When, after the fall of Rome. there erased lo be any dominant power in the 'Mediterranean, there was an increase of piracy and robbery on the sea and along unproteeted coasts. The geo graphical position of Italy mused it to be the natural doorway to merchandise entering Europe from the East or moving in the opposite direc tion. The development of maritime trade thus brought about caused the Italian commercial cities to be the heaviest losers by piracy, anti made it necessary for them to establish naval forces. Of the Italian States. Venice, Pisa, and Genoa took the lead in commerce, and all grad ually developed powerful navies. The army of Venice was composed chiefly of mercenaries and commanded by one because it was feared that a native might use its power to overturn the Government; lint the navy, from which nothing of the kind was feared, became the pride of the people. The Senate encouraged the nobles to trade and serve in the fleet and they beeame mer chants and admirals.
In the ninth century the Saracens had become powerful and troublesome in the .Mediterranean, where their piratical armed vessels and strong tleets were the terror of every merchant who had a venture on the sea. carried their depreda tions to the coast of Italy, so that in S42 the Venetians cooperated with the Greeks in sending a naval expedition against them. The hostile fleets met at Cortona. The Greeks tied at the first attack of the enemy, lint the Venetians fought against vastly superior numbers until their loss was so great as to make further resist ance impossible. when the few survivors endeav ored to make their escape. For a quarter of a eeuttii•v the humiliation of defeat rankled in the Venetians, and finally they sent out a new force which gained a decisive victory over their enemies on the same spot. During the next six or seven centuries the Pisans. Genoese, and Venetians strove for naval and commereial supremacy with each other and with the Saracens and their natural successors, the Turks. Genoa and Venice profited by the Crusades, furnishing ships, muni tions of war. and provisions to the Crusaders. Pisa stleCIIIIII)011 to Genoa in the great sea tight off Aloria in 12S4. Previous to this Genoa and Venice had entered upon their great struggle for supremacy. Both republics extended their terri tories by land and sea, and Venice held most of hers until the rise of the Turkish Empire. when she lost many of her islands and seaports, w•itich constituted an almost nnirterrupted territory from the head of the Adriatic to Asia Minor and the Bosporus. ineluding Cyprns. Crete, and the Alorea. The contest between Venice and Genoa for control of the Shediloraneat continued at intervals until 1380. when the Genoese fleet and army which had threatened Venice were captured at rhioggin by the Venetians under Admiral Vetter Pisani, one of the greatest of naval con• manders. After the battle of Chiorrgia the mili tary and naval power of Genoa declined quite rapidly. Venice. on the contrary. eontinued to grow in wealth, power. and extent of territory unlit at the close of the Middle Ages the Turks be came dominant in the eastern :Mediterranean, while at the same time the Republic had to with stand the emnbined arms of the eovetous Chris tian powers.
The Turks. who had firmly established them selves in Europe, dreamed of uiuiiyerxal etAi (west and were expanding their territory at opportunity. At last in 1571 Venice,
Philip IL of Spain, and Pope Ping V. united in a great effort to put an end to the aggressive naval power of the Moslems, and the combined fleet, under Don John of Austria, dealt an irreparable blow to Turkish prestige in the battle of Lepanto. This victory did not arrest the decline of Venice, whose commercial prosperity was greatly affected by the change in the channels of trade which had been brought about by the discovery in 1497-11S of the water route to India.
Spain made a strong effort to bec?une a great maritime nation, but ultimately failed, partly from governmental mismanagement, partly from various causes connected with the temperament of her people or with the country's environment. In 1588 she sustained a crushing blow in the de feat of the Invincible Armada, which was to con quer England.
Though the fact was not yet recognized, Nep tune's sceptre was passing to northern nations. the English and the Dutch. But pond sailors as the Dutch were, were too few in number and too poor long to cope with their great rival, and Ilritain became mistress of the waves. Alfred the Great is commonly re garded as the founder of the British navy. Be fore his time the various petty kings had naval forces, but Alfred combined them into an English fleet and took command of it against the Danes in person. and England's first naval victory was gained in his reign off the coast of Essex. Alfred's grandson Athelstan fostered the maritime spirit of his people as regards both commerce and naval affairs. De granted the title of 'thane' to any merchant who had made three voyages' on the high seas in his own ship freighted at his own expense, though this was a title previously con fined to men of noble rank and extensive landed possessions. Edwy the All Fair is said to have had large fleets, and under Canute the Great English maritime commerce assumed large di mensions. After the Normans had firmly estab lished their rule they also encouraged the growth of shipping and provided for its defence. Henry and Richard Cteur de Lion are both known to have had strong naval forces, and under John it was decreed "that any ships of other nations, though at peace and in amity with England, should be made lawful prizes if they refused to strike to the royal Such an arrogant as suniption is not likely to have been made unless the power to carry it out existed, and we know' that .John's fleet gained a victory Dyer the French in the harbor of Damme. During the century which followed a sort of piratieal war existed be tween England and France and the coasts of both were ravaged by the freebooters on either side. At length, in 1340, the English fleet, com manded by Edward 111. in person, W011 the great victory of Sluis. the French losing nearly their whole force of three hundred vessels and 20,000 men killed, wounded, and prisoners. According to Charnoek, this was the first action in which beaked galleys were wholly laid aside and vessels propelled chiefly by sails relied upon. From this time there was no particular improvement in the British navy (except that heavy guns were plaeed on board ship) until the reign of VIII.. who gave great attention to the fleet. building several relatively very large vessels, of which by far the greatest was the Henry Omer de Dieu. She carried 72 guns and 700 men and her tonnage is variously stated at from 1000 to 1500.