2.13. Of the Nauie of Englande. Cap. 13.

Of the Nauie of Englande. Cap. 13.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 THe Nauie of England may be deuided into thrée ſortes, of which the one ſer|ueth for the warres, the other for burden, & the thirde for fiſhermen, which get their ly|uing by fiſhing on the ſea. How many of the firſt order are maintained within the realme it paſſeth my cunning to expreſſe, yet ſith it may be parted into the Nauie Royall and common fléete, I thincke good to ſpeake: of thoſe that belong vnto the Prince, & ſo much the rather, for that their number is certaine & well knowne to very many. Certes there is no Prince in Europe that hath a more beautifull ſorte of ſhippes then the Quéenes maieſtie of Englande at this preſent, & thoſe generally are of ſuch excéeding [...] that [...] of them being well appoynted and fur|niſhed as they ought [...] let to encounter with thrée or foure of them of other coun|tries, and eyther [...] them or put them to [...]ght, yf they may not bring them home.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 Neyther are the moulde [...] of any forrain Barckes ſo conueniently [...] to broke the ſeas in any part of the [...], as th [...]ſe of England, & therfore the [...] report that ſtraungers make of our ſhips amongſt thẽ|ſelues i [...] dayly [...] to be true, which [...] that for ſtrength, aſſurance, [...] ſwiftneſſe of ſayling, there are no veſſelles in the world to be compared with [...]. The Quéenes highneſſe hath at this preſent al|readie made and furniſhed, to the number of one and twenty great ſhippes, which lye for the moſt part in Gillingham Rode, beſide thrée Gallies, of whoſe particular names it ſhall not be amiſſe to make reporte at this time.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 The firſt of them therefore is called Bon|aduenture.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 The next hight the Elizabeth Ionas, a name deuiſed by hir grace in remembraunce of hir owne deliuerance from the fury of hir ene|mies, from which in one reſpect ſhe was no leſſe myraculouſly preſerued, then was the prophet Ionas frõ the belly of the Whale.

Compare 1587 edition: 1
• The White boate is the thirde.
• And after them ſhe hath the Philip and Mary.
• The Triumph.
• The Bull.
• The Tygre ſo called of hyr excéedyng nimbleneſſe in ſay|ling & ſwiftneſſe of courſe.
• The Antlop.
• The Hope.
• The Lyon.
• The Victorie.
• The Mary roſe.
• The Foreſight.
• The Cadiſh.
• The Swift ſute.
• The Ayde.
• The Handmaide.
• The Dread not.
• The Swallow.
• The Genet,
• The Barke of Bullen.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 2 Beſide theſe hir grace hath other in hande alſo, of whome hereafter as their [...] come about, I will not let to leaue ſome fur|ther remẽbraunce. She hath likewiſe thrée notable Gallies: The Spéede wel, the Trye ryght, and the blacke Galley, with the ſight wherof & reſt of the Nauy Royal, it is incre|dible to ſaye how marueylouſly hir Grace is delighted: and not without great cauſe, ſith by their meanes hir coſtes are kept in quiet, and ſundrye forren enemies put back, which otherwyſe woulde inuade vs. The number of thoſe that ſerue for burden, wyth the other, wherof I haue made mencion al|ready, and whoſe vſe is daily ſéene, as occaſi|on EEBO page image 97 ſerueth, in time of the warres, is to mée vtterly vnknowne [...]. Yet if commõ eſtimatiõ be any thing at all to be credited, there are 17. or eightéene hundred of one & other of thẽ, beſides fiſher boates, & ſmal Craiers, which I referre vnto the thirde ſort. Of theſe alſo there are ſome of the Quéenes maieſties ſubiectes that haue twoo or thrée, ſome foure or ſixe, and as I hard of late, one man whoſe name I ſuppreſſe for modeſties ſake, hath béene knowne, not long ſince to haue hade ſixtéene or ſeuentéene, and employed them whollye to the waſtyng in and out of our marchauntes, whereby he hath reaped no ſmall commoditye and gaine. I myght take occaſion, to ſpeake of the notable and difficult voiages made into ſtraũge coũtries by Engliſhmen, and of their dayly ſucceſſe there, but as theſe thinges are nothing inci|dent to my purpoſe, ſo I ſurceaſe to ſpeake of them: onely thys will I adde therefore, to the ende all men ſhall vnderſtande ſome|what of the great maſſes of treaſure, daylye employed vpon our Nauie, howe there are fewe of thoſe ſhippes, of the firſt and ſeconde ſorte that being apparelled and made readie to ſale, are not woorth one thouſand pounds, or thrée thouſande Ducates at the leaſt, if they ſhoulde preſently be folde. What ſhall we ſhall thinke then of the greater, but eſpe|cially the Nauy Royall, of which ſome one Veſſell is woorth two of the other, as y^e ſhip|wryghtes haue often tolde me. It is poſſible that ſome couetous perſon hearing thys re|port, will eyther not credite it at all, or ſup|poſe money ſo employed to be nothing profi|table to the Quéenes coffers, as a good huſ|band ſaid once when he harde there ſhould be prouiſiõ made for armor, wiſhing y^e Quéenes money to be rather laide out to ſome ſpéedier returne of gaine vnto hir Grace. But if he wiſt that the good kéeping of the ſea, is the ſafegared of our lande, he woulde alter hys cenſure, and ſoone giue ouer his iudgement. For in times paſt when our nation made ſmall account of Nauigation, how ſoone dyd the Romaines, then the Saxons, and laſt of all the Danes inuade thys Iſlande, whoſe cruelty in the ende inforced our countrimen as it were euen agaynſt their owne wylles, to prouyde for ſhippes from other places, and buylde at home of theyr owne, wherby their enimies were oftentymes diſtreſſed. But moſt of all were the Normans therein to be commended. For in a ſhort proceſſe of tyme after the conqueſt of thys Iſlande, and good conſideration had for the well kée|ping of y^e ſame, they ſuppoſed nothyng more commodious for the defence of the countrey, then the maintenaunce of a ſtrong [...] which they ſpéedily prouided, mainteyne [...] [...] thereby reaped in the ende their wiſhed ſec [...]|ritye, wherewyth before their times this I|ſlande was neuer acquainted.The [...]. Before the comming of the Romaines, I doe not reade that we had any ſhippes at all, except a fewe made of wicket & couered with Buffle hides. In the beginning of the Saxons wée had a fewe, but as their number and moulde was lyttle and nothing to the purpoſe, ſo Egbert: was the fyrſt prince that euer thorowlye be|gan to knowe thys neceſſitie of a Nauy, [...] y^e defence of his country. After him alſo other princes as Alfrede & Ethelred &c. indeuou|red more & more to ſtore thẽſelues at the [...] with ſhips of al quantities, but chiefly Ethel|dred, who made a law, y^t euery man holding 310. hidelandes, ſhould finde a ſhip furniſhed to ſerue him in the warres. Howbeit, and as I ſayde bfore when all theyr Nauie was at the greateſt, it was not comparable to that which afterwarde the Normains prouided, neyther that of the Normaines anye thing lyke to the ſame, that is to be ſéene nowe in our dayes. For y^e iourneys alſo of our ſhips, you ſhal vnderſtand, that a well builded veſ|ſell, wyll runne or ſayle thrée hundred lea|gues, or nine hundreth myles in a wéeke, or peraduenture ſome will go 2200. leagues in ſixe wéekes and an halfe. And ſurely if their lading be ready againſt they come thi|ther, there be of them that will be here, at the weſt Indies, and home agayne in twelue or thirtéene wéekes from Colcheſter, al|though the ſayd Indies be eight hundred lea|gues from the cape or point of Cornewall, as I haue béene informed.