[TEIXEIRA, Jose]

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First edition in English, the Leconfield-Penrose copy of an important anti-Spanish treatise, presenting the common sort of Castillians as maligne & perverse full of pride, arroganc ie, ambition, tyranie, & infidelitie . It also includes references to Brazil and the West Indies as well as an early account of Sir Francis Drake s 1589 Lisbon campaign, the largest naval force that had ever left England, that attempted to restore Don Antonio to the Portuguese throne. This comprehensive plan was plainly far more than a counter-attacking raid: it amounted to a full-scale invasion of part of Portugal and her overseas territories. It was daring and ambitious, and Drake was obviously the man to direct the naval side of the operation, to complete the work of the Armada campaign and win fresh glory for himself and for English seafaring. In the event, the Portugal adventure of 1589 proved to be an unrelieved disaster, which achieved nothing, costs thousands of lives, and dragged Drake s reputation into the mire Whitfield. Sir Francis Drake. This English translation from the French argues how best to defeat the Spanish threat, giving an account of the habits and character of Philip of Spain and a detailed history of recent dealings between England, Spain and Portugal. The work provides a valuable description of the contemporary states of those last two countries, the conditions of their peoples and especially their towns and cities and sources of national wealth. Incidentally it deals with the vast importance to Spain of its, and Portugal s, overseas possessions. The anonymous tract A Treatise Paraenetical,.. exhorts the monarchs of France and England to attack Philip directly, to restore unto libertie so many peoples and nations, whoe do crie and call for aide under the yoke and burthen of this tyrannie . In turn this would entail security for the aggressors, delivering your owne subiects from the arms of the enemie . The likely author of the treatise paraenetical is no Protestant; purporting to be the translation of a treatise by an Aragonese subject of Philip II, the author is almost certainly P érez. The printed English version is strongly associated with Essex s circle: dedicated to Essex s close friend, Fulke Greville, Essex is described as a Prince of the bloud Royall of England .. adorned with many moral vertues . The treatise was probably translated by Arthur Atye, Essex s client, who performed similar important works of Spanish translation for Essex. Alexandra Gajda. The Earl of Essex and Late Elizabethan Political Culture. A rare and important work. Show more