THE DUTCH WAR 89 



off by an English fleet. Upon their refusing to go, they 

 were " chased by several English parliament vessels, who 

 fired and threw stones at them, cut their nets, and compelled 

 them to abandon their fishing and fly northwards." * It 

 was in vain that complaints were made to the English 

 government of the conduct of their men-of-war and privateers, 

 for such acts were committed with the tacit consent of the 

 government. 



There now ensued the period of trouble with Spain, which 

 led to many more hardships for the English fishermen. 

 Even before the order had been given to seize all English 

 ships in Flanders, privateers from Dunkirk and Ostend had 

 been a constant source of danger to the English sailor. 

 These had been actively aided in their work of preying 

 upon English commerce by privateers sent out by the 

 exiled Charles II., with commissions signed by himself. 

 English merchant vessels and fishing boats were captured 

 daily, and no fishing fleet dared to sail without convoy. 2 

 In view of the numbers and ubiquity of the enemy, the 

 few warships set apart as permanent coast guardships 

 seem to have been quite inadequate. In 1656, only two 

 war- vessels were on permanent duty as guard to the North 

 Sea fishery, three had been sent to the northern coast, one 

 was on the Scotch coast, and two at Iceland. 3 In this year 

 thirty-five vessels, valued at 25,000, had gone to the 

 fishing at Iceland ; the owners, however, were of opinion 

 that the convoy provided by government for their ships 

 was not sufficient ; they represented that their vessels were 

 " in great danger of ruin by the enemies, to the utter 

 undoing of 500 men, with their wives and families." The 

 loss of these vessels would be the more keenly felt on account 

 of the fact that of their fishing fleet " J of about 70 fishers " 



1 Col. S.P. Dom. Commonwealth, 1656-7, p. 485. 



2 Ibid. vol. 124, No. 51 ; vol. 225, No. 4, No. 40; vol. 228, No. 44. 



3 Ibid. vol. 226, No. 4. 



