Preface

Preface

The documents calendared in this volume commence at June, 1703, and finish at April, 1704. The Calendar was far advanced in the autumn of 1914, when the outbreak of war took so many of us from our books and sent us on different duties to different parts of the world. I returned from the Rhineland after nearly six years' service in May, 1920, to find that the volume had been seen through the press by my friend, Mr. J. V. Lyle, of the Public Record Office, and that only a few pages remained for final correction. The Index was in the capable hands of Mr. Giuseppi, also of the permanent staff; and it only remained for me to see the few concluding pages through the press and to write a Preface. Considerations of expense and the difficulties of printing in our present world make it necessary that this Preface should be as short as possible; and I am consequently prevented from fulfilling the promise made in my last Preface—that this one should contain a general survey of the history as disclosed by these documents of the critical years between the accession of Queen Anne and the astounding victory of Blenheim.

The method of this volume is that adopted in the last and as the Preface to that volume explains the division of the material into a calendar proper and a number of tables, I need not refer to it here. I therefore use the small space at my disposal for a reference to the most intersting documents in the volume. My references to these are by no means exhaustive, and the leisured student will find a great deal of infomation on the course of events which went on more or less behind the scenes during these momentous months. The great figure of Marlborough is indeed almost unseen. Of Godolphin there is little or nothing. The matters of which we see most are the preparations at home for war, raising and arming of men, the preparation of and movements of our fleets, the aid given to Spain, Portugal and the Emperor, the cooperation with the States General, the management of difficulties at home—the most serious of which was the presence of large numbers of hostile or Jacobite spies or agitators. As we read of these matters we realise how uneasy, how infirm was the monarchy of Anne at the moment, how powerful and numerous were her enemies, both at home and abroad, how completely her position and the Protestant succession were dependent upon the fortunes of the war abroad.

Passing to interesting details of a general character, I may refer to a curious dispute about the election of a Warden to New College, Oxford (pp. 34–36) and to the mention of a "Committee of the Cabinette" (p. 46). The "Cabinet Council" is a frequently used phrase in Queen Anne's reign, though I do not remember having met it in the papers of Charles II. On p. 54 we find information of great sums of money sent from Paris and Lille to help the Queen's enemies in England. In August the richest merchant fleet which ever came from the West Indies reached Crookhaven, and the local convoy captains were exceedingly anxious about it in view of the number of privateers on the Irish coast (p. 75). The action of Genoa in allowing men to serve in the French fleet is criticised (p. 83). In September Sir Cloudesly Shovell was in negociation with the Emperor of Morocco, who, like the King of the Hedjaz in more recent times, wanted and obtained much ammunition, and wrote polite letters in Arabic to the Queen (p. 125). In October came a bad report from Flanders as to the inefficiency of our muskets, which the officers did not dare to put into their men's hands (p. 162). Unemployed officers are sent from Ireland into the service of Savoy (p. 191), and a little later we notice that the Commissioners of Trade are angered by the way in which our Dutch allies are trading with the enemy (p. 201).

Among the Addenda to the papers for the year 1702 is the address sent to the Queen by the Duke of Hamilton and his supporters opposing the sitting of the Scotch Parliament, which I found far out of its proper date amongst papers of 1704 and 1705 (p. 252 and note).

The Table of Commissions in the Army (p. 265 seq.) is an intersting contributuion to the military history of the period. Many new units being raised in 1703, as in 1914. The Irish Warrants are mostly personal appointments (p. 280 seq.) and the weekly lists of ships (p. 285 seq.) enable the student to estimate with accuracy the strength of our Navy in ships and men during the year.

Amongst the petitions we find Holywell in Flint emerging as a watering place (p. 345), a new packet service to the West Indies (p. 347), a report on the tapestry work at Mortlaek in Surrey (p. 354), and petitions from Wareham in Dorset (p. 357), from the trustees of the Cottonian Library, and from the Thames coal heavers (p. 360). Looking-glass workers in London ask for incorporation (pp. 261–362), benjamin Jackson for patents for a new quadrant (pp. 364–365), and James Trefusis for patronage for his new diving apparatus (p. 373). Dartmouth is defenceless against privateers (p. 378), whilst Peregrine Marquis of Carmarhten had a great grievance againt the Government (pp. 388–390).

The Scottish Warrants (p. 399 seq.) are nearly all for personal appointments. The wild geese on the Bass Rock are apparently a source of profit and enjoyed by Lord Alexander Hay (p. 402). The Order of the Thistle was restored by Queen Anne to all its privileges and dignities (p. 437) and she revived the Royal Company of Scottish Archers (p. 438).

Amongst the Royal and Secretaries' Warrants are some heavy bills "for extraordinaries" sent in by our diplomatic representatives abroad (p. 442 seq.), which the Secretary of State, in some cases, dared to question. I notice John Howe's licence to shoot, fish, hwk and net game in the Forest of Dean (p. 451) and Dr. Delaune, Vice Chancellor of Oxford, is given the copyright in Clarendon's History of England, of which he had published one volume at great expense (p. 453). Poaching round Winchester is strictly forbidden, where wild pheasants were already common (p. 455). New Commissioners for Greenwich Hospital are appointed (pp. 462–463) with wide powers. Apart from these matters the later tables do not call for special reference; but in pp. 466–470 are the warrants addressed to the Duke of Marlborough as Master-General of the Ordance, which throw much light on the questions of equipment, munitions and military training as they presented themselves to the "War Office" of the day.

The Calender proper for 1703 commernces at p. 481. England strives throughout the year to arm and equip not only herself but her allies. In January 8,500 arms are going to Portugsl (p. 514) and, as will be seen from the referece to naval documents below, the first and most important duty of the Navy is to maintain union with our oversea allies and help them by our armies and supplies, as well as by our actual co-operation, to keep forces in the field and play their paret in the alliance. "The operations of the fleet. can no where be more useful than in the Mediterranean" was the view of the Queen and her Ministers in March, 1704 (p. 581). The young King of Spain, whom we were supporting against his Bourbon rival, visited England in February, and went back to Spain in Sir George Rooke's fleet, and we have an account of his landing at the Isle of Wight in February (p. 525) which however, does not tell us what sport his Majesty had no shore. He got to Lisbon in 13 days, and there was some difference between the King of Portugal and Sir G. Rooke as to the hoisting of Rooke's flag during the formalities of reception (p. 548).

An address of thanks from the clergy of Devon for Quen Anne's Bounty is placed at p. 550, and contains several hundred signatures of the local clergy. Captain Cock complains strongly of his treatment as a prisoner in the citadel of Arras (p. 554) and refers to the bad condition of the roads in Artois in winter. An ingenious method of trading with the enemy which was adopted by Irish merchants, presumbably at the southern Irish ports, is disclosed in Captain Camocke's letter (p. 561 and Nottingham's reply, p. 578). On p. 564 is a return of the prisoners condemned at the March Assizes at Newgate; and it is noticeable that even in 1704 a woman is not sentenced to death for the murder of her illegitimate child. The sentence was "Transport unless she proves a husband, and in that case pardoned." A casual letter of 8 March (p. 566) begins with the address now universal—" Dear Mr. Vachel " (p. 566). I have not come across it in the Charles II papers or hitherto in these, and I imagine it must still have been peculiar and used only in writing to your nearest friends. Our supplies of arms sent to Portugal are insufficent (p. 569), our prisoners in France badly treated (p. 571), whilst French prisoners with us suffer much from camp disease (p. 574). On the questions of treatment, exchange, and sufferings of prisoners of war, the volume is indeed ususually rich in information, which will be found in the letters of the " Commissioners of Sick and Wounded and Exchange of Prinsoners." This body of official war-workers had a most difficult task to discharge and took a lot of trouble over it, sending letters constantly to the Secretary of State with an account of their difficulties and doings. The letters are preserved in S.P. Dom., Naval 117, &c., and have survived the two centuries which lie between us and the date when they were written in excellent order. When details of hospital treatment, nurses, bedding and the like have come down intact, the historian who reads this volume cannot but groan at the thought that so many more important things have been lost or forgotten. At the close of the volume there are some long letters from Hedges to Rooke, laying down the general principles of combined policy and strategy. (fn. 1) They are the most interesting in the volume, showing as they do the clearness with which, thus early in the war, the necessity of fighting the enemy on all fronts was realised. Another way of combating French infulence in the Levant was to send specially beautiful letters to the new Sultan and his Grand Vizier on the occasion of his accession and of the Peace of Carlowitz, " that the endeavours of the French to break it may not take effect " (pp. 604–605).

The Naval Paperst are very full and will enable the historians of our Navy to add a good deal to what is already known. A memorandum of Sir Cloudesley Shovell (p. 17) shows the close co-operation which existed between the English and Dutch fleets. Shovell was ordered to attack the French wherever he should find them (p. 37) in spite of anything in his instructions which might deter him from doing so. At the same time there was the question of sending men, arms and horses to Portugal, (fn. 2) a service carried out in the main by Alderman van Homrigh, the Dublin contractor. Better known to the world in another capacity, he appears here as an astute and honest shipbroker. (fn. 3) On July 31 Shovell and Leake, with a massed fleet, set out from the Tagus for the Mediterranean. (fn. 4) On p. 103 is the estimate of a Cork contractor for sailors' rations for 1,600 men for a month. The allowances seem very liberal. On September 9 fresh insturctiuons were issued to Shovell contemplating the establishment of a British naval base in Naples or Sicily or in the Adriatic, where ships could be left, apparently, during the winter. It is noticeable that the main object of such a base is to make it easier for us to provision the Imperalist armies operating in Italian territory. They Navy Board, who had to find supplies of pitch and tar, were doubtful in September as to the expediency of relying on Colonial sources for these articles, though they realised how great would be the advantage if such sources could be really trusted to provide an adequate supply (pp. 116–117). Shovell had intersting dealings with the Government of Morocco, which got a good supply of ammunition as the reward of his alliance (p. 125), and the letter in which this negociation is recorded contains a highly interesting survey of the Mediterranean question as it presented itself at the moment. The Dutch fleet which was co-operating with us under Admiral Allemonde was only victualled till November, and in order to prevent a seapration of forces, Shovell and his captains reluctantly agreed to go home at the same time (p. 129). This involved leaving only a convoy to protect our merchantmen going to Leghorn. Returned prisoners gave some account of the French naval doings at Toulon up to the end of October (pp. 201–203). Elaborate preparations were made (p. 245) to receive the young Hapsburg King of Spain, whom Rooke brought from the Low Countries to England in the autumn and afterwards conducted to his new kingdom. At the same time we heard from Rochelle that the French were preparing to send reinforcements from Rochelle to help their party in that country (p. 249), and Rooke, who was at Spithead at the close of the year, was ordered to despatch a squadron to the coast of Spain to obstruct them (ib). At the moment I may notice in passing that, even in mid-winter, official despatches came from Spithead to Windsor or London in one day (p. 251 and notes). Rooke's last letter of the year protests against his being ordered to sea with insufficient crews and with ships cumbered with soldiers and the numerous courtiers and followers of the King's retinue.

I have already referred to the " weekly lists of ships " which are collected in a table at the end of 1703, and which will rapy careful examination by the student of naval history. Early in 1704 we find fresh insturctions to Rooke (pp. 483–484) which throw some light on the difficulty of military co-operation with Spain and Portugal. Rooke was delayed at Spithead all through January owing cheifly to Dutch procrastination. Ultimately he got away on 12 February and reached Plymouth on the 14th " with 400 sail of ships " (p. 532) and Lisbon on before the 29th (p. 547)

A Council of War, attended by the English and Dutch officers, was held on Rooke's flagship at Lisbon on March 5th, and a " forward " naval policy planned (p. 559). A battle nearly took place off Cape Trafalgar in March (p. 577), but the enemy were not found in force there. The Dutch, however, found their ships unfit for the arduous task of winter crusing and were so knocked about by bad weather that they had to retire to the Tagus. On 14th March instructions were issued to Rooke (p. 570) for vigorous naval action on the south coast of France, and ten days later we get the first of Hedges' remarkable dispatches to him (pp. 580–581) to which I have already referred. I make no comment on these, except that they will furnish the historian with ample reflections. Sir John Seeley used to say that England conquered half the world in a fit of absence of mind; and the remark passed muster amongst the crowd of clever generalisations which emanated from that great historian. There is no absence of mind about Mr. Secretary Hedges. The great issue of the war—the preservation of the European balance—is clearly present to him; and every commerical and diplomatic consideration is clearly reviewed in his remarkable letters. We know how the Danish fleet was dealt with a century later by our sailors of the Nelson period and how the verb " to Copenhagen " has been coined and immortalized by a great modern seaman. But the letter of a gentleman who wrote a secret despatch (pp. 598–591) to Lord Godolphin early in 1704 shows tat the method of 1807 was by no means new. It had been tried with success by the French in their naval expeditions against the Italian coast; and is now recommended for trial upon the French fleet in Toulon. After all the idea of a bold offensive against the enemy on his own shores is as old as Drake and older. No sailor can claim that it is his own.

Did space permit I should like to refer to the very full despatches from Ireland, and to those from the Channel Islands, the Commissiones of Sick and Wounded, and other sources; but the exigencies of the printer forbid a long Preface; and I must leave the reader to find out, by the sure aid of the Index, the other good things in this volume. I am far indeed from regretting that most of its pages should have reposed unread upon my shelf for half a dozen years; for the interest and the value of their recored are enhanced in no samll measure when they are read under the bright light of yesterday.

R. P. Mahaffy.

Chancery Lane,
Long Vacation, 1920.