HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE. esp

storm, and the rigour with which the chief promoters of the mischief com-plained of, were treated, prevented for some time, the smallest repetition ofit.

About the year 1160, Vitalis Michaeli the Second, being then Doge,Manuel, Emperor of the East, thought lit, without any properly groundedreason, to order the effects of all the Venetian merchants, who, according tothe accustomed spirit of commerce, had spread themselves throughout hisdominions, to be seized and confiscated. His unbounded avarice was not satis-fied with this very unwarrantable means of acquiring wealth, but having hadthe base subtlety to make a pretended acknowlegement of the impropriety of hisconduct, accompanied by a solemn promise of reparation, the Venetian mer-chants were induced, through the hope of repairing that loss which the tempo-rary stop put to their traffic had occasioned, to fit out an extraordinary numberof vessels, which having poured into the ports of Greece, were, as in theformer instance, immediately seized, the crews imprisoned, and the cargoesdeclared forfeited to the use of the emperor. The rage of the Venetians, atthis accumulated instance of insult and injury, burst forth like an explosion.A more formidable armament than had ever before sailed from their harbours,was equipped on the occasion ; and the distinguishing appellation of ships, toseparate them from gallies, became first made use of in the Mediterraneanwars. T he latter deviated not from the long practised mode of construc-tion, and relied principally, as well in action as otherwise, on their oars ;the ships on the other hand were considerably more lofty, were broader, andused, as was the custom in France, in Britain, and all other countries, thosebordering on the Mediterranean excepted, their sails only, as well in the hourof combat, as in pursuit of more quiet avocations. The force of the fleet issaid to have consisted of one hundred gallies and twenty ships, from whichthe supposed superiority of the latter may, without any extraordinary stretchof the fancy, be fairly inferred. The reduction of various cities in Dalmatia,which had revolted to Manuel, appeared to promise a favourable as well ys-speedy termination to the dispute. The emperor, alarmed, and not without ■reason, at the rapid advances of his justly incensed foes, attempted to tempo-rize. So craftily did he conduct himself, as to render the Doge the completedupe to his artifices; and the whole season for enterprise was not only consumedm pretended negociation, but a dreadful and contagious distemper breaking outamong the seamen at Chios, where the Venetians wintered, this once mighty ^Vol. I. Pp armament