2 - The Great European Fleets

(Part 1)

The Rise of the French Navy

By the early 17th Century, Spain's position as the dominant naval power began to decline. But, because of internal upheaval, neither England nor France was in a position to fill the void, and the newly independent Netherlands became a major sea power. With the end of the English Civil War in 1649, England began to build a fleet which soon rivaled that of the Dutch, and a series of wars between England and the Netherlands followed. By 1661 France, now ruled by King Louis XIV, also began land campaigns against the Dutch, thus forcing them to turn their attention and their resources from naval power.

Jean-Baptiste Colbert, one of King Louis XIV's ministers, took over command of the French Navy and expanded it, first by purchasing ships from the Dutch and later by copying and improving on the Dutch designs for French-built ships. In 1675, the French Navy consisted of 96 vessels, and this number increased to 210 by 1677. Because of his efforts, Colbert is generally recognized as the father of the French sailing navy.

In 1688, war broke out between France and a joint coalition of Britain, the Netherlands, and Spain. After a major initial victory at the Battle of Beachy Head (England) in 1690, the French Navy was defeated two years later at Barfleu, France. France was never again a major sea power. Instead, she turned to fitting out small, fast privateer vessels to make raids on its rivals' commerce.

Under pressure from its trading class, Britain was pressured into devoting more resources to outfitting the Royal Navy to protect British commercial shipping. The size of the fleet grew to the point where, by 1697, the Navy List included 323 ships. Britain thus achieved the position of dominant world sea power which she would hold for almost 200 years.

The first confirmed use of the name Enterprise (or at least a close derivative) occurred during this turbulent period of the late-17th Century. Beginning in 1671 and running through 1846, the French Navy christened 23 sailing vessels with the name l'Entreprenant ("enterprising" in English). These "cousins" of the Enterprise are listed in Appendix A. France also holds the distinction of having the first vessel confirmed to have carried the name Enterprise ("l'Entreprise" in French spelling). This vessel was a 24-gun frigate which served under the French flag until May 1705, when she was captured by the HMS Triton. Unfortunately, the service history of this first Enterprise under the French flag remains unknown, although it is likely that she served in the Mediterranean.

The first known Enterprise was a French ship similar to this 18th Century frigate. she was captured by the British in 1705 to also become the first HMS Enterprise [Litho: Musee de La Marine]

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Last Updated: January 1, 2003