194 '75^^’ D I s c o V E R I E s and Settlements Book I. 
of doing it. It muft be admitted, that tho’ the I’rofe- 
ciition of thefe Projefts, for finding a North-eaft and a 
North-weft Paffage, were not either of them attended with 
Succefs, and tho’ they confumed a great Treafure, and 
which is much more to be regretted, w'^ere attended with 
the Lofs of feveral excellent Captains and many able Sea- 
men, the Profits which the Nation reaped, might be 
truly faid to countervail, in fome meafure, even the vaft 
Expences thefe Voyages occafioned- 
As for, Inftance : We opened, by our Attempts to 
find a North-eaft Pafifage, the Trade to Archangel \ and, 
for forrie time, engrofied the valuable Commerce of the 
Ruffian Empire : And even to the North- weft our Dif- 
coveries were of great Confequence, and led us to a more 
diftindl Knowledge of that Part of the World than any 
ether Nation has attained, infomuch that I think it may 
be truly faid, it is of all our Labours that which has 
jfhewn our Excellency in Point of Seamanfhip moft •, and, 
if our prefent Attempt for difeovering a PalTage through 
Hudfon^s Bay iliould prove fuccefsful, as I fincerely be- 
lieve it will, we ihall have no reafon to blame thofe who 
from time to time have pufiied this Defign with fo much 
Vigour ; becaufe I am thoroughly perfuaded, that when- 
ever it is attended with Succefs, it will, in a very few 
Years, repay this Nation all that ftie has expended for 
Ages upon this Account. 
We may from hence fee, how much thefe Expeditions 
for Difeovery are preferable to much more expenfive Ex- 
peditions in purfuit of Projects dictated by political Views; 
for in thefe laft we wafte Ships, Men, Treafure, and all to 
little or no Purpofe*, whereas, with Refpedt to the former, 
whether we fucceed or not in our main Point, we are fure 
of making fuch incidental Advantages as, fooner or later, 
make us ample Amends for the Pains we take ; fo that a 
maritime Power cannot follow a wifer Courfe than to en- 
courage all fuch Projeds, or employ her naval Force bet- 
ter, than in attempting fuch of them as have a probable 
Appearance ; becaule this nourilhes and keeps alive that 
adtive, penetrating, enterprifing Spirit, which is fo ne- 
ceffary to a State like ours, and which will always be 
attended with Advantages upon the Whole, tho’ in many 
particular Inftances it may not be attended with Succefs. 
But it is now time to' proceed from thefe Refledtions 
which naturally flow from the Confideration of what was 
done by our Statefmen in the Reign of King Edward^ to 
thofe of the like kind that occupied the Thoughts both of 
our Politicians and People, in the Reign of his Sifter and 
Succeflbr *, in fpeaking of which, tho’ a beaten Topic, I 
hope to ftrike out feveral Things that are new. 
8. As there were feveral of King Edward^ Minifters 
employed by Queen IMary^ fo we find that in the Reign 
of this Princefs the fame Meafures were purfued, and the 
fame Attention Ihewn for new Difeoveries, and for giving 
all the AlTiftancc that was in the Power of the Crown, to 
fuch as engaged in thefe Undertakings. But after the 
Marriage between the Queen and King of Spain lock. 
place, we began to grow much better acquainted with 
all CircLimftances relating to the Weji Indies^ than in 
former Times, and it became fafhionable at Court to read 
and underftand whatever had been publifhed, in any 
Language, relating to the Conquefts and Difeoveries of 
the Spaniards •, but becaufe the Number was not great of 
fuch as could perufe and underftand thofe Works in the 
original Languages, feveral Perfons took Pains to tran- 
fiate them into Englijh, and to epitomife them, that 
they might be read with the greater Facility ; amongft 
thefe were Mr. Richard Eden^ who compofed one of tne 
firft Colleftions of Travels that was ever publiihed in our 
Language, and which was afterwards revifed, corredfed, 
and augmented, by Mr. Edward Wilks, Several other 
Pieces of the fame kind came abroad, and feveral of the 
Spanijh Officers that attended their King hither, took a great 
deal of Pains to fet forth the Exploits of their Nation in 
the Wefi Indies *, and our Sea-Officers, with whom they 
converfed, did not fail to make their Advantage of thefe 
Difeourfes, and to gain fuch Knowledge of the Situation 
Things were in throughout all their Dominions ixiAmericay 
as afterwards coft the Spaniards very dear. 
This IntercQufe with that Nation, alfo furniflied many 
2 
Engliffmen v/ith Opportunities of going to their Settlements, 
and of obtaining fuch Lights 'with refped; to their 
Navigation and Commerce, as proved afterwards of the 
higheft Ufe. But notwithftanding all this, our Trade 
and Naval Power fuffered deeply by this Connection Be- 
tween the two Nations,- which not only hindered, during 
that Reign, thofe Voyages we had formerly made to 
America from being purfued, but involved its likewife in 
a tedious, dangerous, and unnecefiary, War with France % 
by v/hich we not only loft the important Fortrefs of Ca~ 
laiSy but alfo fuffered deeply in our Shipping fo that it- 
appears by fome Fragments which ftill remain of Speeches 
made in the Houfe of Commons, that loud Complaints 
were made on this Subjecl in Parliament by the Citizens of 
London efpecially, v/hofe Loffes were greater than thofe 
of the reft of the Kingdom by thofe miftaken Meafures. 
Yet fuch Branches of our Commerce as did not imme- 
diately interfere with that of Spainy were greatly favoured 
in this Reign, in which the Ruffian Merchants were incor- 
porated, and Sehajiian Cabot appointed their Governor- 
for Life, and a Ruffian Embafedor, who came over, 
hither, was treated with great Diftindion, both by the 
King and Queen ; which procured us fuitable Returns, 
by the granting extraordinary Privileges to fuch Mer- 
chants, and Subjeds of Englandy as traded in any Part 
of that extenfive Empire. The Trade to Guineay likewife, 
met with fome Countenance from the Court, by which 
Means the Shipping engaged therein was increafed, and 
many more Traders drawn to be concerned therein ; lb- 
that as great a Spirit in this Refpeft appeared as could 
well be expeded *, while the trading Corporations through- 
out the Kingdom were expofed to great Inconveniencies, 
by taking their Ships for the public Service ; for fo, at 
that Time, aflifting King Philip was called, tho’ it was 
evidently againft the Intereft of the Nation, and it was 
our want of Succefs in that War which faved the Balance 
of EuropCy which muft have been totally loft, if he had 
compaffed his Defign, and ruined the Power of France ; 
fo that in fad, our naval Force was employed againft it- 
felf, of which the Qiieen’s Minifters were fenfible ; but as 
for the Queen herfelf, ffie was governed by an odd Prin- 
ciple, which was that of making the beft Wife in the 
World, to one of the worft of Hufbands ; but, very 
luckily for the Nation, fhe was fo fenfible of the Mifi- 
fortunes that attended this injudicious War, and particu- 
larly of the Lofs of CalaiSy that it broke her Heart, and 
thereby made way for that great and glorious Reign which 
reftored the Face of our Affairs, revived our languiffiing 
Commerce, re-eftabliflied our naval Power, and, by the 
happy Iffue of a long and bloody, but neceffary and pro- 
fperous, War againft fecured our own Liberties 
and preferved thofe of Europe. 
g. Queen Elizabeth fucceeded to the Crown by the 
Death of her Sifter, in the Month of Novembery iS5^ y 
and, from the very beginning of her Reign, madethe n-'Val 
Power of this Nation her peculiar Care : She began with 
putting the fmall Remains of the Navy into the beft Con- 
dition poffible ; provided a fafe Harbour in the River 
Medway for their Reception, and eredled a new Caftle 
for their Protection. She likewife took care to have a 
fmall Squadron at Sea as foon as poffible, and knowing 
that by a hafty Breach with Spainy fhe might, and indeed 
muft, expofe her Naval Strength to the Danger of being 
crufhed by a fuperior Force, fb.e very wilely chofc to 
diffemble her Refentments againft that Crown, and to 
provide for the Increafe of the Seamen and Shipping of 
her Kingdom, before file difcoveitd tncie Refolutions 
which fire carried afterwards into Execution with fo much 
Honour to herfelf, and fo much Advantage to her People.- 
I the rather take notice of this, becaufe it is the only 
Stroke of the Qiieen’s Policy which has efcaped ourHifto- 
rians, who either overlooked or iriifunderftood itj and 
therefore, as it very nearly concerns my Subjeeft, I fliaii 
fet it in a full and clear Light. 
At the Beginning of her Reign the Queen had feveral 
Enemies to deal with ; fome who declared openly againft 
her, and others v/ho fecretly fought her Ruin : Amiong 
the former were the Frenchy to wiiom at that Time Scot- 
landy in Virtue, of a Marriage between. Queen Mary and 
