Venice: June 1576

Calendar of State Papers Relating To English Affairs in the Archives of Venice, Volume 7, 1558-1580. Originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1890.

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'Venice: June 1576', in Calendar of State Papers Relating To English Affairs in the Archives of Venice, Volume 7, 1558-1580, (London, 1890) pp. 550-551. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/venice/vol7/pp550-551 [accessed 28 March 2024]

June 1576

June 19. Original Despatch, Venetian Archives. 658. Giovanni Francesco Morosini, Venetian Ambassador in France, to the Signory.
The day before yesterday the English Ambassador resident here came to see me, and told me that he had received letters from Mr. Randolph, desiring I should be informed that according to the promise which he had made me before his departure, he had to the best of his ability acquainted her Majesty with all that I had said to him concerning the privilege granted to Acerbo Velutelli, and how acceptable its revocation would be to the Signory, and that the Queen had answered with most gracious words, and with a demonstration of goodwill towards the Republic; whence it appears certain that if your Serenity would send an Ambassador to England the privilege would be immediately revoked. I thanked his Excellency for the good offices which he had thus performed, and said I ventured to hope that her Majesty, in order to revoke this privilege, would not require all the time that would be necessary to accredit an Ambassador, because, as the concession was not less hurtful to her subjects than to those of your Serenity, it was not expedient that a particular interest should continue to exist so long without benefit to any of the parties. The Ambassador answered me that notwithstanding that the privilege might not be revoked, yet he assured me that if any Venetian vessel should chance to arrive in England, it would not pay duty nor receive any annoyance on account of the privilege, but that to obtain this revocation the presence of an Ambassador was necessary; and he endeavoured to prove to me by many reasons which I have already written, that your Serenity should do this. I on my part endeavoured to avoid this conclusion as much as I could, believing this to be your Serenity's wish, because if you had thought fit to send an Ambassador here you would have already done so; and although our countrymen resident in England have written me that they have offered your Serenity to pay all the Ambassador's expenses, nevertheless I have not failed to advise you of all that has taken place.
Paris, 19th June 1576.
[Italian.]