SOCIAL LIFE ON THE COAST 199 



La Pallice. Fishing ports, in short, have become 

 specialised ; and their positions are determined by the 

 immediate neighbourhood of the continental plateau, 

 where fishing is easiest and most fruitful. This is so 

 true that Grimsby, destined since its origin to be a coaling 

 station, has become by force of circumstances, and 

 despite the considerable advance of Hull, a great fishing 

 port the greatest in the world ; moreover, both the Dutch 

 and Germans have succeeded in building two completely 

 equipped and prosperous fishing ports not far from 

 Amsterdam and Bremen : Ijmuiden and Geestmimde. 



These general ideas will be found more clearly and 

 precisely exemplified in the history of the Havre district. 



Having massacred or dispersed the prehistoric races, 

 the Gaulish tribes of the Caux or Caletes country built, 

 on the right bank of the Seine estuary, three fortified 

 villages, to protect themselves against pirates and to 

 shelter their fishing boats. Three towns thus originated : 

 Lillebonne (Juliobona) up-stream, Ingouville down- 

 stream, and Harfleur (Caracotinum) between the two ; 

 and these, under the Roman rule, were fully equipped 

 and maintained centres of warfare between Lutetia and 

 England. However, the sea retired from Ingouville and 

 Lillebonne, leaving marshes interspersed with creeks. The 

 fishers of Ingouville then emigrated towards Cap de la 

 Heve, and there laid the foundation of a seaside village : 

 Saint-Denis Chef de Caux. At the same time the com- 

 mercial development of Harfleur drove the fishing boats 

 towards the creek of the Leure, near the creeks of 

 Ingouville. 



In short, at the end of the tenth century there was one 

 great commercial port Harfleur and two small fishing 

 ports : Chef de Caux and Leure. Thanks to the traffic in 

 Spanish wines, Chef de Caux quickly became a serious 



