Our copy of Scott's Vox Populi is bound with the second part, which was
published in 1624. While the first part which is under discussion here does
not have place or publisher, the second part names "Ashuerus Janss." as
publisher and "Goricum" as the place of publication; the dedication is
signed "T.S. of V" (which the British Library translates as "Thomas Scott
of Utrecht"). There is also a school of thought that attributes the
printing to N. Okes and J. Dawson of London, but we have found no record of
this in the Stationers' Register. The author was a political writer and
chaplain to James I. When the Spanish Count Gondomar arrived in England
from Spain to arrange the preliminaries for the marriage of Prince Charles
with the Infanta, Scott published this impudent work to protest the match.
It is a facetious tract imagining the Count's reception back in Spain
where, Scott states, Gondomar promises to bring England into subjugation to
Spain and avers that he has promises from prominent Recusants that they
will help stay the English settlements in America and the West Indies.
Given that James was blinded by what could be termed deceitful behaviour by
the Spaniards, and given that he was in hope of obtaining the Infanta and
her large dowry, it would be easy to accept the fact that the work was
published surrreptiously.
Helen
Helen R. Kahn Tel: 514-844-5344
Antiquarian Books Fax: 514-499-9274
P.O. Box 323, Victoria Stn. E-mail: hrk@hrkahnbooks.com
Montreal, Canada Web: http://www.hrkahnbooks.com
H3Z 2V8
Member: ABAC, ABA (International),ILAB
On January 31, 2000 6:21 AM, William Cole [SMTP:cole@accesocero.es] wrote:
> Dear Colleagues,
>
> I am trying to catalogue the folowing book:
>
> Vox Populi, or Newes from Spayne, translated according to
> the Spanish Coppie. Which may serve to forewarn both England
> and the United Provinces how farre to trust Spanish pretences.
> Imprinted in the yeare 1620. 4to, 14 leaves.
>
> No author or place is given, but both STC 22098 and Palau
> 303696 (the latter copying from the former, I suspect) attribute
> the work to Thomas Scott and say that it may have been printed
> at Gorcum (in the Netherlands). This intrigues me. Why was
> an Englishman publishing anti-Spanish tracts in the Netherlands
> in 1620? And why did he do it in such a sneaky way, pretending
> to be translating someone else's work? Surely this was the
> same Thomas Scott who wrote "Robert Earl of Essex His Ghost"
> (Printed in Paradise, 1624) which, according to Bartlett's
> catalogue of the W.A. White Collection of Early English Literature
> (p. 42) is "an invective against the marriage of Charles with
> the Spanish Infanta."
>
> Can anyone tell me anything about Scott or about the "Newes
> from Spayne"? Was he associated with the Pilgrims?
>
> Thanks
>
> Bill Cole
>
>
>