Happily, the accession of Canute to the throne of England had put a stop to the cruel wars so long waged between the Danes and English, and commerce once more began to flourish; the influence and dread of this prince being so great, that he found it unnecessary to maintain more than forty[501] ships at sea to protect his coasts and his maritime commerce, a number which was afterwards reduced to sixteen.[502] Indeed, so far from entertaining any apprehensions of an inclination to revolt among the English, he frequently made voyages to the Continent, once proceeding even as far as Rome, where he met the Emperor Conrad II. and other princes, from whom he obtained, for all his subjects, whether merchants or pilgrims, a complete exemption from the heavy tolls usually exacted on their visits to that city.[503] Canute, indeed, by his conquest of Norway, represented in his own person both the English whom he had subjugated, and the Danes, who had been their constant and persevering rivals, thus uniting under one sovereignty all the maritime nations of the north. [Sidenote: Prosperity of commerce.] Under such favourable circumstances as these, the trade and shipping of England could hardly fail to prosper, although there are no records left whereby we can measure their extent or character. But as Canute materially increased the number of mints[504] throughout the kingdom, and as the merchants of London had become sufficiently powerful to be the chief instruments in placing his son Harold upon the throne at his death,[505] it may be inferred that the mercantile community, while requiring a greater amount of currency for the conduct of their business, had likewise become an important element in the State. It is further recorded, that the merchants of London, with the _seamen_ of that city, many of whom had probably become Thanes, mingled with the nobility and performed a leading and conspicuous part at the coronation of Harold at Oxford, who soon afterwards increased the wages of the sailors of his fleet, giving to each of them eight mancusses[506] (2_l._ 16_s._ 8_d._) annually; but when Hardicanute increased his navy to seventy-two ships,[507] a further advance was required to be made in the wages of the seamen, who were discontented with the remuneration they received. [Sidenote: Norman invasion, A.D. 1066.] During the short period of the restoration of the Saxon monarchy the Danes resumed their marauding expeditions; but, after ravaging the coasts of Wales and Sussex, they were repulsed with great slaughter by the English under Harold II., who was however less successful in resisting the Norman invasion under William the Conqueror, whose accession constitutes a new era in the commercial and maritime, as well as in the political and general, history of Britain. [Sidenote: Number of vessels engaged, and their form.]