JAMES I.; MARE LIBERUM 23 
unsuccessful. It was as the direct result of the long period 
of almost constant naval warfare from 1652 to 1713 that 
Holland ceased to hold a place of power among the nations 
of Europe. Jealousy caused by the success of the Dutch 
fisheries was, in no small measure, a reason for these wars. 
Their ultimate result was all that England had desired ; 
her own fisheries had by no means realised the sanguine 
expectations of their early promoters, but she was left 
without this formidable rival in the North Sea. Meanwhile 
it is of importance to observe that the desire to emulate 
the Dutch was the reason for all the efforts made during 
the seventeenth century to promote national fisheries in 
Britain. 
