THE HISTORY OF DUTCH SEA FISHERIES. 343 



in 1586;* it has been maintained ever since and exists to 

 the present day, as will be seen in another part of this 

 work. It was extended to the whole of the Republic as 

 emanating from the central legislative power ; but the 

 province of Holland very soon bought the privilege off, for 

 their province, by an agreement with the College of the 

 Grand Fishery, in virtue of which the fishermen paid the 

 excise duty, and a consideration of fl. 6000 a-year was 

 granted to the College out of the provincial treasury*! 



The duty in Holland then amounted to fl. 14 per hundred- 

 weight of fine white salt ; whence the quantity of salt 

 annually used by the sea-fisheries of the province would 

 appear to have been something less than 43,000 pounds. 

 It would not, however, be safe to attach much importance to 

 this average calculation ; for compared to the far superior 

 quantities of salt now used free of excise by the Dutch sea- 

 fisheries, it does not correspond to the probable extent 

 of the trade in the province of Holland at the period 

 now spoken of. Many considerations, which it would be 

 highly interesting to trace at leisure, may have led the 

 Fishery College to sell their immunity for an inequivalent 

 sum. 



Besides the Spanish fleets, the great bane of the Dutch 

 sea-fisheries at this time were the privateers from Dunkirk, 

 who may be said throughout the Republic's history to have 

 been to herring fishers what the dog-fish is to the herring. 

 Constant complaints were made of busses taken and des- 

 troyed by these audacious filibusters, against whose superior 

 strength and seamanship such convoy as the States could 



* Res. States-General 1586, June i2th and November 4tb, 1587 

 September 4th. 



t Res. Holl. 1588, pp. 133, 231 ; 1589, p. 459 ; 1593, p. 407 ; 1595, 

 p. 69, &c. 



