Cádiz Expedition ( 1625 ) The Cádiz Expedition of 1625 was a naval expedition against Spain by English and Dutch forces . The plan was put forward because after the Dissolution of the Parliament of 1625 , the Duke of Buckingham , Lord High Admiral , wanted to undertake an expedition that would match the exploits of the heroes of the Elizabethan Era and in doing so , would return respect to the country and its people after the political stress of the preceding years . Background . Following an abortive trip to Spain by Prince Charles and the Duke of Buckingham to propose a marriage between Charles and the Spanish Infanta Maria Anna of Spain , the two switched positions and began advocating war with Spain . They persuaded King James to summon a new parliament which would be invited to advise on foreign policy . The resulting parliament of 1624 was ( at least in the short run ) a triumph for Charles and Buckingham , as it strongly advocated war with Spain . However , James had a dilemma stemming from mutual distrust between himself and parliament . He feared that if he went to war , parliament would find an excuse to avoid providing the finance to support it . Parliament , on the other hand , feared that if they voted the finances , the king would find an excuse not to go to war . James died shortly afterwards , leaving foreign policy in the hands of Charles , who rather naively assumed that if he followed the policy parliament had advocated , it would provide the funds for it . Plan . War was duly declared on Spain , and Buckingham began the preparations . The planned expedition involved several elements , including overtaking Spanish treasure ships coming back from the Americas loaded with valuables , and then assaulting Spanish towns , with the intention of causing stress within Spain ' s economy and weakening the Spanish supply chain and resources in regards to the Electorate of the Palatinate . Expedition . By October 1625 , approximately 100 ships and a total of 15 , 000 seamen and soldiers had been readied for the Cádiz Expedition . An alliance with the Dutch had also been forged , and the new allies agreed to send an additional 15 warships commanded by William of Nassau , to help guard the English Channel in the absence of the main fleet . Sir Edward Cecil , a battle - hardened soldier fighting for the Dutch , was appointed commander of the expedition by the Duke of Buckingham . This choice of commander was ill - judged , because , while Cecil was a good soldier , he had little knowledge of the sea . The expedition began on 6 October 1625 , but the voyage was plagued with difficulties . Stormy weather threatened the ships , rendering many of them barely seaworthy and causing major delays . By the time the fleet escaped from the storms and arrived in Spanish waters , it had become apparent that they were too poorly supplied to conduct the mission properly , and that they were too late to engage the West Indian treasure fleet , due to the storms they had encountered ; in any case , the treasure fleet had used a more southernly passage than usual . Cádiz . Cecil chose to assault the Spanish city of Cádiz and , after successfully sailing to the Cádiz bay and landing his force , he was able to take the fort that guarded the harbour of the city . However , he soon found that the actual city had been heavily fortified with modern defences , and then began to make serious errors . Spanish vessels that were open to capture were able to get away because most of his forces waited for orders and did not act . The Spanish ships then sailed to the safety of Puerto Real ( Port Royal ) . The ships used in the assault were also largely merchant vessels conscripted and converted for warfare , and the captains or owners of these ships , overly concerned about the welfare of their ships , left much of the battle to the Dutch . The attack on and capture of Fort Puntel proved a mistake , as the fort did not need to be captured to be able to attack Cádiz . When Cecil landed his forces , they realised that they had no food or drink with them . Cecil then made the foolish decision to allow the men to drink from the wine vats found in the local houses . A wave of drunkenness ensued , with few or none of Cecil ' s force remaining sober . Realizing what he had done , Cecil took the only course left open to him , and ordered that the men return to their ships and retreat . When the Spanish army arrived , they found over 1 , 000 English soldiers still drunk : although every man was armed , not a single shot was fired as the Spanish put them all to the sword . Spanish galleons . After the embarrassing fiasco of Cádiz , Cecil decided to try to intercept a fleet of Spanish galleon s that were bringing resources back from the New World . This failed as well , because these ships had been warned of danger in the waters , so were able to take another route and were able to return home without any trouble from Cecil or his ships . Return . Disease and sickness was sweeping through the ranks and , since the ships were in a bad state , Cecil finally decided that there was no alternative but to return to England , having captured few or no goods , and having made little impact on Spain . So , in December , the fleet returned home . The expedition cost the English an estimated £250 , 000 . Aftermath . King Charles , to protect his own dignity and his favourite , Buckingham ( who should have at least made sure the ships were well supplied ) , made no effort to enquire about the failure of the expedition . He turned a blind eye , instead interesting himself in the plight of the Huguenots of La Rochelle . The House of Commons was less forgiving . The parliament of 1626 began the process of impeachment against the Duke . Eventually , Charles I chose to dissolve parliament rather than risk a successful impeachment . The failure of the attack had severe consequences . Apart from the economic and human loss , the reputation of England decreased . Sources . Roger Manning , Oxford ( 2006 ) , " An Apprenticeship in Arms : The Origins of the British Army 1585 – 1702 "