Simancas: December 1586, 11-20 | British History Online

Calendar of State Papers, Spain (Simancas), Volume 3, 1580-1586. Originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1896.

'Simancas: December 1586, 11-20', in Calendar of State Papers, Spain (Simancas), Volume 3, 1580-1586, (London, 1896) pp. 670-679. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/simancas/vol3/pp670-679 [accessed 25 April 2024]

December 1586, 11-20



13 Dec. Paris Archives, K. 1564. 243.	522. Sampson's Advices from England. Diego Botello writes to Don Antonio's people saying that, as the Queen had promised to help Don Antonio when the earl of Leicester and Drake arrived, they hoped now that he would be fortunate, and soon in a position to reward them for their services. Captain Alegre, when he went with Custodio Leiton, took an order from this King's Master of the Pages and another gentleman of the 45 guard, to buy a ship in England, for the purpose of sending her out to plunder. This is owing to the hopes that Alegre held out to them that it would come back loaded with gold. The captain now writes to them from England that he has made the purchase, and that, as victuals are very much cheaper there than in France, it was advisable for them to send him money to enable him to stock her with the necessary stores for the voyage, and she could then sail out direct. These letters for the Master of the Pages came in Don Antonio's packet, and his (Don Antonio's) own people ask for a reply to them, although they do not indicate that they are aware of the contents. They are so earnest about it that they have evidently received orders to get this answer back, as Sampson says, through the air, which makes me think that when Don Antonio's plans, which are described in the other letter enclosed advices from England, are to be carried into effect, he will try to make use of this vessel. Sampson says that Don Antonio showed signs of being very well pleased in England, and his partisans say the same, although that may be artifice.
17 Dec. Paris Archives, K. 1448. 87.	523. The King to Bernardino De Mendoza. [Extract.] I quite believe that you have done your best to obtain trustworthy news from England, and although the task of conquering the difficulty may be a hard one, you will see how important it is to me, and I must enjoin you to continue your efforts to procure fresh sources of intelligence, in addition to those you have, which are good. But as news about armaments must depend mainly upon eye witnesses, your efforts must principally be directed to this point, and you must keep me well informed of all you hear, so that our preparations here may be fittingly made. You will pay great attention to this and also let me know whether Hawkins has returned to England with his fleet, and if it is true, as you were told, that Drake went over to Zeeland with those few ships, and, if so, what could have been his object, together with all you can learn about their preparations. Note.—The King has added the following autograph note to this passage in the draft : "Consider whether it will not be advisable to send him the reports we have received from Portugal about this (i.e., the movements of Hawkins) without saying who the author is ; is order that he may compare them with his own information and advise us which is the more correct."
17 Dec. Paris Archives, K. 1564. 244.	524. Advices from England. As soon as the earl of Leicester and Drake arrived in England, Don Antonio sent Diego Botello to ask the Queen to come to some decision in his affair, as those whose arrival she awaited had now come. If she could not give him some decided answer he must ask her for his passport to allow him and all his people to leave the country. The Queen answered Diego Botello— "If the King my brother is in such a hurry in his affairs he may go whithersoever he pleases ; the road is open for him." On the receipt of this answer Don Antonio wrote a note the same night to the French ambassador, and on the following morning the Ambassador visited him, and was admitted by a back door. Don Antonio asked him whether he could get a passport for him under the name of a French gentleman to enable him to cross over to Calais, and the ambassador assured him that he should be sent to France at any time that he might desire. Don Antonio, in the meanwhile, fell ill, and the Queen sent Lord Hunsdon and Lord Admiral Howard to visit him, and to tell him not to distress himself, she would help him in his affairs much better than he expected. As soon as she had got free from the queen of Scotland's business she promised she would look into his. Drake went to see Don Antonio, and told him that he would either place him in Portugal or lose his life in the attempt. On the following day Drake went with Dr. Lopez to the Council, to ask leave to fit out his ships ; Secretary Walsingham taking the matter up, asked whither he was going with the ships, to which Drake replied that he was going to the Portuguese Indies. He has not obtained the permit to put them into commission, but Walsingham told him he could get the ships ready for sea, and he would favour him with help to sail on his expedition, although some of the Councillors thought it would be difficult to grant him a license. Don Antonio was well again, and the man who sends these advices says that he (Don Antonio) had gone personally with Drake to see his ships. They are seven in number, one of 400 tons another of 300, another of 250, and the rest from 150 to 180 tons, and they are well armed with bronze pieces. The flagship had 28 guns. Drake said that the rebel States offered 40 ships to accompany his, for the purpose of placing Don Antonio in Portugal or the islands, the earl of Leicester having agreed to it.
17 Dec. Paris Archives, K. 1564. 245. Portuguese.	525. Antonio De Vega to the King. For the reasons which I will relate below, I have decided to despatch the bearer with all speed and secrecy. If the occasion were far less important than it is, I should still consider the despatch necessary, although I have been at immense trouble in finding means to get the bearer out of the country. I would rather be blamed for over zeal than for negligence. I wrote by the Venetian ship which sailed from here on the 28th October, and briefly by Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, who left on the 11th November and would verbally give an account to your Majesty of certain matters in your interest. It will be well, however, for me to briefly repeat some of the reports I previously sent and verbally entrusted to Sarmiento. The Queen continues to act in a way which may well cause your Majesty's indignation, especially in taking the States of Flanders under her protection, to which she was persuaded by a number of fanatics who assured her that she ought not to allow the opportunity to slip, and that your Majesty should not be left in tranquillity there, as the existence of her own realm was deeply concerned. The further to trouble your Majesty she gave to Francis Drake license to arm ships to assail all New Spain. Some of the more disinterested Councillors opposed this policy, but as they were outnumbered and outweighted by the others, they gave way and the policy was then adopted without difficulty. The states of Holland and Zeeland were taken under the Queen's protection, letters of marque were granted against your Majesty's subjects, Drake was fitted out to sail on his expedition, in which he gained nothing but discredit for himself and disappointment for those who were behind him. For this reason the Queen was ill-able to fulfil the promises she had made to the States, especially in the matter of engaging German troops. The payment of the 10,000l. a month in cash which she had undertaken to send them has been punctually made hitherto, at the importunity of the earl of Leicester and Secretary Walsingham. The earl of Leicester came hither nine days since with two deputies chosen by the provinces, the rest being expected daily. They are going to ask the Queen to do one of two things : either to accept the sovereignty of the States and carry on the war openly with national forces, or to give them leave to come to terms with your Majesty. For this reason Parliament will sit longer than was expected. It was on the point of ending when it was prorogued for 15 days later, in order that it may be decided whether peace or war is to be made. Under these circumstances I have thought necessary to send my opinions, in the hope that perhaps they may be of some use to your Majesty if you decide to take remedial measures. I think your Majesty should with all speed give these people to understand that you are willing to come to terms of peace with them (which for many reasons, as I have said before, I think most difficult) ; but still, as I wrote by Sarmiento, I think it will be advisable to express a wish to do so. If they are wishful for peace, this will make them more moderate in their terms, less obstinate in maintaining the obstacles that may present themselves, and less likely to insist upon their first demands remaining unaltered, to the greater scandal than that at present existing, and by this means the hopes entertained on all sides may be discovered. If for your Majesty's own reasons you should decide to come to terms with the Queen, it will be most important to offer to extricate them from the consequences of the trouble in which they now are, which they well know and acknowledge is not small ; because, if once they are convinced that your Majesty will not listen to the mission entrusted to Pedro Sarmiento, they will unanimously strain every nerve to impede and obstruct your Majesty everywhere, and especially in three ways, namely, first by continuing the war in Flanders, by placing my uncle (fn. 1) in Portugal, and fitting out great fleets to impede navigation. It is a common boast here that, when they employ the ships they have here and in Holland, not even a fishing boat will leave the Spanish coast ; and really their sea force is very great. As they are now in this doubt as to whether they shall have war or peace, and this must be decided by the answer given to these deputies from Holland, I have thought well to write with all speed that a message should be sent (from Spain) to the Lord Treasurer, who is the ruling spirit in all this business, and is desirous of peace, to let him know that your Majesty wished for his friendship. This might be done through Pedro de Sarmiento, who appears to be an efficient man, or by any other channel your Majesty might choose. This would have the effect of dividing them, and would prevent a united agreement being arrived at, either with regard to these deputies, or to the help to be given to my uncle, or the other various designs against your Majesty, so that everything would remain in suspense. If your Majesty's enemies seek aid for their projects elsewhere than here, they may pester but cannot injure you. I will not urge further arguments on this point, as I have already dwelt fully upon it, but will only say that my sole object is that your Majesty's affairs may prosper. As I fear to err on this road, which I have hitherto followed in the dark, I abstain from saying more until I can see some light to guide me, but if I should take a false step I know it will be pardoned in view of my zeal to be of service, which far exceeds my astuteness. Before Pedro de Sarmiento went, the Queen, to keep my uncle in suspense, sent two of her Councillors to say that her provinces of Holland and Zeeland would provide what they promised when the deputies came on the former occasion, namely, 40 ships, twenty-five of them war ships provisioned for six months, and 15 merchantmen, with victuals to the value of 50,000 cruzados, whilst she, the Queen, would give him 30,000, as well as what her subjects would provide. On this foundation she sent Drake to Holland to inspect the ships and men that could be obtained there, and my uncle wrote to the Earl (of Leicester) sending him Captain Duarte Perin (Edward Perrin), who is an Englishman, to beg him to intercede with the States in his favour. They replied that if the Queen would take them as her subjects they would do all they were asked, and more ; but the Earl sent a very cold reply, in which he showed how scandalised he was about his (Don Antonio's) son, which matter I mentioned in a former letter to your Majesty. When my uncle got this reply he was very angry, and sent Diego Botello to court to beg the Queen to come to some decision in his affairs. The Queen excused herself by saying that she must defer doing so until the parliament had disposed of the question of the queen of Scots, as she was fully occupied with that at present. Upon this Diego Botello signified that my uncle was desirous of leaving the country and could wait no longer, and the Queen was very angry at this, saying that if he was in such a hurry, the door was open and the road free, and he could go when he liked. She said she was not so inconsiderate as to wish his affairs to be managed lightly, or in a way which would end in failure. Diego Botello got a reply that was anything but pleasing to him. I can assure your Majesty that my uncle has lost all weight with these people in consequence of Diego Botello's want of tact. He is accordingly awaiting the settlement of the queen of Scotland's affair, and is determined to go from England, if some arrangement is not made with him on the Earl's return. He will probably go to France and has spoken to the ambassador about it, asking him, in case any difficulty is raised as to his leaving, to give him a passport as if for one of his own people. The bearer of the present is Gaspar Diaz Montesinos, one of four brothers who accompanied my uncle. He and his brother, Baltazar Vaez, who have stayed with me for a long time past, have offered to serve your Majesty. He was condemned to death by my uncle, but my father-in-law the French ambassador saved his life, and he has sworn to be avenged on my uncle. If your Majesty desires, the bearer may be spoken to on this point with the utmost confidence, because, in addition to this sworn resolution of his, both he and his brother are brave soldiers, they being two out of the three men in whom I wrote that I trusted, the third being Bernaldo Luis. The bearer will say verbally certain things which I cannot explain in writing, and I beg your Majesty will give credence to him. I wrote what had been resolved about the queen of Scotland, and Pedro Sarmiento will have verbally reported the answer she gave to the interrogations. It afterwards happened that 12 out of the 42 chosen commissioners reported that they found her not guilty, but parliament adjudged her to be deserving of death, and they requested the Queen to allow the sentence to be carried out. The condemnation was made under the act which adjudged it a capital crime for anyone to claim the crown of England, and it was taken advantage of as a means of getting the Queen out of the way. The king of France has sent M. de Belièvre, a member of his council, hither as his ambassador. He arrived here a fortnight ago and has seen the Queen twice, and has spoken once with the Council. All the satisfaction he has got hitherto, apart from condolence and thanks for good feeling expressed, was that the people protested that if the Queen did not carry out the sentence they would do so, as the Queen's own life was at stake, and if she fell not only would all their lives be endangered, but the existence of the State as well. She said she deferred the carrying out of the sentence more to please the king of France than because she thought the queen of Scotland deserved it, or because she intended to imperil her own life by saving that of the prisoner. With words of this sort she kept the matter open until the audience, which was fixed for yesterday. She was pressed by Belièvre for a decision but declined to give it, and this gave rise to some discussion, in the course of which Belièvre said he was much surprised that her Councillors should advise her even to judge, and much less execute, a queen who was not her subject and not amenable to the laws of her country, and said that if she carried out her intention she ran the risk of setting all, or nearly all, Christian princes against her, and especially the king of France. She replied that the king of France ought not to take it amiss that she should do so just a thing as to proceed against the queen of Scotland by the laws of the land ; and, as for the hatred of other princes, she paid very little attention to that, as she had done nothing to deserve it, and, apart from the daring of the house of Guise, and, possibly, the enmity of the king of Spain, she was not likely to be misjudged. She hoped, moreover, before a year was over, to show the king of Spain how powerless he was against her. I hardly dare to say this, but feel it my duty to give the substance of her conversation, which was public. With these words she dismissed Belièvre. The next morning, without saying anything more, she sent to order the lord mayor of London to issue her proclamation with extraordinary ceremony. It announced that the queen of Scotland had on several occasions planned her death, and quoted the letters aud papers which had been discovered proving the charge. She had pardoned her previously, but had said that if she offended again she should be brought to justice according to law ; and, in conformity with this, she had ordered the queen of Scotland to be examined by 42 persons chosen from the most eminent men of the realm, who again found her guilty, both by her own confession, and the evidence otherwise obtained, and she had been found by 36 of the chosen commissioners to be deserving of death. She (the Queen) had, moreover, been petitioned by parliament to allow the sentence to be carried out. This she had refused on three occasions, and wished to hold the sentence back. The parliament had at last, however, pressed her so forcibly and so unanimously upon the subject, and had said that if she did not carry out the sentence they would do so ; that for the sake of the quietude of her states and the safety of her person she had at length conceded to them that the punishment should be duly carried out, namely, the beheading of the queen of Scotland. This proclamation was ordered to be made in all the towns in the country on the same day. It was considered certain that the execution would take place to-day, but it is not known as the Queen (of Scots) is in a castle 50 miles from here. At the end of this letter I shall be able to give further information on this point. The king of Scotland has sent an envoy (fn. 2) hither, in addition to his resident ambassador (fn. 3) but they both of them only talk as this Queen wishes them to do, as they are evidently her pensioners. One of them told the French ambassador yesterday that the king of Scotland was sending hither two earls and two lawyers to protest to the Queen that if she killed his mother he would make war upon her, and the Queen had granted a passport for them. But to-day the event I have described (the publishing of the proclamation) took place. Great bets are being made as to whether the queen of Scotland is dead yet. I am told by the French ambassador here that his King is at issue with this lady (the queen of England ?) and if he does not come to terms with the king of Navarre will seek every means of joining your Majesty to injure this country. But the weak point of this country and the Queen is on the side of Scotland, and if what the Scots' ambassador says be true, the task is half finished. If your Majesty thinks well, I would pray that an answer should be sent back at once, in time for it to arrive here before Parliament closes. The bearer will use all speed, but secrecy is most vital, as I am very anxious that his going thither (to Spain) should not be discovered. We hear of certain details of what was passing in Spain through an agent of the king of France there. The bearer takes orders only to return to Paris, and await there an opportunity of coming over when occasion of importance may demand. The channel of communication he will mention is safe and secret. He takes money for his journey thither (to Spain) and if anything of great moment happen here Bernaldo Luis shall be sent, either by land or sea, but the trouble of smuggling these men out of the country is very great. I have a man who is now fitting out a ship here, and will leave at the beginning of January, upon whom I can depend for carrying despatches. I should be much obliged if your Majesty would send me a commission, so that I could with more confidence offer or give reward when it may be necessary, and I should also like to receive instructions as to the conduct of affairs generally, in order that I should not exceed the limits desired. I am in debt from the time I was here for my uncle, and am afraid of losing my good name with these people. I was obliged to avail myself of the help of Bernaldo Luis, so that if I was forced to leave I might not go away owing money, as I would never depart without paying everything. Bernaldo Luis accordingly lent me 2,000 cruzados, which I promised should be paid in Lisbon to his brother Pero Freire. If your Majesty would order the favour to be granted to me of having this money paid, I should be very grateful, as it is more necessary now than ever for me to keep up my credit, and I cannot do the good services I wish if I have not the means of rewarding those who are to be rewarded. I am unfortunately unable to do it as I could desire out of my own resources, and am obliged to importune your Majesty. I have not only spent all my own money, but that of my friends, who have now all turned against me in consequence. My uncle is accompanied by the persons of whom Pedro Sarmiento took a list, and of whom there are many, as the bearer will say, whom I could approach, as they mostly come to me in their need and troubles. Don Antonio Meneses is a prisoner, but I hope to get him released by the means the bearer will describe. He and Don Joāo Cresto, with four others, would have gone away before now if they had had the means for the journey. If my uncle leaves here, as he says he will, he will go by way of Calais with a very small suite, as he thinks secrecy will ensure his safety. If your Majesty wishes, the bearer might be spoken to about this with the utmost confidence, as he is specially chosen for the purpose. I heard to-day that certain merchants intend to fit out five ships to send to the Portuguese Indies, under favour of some of the Councillors, and Drake is busy about them. I will send further news by Bernaldo Luis. Hawkins returned bringing in two ships from Santo Domingo and two from Brazil, but owing to a tempest he was unable to reach the islands. He captured four other ships from San Thomé, and five from Brazil, as well as four fishing boats, which they plundered but did not bring in. This is all I can say at present, as I am prevented by the sons of my uncle and the shortness of the time from writing at greater length. It is important not to lose the opportunity of sending my man with the gentleman (fn. 4) now being sent by the French ambassador.— London, 17th December 1586.
18 Dec. Paris Archives, K. 1564. 242. Portuguese.	526. Antonio De Vega to the King. The bearer was kept back for a day, in order that he might take news of the decision that had been arrived at respecting the joint action in favour of the queen of Scotland, which was to be taken by the ambassadors of France and Scotland who were to address the Queen on the subject on the day of the proclamation. The French ambassador resident here had written to the king of Scotland, pointing out to him that in the present position of his mother if he fulfilled his duty as a good son he would be supported by all Christian princes, in whose eyes he would suffer greatly if the contrary were the case, and the King answered thanking him for his advice, begging a continuance of his good offices in favour of his mother, and saying that he was sending an ambassador hither upon the matter, with orders to act in accord with him, and follow his advice. On the day of the proclamation, 16th, the day before yesterday, the Scots ambassador consulted the French ambassadors, and by their advice went to see the Queen, accompanied by another (Scots ambassador) (fn. 5) whom evidently the King did not trust. He told the Queen that, since she was proceeding so infamously with the mother of the King, his master, he gave her notice in his name that he withdrew entirely from the friendship and alliance arranged between them last year, whereupon the Queen was excessively enraged. The French ambassadors then wrote to her, begging her to defer the execution of the sentence until they had communicated with their master, for which they requested 15 days. She promised to send a reply by one of her Councillors, which, however, she did not do until to-day, when she answered that she would give them 12 days in which to communicate with their King, and she sent a similar letter to the Scots ambassador, although less than that time would have done for him. On the day of the proclamation the queen of Scotland's apartments were divested of their emblazoned hanging, and mourning drapery was fixed, both in the rooms and on the bed. I could, if I had time, say much more upon this point, but the bearer, who takes the information to the king of France, can stay no longer.—London, 18th December 1586. Note.—The aforegoing two holograph letters from the so-called nephew of the Portuguese pretender, Don Antonio, are extremely obscure and diffuse, and contain much irrelevant matter, mainly concerning Don Antonio's followers, which has been omitted in the translation. The letters were evidently read with great care by the King, as they are in many places underlined by his pen, and marginal notes of exclamation and attention inserted by him. They are addressed on the cover to Don Jeronimo Lopez Sapaio, and (apparently by him) re-addressed "To our lord the King." It will be seen in the course of the correspondence that the Montesinos brothers, and especially the bearer of the above letters, Gaspar Diaz Montesinos, were entrusted with a proposal for the murder of Don Antonio, which proposal was accepted by the King and instructions for the crime sent by Secretary Idiaquez to Mendoza, although Montesinos was not allowed to go to Spain to treat of the matter personally, but was retained in Paris by Mendoza.
17 Dec. Paris Archives, K. 1448. 153.	527. The King to Bernardino De Mendoza. I cannot say how grieved I am about the queen of Scotland. God help her in this trouble and extricate her from it. It was imprudent to keep copies of those dangerous papers, although they were so honourable. However there is no help for it now. You will use every possible effort to induce Nazareth and others to urge the king of France to act energetically in her behalf, placing before him with this object the arguments most likely to move him, which are many. Let me know what takes place, for I am very anxious about it.—Madrid, 17th December 1586.
18 Dec. Paris Archives, K. 1448. 88.	528. Secretary Idiaquez to Bernardino De Merdoza. Charles Arundel has written to His Majesty begging that the money given to him here on account of the allowance payable to him in France should be regarded as a separate grant. Having regard to what you write about the understanding he has with the English ambassador, and the good service he renders, His Majesty has decided to accede to his request, so that you may continue to pay him his allowance without deducting the amount paid to him here, which will be a separate grant-in-aid. His Majesty is anxious that the matter should be kept secret, and Arundel must be enjoined to tell no one, as it might be seized upon as a precedent by the rest of them who were here.—Madrid, 18th December 1586.