8 Eliz. Naval Expeditions 7 &c. of the English, Book &

1587. In the Year, 1587. John King ofiWy. in Bibl. Sweden, in a Letter to Queen Elizabeth,desired Leave for Olavus Wormaus, aInstance of Swede, to carry Merchandize into Spain,which I only mention on Account of aremarkable Expression in his Request,by which he allows Her the Sove-reignty of the Seas. He desires thisLeave; Because, (fays he) he must ofNecejsty (maritimas Reginas Pitiones

the Sove-reignty ofthe BritisliSeas.

pertransire) pass thro' the Sea Dominionsof the fpueen : But it was not the King ofSweden alone, the King of Denmark ,the Hanfe-towns, and several otherPrinces and States, have, at Times,thought themselves obliged to ask thefame Favour, as well of Her, as HerPredecessors, and have had it grantedor refused as the Circumstances or Times;and Things have allowed,

CHAP. XXIII.

Si r Francis Drake’* Expedition to Cadiz, and towards the Azores I sands,

in the Tear, 1 587.

1587. OON after the Peath of Mary,

Camden. Queen of Scots, Elizabeth got

VoLlLP.il. Intelligence, that the King of

p. 121. ' | Spain was equipping a vast Na~

Scrype. ^/Armament, which was to be em-Monson’f m pl°y ed against her Dominions.

Traits. How great these Preparations were,

The. Spani- W e may partly fee, by a Letter, ininvade™ which Sir Francis Drake, among other

Hackluyt and Sir William Monfon, faywith thirty Sail,) to interrupt these Pre-parations, and destroy the Spanish Ship-ping, Ammunition and Provisions, intheir own Ports, or wheresoever hessiould meet them, before they got toLisbon, the Place of their Rendez-

England.

The Destgndiscovered.

Things, fays: “ That the Spaniards" had Provision of Bread and Wine,(t sufficient to maintain forty Thousandrc Men a whole Year: ” And thatthese great Preparations were aimed atEngland was discovered by Walsingham,in the following Manner: " He had" Intelligence from Madrid, that Phil-ec lip had told his Counsel, he had dis-" patched an Express to Rome, with" a Letter written with his own Hand" to the Pope, acquainting him withthe true Design of his Preparations,and asking his Blessing upon it ;" which, for some Reasons he would" not yet disclose to them, 'till thetc Return of the Courier. The Secret“ being thus lodged with the Pope,tc Walsingham, by the Means of a Ve-“ netian Priest, retained at Rome, as" his Spy, got a Copy of the originalLetter which was stolen out of theft Pope’s Cabinet, by a Gentleman of" theBed-chamber, who took the Keys" out of the Pope’s Pocket, while heCf slept.

TnEQupen, being thus apprized ofthe whole Design, ordered Sir Francisder jf\ w [ th Drake to Sea, with a Squadron of Ships%eas * ° (according to Strype with forty Gal-lies, tho’ Camden fays only, with fourCapital Ships, and some others; And

vous.

Among the thirty Sail mentioned byHackluyt, he likewise names four ofHer Majesty’s Ships, viz The Bonaven-ture, Admiral: the Lyon, commandedby Mr. William Borough, Controller ofthe Navy ; the Dreadnought, CaptainThomas Fenner ; and the Rainbow,Captain Henry Bellingham, to whichShe added two of her Pinnaces. Tothese were likewise added several largeShips belonging to the City of London,and particularly recommended to Her

Majesty by Letters from the Admi-

ral.

Sir FrancisDrake or-

With these Ships,he set Sail from the H eSound of Plymouth, in the Beginning ofHpril, designing for the Coast of Spain.

The sixteenth of the fame Month, theymet, in the Latitude of forty Degrees,two Ships belonging to Middleburg, andcoming from Cadiz ; From whom theygot Intelligence, that there was greatStore of Ammunition and Provisions, atCadiz, and thereabouts, which lay readyto be sent toLL&ow.Upon thislnformation,he directed his Course for the Bay of Ca-diz, where he arrived on the nine-teenth of the fame Month. He imme-diately forced six Gallies, which at firstmade a Shew of opposing him, totire under Shelter of the Castle, and then^^A ^took, funk or burnt about a Hundred $hips>

n

Ships, which lay in the Bay, and in**'J J which

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