On only one occasion did the English attempt to emulate the successes of the Elizabethan sea-dogs, and that proved disastrous In 1625, infuriated by the Catholic court's rejection of his suit for the hand of the Infanta of Spain, Charles I sent Sir Edward Cecil (later ennobled as Baron Cecil of Putney and Viscount Wimbledon) with ninety ships and ten thousand men, on an expedition against Spain
Sir Edward's previous job, which was perhaps better suited to his talents, had been Warden of the Royal Preserve of the River Wandle...