Chap. III. of E N G L I S H in A M E R I C A. 195 
the French King, in fome meafiire belonged. At the 
Head of the latter was King Philip of Spain, one of the 
greateft Politicians that ever fat upon a Throne, who 
knew the Value of England, had in fome meafure pof- 
feffed it, and, which was not at all wonderful, had no 
Mind to lofe it. His firil Projed for keeping it was, by 
marrying Elizabeth, as he had done her Sifter, in which 
finding himfelf deceived, his next Projedwas to conquer 
it, from which he never departed. The Queen, when flie 
rejeded the firft, forefaw the laft, and refolved to provide 
againft it, , which ftie knew could no other way be done 
but by obtaining a great naval Force. 
To arrive at this, ftie firft of all contrived to amufe 
Spain by carrying on the War with France, in which fhe 
did the fame thing her Sifter did and yet, the one was 
the worft, the other, the wifeft Meafure that ever was 
taken. Qiieen really meant to ruin and diftrefs tne 
French, and was above all things defirous of recovering 
Calais ; and this from a miftaken Zeal for the Intereft of the 
Nation. Queen Elizabeth made an artificial War againft 
France to increafe her own naval Strength, by encou- 
raging her Subjeds to take Prizes, and that fhe might 
have an Opportunity of fecuring Scotland but, though 
exceffively provoked, fhe never thought of hurting 
France, and when offered Calais, fhe refufed it ; and all 
this, becaufe fhe knew the true Intereft of the Nation. 
She knew, that while fhe continued to ad againft the 
French, fhe fhould have the Spaniards for feeming Friends j 
that this War v/as not againft the Humour of her 'People, 
or againft Juftice ; that it would raife a vaft Number of 
Seamen, becaufe every Port in England fitted out Priva- 
teers *, and that it would raife the Reputation of her naval 
Power, by reducing Scotland •, for all which Ends, as flie 
wifely provided, fo flie met in them all the Succefs fhe 
could defire. She knew, however, that France was not 
her natural Enemy that from the Difputes about Reli- 
gion, which ran high in that Kingdom, fhe was in no 
Danger from its Power % and that whenever fhe came to 
declare againft Spain, fhe fhould ftand in Need of its 
Affiftance *, for which P^eafon fhe made a very harmlefs 
War, and gave fuch broad Intimations of her be- 
ing willing to compofe all Differences, as in due 
Time produced a Peace. She likewife knew that the 
PoffefTion of Calais was a mere popular Advantage *, 
that, in reality, it was attended with an Expence which 
could not well be afforded *, that if fhe was poffeffed of 
it, it would be a continual Bone of Contention with 
France, and that, how much foever it might be after- 
wards her Intereft to part with it, it would be an unpo- 
pular, and therefore an improper, and an imprudent. 
Thing to give it up. This that great Princefs knew, and 
therefore fhe wifely refufed it ; but upon making a Peace 
fhe referved her Rights to it, and procured fuch Concef- 
fions from the French, as proved a continual Check upon 
them, .and were oftentimes of more Ufe than the For- 
trefs itfelf. 
In the mean Time fhe continued her Care of the 
Navy, and negle£led nothing that might keep up and 
promote a maritime Spirit among her People ; fhe 
fought out and diftinguifhed the Sea-Officers that had 
ferved under her Father •, fhe was continually fitting out, 
on one Pretence or other, little Squadrons, at a fmall 
Expence ; fhe gave the Command of them to different 
Officers, that fhe might excite'a Spirit of Emulation, but 
what principally conduced to aggrandize her Power was 
the Pleafure flie fliewed, whenever any Occafion offered 
of rewarding her Subjeds, who undertook, at their own 
Expence, ftich Expeditions as contributed to extend 
their Commerce, and open new Branches of Trade. We 
have a ftrong Inftance of this, in the Countenance fhe 
fhewed to Capt. John Plawkins, who between the Years 
1562 and 1568 made three Voyages into the Indies, 
.and in all but the laft had very great Succefs, though he 
carried on his Trade partly by Force. She promoted the 
Trade to Rufia, and through that Empire to Perjia and 
the Indies, to the utmoft of her Power, and managed it 
with fuch Prudence and Dexterity, that the Reputation 
of her Government was very high, in that, and in other 
Countries, in which the reft of the Kingdoms and the 
JStates Qi Europe nttxz hardly known. The Trade to Gui- 
nea was likewife fo much her Care, that, finding the For- 
tugueze gave her Subjeds much Difturbance, fhe en- 
quired into the Caufes of thofe Difputes, and took Care 
to remedy them by a Treaty with that Crovm. 
All this time her Differences with Spain fubfifted, and 
though there was no open War between the two Crowns, 
yet there could fcarce be faid to be either Friendfliip or 
Peace between their Subjeds •, and the Queen, perhaps, 
was not very follicitous that there fhould •, for having 
now attained what fhe aimed at, a very confiderable Naval 
Force, and being willing to let xht Spaniards fee, that 
though fhe declined a War, fhe had no Reafon to be 
afraid of it, fhe took Advantage of the King of Spain" % 
Marriage with Anne of Aujlria, his Niece, to give fuch 
an Inftance of her Generofity and Power, as did great 
Honour to her Adminiftration *, for fhe caufed that Prin- 
cefs to be conduded to Spain by an Englijh Navy ; this 
was a plain Demonftration, that her Sparingnefs, upon 
other Occafions, was not the Effeds of any Nearnefs of 
Temper ; but that, by a conftant Frugality, fhe might have 
it always in her Power to be royally magnificent upon 
proper Occafions. 
But this extraordinary Mark of Civility was far enough 
from meeting a proper Return, and the Spaniards went 
on in difturbing the Trade, and diftreffing the Naviga- 
tion, of her Subjeds ; which induced the Queen to fuffer 
her Subjeds to ufe the beft Meafures they could for re- 
dreffing themfelves ; in which they were not wanting. 
In the Year 1572 Capt. Francis Erake made his famous 
Expedition into the Wefi Indies, with two Ships, one 
called the Dragon, of feventy-five Tons, the other the 
Swan, of twenty-five Tons, and on board them both he 
had no more than feventy-three Men ; and yet, with this 
Force, he ventured to declare War againft the King of 
Spain, for the Injuries he had received in his Voyage 
with Capt. Hawkins to the JVeJi Indies. In this Voyage 
he performed wonderful Things ; for, befides taking feve- 
ral large Ships, he fairly took the Town of N ombre de 
Dios, by Storm, gained an immenfe Trea.fure, and had a 
Sight of the South Seas after which he returned fafely 
to Plymouth, and made a fair Diftribution of the Profits 
of his Voyage among his Owners, 
This glorious Event encouraged others to follow his 
Example ; fo that, in a very fliort Time, the Englijh 
Privateers made various Voyages into all Parts of Ame- 
rica, and every little Port in England fwarmed with Sea- 
men, who were perfed Mafters of their Profeffion ; and 
Pilots capable of navigating Ships to any Part of the 
known World became fo numerous, that there were 
daily new Projeds fet on foot, which in the former Age 
would have been thought impradicable *, but in this 
were carried into Execution at the Charge of private Per- 
fons, without any Expence to, or Affiftance from, the 
Crown, though they had all the Countenance and Encou- 
ragement they could defire : But amongft all thefe, there 
was none fo confiderable in itfelf, fo clear a Proof of ma- 
ritime Skill, and fo honourable, in every Refped, to the 
Nation, as the next Expedition of Capt. Francis Drake 
in 1577, in which he failed round the Globe, as we have 
fliewn at large in the firft Part of this Work, and there- 
fore need not repeat here. But one Part, however, 
of that V oyage fo immediately concerns the Subjed of 
this Sedion, and relates to fo confiderable a Difeovery, 
that, as we then promifed, we ffiall, as in its proper 
Place, fpeak of and explain it more particularly here. 
10. Capt. Drake failed from Plymouth, with five fmall 
Ships, the biggeft but of one hundred Tons, on the 13th 
of December 1577, and it v/as the 5th of September follow- 
ing before he entered the South Seas, where having per- 
formed feveral glorious Adions, and ^ gained prodigious 
Riches, he proceeded to- the moft Northern of the Spanijh 
Settlements ; with a View to difeover, if poffible, that 
Pafiage which had been fo much talked of from our Nor- 
thern into the South Seas, by a Strait like that of Magel- 
lan" % to the North- weft. This was certainly a very wife 
and great Undertaking, and a prodigious Improvement 
upon the Defign of his Voyage for, as yet, no Englijhmm 
had had the Opportunity, and perhaps it never entered in- 
to any Man’s Head, to fearch for fuch a Pafiage on this 
Side j tho’ it is moft likely, that by this Method it may 
