146 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES 



from Greenland, laden with whale oil, one of them 

 being upwards of two hundred and fifty tons, and 

 containing fourteen pieces of ordnance. In May, 

 1667, the Mermaid brought in two French prizes in 

 ballast, bound for Greenland. This was not 

 customary, as it paid better to seize full ships on the 

 return voyage. In August a French ship laden 

 with oil was taken off the coast of Holland and 

 brought into the Humber by the Hampshire and the 

 Oxford. The same month a Scottish privateer 

 brought into Scarborough a Dutch prize of two 

 hundred tons from Greenland, laden with oil and 

 whalebone. On 3rd October a Frenchman laden 

 with oil is in the roads off Deal, and on the 5th a 

 Frenchman (a prize) with Greenland oil has gone up 

 the Thames, and this presumably refers to the same 

 vessel. 



In 1668 the Greenland traders in Holland had 

 such bad luck in their fishing that rape seed " rises 

 apace " and great quantities are shipped from Hull 

 to Holland, four vessels partly laden therewith 

 having sailed by 4th October, and more daily were 

 making ready. In 1671 Hull reports that " in rape 

 seed it fails much of our expectation by reason the 



Holland Greenland fleet are so well fished that the 



) 



price has fallen to nothing." 



When the Greenland Trade was eventually thrown 

 open by statute in 1672 the trade was quite lost, and 

 wholly engrossed by foreigners. 



In 1658-59 the Dutch helped the Danes in their 

 war against Sweden, and in the latter year whaling 



