280 THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE SEA 



castles had thus not so high a status as the king's ship ; but the 

 military officers were not less zealous than those of the navy. 

 Pennington himself had an amusing illustration of their zeal, 

 for in 1631 Sir William Killigrew, the Captain of Pendennis 

 Castle, persisted in " spending the king's powder " in shooting 

 at the Bonaventure, Pennington's ship, for not striking its flag 

 to the castle, "a thing," said the Admiral, "never used by a 

 king's ship, nor would he be the beginner of it." Fortunately, 

 the gunnery of the time was wild; but Killigrew had to be 

 summoned before the Admiralty, rebuked, and, " upon "submis- 

 sion, discharged with strict command never more to offend in 

 that kind," before the practice ceased. The Admiralty also 

 issued an order to the notorious Sir James Bagg, the Governor 

 of Plymouth and the Vice- Admiral for South Devon, strictly 

 forbidding that any castle or fort under his command should 

 fire upon the king's ship, even if passing near with their flags 

 on the top of any of their masts, " for," he was told, " they are 

 as absolutely his Majesty's castles or forts, though floating, as 

 that under your command." l 



As was to be expected from the attempted maritime rivalry 

 openly displayed by France, and from English policy at the 

 time, our naval officers vied with one another in compelling 

 homage to the flag. The Dutch, both merchant vessels and 

 men-of-war, more particularly the latter, usually struck at once 

 to the English ships. If they showed reluctance, or hoisted 

 their flag again too soon, they were fired at. The English cap- 

 tains insisted on the right off Continental ports. Thus Captain 

 Richard Plumleigh, having gone to Calais in 1632 to bring over 

 the corpse of Sir Richard Walker, late British ambassador, in 

 his ship well named the Assurance, "bestowed some powder 

 on the French flags," and caused all the French shipping in 

 Calais Road to take in their colours, " at which," he said, " they 

 repined heavily." Some of the States' men-of-war also riding 

 in the Road took the side of the French, and sent to Plumleigh 

 to say that they knew no reason why he should demand super- 

 iority on that side of the sea, and " threatening " to wear their 

 flags there as well as he. But Plumleigh boldly returned a 

 message what he called " a cooling card " to their Admiral, 

 saying that if he showed a Dutch flag there, he " would sink 



1 State Papers, Dom,, cci. 59; ccii. 17; ccciii. 71, 79 ; ccx. 58; ccxxxiv. 37; 

 ccxlviii. 81. 



