EXPRESSIONS OF SOVEREIGNTY EXPRESSIONS OF SOVEREIGNTY: LAW AND AUTHORITY IN THE MAKING OF THE OVERSEAS BRITISH EMPIRE, 1576-1640 By KENNETH RICHARD MACMILLAN, M.A. A Thesis . Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy McMaster University ©Copyright by Kenneth Richard MacMillan, December 2001 DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (2001) McMaster University (History) Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: Expressions of Sovereignty: Law and Authority in the Making of the Overseas British Empire, 1576-1640 AUTHOR: Kenneth Richard MacMillan, B.A. (Hons) (Nipissing University) M.A. (Queen's University) SUPERVISOR: Professor J.D. Alsop NUMBER OF PAGES: xi, 332 11 ABSTRACT .~. ~ This thesis contributes to the body of literature that investigates the making of the British empire, circa 1576-1640. It argues that the crown was fundamentally involved in the establishment of sovereignty in overseas territories because of the contemporary concepts of empire, sovereignty, the royal prerogative, and intemationallaw. According to these precepts, Christian European rulers had absolute jurisdiction within their own territorial boundaries (internal sovereignty), and had certain obligations when it carne to their relations with other sovereign states (external sovereignty). The crown undertook these responsibilities through various "expressions of sovereignty". It employed writers who were knowledgeable in international law and European overseas activities, and used these interpretations to issue letters patent that demonstrated both continued royal authority over these territories and a desire to employ legal codes that would likely be approved by the international community. The crown also insisted on the erection of fortifications and approved of the publication of semiotically charged maps, each of which served the function of showing that the English had possession and effective control over the lands claimed in North and South America, the North Atlantic, and the East and West Indies. Finally, the crown engaged in diplomatic negotiations with other 111 colonizing European powers, during which its envoys justified British overseas activities using an embryonic, common legal language in order to bring about the consensus of the international community. Because of the crown's expressions of internal and external sovereignty, this study concludes that the congeries of overseas territories ruled by Queen Elizabeth and the early Stuarts were -legally, structurally, and nominally, if not culturally, politically, and ideologically - an "empire". This conclusion challenges those ofrecent historians who have questioned both the crown's involvement in new found lands, and the efficacy of international law in the establishment of overseas sovereignty. IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis has been completed through the meeting of money, means, and minds. Generous financial assistance has been provided by McMaster University, the Province of Ontario, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Funding for research was provided by several private endowments administered by McMaster, especially the Richard M. Fuller Research Scholarship. I must thank Drs. David Barrett and Wayne Thorpe for putting my name forward more than was my due. Research was conducted primarily at the British Library and the Great Britain Public Record Office, whose trained staff members were very helpful. Near the end of the project, additional research funding came from the John Carter Brown Library in Providence, Rhode Island, where, in the company of exceptionally stimulating academics, the final touches to the thesis were applied. Dr. Jim Alsop, as supervisor and mentor, offered thoughtful advice and criticism about a topic far different than that originally brought to him. Dr. John Weaver was interested in this project from the beginning and his exceptional knowledge of frontier communities was invaluable. Drs. Virginia Aksan and John Sainsbury, in addition to other members of my examination committee, encouraged me to think about the v implications of my research beyond the geographical and chronological scope that I envisioned. While at Brown University, I benefitted greatly from some lengthy discussions with Dr. James Muldoon, whose expertise in the late medieval and early modern legal and intellectual environment, about which this study is largely based, proved especially useful. Dr. David Armitage examined the thesis with a thoughful candidness that reflects the true spirit of academic discussion; his insights will be essential when this project is carried to that next, important stage. I also received constructive criticism on portions ofthe thesis presented within the Department and University, at the Mid-Altantic and North American Conferences on British Studies, and at Brown. The substance of chapter two has been published as two articles in the Canadian Journal of History and the Huntington Library Quarterly; the comments of the anonymous readers for those journals are greatly appreciated. My friends and colleagues on the "fourth floor", especially Amy M., Dan G., David L., Greg S., Michelle V., Rhonda H., Patrick S., Sean G., and Wendy c., have contributed to the thesis in ways that might not be readily apparent. I was surprised to find that heightened cerebral activity was more the result of theme parks, softball, English pubs, and dessert bars than reading and studying. Thanks also to my family, who have patiently waited for me to finish my education. I hope they will not be too disappointed when they find out that there is no end in sight. Finally, Luna was as present in this marathon as in the other dozen or so we have completed together. This thesis is dedicated to her and my family - it's really the least I can do. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ,,~, ,•, -' -/ "'- Abstract III Acknowledgements v Abbreviations Vlll Note on Dates, Names, and Spelling x List of Maps and Illustrations xi Introduction 1 Chapter 1 "Supreme and Absolute Power": Law and Authority Under Elizabeth and the Early Stuarts 31 Chapter 2 "Truth Sufficient for Humane and Civil Service": John Dee and the Limits of the British Empire, 1576-80 62 Chapter 3 "Of Our Especial Grace": Letters Patent and the Acquest of Dominion 102 Chapter 4 "BYStrong Order ofFortification": Defending Sovereignty in New Found Lands 155 Chapter 5 "More Plainly Described by this Annexed Map": The Cartography of New Found Lands 204 Chapter 6 "The Laws of God, Nature, and Nations": Precedents of International Law 250 Conclusion 293 Bibliography 306 vii ABBREVIATIONS PRIMARY MATERIALS APC Col. Acts of the Privy Council, Colonial Series BL British Library CO Colonial Office Papers, PRO CSP Col. Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series HMC Historical Manuscripts Commission lOR India Office Records, British Library alOC Oriental and India Office Collections, British Library David B. Quinn, Alison M. Quinn, and Susan Hiller. New American World: a Documentary History of North America to 1612. 5 vols. New York: Arno Press, 1979. PC Privy Council Records, PRO Pilgrims Samuel Purchas, Hakluytus Posthumus, or Purchas his Pilgrims. London, 1625. Richard Hakluyt, The Principal Navigations. London, 1589. PRO Great Britain Public Record Office SP State Papers, Domestic and Foreign Series, PRO Vlll COMMONLY-CITED JOURNALS AHR American Historical Review EHR English Historical Review HI Historical Journal JAH Joumal of American History JBS Joumal of British Studies nCH Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History SCJ Sixteenth Century Journal TI Terrae Incognitae VMHB Virginia Magazine of History and Biography WMQ William and Mary Quarterly ix NOTES ON DATES, NAMES, AND SPELLING Except where noted, all dates are old style but the year is taken to begin on January 1. This work relies heavily on original documentation in which the spelling of place and personal names is not consistent. In the text, I have generally adopted the modern spelling and usage for these names, even if this leads to apparent stylistic inconsistencies. In all quotations, and book and tract titles cited in the text, spelling has been modernized, abbreviations silent expanded, and letters changed to conform to modern usage. The exception is book and tract titles in footnotes, which retain their original spelling to facilitate further reference. x LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 2.1 Cover page to John Dee, General and Rare Memorials (1576) Fig. 5.1 Humphrey Gilbert, from A Discourse of a Discovery (1576) Fig. 5.2 Michael Lok, from Richard Hakluyt, Divers Voyages (1582) Fig. 5.3 Detail from John Dee, manuscript map of America (1580) Fig. 5.4 John Dee, manuscript map of the northern hemisphere (1582) Fig. 5.5 Nichol van Sype, La Herdike Enterprinse (1583) Fig. 5.6 John White, manuscript map of Virginia and Carolina (1585) Fig. 5.7 Theodor de Bry, Americae Pars, Nunc Virginia dicta, primum ab Anglis Inventa (1590) Fig. 5.8 John Smith, from A Map ofVirginia (1612) Fig. 5.9 Ralph Hall, from Michael Sparke and Samuel Cartwright, Historia Mundi, or Mercator's Atlas (1636) Fig. 5.10 Cecil Calvert, from Map of Maryland (detail, 1635) Fig. 5.11 John Smith, from A Description of New England (1616) Fig. 5.12 John Mason, from Brief Discourse of the New-found-Iand (1625) Fig. 5.13 William Alexander, from The Map and Description of New England (1630) xi INTRODUCTION This thesis contributes to the body of literature that investigates the making of the overseas "British" empire, with a focus on the Elizabethan and early-Stuart period, circa 1576-1640. It is pursued from the perspective of the political and legal world in which these activities took place. In particular, it explores contemporary concepts such as empire, sovereignty, the royal prerogative, and international law, the manner in which these ideas were expressed in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century, and the ways they were applied in the establishment of sovereignty across the seas. This study grows out of a conviction that scholars have not adequately recognized and applied these important concepts to Tudor and Stuart forays into new found lands. Consistent with this belief, this thesis undertakes two central, co-related, tasks.