the enemy, threw quicklime into the Frenchmen's
eyes. At Sluis, in 1340, to take another instance of early English
naval warfare, Edward III defeated a large French fleet and a number
of hired Genoese galleys lashed side by side in the little river
Eede in Flanders. Edward came in with a fair wind and tide and fell
upon the enemy as they lay aground at the stem and unmanageable.
This victory gave control of the Channel for the transport of troops
in the following campaign. But like most early naval combats, it
was practically a land battle over decks, and, although sanguinary
enough, it is from a naval stand paint interesting chiefly for
such novelties as a scouting force of knights on horseback along
the shore.

The beginnings of a permanent and strong naval establishment, as
distinct from merchant vessels owned by the king or in his service,
must be dated, however, from the Tudors and the period of national
rehabilitation following the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) and
the War of the Roses (1455-1485). One reason for this was that
the employment of artillery on shipboard and the introduction of
port-holes made it increasingly difficult to convert merchant craft
into dependable men-of-war. Henry VIII took a keen interest in
his navy, devoted the revenues of forfeited church property to
its expansion, established the first Navy Board (1546), and is
even credited with the adoption of sailing vessels as the major
units of his fleet.

_From Oar to Sail_

The use of heavy ordnance, already mentioned, as well as the increasing
size and efficiency of sail-craft that came with the spread of
ocean commerce and navigation, naturally pointed the way to this
transition in warfare from oar to sail. The galley was at best a
frail affair, cumbered with oars, benches and rowers, unable to
carry heavy guns or withstand their fire. Once sailing vessels had
attained reasonable maneuvering qualities, their superior strength
and size, reduced number of non-combatant personnel, and increased
seaworthiness and cruising radius gave them a tremendous superiority.
That the change should have begun in the north rather than in the
Mediterranean, where naval and military science had reached its
highest development, must be attributed not only to the rougher
weather conditions of the northern seas, and the difficulty of
obtaining slaves as rowers, but also to the fact that the southern
nations were more completely shackled by the traditions