While referring to this invention of Bernard Renan, it should be mentioned that France rose to the rank of a great naval power in the reign of Louis XIV., under the famous minister Colbert, in the latter half of the seventeenth century. When Louis succeeded to the throne the French Navy was practically non-existent, as it consisted only of four, or five, frigates. In 1672 he had raised the strength of the fleet to fifty line-of-battle ships and a corresponding number of frigates and smaller vessels. Nine years afterwards, the French marine numbered 179 vessels of all classes, exclusive of galleys. In 1690 the French fleet in the Channel alone numbered sixty-eight ships, while the combined British and Dutch squadrons consisted only of fifty-six, and suffered a defeat at Beachy Head, in which the English lost one vessel and their allies six. This defeat was, however, amply revenged two years afterwards, when the allies succeeded in opposing the enormous number of ninety-nine ships of the line, besides thirty-eight frigates and fireships, to Tourville's fleet of forty-four ships of the line and thirteen smaller vessels, and defeated it off Cape La Hogue, inflicting on it a loss of fifteen line-of-battle ships, including the famous _Soleil Royal_, of 108 guns, illustrated in Fig. 50. From the time of Louis XIV. down to the present date French naval architects have always exercised a most important influence on the design of warships, a circumstance which was largely due to the manner in which Colbert encouraged the application of science to this branch of construction. It may be truly said that, during the whole of the eighteenth century, the majority of the improvements introduced in the forms and proportions of vessels of the Royal Navy were copied from French prizes. [Illustration: FIG. 52. British second-rate. 1665.] [Illustration: FIG. 53.--Midship section of a fourth-rate.] In order to complete the illustrations of British warships of the latter half of the seventeenth century views of a second-rate are given in Fig. 52, and a cross-section of a fourth-rate in Fig. 53. It would be impossible in the present work to notice in detail all the alterations in size and structure of ships which took place during the eighteenth century. A few of the leading changes may, however, be mentioned. In the year 1706 an attempt was made to systematize the dimensions of the various rates, and the figures as given in the following table were fixed:--