246 



CHAPTER VII. 

 CHARLES i. continued. THE NAVY. 



Charles had resolved to assert his claims to the sover- 

 eignty of the sea by force if necessary, it was obviously essen 

 tial that he should have a strong and capable fleet. Durin 

 the peaceful reign of James the navy had greatly deteriorate 

 from what it had been under Queen Elizabeth. 1 The expeditio 

 to Cadiz in 1625, and that to Ehe* two years later, reveal 

 startling inefficiency and disorganisation, and efforts were soo: 

 made to bring it into a better state. When he assumed th 

 crown, his fleet consisted of thirty ships ; in 1633 it numbere 

 fifty, including the ten small vessels called the " Lion's Whelps " ; 

 and when the Civil War broke out there were forty -two, the 

 difference being due to the shedding of the smaller ones. 2 



There were many reasons why a strong fleet should be pro- 

 vided, apart from any question of enforcing a new political 

 sovereignty over the North Sea and the Channel. The mari- 

 time strength of the United Provinces was growing quickly, 

 and France, under the wise and energetic guidance of Richelie 

 was rapidly becoming a formidable naval power. Within th 

 space of about five years before 1631, as Charles knew, th 

 Cardinal had created a fleet of thirty-nine ships, of whic 

 eighteen were of 500 tons or over, and no less than twenty 

 seven had been built in French ports. 3 These two states wer 

 drawing closer together, and while it was known that thei 

 alliance, which was then mooted and was soon realised, woul 



1 Oppenheim, A History of the Administration of the Royal Navy, i. 21J 

 217, 221. 



2 Ibid. ; Hannay, A Short History of the Royal 



3 Oppenheim, op. cit., 265. 



