Sir Anthony Shirley (1565 – 1633/1635/1638), also spelled Sherley, was an English adventurer, soldier, diplomat, and political theorist who became a prominent figure in early modern European and Middle Eastern affairs.
Initially rising to prominence through military service under the Earl of Essex, he later led a failed privateering expedition and subsequently entered the service of Shah Abbas of Safavid Iran, becoming one of the first Englishmen to hold an official diplomatic role in Safavid Iran. Over the following decades, Shirley operated as a freelance envoy, spy, and political adviser across Europe and North Africa, offering his services to multiple courts, including the Habsburgs and the Spanish crown, often simultaneously. Though never formally trusted by the English government, he remained in contact with Robert Cecil and other high officials while maintaining parallel allegiances abroad.
A convert to Catholicism, Shirley styled himself "Count of the East" () and ended his life in Spain, where he authored Peso Político de todo el mundo, an expansive geopolitical treatise assessing the relative strength of global powers. His career, marked by opportunism, shifting loyalties, and diplomatic ambition, reflected the fluid allegiances and imperial rivalries of the early 17th century.
Early years
Anthony Shirley was the second son of Sir Thomas Shirley of Wiston, Sussex, and Anne Kempe, the daughter of Sir Thomas Kempe (d. 7 March 1591) of Olantigh in Wye, Kent. He had an elder brother, Sir Thomas Shirley, and a younger brother, Sir Robert Shirley, and six sisters who survived infancy. At the age of 16, he matriculated as a bachelor at Hart Hall, Oxford. In 1581, he was admitted to All Souls College, Oxford, to pursue a master's degree. Following his university education, he entered the Inns of Court in London, where he gained recognition within aristocratic circles. During this period, he became acquainted with Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, a prominent courtier and favourite of Queen Elizabeth I.
In service of England
Military career
His military apprenticeship began in the Low Countries around 1585–1587, serving with the English forces under notable commanders such as Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, during the Dutch Revolt against Spain. He was first posted to port of Brielle but gained recognition for his role in the skirmish outside Zutphen in 1586.
Shirley also claimed to have undertaken a covert diplomatic mission in late 1586 or early 1587 on behalf of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. According to Shirley, Leicester tasked him with delivering two forged letters to Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma—one purportedly from Mary, Queen of Scots, proposing marriage and a joint claim to the English throne, and the other allegedly from Leicester supporting the plan. Shirley asserted that his delivery of the letters to Parma in Bruges influenced the Spanish commander's hesitation to march north to support the Armada in 1588. However, there is no contemporary corroboration for this claim, and historians have questioned both its plausibility and timing, particularly in light of Mary's execution in February 1587.
Following Leicester's withdrawal from the Netherlands and his death in 1588, Shirley served in the Anglo-French campaign to support Henry IV of France against the Spanish-backed Catholic League. Under the command of Lord Willoughby, he participated in the 1589 expedition, though specific details of his actions remain unclear. Shirley further went to Northern France in 1591, where he held a senior command under Sir John Norris. During the Battle of Château-Laudran, Shirley led a cavalry charge against a force of 500 Spanish horse and 6,000 foot soldiers, reportedly killing a Spanish captain and playing a decisive role in the English response. He also repelled a Spanish counter-attack with only fifteen horsemen, during which his horse was shot from under him.
He was soon granted the rank of colonel by the Earl, took command of 4,000 soldiers. After two years of military service, including participation in the unsuccessful siege of Rouen, in 1593, he was awarded the Order of St Michael by Henry IV of France, acting on the Earl's recommendation. Queen Elizabeth, concerned that the ceremonial oath might have bound him to a Catholic monarch, instructed John Puckering, Speaker of the House of Commons, and Robert Sackville, a university associate of Anthony and fellow member of the Inns of Court, to investigate Shirley. The squadron sailed along the Iberian and West African coasts with little success. Shirley fell seriously ill off Cape Verde, reportedly delivering a farewell speech appointing a successor. Though he recovered, his remaining captains—save for those aboard the Beavis, his own vessel—ultimately deserted and returned to England.
Abandoning the São Tomé plan due to illness and unfavourable geography, Shirley redirected his expedition to the Cape Verde Islands. At Praia, on St Iago, his troops found little to loot. Despite unfavourable odds and a narrow approach, Shirley led an assault that captured the town and lower forts. Anticipating a counter-attack, they fortified the streets. After intense fighting with mounting casualties, Shirley orchestrated a nighttime withdrawal to the ships under cover of naval bombardment. The town was evacuated, and the campaign moved westward. The fleet reached Dominica in the Leeward Islands, where the men recuperated. They then sailed to Jamaica and raided Santiago de la Vega (present-day Spanish Town). English and Spanish sources diverge: Hakluyt depicts peaceful submission and provision of food,
In March 1597, the expedition moved to the Bay of Honduras. Unable to take the fortified town of Trujillo, they sacked the poorer settlement of Puerto de Caballos, which yielded nothing. Shirley then launched a speculative journey up Lake Izabal in present-day Guatemala, seeking a route to the Pacific. When this failed, he devised an even more implausible plan: to sail north to Newfoundland, re-supply and recruit, and return via the Straits of Magellan. His men, weary and demoralised, mutinied. On 13 May, the entire fleet deserted him off Havana, leaving Shirley alone aboard the Beavis. Shirley reached Newfoundland with minimal provisions, refitted, and returned to England, arriving at Dover in July 1597. Corai persuaded Shirley of the advantages of visiting Shah Abbas’s court, claiming the Persian ruler was generous to foreigners and hostile to Portuguese influence over eastern trade. The Venetian authorities, keen to disrupt Portuguese control of the trade route via Hormuz, supported the idea and encouraged Shirley’s departure, with the Doge reportedly promising to inform Essex of his approval.
Shirley claimed in his published writings that the voyage to Persia was suggested by Essex himself, though this is contradicted by a letter from Thomas Chaloner, Essex’s agent, who stated that Shirley had tried but failed to secure official employment from the Venetian state before independently deciding on the journey. Chaloner believed Shirley acted from loyalty to Essex but acknowledged that he departed without direct instruction.
Travel to Iran
On 24 May 1598, Sir Anthony Shirley departed from Malamocco near Venice with a party of approximately twenty-six individuals, including his 16-year-old brother Robert on a ship named Nana e Ruzzina for the port of Alexandretta. Shirley viewed Melo as an asset, given his position and connections to the Spanish crown. Shah Abbas, who entrusted the priest with embassies in Spain and Rome, inadvertently undermined the embassy's work. He was unfamiliar with European diplomatic practice, and when he presented credentials to the ambassadors, he made no distinction between who was the main ambassador. Shirley would later compete with Melo for the role. As a result, the relationship between the two quickly deteriorated, allegedly due to Sherley's coveting of Melo's wealth, which included a significant sum of money and precious diamonds entrusted to him during the journey. Shirley had Melo imprisoned, confiscating his letters and possessions. According to various accounts, including that of Don Juan of Persia, Shirley attempted to kill Melo multiple times during their journey down the Volga River, but the friar was saved by the intervention of Safavid officials who had befriended him.
In Moscow, Melo was placed under arrest again, and Sherley accused him of various crimes. Shirley accuses Melo of violating Christian morals in his memoirs, even claiming that he slept with prostitutes while in Isfahan. According to Arnulf Hartmann, these were defamatory rumors spread by an Armenian priest who was translating for Melo in Hormuz and wanted to be a member of the embassy. During interrogations by Russian officials, Shirley allegedly struck Melo, further solidifying his hostile intent. Despite these actions, Melo continued to conduct his religious duties, including baptizing Lucia - the daughter (or granddaughter) of a Milanese doctor called Paolo Cittadini in Catholic rites which led to his eventual arrest. Cittadini was a personal physician to Feodor I of Russia.
Shirley, who remained under virtual house arrest in Moscow, composed two significant letters during his confinement. The first, dated 12 February 1600, was addressed to Anthony Bacon and a key figure in the intelligence network surrounding Earl of Essex. In the letter, Shirley proposed that England could establish a commercial route to the Mughal Empire in India via Russia. The second letter, written on 10 June 1600 from Arkhangelsk, was directed to Robert Cecil and a principal political rival of Essex. In this correspondence, Shirley expressed frustration that Huseyn Ali Beg intended to proceed to the Holy Roman Empire, bypassing coordinated efforts. Shirley also relayed that Tsar Boris Godunov was seeking a suitable husband for his daughter, Xenia Borisovna and suggested that the English royal family might provide such a match. On 17 October 1600, Cecil responded in a letter to Henry Lello, the English ambassador in Constantinople. He reported that Queen Elizabeth was angered by Shirley's unauthorised assumption of ambassadorial status and dismissed Shirley's claims of a viable trade route from China to England via the Caspian Sea, remarking that only fools would believe such a proposal. Embassy later departed for Emden in August, where the group was received by Enno III of East Frisia. From there, they travelled via Aurich, Friedeburg, and Neuenburg to Oldenburg, where they met John VII, Count of Oldenburg. On 14 September, they reached Kassel and were hosted for ten days by Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, who provided extensive hospitality including palace tours and a jousting tournament. After departing Kassel, the embassy travelled through Schmalkalden, Gotha, and Erfurt, reaching Leipzig on 1 October. While the embassy attempted to secure an audience with Christian II of Saxony, the request was ignored, and the party proceeded to Prague. On 10 October, they arrived at the Stella Pavilion near Prague, where the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II prepared an elaborate reception. According to Pietro Duodo, the Venetian ambassador, Shirley was perceived as the principal ambassador. Rudolf II sent three hundred mounted citizens and fifteen carriages to receive the delegation. Shirley and Huseyn Ali Bey were then escorted under military guard into Prague and lodged at the “Mad Man” (U Divého muže) hotel.
By January 1601, Shirley grew increasingly frustrated with delays and hostility, particularly from Dr. Bartholomew Petzen, the imperial interpreter, whom he accused of obstructing his efforts. The Venetian ambassador reported Shirley's threats to bypass Spain and return to Persia via France and England. Despite growing tensions with Huseyn Ali Bey, the two remained formally united. When the embassy finally departed Prague on 15 February 1601, the emperor granted Shirley 2,000 florins and a further 700 florins for travel expenses. Shirley and Ali Bey together received 2,000 thalers’ worth of silver—significantly less than expected. Shirley's personal expenses, his high-profile conduct, and mounting debt continued to draw criticism, but he remained a central figure in the mission's public image.
Rudolf II ordered Flemish engraver Aegidius Sadeler to produce portraits of both ambassadors, Shirley and Huseyn Ali Bey, before the embassy departed Prague for Italy on 5 February 1601. Shirley, still treated as one of the leading envoys, travelled alongside the embassy via Bohemia and Bavaria to Nuremberg, and onward through Franconian towns and Augsburg to Munich. There, Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria hosted the embassy in his palace and showed Shirley his treasure rooms and ornamental fountains. After three days in Munich, the Elector provided carriages and a chamberlain to accompany the group on their journey south. Embassy then passed through Innsbruck, the Brenner Pass, and Trento before reaching Mantua. He was received favourably by Duke Vincenzo I Gonzaga. Despite Shirley's later claim that no official business had taken place in Mantua, evidence later surfaced that the embassy had held several private meetings with the duke and received valuable gifts.
In Italy
On the road to Florence, Shirley deliberately distanced himself from Huseyn Ali Bey, galloping ahead from Pratolino to arrive separately in Florence. This action raised suspicions with Ennea Vaini, the Tuscan court official assigned to greet the embassy. Vaini later expressed concern in his report to Ferdinando I de’ Medici that Shirley was deceitful, noting that although Shirley claimed to have avoided other courts, he had in fact visited numerous German princes before reaching Tuscany. Upon arrival in Florence on 16 March 1601, Shirley was housed in the Pitti Palace with rooms allocated opposite those of Huseyn Ali Bey. The next day, he travelled with the embassy to Pisa to meet the duke. By this point, Vaini had confirmed that Anthony Shirley was the brother of Robert Shirley, who had been in Florence years earlier and trained in horsemanship under a court knight.
Duke eventually received the ambassadors at the Medici Palace in Pisa. Shirley received 700 scudi, more than Huseyn Ali Bey, which reflected his personal influence. Shirley also presented the duke with a letter in Italian, purportedly from Shah Abbas. The contents included strategic information about Ottoman forces and Christian minorities in Syria, almost certainly compiled by the Safavid spy Michel Angelo Corai, who had been working with Shirley. While in Pisa, Shirley met Henry Wotton, a former associate from England and fellow member of the Essex intelligence network. Shirley introduced Wotton to Duke Ferdinando, facilitating Wotton's later political activities in Florence.
As the embassy prepared to continue to Rome, Shirley preemptively dispatched a letter to Pope Clement VIII via a knight named Giulio Cesare Caietano. Shortly after, he received word of the execution of his relative and patron, the Earl of Essex. With his main supporter dead and connections in England jeopardised, Shirley attempted to maintain his standing by claiming Shah Abbas had recaptured Tabriz—a fabrication meant to impress Ferdinando. Shirley's presence in the embassy had already drawn negative attention from Queen Elizabeth, who sent an agent to intercept him. According to Venetian ambassador Pietro Duodo, this agent was detained crossing the Moselle in France.
The rivalry between Shirley and Huseyn Ali Bey culminated in a public dispute. While sources differ on whether the confrontation occurred in Siena or Viterbo, it centred on accusations that Shirley had stolen gifts meant for European rulers during their stop in Arkhangelsk. Shirley had previously promised to account for the missing gifts at a later time. On 2 April 1601, Shirley was in Viterbo, from where he wrote a letter to Cardinal Aldobrandini—poorly spelled but written in Italian. The embassy's arrival in Rome was delayed until 5 April due to Shirley's ongoing dispute with Huseyn Ali Bey. A cardinal, unnamed in the sources, mediated between the two and escorted them to Rome. Their ceremonial entry, as recorded by Vatican officials Paolo Alaleone and Giovanni Paolo Mucante, was marked by contention: Shirley insisted on entering centrally on horseback, placing Huseyn Ali to his right and the pope's 14-year-old nephew, Silvestre Aldobrandini, to his left. Antonio Fernández de Córdoba y Cardona's report indicates that this solution was attained by recalling that passing on the right side is a gesture of respect in Safavid Iran.
Once in Rome, Shirley complained that Huseyn Ali had received better accommodations at the Palazzo della Rovere and refused to dine in protest. He was later persuaded by Cardinal Cinzio Aldobrandini to join a shared dinner. Tensions continued, with reports of a physical altercation between Shirley and Huseyn Ali on the palace staircase. Shirley was also accused of falsely claiming that Shah Abbas had addressed a letter to Duke Ferdinando of Tuscany. Meanwhile, Huseyn Ali Bey informed Venetian ambassador Giovanni Mocenigo that Shirley was not a legitimate ambassador, only accompanying the mission at the Shah's request, and warned that Shirley had sent an agent to Venice to solicit funds.
In a formal letter to the pope dated 14 April, Shirley claimed he was the true ambassador and that the documents were with Huseyn Ali only because he had handed them over on the Caspian Sea. He named several witnesses to support his status, including Jesuits and Armenians in Rome, and requested the pope confirm his primacy. Huseyn Ali, in his counterstatement, argued that he had been given sealed state documents and entrusted with significant valuables by the Shah, which Shirley had diverted or failed to deliver. Shirley was further implicated in the case of Nicolas de Melo, imprisoned in Russia—an event Shirley had not reported. During a second audience on 2 May, Shirley continued to advocate for political cooperation with Safavid Iran, presenting Shiism as closer to Christianity than Sunni Islam. He requested papal credentials, funds, and a passport to return to Iran via Naples, Messina, Crete, Tripoli, Damascus and Hormuz. He also requested support for his interpreter, Michel Angelo Corai.
On 4 May, Shirley met secretly with the Tuscan ambassador, seeking assistance for a plan to transport Tuscan engineers to Iran for weapons development. This plan, if realised, would have helped Shah Abbas challenge Portuguese dominance in the Indian Ocean. Shirley then proposed a revised route through Ancona and Ragusa to avoid Spanish interference. Despite papal frustrations with Shirley, he obtained credentials on 17 May and again met the Tuscan ambassador on 20 May, this time at the Medici villa. There he declared his urgency to return to Iran, repeating the engineer proposal and naming Sir Henry Wotton, his former associate and fellow Essex affiliate, as a possible agent. He asked for a letter from the pope to Duke Ferdinando to facilitate the plan.
On 26 May, new intelligence from England indicated Queen Elizabeth was investigating Essex's financing, placing Shirley at further risk. On 27 May, Shirley announced to the French ambassador Cardinal d’Ossat his intention to return to Persia and avoid Spain, France, and England. Having obtained a letter of passage from the Duke of Sessa, the Spanish ambassador, addressed to Portuguese officials, Shirley was declared safe as a converted Catholic. On 28 May, a papal court official gave him 100 crowns and asked him to leave Rome. On 29 May, Shirley left for Ancona. Cardinal d’Ossat reported on 11 June that he had departed Rome leaving unpaid debts, having misled creditors with false promises of reimbursement. By contrast, Huseyn Ali Bey remained in Rome, now fully accepted as the primary Safavid envoy. The Spanish viceroy of Naples dispatched a spy, Vincento de Buni, to monitor him. Reports indicated Shirley was in Ragusa with a secretary to the late Earl of Essex, possibly Wotton, awaiting Manuel, Hereditary Prince of Portugal. There were suspicions they intended to travel to Goa to spark rebellion against Spanish-Portuguese rule. By August, however, Shirley was in Zadar and later Fiume, and the Spanish lost interest, concluding he was no longer a threat. Shirley did not proceed to Persia or Russia and instead took up residence in Venice.
Return to Venice
In Venice, Shirley launched into an unstable career as a freelance political operator, offering schemes and intelligence to any power willing to pay. He approached Henry IV, Rudolf II, and James VI of Scotland, while simultaneously continuing correspondence with Robert Cecil in England. Despite these overtures, Cecil regarded him as untrustworthy and had him monitored by intelligence agents Thomas Wilson and Aurelian Townshend. Wilson reported intrusive behaviour by Shirley and claimed he was forced to relocate to avoid him. Townshend, for his part, was outwitted and financially exploited by Shirley. By 1602, Shirley was likely on the payrolls of both the Spanish and Scottish crowns, though amounts and consistency are undocumented. He dabbled in pseudo-scientific ventures, including a silver-refinement scheme with an alchemist. Reports also circulated of assassination attempts on his life, which he attributed to the Ottomans. Wilson, however, dismissed these as accidents or revenge from local creditors.
In 1603, Venice arrested Shirley after he allegedly used armed men to coerce a Persian merchant into selling silk. This, coupled with the notoriety of his brother Thomas Shirley, a known pirate who had attacked Venetian ships, further damaged his standing. During interrogation, Anthony deflected by blaming longstanding family feuds and portrayed himself as a victim of Vavasour family machinations. His credibility was dubious, yet plausible enough that James I, newly enthroned in England, intervened diplomatically. Shirley was released in May 1603, citing poor health and diplomatic pressure.
In Marrakesh
He resumed espionage activities, this time for Emperor Rudolf II, providing intelligence on Ottoman military capabilities via contacts in Constantinople. Venice responded by expelling him in December 1604, forbidding his return under penalty of death. Shirley moved to Ferrara and, in 1605, was recalled to Prague to assist with a new Persian diplomatic mission of Mehdi Qoli Beg. Rudolf elevated Shirley's status, commissioning him as joint ambassador to Morocco on behalf of the Emperor, Philip III of Spain, and James I.
Shirley reached Morocco in July 1605, after a difficult journey via Alicante and Cádiz. In Marrakesh, he was ceremonially welcomed by Abu Faris Abdallah, one of three sons of the late Ahmad al-Mansur who were embroiled in civil war. Shirley was housed near the El Badi Palace and enjoyed initial honours, though an early breach of court protocol nearly caused a diplomatic incident. His flamboyant generosity, distributing turbans to 500 escort soldiers and lavishly rewarding even minor services, earned him popularity but depleted his finances. Despite these efforts, the mission failed. Abu Fares, wary of his brothers and uninterested in new enemies, refused to attack Ottoman forces. Meanwhile, Rudolf ceded Hungarian military affairs to Archduke Matthias, who soon made peace with the Ottomans, rendering Shirley's mission obsolete. He departed Safi in August 1606, heavily indebted, accompanied by two ransomed Portuguese noblemen who reneged on repayment and allegedly attempted to poison him.
In service of Spain
In Madrid, Shirley presented his Moroccan report to Philip III and was received cordially. Despite financial ruin, he managed a grand arrival and proposed various schemes. One was accepted: Shirley was appointed “Captain General of the Mediterranean Sea” and authorised to raise a fleet to defend Spanish interests. He was granted tax-free import privileges to fund the venture, with the aim of recruiting former English privateers. Attempts to enlist pirates Jack Ward and Simon Simonson (Dauncer) failed.
By 1609, Shirley had assembled ships and men in Sicily, with orders not to provoke Ottoman forces. He ignored this, engaging Turkish troops at Skiathos and Lesbos and seizing a Venetian vessel. Spanish authorities halted his command, citing the unauthorised raid and diplomatic fallout. In January 1611, Shirley returned to Spain, was granted a modest pension, and ordered to reside in Granada. Soon after, he learned his brother Robert had arrived in Madrid as ambassador from Shah Abbas, well-received and generously funded. Anthony immediately returned to the capital. Their reunion after more than a decade was initially cordial, but deteriorated rapidly when Robert discovered that Anthony had been plotting with Spanish officials to prevent his return to England. A letter from the King's secretary confirmed Anthony's actions, praising him for his efforts to hinder his brother's departure. Despite this betrayal, Robert managed to leave Madrid. Anthony remained, destitute and living in a bodegón. In 1619, Sir Francis Cottington, the English ambassador in Madrid, observed that Shirley was "a very poor man and much neglected, sometimes like to starve for want of bread," yet, remarkably, still "full of vanity".
Anthony soon returned to Granada, where he lived off a modest Spanish pension. Though largely sidelined, he continued to submit ambitious policy proposals to the Council of State. Among them was a suggestion to obstruct the English East India Company’s activities by scuttling stone-laden ships in Surat’s harbour. He also offered to lead a mission to intercept Walter Raleigh’s 1617 Orinoco expedition. No proposal was accepted. In another, more implausible pitch, he requested control of the island of Capri to convert it into a Mediterranean commercial hub. In 1613, he briefly revived hopes of prosperity through a copper mine near Baeza in the Kingdom of Granada. Cottington noted that Shirley now lived more “orderly” than ever before, supported by an annual income of 3,000 ducats. Nothing further is heard of the mine, suggesting it proved unviable. Later, a Spanish councillor rejected Anthony's request to settle in Spanish America but noted he might still be of use “under a capable leader.”
Throughout his later years, Shirley remained active in policy discussions despite his declining influence. He wrote detailed memoranda attacking English commerce and proposing protectionist policies to revive Spanish industry. He urged action against English and Dutch shipping, including blockading the Straits of Gibraltar—an idea already attempted unsuccessfully by Spain.
In 1626, at the age of 61, he submitted his most ambitious plan: hereditary control of towns on Moroccan islands (Fedala and Mogador) in exchange for 60,000 ducats and a private fleet of 50 ships at Spain's disposal four months per year. The plan never materialised—the guarantee was never paid.
In 1633, a local chronicle in Granada noted his death. The entry inaccurately credited him with sacking Cádiz “against his will,” and said he died “not very prosperously.” He was buried in the parish Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The chronicle added that his son, Diego, was “capable in all matters” and might enter royal service.
Works
Shirley wrote an account of his adventures, Sir Anthony Sherley: his Relation of his Travels into Persia (1613), the original manuscript of which is in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. There are in existence five or more accounts of Shirley's adventures in Persia, and the account of his expedition in 1596 is published in Richard Hakluyt's Voyages and Discoveries (1809–1812). See also The Three Brothers; Travels and Adventures of Sir Anthony, Sir Robert and Sir Thomas Sherley in Persia, Russia, Turkey and Spain (London, 1825); EP Shirley, The Sherley Brothers (1848), and the same writer's Stemmata Shirleiana (1841, again 1873).
In 1622, following the accession of Philip IV, Shirley composed his most ambitious work: Peso Político de todo el mundo, dedicated to Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares. Though there is no evidence Olivares read it, the treatise has been recognised as one of the more striking political analyses of the early 17th century. Shirley surveyed the strengths and weaknesses of global powers, integrating economic, military, and strategic considerations. His focus was less ideological than pragmatic, emphasising the concept of “substance”—a nation's self-sufficiency in critical resources. He argued that England's power was overextended, dependent on commerce without the means to sustain it autonomously. Spain, by contrast, had every necessary resource within its empire. Of Safavids, where he had once served as ambassador, he concluded that it lacked naval capacity and self-sufficiency, and that its military success against the Ottomans was temporary and unsustainable. Shirley even proposed an unprecedented strategic alliance between Spain and the Ottoman Empire—depicting Spain as the “sun” and the Ottomans as the “moon” in an astrological metaphor. Only one person, he claimed, had the diplomatic capacity to negotiate such a pact: himself.
Among the nations covered, Shirley's harshest assessments were reserved for Venice and Russia. Of the Russians, he wrote: “false people, with neither law nor word... lying and most cruel,” reflecting the deep hostility he developed after his detention in Moscow. Venice, where he had twice been imprisoned and expelled, was dismissed as a “tyrannical state” masquerading as a republic.
Legacy
The adventures of Anthony Shirley and his brothers captured the public imagination of their time, inspiring a wave of pamphlets and stage plays, most notably The Travels of the Three English Brothers. His encounters even found a faint echo in the works of Shakespeare, attesting to his contemporary notoriety. An unintended but historically significant consequence of his career arose from his imprisonment in Venice in 1603; this event became a catalyst for House of Commons of England to assert its privilege of freedom from arrest for its members, a key moment in the development of parliamentary rights - The Form of Apology and Satisfaction.
See also
- García de Silva Figueroa
Notes
Sources
;Attribution