In these excerpts from four letters, the Spanish
Ambassador to the English Court reports to King Philip II and the Duchess of Parma on the progress of the
conflict between Queen Elizabeth I’s forces and those of the French Regent, the
Queen Mother, Catherine de Medici. What Quadra refers to as Havre de Grace was
the small nearby French town of Ambleteuse. The English referred to it as Newhaven.
After four years, the French had failed to pay one crown
of the 500,000 agreed upon, over eight years, as reparations for Calais which
they had captured from Elizabeth’s sister, Mary I. By treaty, the English
possession would then be restored.[1]
The French Huguenots betrayed the fort at Ambleteuse to the English who
established an outpost there in lieu of Calais. While the return of the port in
exchange for hostages for the payment of the agreed amount was being negotiated
the plague broke out among the English soldiers which made Elizabeth’s position
desperate. The reduced amount of 120,000 crowns was quickly agreed upon and the
garrison evacuated to the Kentish coast where the soldiers immediately spread
the plague which would ravage the English population.
Bishop Quadra to King Philip II, June 26, 1563.
I wrote on the 19th instant saying that one of the hostages
here from the king of France had refused to fly with the other three; but this
was a mistake, as all four of them were taken together at Gravesend in a
Flemish ship in which they had taken passage. It has been discovered that they
took the step by orders of the Ambassador here at the command of their King.
They are confined in the Tower of London, and are not allowed to communicate
with anyone. The Ambassador says that by the terms of the treaty of Chateau
Cambresi and in accordance with the protest made here in the King's name some
months ago, the said hostages were quite justified in returning home the best
way they could, and that it was not a breach of faith for them to do so. They
are busy here getting troops ready to send to Havre de Grace in place of those
that fall by pestilence. Not a day passes without 40 or more deaths. They are
also trying to raise forces for the purpose of assaulting some place on the
coast, and so diverting the King’s troops and passing the summer in safety. I
am informed that the intention is to send this army to Calais as being the
place most distant from the King's forces and the army that will be before Havre
de Grace, and also because they think that, having Flanders at their back, they
will have less to guard against and an unlimited
supply of provisions. They even assert that they will be joined there also by
as many troops horse and foot as they require.
Spanish Papers, 1558-67, I.337.
Bishop Quadra to the Duchess of Parma. July 2, 1563.
I was with the Queen yesterday and she told me amongst other
things that she had decided to send her Admiral to Havre de Grace with 6,000
men, and it is probable that she would not only resist the French at that
place, but also do them much harm elsewhere. Cecil told me the same, and the
Admiral himself said that he was leaving sometime this week. The Queen has
already 14 well-armed ships besides others that are being taken[2]
for their requirements. Feeling here is extremely strong against the French and
the words that pass between these people and the French ambassador do not mend
matters, as every day some fresh cause of ill-feeling arises. After the Queen
had given me an account of things she said that she had offered the French to
submit their disputes to his Majesty which they had refused on the ground that
his Majesty was an interested party. She urged me to let his Majesty know this
and to say that she would be content for his Majesty to intervene and endeavour
to settle matters as she was not fond of war and bloodshed. I said I would not
fail to do as she asked me, but I thought the matter was so important that it
should be communicated by a special person from her, and that it should be done
at once as the business had gone so far.
Spanish Papers, 1558-67, I.341.
Bishop Quadra to King Philip II, July 15, 1563.
The object of this move of the Queen is to provide an opportunity for your Majesty to speak to the king of France respecting the restitution of Calais at the end of the eight years, and that your Majesty should give her the chance of getting it back as promised. I think, however, it is too late for your Majesty's answer to arrive before whatever they are going to do in Havre de Grace is done, and, therefore, there will be time to treat of the point at issue more deliberately, especially if the French recover the town, of which they are in high hopes, although the English also hope they can hold it. From what can be learnt, those inside are suffering much from the great pestilence which has befallen them and some 60 persons or more die every day, and also from the want of water and fresh provisions. Those on the outside were approaching with their artillery and were battering the gate and towers on the right-hand side on entering the harbour. On the other side of the town they were being battered by the houses made by the Rheingraf on a hill which commands the whole place.
Spanish Papers, 1558-67, I.342.
Bishop Quadra to King Philip II, July 17, 1563.
Besides this, the Queen is so desirous of peace that she
will conclude it in any case, and as a proof of this, the same day that she
proposed the arbitration to the Ambassador, she told him that she would be
satisfied with the ratification of the contract of Calais which the king of
France had offered her, on condition that two more hostages were added to the
four the King now had here; these two fresh hostages not to be changed until
Calais was handed over, and that one of them should be duke of Guise, and the
other the eldest son of the prince of Conde. The Ambassador answered her firmly
that the King neither could nor would accede to this, as things in France are
such that the King cannot dispose of persons according to his will.
Spanish Papers, 1558-67, I.344.
[1]
The suspicions of the English were realized as Calais was never returned.
[2] The
English navy was actually quite small at this point. English merchant ships
were pressed into service as needed in time of conflict.
Also at Virtual Grub Street:
- The Fascinating Itinerary of the Gelosi Troupe, 1576. June 10, 2019. “The Spanish soldiers had not been paid and unpaid soldiers tend to rob and loot. The citizens were prepared to give them a fight. Violent flare ups were occurring everywhere.”
- A Thousand Years of English Terms. June 2, 2019. ‘One person did not say to another, “Meet you at three o’clock”. There was no clock to be o’. But the church bell rang the hour of Nones and you arranged to meet “upon the Nones bell”.’
- A Most Curious Account of the Funeral of Queen Elizabeth I: April 28, 1603. April 28, 2019. “Once it was clear that James I would face no serious challenges, Cecil and the others could begin to give attention to the matter of the Queen’s funeral.”
- The Battle Over Shakespeare's Early and Late Plays. September 24, 2018. “The answers to the post-Oxford dilemma, of course, are three.”
- Stratford Shakespeare’s Undersized Grave. July 22, 2018. “Mr. Coll’s considers this evidence to support an old rumor that Shakspere’s head had been stolen in 1794. But I submit that he is merely making his observation based upon a coincidence.”
- Check out the English Renaissance Article Index for many more articles and reviews about this fascinating time and about the Shakespeare Authorship Question.
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