Cotton MS Otho E VIII

Papers relating to the Admiralty and Navy, dating from 1553 to 1613. Including items concerning Sir Richard Hawkins (c. 1560–1622), naval officer; Sir Walter Raleigh (1554–1618), courtier, explorer, and author; Sir Hugh Willoughby (d. 1554?), sea captain; Sir John Hawkins (1532–1595), merchant and naval commander; Sir Martin Frobisher (1535?–1594), privateer, explorer, and naval commander; Sir Francis Drake (1540–1596), pirate, sea captain, and explorer; and Edward Fenton (d. 1603), soldier and sea captain.

f. 1r: Title-page.

ff. 2r-3r: Two small fragments, concerning pirates.

ff. 4r-5v: A breviate of charges against Sir Richard Hawkins, Vice Admiral of Devon. For the release of several pirates. No date.

ff. 6r-7v: Instructions from an unnamed trading company to John Gay. For making a settlement in Newfoundland.

ff. 8r-9r: Account of stores on board an unnamed ship, probably the Swallow, travelling to Alexandria. With a petition concerning the ship. No date.

f. 10r-10v: Fragment of a draft letter from an unnamed commander of a squadron going southward. Reporting progress as far as Ferrol. Two of the ships mentioned are named the ‘Dreadnought’ and the ‘St. Andrews’, Sir Walter Ralegh being in command of the latter. No date.

ff. 11r-16v: Paper concerning Sir Hugh Willoughby's voyage for the discovery of Cathay. 1553.

ff. 17r-41v: Corrected draft account of Sir John Hawkins's voyage to the coast of Guinea. No date.

ff. 42r-54r: Account of Sir Martin Frobisher's voyage for the discovery of a passage towards Cathay. Written by Michael Lock. 1574.

ff. 55r-56v: Letter from Thomas Homes to Arthur Atye, secretary of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Concerning some ships. Hampton, 5 January 1591.

ff. 57r-58r: Brief account of the islands lying on the north side of America, and the principal towns in the mainland, held by the King of Spain. No date.

ff. 59r-60v: Summary of the voyage of Sir Francis Drake in 1577.

f. 61r: Fragment of a paper containing advice concerning traffic in the East Indies. No date.

ff. 62r-66r: Affidavit of the master of a bark called ‘Our Lady of […]’ which had been captured in the South Seas by pirates. Containing information concerning the pirates. No date.

f. 67r-67v Fragment of a letter from Humphrey Gilbert to Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex. Concerning the delay of his voyage. September 23 1578.

ff. 68r-77v: Journal of the ships George and William, under the commanders Arthur Pett and Christopher Jackson, which sailed on May 21 1580 from London. On a voyage for the discovery of a passage to Cathay by the North Seas.

ff. 78r-80v: Directions by John Dee. For a voyage to Cathay by the North Seas. With a small chart. May 15 1580.

f. 81r-81v: Letter from Edward Talbot, 8th Earl of Shrewsbury, to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Concerning the equipping of a ship for Martin Frobisher. [1581].

f. 82r-82v: Letter from Edward Fenton to Martin Frobisher and Arthur Atye. Concerning the equipment of a ship for John Hawkins. London, October 31 1581.

f. 83r-83v: Letter from John Barker to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Recommending a person to undertake a voyage. Bristol, November 23, 1581.

f. 84r: Schedule of stores for an unnamed ship.

ff. 85r-86v: Minutes of an agreement for fitting out two ships: the galleon ‘Oughtred’, and the bark ‘Hastinges’. No date.

f. 87r-87v: Letter from Martin Frobisher to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Reporting that an agreement he has made with Henry Oughtred, and discussing payments of money. October 1 1581.

ff. 88r-93v: Instructions given to Martin Frobisher, for a voyage in the galleon ‘Edward Bonaventure’. Annotated by Sir William Cecil, Baron Burghley. 1581.

ff. 94r-95v: Notes of stores to be taken on the above voyage (ff. 88r-93v).

ff. 96r-97r: Two letters from Edward Talbot, 8th Earl of Shrewsbury, to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Concerning the voyage of two or three ships to the East Indies. Sheffield, September 24 and October 26 1581.

f. 98r-98v: Letter from Francis Drake to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Offering to join a voyage with Dudley and Martin Frobisher, and to provide a ship for the purpose. Plymouth, October 14 1581.

ff. 98r-100r: Two notes of the stores required for a ship. The first signed by Henry Oughtred and Martin Frobisher, and the second signed by Martin Frobisher and Edward Fenton. No dates.

ff. 101r-101v: Letter from Edward Talbot, 8th Earl of Shrewsbury, to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. On the sum he is willing to risk upon a voyage. Sheffield, November 3 1581.

f. 102r-102v: Letter from Francis Drake to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Concerning a voyage, and a bark returned from Tercera. Plymouth, November 7 1581.

f. 103r-103v: Letter from Fimas Fernandes to Martin Frobisher. Concerning the provisions and stores of an unnamed ship. No date.

f. 104r: Letter from Edward Talbot, 8th Earl of Shrewsbury, to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. On the voyage with Martin Frobisher. Sheffield, November 15 1581.

ff. 105r-107v: Minutes of instructions for the equipment of a ship to be sent out under Sir Francis Drake. With two notes concerning shares in the adventure. No date.

ff. 108r-113r: Instructions given to Martin Frobisher by the Privy Council. For an expedition to Cathay by the North Seas, his second voyage. In the ‘Aide’, the ‘Gabriele’, and the ‘Michael’. Signed by Frobisher, June 1 1578. For Frobisher’s third voyage, see Sloane MS 2442, art. 7.

f. 114r-114v: Letter from Robert Jolly to Arthur Atye. Concerning the equipment of the bark ‘Talbot’. November 23 1581.

ff. 115r-116v: Letter from Henry Oughtred, Edward Fenton, William Hawkins, and others to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Concerning preparations for a voyage. Nettlye, April 22 1582.

f. 117r-117v: Inventory of the ship ‘Elizabeth’. Signed by Edward Fenton, William Hawkins, and Luke Ward. April 31, 1582.

ff. 118r-119v: Details of the stores and the setting forth of the galleon ‘Oughtred’. No date.

ff. 120r-121v: Two articles of agreement between Edward Talbot, 8th Earl of Shrewsbury on one part, and Henry Oughtred and Martin Frobisher on the other. Concerning the fitting out of the galleon ‘Oughtred’. c. 1582.

f. 122r: Letter from Henry Oughtred to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Reporting the fitting out of his ship, and commending his chaplain. Nettlye, May 1 1582.

ff. 123r-126r: Four notes of stores and provisions for unnamed ships. No dates.

f. 127r-127v: Letter from Henry Oughtred, possibly to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Recommending John Hawkins for the command of a voyage, and Mr. Carlyle, possibly Christopher Carleill, to join with him. Nettlye, March 17 1581.

ff. 128r-129v: Fragment of instructions given to Edward Fenton. Concerning a voyage to China. Signed by William Cecil, Robert Dudley, and Francis Walsingham. No date.

ff. 130r-: Journal of a voyage to the West Indies, by Edward Fenton, Luke Warde, William Hawkins, and others. Originally part of Sloane MS 2496 (f. 70r). 1582.

f. 144r-144v: Letter from Edward Fenton, possibly to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Concerning preparations for a voyage, and complaints against Hawkins and Carlyle (possibly Christopher Carleill). Nettlye, April 22 1582.

f. 145r-145v: Letter from John Walker to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Requesting permission to hold a living during his voyage to India. Southampton, April 22 1582.

ff. 146r-146v: Letter from Myles Evans to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Reporting his progress on a voyage. Latitude: 35 N. E. St. Vincenne, 50 leagues. June 13 1582.

f. 147r-147v: Letter from John Bannister to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Reporting his voyage as far as the Canaries, recommending his family, and cautioning against insidious persons. June 15 [1582].

f. 148r-148v: Letter from John Walker to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Reporting some circumstances of the voyage, and commending Luke Warde. Latitude: 35, June 14 1582.

f. 149r-149v: Letter from Edward Fenton to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. On his ill state of health. No date.

f. 150r-150v: Fragment of a journal of a ship commanded by Edward Fenton, voyaging to the South Sea. 1582.

f. 151r-151v: List of the crew on board the ‘Edward Bonaventure’. Annotated by William Cecil.

ff. 152r-155v: List of the crew on board the ‘Leicester’, the bark ‘Frances’, the ‘Edward Bonaventure’ and the bark ‘Elizabeth’.

ff. 156r-157v: Minutes taken on board the galleon ‘Leicester’, concerning the courses to be steered. 1582.

ff. 157r-164v: Journal of John Walker. 1582.

ff. 165r-166r: Paper on the offices on board King James I’s ships. No date.

f. 145r-145v: Account of a country fit for a settlement, between 35 and 45 degrees latitude.

f. 168r-168v: The end of a letter signed Tho. Buck. Followed by proposals for regulating artificers on board his Majesty's ships. No date.

f. 169r-169v: Minutes of some regulations concerning the Navy. In the hand of William Cecil.

ff. 170r-171r: Petition of Richard Bishop and William Wollman, on behalf of themselves and others living in piracy. Requesting to be allowed to return to their submission. With some minutes on the subject. No date.

f. 172r-172v: Part of an agreement concerning the fitting out of a ship under Mr. Bollingham and Gilbert Horsel. No date.

f. 173r-173v: Note of defects in the instructions and preparations for Captain Carlisle's (possibly Christopher Carleill’s) voyage to China, to be supplied. No date.

f. 174r-174v: Instructions for intelligence to be gathered concerning the coast of Brazil. Regarding a fleet voyaging for the straits of Gibraltar. No date.

ff. 175r-177r: Intelligence concerning a fleet on the coast of South America. With a note of distances on the coast, and a diagram. No date.

ff. 178r-179v: Two notes of intelligence concerning a Spanish fleet and an unnamed ship. No date.

ff. 178r-182v: Letter from Edward Fenton to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Reporting his transactions and an engagement he had near St. Vincent's on the coast of Brazil. Downs, June 29 1583.

ff. 183r-184v: Consultation about the course to be steered by an unnamed ship. Signed by Luke Ward and John Walker. No date.

f. 185r-185v: Account of the expedition of Edward Fenton (see above, ff. 178r-182v).

ff. 186r-187v: Journal of the expedition of Edward Fenton, by Peter Jeffery. Annotated by William Cecil.

f. 188r-188v: Fragment of a project concerning a force to be employed against pirates. No date.

ff. 189r-199v: Eleven fragments of consultations, proposals, and reports relating to an English expedition towards the streights of Magellan. Some signed by Edward Fenton, William Hawkins, Richard Maddox and others. Possibly relating to the ‘Leicester’, commanded by Edward Fenton. c. 1582.

ff. 200r-223v: Draft journal of the voyage of the ‘Leicester’, ‘Frances’ and ‘Elizabeth’ to the coast of South America. By John Walker. No date.

ff. 224r-228v: Journal of the same voyage as above (ff. 200r-223v), by William Hawkins.

ff. 229r-234v: Account of the expedition of Sir Francis Drake against Bayonne and Vigo, St. Domingo, and Carthagena. 1585. In the hand of John Stow. See Tite (Publication Note).

ff. 235r-238r: Account of the same expedition as above (ff. 229r-234v).

f. 239r: Proposal for a voyage for the discovery of a North West passage. No date.

f. 240r: Letter from Hugh Smyth to an unknown recipient. Offering his services for a voyage. Bristol, November 30.

f. 241r-241v: Short notes concerning the Molucca Islands and the Dutch East India Company.

f. 242r: Letter from Thomas Leighton to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Requesting protection in a suit concerning his ship. Guernsey, May 25 [1587].

f. 243r-243v: Affidavit concerning the purloining of goods from a ship, by one Captain Button. No date.

ff. 244r-245r: Account of the escape of Sir Henry Middleton from Mocha, and of his subsequent voyage and proceedings. Addressed to Sir Arthur Chichester, Deputy of Ireland. 1611.

ff. 246r-247v: Account by Nicholas Downton of his voyage in the ‘Pepper Corn’ in the East Indies, under the command of Sir Henry Middleton. Addressed to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. 1613.

ff. 248r-249v: Letter from Edward Brawnd to Captain John Smith, Admiral of New England. Reporting the arrival of several ships from Dartmouth at [Sequine?] and [Manehegin?]. With a list of his own crew. No date.

f. 250r-250v: Note of goods imported from the Amazones. No date.

f. 251r: Regulations for fitting out two ships. No date.

ff. 252r-253v: Paper giving the charges against Captain Argyll and Lieutenant Turner, for encroachments on French property. With their defence. No date.

ff. 254r-263r: Description of several parts of the East Indies, with a view to commerce. No date.

ff. 264r-265v: Orders given following a complaint of the Imperial ambassador. Concerning a piracy committed by English forces on a Spanish ship. December 1552.

ff. 266r-267r: Commission for an enquiry into the conduct of one Raylegh and one Bodnam. No date.

f. 268r: Passport issued by the Privy Council. For a commissioner sent to negotiate over the restoration of goods. November 24 1567.

ff. 269r-271v: Record of the appointment of one Halstocke, as deputy to Edward Clinton, first earl of Lincoln and Lord High Admiral, in the prosecution of pirates. With the commission of Queen Elizabeth I to Clinton. February 7 1573.

f. 272r-272v: Order of the Privy Council. Against pirates. Westminster, March 11 1568.

ff. 273r-274v: Two petitions, possibly from merchants, to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Requesting the interference of Queen Elizabeth I concerning a ship seized at Port St. Mary, Spain. Chester, October 30 and November 4 1573.

f. 275r-275v: Regulations concerning pirates. No date.

ff. 276r-279v: Instructions to an unnamed sea officer. On a voyage after Hamilton, Twitley, and other pirates. No date.

ff. 280-294r: Commissions, instructions, and orders for the restraining of pirates. 1576.

ff. 295r-296v: Commission of Queen Elizabeth I. For restraining piracies on the coast of Scotland. Westminster, June 5 1583. French.

ff. 297r-299v: Three rough drafts of instructions on maritime affairs. With corrections by William Cecil, Baron Burghley.

ff. 300r-301v: Articles agreed upon between the commissioners of Queen Elizabeth I and the French ambassadors. On matters of navigation. Westminster. Latin.

f. 302r: Ordinance of King Henry IV of France. Against all manner of hostilities at sea. Fontainbleau, April 12 1599. French.

f. 303r-303v: Decree concerning an unnamed ship, to which an Italian factor had made an application. No date.

ff. 304r-306r: Two orders of the Privy Council. Concerning pirates. February 1604.

ff. 307r-308r: Decree of King James VI and I. Against French pirates, possibly at the request of the Spanish ambassador. London, November 1610. Latin.

f. 309r: Order of King James VI and I. For taking possession of the ship ‘Pearl’, as soon as it arrives in the Thames. No date.

f. 310r: Letter from Villete Gonden, to Mr de Buisseau, French ambassador in England. Requesting the restoration of a French ship taken by a pirate. Forge, July 8 [1611].

ff. 311r-316v: Two commissions of King James VI and I. For trying causes of piracy, and other misdemeanours on the high seas. Westminster, July 19 1607. Latin.

ff. 317r-326v: Fragments containing juridical opinions concerning piracies and other robberies. The last dated 23 April 1615. Mostly Latin.

ff. 327r-328v: Address of an unnamed pirate, to a King of England. Reporting on the services rendered to the English Navy.

ff. 329r-344v: Copy of Sir Henry Mainwaring, ‘Of the Beginnings, Practices and Suppression of Pirates’, c. 1617. See Manwaring and Perrin (Publication Note).

ff. 345r-349v: Four fragments concerning proceedings against pirates. Partly in the hand of Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton. See Tite (Publication Note).

ff. 350r-351v: Remonstrance of an unnamed Spanish ambassador, concerning a cause before the court of Admiralty. No date.

f. 352r: List of persons to meet at the Middle Temple Hall. Possibly as a court to try maritime causes. No date.

ff. 353r-354v: Two papers concerning the crimes of Captain Button (see above, f. 243r-243v). No date.

ff. 355r-357v: Three fragments addressed to Sir Robert Cotton, signed by Humphrey Jobson. Including a list of ships and an offer to bring the pirates from the coast of Ireland. No date.

ff. 358r-359v: Examination of Nicholas Davies. Concerning the plunder of an unnamed ship. Signed by William Rathon. No date.

ff. 360r-364v: Examination of John Jennings, a pirate, before the Court of Admiralty. No date.

ff. 365r-366v: Two letters in French. The first from an unnamed correspondent to King James VI and I. Claiming some redress from Basset and Cole. The second addressed to Charles Howard, Earl of Nottingham, possibly from Antoine Le Fervre de La Boderie, French ambassador. Concerning one Robinson, a pirate. London, May 21 1610.

ff. 367r-373v: Two examinations concerning pirates, taken before Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton. The second signed by one James Harris, possibly the person examined. No date.

ff. 374r-377r: Fragment of an order of council, with a statement of some misdemeanours at sea by one Thomassin. French.

ff. 378r-392v: Five fragments concerning admiralty causes. No dates.