76 CHARLES I. 
that the Dutch had acknowledged the sovereignty of Eng- 
land in the North Sea. 
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.” ? 
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. 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 Cal. S.P. Dom. Car. I., vol. 346, No. 23; Beaujon’s Essay, p. 177. 
3 Cal. S.P. Dom. Car. I., vol. 330, No. 38. 
+ Ibid. vol. 346, No. 34. 
