SOURCE: Courtland, Joseph. “A Cultural Rereading of The Fair Maid of the West: Part I.” In A Cultural Studies Approach to Two Exotic Citizen Romances by Thomas Heywood, pp. 91-121. New York: Peter Lang, 2001.

[In the following excerpt, Courtland examines Heywood's play within the context of Elizabethan colonialism.]

Scholars have long recognized Thomas Heywood's exotic fantasy, The Fair Maid of the West: Part l, as one of the best citizen adventure dramas ever written: Frederick S. Boas has called it one of Heywood's most attractive and accomplished pieces of work,¹ Arthur Melville Clark judged it to be a “breezy masterpiece,”² while Mowbray Velte considered it as among the finest of its own rank: “a really splendid blending of realism and romantic adventure, a tale with an appeal to all ages and all red-blooded peoples.”³ Yet in spite of such recognition, most available commentary consists of nothing more than a short plot summary of the piece accompanied by an opinion as to when the text of Part l was actually written.⁴ In effect, little real critical attention has been accorded to this bona fide expression of Elizabethan popular culture which remained a favorite with all strata of English society⁵ from the time of its initial production circa 1600.⁶

This chapter initiates a fresh reading of The Fair Maid: Part l and focuses on one aspect of the play's popular appeal previously overlooked: its relation to the spirt of colonialism prevalent during the latter years of Elizabeth's reign. The reading features an historical regrounding in the commercial crisis/Moroccan alliance of 1600; a cultural identification of colonial other and heroic self within that context; and, through textual analysis, an exploration of nationalism, orientalism, capital adventurism, and neo-chivalry: ideologies identified by the naming of other/self and reflective of the colonial mentality of late Elizabethan society.

HISTORICAL REGROUNDING: THE TRADE CRISIS AND THE MOROCCAN ALLIANCE C. 1600

As a literary work within the mode of fantasy, Heywood's The Fair Maid of the West: Part l must be grounded in the commercial crisis which occurred during the last years of Elizabeth's reign, as well as the special relationship which developed between England and the Barbary Kingdom of Fez/Morocco during the same period. The commercial crisis which unfolded during Elizabeth's final decade came about as a direct result of the Anglo-Spanish conflict. In dealing with this critical juncture in the economic life of Elizabethan England, it is important to be aware of two important details: first, that English foreign trade was, above all, intra-European;⁷ and second, that the bulk of the commodities exported (up to 90٪⁸) were woollen textiles: English broadcloth for the most part. In the earlier part of Elizabeth's reign, prior to the outbreak of war, trade with all of the major markets of Europe had flourished; the bullion, silk, sugar, spices, and other trade goods⁹ imported in exchange for English woollens had helped England attain a level of prosperity not previously known. But with the commencement of hostilities and the exclusion of English commerce from the lucrative Catholic markets of Iberia and northern France,¹⁰ it did not take long before the reduced demand for English cloth resulted in a severe slump in both textile manufacture and foreign trade.

One result of the lessened demand for finished English broadcloth was widespread unemployment. Since textile manufacturing was England's leading non-agricultural employer, as well as her major export industry,¹¹ the reduced demand for trade goods impacted directly on the thousands¹² of weavers, spinners, and other workers in the textile trade who were laid off from “that notable trade which of so long hath set a-work many thousands of poor people.”¹³ Hardest hit were the scores of clothiers who produced textiles in areas devoted exclusively to the manufacture of woollens for the overseas market such as the West, East Anglia and the West Riding.¹⁴

Another result of the crisis was the scarcity of mercantile capital necessary to keep the wheels of the textile industry spinning. During the palmy days of trade and prosperity preceding the Anglo-Spanish Conflict, the textile industry had proven an excellent investment for entrepreneurs of all stripes: peers, yeomen, and merchants alike had supplied the circulating capital necessary to keep the money-making industry in operation. But once conflict had disrupted the lucrative trade, the situation changed; disinvestment became the order of the day. Since workers, for the most part, owned the means of production (i.e. their looms) and used their own homes as work areas,¹⁵ it was relatively easy for employers/investors—not directly involved in the production process and unhampered by government regulations—to withdraw their capital for redeployment in other, more profitable ventures.¹⁶ With modern systems of commercial credit unavailable at that time, the withdrawal of such circulating capital caused production to plummet, adding further commercial instability to the already gloomy economic picture.

A third prominent feature of the economic crisis involved the appalling relations which developed between England and her chief trading partners as a result of wartime privateering. English privateering, which began in earnest following the outbreak of war in 1588, was originally seen as a way in which commissioned merchant craft could assist the Royal navy in blockading and destroying Iberian commercial traffic with Continental Europe. Soon however the “commerce-plundering”¹⁷ aspect of the scheme proved so remunerative that privateering ventures began to be organized as joint-stock companies.¹⁸ Such undertakings were readily subscribed to not only by the upper and merchant classes, but by admiralty and customs officials as well¹⁹: all eager for a share of the profits. Managed efficiently along proper business lines, such enterprises were relatively successful.²⁰ But while English shareholders revelled in the healthy return on their pooled capital, a serious trade/political problem, due directly to the rapacity of the privateer fleet, was developing between England and her European trading partners.

Lured by easy pickings, Elizabeth's heavily armed merchant marine had gone beyond its original mandate and was attacking not only Iberian merchantmen, but also the commercial shipping of any nation believed to be trafficking with the enemy; Hanseatic fishing smacks laden with cod, Dutch hoys transporting corn, and Danish bottoms carrying timber were all considered fair game.²¹ Such attacks on the shipping of neutral and allied nations created a great deal of animosity toward English interests abroad.²²

Fearful that English traders might be barred from the lucrative cloth trade with northern Europe through a Continental boycott of English textiles, Elizabeth, early in the 1590s, took measures to placate England's trading partners.²³ While such measures helped smooth over some of the difficulties for a short period, they had little effect in the long haul since her plunder-oriented merchant marine continued to act as before. Finally, in 1597, fed up with the constant seizure of their ships and the maltreatment of their crews, the Hanseatic League, the largest importer of English textiles in Europe, revoked the right of the Merchant Adventurers, England's largest cloth exporter,²⁴ to sell goods in the Hanse (i.e. Germany). The loss of the Hanseatic franchise came as a severe blow to the textile industry as a whole. Battered by lost continental markets, a shrinkage of circulating capital, cutbacks in the amount of cloth produced, and layoffs in the textile industry the English economy circa 1600 was in a state of crisis.

Balanced against this gloomy continental trading scenario, however, was the very lucrative foreign trading situation and diplomatic relationship which had blossomed between England and the Barbary Kingdom of Fez/Morocco during the same period. From the late 1540s, when London-based syndicates first began sending ships to the Barbary Coast on exploratory trading missions, English and Moroccan merchants had gotten along famously. This early amicability and mutual trust developed into a regular trade which proved lucrative for both groups.²⁵ Building upon such good will, Edmund Hogan in 1577 headed a diplomatic mission to the court of el-Malek, Xeriffo of Barbary, which resulted in a set of capitulations between England and Morocco guaranteering the security of English citizens in Morocco, as well as the security of English ships, whether traders with cargoes or privateers with prizes, entering Barbary ports for trade or supply purposes.²⁶ Under the direction of the capable el-Mansour who ascended the Moroccan throne in 1578, elements of this earlier agreement were eventually reaffirmed in the accord of 1585. Two additional elements were included in the new entente: the formation of the Barbary Company to better monitor the trade between the two countries; and the appointment of an accredited English ambassador to the Xeriffo's court. This special arrangement, which lasted until 1603, enabled both governments to obtain badly needed trade goods and military cooperation during the unsettling days of the Spanish conflict.

Central to the new spirit of cooperation was the increased commerce between England and Barbary. In addition to the official trade in broadcloth for sugar, molasses, gum arabic, raw silk, and gold which remained steady,²⁷ the contraband trade in arms and munitions, which had formerly been carried on sotto voce due to Spanish disapproval, now not only became formalized but, for the balance of the war, comprised the bulk of the Moroccan trade.²⁸ Under the auspices of the accord, the Barbary Company met Morocco's demand for modern weaponry, munitions, and timber, receiving in exchange needed gold bullion and an ample supply of saltpetre: an element essential for England's wartime manufacture of gunpowder.²⁹

A third important aspect of the relationship was the way in which el-Mansour cooperated militarily with England throughout the Spanish conflict. While the Xeriffo never actually supplied either money or men for a direct attack on Spain, he did permit English privateers to utilize such coastal ports as Mamora, Azafi, and Magador³⁰ as supply bases and depots for their prizes. Such well-situated Atlantic harbours, maintained by Moorish allies, afforded Elizabethan privateers secure bases from which to launch forays at the commercial sea routes of southern Iberia and the trans-Atlantic traffic passing through the Azores.³¹

In light of such cooperation, along with the excellent trade and diplomatic relations enjoyed by the two allies, it is no wonder that the Moroccan embassy of 1600 received such a warm welcome at court and excited such great interest among Elizabethans in general.

CULTURAL IDENTIFICATION

Having grounded Heywood's The Fair Maid in the trade crisis/Moroccan alliance which occurred during the last years of Elizabeth's reign, the reading proceeds to the next step in the investigation, the naming of colonial other and heroic self, since, as Rosemary Jackson has advised, such identifications in fantasy “betray the ideological assumptions of the author and of the culture in which they originate.”³² As reported by Warner G. Rice in his insightful essay “The Moroccan Episode in Thomas Heywood's The Fair Maid of the West,” one group of modern scholars, in an attempt to date Part I, tried to show a topical link between Heywood's chief colonial other, Mullisheg, and the historical entity of that name who ruled Fez in 1604.³³ As Rice goes on to show, however, such attempts at topical identification are of little value since the term Mullisheg or Mulai Sheik is not actually used as a personal name but rather as a title (meaning children of the King³⁴) and is applicable to not one but several sixteenth-century and seventeenth-century rulers of Fez/Morocco.

This investigation proposes instead a more general designation of colonial other as composite image mirroring what Elizabethan society knew of the various Moroccan rulers of their day. Important in the discussion is the information provided by Heywood's most probable source for the Moroccan episode as well as a textual analysis of remarks made by and about Mullisheg in acts 4 and 5 of the play.

The most likely historical source used by Heywood was the Historia de Bello Africano: In quo Sebastianus, Serenissimus Portugalliae Rex, periit … Ex Lusitano sermone primo in Gallicum: inde in Latinum translata per Joannem Thomam Freigium D. Noribergae (1580). Available in both Latin and French editions, the Historia de Bello Africano—known to have provided George Peele with background material³⁵ for his tragedy The Battle of Alcazar (1588-1589)—would have given Heywood a detailed account of the battle and, in the Latin version, a genealogical table of the Moroccan royal house indicating the various participants in the conflict. A look at Table 5 reveals two items helpful in the present investigation: first, that all of the sheiks/rulers who descended from the Xeriffo, Mulai Mahamet Sheik, used the honorific, Muly, preceding their names; and second, that the names of the two Moroccan kings whose sequential rules coincided with that of Elizabeth from 1577 onwards were Muly Abdelmelec, known as el-Malek, and Muly Hamet, known as el-Mansour. Heywood's choice of the general royal Moroccan tag Muly Sheik or, as he cleverly compounded it, Mullisheg clearly shows the influence of contemporary colonial discourse like the Historia de Bello Africano and underscores his intention of identifying the play's chief Islamic other with a composite figure rather than a specific, historical personage. Textual analysis of selected passages from acts 4 and 5 helps substantiate this view.

One such passage which links the image of Mullisheg with that of the Moorish ruler from the initial part of Elizabeth's reign reads as follows:

GOODLACK [reads]:
“First, liberty for her and hers to leave the land at her pleasure.
Next, safe conduct to and from her ship at her own discretion.
Thirdly, to be free from all violence either by the king or any of his people.
Fourthly, to allow her mariners fresh victuals aboard
Fifthly, to offer no further violence to her person than what he seeks by kindly
usage and free entreaty.”
MULLISHEG:
To these I vow and seal.(36)

For English-speaking audiences familiar with the rulers of Barbary either through dramas of the period, travel literature, or the word-of-mouth accounts of privateers/traders operating out of Atlantic coast ports such as Mamora, Mullisheg's signing of the agreement read by Goodlack would call to mind the Moroccan ruler, el-Malek, who in 1577 was the first to sign such a treaty with Elizabeth's representatives. As reflected in the above lines, the original agreement concluded with the Moorish ruler stipulating that English ships entering Barbary ports for supplies or to bring in prizes would be guaranteed security and that no English citizen would be taken captive or sold while in Fez/Morocco.³⁷

But Heywood, as the following passage reveals, was also influenced by a second important Moroccan figure in shaping his fictional character:

MULLISHEG:
Out of these bloody and intestine broils,
We have at length attain'd a fort'nate peace,
And now at last established in the throne
Of our great ancestors, and reign King
Of Fez and great Morocco.
ALCADE:
                                                                                                                                                      Mighty Mullisheg,
Pride of our age and glory of the Moors,
By whose victorious hand all Barbary
Is conquer'd, aw'd, and sway'd, behold thy vassals
With loud applauses great thy victory.
MULLISHEG:
Upon the slaughtered bodies of our foes,
We mount our high tribunal, and being sole,
Without competitor, we now have leisure
To 'stablish laws, first for our kingdom's safety,
The enriching of our public treasure,
And last our state and pleasure. Then give order
That all such Christian merchants as have traffic
And freedom in our country, that conceal
The least part of our custom due to us,
Shall forfeit ship and goods.

(F.M., 1.4.3.1-19)

For Elizabethan playgoers the above lines could refer to none other than the reigning monarch of Barbary: the Xeriffo, el-Mansour. He was the sole Moorish warlord who had survived the “intestine broils” of the civil war which had culminated in the battle of Alcazar. And it was he alone who had “attain'd a fortunate peace” for his kingdom following that conflict (F.M., 1.4.3.1-2). He was the entity who had restored the correct Saadian line of succession—usurped by the two previous kings³⁸—and, as legitimate successor to the throne, was “at last establish'd in the throne / Of our great ancestors” (F.M.,1.4.3-4). Likewise, the accolade “By whose victorious hand all Barbary / Is conquer'd, aw'd, and sway'd …” (F.M., 1.4.3.7-8) could only have referred to this colorful figure. Prior to his accession to the throne, Portuguese attempts to establish strongholds on the Atlantic coast were quite common and sometimes successful. As late as 1562, Pory advises in his addendum to Leo Africanus, Moorish forces under the Xeriffo Muly Abadala had been unable to dislodge Portuguese invaders from their base at Mazagan (LA 3:996). But with the Xeriffo's decisive victory in 1578, such Iberian incursions came to an abrupt end. With rival claimants eliminated and Portuguese colonial aspirations crushed, no other sixteenth-century Moroccan ruler can be said to have controlled as much of “Fez and great Morocco” (F.M., 1.4.3.4) as el-Mansour. And certainly none were more worthy of the Alcade's commendatory salutation “Pride of our age and glory of the Moors” (F.M., 1.4.3.6). As well, Mullisheg's promise to see to “The enriching of our public treasure” by collecting custom duties from “all such Christian merchants as have traffic / And freedom in our country” (F.M., 1.4.3.14-18), tallies with what was known of the Xeriffo's strict control over custom duties and other revenues in his kingdom.³⁹

As shown by the above analysis, Heywood's colonial other, the cooperative ruler and victorious warlord Mullisheg, can best be identified as a representational figure yoking the image of the two Moroccan rulers known to Englishmen during Elizabeth's last decade.

Of equal importance to the reading is the naming of Heywood's heroic self, the remarkable Bess Bridges. Over the years critics have bestowed a number of different labels on Bess: Robert K. Turner, Jr. labelled her a kind of roaring girl⁴⁰ “kin to ballad and chapbook heroines”⁴¹ like Long Meg of Westminister; Louis B. Wright tagged her as the chaste, honest innkeeping maid of bourgeois virtue, sister in spirit to the heroine of Henry Willoby's Willobie His Avisa, or, The true Picture of a modest Maid, and of a chast and constant wife (1594);⁴² A. J. Hoenselaars and Jack D'Amico both designated her as a diplomatic representative for her royal namesake Elizabeth I;⁴³ while Simon Shepherd identified her directly with Elizabeth herself.⁴⁴ With the exception of Wright's brief social categorization, the above identifications are of limited value since each must be viewed in conjunction with a particular segment of the play and is therefore not sustainable throughout the entire fantasy. This investigation will focus rather on a more general naming of heroic self as representational figure, mirroring the characteristics of a particular group of citizens during the final decade of Elizabeth's reign.

Although Heywood's heroine, Bess Bridges, appears at first glance to be modelled on a tavern “tapstress” (F.M., 1.1.2.114) or “drawer” (F.M., 1.1.2.110) of the period—an occupation which would designate her as a member of the fourth estate and among the “have nots”⁴⁵ of Elizabethan society—a closer look reveals that she bears a marked resemblance to a segment of the English merchant class. Except for one scene, the second scene of act 1, which shows Bess in a tavern serving wine to patrons of that Plymouth establishment, The Castle, she is never seen in such a subservient capacity. In fact, from the opening lines of act 1, scene 2, Heywood goes to great lengths to demonstrate Bess' merchant class pedigree. Theatregoers are informed that Bess has been bred to a higher estate, but forced into service due to the adversity of her “trade-fall'n” (i.e. bankrupt) father, a well-known tanner from Somersetshire (F.M., 1.1.2.17-19). They are also advised that Bess' bourgeois virtues and beauty have helped to upgrade her station in life through her engagement to Mr. Spencer, “a gentleman of fortunes, means, / And well revenu'd …” (F.M.,1.1.2.4-5), who will marry the lass on his return from the Islands' Voyage. But Heywood as well shows that Bess is worthy of merchant-class standing on her own merits. Having been given a tavern in Foy by her betrothed prior to his embarkation for the Azores, Bess, by dint of hard work and good management, is able to develop a clientele and make the place prosper. As Forset says of Bess' success: “And in that small time she hath almost undone all the other / taverns. The gallants make no rendezvous now but at the Windmill” (F.M., 1.2.1.3-5). As seen by the many suitors of higher estate who wish to marry Bess (F.M., 1.2.1.11), including the Mayor of Foy's son (F.M., 1.3.2.12-15), Bess has been recognized as one of Foy's most prosperous citizens and a good catch to boot. But Heywood's heroic self is representative of much more than the retail merchants of southwest England.

Having successfully established Bess' merchant-class credentials, Heywood, as shown by a textual analysis of selected passages in acts 3-5, completes his naming of heroic self by identifying Bess with that select group of merchants, the “great merchants”⁴⁶ who traded with and conducted voyages of reprisal out of Barbary during the final years of the Anglo-Spanish conflict.⁴⁷ He does this by focusing attention on how several of the distinguishing characteristics of this important merchant group are manifested by Bess in the play.

First of the distinctive characteristics of this elite group manifested by Bess is that of the type of ship which she purchases for her mission to the Azores. While no tonnage is mentioned in the play, it is possible to speculate on the ship's burden based on information given in the passage below:

BESS:
There's a prize
Brought into Falmouth Road, a good tight vessel.
The bottom will but cost eight hundred pound.
You shall have money; buy it.
GOODLACK:
                                                                                To what end?
BESS:
That you shall know hereafter. Furnish her
With all provision needful—spare no cost—
And join with you a ging of lusty lads,
Such as will bravely man her. All the charge
I will commit to you; and when she's fitted,
Captain, she is thine own.

(F.M., 1.3.4.103-112)

Using data garnered from contemporary sources, Kenneth R. Andrews in Elizabethan Privateering: English Privateering During the Spanish War 1585-1603 notes that a ship valued at £800 would be in the 200-ton range.⁴⁸ This indicates that Bess' ship, the Negro, is one of the larger-sized (i.e. 200-400 tons), better-armed category of merchantmen favoured by merchants engaged in long distance trade with either Barbary or the Levant.⁴⁹ Such a speculation is supported by the large number of crew, sixty-five in all (F.M., 1.4.4.21), in Bess' ship, as well as by the Negro's superior defence capabilities—illustrated by her victory over the Spanish man-of-war (F.M., 1.1.4.4). As Andrews observes, the devastating fire-power of such super-sized merchant craft “enabled them to attack large merchantmen with confidence and even to defend themselves successfully against men-of-war.”⁵⁰ For Elizabethan theatregoers familiar with the many types of privateering craft moored along the four-mile stretch between London Bridge and Blackwall,⁵¹ Bess' ship, as depicted in the play, would accurately reflect the superior type of merchant vessel regularly used by London magnates involved in the Barbary trade.

A second distinguishing feature of this influential group displayed by Bess in the text below was its appetite for prize cargoes and ships:

BESS:
Good morrow, Captain. Oh, this last sea fight
Was gallantly perform'd! It did me good
To see the Spanish carvel vail her top
Unto my maiden flag.

(F.M.,1.4.4.1-4)

Like the barbary merchants who organized highly profitable voyages of reprisal concomitant with regular trading ventures, Bess shows that she is not averse to a bout of commerce plundering while on a loftier mission to Fayal. Subsequent privateering episodes such as Bess' capture of a Spanish warship and its English prey (F.M., 1.4.4.77-79) prior to her arrival in Mamora further reinforce her identification with this select group of merchant princes who encouraged all ships' masters enroute to Morocco to engage in this lucrative sideline.⁵²

A third recognizable characteristic was the hand in glove co-operation given by Barbary merchants to others within their elite circle.⁵³ As seen in the following passage, Bess demonstrates this co-operative spirit not only by rescuing an English ship taken as prey by the Spanish but by offering to assist the merchant owner just released from captivity:

BESS:
Whence are you, sir, and whither were you bound?
MERCHANT:
I am a' London, bound for Barbary,
But by this Spanish man-of-war surpris'd,
Pillag'd, and captiv'd.
BESS:
                                                                                                                                                      We much pity you.
What loss you have sustain'd, this Spanish prey
Shall make good to you to the utmost farthing.
MERCHANT:
Our lives and all our fortunes whatsoever
Are wholly at your service.

(F.M.,1.4.4.124-131)

Bess' unselfish offer to forgo the lucrative prize in order to help restore the fortunes of a fellow shipowner/merchant “Pillag'd, and captiv'd” by the enemy reflects the type of co-operation shown by the members of the close-knit merchant community for one another.

Viewed in conjunction with Bess' use of the Barbary port⁵⁴ of Mamora as a victualling center (F.M., 1.4.5.10-11) and her regal reception by and subsequent trade agreement with that country's ruler (F.M., 1.5.1), such distinguishing characteristics would, for Elizabethan playgoers, clearly designate Heywood's heroic self as a representational figure for that elite group of merchants engaged in trade with Barbary c.1600.

CULTURAL IDEOLOGIES: A TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

The cultural identification of colonial other and heroic self as composite/representational figures for two of the most prominent social groups involved in the commercial crisis/Moroccan alliance of the later war years points directly to a discussion of nationalism: one of the key ideological assumptions of Elizabethan society. As has already been noted in the previous chapter, dramatists incorporated nationalism into their “potboilers”⁵⁵ by showing how their idealized heroes demonstrated the martial virtues of bravery, loyalty and victory⁵⁶: the three national virtues most admired by the common man.

In The Fair Maid: Part l, Heywood follows this patriotic format and shows his English defender, Bess Bridges, as having the required credentials. She is, first of all, brave: an attribute of paramount importance for the rank-and-file audience.⁵⁷ This quality comes to the fore in the short speech Bess makes prior to the naval battle with the Spanish man-of-war:

Then, for your country's honor, my revenge,
For your own fame and hope of golden spoil
Stand bravely to't.

(F.M., 1.4.4.84-86)

Bess follows up this address, by answering Captain Goodlack, who has advised her to take shelter in her cabin, with the words:

Captain, you wrong me. I will face the fight,
And where the bullets sing loud'st 'bout mine ears,
There shall you find me cheering up my men.

(F.M., 1.4.4.91-93)

Bess' rousing oration not only demonstrates her own courage, but also provides a model which elicits a like response in her followers. As an inspired Goodlack says of Bess, “This wench would of a coward make a Hercules” (F.M., 1.4.4.94). But Bess does more than make militaristic speeches. In act 2, scene 3 she takes on the roaring boy, Roughman: a bully who has been intimidating her staff at the Windmill for a number of weeks. Disguised as a page boy, she bests the poltroon and makes him forego his cowardly ways. In a short address, Roughman attests to Bess' courage and vows to follow her spirited example:

                                                                                                                        She hath waken'd me
And kindled that dead fire of courage in me
Which all this while hath slept. To spare my flesh
And wound my fame, what is't. I will not rest
Till by some valiant deed I have made good
All my disgraces past.

(F.M., 1.3.2.131-136)

But bravery was only one component in the patriotic design. English defenders had also to exhibit the martial virtue of loyalty. As a true defender, Heywood's heroine voices her allegiance to the national cause in a number of places throughout the text. Perhaps the best example of such an affirmation of loyalty is shown by the words Bess utters when she is urging her men to board the Spanish warship:

For every drop of blood that thou has shed,
I'll have a Spaniard's life—Advance your targets
And now cry all, “Board, board! amain for England!”

(F.M., 1.4.4.103-105)

Bess' rousing words demonstrate her support for England's cause and her hatred for the Spanish foe. Her commitment is supported throughout the play by such acts of loyalty as:

• The rigging out and manning of a privateer at her own expense

• (F.M., 1.3.4.103-112)

• Her capture of a number of Spanish prizes.

• (F.M., 1.4.4.5)

• Her release of captured Englishmen and her restoration of a captured merchantman to its English owner

• (F.M., 1.4.4.112-131)

Bess' words and actions show that she has indeed made England's quarrel her own.

The next attribute in importance to physical courage and loyalty for Elizabethan playgoers was that of victory. Following the patriotic pattern of presenting English defenders as victors, superior in all respects to their continental counterparts, Heywood, in The Fair Maid, gave his public a defender of whom it could be proud. In act 4, scene 4 Bess, who has already enjoyed a virgin victory—“… It did me good / To see the Spanish carvel vail her top / Unto my maiden flag” (F.M., 1.4.3.2-4)—is put to the test when she comes face-to-face with a Spanish man-of-war. Outmanned and outgunned by the larger vessel, Bess orders her men to rescue the English merchantman being towed by the galleon, “Or perish in th' adventure” (F.M.,1.4.4.80). Although the English are, as convention dictates⁵⁸ up against impossible odds, Bess heartens her crew with a patriotic speech, while the Negro's guns begin their bombardment:

Trumpets, a charge; and with your whistles shrill,
Sound, boatswains, an alarum to your mates!
With music cheer up their astonish'd souls,
The whilst the thund'ring ordnance bear the bass.

(F.M., 1.4.4.95-98)

As true English champions, Bess and her gang of stalwarts win the day. In victory they continue to show their superiority to the “Don Diegos” (F.M., 1.4.4.110) who had earlier threatened to use “strappados, bolts” and other engines of torture (F.M., 1.4.1.22-23) on their English captives, by freeing the Spanish captain and his crew. There is however one condition to the release: the Spaniards must “pray for English Bess” (F.M.,1.4.4.120). Readily accepted by the Spanish captain, the agreed to stipulation provides a contrast to the usual scenario (as seen earlier in The Four Prentices) which depicts English victors proffering thanks on their own behalf to Providence for their win. In Heywood's innovative rendition of the customary scene, the English gain greater stature, since it is the losing Spanish side who offer thanks on their behalf:

I know not whom you mean, but be't your queen,
Famous Elizabeth, I shall report
She and her subjects both are merciful.

(F.M.,1.4.4.121-123)

Heywood's portrayal of Bess Bridges as exhibiting the martial virtues of courage, loyalty, and victory has helped confirm the national self-image of the English defender as reflected in the citizen quest fantasies of Elizabeth's final decade.

Another cultural orientation of note mirrored in Heywood's quest fantasy was orientalism. Important for the way it helped shape English attitudes towards the Islamic peoples of Africa and the Near East, Elizabethan orientalism was the product of two distinct points of view: a traditional one, which regarded Islamics in light of a medieval inheritance; and an official one, which regarded Moors and Turks in light of the trade agreements and political considerations of late sixteenth century England. Capitalizing upon this “bifurcated”⁵⁹ vision, dramatists⁶⁰ writing exotic adventure plays during the latter part of Elizabeth's reign frequently incorporated both views into their portrayal of Islamic other. Heywood, as well, employed this approach in The Fair Maid, invoking both traditional and official notions of Islamic behaviour to depict his colonial other. Important in this respect is his use of the traditional attribute of lechery and the official attribute of civility to portray the image of Mullisheg, King of Fez/Morocco.

With regard to the first attribute, the vice of lechery, the statement in the playtext which best sums up the popular belief that Islamics were by nature sexually unrestrained⁶¹ is that made by Mullisheg in his introductory scene:

MULLISHEG:
But what's the style of king
Without his pleasure? Find us concubines,
The fairest Christian damsels you can hire
Or buy for gold, the loveliest of the Moors
We can command, and Negroes everywhere.
Italians, French, and Dutch, choice Turkish girls
Must fill our Alkedavy, the great palace
Where Mullisheg now deigns to keep his court.
JOFFER:
Who else are worthy to be libertines
But such as bear the sword?
MULLISHEG:
                                                                                                                                                      Joffer, thou pleasest us.
If kings on earth be termed demigods,
Why should we not make here terrestrial heaven?
We can, we will; our god shall be our pleasure,
For so our Meccan prophet warrants us.

(F.M., 1.4.3.27-40)

Expressed as an order to his bashaw, Joffer (F.M., 1.4.3. 28-30), the directive leaves no doubt as to what is on the tyrant's mind. As head of the new order which has been ushered in with the recent victory, Mullisheg sets out to satiate his carnal appetites in true Oriental fashion: “But what's the style of king / Without his pleasure?” (F.M., 1.4.3.27-28). As the promiscuous potentate informs his subordinate, all available means, including the hire or purchase of concubines, are to be employed to achieve these ends. In the harem which he plans as an adjunct to his “great palace,” the Moorish ruler envisions a bevy of international beauties ready to indulge his every sexual whim (F.M., 1.4.3.32). Supported in his plan by Joffer (F.M., 1.4.3.35), Mullisheg invokes the teachings of Mahomet as a license for his lecherous designs: “For so our Meccan prophet warrants us” (F.M., 1.4.3.40). Using the Islamic dispensation⁶² as an official sanction, the Moorish ruler vows to create a “terrestrial heaven” on earth filled with sexual enjoyment where “our god shall be our pleasure” (F.M., 1.4.3.38-39).

Heywood's portrayal of Mullisheg as exhibiting the attribute of lechery has reinforced audience assumptions regarding the sexual excess and promiscuity of Islamic/Moorish rulers.

But Heywood's citizen quest fantasy also reflects a different view of orientalism: one more in keeping with the hegemonic interests and political realities of Elizabeth's last decade. Utilizing the trope of the savage being tamed by the royal personage/courtly virgin: a convention omnipresent in medieval and Renaissance literature⁶³ Heywood is able to re-present his colonial other, in act 5, as one who has put aside the negative attributes of traditional Islamic behaviour in exchange for the positive attribute of civility. Mullisheg's conversion begins the moment he lay eyes on the transfigured English virgin. The power of her gaze alone is enough to change the savage Moor from lustful warlord to loving servant and faithful ally:

                                                                                                              I am amazed!
This is no mortal creature I behold
But some bright angel that is dropped from heaven
Sent by our prophet

(F.M., 1.5.1.33-6)

In the “loving relationship”⁶⁴ which develops between the pair, Mullisheg demonstrates his newly acquired civility in two specific ways: first, by eschewing (what was believed to be) traditional Islamic (i.e. lustful) behaviour; and second, by defending English interests abroad.⁶⁵

The following passage illustrates the radical change which civility has effected in the once lustful monarch:

SPENCER:
Oh, show yourself, renowned King, the same
Fame blazons you. Bestow this maid on me;
'Tis such a gift as kingdoms cannot buy.
She is a precedent of all true love
And shall be register'd to after times,
That ne'er shall pattern her.
GOODLACK:
Heard you the story of their constant love,
'Twould move in you compassion.
ROUGHMAN:
Let not intemperate love sway you 'bove pity,
That foreign nations that ne'er heard your name
May chronicle your virtues
MULLISHEG:
You have waken'd in me an heroic spirit;
Lust shall not conquer virtue.—Till this hour
We grac'd thee for thy beauty, Englishwoman,
But now we wonder at thy constancy.
BESS:
Oh, were you of our faith, I'd swear great Mullisheg
To be a god on earth.

(F.M., 1.5.2.106-23)

Having just been made aware of the true state of affairs between Bess and Spencer (F.M., 1.5.2.94-98), Mullisheg, in the above quotation, is in the process of deciding how he will handle the matter. He can either mirror what English theatregoers thought was traditional Oriental conduct and seize the English virgin for his own lustful ends or he can show civility through sexual restraint and grant Spencer's request: “… Bestow this maid on me; 'Tis such a gift as kingdoms cannot buy” (F.M., 1.5.2.107-108). Before making a decision, the Moor listens carefully to Goodlack's pleas for compassion and Roughman's argument for sexual restraint, “That foreign nations that ne'er heard your name / May chronicle your virtues” (F.M.,1.5.2.116-117). Then, moved by such discussion as well as by Bess' beauty and faithfulness to her Spencer, “We grac'd thee for thy beauty, Englishwoman, / But now we wonder at thy constancy” (F.M., 1.5.2.120-1), Mullisheg reveals his “heroic spirit” of civility by finding in favour of the two lovers. Bess' concluding remarks, which commend Mullisheg on his noble decision: “Oh, were you of our faith, I'd swear great Mullisheg / To be a god on earth.” (F.M., 1.5.2.122-3), underscore for Elizabethan audiences the sexual restraint shown by the new Moorish ruler.

Mullisheg's civility is also manifested by the way in which he defends English interests abroad. Initially shown by the fact that Bess and her compatriots are allowed to put into Mamorah for supplies with their prizes in two (F.M., 1.4.5.6-11), the King of Fez's goodwill is further demonstrated by the favourable accord (F.M., 1.5.1.51-58) which he concludes with Bess. As seen by the terms of the agreement, Bess and her privateers are to be exempt from any violence when in port (F.M., 1.5.1.54-55); are to be allowed the purchase of needed supplies (F.M., 1.5.1.56); and, in addition to the right to come and go as they please, are to be allowed to weigh anchor at their own discretion (F.M., 1.5.1.51). In agreeing to such a one-sided list of demands, Mullisheg shows that he has taken the rights and concerns of English citizens to heart.

A more striking example of his defense of English interests occurs when the Moorish ruler willingly sacrifices some of his judicial authority and invites Bess to sit as co-judge on cases involving English and other Christian (i.e. European) merchants:

Grant me this:
Tomorrow we supply our judgement seat
And sentence causes; sit with us in state,
And let your presence beautify our throne.

(F.M.,1.5.1.103-106)

Placed in such a position, Bess, as the following selection shows, sees herself as a judge advocate for her fellow countrymen and other Christian litigants:

MULLISHEG:
Sirrah, your men for outrage and contempt
Are doom'd unto the galleys.
BESS:
A censure too severe for Christians.
Great King, I'll pay their ransom.
MULLISHEG:
                                                                                          Thou, my Bess?
Thy word shall be their ransom; th'are discharg'd.

(F.M., 1.5.2.67-72)

Persuaded by his co-judge to show clemency to all Christian merchants who have committed trade infractions, Mullisheg once again reveals his civility by pardoning all offenses and restoring to such suitors any ships or commodities initially seized:

Well, sirrah, for your lady's sake
His ship and goods shall be restor'd again.

(F.M.,1.5.2.61-2)

Heywood's portrayal of Mullisheg as exhibiting the attribute of civility through his renunciation of lechery and his defence of English interests abroad has provided a clear indication of upper/merchant class English society's positive view of the trading and diplomatic alliance with Fez/Morocco which flourished throughout the latter part of Elizabeth I's reign.

Another important social orientation reflected in The Fair Maid—and one which characterized in great part England's maritime activities⁶⁶ during the Spanish war—was capital adventurism. Voicing the desire by English venture capitalists to retaliate against Iberian shipping while profiting from prize ships and cargoes, Heywood focuses on two areas of particular concern to Elizabethans: the proper quarry of a voyage of reprisal and the profitability of such a voyage.

In dealing with the first area of concern, it is important to be aware of the legal justification for any such voyage. English privateers, for the most part, based the authorization for their ventures on letters of reprisal issued by the Lord Admiral, although other forms⁶⁷ of licence were available. All such commissions indicated Spanish ships and trade goods as the legitimate objects of plunder.⁶⁸ Reflecting public knowledge of the main target of reprisal ventures, the Presenter, in his remarks at the end of act 4, recounts how Bess and her crew have followed the letter of the law in their attack on foreign shipping:

                                                                                                                                  Much prize they have ta'en.
The French and Dutch she spares, only makes spoil
Of the rich Spaniard and the barbarous Turk

(F.M., 1.4.5.6-8)

As seen in the above lines, Heywood's English champion, Bess, and her “ging of lusty lads” (F.M., 1.3.4.109) have, since leaving the merchantman enroute to Mamora at the end of act 4, scene 4, “tracked a wilderness of seas,” preying on the proper object of a voyage of reprisal: Spanish shipping (F.M., 1.4.4.163). In this endeavour they have, as noted, been quite successful: “Much prize they have ta'en” (F.M., 1.4.5). Bess as well upholds the spirit of a reprisal venture, and avoids future legal problems, by steering clear of neutral and allied vessels: “The French and Dutch she spares” (F.M., 1.4.5.7). And “the barbarous Turk” of which she “makes spoil” (F.M., 1.4.5.7-8) refers not to the Great Turk in Istanbul with whom England had a treaty, but to the dreaded Barbary corsairs—exiled Spanish Moors based in such Turkish-controlled ports as Tunis and Algiers⁶⁹—who constantly preyed on any merchantman travelling through the Mediterranean.⁷⁰ As such “the barbarous Turk” would be seen both as a rival and a fitting secondary target for any English defender worth his or her salt.

Also of concern to Elizabethans was the profitability of such a voyage. In this regard it is important to examine the following points: expenditures, value of prizes, and final returns. On any privateering venture the chief items of expense were the value of the ship, its armaments and ammunition (i.e. powder/shot), food supplies, other provisions (i.e. wood/candles), and repairs.⁷¹ While Heywood has indicated that the value of the first chief item, Bess' ship, is £800 (F.M., 1.3.4.105), he has given no further information about any other expense except to note that Bess has placed all such matters in Goodlack's capable hands: “… Furnish her / With all provision needful—spare no cost—” (F.M.,1.3.4.107-8). Additional information on the outlay for such a voyage is however available, thanks to Kenneth R. Andrew's comprehensive study Elizabethan Privateering. Based upon a wide variety of contemporary documents (including all relevant state and admiralty papers), Andrews' research shows that on average a 200-ton first-class privateer, valued at £800 and furnished for a period of six months, would incur the following costs: guns—£252, powder/shot—£249, victuals—£390, other provisions—£18, and repairs—£80.⁷² Of special note is the total cost of fitting out the ship—£737: a figure which indicates the amount needed to be recouped by the promoters to make “a saving (i.e. break-even) voyage.”⁷³ Also important is the estimated total investment of £1789 which for Bess, as a novice promoter, represented an overall investment of about £9 per ton for a ship of the Negro's burden.

Balanced against this capital outlay is the value of the commerce plundered. First of the prizes taken by Bess is a Spanish carvel “… It did me good / To see the Spanish carvel vail her top / Unto my maiden flag” (F.M., 1.4.4.1-3). While Heywood is derelict in mentioning either the burden or manifest of the seized ship, Andrews informs that carvels were the typical workhorses of the west European merchant marine and averaged 50 tons in capacity. Cargoes of such vessels were usually wine—but oftimes olives, oranges or other Iberian agricultural produce—and worth from £500 to £1000.⁷⁴ Of Bess' second prey, the Spanish man-of-war, described in act 4 as “A gallant ship of war” (F.M., 1.4.4.77), Heywood makes no mention of either her condition or contents upon capture. Given that privateers tried hard not to do serious harm to an intended prize,⁷⁵ since little was to be gained from damaged goods, it is possible to speculate that one reason for Bess' release of the Spanish captain and crew: “Your ship is forfeit to us and your goods, / So live” (F.M., 1.4.4.118-119), was finding the warship in good condition. While no burden is mentioned for the enemy ship, a vessel equivalent to the Negro's own tonnage, fully rigged out and sporting its proper complement of ordnance, would have brought £500 on the open market.⁷⁶ Pertaining to Bess' final windfall “Much prize they have ta'en” (F.M., 1.4.5.6), the Presenter provides no clue as to its type or lading except to say that it was spoil “Of the rich Spaniard and the barbarous Turk” (F.M., 1.4.5.8). However, given the busy Spanish and Portuguese shipping lanes in which the Negro was cruising, it is possible to conjecture that such a prize—one obviously coverted by the corsairs—was of the lucrative sort frequently taken by privateers of the first rank. Of such possible prizes, two in particular deserve mention: the Brazilman and the West-Indiaman. Most common of all the sizeable merchantmen plundered was the Brazilman. With its characteristic cargo of brazilwood and sugar⁷⁷ such a prize usually went for about £3,000.⁷⁸ A second type also seized with surprising regularity was the West-Indiaman. Carrying in general a cargo comprised of hides and sugar, such a prize, like its Brazilian counterpart, vended for about £3,000.⁷⁹ Based upon such moderate expectations, it is reasonable to assume that the value of the prizes taken by Bess on her first reprisal voyage would have totalled no less than £4,000.

Given such a valuation, a fair estimate of the profitability of the venture can be arrived at without difficulty. The first step in such a process is to deduct the Queen's custom duty (5٪) and the Lord Admiral's rate⁸⁰ (10٪) from the gross amount, which leaves a balance of £3,400. Next, all additional charges—the cost of fitting out (i.e. £737) and the crew's one-third share (i.e. £1134)—are subtracted. With all accounts now settled, Bess, as sole promoter, is entitled to the remaining monies as her share of the venture: a net profit of £1529. Calculated as a percentage,⁸¹ Bess' profit works out to approximately 145٪: an excellent return considering that the average profit for promoters was about 60٪.⁸² For Elizabethan playgoers, familiar with the tremendous profits made on the resale of such prize goods, Bess' voyage, with its triple windfall, has been a highly profitable one. Heywood's commerce-plundering scenario has accurately reflected venture capital's concern about the proper quarry and profitability of a reprisal voyage during the years of the Anglo-Spanish conflict.

A final cultural orientation revealed by the identification of self and other in Heywood's exotic citizen fantasy was neo-chivalry. Endorsed by all levels of society when it made its reappearance c.1575, this revitalized tradition supplied the romantic framework which inspired Elizabeth's second generation of courtiers to win public acclaim by performing several noteworthy deeds of valour in the national cause. Reflecting public approval for the neo-chivalric exploits of such second generation courtiers, Heywood directs attention to two of this group's most notable achievements: the expeditions against the Spanish fleet and the Protestant Crusade against Catholic Spain.

Of the many chivalric feats accomplished by England's knight-errant courtiers, none were of greater significance than the “semi-official”⁸³ forays launched against the Spanish fleet and its treasure ships. In the following passage Heywood focuses on two such campaigns: the Cadiz expedition of 1596 and the Islands' Voyage of 1597.

1 CAPTAIN:
                                                                                                                                                      Most men think
The fleet's bound for the Islands [i.e. Azores].
CARROL:
                                                                                                                                                      Nay, 'tis like.
The great success at Cales [i.e. Cadiz] under the conduct
Of such a noble general [i.e. Essex] hath put heart
Into the English; they are all on fire
To purchase from the Spaniard. If their carracks
Come deeply laden, we shall tug with them
For golden spoil.

.....

1 CAPTAIN:
How Plymouth swells with gallants! How the streets
Glister with gold! You cannot meet a man
But trick'd in scarf and feather, that it seems
As if the pride of England's gallantry
Were harbor'd here. It doth appear, methinks,
A very court of soldiers.

(F.M., 1.1.1.3-16)

As shown by Carrol's conversation with the two captains in act 1, scene 1, Robert Devereaux, the second Earl of Essex and one of the central figures⁸⁴ in the neo-chivalric revival, has captured the imagination and hearts of the English people with his “great success at Cales” (F.M., 1.1.1.5) which saw the Spanish fleet dispersed and Cadiz sacked. With almost reverential tones England's newest hero is described by Carrol as the “noble general” who has “put heart / Into the English” with his heroic exploits (F.M., 1.1.1.6-8). Building upon the success of his initial expedition, Essex, as the first captain relates, is planning a follow-up campaign: this one “bound for the Islands” (F.M., 1.1.1.4). To his standard have flocked chivalry's best and bravest, “the pride of England's gallants” who, along with a veritable “court of soldiers” (F.M., 1.1.1.14-16), will attempt a second great venture: to waylay Spain's bullion-laden carracks at their customary victualling stop in the Azores and “tug with them / For golden spoil” (F.M., 1.1.1.7-9). For Elizabethans caught up in the neo-chivalric temper of the times, such daring expeditions were indeed exploits worthy of renown.

Second of the group's notable achievements were its crusader-oriented activities. Aspiring to fight in the cause of religion, Elizabeth's “forward Noble men”⁸⁵ viewed the Anglo-Spanish conflict as a Protestant Crusade against Catholic Spain and, in this regard, acted aggressively toward their enemy whenever possible. In the following selection Heywood focuses on one such incident which develops as a result of a conversation his English champion, Bess Bridges, has with some captured Spanish fishermen concerning the whereabouts of Spencer's body:

Was there not in the time of their abode
A gentleman call'd Spencer buried there
Within the church, whom some report was slain
Or perish'd by a wound?
1 SPANIARD:
                                                                                                    Indeed there was
And o'er him rais'd a goodly monument,
But when the English navy were sail'd thence
And that the Spaniards did possess the town,
Because they held him for an heretic,
They straight remov'd his body from the church.
BESS:
And would the tyrants be so uncharitable
To wrong the dead? Where did they then bestow him.
1 SPANIARD:
They buried him i' th' fields.
BESS:
Oh, still more cruel!
1 SPANIARD:
The man that ought the field, doubtful his corn
Would never prosper whilst an heretic's body
Lay there, he made petition to the Church
To ha' it digg'd up and burnt, and so it was.

(F.M., 1.4.4.36-51)

Seeing the hand of Spanish Catholicism's Inquisition behind the tyranny of these local Church officials who have “censur'd so my Spencer” (F.M., 1.4.4.62), “held him for an heretic” (F.M., 1.4.4.43), and ordered his remains “digg'd up and burnt” (F.M., 1.4.4.51); Bess reacts in true crusader fashion. Turning her “mourning … into revenge” (F.M., 1.4.4.61), Heywood's heroic self orders her gunner to open fire on the source of the indignity—the Catholic Church: “Bestow upon the Church some few cast pieces.” (F.M.,1.4.4.63). For Protestant audiences supportive of the crusader mandate of Elizabeth's fighting aristocrats, Bess' volatile response to perceived Spanish Catholic provocation has been a deed of valour. Heywood's focus on two of the main achievements of Elizabethan knight-errantry: daring raids against the Spanish fleet and the Protestant crusade, has clearly reflected the influence which this reborn ideology had on Elizabeth's second generation of courtiers as well as its popularity with aristocratic and non-aristocratic classes alike.

To conclude, then, the present rereading of The Fair Maid of the West: Part I demonstrates how Heywood has incorporated the spirit of colonialism, prevalent in late sixteenth-century English society, into his popular exotic citizen fantasy. Historically regrounding the play in the commercial crisis / Moroccan alliance c.1600 has allowed an identification of Heywood's colonial other and heroic self as composite / representational figures which mirror the characteristics of two particular social groups involved in the colonial trade and privateering activities of the war years: colonial other, the Xeriffo Mullisheg, representing what Elizabethan playgoers knew of the various Morocan rulers of their own day; and heroic self, the amazing Bess Bridges, representing what such a rank-and-file audience knew of that elite group of English merchants, the great merchants who engaged in trade with Barbary. As well, the textual exploration of nationalism, orientalism, privateering, and neo-chivalry—cultural orientations liberated by such a naming—provides further evidence of the colonial trade designs of Elizabethan society during the final decade of the reign.

Notes

1. Frederick S. Boas, Thomas Heywood (London: Williams and Norgate, 1950) 36.

2. Clark 213.

3. Velte 80.

4. Examples of such commentary include Velte 73-80, Boas 30-36, and Clark 110, 213.

5. Part I even enjoyed a command performance for Charles I at Hampton Court in 1630. Turner xix.

6. Warner G. Rice, “The Moroccan Episode” in Thomas Heywood's The Fair Maid of the West, Philological Quarterly IX (1930) 131-140; see also Velte's discussion of an early (circa 1600) date for the play. Velte 73-74.

7. B. E. Supple, Commercial Crisis and Change in England 1600-1642: A Study in the Instability of Mercantile Economy (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1959) 6.

8. Supple 6: cf. Wernham who advises that “as much as four-fifths” were woollen textiles. R. B. Wernham, After the Armada: Elizabethan England and the Struggle for Western Europe 1588-1595 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984) 252.

9. Supple 7.

10. Trade figures available for this period show no English or alien shipments going to Iberian markets. Supple 23-24.

11. Supple 6-7.

12. Based on contemporary sources as many as 24,000 workers were dependent on the textile industry. Supple 6.

13. From the Acts of the Privy Council as quoted by Wernham. Wernham, After the Armada 252.

14. Supple 6, 12-13; see also Wernham, After the Armada 252.

15. Supple 8.

16. Among those ventures were joint-stock trading/privateering ventures, the money-market, custom farming, and buying tracts of land. Supple 10, 29.

17. The phrase is Wernham's. Wernham, After the Armada 274.

18. R. B. Wernham, The Making of Elizabethan Foreign Policy 1558-1603 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980) 86.

19. Wernham, After the Armada 246.

20. Wernham notes that in the 1589-1591 period such ventures brought in 300 prizes worth an estimated £400,000. Wernham, After the Armada 236.

21. Wernham, After the Armada, 250-251.

22. Chapter 9 “The War at Sea: Queen's Ships and Privateers” provides an excellent summation of privateer activity and the ill will which it provoked on the Continent. Wernham, After the Armada 250-260.

23. Among the measures taken were two diplomatic missions to Europe, and a return of 60 Hanseatic ships seized by Drake in 1589. Wernham, After the Armada 251-255; 258-259.

24. Supple 24.

25. Chapter 1 “England and the Moroccan Connection” gives an excellent summary of early English trading in Barbary. D'Amico 14-18.

26. D'Amico speculates that an arms deal may well have been part of this entente. D'Amico 20-21.

27. D'Amico 14-16; Supple 23; see also David Harris Sacks, The Widening Gate: Bristol and the Atlantic Economy, 1450-1700 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991) 46-47.

28. As D'Amico underscores, throughout his first chapter, arms and munitions dealings were always a part of the overall trade picture. D'Amico 9-22.

29. D'Amico 213.

30. D'Amico 19-21; see also Dr. Robert Brown's endnote 12 in volume 2 which advises that Mamora was a thriving centre for English privateers until 1614. Brown, History 583.

31. Wernham, After the Armada 248.

32. Jackson 53.

33. Rice 133-136; see also Turner xi-xiii.

34. Turner 67.

35. As noted by Bullen in his prefatory remarks to The Battle of Alcazar. George Peele, The Works of George Peele, ed. A. H. Bullen, vol. 1 (1888; Port Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat Press, 1966) 221-223; see also W. W. Greg's introductory comments. George Peele, The Battle of Alcazar. 1597, ed. W. W. Greg (1594; London: Chiswick Press, 1907) v-vi.

36. Thomas Heywood, The Fair Maid of the West: Part I and II, editor Robert K Turner (Lincoln: University of Nebraska P, 1967) 78. Subsequent references will be to this edition and cited parenthetically in the text, e.g. (F.M., 1.5.51-59).

37. D'Amico 20.

38. See D'Amico's explanation regarding the proper line of Moroccan succession. D'Amico (note 30) 211.

39. Africanus 993-994.

40. Turner xiii-xiv; see also Simon Shepherd's comments on Bess' “Meglike” qualities. Simon Shepherd, Amazons and Warrior Women: Varieties of Feminism in Seventeenth-Century Drama (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1981) 104-105.

41. The expression is Turner's. Turner xiii.

42. Wright 476.

43. Hoenselaars 147; D'Amico 88.

44. Shepherd 106.

45. The term is Gregory King's as quoted by Richard S. Dunn. Dunn 123-124.

46. The expression is Andrews'. Kenneth R. Andrews, Elizabethan Privateering: English Privateering During the Spanish War 1585-1603. (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1964) 100.

47. See Chapter 6 “The Great Merchants” for a detailed account of the activities of this powerful group during the Anglo-Spanish conflict. Andrews 100-123.

48. The above size is based on the value of a new ship given in Table 4. Prices, however, ranged from £1 to £5 depending on a ship's age. Andrews 47-49.

49. Andrews 36-37.

50. Andrews 38.

51. Andrews 231.

52. Andrews 102.

53. Andrews 120.

54. Such ports were also recognized as centers for the disposal of prize cargoes and ships. Andrews 42-43.

55. The expression in Bevington's. Bevington 206.

56. Lindabury 26-86; see also Hoenselaars 76-107.

57. Hoenselaars observes that courage and valor were two of the most highly valued virtues of an Englishman. Hoenselaars 94.

58. Hoenselaars 83.

59. The term is Bartels'. Emily C. Bartels, Spectacles of Strangeness: Imperialism, Alienation, and Marlowe (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993) 31.

60. In Chapter 3 “East of England: Imperialist Self-Construction in Tamburlaine, Parts l and 2” Bartels discusses how one such playwright, Christopher Marlowe incorporates both views into the character of Tamburlaine. Bartels 53-81.

61. Said 62; see also D'Amico 81.

62. Through travel literature of the period, Elizabethans were familiar with Islam's allowance of polygamy and concubinage. D'Amico 65.

63. In Brown's detailed discussion of this important trope, he notes that it was frequently incorporated into the progresses, processions, and masques of Elizabeth's day. Brown, This Thing of Darkness, 53-54.

64. The expression is Brown's. Brown, This Thing of Darkness, 54.

65. Among the ways civility in Moors was recognized by Elizabethans are included: Moors were expected to allow the English safe passage through their territories, to sacrifice Africa' well-being for England's, and to defend English merchants at all costs. Bartels 33.

66. Andrews 233.

67. Other forms of authorization included: private notes signed by the Lord Admiral, letters patent, and commissions signed by the Portuguese pretender. Andrews 4-5.

68. Andrews 3-5.

69. Cawston and Keane 70; Africanus 1067; see also Chapter 8 “The Throne of Piracy” which gives a detailed account of these Moorish exiles from Spain who settled along the north-west coast of Africa and engaged in piratical activities. Chew 340-345.

70. Cawston and Keane 72.

71. Andrews 46.

72. Andrews (see Table 4) 49.

73. The expression is Andrews'. Andrews 50.

74. Andrews 129.

75. Andrews 39.

76. Andrews (see Table 3) 47.

77. Available records show that no less than 34 Brazilmen were seized between 1589 and 1591. Andrews 133.

78. Andrews 133.

79. Andrews 46, 134.

80. Andrews 46, 134.

81. Calculated on the basis of the promoter's capital assets (i.e. ship and guns). Andrews 134.

82. Andrews 134.

83. The term is Andrews'. Andrews 5.

84. For further discussion regarding Essex's central place in the neo-chivalric movement see Richard McCoy's scholarly article “‘A dangerous image’: The Earl of Essex and Elizabethan chivalry.” Richard C. McCoy, “‘A dangerous image’: The Earl of Essex and Elizabethan chivalry,” The Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies 13.2 (1983): 313-329.

85. The expression is James Aske's as quoted by Richard C. McCoy. McCoy 320.

Works Cited

Primary Sources

Africanus, Leo. The History and Description of Africa and of the Notable Things Therein Contained. Trans. John Pory. Ed. Robert Brown. 3 vols. London: Printed for the Hakluyt Society, 1896.

Heywood, Thomas. The Fair Maid of the West: Part I and II. Ed. Robert R. Turner. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1967.

Sir Clyomon and Sir Clamydes. Vol. 2 of The Works of George Peele. Ed. A. H. Bullen. 2 vols. 1888. Port Washington, NY: Kennikat Press, 1966.

Secondary Sources

Andrews, Kenneth R. Elizabethan Privateering: English Privateering During the Spanish War 1585-1603. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1964.

Bartels, Emily C. Spectacles of Strangeness: Imperialism, Alienation, and Marlowe. Philadelphia: U. of Pennsylvania P, 1993.

Bevington, David. Tudor Drama and Politics: A Critical Approach to Topical Meaning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1968.

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