UNDER THE TDDORS 117 



Baron courteously, "and with such discression that the same 

 yelding of the preeminence may be interpreted to be of curtesy 

 rather then to the derogacion of the Kinges honnour." 1 It was 

 the French who consistently and constantly opposed the English 

 claim, and there is evidence that the salute was a point of 

 rivalry between the two countries even at this time. An ordin- 

 ance issued by Henry II. of France in 1555 (repeated by 

 Henry III. in 1584) required all vessels to strike their sails 

 to ships of the French navy whenever they met them at sea, 

 and some Hamburgers were seized because they did not do so. 2 

 The honour appears to have been generally accorded by the 

 Dutch in the reign of Elizabeth, 3 and compelled from the 

 Spaniards. In 1554, in the reign of Mary, when the Spanish 

 fleet was coming up Channel in all its bravery, with the royal 

 flag flying on the Admiral's ship, and bringing Philip of Spain 

 to marry the Queen of England, the English Admiral, Lord 

 William Howard, tired a broadside into the Spaniard and 

 forced him to lower his colours while in his presence. 4 And 

 later, when Anne of Austria was on her way to Spain to marry 

 Philip, the Spanish ships were fired on by Admiral Hawkins at 

 Plymouth and forced to strike the flag and lower top-sails in 

 like manner. 5 But it was not till the reign of Charles I. that 

 this punctilio became of great international importance. 



1 Acts of the Privy Council of England, iv. 37. 7th May 1552. 



- Selden, Mare Clausum, lib. ii. c. xxvi. 



* Raleigh, A Discourse of the Invention of Ships, Collected Works, viii. 326. 

 Monson, Naval Tracts, in Churchill's Collection of Voyages and Travels, iii. 



4 Monson, op. cit. Laughton, Fortnightly Review, Aug. 1866. 



5 Froude, op. cit., viii. 68. Laughton, loc. cit. 



