126 THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE SEA 



which sent 500 busses to the herring-fishing in 1532 and 400 

 in 1550, the fishermen at the beginning of the next century 

 were scarcely able to supply the town with herrings. 1 The 

 industry passed into the hands of the Dutch. At the end of 

 Elizabeth's reign, so greatly had it prospered that 1500 busses 

 went to the herring-fishing in 1601 from Holland and Zealand 

 alone. 2 



From this time much attention was given by English writers 

 to the Dutch fisheries, and on the whole they exaggerated their 

 extent and the number of boats and vessels engaged in them. 

 One of them, John Keymer, who was afterwards much quoted, 

 professedly based his account upon his personal observations in 

 the Netherlands about the year 1601. His statement appears 

 to have been submitted to King James in 1605 or 1606, but it 

 was not published until 1664. He said that the fishing fleet of 

 the Hollanders numbered more than 4100 vessels, of which 100 

 were dogger-boats, 700 pinks and well-boats, 700 " strand-boats," 

 400 "euers," and 400 "galliotts, drivers, and tod-boats," and 

 1200 busses, afterwards increased to 2000. The pinks and well- 

 tooats, each from 60 to 100 tons burden, fished on the coasts of 

 England and Scotland for cod and ling, while the busses, rang- 

 ing from 60 to 200 tons burden, pursued the herring fishery 

 along our east coast. There were also, according to this author, 

 400 Dutch vessels, called " Gaynes " and " Euers," which fished 

 for herrings off Yarmouth ; 1000 vessels, of from 50 to 100 tons, 

 that caught cod and ling in his Majesty's seas ; as well as 600 

 ships engaged in carrying cod and ling to London. Keymer 

 .also says that he had seen near 3000 sail of English, Scotch, 

 French, Hollanders, Embdeners, Breemeners, and Hamburgers 

 fishing at one time upon the coast of Scotland, Shetland, 

 Orkney, Gattney (Caithness ?), North Farrel, and Fowl (Fair) 

 Isle, and divers other places. 3 In a later treatise which 



1 Faulconnier, Description Historique de Dunkerque, i. 47, 53, 121. 



2 Van Meteren, Historic der Nederlandscher ende haerder Naburcn Oorlogen 

 (1614), fol. 466. This author says the maritime power of the States was shown 

 in the same year, when between 800 and 900 ships departed for the Baltic within 

 the space of two or three days' tides. 



8 John Keymer's Observation made upon the Dutch Fishing about the year 1601. 

 Demonstrating that there is more Wealth raised out of Herrings and other Fish in 

 his Majesties Seas, by the neighbouring Nations in one Year, then the King of Spain 

 hath from the Indies in Four. London, Printed from the original Manuscript, 



