Letters of Sir James Spens to Axel Oxenstierna 1613–1630
The letters from James Spens to Axel Oxenstierna are also available in print as part II:13 of "Rikskanslern Axel Oxenstiernas skrifter och brevväxling" (AOSB), Stockholm 2007.
Introduction
Sir James Spens (1571–1632), of Wormiston (near Crail in the East Neuk of Fife), Scottish adventurer, military entrepreneur in Swedish service, and at various times diplomat in British and Swedish service, was born in 1571 as the son and heir of David Spens and Margaret Learmonth. His father was killed in that year leading an attack on the Scottish Regent, the Earl of Lennox, and the mother contracted a new marriage with Sir James Anstruther, father of Sir Robert Anstruther, the well-known diplomat. The two half-brothers were given an important diplomatic assignment in 1612–1613, when James I of Great Britain sent Anstruther as ambassador to Denmark and Spens as ambassador to Sweden to mediate a peace between Christian IV and Gustav II Adolf (the Knäred peace).
Spens was not unknown to the Swedes: he had previously been employed by Charles IX and Gustav II Adolf to raise mercenary troops in Scotland for service in the Swedish army, and in 1611 he was called General of the British forces in Sweden. He rose rapidly in Gustav II Adolf's and Chancellor Oxenstierna's favour and became "as much the Swedish agent in Britain as the British representative in Stockholm" and "grew gradually to be more of a Swede than a Scot" (Michael Roberts). His service to the Swedish Crown was recognized by the King, and he was given the barony of Orreholmen (in the province of Västergötland) in 1628.
Spens' Correspondence with Oxenstierna
Spens was entrusted with a number of important charges both by James I and Charles I and by Gustav II Adolf. The correspondence with Oxenstierna (ca 90 letters) dates, however, from three periods, 1613–1620 and 1623–1626, when Spens served as Swedish ambassador in London, and 1627–1630, when he was to sent by Charles I as British ambassador to Gustav II Adolf and, subsequently, resumed his duties as recruiting officer in Swedish service. These letters are now made available in a critical edition on the internet.
Oxenstierna's 14 letters to Spens (from 1612 to 1627) have been edited previously in the "Rikskanslern Axel Oxenstiernas skrifter och brevväxling" ("The Works and Letters of Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna"), series I, vols. 2-3; Stockholm 1896–1900). In addition to the letters from and to Oxenstierna, a number of letters from and to King Gustav II Adolf and some passports and instructions are also extant in the Riksarkivet (The National Archives).
The mission to London in 1613–1620
The peace negotiations at Knäred were Spens' first big diplomatic assignment. He had given a good account of himself, and in subsequent years he was to be involved in a number of important decisions. In the autumn of 1613 Gustav II Adolf sent him to Britain, giving him a commission as salaried representative there. Spens' earliest letters to Oxenstierna were written in Copenhagen and Hamburg on his way back to London (letters 3500-3501). From his stay in England we have thirty letters to Oxenstierna (3502-3532). Spens kept the Chancellor informed about events in Britain, Denmark, Poland and other countries. Issues that Spens referred to are: the Swedish-Russian peace negotiations, the Jülich-Cleves conflict, the ransom for Älvsborg Castle, the Spanish and French matches for Prince Charles, the Bohemian crisis, the complaints of British merchants about their having been badly treated in Sweden, James I' relations with Spain, France and Denmark and the persecution of Protestants in Poland.
The mission to London in 1623–1626
In 1624–1625 statesmen and diplomats were focused on bringing the British, the Swedes, the Danes and the Dutch into a grand alliance to defend the Protestant cause against the Habsburgs and the Catholics. Spens played an important part in the various rounds of negotiations, and a suite of letters (3536-3579) allows us to follow the development. Spens was becoming more and more suspicious of Charles I and the Duke of Buckingham, for instance he drew Oxenstierna's attention to the fact that the British Crown actually had no resources to help Gustav II Adolf, even if the King was willing to do so. As far as the Duke was concerned, Spens even warned Gustav II Adolf that if a henchman of Buckingham, an Anglo-Irishman who is an expert in poisoning, comes to Sweden, the King should beware.
Spens' mission to Prussia
In 1627 Spens was charged with another important mission: Charles I sent him to the Swedish court in Elbing in the summer of 1627 to present the Order of the Garter to Gustav II Adolf and to try to persuade the King to come to an agreement with Poland. If the war ended, the Swedes would be free to enter the war in Germany. Spens was also authorised to treat with the City of Danzig to ensure their neutrality. On his arrival in Elbing, Spens was told that Gustav II Adolf would prefer that he gave up his role as British ambassador for a time and started recruiting more soldiers (3581).
Spens as military entrepreneur
From 1628 Spens concentrated on his role as a recruiting officer (3587-3592). His last letter, dated 28 June 1630 (3592), was closely connected with the entry of Sweden into the Thirty Years' War. In that letter, Spens was making arrangements for the transport of troops to Stralsund.
Spens' death
Spens followed Gustav II Adolf to Germany in 1631 and died in Frankfurt on Main on 17 November 1632. His death is referred to in a letter from Rev. John Durie to Sir Thomas Roe, dated Frankfurt on Main, 6 December 1632: "My Lord Spens, My Patron, who lived with the King and followed him since he was King, thought good to live no longer than he did but followed him in death also, for he departed here at Frankfurt shortly after the King was killed; from hence he is to be carried to Sweden" (quoted by Duncan).
Litteratur
- Duncan, Archibald, "The Diplomatic Correspondence of Sir James Spens of Wormiston" (typescript in Uppsala University Library, E 379 d:1), lxi + 468 pp. [a biography of Spens and translations into English of his correspondence]
- Grosjean, Alexia, 'Scotland: Sweden's closest ally?', in: Murdoch, Steve (ed.), "Scotland and the thirty years' war 1618–1648" (History of Warfare, vol. 6), Leiden, Boston, Köln, 2001, pp. 143-171.
- Grosjean, Alexia, "An Unofficial Alliance, Scotland and Sweden 1569–1654" (The Northern World, vol. 5), Leiden, Boston, 2003.
- Murdoch, Steve, 'Scottish ambassadors and British diplomacy 1618-1635', in: Murdoch, Steve (ed.), "Scotland and the thirty years' war 1618–1648" (History of Warfare, vol. 6), Leiden, Boston, Köln, 2001, pp. 27-50.
- Murdoch, Steve and Grosjean, Alexia (eds), "The Scotland, Scandinavia and Northern European Biographical Database" (SSNE).