The purpose behind English mediation

The deteriorating military situation in Germany, commercial blockade in the Baltic, and renewed depression in England combined to arouse the English government from its lethargy. The year 1629 saw Habsburg armies besieging the Baltic port of Stralsund while English shipping to the Eastland was reduced to a trickle. In England itself wool prices fell, trade decayed, and a parliamentary crisis over tunnage and poundage paralysed the government. In addition to the German and Baltic wars, England was trying to extricate itself from futile conflicts with France and Spain that merely added to the general insecurity which was having a fatal effect on the nation's livelihood. Whatever its weaknesses, the government of Charles I could no longer afford to ignore these problems; the decision to intervene diplomatically in the Baltic was simply the logical response to the host of ills that had been allowed to accumulate for so long.

In a sense, the Baltic could be considered a key to the solution of everything else. By successfully mediating in the war between Sweden and Poland, the English government would free the ambitious Gustav Adolf to save German Protestantism by direct intervention, would restore peace and free trade to the Baltic, and this in turn would revive demand for English cloth and renew Baltic supplies of important commodities, both of which would alleviate the depression in England itself. Successful mediation might add prestige to Charles's government and not only deflect some Parliamentary criticisms but also place England in a stronger position to negotiate with France and Spain. On all counts, therefore, successful mediation promised fair returns for a minimal investment.