George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham - The Expedition to Cadiz

Started by Lisa on Monday, December 2, 2019
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12/2/2019 at 3:41 AM

Does the bio for Buckingham comes from Wikipedia? It's a bit debateable... And wrong when it comes to the Expedition to Cadiz. Buckingham was going to lead the expedition, but protests from certain factions that he was too young and inexperienced led to Sir Edward Cecil being put in command. The chasing of the treasure ships was also part of the same action & led by Cecil (in as much as they saw ships in the distance & couldn't (or would not) catch them up.)

The ships did not sail to Cadiz until October 1625 - Charles had already dissolved the parliament in the summer of that year, when it looked like the Commons were aiming to impeach Buckingham. (Incidentally, Buckingham defended himself in the house at that time and also pleaded with the king against dissolution.)

The Impeachment of Buckingham, begun in the next session of parliament (1626), had 13 articles (offences) attached, but none of these was the failure of the Cadiz expedition.
Charles again dissolved parliament (Buckingham's supporters attempting to argue against it.); Buckingham's case was instead heard in the Star Chamber, and he was cleared. (Which was viewed by the Commons as a put up job.)

One of the reasons Buckingham led the 1627 Expedition to the Ile de Re (his 1st and only foray into battle) was that, after the failure of Cadiz, it was questioned why he hadn't led it and he was accused of cowardice. Then, when the action in Re failed, it was questioned why he led it, when he was obviously so 'young' and inexperienced.
Buckingham actually showed a fair amount of bravery at Re (later reported by some of his enemies as the devious use of a double, with Buckingham hiding on a ship the whole time.)

('Buckingham. The Life and Political Career of George Villiers, First Duke of Buckingham 1592-1628' by Roger Lockyer is still the best & most in-depth account for anyone interested in Buckingham.)

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