 The Somerset House Conference, 19 August 1604 , unknown artist | |
| Signed | August 28, 1604 |
|---|---|
| Location | London, England |
| Languages | English, Spanish, Latin |
The Treaty of London (Spanish : Tratado de Londres), signed on 18 August O.S. (28 August N.S.) 1604, [1] [2] [3] concluded the nineteen-year Anglo-Spanish War. The treaty restored the status quo between the two nations. The negotiations probably took place at Somerset House in Westminster and are sometimes known as the Somerset House Conference.
The Anglo-Spanish War had been a complex and fluctuating conflict that also had connections with the Dutch Revolt, the French Wars of Religion, and the Nine Years' War in Ireland. The war by 1600 had been going on for nearly fifteen years with neither side gaining an overall benefit or a decisive advantage. The exhaustion of Spain, the rebellious opposition to the King's request for money, the mutinies of the troops in the Netherlands, and the fear of a renewal of a new war with France over the Duchy of Saluzzo all combined to emphasise the hopelessness of inflicting a vital blow on England. [4]
In April 1600, Archduke Albert, the governor of the Spanish Netherlands, opened secret negotiations with England for a settlement but did not inform Madrid. [5] The following month, negotiations culminated in a meeting of a conference at Boulogne between representatives of Spain, England and Burgundy. Spain demanded the cession of the Cautionary Towns. England demanded free trade with Spain and her empire, freedom of English subjects from the inquisition and the exclusive right of having warships in the channel. The talks got nowhere, Spain contended that it was absurd to expect the sovereign of a worldwide empire to give the pas to a queen of a few islands. [4] By August the talks were off – mutual distrust [6] and United Provinces pressure made any agreement impossible. Despite this however diplomatic routes were open between England, Albert, and his wife, Isabella Clara Eugenia (Philip's sister). Letters from representatives showed that Albert, Isabella Clara Eugenia, and Philip were still anxious for peace despite their difference in policies. [7] Philip wanted to preserve the hegemony of the Spanish empire, whilst the Archduke and Isabella sought peace and friendly relations. [8]
After the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, her successor, James I, quickly sought to end the long and draining conflict. By this time Spanish hopes of a decisive military victory in the Netherlands, or a successful invasion of England, were relatively remote. [9] James was an idealistic practitioner of Christian peace and unity and also the son and successor to Mary, Queen of Scots, whose execution had been a proximate cause of the conflict. Philip III of Spain had also inherited the war from his predecessor, Philip II, and his treasuries had also been drained and so he warmly welcomed the offer and ordered the commencement of the difficult negotiations that followed.
The concern of the government in Madrid was to improve their dire military situation in the Netherlands by reducing or stopping English help to the Dutch rebels. [10] Meanwhile, Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, heading the delegation of the States of Holland, tried to attract the complicity of the new English monarch in the conflict in Flanders, of which the focus was the Siege of Ostend. [11] The siege had become a struggle of bloody attrition after just over two years. [12]
The first moves towards peace were taken in June 1603, when Juan de Tassis headed a Spanish–Flemish Commission which visited London, seeking truces and mutual good faith. Tassis was despatched to England by Philip III of Spain to explore the possibilities for a settlement following Elizabeth's death. [13]
Archduke Albert had already sent his envoy Charles de Ligne, prince-count of Arenberg, to London and was joined by Juan de Tassis, in September 1603. Although De Tassis lacked full negotiating powers he was active behind the scene the following month in preparation for a settlement. [10]
At the end of 1603, the constable of Castile arrived in Brussels with the authorisation to conclude the treaty if one could be negotiated. On 19 May 1604, with the constable still waiting in the wings, the rest of the Habsburg delegation arrived in London and the English negotiating team was appointed. [10] The meetings took place in Somerset House, probably in the hall used by the Queen's council. [14]
The Spanish negotiated with two delegations, one representing the King of Spain, the other the Archdukes Albert and Isabella, rulers of the Spanish Netherlands. [16]
Spanish delegation:
Delegation of the Spanish Netherlands:
The treaty was signed on 28 August (New Style), at Whitehall Palace, by the Constable of Castile who was lodged at Somerset House. [22] [23] The treaty restored the status quo ante bellum. [24] [19] It amounted to an acknowledgement by Spain that its hopes of restoring Roman Catholicism in England were at an end and it had to recognise the Protestant monarchy in England. In return, England ended its financial and military support for the Dutch rebellion, ongoing since the Treaty of Nonsuch (1585), and had to end its wartime disruption of Spanish trans-Atlantic shipping and colonial expansion.
With England out of the way, the Spanish hoped for a knock-out blow that would force the Dutch into a peace by launching a huge campaign led by Ambrogio Spinola in 1606. [25] James still allowed the Dutch army to recruit English volunteer soldiers in their service – 8,000 having served in the Netherlands in 1605. [26] In addition, English corsairs were now finding their needs in the service of the Dutch, who preyed on Spanish shipping. [25] Conversely, Spanish warships and privateers were allowed to use English ports as naval bases to attack Dutch shipping [27] or to transport reinforcements to Flanders. [28] In November 1607, the costs of the recent wars with France, the Protestant Dutch as well as England resulted in Spain's bankruptcy. The Twelve Years' Truce was thus signed, which formally recognized the independence of the Dutch Republic. [29]
To the English public, the treaty was highly unpopular, viewing it as a "humiliating peace". [30] They felt that the King had deserted their ally the Netherlands in order to appease the Spanish, and it made James I "monumentally unpopular". Noel Caron, ambassador of the United Provinces to London, wrote that "no promulgation was ever received in London with more coolness, yes—with more sadness." [30] [31] [32] As such no public celebrations were held in England after the conclusion of the agreement. [33] The rift between James I's foreign policy and public opinion would widen some years later as a result of the "Spanish Match", when the Protestant House of Commons would confront the King over his marriage arrangement between Maria Anna of Spain (the daughter of Philip III of Spain) and James's son, Charles, the Prince of Wales. [34] The English delegation, however, considered the treaty with Spain a diplomatic victory which gave the English "peace with honour". [35] [36] After the signing lavish celebrations organised by the 3rd Earl of Southampton including a grand feast and ball were laid on at the Palace of Whitehall. [37] Gold and silver medals designed by Nicholas Hilliard were also struck to commemorate the peace. [38]
The peace agreement was well received in Spain. [39] [40] There were big public celebrations in the Spanish capital Valladolid from April to June 1605 in honour of the treaty and of the birth of Philip's son Philip IV of Spain. [41] [42] [43] Also present were the English ambassadorial delegation (which numbered 500) led by Lord Admiral Charles Howard. He had been sent by James I in return for Don Juan de Velasco having been sent to England to negotiate the peace the previous year. [44] The English delegation were welcomed with a warm reception and honours on 26 May which included Howard being received at the English college. [44] The treaty was then ratified in the Royal Palace of Valladolid in the presence of Howard the following month. [39] Some voices from the Catholic Church, however, expressed its concern to Philip III over his settlement with a "heretical power", especially Juan de Ribera, then bishop of Valencia who protested. [45] Once the agreement was concluded, Philip III appointed Don Pedro de Zuñiga as first Spanish resident ambassador to England. [46]
For the Spanish crown, there was hope after the peace treaty that England would eventually secure tolerance for Catholics. The Gunpowder Plot in 1605, however, destroyed any possibility of this. [47] Protestant fears that a peace with Spain would ultimately mean an invasion by Jesuits and Catholic sympathisers over the coming years also failed to materialise as the Elizabethan Recusancy laws were rigidly enforced by Parliament. [48]
Following the signing of the treaty, England and Spain remained at peace until 1625.
Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last monarch of the House of Tudor.
Philip II, sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent, was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He was also jure uxoris King of England and Ireland from his marriage to Queen Mary I in 1554 until her death in 1558. Further, he was Duke of Milan from 1540. From 1555, he was Lord of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands.
The Grand Alliance, sometimes erroneously referred to as its precursor the League of Augsburg, was formed on 20 December 1689. Signed by William III on behalf of the Dutch Republic and England, and Emperor Leopold I for the Habsburg Monarchy, its primary purpose was to oppose the expansionist policies of Louis XIV of France.
Albert VII was the ruling Archduke of Austria for a few months in 1619 and, jointly with his wife, Isabella Clara Eugenia, sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands between 1598 and 1621. Prior to this, he had been a cardinal, Archbishop of Toledo, viceroy of Portugal and Governor General of the Habsburg Netherlands. He succeeded his brother Matthias as reigning archduke of Lower and Upper Austria, but abdicated in favor of Ferdinand II the same year, making it the shortest reign in Austrian history.
The Kingdom of England was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from the early tenth century, when it was unified from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, which would later become the United Kingdom. The Kingdom of England was among the most powerful states in Europe during the medieval and early modern periods.
Isabella Clara Eugenia, sometimes referred to as Clara Isabella Eugenia, was sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, which comprised the Low Countries and the north of modern France with her husband, Archduke Albert VII of Austria.
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The Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) was an intermittent conflict between the Habsburg Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of England that was never formally declared. It began with England's military expedition in 1585 to what was then the Spanish Netherlands under the command of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, in support of the Dutch rebellion against Spanish Habsburg rule.
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Juan de Tassis y Acuña, 1st Count of Villamediana, was a Spanish diplomat and official, awarded his title by king Philip III of Spain in 1603, and the General Head of Spanish Post Offices.
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