THE SPANISH MENACE 



ness, and suddenly found himself in the midst of a Spanish fleet. By 

 smart handling and stout fighting he extricated himself from a very 

 awkward position. Altogether he was a remarkable leader who made 

 the most of his opportunities. 



The Death of the Queen. 



King Henry's great daughter died on March 24th, 1603, leaving 

 the country in a finer condition than it had been for many years before 

 her time. She had made the British flag feared and respected all over 

 the Seven Seas, and although there were pirates about in plenty they 

 were generally very loath to undertake an attack on a British ship for 

 fear of what might befall them. She had defied the greatest power of 

 her age and had emerged victorious with her country immeasurably 

 strengthened by the struggle. Trade had been fostered in every way 

 and the firm foundations of the British Empire had been laid. From the 

 naval point of view, however, perhaps the most important point was 

 that now the Navy was regarded as a profession and not merely as a 

 means of transporting soldiers where they wanted to fight. There were 

 many dark days ahead, but the Service had really come into its own. 



CHAPTER VII— THE NAVY AND THE STUARTS 



James I and the Navy. 



When James I came to the throne he had at his command the 

 finest fighting force at sea, for Elizabeth had brought it up to a 

 magnificent pitch of perfection and had left it to him fit to go any- 

 where or do anything. In a matter of months he had killed the 

 wonderful spirit of the Navy and had ruined the service while spending 

 a lot of money on its upkeep. It was not that he did not believe in 

 Sea Power as long as it did not of?end the Spaniards, but he had a most 

 unhappy knack of invariably choosing the wrong men for the job and 

 although he himself was as keen as possible and had passed his 

 enthusiasm on to Prince Henry, the state of the Fleet rapidly 

 deteriorated and the corruption that sprang up in naval circles was 

 appalling. James's action in immediately making friends with the 

 Spaniards took the edge off the men's enthusiasm, for there did not 

 appear to be any other head which they could conveniently hit. 

 Finally things got so bad that the whole of the naval organisation had 

 to be overhauled in 1618. As an example of what went on, the 

 Bonaventure was considered too old for service and was ordered to 

 be replaced by a new ship. The Treasury paid for her care and 

 maintenance for seven years after she had actually been broken up, and 

 although somebody got seventeen hundred pounds on account of her 

 successor she never appeared. 



Fighting in the East. 



Although James I made friends with Spain and kept the country 

 out of war in European waters, he was unable to control the forces in 



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