ABSTRACT
The unifying force of sovereign representative law was the principal inward dynamic of the emergent English state. There was also a specific outward dynamic, in the emergence of an independently defined national foreign policy. Wallace MacCaffrey has described how, in the reign of Elizabeth, the traditional “dynastic” concept of foreign affairs deriving from the personal concerns of the crown, was superseded by a “national” perspective based on the interests of the country at large. This focused on a general antipathy to the policies and power of Spain, the main threat to the integrity of the new English state, and the greatest obstacle to the chosen national project of a sea-borne trading empire. Since this was a “popular” rather than a “royal” ambition, it became a source of tension when the early Stuart kings failed to embrace a balanced national viewpoint and reverted to dynastic priorities, involving friendship with Spain. In the 1620s, parliament sought persistently to impose an anti-Spanish military policy on the crown. The dysfunction in England’s relations with the outside world was caused by parliament’s refusal to fund any approach that did not address this perceived national priority.
