524. Charles I. Naval Expeditions 9 &c. of the Engiisli, Book IB

1655.

Ships andCommandersNames.

Ships.

The Mary-Honora.James,

Swift/ure,

George ,

St. Andrew,Henrietta Maria,Vanguard,

Rainbow,

Lion ,

Reformation ,Leopard-,Mary-Rofe ,Adventure,

Swallow,

Antelope,

Lion’sSecond Whelp,

Lion’ sThtrd Whelp,Lion sEighthWbelp,Lion’s Tenth Whelp,

Commanders.Robert Earl of Lindsey ,Admiral.

Sir William Monson,Vice-Admiral.

Sir John Pennington ,Rear-Admiral.Capt. James Montague.Walter Stewart.Thomas Porter.

Sir Pr anas Sidenham.Capt. Thomas Povey.

John Menns.

Lord P awlett-Capt. Lewis Kirke.

GeorgeCartwright.

Parramour.

Henry Stradling.Richard Fogge.Anthony P enrud-dock.

Peter Lindsey.Thomas Price.William Smith ,

Merchant-Ships.Sampson ,

Royal Exchange yFreeman ,

Pleiades,

William zn&Thomas,Minikin Ketch ,

Commanders.

Capt. Thomas Kirk.John HidesRichard Fielding.David Purrey.John Fletcher.John Barton , Master.

This Fleet set Sail from TilburyHope, the six and twentieth of May,with Direction and Resolution (as it was

said) to give no Occasion of Hostility,or to make any Nation Enemy to HisMajesty: Only to defend His and HisKingdom’s Honour, which had beenlately called in Question by a Fleet ofFrench and Dutch, off of Portland.This united Fleet, notwithstanding theirBravadoes, no sooner heard of the Eng-lish Fleet being put to Sea, than theypulled in their Horns, and quitted ourCoasts, where they appeared no morethis Year.

As they were supposed to be retiredto the Coast of Bretagne, a Bark wassent thither to get Information of theirForce and Condition; Which, uponher Return, appeared to be such, asremoved all Supposition of seing themany more this Y ear.

The Lord Admiral thought it, how-ever, proper to keep the Sea, which hedid, ’till the first of QElober, duringwhich he made good our Seas andShoars, gave Laws to our Neighbours,and restored to His Majesty, the anci-ent "Sovereignty of the Narrow Seas,which was ever due to His Predeces-sors.

1635-

CHAP, XXIX.

Naval Expeditions and Transactions of the English, with other remarka-ble Occurrences, from the Tear, 1636. to the Tear, 1648. inclufve.

O U R Reputation at Sea had suf-fered so much by several lateMiscariages, that Pirats, not on-. 0 an ty of all the neighbouring Na-

Nationf in- tions,but even Turks andMlgerines, tookfeflthe Eng-the Liberty to infest the Narrow Seas,liih Seas. 2nd the Dutch, who became almost

1636.

Whitlock.

R.-pin.

Burchett.

Grotiuswrites hisMare libe-rum, andSelden hisMare clau-sum.

Masters of them, upon Pretence of someArguments for the Freedom of Naviga-tion, and Community of the Sea, whichthe learned Hugo Grotius, their Coun-try-man, had made Use of, in a Trea-tise entitled Mare Liberum, {a) began tochallenge a Right to the Fisliery on ourCoasts,which, by the Connivance of ourPrinces, they had been tolerated in theUse of. To refute these Arguments oftheirs, and defend that Claim of ours,the famous Mr. Selden was employed by

the King, to write his excellent Trea-tise, called Mare Claufum, wherein hehaving, with great Industry, Learning,and Judgment, asserted the Right of theCrown of England, to the Dominion ofthe British Seas, the King paid suchHonour to the Performance, that, short-ly after the Publication, he made anOrder in Council, that one of thoseBooks should be kept in the CouncilChest, another in the Court of Exche-quer, and a third in the Court of Ad-miralty, as a faithful and strong Evi-dence to the Dominion of the Briti-JhSeas. But the King, not satisfied alonewith Arguments drawn from History,or ancient Treaties between the two Na-tions, that he might more effectuallyassert the fame, fitted out a Fleet of six-ty

1656'

(a) Whitlock places this in 1634.