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Cádiz Expedition (1625)
Encyclopedia
The Cádiz Expedition of 1625 was a naval expedition
against Spain
by English and Dutch
forces.
The plan was put forward because after the Dissolution of the Parliament of 1625, the Duke of Buckingham
, Lord High Admiral
wanted to undertake an expedition that would match the exploits of the heroes of the Elizabethan Era
and in doing so, would return respect to the country and its people after the political stress of the preceding years.
and the Duke of Buckingham
to propose a marriage between Charles and the Spanish Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, the two switched positions and began advocating war with Spain. They persuaded King James
to summon a new parliament which would be invited to advise on foreign policy. The resulting parliament of 1624 was (at least in the short run) a triumph for Charles and Buckingham, as it strongly advocated war with Spain.
However, James had a dilemma stemming from mutual distrust between himself and parliament. He feared that if he went to war, parliament would find an excuse to avoid providing the finance to support it. Parliament, on the other hand, feared that if they voted the finances, the king would find an excuse not to go to war. James died shortly afterwards, leaving foreign policy in the hands of Charles, who rather naively assumed that if he followed the policy parliament had advocated, it would provide the funds for it.
ships coming back from the Americas loaded with valuables, and then assaulting Spanish towns, with the intention of causing stress within Spain's economy and weakening the Spanish supply chain and resources in regards to the Palatinate.
By October 1625, approximately 100 ships and a total of 15,000 seamen and soldiers had been readied for the Cádiz Expedition. An alliance with the Dutch had also been forged, and the new allies agreed to send an additional 15 warships commanded by William of Nassau
, to help guard the English Channel
in the absence of the main fleet. Sir Edward Cecil
, a battle-hardened soldier fighting for the Dutch, was appointed commander of the expedition by the Duke of Buckingham. This choice of commander was ill-judged, because, while Cecil was a good soldier, he had little knowledge of the sea.
The expedition began on 6 October 1625, but the voyage was plagued with difficulties. Stormy weather threatened the ships, rendering many of them barely seaworthy and causing major delays. By the time the fleet escaped from the storms and arrived in Spanish waters, it had become apparent that they were too poorly supplied to conduct the mission properly, and that they were too late to engage the West Indian
treasure fleet, due to the storms they had encountered; in any case, the treasure fleet had used a more southernly passage than usual.
and, after successfully sailing to the Cádiz bay and landing his force, he was able to take the fort that guarded the harbour of the city. However, he soon found that the actual city had been heavily fortified with modern defences, and then began to make serious errors. Spanish vessels that were open to capture were able to get away because most of his forces waited for orders and did not act. The Spanish ships then sailed to the safety of Puerto Real
(Port Royal).
The ships used in the assault were also largely merchant vessels conscripted and converted for warfare, and the captains or owners of these ships, overly concerned about the welfare of their ships, left much of the battle to the Dutch.
The attack on and capture of Fort Puntel proved a mistake, as the fort did not need to be captured to be able to attack Cádiz.
When Cecil landed his forces, they realised that they had no food or drink with them. Cecil then made the foolish decision to allow the men to drink from the wine vats found in the local houses. A wave of drunkenness
ensued, with few or none of Cecil's force remaining sober. Realizing what he had done, Cecil took the only course left open to him, and ordered that the men return to their ships and retreat. When the Spanish army arrived, they found over 1,000 English soldiers still drunk: although every man was armed, not a single shot was fired as the Spanish put them all to the sword.
s that were bringing resources back from the New World
. This failed as well, because these ships had been warned of danger in the waters, so were able to take another route and were able to return home without any trouble from Cecil or his ships.
250,000.
, to protect his own dignity and his favourite
, Buckingham (who should have at least made sure the ships were well supplied), made no effort to enquire about the failure of the expedition. He turned a blind eye, instead interesting himself in the plight of the Huguenot
s of La Rochelle. The House of Commons
was less forgiving. The parliament of 1626 began the process of impeachment against the Duke. Eventually, Charles I chose to dissolve parliament rather than risk a successful impeachment.
The failure of the attack had severe consequences. Apart from the economic and human loss, the reputation of England decreased.
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
against Spain
Habsburg Spain
Habsburg Spain refers to the history of Spain over the 16th and 17th centuries , when Spain was ruled by the major branch of the Habsburg dynasty...
by English and Dutch
Dutch Empire
The Dutch Empire consisted of the overseas territories controlled by the Dutch Republic and later, the modern Netherlands from the 17th to the 20th century. The Dutch followed Portugal and Spain in establishing an overseas colonial empire, but based on military conquest of already-existing...
forces.
The plan was put forward because after the Dissolution of the Parliament of 1625, the Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham KG was the favourite, claimed by some to be the lover, of King James I of England. Despite a very patchy political and military record, he remained at the height of royal favour for the first two years of the reign of Charles I, until he was assassinated...
, Lord High Admiral
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
wanted to undertake an expedition that would match the exploits of the heroes of the Elizabethan Era
Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...
and in doing so, would return respect to the country and its people after the political stress of the preceding years.
Background
Following an abortive trip to Spain by Prince CharlesCharles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
and the Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham KG was the favourite, claimed by some to be the lover, of King James I of England. Despite a very patchy political and military record, he remained at the height of royal favour for the first two years of the reign of Charles I, until he was assassinated...
to propose a marriage between Charles and the Spanish Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, the two switched positions and began advocating war with Spain. They persuaded King James
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
to summon a new parliament which would be invited to advise on foreign policy. The resulting parliament of 1624 was (at least in the short run) a triumph for Charles and Buckingham, as it strongly advocated war with Spain.
However, James had a dilemma stemming from mutual distrust between himself and parliament. He feared that if he went to war, parliament would find an excuse to avoid providing the finance to support it. Parliament, on the other hand, feared that if they voted the finances, the king would find an excuse not to go to war. James died shortly afterwards, leaving foreign policy in the hands of Charles, who rather naively assumed that if he followed the policy parliament had advocated, it would provide the funds for it.
Plan
War was duly declared on Spain, and Buckingham began the preparations. The planned expedition involved several elements, including overtaking Spanish treasureTreasure
Treasure is a concentration of riches, often one which is considered lost or forgotten until being rediscovered...
ships coming back from the Americas loaded with valuables, and then assaulting Spanish towns, with the intention of causing stress within Spain's economy and weakening the Spanish supply chain and resources in regards to the Palatinate.
Expedition
William of Nassau (1601-1627)
Willem van Nassau, Lord of De Lek was a Dutch soldier from 1620 until 1627. He was the illegitimate son of stadholder Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange and his mistress Margaretha van Mechelen.Like their other illegitimate children, he was recognized with the surname Nassau-LaLecq...
, to help guard the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
in the absence of the main fleet. Sir Edward Cecil
Edward Cecil, 1st Viscount Wimbledon
Edward Cecil, 1st Viscount Wimbledon was an English military and naval commander.-Life:The third son of Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter and grandson of Queen Elizabeth's great minister Lord Burghley, Cecil served with the English forces in the Netherlands between 1596 and 1610, becoming a captain...
, a battle-hardened soldier fighting for the Dutch, was appointed commander of the expedition by the Duke of Buckingham. This choice of commander was ill-judged, because, while Cecil was a good soldier, he had little knowledge of the sea.
The expedition began on 6 October 1625, but the voyage was plagued with difficulties. Stormy weather threatened the ships, rendering many of them barely seaworthy and causing major delays. By the time the fleet escaped from the storms and arrived in Spanish waters, it had become apparent that they were too poorly supplied to conduct the mission properly, and that they were too late to engage the West Indian
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
treasure fleet, due to the storms they had encountered; in any case, the treasure fleet had used a more southernly passage than usual.
Cádiz
Cecil chose to assault the Spanish city of CádizCádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
and, after successfully sailing to the Cádiz bay and landing his force, he was able to take the fort that guarded the harbour of the city. However, he soon found that the actual city had been heavily fortified with modern defences, and then began to make serious errors. Spanish vessels that were open to capture were able to get away because most of his forces waited for orders and did not act. The Spanish ships then sailed to the safety of Puerto Real
Puerto Real
Puerto Real is a seaport in southern Spain, in the province of Cádiz and the autonomous region of Andalusia. , it had a population 40,667....
(Port Royal).
The ships used in the assault were also largely merchant vessels conscripted and converted for warfare, and the captains or owners of these ships, overly concerned about the welfare of their ships, left much of the battle to the Dutch.
The attack on and capture of Fort Puntel proved a mistake, as the fort did not need to be captured to be able to attack Cádiz.
When Cecil landed his forces, they realised that they had no food or drink with them. Cecil then made the foolish decision to allow the men to drink from the wine vats found in the local houses. A wave of drunkenness
Drunkenness
Alcohol intoxication is a physiological state that occurs when a person has a high level of ethanol in his or her blood....
ensued, with few or none of Cecil's force remaining sober. Realizing what he had done, Cecil took the only course left open to him, and ordered that the men return to their ships and retreat. When the Spanish army arrived, they found over 1,000 English soldiers still drunk: although every man was armed, not a single shot was fired as the Spanish put them all to the sword.
Spanish galleons
After the embarrassing fiasco of Cádiz, Cecil decided to try to intercept a fleet of Spanish galleonGalleon
A galleon was a large, multi-decked sailing ship used primarily by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries. Whether used for war or commerce, they were generally armed with the demi-culverin type of cannon.-Etymology:...
s that were bringing resources back from the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
. This failed as well, because these ships had been warned of danger in the waters, so were able to take another route and were able to return home without any trouble from Cecil or his ships.
Return
Disease and sickness was sweeping through the ranks and, since the ships were in a bad state, Cecil finally decided that there was no alternative but to return to England, having captured few or no goods, and having made little impact on Spain. So, in December, the fleet returned home. The expedition cost the English an estimated £Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
250,000.
Aftermath
King CharlesCharles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
, to protect his own dignity and his favourite
Favourite
A favourite , or favorite , was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In medieval and Early Modern Europe, among other times and places, the term is used of individuals delegated significant political power by a ruler...
, Buckingham (who should have at least made sure the ships were well supplied), made no effort to enquire about the failure of the expedition. He turned a blind eye, instead interesting himself in the plight of the Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
s of La Rochelle. The House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
was less forgiving. The parliament of 1626 began the process of impeachment against the Duke. Eventually, Charles I chose to dissolve parliament rather than risk a successful impeachment.
The failure of the attack had severe consequences. Apart from the economic and human loss, the reputation of England decreased.