THE FIRST NAVIGATION ACT

23

their return cargoes indeed, the French were the first to take English coal to foreign countries, the number of French and other foreign vessels attracted by this trade increasing every

year.

During the reign of Richard II. the merchants, becoming alarmed at the large number of foreign ships entering English ports, and fearing that sooner or later all the carrying-trade of the country would pass into the hands of foreigners, petitioned Parliament to restrict the privileges of foreign ships; and the First Navigation Act, passed in the fifth year of Richard II., was the result. It, however, very soon became a dead letter, for in the October of the next year, 1382, permission was given to English merchants in foreign ports to ship their goods for England in foreign vessels as before, "if they could not find sufficient English ships."

the

It was during the same king's reign that the English Government passed the first law on record whereby dues were levied on all merchant ships frequenting English ports; amount of the dues so levied being used for the purpose of restoring and maintaining an efficient Royal Navy. The only exceptions made were those in favour of ships bringing merchandise from Flanders to London, and of the traders from London to Calais with wool and hides; whilst all other vessels leaving the Thames were required to pay a charge of sixpence a ton.

The Navy, for whose benefit this tax was levied, was no sooner created, however, than the fleet, under the command of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, instead of being employed in guarding the shores of England, was sent to besiege St. Malo; while the French ships, in the meanwhile, came and ravaged the coast of Cornwall; and, in the absence of the English fleet, a combined squadron of French and Spanish ships sailed up the Thames as far as Gravesend, burning and destroying all the towns and villages as they

came.

Here, again, the merchant service came to the timely aid of the State. The ships of the Royal Navy being engaged at St. Malo, a fleet of west-country merchantmen, who had united for their own defence, boldly attacked the French

and Spanish ships, and, although the English ships were much smaller than those of the enemy, yet by dint of superior seamanship they managed successfully to repulse

them.

After the deposition of Richard II., Henry IV. exerted himself to get together, and to keep up, a regular Navy; but so far was he from being successful that the entire guardianship of the sea, from May, 1406, until September, 1407, was entrusted to merchant vessels, the law requiring ship-owners "to maintain certain ships on the seas;" and they were further empowered to select out of their body two fit persons, to whom the king should grant commissions to act as Admirals. In return for these services, certain privileges were conferred upon the owners of the ships, such as dues on wines, and other merchandise imported; and this system of the protection of the shores and of the maritime commerce of the country, by the merchant ships themselves, prevailed for very many

years.

The gallant, accomplished, and energetic Prince Henry of Monmouth came to the throne as Henry V. in 1413, being then in his 26th year; and in 1414 he determined upon a war with France. A large army was raised for the purpose of the invasion, and for the transport of this army across the Channel every British vessel of 20 tons and upwards was pressed into the service, and ordered to assemble, either at London, Sandwich, Winchelsea, or Bristol, previous to proceeding to Southampton to embark the troops.

But all the ports of England put together were unable to supply the king's requirements, and consequently commissioners were appointed to hire ships in the Low Countries, whilst three large vessels, the Trinity, the Grâce de Dieu, and the Holy Ghost, were built for the king at Southampton, specially to compete with the large vessels that the French had hired from the Genoese and the Spaniards. Henry also built two royal yachts, the King's Chamber and the King's Hall, which were magnificently fitted up, and had sails of purple silk, emblazoned with the arms of England and of France.

The fleet, when collected, assembled in the Southampton

THE FLEET OF HENRY V.

25

water and in the Solent, and consisted of no less than fifteen hundred vessels, for the most part merchant ships, both English and foreign; the ships being manned by crews, to a very large extent obtained by the instrumentality of the pressgang.

On Saturday, August 10, 1415, Henry embarked on board his own vessel, the Trinity, then lying between Southampton and Portsmouth. The ships of this large fleet, varying in size from 20 to 300 tons, on Sunday, August 1, set sail, and Tuesday's noonday sun saw the royal ship entering the mouth of the Seine, the whole fleet coming to anchor about three miles from Harfleur. With the results of the campaign itself, with the siege of Harfleur, and the great victory of Agincourt, we are not concerned; but after landing the troops the fleet was sent round to Calais, to await the king's arrival, and ultimately it returned to England in the November following.

King Henry V. enjoyed but a brief reign, dying in 1422; but before the close of his reign, with a view to any future requisition of ships, an Act was passed requiring all vessels to be measured according to certain prescribed forms in order to ascertain their tonnage or capacity. By a clause of this Act, the barges, or "keels," then employed in the conveyance of coals from the colliery-wharves to the ships in the Tyne, were also required to be measured, and marked by the Crown; and from that day forth every keel contained exactly 21 tons 4 cwt. of coals; and the capacity of a ship on the Tyne was better understood by the number of keels she could carry than by her tonnage.

The short reign of Richard III. was marked by one very important change in a matter intimately connected with the mercantile marine of England. Until about this time English merchant ships had but rarely ventured beyond the coast of Portugal, only a few of the more enterprising having occasionally found their way into the Mediterranean; but it was during the reign of Richard III. that there commenced a regular trade with Italy, which steadily increased year by year. It was from this period that dates a most important era in the annals of British shipping, the distinction

being now made, for the first time, between the business of the shipowner and the business of the merchant, many ships being engaged in this trade with Italy as carriers alone, deriving their profits entirely from the amount of the freight they carried, apart from any consideration of the profits or otherwise as derived from their cargoes.

SHIPPING IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY

27

CHAPTER III.

Shipping in the fifteenth century-Maritime discoveries-Bartholomew Diaz-Vasco da Gama-Christopher Columbus-The North-West Passage Cabot's expedition-The maritime achievements of Spain and Portugal-The discoveries of the English-Shipping under Henry VII.Improvements in the art of ship-building-The Merchant Adventurers Company-The expedition under Sir Hugh Willoughby-Sir Hugh Willoughby's own account of it.

THE fifteenth century was pre-eminently the age of maritime discovery. In 1418 Madeira was discovered by the Portuguese, and was at once added to the possessions of Portugal; in 1446 the mariners of the same country discovered the Cape Verde Islands, and three years afterwards, the Azores. By 1463 the full knowledge of the West African coast had been pushed southwards as far as the Equator; and the project of reaching the Indies by sailing round the continent of Africa, was seriously occupying the minds of the Portuguese.

In 1487 Bartholomew Diaz determined upon making the attempt, and actually succeeded in doubling the Cape of Good Hope, and in reaching the neighbourhood of Algoa Bay, near the mouth of the Great Fish River, where he found the coast-line trending away to the north-east. He did not continue his voyage farther, but returned home again by the Cape, which, from the constant succession of bad weather that he experienced whilst rounding it, he named the Cape of Storms. Upon his return, however, to Portugal, John II. bestowed on it the name of Cabo de Bona Esperanza, or the Cape of Good Hope, by which name it has ever since been known.

Ten years later Vasco da Gama also sailed round the Cape, and landed at what is now known as Natal, ultimately