Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 2).djvu/110

 was built and equipped, the process, from the want of the requisite funds, was necessarily tedious, and the first result far from satisfactory.

In the meantime the war between Charles and Francis had broken out. French and Flemish cruisers captured prizes, or fought battles, in the mouths of English rivers or under the windows of English towns, and both belligerents too frequently made what they deemed lawful prey of the ships of England. Even when the courts of Brussels and Paris were making professions of good-will, the cruisers of both governments openly seized English traders, and Henry had for a time to submit, and to leave those of his subjects who resided on the coasts to such inadequate defences as they could themselves provide. So daring were the acts of these piratical cruisers that two French ships attempted even to cut out two merchantmen from the harbour of Dartmouth, and only failed in this exploit through the bravery of the mayor and inhabitants of that town, who attacked them with their boats; nay, more, the rival fleets of France and Spain did not scruple to test their strength in deadly combat in the harbour of Falmouth, and not unfrequently placed, at other times, embargoes on vessels entering the Thames.

The London merchants declared that, although the country was nominally at peace, their ships could not venture out of port; but every remonstrance, though made in no measured terms at the courts of Paris and Brussels, and received with courtesy and verbal apologies, was practically ineffectual in suppressing these wanton depredations. Unfortunately,