DOMINIUM MARIS 71 
which had been expounded with such pertinacity, twenty 
years before, by his father. Charles, however, less pusil- 
lanimous in temperament than his father, was now deter- 
mined to make some attempt to carry his views to their 
logical conclusion. 
He was the more eager to take active measures against 
the Dutch from his fear that, if he did not quickly succeed 
in diminishing the competition from foreigners upon the 
coasts of Britain, the Association for the Fishing would soon 
cease to exist. He was thoroughly acquainted with the 
state of its finances, knew that the enterprise was not 
flourishing, and that it was difficult to find fresh adven- 
turers. In 1636, when Charles reviewed the situation, the 
subscriptions promised to the Association were £22,682 10s., 
but of this sum only £9,914 10s. had been received. 
£3,550 7s. 5d. had been borrowed, thus making a total 
capital of £13,464 17s 5d. The stock consisted of six busses— 
a strange contrast to the mighty fleet of the Dutch ; these, 
fully equipped and provisioned, were valued at £6,000. 
Salt and fish in hand were valued at £6,120, while the amount 
to be set down to damage sustained from Dunkirkers was 
fixed at £1,166 14s. 10d., making the total value of stock, 
£13,286 14s. 10d.1 
Charles, in 1635, had sent a fleet of 26 ships to the North 
Sea to make, as it were, a demonstration in force, announcing 
that his intention was to preserve the peace on these waters 
and that he would protect all fishers, even though he should 
defend the Hollanders from the men of Flanders, their 
enemies.2, On February 4th, 1636, the king consulted 
the Lords of the Admiralty as to his ability to enforce his 
demands; they answered that the strength of his fleet 
justified him in choosing this time for asserting his hereditary 
1 Cal. S.P. Dom. Car. I., vol. 313, No, 16. 
2 Cal. S.P. Dom. Car. II., vol. 339, Nos. 409, 413 (‘‘ A Collection of Divers 
Particulars touching the King’s Dominion and Soveraignty in ye Fishing ’’). 
