102 THE HERRING FISHERY 



when in 1550 he visited the grave of Beuckels 

 at Biervliet and ordered a monument to be 

 erected in honour of the man who had done so 

 much to benefit his country. 



In consequence of this discovery the Dutch 

 for a long period enjoyed an almost complete 

 monopoly of the herring trade. They pursued 

 the fish far beyond their own bays and inlets, 

 right to the British coasts — to Shetland and 

 the Orkneys, to Ireland and to the very mouth 

 of the Thames, in order to get the material 

 for their export trade to Central and Northern 

 Europe. This trade, however, decreased very 

 considerably after the Reformation, when the 

 Fasts of the Roman Church were no longer 

 jmiversally observed. 



It is impossible to give many particulars 

 about the Dutch herring fishery. To do so 

 would mean writing the history of the Nether^ 

 lands, of its various provinces, and most of its 

 cities from the earliest times. The material is 

 already available in the admirable essay by 

 A. Beaujon entitled, " The History of the 

 Dutch Sea Fisheries," published in Vol. IX., 

 Part II., of the Fisheries Exhibition Literature, 

 which deals exhaustively with the laws made for 

 regulating the Dutch fishing, why they were 

 made, and what they effected. An examination 

 of this essay will amply repay any one desirous 

 of studying the politico-economic history of 

 the herring from the Dutch point of view. 



Every proceeding with respect to the herring 



