Arpin, John R.

English

U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons

Naval War College ReviewVolume 59Number 3 Summer Article 202006Her Majesty’s Spymaster: Elizabeth I, Sir FrancisWalsingham,and the Birth of Modern Espionage,John R. ArpinFollow this and additional works at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-reviewThis Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons. It has been accepted forinclusion in Naval War College Review by an authorized editor of U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons. For more information, please contactrepository.inquiries@usnwc.edu.Recommended CitationArpin, John R. (2006) "Her Majesty’s Spymaster: Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Walsingham,and the Birth of Modern Espionage,," Naval WarCollege Review: Vol. 59 : No. 3 , Article 20.Available at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol59/iss3/20however, he has written a hundredpages that describe the origins of theempire, racing from pre-Roman timesto the mid-eighteenth century. Fromthat point forward, Black expands outinto his larger study, tracing both theBritish Empire’s rise and its decline. Inthis Black is careful to give weight tothe three elements of his title: the“Britishness” of that empire, the com-plexity of its maritime basis, and thedistinctive differences with other typesof imperial powers. The book is a densecollation of factual detail, but the pic-ture that Black paints and the perspec-tive that he presents are interesting. Helinks maritime exploration, trade, mi-gration, and naval affairs in a broadcontext while at the same time bringingin the wide range of cross-cultural is-sues involved. Even beyond that, Blackcharacterizes the British Empire as thepower that gave indirect rise to Americaand was America’s immediate predeces-sor as a global superpower. This linkage,as Black reminds us, allows a reader tobegin to think about the connectionsbetween consecutive global powers.Imperial history has largely been ig-nored until recently in academic circles,but Black’s work clearly succeeds in un-derscoring the importance of the Brit-ish Empire’s maritime nature in itsdistinctive contribution to the develop-ment of the modern world. Black con-cludes that “if the British Empire isblamed for many of the aspects of mod-ernization and globalization, it alsoserves as a way of offering historicaldepth to a critique of American power,and, in part, this is at issue when Britishimperialism is criticized.”JOHN B. HATTENDORFNaval War CollegeBudiansky, Stephen. Her Majesty’s Spymaster:Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Walsingham, and the Birthof Modern Espionage. New York: Penguin, 2005.235pp. $24.95For many years the U.S. intelligencecommunity has been dominated by asubculture enraptured with intelligencecollected by technical means. Despitethe wealth of intelligence these meansprovide, they do not always lead towardan understanding of how an opponentthinks. Many current and former intel-ligence officers have argued for over adecade that the United States must im-prove both its human intelligence andcounterintelligence capabilities; eventssince 9/11 have reinforced that viewwith a vengeance.History provides many examples of ef-fective intelligence organizations in thedays before technical means, and StephenBudiansky, a journalist and militaryhistorian, has chosen for his subject oneof the best for his latest book. Budianskydescribes the intelligence successes ofSir Francis Walsingham, first as ambas-sador to France and later as PrincipalSecretary to the Privy Council of QueenElizabeth I. In the latter role (at the time,akin to a chief of staff) Walsingham notonly coordinated domestic and foreignpolicy but ran the kingdom’s primarysecret service.Walsingham was a legend in an erafilled with men of legendary stature.Where others were self-promoting, hewas unobserved. Where many braggedof power and connections, he wieldedpower quietly and subtly, but always ef-fectively. His painstaking attention todetail and his deep understanding ofhuman nature made him the idealspymaster.B O O K R E V I E W S 1 5 7C:\WIP\NWCR\NWC Review Summer 2006.vpWednesday, July 19, 2006 2:04:58 PMColor profile: DisabledComposite  Default screen1Arpin: Her Majesty’s Spymaster: Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Walsingham,andPublished by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 2006The focus of “Mr. Secretary’” (as he wasknown) was maintaining England’s in-dependence from the maneuverings ofSpain, France, and Rome. Budianskydescribes how Walsingham’s skill ingathering and analyzing informationcomplemented (if not always easily)Elizabeth’s talent for political and dip-lomatic intrigue. England, at the time asmall fringe state tottering betweenProtestantism and Catholicism, wasvulnerable to the machinations of thegreat powers of the day. Walsinghamplayed critical roles in countering plotsagainst Elizabeth, the most famous be-ing that of Mary, Queen of Scots.Walsingham’s role in the defeat of theSpanish Armada provides a textbookexample of what intelligence can andsometimes cannot provide. He devel-oped a comprehensive collection planand employed a network of agentsthroughout Europe to gather informa-tion. He never blindly trusted any onesource, using multiple agents againstthe same target. As the Armada prepa-rations came to a head, Walsinghamcommissioned naval reconnaissancemissions of key Spanish ports, and al-though his work provided strategicwarning to the crown and the RoyalNavy, contrary winds prevented tacticalwarning.Walsingham understood that intelli-gence must support decision making—after all, he was a major player in bothdomestic and foreign policy—and en-sured that the information he providedwas focused on those ends. Upon be-coming Principal Secretary, he was in-formed that the job required him toknow everyone and see everything. Bythe time of his death, both his support-ers and enemies believed him unsur-passed in this regard.While Walsingham’s network did notsurvive him (he left no written legacyfor his successors to follow), the mem-ory of his effectiveness lives on.If this book has a fault, it is the lack ofdiscussion on Walsingham’s impact onlater incarnations of the British secretservice. Nonetheless, several maxims at-tributed to him remain sound guidancefor today’s intelligence and policy pro-fessionals. “Knowledge is never toodear” speaks for the value of good intel-ligence. “An habit of secrecy is bothpolicy and virtue” reminds us that suc-cess requires constant effort. Finally,“See and keep silent” remain watch-words for today’s intelligence profes-sionals, as they were in the past.JOHN R. ARPINDefense Intelligence AgencyWashington, D.C.Berube, Claude, and John Rodgaard. A Call to theSea: Captain Charles Stewart of the USS Constitu-tion. Dulles, Va.: Potomac Books, 2005. 299pp.$35Charles Stewart was one of the preemi-nent officers of the early sailing navy.He is best remembered for the brilliantvictory he gained over HMS Cyane andLevant as captain of USS Constitutionduring the War of 1812. Less well known,however, are the significant contribu-tions Stewart made to the sea serviceover the remainder of his career—a ca-reer that witnessed the birth, growth,and evolution of the Navy during itsfirst six decades of existence. As a cen-tral figure of the formative period in theNavy’s history, Charles Stewart has longmerited greater scholarly attention thanhe has heretofore received.1 5 8 N A V A L W A R C O L L E G E R E V I E WC:\WIP\NWCR\NWC Review Summer 2006.vpWednesday, July 19, 2006 2:04:59 PMColor profile: DisabledComposite  Default screen2Naval War College Review, Vol. 59 [2006], No. 3, Art. 20https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol59/iss3/20

Her Majesty’s Spymaster: Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Walsingham,and the Birth of Modern Espionage,

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Her Majesty’s Spymaster: Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Walsingham,and the Birth of Modern Espionage,

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