In 1654 a fleet and army were sent against the Spanish West Indies;
for, though there was no war with Spain in Europe, there never was any
peace with Spaniards overseas. Cromwell's orders, like those of Pitt a
hundred years later, were perfect models of what such orders ought to
be. He told the admiral and general exactly what the country wanted
them to do, gave them the means of doing it, and then left them free to
do it in whatever way seemed best on the spot. But the admiral and
general did not agree. King's men and Cromwell's men had to be mixed
together, as enough good Cromwellians could not be spared so far away
from home. The leaders tried to stand well with both sides by writing
to the King; and every other trouble was made ten times worse by this
divided loyalty. Jamaica was taken. But the rest was all disgraceful
failure.
A very different force sailed out the same year under glorious Blake,
who soon let Spaniards, Italians, and Barbary pirates know that he
would stand no nonsense if they interfered with British vessels in the
Mediterranean.
Pages:
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169