given to several British naval ships dating back to the 16th century, including at least two that were not financed or built by the Duke of Buckingham. The immediate predecessor to Buckingham's fleet of 10 Lion's Whelps was a war ship named Lion's Whelp that was owned by Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham, who was the Lord High Admiral of England (1585–1619) and who was succeeded by the Duke of Buckingham. This Lion's Whelp was loaned to Sir Walter Raleigh and joined the English fleet for the combined Anglo-Dutch attack and expected capture of Cadiz in 1596. Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex and Sir Walter Raleigh were among the commanders of landing forces while Sir Charles Howard as admiral led the fleet. Victory was swift because the Spanish fleet had been set afire in order not be captured and their land army was badly organized. The Dutch and English sacked and pillaged Cadiz all the while respecting its citizens much to the astonishment of the Spanish. This Lion's Whelp was sold to the state in 1602, and then repaired at Chatham by the ambitious young shipwright Phineas Pett (see below). The Duke of Buckingham received this Lion's Whelp as a gift from King James VI in 1625, shortly before the King died. Ratification of the transfer of ownership occurred under King Charles. Warrants, contracts, and shipbuilders Several years ago, John Wassell worked with the Public Record Office in London and England's Calendars of State Papers to research the ten Lion's Whelps built by the Duke of Buckingham in 1628. His web page presents the most important information obtained - original period documents from the archive "State Papers, Domestic". Each Whelp had one gun deck, two masts with a rig that included square sails and lateen. There are only a few contemporary drawings and paintings of English war pinnaces or frigates of the Jacobean era. Details of hull design, armament and rigging are usually inferred using prints and hull designs of warships in the Dutch Navy. The Duke of Buckingham's project to build 10 Lion's Whelps began with his warrant to two well-placed friends. Captain Sir John Penington and Phineas Pett ensured that the ablest shipwrights of the region would be available for the building of this fleet. Their basic design was a warship of 125 tons with both sails and oars ('sweeps'). Ship construction would be done on