The first part of The Fair Maid of the West opens in Plymouth, between two key events of the Anglo-Spanish War—after the English raid on Cádiz in 1596 and before the so-called "Islands Voyage," the English raid on the Azores in 1597. At the play's start, Bess Bridges is a young woman who works as a tapster in a Plymouth tavern; her beauty and charm and her reputation for chastity, "her modesty and fair demeanor," have made her a focus of attention for many male patrons. In particular, one Master Spencer has fallen in love with her, and she reciprocates his feelings—though Spencer's friend Master Goodlack cautions Spencer over Bess's low birth and her occupation.
