Besides the above subsidy, 3,000 additional infantry were to be raised, in order to garrison the English fortresses on the other side of the Channel, and in case of need, a fleet was to be fitted out, carrying 6,000 soldiery, half to be paid by Philip, the other half by England. It was announced that the English Government had no intention of breaking the peace with France, the troops being sent to Flanders by virtue of the old treaty between England and those provinces, and solely to defend the King’s States, and not to invade France. It was also pointed out, that the additional 3,000 soldiers were merely for the defence of Calais and its frontiers, and that the fleet was to secure the passage of the Channel, and not to attempt any act of aggression.[644]
Possibly no more than this may have been intended, in spite of Philip’s demands, but the French believing or affecting to believe that a rupture was imminent, reinforced all their places on the English frontier, with ammunition, victuals and soldiers. They also sent a force to Scotland, sufficient not only for the defence of the Scottish border, but capable of attacking England on that side.[645] Even then the actual breaking out of war with England was due to a renewal of Henry’s connivance with English traitors and rebels. Dudley and his friends, among whom was Thomas Stafford, grandson of the last Duke of Buckingham, had been quietly waiting in France, till it should be convenient for the King to employ them, and the moment having now arrived, he entered into negotiations with them, and with certain families of the reformed faith, settled in and about Calais, for delivering the English fortresses, Hammes and Guisnes, into the hands of the French.[646] The design failed, but a few days later, another, not less daring, was attempted by Stafford. Having obtained two French ships, he sailed for England, with a handful of English, Scotch and French desperadoes, about 100 in all, and landing on the coast of Yorkshire, seized Scarborough Castle. He issued a proclamation, assuming the titles of protector and governor of the realm, and declared that he was come to deliver his countrymen from the tyranny of strangers and “to defeat the most devilish devices of Mary, unrightful and unworthy queen”. She had, he pretended, forfeited her claim to the sceptre by her marriage with a Spaniard, who lavished the national treasures on his countrymen, and was resolved to deliver into their hands twelve of the strongest fortresses of the kingdom. As for himself, he was determined to die bravely in the field, rather than see his country enslaved; and he called on all loyal Englishmen to rally round the standard of independence which he had set up, and to fight for the preservation of their lives, lands, wives, children and treasures.[647]
To his mortification, not a man answered the summons—the north was more loyal than the traitors suspected, and Wotton, Mary’s ambassador in France, disclosed the plot before Henry had time to send aid to his confederates. The Earl of Westmorland marched to Scarborough with a considerable force, and Stafford, whose language had been so bold, at once surrendered at discretion, and met with the punishment he richly deserved, together with about twenty-five other persons implicated in the affair.[648]
The only result of the enterprise was, that instead of engaging in the war with France, as an ally of Philip, England was now a principal in the quarrel, the Council having resolved that the time had come for demanding satisfaction for the injuries offered to Mary by the King of France.[649] Nevertheless, when on the 7th June 1557, the English herald announced the declaration of war to Henry, he replied: “I foresaw this war; it is the pledge of the Queen of England’s submission to the will of her husband.”[650] He immediately recalled his ambassador, François de Noailles, Bishop of Acqs, who had replaced his brother Antoine; but Mary had already dismissed him herself.[651] The Bishop took the opportunity at Calais, to examine the state of the fortifications, and the likelihood of its withstanding a bombardment. The result of his investigation was a report to the French King, to the effect that a considerable portion of the rampart lay in ruins, and that the boasted strength of the place consisted only in its reputation. In its present condition it offered, said the ambassador, seconded by the Governor of Boulogne, an easy conquest to a sudden and unexpected assailant.[652] “Here, in the meanwhile,” wrote Surian on the 1st June, “they are expecting the succours from Spain which do not make their appearance, and unless they be speedy and considerable, they will show by experience what a gross blunder it is to circulate reports of making great preparations, and not verifying them by facts, as it merely rouses the enemy, rendering them more and more ready for attack and defence.” But before concluding his despatch, he adds, “whilst writing this I hear that the Admiral of England has put to sea with his fleet, in order to meet the one expected from Spain. He has a total of twenty-three large ships well supplied with artillery and soldiers; so the French fleet being greatly inferior in the number and quality of its vessels, and in the activity of its sailors, and in strength, will be unable to show itself, and do any damage in these seas.”[653]
Philip, who had not been five months in England, re-embarked for Flanders, on the 3rd July. Mary accompanied him as far as Dover, and there took leave of him in a heartrending farewell. They never met again.
Surian had been appointed ambassador to Philip, and therefore left England with him; and in spite of Mary’s representations to the Signory, there was afterwards no resident Venetian envoy in England, Surian doing duty to both King and Queen.
The first important feature in the new campaign was the victory of St. Quentin, which was taken by storm by the Spaniards, aided by Lord Pembroke, and between 7,000 and 8,000 English soldiers. When the news reached London “was Te Deum laudamus sung and ringing solemnly; at night bonfires and drinking in every street in London, thanking be to God Almighty that gives the victory”.[654] Cardinal Pole, in congratulating Philip, said, “The most serene Queen has also evinced great gladness at this, principally from the testimony offered by your Majesty on this occasion, of your piety, to the glory of God and to His true honour, especially because it took place with so little loss of life, which grace she always prays His divine Majesty to grant you in all your victories. Here, we are anxiously expecting news of some good agreement with his Holiness, which may our Lord God deign to grant, and ever have your Majesty in His keeping, and for His service favour your Majesty, whose hand I humbly kiss.”[655]
The victory of St. Quentin did actually lead, as Pole so ardently desired, to peace with the Pope, but also indirectly to the loss of Calais. A brief survey of Philip’s war with Paul IV. will make this clear. Philip had always repudiated any other intention, in carrying on hostilities against the Pope, than that of protecting the kingdom of Naples against molestation.[656] The campaign opened by the seizure, in September 1556, of Pontecorvo, and several other small towns in the Papal States, by the Duke of Alva, Philip’s celebrated general. A truce was concluded for forty days, under the walls of Ostia, and Alva entered Naples in triumph. In the meantime, the French army, under the Duke of Guise, had marched into Italy, and had joined hands with the Pope. The truce having expired, and the two armies being encamped within a few miles of each other, before Civitella, Guise judged that Alva’s force was too overwhelming for him to risk a battle, and retreated, leaving the kingdom of Naples to the Spaniards. The Pope, alarmed by the success of the Colonnas, who were fighting on the Spanish side, summoned the Duke of Guise to Rome, to defend the Holy City. But misunderstandings arose daily between the Pope and his French allies. He evinced a great desire for peace, and the Florentine ambassador sent an express to his Duke, urging him to exhort the King of Spain to adjust matters with his Holiness, by giving him some satisfaction before the world, “the old man desiring nothing else”.[657] At this juncture, Philip won the battle of St. Quentin, and took the town by storm, upon which the King of France, seeing that he would need all the strength he could muster, to oppose the Spaniards and English combined, recalled Guise from Italy, and the Pope was obliged to come to terms with Alva. Escorted by the Papal guard, Philip’s generalissimo entered Rome on the 27th September 1557, and on reaching the Vatican, fell on his knees before the Pope and craved his pardon for the offence of having borne arms against the Church, his master having already declared, and probably with truth, that he would never have commenced hostilities, could he have secured his kingdom of Naples by any other means.