The usual difficulties of performing delicate diplomatic duties were further exacerbated by the fact that he was on bad terms with his second in command, Richard Lestock, on whom he relied to manage the fleet.

Mathews joined the navy in 1690, serving aboard HMS Albemarle, which was then under the command of his uncle, Sir Francis Wheler.

[2] He joined the fleet commanded by Rear Admiral Sir Hovenden Walker at Boston in summer 1711, after which he escorted a convoy to New York City.

[2] He participated in the Battle of Cape Passaro in 1718, and was then detached in command of a squadron assigned to blockade Messina and hopefully intercept Vice-Admiral George Camocke, a British national serving with the Spanish navy.

[2] From 1722 to 1724 he was in command of a small squadron sent to the East Indies to expel the Indian Maratha Koli[3]Admiral Kanhoji Angre of the Malabar Coast.

[2] Mathews' squadron supported Portuguese troops from Goa in an attack on the Maratha fortress at Vijaydurg & Kolaba, but this was repulsed.

It was commanded by Commodore William Martin, who refused to enter into negotiations, and gave the king half an hour in which to return an answer.

[5] In June 1742, a squadron of Spanish galleys, which had taken refuge in the Bay of Saint-Tropez, was burnt by the fire ships of Mathews' fleet.

Mathews feared that they would escape him, and pass through the Strait of Gibraltar to join the French force gathered at Brest for the planned invasion of Britain.

The two signals flying simultaneously created confusion, though a number of British commanders, including Captain Edward Hawke, followed Mathews' example.

[6] Heavily outnumbered and unsupported, with his other commanders either too uncertain, or in the case of Lestock, possibly pleased to see Mathews in difficulty and unwilling to help him, Namur and Marlborough managed to defeat their opposite numbers in the enemy line, but suffered considerable damage.

[6] With no orders from Mathews and a lack of clear instructions or command structure, the British line broke, and began to flee to the northwest.

[6] The Spanish, still on the defensive, neglected to capture the defenceless Marlborough, though they did retake the Poder, which had previously surrendered to the British.

They caught up with the enemy fleet again, which was hampered by towing damaged ships, and were able to retake the Poder, which Mathews ordered to be burnt.

The following day, 24 February, the Franco-Spanish fleet was almost out of sight, and Mathews returned to Hyères, and sailed from there to Port Mahon, where he arrived in early March.

[7] Mathews' personality was the subject of particular study during the controversy over Toulon, with his detractors claiming that he was hot-headed, intemperate, and incapable of managing the complex task of commanding a fleet in battle, which had led to the defeat.

"[7] In a speech in the Commons Walpole declared "Mathews remains in the light of a hot, brave, imperious, dull, confused fellow.

[7] Despite their criticism, those who knew Mathews personally, while admitting that he could be hot-tempered, described him as "warm-hearted, kindly and affectionate; a clear-sighted magistrate, a capable farmer, and a keen sportsman".