s reserve and declared that the taking of Cape Corse, as well
as of New Amsterdam, "was done with his knowledge & by his order as
being a business wch properly belonged to the English, that the ground
was theirs & that they had also built upon the same, that the same was
afterwards taken from the English by the Netherlands West India Compa,
& ... that the English will justify & demonstrate their right to all
this."[125] If Holmes' actions in Guinea have so far seemed very
extraordinary, they can hardly be so regarded any longer in view of
the light which the king himself threw over the whole situation in
this remarkable statement. To be sure he had not as yet assumed
responsibility for the capture of Cape Verde. However, his direct
responsibility for the other actions of Holmes, which were much more
important, makes it a matter of little consequence whether the capture
of Cape Verde is to be attributed to him or not.

It may have seemed to Downing that there was less excuse for the
seizure of Cape Verde than for the other places. At any rate he held
out some hope to DeWitt that it would be restored to the Dutch. This
must have been a bitter sop to DeWitt, who was well aware that as for
Cape Corse he need entertain no such hope.[126] There was one feature
of the situation, however, which somewhat pleased DeWitt,[127] Downing
could no longer maintain that the troubles in Guinea were merely
quarrels between two commercial companies in which the king had no
direct interest or connection. DeWitt would not therefore be at a loss
to find numerous reasons why DeRuyter had been sent to Africa when the
time came for defending that action.

By this time every one in London and Amsterdam was in a state of
extreme suspense as to whether or not DeRuyter was on the Guinea
coast. On the 14th of October, 1664, news was received both in Holland
and in England from Cadiz to the effect that DeRuyter intended to sail
to Guinea upon his departure from that port.[128] In Amsterdam,
encouraged by this vigorous rumor, the stocks of the West India
Company began to rise from the low point where they had been for some
time.[129] When Downing chided DeWitt about DeRuyter, the latter
replied in a bantering fashion that if he believed the report,
notwithstanding what had been said to the contrary, to continue in the
belief; it could do no harm.[130] In London, the apprehension of
DeRuyter's expedition greatly checked the enthusiasm of the Royal
Com