he spent in repairing and augmenting his fleet, and in detaching small
squadrons to cruise against the enemy. About the beginning of June,
finding he had force enough to undertake any service, he caused a solemn
fast to be held on board his ships, to implore the blessing of God upon
their arms, and encouraged his seamen by the example of his zeal on this
occasion, as much as he had ever done by his personal bravery in a time
of action. In the course of this month he sent forty rich prizes into
the river, and so effectually ruined the Dutch trade, and broke the
spirits of such as were appointed to support it, that most of their
vessels declined coming through the Channel, even under convoy; choosing
rather to put into French ports, land their cargoes there, and
afterwards transport them to Holland, by land or water, as they could.
In the beginning of July, finding Sir George Ayscue returned from
Barbadoes, with a force sufficient to guard the Downs, he resolved to
sail northwards, to execute a design he had long meditated, of
destroying the herring-fishery; which he thought would have put an
immediate end to the war by convincing the Dutch of the folly of
disputing our sovereignty in our own seas. This appears to have been the
most judicious scheme laid down through the whole war; because it tended
to clear the ground of the quarrel and to show the Dutch their error in
disputing with a nation who had it in their power to distress them at
any time in the tenderest part--that which afforded a subsistence to
many and was the main source of wealth to all.
On July 2nd Blake bore away to the north, and quickly fell in with the
Dutch fishing vessels, which were there in great numbers under the
protection of twelve men-of-war. Blake attacked their convoy, and they,
knowing the importance of their charge, and having taken on board a
great supply of fresh men from the vessels under their care, fought
bravely and sold their freedom dearly; but at last were all taken, which
left the fishery entirely at the admiral's mercy, who upon this occasion
showed the rectitude of his heart and the solidity of his understanding;
for having first threatened these busses with utter destruction if ever
they were found there again without leave, he afterwards freely
permitted them to complete their ladings, on their paying the tenth
herring as tribute to the Commonwealth.
During all the changes that happened in the government, Blake impressed
his men with the conviction that it was his and their business to act
faithfully in their respective stations, and to do their duty to their
country, whatever irregularities there might be in the councils at home;
and would often say among his officers that state affairs were not their
province, but that they were bound to keep foreigners from fooling us.
These principles rendered him agreeable to all parties, and gained him
so generally the reputation of a patriot, that when Cromwell, in his new
model of a parliament, left the populous town of Bridgewater the choice
of one representative only, they elected Blake. He was also very
acceptable to Cromwell, who knew that Blake's concern for the glory of
England would influence him to do all, and even more than any other man
could be excited to do by views of interest and ambition.
In 1654 he sailed into the Mediterranean, and came in the month of
December into the road of Cadiz, where he was received with great
respect and civility by the Spaniards, and indeed by all nations as well
as the English, who were then in port. A Dutch admiral would not wear
his flag while the English admiral was in the harbour; one of the
victuallers attending his fleet, being separated from the rest, fell in
with the French admiral and seven men-of-war near the Straits mouth. The
captain of the victualling-sloop was ordered on board the admiral, who
inquired of him where Blake was, drank his health with five guns, and so
wished the captain a good voyage. The Algerines stood in such awe of him
that they were wont to stop the Sallee rovers; and, in case they had any
prisoners on board, took them out, and sent them to Blake, in hopes
thereby of obtaining his favour.
He next sailed from Cadiz to Malaga; and while he lay in that road some
of his seamen, going ashore, met the Host as it was being carried to
some sick person, and not only paid no respect to it, but laughed at
those who did. The priest who accompanied it highly resented this, and
stirred up the people to revenge the indignity; upon which they fell
upon the sailors and beat some of them very severely. When they returned
on board the men complained of their ill usage, and the admiral
instantly sent a trumpet to the viceroy, to demand the surrender of the
priest who was the author of the insult. The viceroy answered that he
had no authority over priests, and therefore could not send him. Upon
this Blake sent a second message to the effect that he would not enter
into the question as to who had power to send him, but that, if he was
not sent within three hours, he would burn the town about their ears.
The inhabitants, to save themselves, obliged the viceroy to send the
priest; who, when he came on board, excused himself to the admiral on
account of the behaviour of the sailors. Blake with much calmness and
composure told him that if he had complained to him of this outrage he
would have punished the men severely; for he would not suffer any of his
men to affront the established religion of any place that he might
visit; but he blamed him for setting on a mob of Spaniards to beat them,
adding, that "he would have him and the whole world know that none but
an Englishman should chastise an Englishman."
In 1655 Blake proceeded to Algiers, where he arrived on March 10th, and
anchored without the mole, sending an officer to the dey to demand
satisfaction for the piracies that had been formerly committed on the
English, and the immediate release of all captives belonging to his
nation. The dey answered very modestly, that as for the ships and slaves
they were now the property of private persons, from whom he could not
take them with safety to himself; but that he would make it his care
they should be speedily redeemed upon easy terms, and would make a
treaty with him to prevent any hostilities being committed on the
English for the future.
The admiral left the port upon this and sailed to Tunis, where he sent
the like message on shore; but received a very different answer, viz.,
"Here are our castles of Guletta and Porto Farino: you may do your
worst; we do not fear you." Blake entered the bay of Porto Farino, and
came within musket-shot of the castle and line, upon both which he
played so warmly that they were soon in a defenceless condition. There
were then nine ships in the road, which the admiral resolved to burn;
and with this view ordered every captain to man his long-boat with
choice men, and directed these to enter the harbour and fire the ships
of Tunis; while he and his fleet covered them from the castle by playing
continually on it with their cannon. The seamen in their boats boldly
assaulted the corsairs and burnt all their ships, with the loss of
twenty-five men killed and forty-eight wounded. This daring action
spread the terror of his name, which had long been formidable in Europe,
through Africa and Asia. From Tunis he sailed to Tripoly, and concluded
a peace with that government. Thence he returned to Tunis, and granted a
peace on terms honourable to himself and profitable to his country.
In 1655 the protector sent Mr. Montague with a small squadron of
men-of-war into the Mediterranean to join Blake and to carry him fresh
instructions; one of which was to block up the port of Cadiz, in which
there was a fleet of forty sail, intended to secure the flota expected
from the Indies, and, at the same time, to prevent the flota from coming
in without sharing in the riches that were on board. Blake and Montague
executed their orders with equal skill and industry, taking care to
obtain a supply of fresh provisions and water, as often as they had
occasion, from the coast of Portugal. Thither, for that purpose, they
had sailed with the greatest part of the fleet, when the squadron from
the Indies approached Cadiz. Rear-admiral Stayner, with seven frigates,
plied to and fro, till eight large ships came in view, which he
presently recognised as the flota for which he was looking out; whereas
the Spaniards took his vessels, because they lay very low in the water,
for fishermen. This gave him an opportunity of coming up with and
fighting them, though the weather hindered four of his frigates from
acting. Yet with the _Speaker_, the _Bridgewater_, and the _Plymouth_ he
did his business; and, after an obstinate engagement, sunk two, ran two
more aground, and took two of the Spanish vessels; so that two only
escaped.
In one of those that were destroyed was the Marquis of Badajoz, of the
family of Lopez, who had been Governor of Peru for the King of Spain,
who thus perished with the marchioness, his wife, and their daughter.
The eldest son and his brother were saved and brought safely to the
generals with the prize, wherein were two millions of pieces of eight.
Soon after, General Montague, with the young Marquis of Badajoz, and
part of the fleet to escort the silver, returned to England, delivered
the bullion into the mint, after which the young marquis was set at
liberty. For this success, a thanksgiving, with a narrative to be read
thereon, was appointed by the parliament, who issued their declaration
of war against Spain.
Admiral Blake continued to cruise before the haven of Cadiz and in the
Straits till the month of April, 1657; and having then information of
another Plate fleet, which had put into the haven of Santa-Cruz in the
island of Teneriffe, he immediately sailed thither, and arrived before
the town on April 20th. Here he found the flota, consisting of six
galleons very richly laden, and ten other vessels. The latter lay within
the port, with a strong barricade before them; the galleons without the
boom, because they drew too much water to lay within it. The port itself
was strongly fortified, having on the north a large castle well supplied
with artillery, and seven forts united by a line communication, well
lined with musketeers. The Spanish governor thought the place so secure,
and his own dispositions so well made, that when the master of a Dutch
ship desired leave to sail, because he apprehended Blake would presently
attack the ships in the harbour, the Spaniard answered tartly, "Get you
gone, if you will, and let Blake come, if he dares."
The admiral, after viewing the enemy's preparations, called a council of
war, wherein it was resolved to attempt destroying the enemy's ships;
for it was impossible to bring them off: and to this end he sent Captain
Stayner with a squadron to attack them. Stayner soon forced his passage
into the bay, while other frigates played on the forts and line, and
hindered them from giving the ships much disturbance. Stayner's squadron
was quickly supported by Blake with the whole fleet, who boarded the
Spanish galleons, and in a few hours made himself master of them all,
and then set them on fire; so that the whole Spanish fleet was burnt
down to the water's edge, except two ships which sank outright; and
then, the wind veering to south-west, he passed with his fleet safe out
of the port again, losing in this dangerous attempt no more than
forty-eight men killed, and having about one hundred and twenty wounded.
It was without question the boldest undertaking of its kind that had
ever been performed; and the Spaniards, who are romantic enough in their
own conduct, were so much astonished at his, that they quite lost their
spirits, and thenceforward never thought themselves safe either from
numbers or fortifications.
When the Protector received the news of this glorious success, he
immediately sent it by his secretary, Thurloe, to the parliament then
sitting; and they, on hearing the particulars, ordered a day to be set
apart for a thanksgiving; a ring of the value of five hundred pounds to
be given to the general as a testimony of his country's gratitude; a
present of one hundred to the captain who brought the news; and their
thanks to all the officers and soldiers concerned in the action.
Captain Richard Stayner, returning soon after, was knighted by the
Protector; nor was it long before Blake and the fleet returned, which
put an end to the Spanish war by sea; for the Protector had lately
entered into a closer conjunction with France; and, in consequence
thereof, sent over a body of land-forces into Flanders, where they
assisted in taking the fortress and port of Dunkirk, which was delivered
into the hands of the English, who kept it till after the Restoration.
Another characteristic incident, and one which shows the probity and
integrity of Blake, deserves mention. His brother, Captain Benjamin
Blake, for whom he had a very tender affection, having been guilty of
some misdemeanour or misbehaviour in the action at Santa-Cruz, was, by
sentence from Blake, removed from his ship, and the command of it given
to another. This was such an instance of disinterested discipline as
must have had a very strong effect on the minds of all who served under
him; and we need not wonder that such extraordinary things were
performed by men so perfectly disciplined.
In a short time after the destruction of the enemy's fleet at Teneriffe
we find Blake cruising again off the harbour of Cadiz; where, perceiving
his ships had become foul, and that his own health and spirits hourly
wore away, he resolved to sail for England. His distemper was a
complication of dropsy and scurvy, brought upon him by being for three
years together at sea, and wanting all that time the conveniences
requisite for the cure of his disease. In his passage home it increased
upon him, and he became so sensible of his approaching end, that he
frequently inquired for land; which, however, he did not live to see,
dying as his ship the _St. George_ entered Plymouth Sound, on August
17th, 1657, at about fifty-nine years of age. His body was the next day
embalmed and wrapped in lead, and, by order of the Protector, conveyed
by water to Greenwich.
On September 4th, after the body had lain several days in state, it was
carried from Greenwich in a magnificent barge, covered with velvet,
adorned with escutcheons and pendants, and accompanied by his brothers,
remoter relations, and their servants, in mourning; by Oliver's privy
council, the commissioners of the admiralty and navy, the lord-mayor and
aldermen of London, the field-officers of the army, and many other
persons of honour and quality, in a great number of barges and wherries
covered with mourning, marshalled and ordered by the heralds-at-arms,
who directed and attended the solemnity. Thus they passed to Westminster
Bridge; and, at their landing, proceeded in the same manner, through a
guard of several regiments of foot, to the abbey. The funeral procession
over, the body was interred in a vault, built on purpose, in the chapel
of Henry VII.
Some time after the Restoration an order was sent to the dean and
chapter of Westminster, directing them to cause such bodies as had been
interred in that church during the troubles to be removed; and on
September 12th, 1661, the body of Blake was removed from the abbey and
buried in the churchyard.
Though Blake was upon principle a supporter of the Commonwealth, his
character was such that he won from the royalists some of the warmest
tributes he received.
Dr. Bates, in drawing his character, says, "He was a man deserving
praise, even from an enemy. Being advanced to a command at sea, he
subdued the Scilly Islands, near home; and having attained the office
and title of an admiral, performed things worthy of immortal memory
abroad. For he humbled the pride of France; reduced Portugal to reason;
broke the naval force of Holland, and drove them to the shelter of their
ports; suppressed the rovers of Barbary, and twice triumphed over Spain.
Alone blamable in this, that he complied with the parricides." In the
words of Anthony Wood, "He was a man wholly devoted to his country's
service; resolute in his undertakings, and most faithful in the
performance of them. With him, valour seldom missed its reward, nor
cowardice its punishment."
[Illustration: THE DEFEAT OF SIR ANDREW BARTON. (_See page 39._)]
THE STORY OF THE FIRST DUTCH WAR.
BY JOHN CAMPBELL.
The causes of this war are differently stated, according to the humours
and opinions of different writers. The parliament, on the one side, was
jealous of its newly-acquired sovereignty, and expected extraordinary
marks of defference from the powers with which it corresponded. The
Dutch, on the other hand, were extremely alarmed when they found the
English Commonwealth insisting upon the sovereignty of the sea, the
right of fishing, and of licensing to fish, and disposed to carry the
point of saluting by the flag to the utmost limit. Under these
conditions of excitement and tension, anxiety led to watchfulness and
proximity to rupture.
It was in the spring of the year 1652 that the war broke out; but it was
warmly disputed then, and has not been fully settled since, who were the
actual aggressors. It is clear, however, that the Dutch had secretly
made great preparations for war, and had actually one hundred and fifty
ships of force at sea; whereas the English parliament had equipped no
more than the usual squadron for guarding the narrow seas, which was a
fleet of twenty-five ships under the command of Admiral Blake.
The first blood drawn in this quarrel was occasioned by Commodore Young,
who fired upon a Dutch man-of-war upon the captain's refusing him the
honour of the flag. This was on May 14th, 1652, and would have attracted
much more public attention if an engagement of greater consequence had
not happened immediately after.
Admiral Van Tromp was at sea with a fleet of upwards of forty sail, to
protect, as was given out, the Dutch trade. This fleet coming into the
Downs on May the 18th, met with a small squadron under the command of
Major Bourne, to whom the admiral sent word that he was forced in by
stress of weather; Bourne answered roundly, that the truth of this would
best appear by the shortness of his stay, and immediately sent advice of
it to his admiral. The next day, Van Tromp, with his fleet, bore down
upon Blake in Dover road, and on his coming near him Blake fired thrice
at his flag; upon which the Dutch admiral returned a broadside. For
nearly four hours Blake was engaged almost alone with the Dutch
squadron; but, by degrees, the weather permitted his fleet to come in to
his assistance. Towards the close of the engagement, which lasted from
four in the afternoon till nine at night, Bourne joined him with his
eight ships, upon which the enemy bore away.
In this battle the victory was clearly on the side of the English, as
the Dutch writers themselves confess, there being two Dutch ships taken
and one disabled; whereas the English lost none: and yet the forces were
very unequal; for the Dutch fleet consisted of forty-two ships and
Blake's at first only of fifteen; and even at the end of the fight of no
more than twenty-three. Each of the admirals wrote an account of this
affair to their respective masters, wherein they plainly contradict each
other: but with this difference, that there is no disproving any one
fact mentioned in Blake's letter; whereas there are several inaccuracies
in that of Van Tromp. The states themselves were so sensible of being in
the wrong, and at the same time so mortified that their fleet,
notwithstanding its superiority, had been beaten, that they apologised
for it, and sent over another ambassador, Adrian Paauw, to proceed with
the treaty. But the demands of the parliament were, in their opinion,
too high; so all thoughts of peace were dismissed on both sides, and war
was proclaimed in Holland on July 8th.
The English in the meantime, in virtue of the act of navigation, and by
way of reprisal for the late damages, affronts, and hostilities,
received from the states-general and their subjects, took many Dutch
ships. On June 11th Blake brought in eleven merchant ships with their
convoy coming from Nantes. On June 12th Captains Taylor and Peacock, in
two English frigates, engaged two Dutch men-of-war on the coast of
Flanders, for refusing to strike; one of which was taken and the other
stranded: and, on the 13th of the same month, Blake took twenty-six
merchant ships, with their convoys, homeward bound from France. On July
4th Vice-admiral Ayscue, who, on his late return from the reduction of
Barbadoes, had taken ten merchant ships and four men-of-war, attacked
the St. Ubes fleet of about forty sail, of which nearly thirty were
taken, burnt or stranded, and plundered, on the French coast.
After this, while the states with the utmost diligence were getting
ready a fleet of seventy men-of-war, under the command of Admiral Van
Tromp, Blake, with about sixty, received orders to sail to the north to
disturb and distress the Dutch fishery. Sir George Ayscue, who, since
the destruction of the St. Ubes fleet, had taken five Dutch merchant
ships, was left with the remainder of the English fleet, consisting of
no more than seven men-of-war, in the Downs. While Blake triumphed in
the north, Tromp, with his great fleet, came into the mouth of the
Thames, in the hope of either surprising Ayscue or of insulting the
coast. Failing in this, he sailed northward to intercept Blake; but his
ships being dispersed by a storm, he was disappointed in that scheme
also, and lost five or six frigates, which fell into the hands of Blake
on his return towards the south.
The people of Holland were very much dissatisfied with the conduct of
Admiral Van Tromp, who, first justifying himself to the states, laid
down his commission to gratify the people. The main objection against
him was his being no great seaman; and this engaged the states to cast
their eyes upon De Ruyter, the ablest man among them in his profession.
He accepted the command, but accepted it unwillingly; for he saw that
as things then stood the English were superior. The parliament, in the
meantime, took care to strengthen Sir George Ayscue's fleet, so that it
increased to thirty-eight sail; of which only two were large ships, and
the rest frigates and fire-ships. With these he put to sea in search of
the Dutch, took many rich prizes, and at last met with De Ruyter, who,
with a fleet equal to his own, was convoying home between fifty and
sixty merchantmen. This was on August 16th, 1652, and as our admiral was
cruising off Plymouth. It was about one in the afternoon when the fleets
came in sight. De Ruyter took twenty of the merchant ships into his line
of battle, and was then very ready to engage. The fight began about
four, when the English admiral, with nine others, charged through the
Dutch fleet, and having thus gained the weather-gauge, attacked them
again, and continued fighting till night parted them; the rest of Sir
George's fleet having very little to do in the action. The rear admiral,
Peck, lost his leg, and soon afterwards died; and most of the captains
who did their duty were wounded. One fire-ship was lost. On the other
side the Dutch were miserably torn, so that many of their best ships
were scarcely able to keep the sea. Sir George Ayscue followed them for
some time the next day, and then returned into Plymouth Sound to refresh
his men and to repair his ships.