaine Nobleman of Castile being in speech one day and deuising with his King which was the said John he sayd vnto him Sir I cannot conceiue the cause why the King of Portugall with so few men hath so often vanquished you seeing that you haue alwayes had fiue or six against one of them The King answered him The cause is for that the King of Portugall doth fight against me being accompanied with his children and I combat against him being accompanied with my subiects I am King and Lord of Castile and hee is King and Lord of the
Portugals Euen so did the valiant Alphonsus Henriques the first King of Portugall begin to entitle himselfe King and Lord of the Portugals An honorable testimonie of the loyaltie of the Portugals This valour of the Portugals was not then at that time onely but it hath still continued euen to this day for wee our selues haue seene in the yeere 1580. how the King Don Anthonio with lesse then fiue thousand footmen Portugals being but euen nouices in Armes and young souldiers did defend himselfe for many dayes against more then twentie thousand old souldiers of the Duke de Alna In the yeere following on the fiue and twentieth of Iuly being S. James his day Scipio de Figueiredo de Vasconcelles a Gentleman whose valour and fidelitie is well knowne and of whom there is often mention made in Histories being Gouernour of the Iles of Assores hee defended himselfe in plaine field with lesse then foure hundred Portugals against more then a thousand Castillians whom Don Petro de Valdes had made to take land in the I le of Terceras neere to the citie of Angra The Portugals were no souldiers but mechanicall persons handycrafts men and labourers and amongst them there were not ten Gentlemen for the Gouernour had left them in the Towne for the defence and gouernment thereof The Castillians were old souldiers amongst whom as is reported there were two hundred men who had beene Commanders in Armies of Castile and they fought from foure houres after morning till foure of the night at which time they caused a great quantitie of Kine to be driuen downe from the Mountaines with the which they brake the rankes and order of the Castillians to the intent they might come to handy-strokes with them and by this stratageme comming to the sword A good stratageme they ouerthrew them Some of the said Castillians saued themselues by swimming many were drowned and there were buried by iust account 875. A notable victorie of the Portugals vpon the Castillians Conestagio 8. fol. 234. pag. 1. Of the Portugals were slaine by the hand of their enemies fifteene and by the fall of a wall sixe and some hurt The famous Conestagio doth recount this Historie otherwise but falsely howbeit that hee confesseth that there were slaine sixe hundred Castillians and thirtie Portugals But I haue heard what passed in this encounter of many Gentlemen Spaniards my countreymen who were present at it and especially of one that was borne in Valentia named Don Gasper who saued himselfe by Sea being sore hurt and of a Drumme that was a Castillian and of a Portugall borne in Villa Vicosa the which two onely had their liues saued being found vpon the Sea-shore after the heat of the fight was past There died one of the nephewes of the Duke de Alua and one of the nephewes of the Marquesse de Santa Cruce and a nephew of the aboue-named Don Pedro de Valdes and that renowned Philip Hartada an Arragonnois and seuentie more of such as were the eldest brethren of sundry good Houses of whom a good part were neere neighbours to Salamanca To be briefe there died all the flower of Castile for that they seeing how Portugall was yeelded vnto them so easily and hauing heard that the Iles were very rich and that the East Indie Fleet was like to fall into their hands and being allured with the late sacke of the suburbes of Lisbon which was valued at three Millions they had embarked themselues for this seruice as cheerefully as if they had beene going to a Wedding This is a thing well knowne that foure or fiue young Portugals from betweene eighteene and twentie yeeres of age did at Lisbon with their Swords and Cloakes onely make no account of a dozen of Castillians By these reasons men may vnderstand that that which Walsingham sayth is not a ridiculous thing much lesse a Brauado But returne wee to that wee had in hand Within a few dayes after there came certaine Embassadours to the Duke of Lancaster sent from the King of Castile who in all humilitie did demaund to haue peace but the Duke would not hearken vnto them Notwithstanding hunger and the pestilence constraining him to retyre into Portugall to the Towne of Trancoso they came againe to seeke him out being sent thither vnto him the second time by the said John King of Castile with their former request shewing vnto the Duke by many good reasons and arguments the great profit which would ensue of a good peace made betweene them The Castilian demandeth peace of the Duke of Lancaster in all humilitie Thereupon did the Duke giue them audience and in the end did accord to their demand howbeit that it was full sore against his will First because he was giuen to vnderstand that the King of Portugall was willing to haue it so And secondly which in effect was the thing that did most vrge him because he was aduertised that the troubles and warres began afresh betweene the French and the English and that there were certaine Seditions growne in England by reason whereof hee should not be able to haue any fresh succours from thence The Castilian constrained to receiue conditions to his disaduantage whereof it seemed he had then great want and the mortalitie which was in his Armie did now threaten him that hee should haue need of a further supply The accord therefore was made betweene the King and the Duke in this sort That Henry the eldest sonne of Iohn named Prince of Castile should espouse Katherine the onely daughter of the said Duke and of Constance his wife and that they two should succeed in the Realmes of Castile and Leon and other his Seigniories That the King should endow both the Mother and the Daughter as he did giuing to the Mother the Citie of Guadalaiara Medina del Campo and Ouiedo and afterwards being with her in the said Towne of Medina he gaue her Hueta also and to the daughter for her Dowrie hee gaue the Esturies making and naming her Princesse and his sonne Prince of Esturie And from that time forward the eldest sonne of the Castillian King hath alwayes borne and had the surname of this Principalitie as of Dauphine in France the Dolphin Besides it was couenanted That he should giue vnto the Duke sixe hundred thousand Franks of Gold for his returne into England and fortie thousand Franks of yeerely rent during the liues of him and his wife Iohn of Castile accepted all these conditions and that very gladly for albeit he had France and the Frenchmen also on his side and the King of Arragon likewise with whose sister hee had beene marryed of whom was borne the said Prince Don Henry and Fernand who was afterward king of Arragon All Spaine with the succors of France against Portugal which gained notwithstanding against all right and equitie and to the preiudice of the true and lawfull heires and had also Charles the third king of Nauarre to his
end and then after the conclusion of this Treatise I will satisfie your desire particularly and at good leysure for I doe assure you I would keepe silence concerning many things in this worke were it not most requisite and needfull that they should be spoken of and published for the better attaining to that which I intend and purpose the which I doe perswade my selfe that both you my masters of England and likewise of France and you also my masters the Princes of Europe who are all of you highly interessed in the greatnesse of the Castilian will embrace cheerefully and with open armes if you be not altogether without iudgement and vnderstanding But it is now meet that we pursue the proofe and demonstration of the tyranny of King Philip which calleth himselfe the King Catholike We haue lately shewed how King Philip by vsurpation and tyranny non solum in modo sed in genere as the Ciuilians vse to speake of his predecessors doth possesse the Realmes of Castile of Leon of Galicia of Toledo of Siuill of Cordona of Murcia c. with some other Prouinces contained within the precincts and streights of his Realme Let vs now come to the Realmes of Aragon of Valentia the Counties of Barcelona of Cerdonia and Roussillon and the Isles of Maiorica Minorica and Sardinia Aragon Valentia c tyrannized Fernand the Infant of Castile the graund Father of Fernand aboue named vsurped all these Realmes and seigniories of the which he depriued Isabel Countesse of Vrgell his owne Aunt sister to his Mother which Isabel had also one Daughter named Isabel which maried with Don Peter the Infant of Portugall the younger sonne of John the bastard King of the said Realme Of Peter and Isabel was borne the Lord Don Peter Constable of Portugall The Lord Don Peter Constable of Portugall and King of Aragon poysoned by Iohn which Don Peter by reason of his Mothers right and other auncesters was called and acknowledged by the Catalognians for their King and Lord. And after hee had reigned ouer them for the space of fiue yeeres and more he was poysoned by Iohn the second of that name sonne of the first Ferdinand whom we named to be the successour of Alphonsus King of Arragon his elder brother Charles the 4. the rightfull King of Nauarre empoysoned by his stepmother This Iohn was a notable Tyrant and hee retained the Kingdome of Nauarre tyrannously after the death of the Queen Blaunch his wife the right heire of the said Realme against the rightfull title of Charles his owne sonne vnto whom that Realme ought to haue descended by the death of his mother as it did likewise fall vnto Lewes Hutin by the death of his mother Jane who dyed eight yeeres before her Husband Philip the faire For this cause the said Charles being a most curteous and vertuous Prince had great difference and suite with his Father who caused him to be poysoned by his stepmother Jane the Daughter of Don Federike the second Admirall of Castile The Translator The grandmother of King Philip on Charles his Fathers side was the graund daughter of this Iohn and this Iane from whom principaly hee hath learned and retained the art and science of poysoning so perfectly that not onely to the said Iohn the Graundfather of his Graundmother and to the said Iane his wife but euen to all his predecessors he may giue forty fiue and a fault at that game and yet be no looser were they neuer so cunning in that art and science Of Peter Constable of Portugall and King of Aragon there was no lawfull issue remaining for the line of Jsabel his mother was extinguished in John the second King of Portugall by reason whereof the right of that Realme and all the Seigniories depending thereupon ought to descend and doe appertaine to the most excellent Dukes of Loraine as the true and rightfull heires of Yoland Dutchesse of Anion The Duke of Loraine the right heire of the Kingdome of Arragon the wife of Leweâ— Grandfather in the fift degree of the said excellent Duke of Loraine now liuing the which Yoland was the lawfull Daughter of Iohn King of Aragon the eldest sonne of Peter the ceremonious King of that Realme who was also the Father of Martin which raigned after the said Iohn his elder brother and was the true heire of this Crowne and of all the demaines thereof by the death of her elder sister the wife of the Earle of Foix of whom shee had neither sonne nor daughter The Realme of Nauarre was vsurped as is reported by diuers Historians Nauarre vsuâ—ped euen Spaniards themselues vpon false informations by Fernand the great Grandfather of King Philip which Fernand was one of the Masters of Machiauel Fernand the 5 king of Castile one of the masters of Machiauell In his Booke of the Councels Councellers of Princes Dis 14. par 11. as Bartholmew Philip doth tell vs in that Booke which he caused to be imprinted in the yeere 1585 where he hath these words Those Princes which do fully resolue themselues to preuaile and grow great by force of armes ought to imitate the Catholike Don Fernand the fift of that name King of Castile who held himselfe apart and gaue the looking on to the warres which the Princes of Christendome made one vpon another to see what issue and what forces they should haue to the intent hee might aide and succour those which were weakest and hee would not suffer any to grow great or puissant in Italy who pretended to be Lords and Commaunders there neither would hee at any time enter into any leagues made by the Princes of Christendome vnlesse he might make some profit and benefit thereby vnto himselfe This was Lewes the 12. of that name For this cause he would not make warre vpon Lewes King of France when Pope Iulius the Emperour and the Swissers did warre against him for that hee thought he should not aduantage himselfe by the diminution of that Realme if the aduersaries of the said Lewes should make themselues great by his losses and yet being perswaded that the said French King would augment his estate Let the French King and the Princes and Potentates of Europe consider this well by making warre vpon the Realme of Naples hee entred into league against the King of Fraunce with the Emperour and the King of England The Booke whereof I speake was dedicated by the Authour to Albert Cardinall of Austria when hee was Vice-roy of Portugall who is the third Graundchild of the said Fernand both on the Fathers and Mothers side Portugal and her demaines tyrannized Now how Philip himselfe hath tyrannized and vsurped the Realme of Portugall and the Seigniories which are dependant thereupon raising himselfe into a great and mighty Monarchy and yet ill considered or knowne by strange and forraigne Princes all Bookes in generall doe sound it forth and the Vniuersities of Coimbre of Bologna and
was slaine by the hazard of a brick or tile falling vpon him within Placentia Some doe attribute this his death to the carelesnesse of the said Henry for not prouiding a remedy albeit hee were in his tender and younger yeeres against the extortions done vpon the Churches by the children of the Count Don Nugno de Lara who were Tutors to the said Henry and Gouernours of his Realme and they doe affirme that all those disasters and mishaps which Histories doe write of did happen by the occasion of those his Tutors These examples may suffice to proue vnto you the abuse and inualidity of your reply and to shew that your Philip by laying of his hands vpon the Ecclesiasticall liuings as he hath done cannot excuse himselfe of fraud sacriledge and tyranny and so by this meanes with an ill conscience hee stealeth the sheepe of another man notwithstanding that hee giue againe the feete for God sake And yet ouer and aboue all this I doe assure you euen in the faith of an honest man that if there were no other vices the person of King Philip saue onely these two to wit tyranny and cruelty and if hee were a true obseruer of the rest of the Law and faith Catholike I would excuse you of your blindnesse and inueiglement but you may hold this for a certainty that his abhominable workes will proue any man whomsoeuer to be an egregious lyer that shall be so hardy as to defend that hee is no such manner of man For this enemy and generall persecuter vnder the cloake and shadow of a Catholike hath done more mischiefe and committed more insolencies against the Church of Rome then all the other persecuters that euer went before him Will you see the proofe how you are abused and how bad and vile a Christian hee is Open your eye liddes and you shall see how he bewrayeth it euen as if a man should with his finger point at it In the yeere 1575 this King Catholike being aduertised that the late Monsieur did make great preparation to enter with a mighty Army into Flaunders hee beganne very secretly to sound certaine of the principall Lords and chiefe heads of the pâ—etended reformed Religion within the Prouinces of Languedoc Foix Bearne Bigorre and of the Countrey de la Bort neere to Guipuscua ouer against Fontaraby to know if they would vnder his protection defend their liberty promising them that he would cause an Army of Almaines to descend against the most Christian King Offers made for King Philip to those of the reformed Religion to make warre against the late French King and that hee would giue them fiue hundred thousand crownes yeerely to that effect and for the entertainement of the Ministers of their Churches beating into their eares and making them beleeue that the enterprise of Flaunders which the Duke of Alanson had vndertaken did not tend to any other end but onely to entrap and to make another massacre of them as had lately beene done vnder the King Charles the ninth his brother when the Lord de la Noue was taken and the Lord de Iuoy was put to death betweene two Tables with many other Lords and Gentlemen He had the better meanes and opportunity to treat with the said Churches by reason there were many Catholikes mingled amongst the Huguenots all of which did gouerne and demeane themselues according to the conuentions and agreements made betweene them and a great Lord of France and the Lord Mounsieur de Chastillion howbeit that afterwards this vnion was broken Some of their chiefe heads did giue eare vnto those perswasioÌ„s of Philip insomuch that there were great preparations made for a strong mighty warre against them which succeeded not long after when Brouage was taken Besides the said Lords and heads of the reformed Religion with some of their Ministers being entred into a great iealousie of the most Christian King now raigning who was then King of Nauarre and of the late Monsieur the Prince of Condy they resolued secretly within the Towne of Montauban to call in strangers of their Religion to be their Protectours and defenders And to that effect they sent one of their Ministers into Almaine feining that they sent him vnto the pretended reformed Church of Metz. Notwithstanding the matter was discouered by one of the principall Lords newly drawne to be of their Religion who had taken great indignation against a Minister of his owne and because hee had been an assistant at the same Councell he thought he had beene of the same minde also and did therefore reproue him saying that he greatly maruelled how he could suffer such a quill to be thrust through his nose without laughing at it But the Minister excused himselfe assuring him that he knew nothing of that matter But that was an occasion that the practise brake off besides that they were not well agreed amongst themselues whom they should choose to bee their chiefe and protectour some of them desired the Duke Casimier others would haue England and some others the Duke of Sauoy who all that time did not know any thing at all of that which passed betweene him and the Ministers But after that at such time as the young Duke now presently ruling came to succeed his Father he being aduertised thereof sent vnto the King of Nauarre to demaund the Lady his sister for his wife one named Seruin was dispatched as the messenger to that effect and after him a Viscount who seeing great difficulty in the demaund went by Bearne into Spaine where he treated the mariage of the Infant D. Katherine at this day Dutchesse of Sauoy which mariage Don Amadis the bastard brother of the said Duke afterwards effected This mariage came well to purpose for Philip because by this meanes hee assured himselfe of the Duke that he should attempt nothing in Portugall where he knew full well that after the death of King Henry there was great diuision amongst the Portugals for that some would haue had the Lady Katherine Dutchesse of Bragancia others the Lord Don Anthonio and in a manner all well neere not liking to haue any of those which were named would haue had the said Duke of Sauoy being the Graund-childe of a Daughter of Portugall who as the report is if hee had gone thither during the inter-raigne in Portugall at the time of that dissention and by reason of their vnwillingnesse to admit the one or the other of those aboue named he had without doubt beene receiued of all the Portugals To proceede and to shew you yet more plainely what manner of man this is for whose loue you doe euen seeke your owne destruction and in whose seruice you are so forward and so diligent I will adde here somewhat more touching this matter for it is not possible to vtter all that may be spoken to that effect It is not long since that for to follow the steppes of some other good and godly Catholikes as himselfe is he
fiue thousand Marauedis which was at that time no small reuenue in comparison of that it is at this pay being about 12 duckats and a halfe allowing 400 Marauedis to each duckat and gratified him with sundry other gifts and great honours Fernand wrote vnto Jsabel the successe of this battell giuing her to vnderstand that if the Prince had not come the King his Father had beene taken Whereupon he returned him this answer that if the Cockerell had not come the Cocke had beene taken and hereof came that prouerbe which wee told you Guaribay sâ—tteth downe these last words and confesseth the very truth Neuerthelesse touching the residue of the History he reporteth a thousand vntruths which may be verified by the History which Damian de Goyes hath written of this Prince Don Juan in the which he saith Damianus de Goyes in the life of the Prince Don Iuan. that the Prince would haue kept and remained in the field where the battell was foughten by the space of three dayes if the Archbishop of Toledo had not disswaded him who with great instance and earnest entreaty caused him to retire into the City because the weather was extreame cold and his men were sore trauelled and wearied and had beene ouer-watched for want of sleepe And he said vnto him Sir your Highnesse hath kept the Field long enough these three houres you haue staied here are as good as three dayes and one houre is as much as three Some write that in memory of this victory King Edward the fourth of England sent vnto this Prince the order of the Garter And the Castillians had such ill successe continually against the Portugals that to grace themselues because the King Alphonso was defeated and forsooke the field though his sonne held the field and remained vanquisher yet they shame not to attribute vnto themselues the honour and victory of this battell Alphonsus Raymond the onely sonne of Vrraca the daughter of Alphonsus the sixt surnamed the Emperor was borne in Auila Auila a City of Castile and was nourished and kept by them of the City during the raigne of Alphonsus King of Aragon called the warriour together with his wife Vrraca Queene of Castile Mother of the said Raymond Now there were great reuolts and troubles in Castile in the which they of Auila following the party of Raymond against the said Alphonsus his Father in Law did so much that the Father in Law was dispossessed of the gouernment and the Sonne in Law was installed in the siege royall And for this cause this word hath passed for a common prouerbe The fidelity of Auila and Auila is for the King Simancas Touching Simancas you are to vnderstand that in the yeere 1463 Henry the 4 raigning in Castile at the perswasion of some of the Princes many other Cities and Townes did reuolt from him and grew into a rebellion which they called The league of the Princes and they entituled themselues Princes of the League And in imitation hereof did Philip King of Castile in the yeere 1582 baptize the League which hath beene the occasion of so many mischiefes and afflictions of which Fraunce hath especially tasted and had experience for these nine yeeres last past This is that League which hath wrought so great damage to the Church of Rome and hath so ruinated and pulled it downe as it shall neede many hundreds of yeeres to restore it againe But to our matter in processe of time the Souldiers of the Kings Army being greatly augmented and their puissance much increased they came to the City of Toro and the King hauing aduertisement that they of the League were issued out of Valladolid and that hauing broken downe and razed the walles of Begnafleur they were gone to Simancas he sent presently Iohn Hernandes Galiude his Captaine Generall with 3000 Horses for the succours of the Towne which being entred into Simancas were besieged by them of the League who notwithstanding were more afraid then those whom they had besieged The Lackies within the Towne who shewed themselues to be of a wonderfull good courage hauing assembled themselues one day in a great number and mocking those that had besieged them did make a picture which represented the Archbishop of Toledo whom because he was a Rebell against his King and Lord they called Don Opas the brother of the Count Iulian who caused the Moores to enter into Spaine against the King Rodericke After which one of the Lackies being appointed for a Iudge Iudgement giuen by the Lackies against the Archbishop of Toledo sate himselfe downe on the iudgement seat commanding the prisoner to be brought before him which was the picture of the Archbishop and he gaue iudgement vpon him in this manner For as much as Don Alphonso Carillo Archbishop of Toledo Guar. lib. 17. cap. 14. following the steppes of the Bishop Don Opas the destroyer of Spaine hath beene a Traytor to his King and naturall Lord rebelling against him with his places and Fortresses and with the money which he put into his hands to doe him seruice For these causes hauing seene and considered of his deserts by his triall wherein hath appeared his wicked practises and felonious offences we doe therefore condemne him to be burned and that he be first trayled and drawne through the streetes and publike places of Simancas and that in the execution thereof the common cryer shall cry and proclaime with a loud voice This is the iustice commanded to be done namely that this cruell Don Opas shall be burnt for his offence and trespasse because hauing receiued diuers places fortresses and monies of his King hee hath notwithstanding reuolted and rebelled against him Quien tal haze que tal pague That is to say So doe so haue The iudgement being pronounced another Lackey taking the picture between his armes with an open cry threw it forth of the Towne hauing in his company more then three hundred Lackies and immediately two of their company made a great fire to burne it not farre from the campe of the enemy who looked on whilest they were doing of it and whilest the picture was in burning all the Lackies together with open throat cryed and sang Esta es Simancas Don Opas Trahidor Y no Penaflor Which is to say This is Simancas Don Opas O thou Traitour And not Pegnastor With many other speeches to that purpose Which song of theirs was for a long time after vsed in Castile and was commonly sung both in the Court and throughout all that Realme Celorico After that the Portugals had deposed Don Sancho surnamed Capelo from his Realme and Kingdome Don Alphonso his brother who was then County of Bologne vpon the Sea was chosen Gouernour of Portugall by the same Portugals This election which they made together with the deposition of the said Sancho was approued and confirmed by Pope Innocent the 4 in a Councell held at Lyons which was the cause that the said Alphonso went
in greatnesse for Lyme is shut in within the Prouince that lieth betweene Duero and Migno which Prouinces following the true description are enclosed in the Prouince of Taragon and Migno is much lesse then Duero Tago and Guadiana which are in Lusitania There are in Portugall three Archbishoprickes and ten Bishoprickes all which Archbishops and Bishops of Portugall and their reuenues euen at this day doe bring to their Prelates about 400. thousand Ducats of yeerely rent The countrey for the greatnesse thereof is well peopled the Duke of Bragantia alone in one Cittie and in the Townes castles and villages of which hee is Lord hath 200000. The dominion of the Duke of Bragantia vassals Portugall sendeth into the East Indies Barbary Cape de Verd the Isles of Buan Mina S. Thomas Congo Angola Brasill and other places some 6000. men yearely of whom the third part neuer returneth home againe into their countrey If Philip durst at this day put any confidence and trust in the Portugals he might draw out from Portugall to send vnto his warâ—es more then 100000. men from the age of 25. yeares to 40. who hauing nothing to hinder them from going nor haue any excuse not to obey him if he should command them It is not vnknowne to the whole world that in the time of Sebastian king of Portugall there were throughout all that realme 1200. companies of footmen in the which there were none enrolled nor mustered but onely the people of that countrey Artizans handicrafts-men and such like mechanicall persons and laborers and yet not all of them the Noblemen Gentlemen officers of iustice the the gouernours of cities and townes the students and such as professed learning in sum all the Nobilitie the Ecclesiasticall and regular persons with their seruants and many other sorts of men priuiledged were excused and exempted and were not bound to enroll themselues in the sayd Companies of which the most part consisted of 200 men some of 300. The number of men fit for warre in Portugall and of 400. Let vs allow to each of them 200 men onely and they will amount to the number of 240000 men Consider then how great the number may be of them which were not bound to be enroled in those Companies I doe not here make any mention of the number of companies of Horsemen of which this Realme hath a great quantity because it is not possible to know the certainty and truth thereof The greatnes of the king of Portugall Moreouer the Kings of Portugall are so great in one respect that therein they exceede all the Kings and Princes of Europe and that is that they are able in lesse then a quarter of an houre to giue vnto their vassals and subiects 10 15 or 20 Millions in tickets consisting in dispatches for Gouernorships Captainships receits and other charges and Offices and for licenses to make voyages by Sea to Banda Malucco China and other parts of the East Indies by meanes of which dispatches they which doe obtaine them doe recouer the said summes of money immediatly Hereby may a man easily iudge the greatnesse the riches and the puissance of this Realme whereunto adding the seigniories which it hath and possesseth in Affrike Asia and America and in the Ilands which it holdeth in the Ocean Sea it maketh a most notable great and puissant Monarchy and therefore I maruell not though the King of Castile doth commit such excesse and is at so great costs and expences for the keeping and preseruing of the same he knoweth full well how much it importeth him and of what value and worth it is vnto him he is not ignorant as one that knoweth not the estate of things but on the contrary rather he is wise aduised very politike and well experienced in affaires and matters of state The Translator This thing Anthony de Perez Secretary of estate to the King Catholike Don Philip the 2. Anthony Perez 2. the man here spoken of doth shew vs in the second part of his aduertisement vpon the point of the processe made against him where hee entreateth of the dissimulations deceits and subtilties â—sed by the said Philip toward Don Iohn de Austria his brother vpon pretence of the Realme of Tunes Don Iohn de Austria dyed of poyson and the intelligences of England at such time as he sent him into Flanders where as the report is in the end he caused him to be poysoned Besides the said Philip is notably addicted to Cosmography for hee hath in his Palace of Madril Philip much giuen to Cosmography a very great and goodly House wherein are the descriptions of all the Prouinces and Realmes of the World not onely in generall Maps but euen in particular there doth hee spend the most part of the day and contemplating and beholding those descriptions he doth whet on and augment his ambition and extendeth the bounds of his tyranny there he seeth what is most fit and conuenient for him and most easie for him to conquer there he seeth by what meanes he may take Cambray and how afterward he may obtaine Calis and what reason he hath from thence to leape ouer to Amiens and thus doth hee consider and deuise with himselfe what will be most for his profit and aduantage in such sort that nothing can escape his hands and that hee may not be at charge Philip well seene in Histories nor hazard his meanes in vaine and to no purpose He is also well seene and much conuersant in Histories and by them hath he seene and discerned how much it doth import him for the attaining to his desire to haue the Monarchy of Portugall The Castilians for these 300 yeeres past haue done nothing without the Portugals The warre of Salado and the Portugals at his deuotion to the intent hee may haue the aydes and succours from thence which both hee and his predecessors haue heretofore had from them for during these 300 yeeres past the Castilians haue done nothing worthy of memory without them The chiefe cause of that famous victory which they call del Salado where were partly taken and partly slaine 400 thousand Moores and onely 20 Christians as was reported from the mouth of Alboacem himselfe King of Marocquo was the King of Portugall Alfonsus the 4. called the Braue and his Portugals the which Alfonsus at such time as the Moores besieged Tariffa gaue succours to Alfonsus King of Castile called the Iusticier his sonne in law not because he deserued to be ayded but because the warre was against the Infidels The warre of Granado in the yeer 1501. At such time as Alfonsus de Aquilar was slaine in Granado and that the Moores remained victors and pursued the victory the Portugals did hinder them from passing forward and keeping the field where the battell was foughten did saue and preserue the rest of the Castilians When the peoples of Castile did rise in armes vnder pretence of the
common and publike good and many great Lords and Princes with them against Charles the fifth The communalty of Castile in armes against Charls the 5. by reason of the great excessiue and new exactions and imposts laid vpon them the Embassadors of the said Princes and of many Cities and Townes of Castile came to the King of Portugall Don Emanuell praying him that hee would vouchsafe to take and acknowledge them for his vassals and Subiects The true amity of Emanuel King of Portugall to Charles the 5. for that they were desirous to haue him to their King and Lord but he would not onely not receiue their offer but he gaue them good counsell and admonition shewing them how they ought to conforme themselues in obedience to their King And to other of the Princes Cities and Townes of Castile which taking part with the said Charles came vnto him likewise for his ayde he gaue them both money artillery powder and other munition for the warre Some say that the said King Don Emanuell did lend them 500000 duckats and many peeces of artillery which was an occasion that they which were risen in armes did fall to an accord and agreement with their Prince Anno 1522. and thereof it ensued that Charles the fifth did againe vsurpe the Realme of Nauarre which Mounsieur Andrew de Foix had before restored and set at liberty the King Don Emanuell neuer suspecting nor doubting of any such matter intended by him And Philip now likewise for his part hath rewarded Portugall with the like good turne as hee hath done the like to France and now lately a great part of Christendome to whom he was not meanely bounden When the said Charles the fifth passed to Goletta in the yeere 1535 who tooke it The taking of Goletta with 22 other ships of warre That did the Gallion Cagafuego of Portugall which the King Don Iohn the third had commanded to accompany the Infant Don Lewes his yonger brother How came it to passe that the same Charles the fift tooke the Towne of Tunes The taking of Tunes the capitall and chiefe City of the Realme of Lybia was it not with the assistance and ayde of the said Infant and his Portugals The taking of Pignon de Belles by the Portugals Who was it that tooke Pignon de Belles with the residue not aboue 35 yeeres since for the King of Castile euen Francisco Bareto Generall of the Gallies of Portugall and the Captaine Diego Lopez de Sequeira his Nephew with the Portugals of his company The warre of Granado finished by the Portugals Who finished and gaue an â—nd to the oppression of Castile in the behalfe of the Granadians that were reuolted in Granada in the yeeres 1566. 67. and 68 That did 7 or 8 thousand Portugals send for a succour by the King Don Sebastian Philip King of Castile knoweth all this full well and that is the cause that he laboureth and paineth himselfe with so grear care and diligence to keepe this Monarchy of Portugall pretending not onely to vsurpe it to tyrannize ouer it and to plucke it by force and violence out of the hands of the Portugals but to take from them also their honour their glory and their valour for hee seeth well that hauing the Portugals on his side hee shall be able by their meanes to satisfie his ambitious humour and yet shall they not haue the honour due vnto them for their prowesse but hee attributeth all to the generosity of his Castilians So hath he tyrannized and doth yet still tyrannize ouer the honour of the Arragonnois the Catalans the Valentians the Nauarrois and other the Nations of Spaine and onely his Castilians which cary the name of Spaniards and are so called by those that are ignorant and know not the difference that is between the seuerall Nations of Spaine they I say are those Lyons those Tygers and conquerours of the World But we will come to the conclusion of this part of our Treatise touching Portugall the most precious and chiefest pearle of his Crowne It was my chance to be one day in his company with a personage of great estate who is daily at great charges and doth spend good store of duckats to haue notice and intelligence of that which passeth abroad in the World and hee did assure me for a certaine and vndoubted truth that one of the greatest fauourites of the King of Castile did demand of him this question What should be the cause that he suffered Freezland A question moued by a gentleman to the King of Castile and many Townes of other Prouinces of no small importance to be lost and to fall into the hands and into the power and subiection of Heretikes by meanes whereof they were constrained to forsake the true Religion a thing worthy to be lamented onely to succour the Princes and Townes of the League and to entertaine the warre a foote still in France Whereunto the King smiling answered Let them alone let them take Freezland and all the rest The answer of the King of Castile that which most toucheth me is the keeping of Portugall which if I doe as I hope I shall I will cut them out so much worke and giue them so much to doe in their owne Countrey that they shall not easily come neere mine and I doubt not at length but to haue the rest also for know this that if I keepe and possesse Portugall in peace and quietnesse they shall not onely not be able to liue without me but I shall make them in the end to be my subiects and to become tributaries vnto me and therefore let it not grieue you to see what is lost for all will be recouered well enough in time and leaue the care thereof to me alone The French Translatour Philip seeing himselfe Lord of so great a Monarchy doth aspire by all meanes he may to the Realmes of France and of England and of other Prouinces and hee doth reape so great contentment in his ambitious thoughts and purposes that hee cannot but discouer his conceit in that behalfe insomuch that not onely they of his Councell but his particular priuate Souldiers doe know it After the taking of the I le of Terceras the Captaines which accompanied the Marquesse de Santa Cruce in that iourney said openly Now that we haue all Portugall England is ours and by liitle and little wee shall gaine France also For proofe whereof wee haue neede of no other witnesse then that which his owne Writer Conestagio saith in continuing his Historie before the taking of the said Terceras where he hath these words Conestagio lib. 7. in fine But the King hauing so lately gotten the possession of Portugall and seeing the Portugals not yet very quiet he thought it best to pacifie that Realme before he intended any other enterprise And he said that by keeping his men in armes in those quarters hee should bridle not onely Portugall but
rendered the City of Arzile to Muley Hamet King of Marocco against the will and liking of the Portugals which did inhabit it who had bound themselues without his aide to defend it It was supposed by all the Christians that Philip surrendered the City because hee was assured that hee should not be able to defend it against the puissance of Infidels for so did he himselfe cause it to be giuen out saying The reason why Philip rendred that City of Arzil to Muley Hamet That it was a lesse mischiefe to render it without hazarding the liues and goods of the Inhabitants then by keeping it to put them all in daunger But therein hee abused them most maliciously for the true cause why this good Catholike rendered this City of Christians vnto the Moores was because he had promised it vnto their King vpon condition he should not lend two hundred thousand Crownes to Don Anthonio his cousin german King of Portugall The which summe the Moore had before promised to lend him at the intercession of England and for this reason had the said Don Anthonio sent his sonne Don Christopher to Marocco to be there in hostage for the said summe of money who remained there by the space of foure yeeres You see now what a good and Catholike Christian deede this man did whom you doe so defend for a most singular Christian and Catholike who to hinder a King a farre better Catholike then himselfe from recouering of his owne doth not onely tyrannically detaine anothers right but doth make it away from Christians to giue it vnto Infidels What answer doe you make hereunto I make your selues the Iudges wherefore then will you not acknowledge the irreligion of this man to whom you are so affectionate and the great malice and peruersenesse of him whom you loue so well Consider and know that you are taken and bound with a grosse chaine Psalme 41. and that abissus abissum inuocat One depth calleth another And I say to you one fault draweth on an hundred thousand after it Of the maintaining and defending of an euill and wicked man ensueth commonly a sinister and peruerse iudgement of them which are good This was well seene to be true and verified in the life time of Don Anthonio and is yet still euen at this day It is a shame to heare the abhominations which the fauourers of this pretended King Catholike haue heretofore spoken and giuen out and doe not yet cease to speake of this poore Prince deceased Some call him rebell others terme him a runni-gate and a fugitiue from place to place and from Countrey to Countrey and some others call him a seditious person an enemy to Christendome an Infidell and an hereticke Can there be any thing more grieuous more sensible more vniust and more vnworthy of a Christian How dare you against all Lawes both diuine and humane handle and vse so ill a Prince the sonne of the greatest Prince of his age the graund-child of that great Emanuel from whom the Princes of Europe doe glory to draw their descent and originall a Prince sore pressed and turmoyled with afflictions trouble and perplexity He hath well shewed euen in his exile and banishment that he was a better Catholike then your Philip his cousin lesse ambitious without choller without hatred and full of charity For if he would haue beene content to recouer his Realme of Portugall with more honourable meanes then your tyrant hath tyrannized ouer it and doth yet tyrannously detaine it hee might well haue done it If he would haue accorded that the English should haue had exercise of their Religion in Portugall onely within their owne Houses and lodgings the Earle of Leicester whom some call the Count of Lest would haue vndertaken to set him againe in possession of his Realmes and Seigniories In the yeere one thousand fiue hundred eighty nine when hee passed into Portugall with the English amongst other Articles of agreement made betweene them there was no other thing granted nor yeelded vnto them but onely a licence or liberty for them to liue in Portugall without being bound or compelled by the Ecclesiasticall Prelates to repaire to the Churches to the seruice and exercise of the Catholikes And in the same manner as the Queene of England did then entertaine the straungers Catholickes inhabiting within her Realme of England euen so did hee accord and ordaine that the English should finde the like vsage and entertainement in Portugall And it may be that if he would haue enlarged their libertie in this respect the English would againe haue enforced their aboade in that Countrey But he proceeded so like a Catholicke with them that they had a kinde of distrust and tooke occasion to suspect him The king of Marocco at this day now raigning of whom wee haue lately spoken sent an Embassadour into England to intreat him touching the deliuering of Portugall from her tyranny offering him to make present payment of 100 thousand Crownes at London for the prouyding of 100 sayle of shipps to passe into Barbary from whence he promised to embarke and to passe with him in person and also to set at liberty about seuen or eight thousand Portugalls whom he held in captiuity and which were good souldiers and with them and the principall horse of Barbary to take land and set foote in Spaine and to put him in possession of his Realme But Don Anthonio would not accept those his offers because hee would giue no occasion to the Moores namely those Moores that are baptized and liue as Christians in Arragon Valentia Murcia The cause why Don Anthonio refused the meanes to recouer his Realme and other quarters of Spaine where the Moore did assure himselfe to finde 60 thousand men at his deuotion there to rebell and to worke the misery and calamity of the Christians This was a more daungerous matter and would haue beene more burthensome and chargeable to King Pbilip then to the King Don Anthonio with whome Muley Hamet desired to haue made a peace very beneficiall and aduantageous to the Realmes of Portugall but Don Anthonio refused all onely mooued thereunto of a godly Catholicke zeale Now shew me my Masters where or when your Don Philip euer did as much He hath made great promises to Don Anthonio to the intent he might cause him to renounce his right which he had in Portugall by reason of his election He offered to make him Viceroy of Naples Offers of king Philip to Don Anthonio with 400 thousand Crownes of yearely rent and the collation of the officers and benefices of that kingdome Moreruer he would haue giuen him 500 thousand Crownes to pay his debts and to defray the charge of going to take that Gouernement vpon him And that hee would bee bound to restore all those Portugals to their former estates whose goods he had taken and confiscated for following of his partie And that hee would aduaunce and recompence such as did serue and attend