The Islands Voyage, 1597
Alan Haynes recounts how Essex and Raleigh attacked the Azores, but failed to destroy the Spanish fleet
Between 1585 and 1598 Queen Elizabeth and her advisers were committed to engaging Spain; but the policy they followed was often obscured by the factional struggles of the period. Two hostile groups, under the leadership of Robert Cecil, on the one hand, and the Earl of Essex, on the other, clashed over the distribution of all public offices; and they argued, at the same time, over foreign policy.
While Essex urged that war should be waged against the enemy wherever he was weakest, that increased support should be given to Henry IV of France, and that Spain itself, the Spanish Americas and Spanish marine power should be mercilessly attacked, Robert Cecil, a true son of the cautious Burghley, saw the situation from a very different point of view. He favoured cutting down support of the French, safeguarding our own shores and employing the Navy to seize Spanish goods and ships.
His aim, besides sapping the enemy’s material strength, was to conserve England’s financial resources - a policy that Essex instinctively opposed and, when his reputation was at stake, derided.
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