JAMES II. AND AFTER 529 



of Norway and the coast of Jutland, within a straight line 

 drawn from Cape Lindesnses to Harboore in Rinkjobing, a 

 distance of over a hundred geographical miles, was declared 

 to belong to Denmark; and it was further ordained that in 

 places where the king possessed only one of the coasts, the 

 sea was under his dominion up to the distance at which the 

 land was lost sight of i.e., within the range of vision. At 

 the end of the following year (3rd December 1692) another 

 edict was issued declaring that no one without royal authority 

 would be allowed to carry on whale -fishing within ten Nor- 

 wegian leagues, or forty geographical miles, of the coast. 1 

 This tendency of Denmark to formulate defined boundaries 

 in the seas along her coasts was carried further, as we shall 

 see, in the eighteenth century. 



Within the areas above mentioned, Denmark enforced her 

 authority with considerable vigour. In 1698 a Dutch ship 

 was seized and confiscated for fishing at the Faeroes ; and in 

 the period 1738-1740 great energy was displayed in repress- 

 ing violations of the Danish decrees. Several Dutch ships 

 were fired on by Danish men-of-war for trading at Greenland ; 

 the crews were turned adrift in open boats, and the vessels 

 taken to Copenhagen, where they were condemned as prize 

 in the Admiralty Court. In retaliation, a Danish ship was 

 seized at Amsterdam, and then Danish men-of-war fell upon 

 the Dutch doggers fishing around Iceland, about a hundred 

 in number, captured four, and dispersed the others without, 

 it was alleged, offering to molest the British and French 

 smacks fishing along with them. While bringing the captured 

 doggers to Denmark, one of them managed to escape, and 

 carried off to Holland the prize crew on board, consisting of 

 a Danish midshipman and three seamen an episode that 

 recalls John Brown's experience in 1617. These occurrences 

 were naturally followed by diplomatic controversies. Denmark 

 at first based her action in seizing the doggers on a decree 

 of 1733, reserving to her own subjects the exclusive right 



1 Resol. van de Staten-Generael, April, May, June 1616. JResol. d. Stat. van Hott., 

 March, April 1616. Ibid., 15th Dec. 1623; March, May 1635; 19th May 1637 ; 

 Dec. 1639. Res. St.-Gen., 18th June 1639. Res. ffott., 13th April 1691. Linde- 

 mann, Die Arktische Fischerei der Deutschen Seestadte, p. 8. Groot Placaet-Boeck, 

 iv. 235, 237. Auber, Annuaire de Vlnstitut de Droit International, xi. 144. 



2L 



