76 CHARLES I. 



that the Dutch had acknowledged the sovereignty of Eng- 

 land in the North Sea. 1 



By their treatment of Van Dorp, the Dutch had shown 

 that they were by no means inclined to submit meekly to 

 the demands of Charles ; they were at the same time very 

 anxious to avoid an open quarrel on the subject, since they 

 desired the aid of England against Spain. Charles himself 

 was engaged in the very delicate business of negotiating 

 an alliance with France, and felt that the time was not 

 opportune for war with the United Provinces. This desire 

 for peace on both sides explains the attitudes adopted by 

 English and Dutch during 1637. The States, for example, 

 were about to publish certain edicts against paying any 

 acknowledgment for leave to fish, but these were suppressed 

 " upon the hopes of His Majesty's relinquishing that business 

 for the present." Again, a learned treatise had been pre- 

 pared by the Dutch in answer to Selden's Mare Clausum, 

 but this was " laid aside upon probability of our ships going 

 rather against their enemies than themselves this year." 2 



Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, daughter of James I., had 

 also thrown herself on the side of peace, asking her brother 

 as a favour to herself, to lay aside for the present, all con- 

 troversial matters with the Dutch, since her kingdom had 

 so much need of the aid of the United Provinces against 

 Spain. 3 The suggestion to Charles, from all sides, was, in 

 fact, simply that he should not press his claims at this 

 particular time. Elizabeth wrote even to Archbishop Laud 

 asking him to use his influence with the king in order that 

 he might be induced " to suspend any further executing 

 his right, which he may take up again when he will, without 

 any prejudice as the king, their father, did." 4 Laud 

 cautiously answered that the king was " so set to maintain 



1 Beaujon's Essay, pp. 176, 177. 



2 Col. S.P. Dom. Car. I., vol. 346, No. 23 ; Beaujon's Essay, p. 177. 



3 Cat. S.P. Dom. Car. /., vol. 330, No. 38. 



4 Ibid. vol. 346, No. 34. 



