By 1650, Oliver Cromwell had risen from a humble country squire to the effective ruler of England. But the Treasury was empty and he was obliged to resort to the traditional methods of trade and warfare in order to refill the national coffers. With France and Spain at each other's throats, and in return for a generous subsidy payment, he offered each of the bitter rivals an alliance against the other. Eventually an offensive treaty with France was signed in October 1654, and Britain went to war with Spain.
In Cromwell's Spanish War, historian Michael McNally, charts the whole story of this conflict, from the 'phoney war' in the colonies to the bungled English attempt to seize the Spanish held island of Hispaniola and the almost accidental capture of Jamaica, an event shrouded with
recriminations long after the fighting had ended. In Europe the actions of General-at-Sea Robert Blake against the Spanish navy in the Mediterranean are vividly brought to life, whilst the narrative reaches its peak with an account of the Battle of the Dunes in June 1658 which saw the future King James II leading Spanish troops against an Anglo-French army under Marshal Turenne.
Despite the overwhelming nature of the Spanish defeat, the Commonwealth victory was a transitory one and within two years, the exiled Prince Charles had been restored to his father's throne as King Charles II
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