SHIP. The ships of war employed at first by the maritime nations of modern Europe were galleys, moved either by whid or oars, and were similar, probably, to those of the Greeks and Romans. In the beginning of the 15th century, vessels of a like kind, but of greater dimensions, constituted portions of the navies of France and Spain; they were called Cu -fugues, and it is said by a French author of that age that the English ships scarcely dared to approach them. The term Galenase was afterwards applied to a kind of war-galley which was of greater length in proportion to its breadth than those generally con structed; its rowers were covered by a narrow deck running along each side of the vessel, and on this small cannon were mounted. Such were the vessels used by the Venetians at the battle of Lepanto.
Before the reign of Henry VII. the naval force of this country con sisted only of the vessels furnished at short notices by the Cinque ports, besides such as were hired from English or foreign merchants ; and, according to Du Benny, some of the ships were a sort of long galleys called Itamberges, in the management of which the English mariners aro said to have been very expert. Henry VII. caused to be constructed the Great Harry, the first ship which can be ranked as one belonging to the royal navy of England ; and his successor, in 1515, in emulation of Francis I., who had built a ship called the Caracon, carrying 100 guns, caused one of equal burden (about 1000 tons), and carrying 122 guns, to be constructed. This was called the Henry Grace de Dieu. It appears to have been built rather for mag nificence than use ; not more than 13 of the guns were 9-pounders or upwards ; and its construction must have been very defective, for it is said to have steered badly and to have rolled incessantly. After having made one voyage, it was disarmed at Bristol and suffered to decay. The French ship was equally unfortunate, having becu acci dentally destroyed by lire at Havre. Henry VIII. exerted himself, however, to place the maritime force of the nation in a train for being improved, for which purpose he organised the Admiralty and Navy Boards, and formed (dockyards at Deptford, Woolwich, and Ports mouth. [NAVY, BRITISH.]
During the reigns of Edward VI. and Elizabeth the royal navy became very powerful, and at the death of the queen it consisted of 42 ships of war. In the time of James I. was built (1610) a ship called the Prince, carrying 64 guns, and of 1400 tons burden, being the largest which had been till then constructed. And before the civil war broke out, Charles I. caused to be built one called the Sovereign of the Seas, which carried above 106 guns, small and great ; her length was 128 feet, and her breadth 48 feet.
The ships of that age, foreign as well as English, were constructed with hulls extravagantly high, while the lower guns were frequently not more than three feet above the water ; they were consequently very liable to ship seas at the lower ports during an action, when the waves ran high, or the ship heeled considerably. But the rivalry between England and the United Provinces in the 17th century, and the desire which Louis XIV. entertained to raise the navy of France to an equality with those of his neighbours, led to the construction of ships capable of carrying artillery of much greater calibre than had before been used at sea. The French king actually caused to be built at Toulou a ship called the Royal Louis, which carried 12-, 24-, and 48-pounders on its upper, middle, and lower decks respectively. In the same age, and during the llith century, naval architecture was zealously studied in France ; and the English constructors were so sensible of their inferiority, that in most of the ships built in England at that time the proportions were copied from those of ships which had been taken in aetiou from the rival nation. Thus the Leviathan was built at Chatham nearly in conformity to the Courageux, a French 74-gun ship ; and several others according to the construction of the Invin cible, which had been taken by Lord Ansou during the Seven Years' War.