One other great change directly affecting the navy was brought about by the Revolution. The expulsion of King James left England free to become the leader, and the main promoter, of the opposition to Louis XIV. From that time forward our enemy was always France. When we met the Spaniard or the Dutchman again, it was with very rare exceptions because they were allies of the French. The resistance to Louis XIV. grew into a general colonial and political rivalry between France and England. The fight was prolonged throughout the eighteenth century and into the nineteenth. Some knowledge of the navy we were to meet in every sea and in so many battles during a century and a quarter is necessary in any history of the Royal Navy.
The French Navy is marked off very sharply from our own by the fact that it was always, and solely, the handiwork of the Crown. In England necessity taught the nation that it must have a fleet, and the nation either forced attention to its wants on the Crown at times when the king was indifferent, or provided itself with a naval force when the royal authority was suspended or subordinate. France is admirably placed for commerce, but it has not the same need for trade as England. It is a great corn-growing and wine-producing country, and its inhabitants have grown rich by constant industry and thrift. They have rarely shown much faculty for trade on a great scale. In such conditions the navy fell into neglect, except when the ruler wished to possess one for political reasons. When Louis XIV. attained his majority vigorous efforts were made to form a powerful fleet. In 1669 the king restored the office of Admiral, which had been suspended by Richelieu, in favour of his natural son the Count of Vermandois. The Count was a child and the navy was governed in his name by a Minister of Marine and a Council. The Minister of Marine for some years was M. de Lyonne, who worked under the supervision of Colbert. This great administrator, who laboured hard to supply France with foreign commerce and colonies, applied an almost feverish activity to the work of creating a fleet. Five military ports were established, namely, Dunkirk, Havre, Brest, Rochefort, on the Channel and the Ocean, and Toulon on the Mediterranean. Dunkirk and Havre were too shallow for ships of great burden. The long stretch of coast from Brest to the frontier of Spain is ill provided with harbours. The old port of Brouage, which had been used in the Middle Ages, had become silted up, and was useless. Colbert was compelled to create a harbour and an arsenal at Rochefort, where there had formerly not even been a village, though the place has great natural aptitude. Yet Rochefort has always been of subordinate importance. The great naval station of France on the Ocean has been at the magnificent harbour of Brest. Toulon, the naval station of the Mediterranean, is also a fine natural harbour. The mechanical ingenuity of the French has always been shown in shipbuilding. It was comparatively easy for Colbert to provide fine vessels. Some of the noblest warships of the time were built under his directions. These were the ships which excited the admiration of Charles II. and his brother, when the Count D’Estrées brought his squadron to Portsmouth at the beginning of the Third Dutch War.