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14 | <Metadata name="Content">biography of Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) by Edward Spencer Beesly, 1892</Metadata>
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15 | <Metadata name="Page_topic">biography of Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) by Edward Spencer Beesly, 1892</Metadata>
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16 | <Metadata name="Author">Marilee Mongello</Metadata>
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17 | <Metadata name="Title">Secondary Sources: Queen Elizabeth by Edward Spencer Beesly, 1892: Chapter VIII</Metadata>
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21 | <Metadata name="dc.Subject">Tudor period|Others</Metadata>
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30 | <Content>
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31 |
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32 | <table border="0" cellpadding="3" width="100%" height="667">
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33 | <tr>
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34 | <td width="25%" height="29"></td>
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35 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="29">&nbsp;</td>
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36 | <td width="25%" height="29"></td>
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37 | </tr>
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38 | <tr>
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39 | <td width="25%" height="3"></td>
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40 | <td width="50%" height="3"><font size="3"></font></td>
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41 | <td width="25%" height="3"></td>
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42 | </tr>
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43 | <tr>
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44 | <td width="25%" height="610"></td>
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45 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="610">
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46 | <p align="center"><b><font size="7">Queen Elizabeth<br></font></b>
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47 | <font size="4">by Edward Spencer Beesly, 1892</font></p>
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48 | <p align="center">
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49 | <img border="2" src="_httpdocimg_/eliz1-ermine.jpg" width="400" height="478" alt="'The Ermine Portrait' of Elizabeth I, c1585, by Nicholas Hilliard"><p align="center">
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50 | <i><font size="2">'The Ermine Portrait' of Elizabeth I, c1585, by Nicholas
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51 | Hilliard;<br>from the <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.marileecody.com%2feliz1-images.html">Portraits of Queen Elizabeth I</a> website</font></i></td>
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52 | <td width="25%" height="610"></td>
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53 | </tr>
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54 | </table>
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55 | <blockquote>
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56 | <blockquote>
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57 | <font style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
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58 | <font style="font-family: Times New Roman"></font>
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59 | <font style="font-family: Times New Roman"></font>
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60 | <font style="font-family: Times New Roman"></font>
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61 | <font style="font-family: Times New Roman"></font>
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62 | <font style="font-family: Times New Roman">
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63 | <div align="left">
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64 | <b>CHAPTER VIII</b><br>
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65 | <b>THE PROTECTORATE OF THE NETHERLANDS: 1584-86</b></div>
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66 | <p align="left">WE are now approaching the great crisis of the reign, some
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67 | may think of English history--the grand struggle with Spain; a struggle
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68 | which, if Elizabeth had allowed herself to be guided by her most celebrated
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69 | counsellors, would have been entered upon a quarter of a century earlier.
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70 | England was then unarmed and weighed down with a load of debt, the legacy of
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71 | three thriftless and pugnacious reigns. The population was still mainly
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72 | Catholic. The great nobles still thought themselves a match for the crown,
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73 | and many of them longed to make one more effort to assert their old position
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74 | in the State. Trade and industry were languishing. The poorer classes were
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75 | suffering and discontented. Scotland was in the hands of a most dangerous
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76 | enemy, whose title to the English crown was held by many to be better than
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77 | Elizabeth's. Philip II., as yet unharassed by revolt, seemed almost to have
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78 | drawn England as a sort of satellite into the vast orbit of his empire. </p>
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79 | <p align="left">Nearly a generation had now passed away since Elizabeth
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80 | ascended the throne. Every year of it had seen some amendment in the
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81 | condition of the country. Under a pacific and thrifty Government taxation
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82 | had been light beyond precedent. All debts, even those of Henry VIII., had
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83 | been honourably paid off. While the lord of American gold mines and of the
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84 | richest commercial centres in Europe could not raise a loan on any terms,
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85 | Elizabeth could borrow when she pleased at five per cent. But she had ceased
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86 | to borrow, for she had a modest surplus stored in her treasury, a department
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87 | of the administration managed under her own close personal supervision. A
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88 | numerous militia had been enrolled and partially trained. Large magazines of
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89 | arms had been accumulated. A navy had been created; not a large one indeed;
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90 | but it did not need to be large, for the warship of those days did not
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91 | differ from the ordinary vessel of commerce, nor was its crew differently
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92 | trained. The royal navy could therefore be indefinitely increased if need
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93 | arose. Philip's great generals, Alva and Parma, had long come to the
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94 | conclusion that the conquest of England would be the most difficult
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95 | enterprise their master could undertake. The wealth of landed proprietors
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96 | and traders had increased enormously. New manufactures had been started by
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97 | exiles from the Netherlands. New branches of foreign commerce had been
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98 | opened up. The poor were well employed and contented. I believe it would be
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99 | impossible to find in the previous history of England, or, for that matter,
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100 | of Europe, since the fall of the Roman Empire, any instance of peace,
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101 | prosperity, and good government extending over so many years. </p>
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102 | <p align="left">Looking abroad we find that in all directions the strength
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103 | and security of Elizabeth's position had been immensely increased. Her
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104 | ministers, especially Walsingham--for Burghley in his old age came at last
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105 | to see more with the eyes of his mistress--believed that by a more spirited
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106 | policy Scotland might have been converted into a submissive and valuable
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107 | ally. Elizabeth alone saw that this was impossible; that, so treated,
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108 | Scotland would become to England what Holland was to Philip, what &quot;the
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109 | Spanish ulcer&quot; was afterwards to Napoleon--a fatal drain on her strength and
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110 | resources. It was enough for Elizabeth if the northern kingdom was so
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111 | handled as to be harmless; and this, as I have shown, was in fact its
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112 | condition from the moment that the only Scottish ruler who could be really
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113 | dangerous was locked up in England. </p>
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114 | <p align="left">The Dutch revolt crippled Philip. The conquest of England
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115 | was postponed till the Dutch revolt should be suppressed. Why then, it has
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116 | been asked, did not Elizabeth support the Dutch more vigorously? The answer
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117 | is a simple one. If she had done so the suppression of the Dutch revolt
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118 | would have been postponed to the conquest of England. This is proved by the
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119 | events now to be related. Elizabeth was obliged by new circumstances to
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120 | intervene more vigorously in the Netherlands, and the result was the Armada.
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121 | If the attack had come ten or fifteen years earlier the fortune of England
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122 | might have been different. </p>
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123 | <p align="left">Elizabeth's foreign policy has been judged unfavourably by
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124 | writers who have failed to keep in view how completely it turned on her
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125 | relations with France. Though her interests and those of Henry III cannot be
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126 | called identical, they coincided sufficiently to make it possible to keep up
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127 | a good understanding which was of the highest advantage to both countries.
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128 | But to maintain this good understanding there was need of the coolest temper
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129 | and judgment on the part of the rulers; for the two peoples were hopelessly
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130 | hostile. They were like two gamecocks in adjoining pens. The Spaniards were
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131 | respected and liked by our countrymen. Their grave dignity, even their stiff
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132 | assumption of intrinsic superiority, were too like our own not to awake a
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133 | certain appreciative sympathy. Whereas all Englishmen from peer to peasant
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134 | would at any time have enjoyed a tussle with France, until its burdens began
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135 | to be felt. </p>
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136 | <p align="left">Henry III, with whom the Valois dynasty was about to expire,
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137 | was far from being the incompetent driveller depicted by most historians. He
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138 | had good abilities, plenty of natural courage when roused, and a thorough
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139 | comprehension of the politics of his day. His aims and plans were well
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140 | conceived. But with no child to care for, and immersed in degrading
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141 | self-indulgence, he wearied of the exertions and sacrifices necessary for
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142 | carrying them through. Short spells of sensible and energetic action were
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143 | succeeded by periods of unworthy lassitude and pusillanimous surrender.
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144 | Before he came to the throne he had been the chief organiser of the
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145 | Bartholomew Massacre. As King he naturally inclined, like Elizabeth, William
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146 | of Orange, and Henry of Navarre, to make considerations of religion
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147 | subordinate to considerations of State. Both he and Navarre would have been
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148 | glad to throw over the fanatical or factious partisans by whom they were
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149 | surrounded, and rally the <i>Politiques</i> to their support. But it was a
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150 | step that neither as yet ventured openly to take. The one was obliged to
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151 | affect zeal for the old religion, the other for the new. </p>
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152 | <p align="left">Elizabeth's ministers, with short-sighted animosity, had
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153 | been urging her throughout her reign to give vigorous support to the
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154 | Huguenots. She herself took a broader view of the situation. She preferred
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155 | to deal with the legitimate government of France recognised by the vast
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156 | majority of Frenchmen. Henry III., as she well knew, did not intend or
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157 | desire to exterminate the Huguenots. If that turbulent faction had been
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158 | openly abetted in its arrogant claims by English assistance, he would have
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159 | been obliged to become the mere instrument of Elizabeth's worst enemies,
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160 | Guise and the Holy League. France would have ceased to be any counterpoise
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161 | to Spain. The English Queen had so skilfully played a most difficult and
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162 | delicate game that Henry of Navarre had been able to keep his head above
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163 | water; Guise had upon the whole been held in check; the royal authority,
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164 | though impaired, had still controlled the foreign policy of France, and so,
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165 | since 1572, had given England a firm and useful ally. As long as this
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166 | balanced situation could be maintained, England was safe. </p>
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167 | <p align="left">But the time was now at hand when this nice equilibrium of
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168 | forces would be disturbed by events which neither Elizabeth nor any one else
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169 | could help. Alençon, the last of the Valois line, was dying. When he should
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170 | be gone, the next heir to the French King would be no other than the
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171 | Huguenot Henry of Bourbon, King of the tiny morsel of Navarre that lay north
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172 | of the Pyrenees. Henry III. wished to recognise his right. But it was
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173 | impossible that Guise or Philip, or the French nation itself, should
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174 | tolerate this prospect. Thus the great war of religion which Elizabeth had
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175 | so carefully abstained from stirring up was now inevitable. The French
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176 | alliance, the key-stone of her policy, was about to crumble away with the
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177 | authority of the French King which she had buttressed up. He would be
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178 | compelled either to become the mere instrument of the Papal party or to
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179 | combine openly with the Huguenot leader. In either case, Guise, not Henry
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180 | III., would be the virtual sovereign, and Elizabeth's alliance would not be
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181 | with France but with a French faction. She would thus be forced into the
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182 | position which she had hitherto refused to accept--that of sole protector of
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183 | French and Dutch Protestants, and open antagonist of Spain. The more showy
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184 | part she was now to play has been the chief foundation of her glory with
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185 | posterity. It is a glory which she deserves. The most industrious
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186 | disparagement will never rob her of it. But the sober student will be of
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187 | opinion that her reputation as a statesman has a more solid basis in the
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188 | skill and firmness with which during so many years she staved off the
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189 | necessity for decisive action. </p>
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190 | <p align="left">Although the discovery of the Throgmorton plot (November
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191 | 1583), and the consequent expulsion of the Spanish ambassador, Mendoza, were
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192 | not immediately followed by open war between England and Spain, yet the
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193 | course of events thenceforward tended directly to that issue. Elizabeth
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194 | immediately proposed to the Dutch States to form a naval alliance against
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195 | Spain, and to concert other measures for mutual defence. </p>
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196 | <p align="left">Orange met the offer with alacrity, and pressed Elizabeth to
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197 | accept the sovereignty of Holland, Zealand, and Utrecht. Perhaps there was
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198 | no former ruler of England who would not have clutched at such an
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199 | opportunity of territorial aggrandisement. For Elizabeth it had no charms.
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200 | Every sensible person now will applaud the sobriety of her aims. But though
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201 | she eschewed territory, she desired to have military occupation of one or
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202 | more coast fortresses, at all events for a time, both as a security for the
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203 | fidelity of the Dutch to any engagements they might make with her, and to
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204 | enable her to treat on more equal terms with France or Spain, if the
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205 | Netherlands were destined, after all, to fall into the hands of one of those
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206 | powers. </p>
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207 | <p align="left">While these negotiations were in progress, William of Orange
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208 | was murdered (1584). Alençon had died a month earlier. The sovereignty of
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209 | the revolted Netherlands was thus vacant. Elizabeth advised a joint
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210 | protectorate by France and England. But the Dutch had small confidence in
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211 | protectorates, especially of the joint kind. What they wanted was a
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212 | sovereign, and as Elizabeth would not accept them as her subjects they
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213 | offered themselves to Henry III. But after nibbling at the offer for eight
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214 | months Henry was obliged to refuse it. His openly expressed intention to
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215 | recognise the King of Navarre as his heir had caused a revival of the Holy
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216 | League. During the winter 1584-5 its reorganisation was busily going on.
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217 | Philip promised to subsidise it. Mendoza, now ambassador at Paris, was its
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218 | life and soul. The insurrection was on the point of breaking out. Henry III
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219 | knew that the vast majority of Frenchmen were Catholics. To accept the Dutch
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220 | offer would, he feared, drive them all into the ranks of the Holy League. He
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221 | therefore dismissed the Dutch envoys with the recommendation that they
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222 | should apply to England for protection (1585). The manifesto of the Leaguers
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223 | appeared at the end of March (1585). Henry of Navarre was declared
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224 | incapable, as a Protestant, of succeeding to the crown. Henry III. was
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225 | summoned to extirpate heresy. To enforce these demands the Leaguers flew to
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226 | arms all over France. Had Henry III. been a man of spirit he would have
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227 | placed himself at the head of the loyal Catholics and fought it out. But by
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228 | the compact of Nemours he conceded all the demands of the League (1585). </p>
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229 | </font>
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230 | </font>
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231 | <font face="Times New Roman">
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232 | <p>Thus began the last great war of religion, which lasted till Henry of
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233 | Navarre was firmly seated on the throne of France. </p>
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234 | <p align="left">Elizabeth had now finally lost the French alliance, the
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235 | sheet-anchor of her policy since 1572, and she prepared for the grand
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236 | struggle which could no longer be averted. As France failed her, she must
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237 | make the best of the Dutch alliance. She did not conceal from herself that
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238 | she would have to do her share of the fighting. But she was determined that
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239 | the Dutch should also do theirs. Deprived of all hope of help from France
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240 | they wished for annexation to the English crown, because solidarity between
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241 | the two countries would give them an unlimited claim upon English resources.
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242 | Elizabeth uniformly told them, first and last, that nothing should induce
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243 | her to accept that proposal. She would give them a definite amount of
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244 | </font>
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245 | <font style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
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246 | <font face="Times New Roman">
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247 | assistance in men and money. But every farthing would have to be repaid when
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248 | the war was over; and in the meantime she must have Flushing and Brill as
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249 | security. They must also bind themselves to make proper exertions in their
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250 | own defence. Gilpin, her agent in Zealand, had warned her that if she showed
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251 | herself too forward they would simply throw the whole burden of the war upon
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252 | her. Splendid as had often been the resistance of separate towns when
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253 | besieged, there had been, from the first, lamentable selfishness and apathy
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254 | as to measures for combined defence. The States had less than 6000 men in
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255 | the field--half of them English volunteers--at the very time when they were
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256 | assuring Elizabeth that, if she would come to their assistance, they could
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257 | and would furnish 15,000. She was justified in regarding their fine promises
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258 | with much distrust. </p>
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259 | <p align="left">While this discussion was going on, Antwerp was lost. The
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260 | blame of the delay, if blame there was, must be divided equally between the
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261 | bargainers. The truth is that, cavil as they might about details, the
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262 | strength of the English contingent was not the real object of concern to
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263 | either of them. Each was thinking of something else. Though Elizabeth had so
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264 | peremptorily refused the sovereignty offered by the United Provinces, they
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265 | were still bent on forcing it upon her. She, on the other hand, had not
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266 | given up the hope that her more decisive intervention would drive Philip to
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267 | make the concessions to his revolted subjects which she had so often urged
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268 | upon him. In her eyes, Philip's sovereignty over them was indefeasible. They
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269 | were, perhaps, justified in asserting their ancient constitutional rights
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270 | But if those were guaranteed, continuance of the rebellion would be
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271 | criminal. Moreover, she held that elected deputies were but amateur
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272 | statesmen, and had better leave the <i>haute politique</i> to princes to
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273 | settle. &quot;Princes,&quot; she once told a Dutch deputation, &quot;are not to be charged
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274 | with breach of faith if they sometimes listen to both sides; for they
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275 | transact business in a princely way and with a princely understanding such
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276 | as private persons cannot have.&quot; Her promise not to make peace behind their
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277 | backs was not to be interpreted as literally as if it had been made to a
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278 | brother prince. It merely bound her--so she contended--not to make peace
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279 | without safeguarding their interests; that is to say, what she considered to
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280 | be their true interests. Conduct based on such a theory would not be
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281 | tolerated now, and was not tamely acquiesced in by the Dutch then. But to
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282 | speak of it as base and treacherous is an abuse of terms. </p>
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283 | <p align="left">It would be impossible to follow in detail the peace
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284 | negotiations which went on between Elizabeth and Parma up to the very
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285 | sailing of the Armada (1586-8). The terms on which the Queen was prepared to
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286 | make peace never varied substantially from first to last. We know very well
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287 | what they were. She claimed for the Protestants of the Netherlands (who were
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288 | a minority, perhaps, even in the rebel provinces) precisely the same degree
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289 | of toleration which she allowed to her own Catholics. They were not to be
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290 | questioned about their religion; but there was to be no public worship or
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291 | proselytising. The old constitution, as before Alva, was to be restored,
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292 | which would have involved the departure of the foreign troops. These terms
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293 | would not have satisfied the States, and if Philip could have been induced
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294 | to grant them, the States and Elizabeth must have parted company. But, as he
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295 | would make no concessions, the Anglo-Dutch alliance could, and did,
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296 | continue. The cautionary towns she was determined never to give up to any
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297 | one unless (first) she was repaid her expenses for which they had been
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298 | mortgaged, and (secondly) the struggle in the Netherlands was brought to an
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299 | end on terms which she approved. There was, therefore, never any danger of
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300 | their being surrendered to Philip, and they did, in fact, remain in
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301 | Elizabeth's hands till her death. </p>
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302 | <p align="left">Elizabeth has been severely censured for selecting Leicester
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303 | to command the English army in the Netherlands. It is certain that he was
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304 | marked out by public opinion as the fittest person. The Queen's choice was
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305 | heartily approved by all her ministers, especially by Walsingham, who kept
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306 | up the most confidential relations with Leicester, and backed him
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307 | throughout. Custom prescribed that an English army should be commanded, not
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308 | by a professional soldier, but by a great nobleman. Among the nobility there
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309 | were a few who had done a little soldiering in a rough way in Scotland or
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310 | Ireland, but no one who could be called a professional general. The
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311 | momentous step which Elizabeth was taking would have lost half its
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312 | significance in the eyes of Europe if any less conspicuous person than
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313 | Leicester had been appointed. Moreover, it was essential that the nobleman
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314 | selected should be able and willing to spend largely out of his own
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315 | resources. By traditional usage, derived from feudal times, peers who were
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316 | employed on temporary services not only received no salary, but were
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317 | expected to defray their own expenses, and defray them handsomely. Never did
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318 | an English nobleman show more public spirit in this respect than Leicester.
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319 | He raised every penny he could by mortgaging his estates. He not only paid
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320 | his own personal expenses, but advanced large sums for military purposes,
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321 | which his mistress never thought of repaying him. If he effected little as a
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322 | general, it was because he was not provided with the means. Serious mistakes
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323 | he certainly made, but they were not of a military kind. </p>
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324 | <p align="left">Leicester was now fifty-four, bald, white-bearded, and
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325 | red-faced, but still imposing in figure, carriage, and dress. To Elizabeth
|
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326 | he was dear as the friend of her youth, one who, she was persuaded, had
|
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327 | loved her for herself when they were both thirty years younger, and was
|
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328 | still her most devoted and trustworthy servant. Burghley she liked and
|
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329 | trusted, and all the more since he had become a more docile instrument of
|
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330 | her policy. Walsingham, a keener intellect and more independent character,
|
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331 | she could not but value, though impatient under his penetrating suspicion
|
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332 | and almost constant disapproval. Leicester was the intimate friend, the
|
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333 | frequent companion of her leisure hours. None of her younger favourites had
|
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334 | supplanted him in her regard. By long intimacy he knew the <i>molles aditus
|
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335 | et tempora</i> when things might be said without offence which were not
|
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336 | acceptable at the council-board. The other ministers were glad to use him
|
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337 | for this purpose. There can be no question that his appointment to the
|
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338 | command in the Netherlands was meant as the most decisive indication that
|
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339 | could be given of Elizabeth's determination to face open war with Philip
|
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340 | rather than allow him to establish absolute government in that country. </p>
|
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341 | <p align="left">Since the deaths of Alençon and William of Orange, the
|
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342 | United Provinces had been without a ruler. The government had been
|
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343 | provisionally carried on by the &quot;States,&quot; or deputies from each province.
|
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344 | Leicester had come with no other title than that of LieutenantGeneral of the
|
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345 | Queen's troops. But what the States wanted was not so much a military leader
|
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346 | as a sovereign ruler. They therefore urged Leicester to accept the powers
|
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347 | and title of Governor-General, the office which had been held by the
|
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348 | representatives of Philip. From this it would follow, both logically and
|
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349 | practically, that Elizabeth herself stood in the place of Philip--in other
|
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350 | words, that she was committed to the sovereignty which she had so
|
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351 | peremptorily refused. </p>
|
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352 | <p align="left">The offer was accepted by Leicester almost immediately after
|
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353 | his arrival (14/24 January 1586). There can be little doubt that it was a
|
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354 | preconcerted plan between the States and Elizabeth's ministers, who had all
|
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355 | along supported the Dutch proposals. Leicester, we know, had contemplated it
|
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356 | before leaving England. Davison, who was in Holland, hurried it on, and
|
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357 | undertook to carry the news to Elizabeth. Burghley and Walsingham maintained
|
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358 | that the step had been absolutely necessary, and implored her not to undo
|
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359 | it. Elizabeth herself had suspected that something of the sort would be
|
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360 | attempted, and had strictly enjoined Leicester at his departure to accept no
|
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361 | such title. It was not that she wished his powers--that is to say, her own
|
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362 | powers--to be circumscribed. On the contrary, she desired that they should
|
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363 | in practice be as large and absolute as possible. What she objected to was
|
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364 | the title, with all the consequences it involved. And what enraged her most
|
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365 | of all was the attempt of her servants to push the thing through behind her
|
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366 | back, on the calculation that she would be obliged to accept the
|
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367 | accomplished fact. Her wrath vented itself on all concerned, on her
|
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368 | ministers, on the States, and on Leicester. To the latter she addressed a
|
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369 | characteristic letter:-- </p>
|
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370 | <blockquote>
|
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371 | <p align="left">To my Lord of Leicester from the Queen by Sir Thomas
|
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372 | Heneage. </p>
|
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373 | <p align="left">&quot;How contemptuously we conceive ourself to have been used
|
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374 | by you, you shall by this bearer understand, whom we have expressly sent
|
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375 | unto you to charge you withal. We could never have imagined, had we not
|
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376 | seen it fall out in experience, that a man raised up by ourself and
|
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377 | extraordinarily favoured by us above any other subject of this land, would
|
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378 | have in so contemptible [contemptuous] a sort, broken our commandment, in
|
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379 | a cause that so greatly toucheth us in honour; whereof although you have
|
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380 | showed yourself to make but little account, in most undutiful a sort, you
|
---|
381 | may not therefore think that we have so little care of the reparation
|
---|
382 | thereof as we mind to pass so great a wrong in silence unredressed. And
|
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383 | therefore our express pleasure and command is that, all delays and excuses
|
---|
384 | laid apart, you do presently, on the duty of your allegiance, obey and
|
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385 | fulfil whatsoever the bearer hereof shall direct you to do in our name.
|
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386 | Whereof fail not, as you will answer the contrary at your uttermost
|
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387 | peril.&quot; </p>
|
---|
388 | </blockquote>
|
---|
389 | <p align="left">Nor were these cutting reproaches reserved for his private
|
---|
390 | perusal. She severely rebuked the States for encouraging &quot;a creature of her
|
---|
391 | own&quot; to disobey her injunctions, and, as a reparation from them and from
|
---|
392 | him, she required that he should make a public resignation of the government
|
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393 | in the place where he had accepted it. </p>
|
---|
394 | <p align="left">It is not to be wondered at that Elizabeth should think the
|
---|
395 | vindication of her outraged authority to be the most pressing requirement of
|
---|
396 | the moment. But the result was unfortunate for the object of the expedition.
|
---|
397 | The States had conferred &quot;absolute&quot; authority upon Leicester, and would have
|
---|
398 | thought it a cheap price to pay if, by their adroit manÅuvre, they had
|
---|
399 | succeeded in forcing the Queen's hand. But they did not care to intrust
|
---|
400 | absolute powers to a mere general of an English contingent. After long
|
---|
401 | discussion, Elizabeth was at length persuaded that the least of evils was to
|
---|
402 | allow him to retain the title which the States had conferred on him ( June
|
---|
403 | 1586). But in the meantime they had repented of their haste in letting power
|
---|
404 | go out of their own hands. Their efforts were thenceforth directed to
|
---|
405 | explain away the term &quot;absolute.&quot; The long displeasure of the Queen had
|
---|
406 | destroyed the principal value of Leicester in their eye. He himself had soon
|
---|
407 | incurred their dislike. Impetuous and domineering, he could not endure
|
---|
408 | opposition. Every man who did not fall in with his plans was a malicious
|
---|
409 | enemy, a traitor, a tool of Parma, who ought to be hanged. He still enjoyed
|
---|
410 | the favour of the democratic and bigoted Calvinist party, especially in
|
---|
411 | Utrecht, and he tried to play them off against the States, thereby promoting
|
---|
412 | the rise of the factions which long afterwards distracted the United
|
---|
413 | Provinces. The displeasures of the Queen had taken the shape of not sending
|
---|
414 | him money, and his troops were in great distress and unable to move.
|
---|
415 | Moreover, rumours of the secret peace negotiations were craftily spread by
|
---|
416 | Parma, who, knowing well that they would come to nothing, turned them to the
|
---|
417 | best account by leading the States to suspect that they were being betrayed
|
---|
418 | to Spain. </p>
|
---|
419 | <p align="left">Elizabeth had sent her army abroad more as a warning to
|
---|
420 | Philip than with a view to active operations. It was no part of her plan to
|
---|
421 | recover any of the territory already conquered by Parma, even if it had lain
|
---|
422 | in her power. She knew that the majority of its inhabitants were Catholics
|
---|
423 | and royalists. She knew also that Parma's attenuated army was considerably
|
---|
424 | outnumbered by the Anglo-Dutch forces, and that he was in dire distress for
|
---|
425 | food and money. The recovered provinces were completely ruined by the war.
|
---|
426 | Their commerce was swept from the sea. The mouths of their great rivers were
|
---|
427 | blockaded. The Protestants of Flanders and Brabant had largely migrated to
|
---|
428 | the unsubdued provinces, whose prosperity, notwithstanding the burdens of
|
---|
429 | war, was advancing by leaps and bounds. Their population was about two
|
---|
430 | millions. That of England itself was little more than four. Religion was no
|
---|
431 | longer the only or the chief motive of their resistance. For even the
|
---|
432 | Catholics among them, who were still very numerous--some said a majority
|
---|
433 | --keenly relished the material prosperity which had grown with independence.
|
---|
434 | Encouraged by English protection, the States were in no humour to listen to
|
---|
435 | compromise. But a compromise was what Elizabeth desired. She was therefore
|
---|
436 | not unwilling that her forces should be confined to an attitude of
|
---|
437 | observation, till it should appear whether her open intervention would
|
---|
438 | extract from Philip such concessions as she deemed reasonable. </p>
|
---|
439 | <p align="left">Leicester was eager to get to work, and he was warmly
|
---|
440 | supported by Walsingham. Burghley's conduct was less straightforward. He had
|
---|
441 | long found it advisable to cultivate amicable relations with the favourite.
|
---|
442 | He had probably concurred in the plan for making him Governor-General. Even
|
---|
443 | now he was professing to take his part. In reality he was not sorry to see
|
---|
444 | him under a cloud; and though he sympathised as much as ever with the Dutch,
|
---|
445 | he cared more for crippling his rival. Hence his activity in those obscure
|
---|
446 | peace negotiations which he so carefully concealed from Leicester and
|
---|
447 | Walsingham. To keep Walsingham long in the dark, on that or any other
|
---|
448 | subject, was indeed impossible. It was found necessary at last to let him be
|
---|
449 | present at an interview with the agents employed by Burghley and Parma,
|
---|
450 | which brought their backstairs diplomacy to an abrupt conclusion. &quot;They that
|
---|
451 | have been the employers of them,&quot; he wrote to Leicester, &quot;are ashamed of the
|
---|
452 | matter.&quot; The negotiations went on through other channels, but never made any
|
---|
453 | serious progress. </p>
|
---|
454 | <p align="left">To compel Philip to listen to a compromise, without at the
|
---|
455 | same time emboldening the Dutch to turn a deaf ear to it--such was the
|
---|
456 | problem which Elizabeth had set herself. She therefore preferred to apply
|
---|
457 | pressure in other quarters. Towards the end of 1585, Drake appeared on the
|
---|
458 | coast of Spain itself, and plundered Vigo. Then crossing the Atlantic, he
|
---|
459 | sacked and burned St. Domingo and Carthagena. Again in 1587, he forced his
|
---|
460 | way into Cadiz harbour, burnt all the shipping and the stores collected for
|
---|
461 | the Armada, and for two months plundered and destroyed every vessel he met
|
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462 | off the coast of Portugal. </p>
|
---|
463 | <p align="left">Philip had so long and so tamely submitted to the many
|
---|
464 | injuries and indignities which Elizabeth heaped upon him, that it is not
|
---|
465 | wonderful if she had come to think that he would never pluck up courage to
|
---|
466 | retaliate. This time she was wrong. The conquest of England had always had
|
---|
467 | its place in his overloaded programme. But it was to be in that hazy
|
---|
468 | ever-receding future, when he should have put down the Dutch rebellion and
|
---|
469 | neutralised France. Elizabeth's open intervention in the Netherlands at
|
---|
470 | length induced him to change his plan. England, he now decided, must be
|
---|
471 | first dealt with. </p>
|
---|
472 | <p align="left">In the meantime, Parma's operations in the Netherlands were
|
---|
473 | starved quite as much as Leicester's. Plundering excursions, two or three
|
---|
474 | petty combats not deserving the name of battles, half-a-dozen small towns
|
---|
475 | captured on one side or the other--such is the military record from the date
|
---|
476 | of Elizabeth's intervention to the arrival of the Armada. Parma had somewhat
|
---|
477 | the best of this work, such as it was. But the war in the Netherlands was
|
---|
478 | practically stagnant. </p>
|
---|
479 | <p align="left">At the end of the first year of Leicester's government,
|
---|
480 | events of the highest importance obliged him to pay a visit to England (
|
---|
481 | Nov. 1586). The Queen of Scots had been found guilty of conspiring to
|
---|
482 | assassinate Elizabeth, and Parliament had been summoned to decide upon her
|
---|
483 | fate. </p>
|
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484 | </font>
|
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485 | <hr>
|
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486 | <p align="left"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman" size="2">From <i>
|
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487 | Queen Elizabeth</i> by Edward Spencer Beesly.&nbsp; Published in London by
|
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488 | Macmillan and Co., 1892.</font></p>
|
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489 | </font>
|
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490 | <font face="Times New Roman" size="2">
|
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491 | </blockquote>
|
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492 | </blockquote>
|
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493 |
|
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494 | <p align="center">
|
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495 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fbeeslychapternine.html">to Chapter
|
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496 | IX: The Execution of the Queen of Scots: 1584-1587</a></p>
|
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497 | <p align="center">
|
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498 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2feliz1.html">to the Queen
|
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499 | Elizabeth I website</a>&nbsp; /&nbsp;
|
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500 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fmaryqos.html">to the Mary,
|
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501 | queen of Scots website</a></p>
|
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502 | <p align="center"><a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fsecondary.html">
|
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503 | to Secondary Sources</a></p>
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504 | </font>
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505 |
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506 |
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507 |
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508 | <!-- text below generated by server. PLEASE REMOVE --><!-- Counter/Statistics data collection code --><script language="JavaScript" src="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fhostingprod.com%2fjs%5fsource%2fgeov2.js"></script><script language="javascript">geovisit();</script><noscript><img src="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;el=direct&amp;href=http://visit.webhosting.yahoo.com/visit.gif?us1108082626" alt="setstats" border="0" width="1" height="1"></noscript>
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510 | </Content>
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511 | </Section>
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512 | </Archive>
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