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HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

The Genoese exerted the same authority in the Ligurian sea, orGulph of Genoa',and interdicted the commerce of any state or prince they thought proper. Itwas also common in use to lay an imposition of such gabels, or duties, whichhave since acquired the name of customs, as they chose to exact, evenfrom those highly favoured countries who were indulged with this privilege.Other states, whose power equalled not their arrogance, not being able to main-tain their right to any dominion over those seas which washed the coasts of theircountry, transferred the seat of their visionary rule to the most remote quartersof the world. The kina' of Portugal, for instance, called himself lord of thenavigation of ^Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and India. Charles the Fifth, emperOrof Germany, and king of Spain, was always stiled in the imperial edicts, Konig-under-insulen Canariae, auch der insulen Indiarum, und terrae firmae, des maersoceani;—king of the Canary islands, of the Indian islands, and the continentthereof, together with the ocean surrounding it. In Spain, indeed, he was moremoderate, contenting himself with the dignity of king of the islands, and con-tinent of the ocean. Words of very different import from the foregoing, asthough he purposely avoided using a title among that part of his subjects whowere best acquainted with the futility of it.

The Danes, the Swedes, the Polanders, the Muscovites, all laid claim, and indeedmaintained that claim with effect, to the sovereignty over particular parts of theocean which their respective territories surrounded, and in some instances on whichthey only bordered. Even the Turk, who had, by the conquest of Constan-tinople, obtained possession of the Aigean and Euxine, latterly better known bythe name of the White and Black seas, added to the rest of his titles that oflord of those contracted oceans. As the right, or rather the claim to it, carriedwith it, on account of the exactions which accompanied it, something moresubstantial than the mere shadow of a self-created title, many states, but moreparticularly those of the Mediterranean, were accustomed to equip a number ofvessels, in the time of the profoundest peace, merely to enforce the payment ofthe duties so claimed, and to capture those of any country which were hardyenough to resist or refuse it. The carrack, or vessel, mentioned by Peter Justi-nian, though pretendedly fitted out to prevent the depredations of pirates, wassolely intended for this purpose. It appears to have been of a very different classfrom those which were usually appropriated to the same service, which were com-monly equipped by powerful and enterprising persons, to whom regular licences

were