302 THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE SEA 



had got wind of the intention to send some of the ships 

 northwards among the busses. But the proclamation of 

 10th May as to "restraint of fishing" removed any linger- 

 ing doubts they had of the king's intentions, especially as 

 it appeared so soon after the publication of Mare Clausum. 

 At that time the policy of the Dutch was earnestly directed 

 towards detaching England from the side of Spain and 

 bringing her into line with France and the Republic, and 

 a special ambassador, Van Beveren, was sent over to the 

 English Court to help Joachimi in bringing this about. He 

 arrived in London in March 1636, and in April Coke and 

 Windebank explained to him that the intention of the king 

 in setting forth the fleet was to preserve and maintain his 

 sovereignty and hereditary right over the sea, as well as 

 to furnish convoys for the protection of traffic; and further, 

 that no one could be allowed to fish in the British seas 

 without express license from the king, and the rendering 

 of a proper acknowledgment for the liberty. They told him 

 that the Dutch fishermen would find the king's protection 

 against the Dunkirk privateers both advantageous and profit- 

 able. On asking for a statement in writing of the king's 

 claims, the Dutch ambassadors were coldly referred to Selden's 

 Mare Clausum. 



In notifying the States -General of this conversation, Van 

 Beveren asked for prompt and precise instructions how to 

 deal with what he described as an important, dangerous, 

 and far-reaching business. He was told by De Seneterre, 

 the French ambassador, that he had received a similar noti- 

 fication, and that he had expressed the opinion that it was 

 inopportune to raise at that time a prickly question that 

 had been sleeping for five - and - twenty years, and which 

 was equivalent to a tacit declaration of war against the 

 United Provinces. At an interview which Van Beveren had 

 with Charles on April 25th, he explained that the main 

 object of his coming was to arrange for open and combined 

 action against Spain and help to the young Elector to recover 

 the Palatinate ; but the king in a few words put the pro- 

 posed alliance aside, and began to speak of the herring 

 fishery. The States-General, always anxious to burk dis- 

 cussion of this matter, had postponed giving Van Beveren 

 definite instructions about it, in the hope and expectation 



