THE HISTORY OF DUTCH SEA FISHERIES. 125 



number was often considerably exceeded. So great was 

 the ardour for whaling, that when a fresh prohibition to 

 sail was issued by the States-General in 1691 * on account 

 of the French war, a couple of ships belonging to Dutch- 

 men were sent to Greenland from Hamburg and Bremen, 

 and the experiment was repeated in the next years on a 

 scale very much larger, although the prohibition was 

 maintained during the next six years, and the States- 

 General had expressly stipulated all contracts between 

 master and sailors for whaling expeditions to be void, 

 "setting all such sailors and seafaring persons, none 

 excepted, on their free feet, to pass into the country's 

 service." f The trade was not lawfully re-opened till 

 April ist, 1697, under provision that the vessels should sail 

 in squadron, and under a sufficient convoy, the expense of 

 which was to be repartitioned among those concerned in 

 the business.^: 



The war for the Spanish succession once more occasioned 

 a considerable demand for able sailors in the Republic's 

 squadrons, wherefore all navigation from Dutch ports was 

 once more prohibited on March 3ist, 1702, and re-opened 

 on June 2$rd on condition that each ship should give up 

 one fifth of her crew or pay 1 5 florins per head of them to 

 the Admiralty officers. The Grand Fishery was exempted 

 from the latter charge, but the Greenland trade was not, 

 the difference being made on account of the superior skill 

 of the sailors trained to the latter business. The trade rose 

 to a high pitch in the same year, notwithstanding the crews' 



* Gr. PL Boek, iv. p. 236. 

 f Ibid. p. 240 (Nov. 1691). 



% Res. St. Genl., April ist, 1697 ; Gr. PL B. v. p. 3/6-7. R*s* HolL 

 March 29th, 1697. 



Res. Ho II. 1702, p. 441. 



