Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 3.djvu/358

344 urged the progress of the treaty with all earnestness. But besides the grand obstacle, there were others raised by Spain. France and Spain were at war: Spain was supporting the prince of Condé and the French insurgents, and the Spanish ambassador was indefatigable in representing that whilst Spain had been the very first to acknowledge the English commonwealth, France had been constantly supporting the royalist power, and in 1653 offered to seize Calais and make it over to England as the price of the commonwealth making peace with Spain, and common cause against France.

But there were motives which always weighed heavily with Cromwell—religion and the honour of the English flag. He had a deep and enduring repugnance to the catholic faith, as the mother of superstition and cruelty, and Spain was essentially catholic, and at the same time was maintaining an insolent domination in the waters of the West Indies. The fame of her exclusion of the flags of all other nations from her colonies thence, and of her many atrocities committed on our colonies, as at St. Kitts in 1629, at Tortuga in 1637, and Santa Cruz in 1650, was an irresistible provocative to the combative spirit of the protector. He demanded of the Spanish ambassador that Spain should abolish the inquisition, and admit the English flag to the West Indian seas. De Leyda replied that he was asking from his king his two eyes, and as Cromwell would not concede either point, he demanded his passports in June, 1651, and took his leave.

Cromwell lost no time enforcing his views on Spain, which he, no doubt, felt bound conscientiously to do on the great principle of suppressing popish cruelties, and spreading the triumph of protestantism. He sent Blake with a powerful fleet in October of that year into the Mediterranean, and another powerful armament under admirals Penn and Venables, with secret orders, which were not to be opened till they arrived in certain latitudes. This fleet, whose preparation and destination kept all Europe in wonder and anxiety, sailed west, and was, in fact, destined for the West Indies. Blake, with his fleet, passed the straits of Gibraltar, and presented to the inhabitants of the shores of the Mediterranean, a spectacle such as they had not seen since the days of the Crusades—a powerful English fleet. It consisted of thirty sail, and its commission was to seize the French vessels wherever it could find them, especially seek out and attack the fleet under the duke of Guise. It was besides this to demand satisfaction from various offending powers. The grand duke of Tuscany had, whilst the parliament was struggling with Charles, allowed prince Rupert to sell English prizes in his ports. The pope was, as the antichrist, an object to be humbled, or at all events impressed sensibly with the fact that England could at any moment visit him in his capital, and that the British power was in hands both able and ready to do it. There were many injuries to our merchantmen to be avenged on the pirates of Tunis and Algiers. Cromwell's favourite maxim was, that a ship of the hue was the most effective ambassador. Blake sailed along the papal shores, exciting a deep terror, but he passed on and cast anchor before Leghorn, and demanded compensation for the offence against English honour and shipping, which was speedily granted. Not being able to discover the duke of Guise, he proceeded to Algiers, and compelled the day to sign an engagement not to suffer further violences by his subjects on English vessels. Thence sailed to Tunis, and sent in the same demand, but the haughty barbarian of that place sent him word to give a look at his ports of Porto Farino and Goletta, with their fleets, and take them if he could. Blake sailed away as in despair, but suddenly returning, he entered the harbour of Porto Farino, silencing the castle and batteries as he advanced, and set fire to the whole fleet. Both Tunis and Tripoli now found it the best policy to give the required engagement, and Blake left the Mediterranean, having given these lawless pirates a specimen of the power of England, which was not likely to be soon forgotten.

Blake had orders to look out for the next Spanish Plate fleet coming home, and he lay for some time off Cadiz; but there was now at the court of Madrid colonel Sexby, the leveller, who had long been engaged with Allen, Wildman, and the anabaptists. He had gone over to the continent to raise some force either in conjunction with Charles or with Spain, to invade England and kill Cromwell. Sexby revealed to the Spaniards not only the object of Blake, but the real design of the fleet under Venables and Penn. More than thirty sail were mustered by the Spanish, under Don Pablos de Contreras, which kept close watch on Blake. Blake longed to attack them, but his orders did not sanction it; and after hearing that the Plate fleet was detained at Carthagena, he retired to England to refit, his ships being in a bad condition, and his men suffering from bad provisions.

During the absence of Blake, a great excitement had been occasioned in England by the news of dreadful atrocities committed on the protestants of the mountains of Piedmont. The protestants called the Vaudois were a race who, through all ages, had, in the obscurity of their Alpine valleys, retained the doctrines of the primitive church, and had set at defiance both the persuasions and persecutions of Rome. They were said to be descended from the ancient Waldenses, and were a bold, independent race of mountaineers. It was pretended that the duke of Savoy, whose subjects they chiefly were, had granted them the free exercise of their religion so long as they remained in their ancient places of abode, the valleys of the sources of the Po, in the Savoy Alps; but that being found in Lucerna and other places, these were decided to be beyond their bounds, and they were ordered to conform to the church of Rome, or sell their lands and retire from these territories. They refused to be driven from their homes on account of their religion, and being always an eyesore to the court of Rome, the fury of persecution was let loose upon them. Friars were sent amongst them to convert them, or to denounce their destruction; they disregarded the friars, and then six regiments of soldiers were sent to drive them into the mountains. Amongst these were two regiments of refugee Irish, whose name of karisers has greatly puzzled Carlyle in his life of Cromwell, the word being simply a corruption of cuirassiers. These fellows, ardent catholics, smarting under the protestant scourge which had driven them from their native land, did their work con amore. From the district of Lucerna they were driven into the higher Alpine