254 THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE SEA 



encies there." 1 To deceive the people by fears of invasion, 

 owing to the "great preparations both by sea and land of 

 the neighbouring princes," orders were given to have the 

 beacons along the coast examined; to muster and make 

 ready the trained bands to join their colours at an hour's 

 warning; to enrol all untrained men between the ages of 

 sixteen and sixty, so that levies of them might be made 

 "on any sudden occasion." 2 



Another reason put prominently forward to cloak the 

 nefarious scheme was the need of maintaining the ancient 

 sovereignty of the sea. While the Spanish negotiations were 

 proceeding, Boroughs, as we shall see, had finished his treatise 

 on the rights of the crown in the adjoining seas, and Selden 

 was busy with his Mare Clausum. The language of the 

 ship-money writs, sent out in October 1634, and the charge 

 of Lord Coventry to the Judges, breathed the same spirit as 

 these treatises. In the writs, which were founded upon ex- 

 tracts made by Boroughs from records of the times of Edward 

 L, II., and III., 3 the king described how " thieves, pirates, and 

 robbers of the sea" were "taking by force and spoiling the 

 ships and goods and merchandises, not only of our subjects, 

 but also of the subjects of our friends in the sea which hath 

 been accustomed anciently to be defended by the English 

 nation," delivering the men into miserable captivity. The 

 pirates, he said, were daily preparing all manner of shipping 

 further to molest the merchants, unless a remedy was applied, 

 and that in view also of the dangers menacing the realm " in 

 these times of war," it was necessary to hasten the defence 

 of the sea and kingdom. Therefore, he continued, " We willing 

 by the help of God chiefly to provide for the defence of the 

 kingdom, safeguard of the sea, security of our subjects, safe 

 conduct of ships and merchandises to our kingdom of Eng- 

 land coming, and from the same kingdom to foreign parts 

 passing; forasmuch as we and our progenitors, Kings of Eng- 

 land, have been always heretofore masters of the aforesaid 

 sea, and it would be very irksome unto us if that princely 

 honour in our time should be lost or in anything diminished," 

 it was necessary for the sea -coast towns to furnish ships or 



1 Gardiner, op. cit., 368. 



a State Papers, Dom., cclxxxvii. 55 ; ccxci. 14. 3 Ibid., cclxxvi. 65. 



