THE DUTCH WHALERS PREDOMINANT 135 



to Spitsbergen under the sole patronage of the 

 French King and Cardinal Richelieu, where he 

 attempted to fish in the Bay of Basques, south of 

 Magdalena Bay. He was, however, ordered off by 

 the Dutch, so he went to Iceland whence he made 

 a poor voyage. On his return to France he 

 complained, so the French Government made repre- 

 sentations at the Hague, strongly supporting his 

 right to take part in the Spitsbergen whale fishery. 

 The States General eventually recommended the 

 Noordsche Compagnie to allow him to fish outside 

 the limits of their fishery. In 1633 and 1634 

 Vrolicq was again at Spitsbergen, but he was 

 interfered with by the Dutch and eventually ruined. 



Fourteen French ships went to the fishery in 

 1636, but these were all captured by the Spaniards 

 in the autumn of that year when they sacked St Jean 

 de Luz, Cibourre, and Soccoa. In 1637 a Danish 

 warship drove the French ships out of Spitsbergen 

 waters so that the Havre Company, having sustained 

 a loss of one hundred and sixty thousand livres, was 

 forced into liquidation. The French were unwill- 

 ing to drop out altogether from such a lucrative 

 trade, so in 1644 Cardinal Mazarin founded the 

 Compagnie du Nord etablie pour la pesche des 

 ballaines, which in 1648 amalgamated with the Com- 

 pagnie de mer de St Jean de Luz. So for a few years 

 longer the French flag was seen in Arctic waters. 

 The charter was renewed in 1669, but shortly 

 afterwards the Company abandoned the business. 



In the seventeenth century the Dutch developed 



