CHARLES I. : THE NAVY 



253 



the king's prerogative in the fisheries in the British seas, 

 as well as to secure the mastery of the narrow seas. 1 



Charles required no spur in a matter the importance of 

 which he thoroughly understood, and he had private and 

 personal reasons for wishing that a strong force should be 

 placed on the sea. It was the family policy as to the 

 restoration of the Palatinate that chiefly guided him. At 

 the end of 1633 he entered into negotiations with Spain 

 for an alliance against the Dutch, and in the following year 

 secret treaty was drafted and sent to Madrid (four days 

 jfore the issue of the first ship - money writs) in which 

 Charles undertook to provide a fleet, partly at the charge 

 )f the King of Spain, who was to advance a sum of 50,000 

 id help to recover the Palatinate for his nephew. 2 It was 

 itended that the fleet should co-operate with the Spaniards 

 gainst the United Provinces ; the ports of Flanders were 

 be freed from the blockade maintained by the Dutch, 

 id Spanish vessels carrying soldiers and money for Dun- 

 ;irk were to be protected by English ships; the mastery 

 the Dutch at sea was to be destroyed, the Republic 

 ras to be attacked and overthrown, and the country divided 

 stween the allies. The open avowal of such a policy 

 rould have been equivalent to making it almost impossible,. 

 )r an alliance with Catholic Spain against the Protestant 

 ^public was in the highest degree unpopular in England,, 

 id the fleet, moreover, was to be created by means of the 

 lip -money writs. The negotiations had been carried on 

 dth the greatest secrecy ; only three members of the Council 

 'ortland, Cottington, and Windebank) were in the king's 

 mfidence, the others remaining in ignorance. It was thus, 

 lecessary to deceive them as well as the nation as to the 

 Dbject of equipping a fleet. The insecurity of the seas from 

 le prevalence of piracy and the violations of English 

 raters, referred to above, were put forward among the- 

 stensible reasons to justify it. "The pretext of this arm- 

 ig," it was distinctly stated in 1634, "shall be to secure 

 the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland, and to free them 

 3m pirates and others that commit hostilities and insol- 



1 State Papers, Dom., Ixxxvi. 73, 75 ; ccxxix. 102. 



2 Gardiner, Hist., vii. 349 et seq. 



