INTRODUCTION 1. The Purpose of This Study
In a well known petition of 3 December 1621 , the House of Commons made clear to King James I their resentment and misgivings over many aspects of Stuart policy . High on their list was the interposing of foreign princes and their agents in the behalf of popish recusants... Furthermore, there had been in London an "open resort to the chapels of foreign ambassadors, while abroad English Catholic youths were being educated " in many several seminaries and houses of their religion appropriated to English fugitives . This well publicized reproach has been cited frequently in the framework of the mounting constitutional crisis of English history, yet the " interposing of the Spanish monarchy on behalf of Catholics deserves exploration. There has long been need of a review from within the files of the Spanish crown's highest consultative body, the Council of State , of their actual deliberations concerning English Catholicism . It has been rightly suspected that valuable information could be made accessible to historiansin recusant themes as well as diplomatic issues. is hoped that through these original sources some important questions may for the first time be appraised in proper depth. A concern of the ambassadors of the Spanish crown for EnglishCatholics was well known to contemporaries but not their precise activities and motivations. What special information did they have about the recusants ? What plans for toleration, or mitigation of the penallaws were in fact formulated? How seriously did the envoys pursue them? What were the aims of Philip III in the Catholic issue? Why, in fact, did the Spanish envoys show such concern for their London chapels?What advice did English Catholics offer to the Spanish court? Did , therefore, the resentment of the House of Commons against the maleficent design of the Habsburgs have any basis? Because of the varied and abundant materials pertaining to this theme a division into two volumes was necessary with the year 1612 as a convenient mid-point . Within this span of years following the accession of James there is time to analyse the emergent policy of the Spanish crown through the despatches of the Constable of Castile , don Juan de Tassis, don Pedro de Zju =ga and don Alonso de Velasco . From the viewpoint of English history this period coincides with the paramount role of Sir Robert Cecil in virtually all aspects of domestic and foreign policy. The year 1612 was to see his death, as well as that of Prince Henry, towardswhom the Spanish embassy had begun to show a mounting degree of interest. In the second volume the activities of don Diego Sarmientode Acuña will be explored in terms of the prospects of toleration for English Catholics through the fresh negotiations for a Spanish Match . The first decade of the reign is , however, a fundamental prelude to the comprehension of these later developments .
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