[HOWLEY] SVIGARAICIPI 171 
fight ensued which lasted from eight o’clock in the morning till three in 
the afternoon. The fight took place so near the shore that a great 
crowd of the Bayonnais witnessed it from the Dunes of Boucau. The 
struggle ended as usual, in the triumph of the invincible Basque. On 
bringing his prize into the mouth of the Adour he was received with 
deafening shouts of enthusiasm. This was a most valuable prize, she 
was loaded with munitions of war for the Royal Navy. She was sent 
to Rochefort and purchased for the King’s fleet. The Governor, Duc 
de Gramont, again wrote a most flattering account of his favourite 
Croisic, to the Minister of State, M. de Ponchartrain, and petitioned 
that he, Croisic, should be authorized to build some new corsairs, and to 
be placed in command of a squadron and sent to destroy the new fleet 
which Spain was then about sending to sea. He also requested that a 
medal should be struck and presented to the valiant captain, represent- 
ing the capture of the Princess. 
M. de Ponchartrain wrote from Paris, March 5th, 1693, to the 
Governor, Due de Gramont, speaking highly of the bravery and ex- 
ploits of this intrepid mariner. He desires the Duke to take every 
possible means to obtain information of the movements of the Span- 
iards, and while he is not in a position just now to authorize the con- 
struction of vessels by Le Croisic, he will give instruction to the captains 
of the fleet now about starting from Rochefort for Brest to make a detour 
along the coast of Spain, to observe the movements of the Spaniards. 
In a second letter written on the 22nd March, 1692, the minister in- 
forms the Duc de Gramont that he has informed His Majesty the King, 
of all that has been related concerning Le Croisic, and that His Majesty 
has been very much pleased, and that he has signed a brevet of “Captain 
of light frigate” for Svigaraicipi. His Majesty thinks that that would 
be more pleasing to Le Croisic than to receive a medal. Svigaraicipi 
became highly excited by this new honour and the proof it contained 
of the favour of his Sovereign. He longed for new adventures and 
new fields (or seas) to conquer. 
For some years before this time the whole of eastern Europe was in 
a state of war. The nations showed a very mean and petty jealousy of 
each other. For several centuries Holland had taken the lead as an 
enterprising commercial nation, as a leader in geographical discovery, 
and a pioneer in the development and expansion of all branches of trade 
and commerce. For over half a century previous to the date we are 
speaking of, Holland had carried on and largely developed the whaling 
industry in the Northern Ocean and the neighbourhood of Spitzbergen. 
In 1636 there were sixteen Dutch vessels engaged in this business, and 
the annual profits were estimated at about 800,000 livres (about a 
million and a half of francs). France had made many attempts to 
