Chapter 77

There is a saying that the 16th century was the Age of Exploration.

Mary strongly agreed that the development of the New World was something that every country with a coastline would inevitably have to participate in. Whoever controlled the New World would have a bright future and could leave other countries far behind.

"Therefore, Britain must not remain stagnant and isolated on its islands, as that would only widen the gap between us and other European countries, ultimately leading to the complete loss of our territory and national independence!" the Queen of England said in Parliament.

“Your Majesty, but the Papal Meridian has already been drawn, and even if we reach the New World, we have no right to the contents of the Treaty of Tordesillas…” a councilor stood up and said hesitantly.

"The ocean belongs to all mankind. Spain and Portugal have no right to claim the entire ocean as their own territory. If they continue to engage in such unjust practices, then England should rise up in resistance!..." The Queen of England glanced at the expressions of the nobles present, then softened her tone and continued, "...Of course, gentlemen, waging war against Spain is not something that can be decided lightly. Before that, we should try to take a more lenient approach to reclaim the interests that England deserves."

"Your Majesty, what should England do?" Cecil stood up at the opportune moment to speak.

"Issue letters of marque to pirates and encourage them to attack and plunder the Spanish fleet," the Queen of England calmly stated today's main objective.

...

Before meeting with John Hawkins and Francis Drake, Mary sent someone to the port to secretly investigate the pirates, trying to find out their bottom line, how many sailors, ships, and cannons they had, in order to decide how to deal with them.

Should we follow the example of Elizabeth II in history, winning over these pirates to serve us, and even elevating some of the outstanding ones to hero status?

It would be more appropriate to first deploy the navy, use new weapons to catch these pirates off guard, and then find a way to bring them under the command of the regular army.

Frankly, the first method is more foolproof.

Elizabeth II's historical record has proven the correctness of her decision. While effectively striking at Spain, she not only avoided large military expenditures but also earned approximately £150,000 to £300,000 annually through pirate tributes, greatly alleviating the country's economic pressure.

That's good, but pirates are ultimately a group of lawless and desperados. They have no moral character and are capable of burning, killing, and robbing in coastal cities. Just like John Hawkins, who made a fortune a couple of years ago by kidnapping local African natives and selling them as slaves.

Mary didn't want to support such a thing; she preferred to hang the vicious pirates and then incorporate the rest into her army.

But when the clerk returned from the port with the pirates' investigation report, Mary regretfully discovered that the second plan was simply impossible to implement.

The reason is simple: there are just too many pirates, and they are too powerful!

Excluding pirates from other European countries, there were approximately 400 pirate ships and 25,000 pirates in just the English Channel alone. In terms of sheer numbers, they were comparable to the regular British navy.

If we were to actually incorporate them, we would have to fight a battle first. This would not only increase the burden on the army, but might also severely damage the navy, making Spain laugh behind our backs.

Therefore, the only option was to issue letters of marque to the pirates.

Thinking of this, the Queen of England couldn't help but sigh. Then, while issuing the license, she imposed some restrictions, which were better than nothing. For example, she ordered the pirates not to attack inland cities of England, not to burn, kill, or plunder at will, not to attack non-Spanish ships, and not to kill prisoners of war after the enemy surrendered.

...

Having made up their minds, they could no longer hesitate. Within a week, the Queen of England issued hundreds of letters of marque, allowing them to "legally" plunder Spain.

To curry favor with the new queen, and also to gain encouragement, John Hawkins, Britain's most powerful pirate captain at the time, presented Her Majesty with a fortune worth £100,000 as a gift. Then, with his nephew Francis Drake, he set sail in triumph to launch another offensive against the gold and silver from the New World.

Thus, under the Queen's influence, despite the criticism and accusations behind the scenes, the storm of investing in pirates eventually swept through the British upper class. Wealthy merchants and nobles generously donated money to support pirates in their own ways, hoping to reap even greater rewards!

Privately, Mary said with self-deprecation, "It's like we've set up a limited liability company that makes a living by plundering at sea, and I'm the biggest shareholder and beneficiary."

“Your reputation will be greatly damaged,” Seton said worriedly.

Perhaps hundreds or thousands of years from now, someone will still point at the portrait of the Queen of England and curse her as a despicable and shameless pirate captain.

“Perhaps, but if England wants to live a better life, seizing the Netherlands is essential. And once we take action against the Netherlands, England will inevitably be at sea with Spain within the next few years. Before that, I must accumulate as much strength as possible to ensure England’s chances of victory when the time comes…” Mary said.

She can't be perfect in every way.

...

This pirate storm, brought about by the Queen of England, started in London and quickly swept across the seas of Europe. From the autumn of that year to the spring of the following year, one raid after another against Spain broke out on the sea, causing Spain heavy losses.

No matter how powerful Spain's military was, it couldn't maintain 24-hour vigilance. The pirates were like mosquitoes, always eager to harass and take advantage of any moment of Spanish lapse in attention to swarm in and devour them.

What Philip II found even more intolerable was that, taking advantage of this opportunity, Dutch pirates and resistance forces, under the cover of England, secretly began to rebel and plunder Spain.

In the royal palace in Madrid, Philip II was furious about this matter more than once. He wrote several letters and sent them to London, denouncing Mary, Queen of Scots, for her despicable and shameless actions and demanding that she retract her orders and return the property belonging to Spain, or else war would break out!

Mary would usually just slip these letters into the fireplace to start a fire, then gently summon the Spanish ambassador and have him deliver her reply to Philip II.

—The ocean is a treasure for all mankind, not just for Spain and Portugal. If Philip II is willing to loosen his grip on the New World, no longer follow the Papal Meridian, and allow England… preferably France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Italy to explore the New World together, then she would be happy to revoke the license and restrain the pirates’ behavior.

Should the benefits of the New World be shared among all of Europe?

For Philip II, this was absolutely impossible.

Although it damaged their reputation, the pirates' unbridled behavior brought huge profits to England in a short period of time. Drake alone contributed £163,000 to the Queen of England, not to mention the other pirates.

Inside Whitehall Palace, the nobles who had also reaped considerable benefits cheered with joy, yet were also filled with fear and unease, for each of them already harbored a premonition.

— Spain, having reached its limit of tolerance, is about to wage war against England.