|
|
1 June.
Estado, 839. |
595. Charles Boyd to the King.
In order not to trouble your Majesty with many words, and in
pursuance of the orders of Don Juan de Idiaquez, I limit myself to
handing to your Majesty the statement entrusted to me by one
person in the name of many ; and I beg your Majesty to give me a
written reply for that person, so that he may know that I have
fulfilled my mission as a Catholic Christian should do.—Madrid,
1st June 1590.
|
596. Statement brought by Charles Boyd, Scotsman, who left
Scotland on the 6th April and arrived in Madrid, 29th May
1590 :—
On the 26th March a letter arrived in Scotland from Denmark,
which had been written by the king of Scotland to the earl (?) of
Lennox, respecting the agreement which had been made between
the kings of Scotland and Denmark, by which the latter was to aid
the former with all his power in his pretensions to the crown of
England. The king of Scots relates that he has sent his prothonotary
to the queen of England, to offer her the alliance of himself and
the king of Denmark, against the king of Spain, on the following
terms :—
First, that the queen of England should at once acknowledge the
king of Scots as her heir, and have allegiance sworn to him.
He will then defend her against Spain, and after seeing the result
of the Armada which they say is being sent to the north, he will
send Scottish and Danish ambassadors to treat for a peace between
the allied powers of England, Scotland, and Denmark, and the king of
Spain. Lennox is instructed to convey this only to the English
ambassador in Scotland, in order that he may represent to his
mistress the advantages of such an arrangement both to her and
her church. The prince of Navarre (i.e., Henry IV.) will also enter
into the confederacy.
When this letter was received, the earl of Lennox had it read to
the English ambassador, who replied that he had already advised
his mistress that the prothonotary of the King would negotiate well
in London ; but he (the ambassador) would send another dispatch,
setting forth the affection and goodwill of the king of Scotland
towards her, and how so good an arrangement had been made about
the ministers of religion, which would be very advantageous both to
Scotland and England.
The above circumstances have so emboldened the Calvinists of
Scotland against the Catholics, that they are devising a new plan for
making the latter conform to their sect, by making it impossible for
them to inherit or hold property. They especially begun to molest
the Earl of Angus, and have ordered him, under pain of imprisonment
to deliver his eldest son to them ; he now being hidden in his house,
having recently returned from his studies in France. They have
already deprived this heir of Angus, and all other Catholics, of the
succession to estates or property of any kind in the kingdom. In
pursuance of this they were only awaiting the arrival of the King in
Scotland to sign a new decree, enacting very heavy penalties against
Catholics, unless they conform to the sect. All Catholics are to remain
in the court and are to be kept in the castle when ordered, so that
they may give no support or countenance to the Catholic faith.
The said Catholics, persuaded of the utter ruin which will befall
the Christian cause and themselves, as a consequence of this
confederacy, and the oppression they will suffer in person and estate,
have secretly but firmly determined to devote themselves and all
they possess to the promotion of the only possible remedy for their
ills, which must be adopted by your Majesty against the said
confederacy. This they swear to fulfil, whether the said confederacy
is effected or not ; and they wish to be made secretly acquainted
with your Majesty's wishes, in order that they may the more
effectually put their hands to the task of their deliverance.
|
They wish to call attention to the danger your Majesty will
incur, if this sectarian league be concluded ; and I am entrusted
verbally with their views on this point, which are as follows :—
1. If the terms of peace proposed by their (the Northern powers)
ambassadors be not granted (by Spain), England, supported by
Scotland, will endeavour to usurp the Indies or the products thereof,
and to injure all parts of Spain, as the Calvinists are already
proclaiming loudly their intention of doing.
2. That no provision of any sort will go from Denmark to Spain,
such as wheat, wood, oars, and many other things necessary for
navigation.
3. That they will help the Prince of Navarre to subject France to
his rule.
4. That they intend—which God in His mercy forbid—to wholly
extirpate the Catholic faith.
It is again humbly urged upon your Majesty, that the name of
the person who sends this statement be not revealed, in view of
the injury which would ensue both to your Majesty's interests and
theirs (the Scottish Catholics.) An answer is prayed for, to be sent
by the bearer, so that they may be able to fulfil their oath ; and not
have to employ any person who is not a firm Catholic, and apt in
the management of such an affair as this, in which are involved the
life and honour of many gentlemen. Aranjuez 29 May 1590.
Carlos Boyd.
Note.—In another note Boyd gives for the King's information the
scraps of intelligence he had picked up on his voyage, at Yarmouth,
Havre, and elsewhere, respecting the movements of English ships. (fn. 1)
|
| S.D.
Paris Archives,
K. 1572. |
597. Instruction given to Antonio Rodriguez de Lucerna, (fn. 2) by
certain Spanish prisoners in England to treat for their
release.
First he is to go to Morlaix, and endeavour to see the Spaniard who,
they understand, has been sent thither for the purpose of arranging
the business. He is then to accompany him to the duke (de Mercœur)
and deliver to him the letters he bears, praying the Duke to make
every effort to rescue them, as they are in dire danger. If the Duke
be too far off for the messenger to see him personally, the latter is
to treat with the Spanish gentleman who has been sent ; and find
out whether his powers and instructions are sufficient to obtain their
liberation. Tell him that they were captured whilst on his Majesty's
service, and that all the rest of the Spanish prisoners have been
released ; only they who are in the keeping of Sir William Courteney
remain. This is from no fault of theirs. If the Spaniard in
question has been accredited to the corporation of the town of
Morlaix, the messenger is to inquire who are the richest members,
and urge them to take the matter in hand. If the Spaniard be
accredited to some private person, the messenger is to beg him for
the love of God to get the prisoners set free, even though he may
have to somewhat exceed his instructions in doing so, and if he likes
he may keep them in France or elsewhere, until the King is informed
and confirms his action.
|
15 June
Paris Archives,
K. 1572. |
598. Statement of the Spanish prisioners in England in the
custody of Sir William Courteney.
They came on the hulk "San Pedro el Mayor" in the squadron of
Don Juan Gomez de Medina. After they had sailed round the
islands of England, Scotland, and Ireland, they were pursued by
continual tempests ; they were in want of food, and the ship was
unseaworthy, and on the 6th November, 88, was driven ashore and
wrecked at a place called Hope, belonging to Sir William Courteney,
who asked the queen of England to allow him to keep them as his
prize. She gave him permission to select 15 Spaniards for his own.
A commissioner was subsequently sent by the duke of Parma to
ransom the prisoners ; and he took all of them away from England
except the 15 belonging to Courteney. They complained to the
commissioner of his not ransoming them as he did the rest. He
excused himself by saying that the Queen had given them to
Courteney for his profit by their ransom, whereat they were very sad
and discontented. Some months afterwards a patache arrived at
the port of Morlaix in Brittany with a Bascayner captain named
Domingo de Ochoa, who sent a Breton to England to seek out these
prisoners, and to say that he had been sent by the duke of Mercœur
to ransom them ; inquiring especially for Friar Rodrigo Calderon
and Alvaro de Castro, in order to learn whether the prisoners
were still alive, and whether their owner would give them up for
ransom.
When Sir William Courteney learnt this from his prisoners, he being
as eager to get their ransom as they were to get their liberty, agreed
to release one of their number Antonio Rodriguez de Lucerna, (fn. 3) who is
the man that has now arrived here at Nantes to see the duke de
Mercœur about it, having come from Morlaix and Blois hither.
They bring two letters from the Spaniards to the Duke which
are enclosed herewith. (fn. 4) The Englishman who accompanied the
messenger as far as Morlaix was afraid of coming hither as he
thought it would not be safe. Antonio Rodriguez de Lucerna says
that Sir William Courteney asks for the ransom of the prisoners
whom he has treated well, 20,000 crowns. This is, however, of
course out of the question. As the duke of Mercœur is not at
present here, Antonio Rodriguez has decided to write to the
Englishman at Morlaix that the Duke is away in the field, but he
has learnt that the basis upon which he was willing to treat for
their liberation was the same as that adopted by the duke of Parma
for the ransom of the rest, namely, 100 crowns for captains,
50 crowns for ensigns, and 15 to 20 for other officers and soldiers.
As this was the price given for the rest, it was not just that they
should be valued higher, (fn. 5) since they are no better soldiers, nor of
higher rank, nor richer than their comrades. On the contrary, they
are poor men, entirely without means to ransom themselves, except
the pity and bounty of his Majesty. They beg that if Sir William
Courteney should be willing to treat for their release on this basis, he
will write to Don Diego Maldonado, who is in Nantes, sending the
letter through the governor of Morlaix. Antonio Rodriguez did
not write before to-day, 15th June, as there was no opportunity
of sending the letter. (Here follow the names of the 14 Spanish
prisoners in question.)
|
21 June.
B.M.
Lansdowne 63. |
599. Don Alonso De Luzon And His Companions to Lord
Burghley.
Having been brought from Ireland to this city, at the beginning
of last year, by order her Majesty the Queen, and delivered to the
keeping of Sir Horatio Pallavicini, on behalf of M. de la Noue, to
whom her Majesty had assigned us, in order that he might, by
exchanging us, obtain the release of his son, M. de Teligny, a
prisoner in Flanders, we, with the consent of the Council, and at
great expense, sent an Italian to our King to beg him to take the
matter in hand on our behalf. His Majesty granted us this favour,
and sent instructions to the duke of Parma to conclude the arrangements
for our release, and also for that of the prisoners in Zeeland.
The Council was of opinion that the best way of arriving at an
agreement was to give permission to Don Rodrigo Lasso to go to
Flanders, and treat of the business. Don Rodrigo having duly returned
to this country four months since, continued the negotiations through
Sir Horatio Pallavicini. In consequence of the absence of the latter,
Secretary Walsingham deputed Dr. Gernes to carry on the negotiations,
but during the interim Secretary Walsingham died, and
nothing further was done in the matter. We now learn by the
letter of Don Diego Pimentel, which your Lordship has sent us, that
the duke of Parma had determined to send representatives to
Zeeland to negotiate with Count Maurice for his (Don Diego
Pimentel's) release. As his affair and ours are practically the same,
we beg your Lordship to favour us by sending someone to Zeeland
to represent her Majesty the Queen in these negotiations. We
should be very thankful if your Lordship would also appoint some
other person with whom we may communicate on the subject, and
give permission for Don Rodrigo Lasso to go and submit to your
Lordship certain particulars of which we believe you are unaware.
From this house, 21 June, 1590. (London).
Don Alonso de Luzon, Don R. Niño y Lasso, Don Luis de Cordoba,
Don Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba. (fn. 6)
|