The effect of the generous laws of distribution of this period undoubtedly was to encourage adventure and privateering. The voyages of the great sea captains of Elizabeth were fitted out primarily for the sake of private gain from prizes. Preying on Spanish Galleons not only satisfied the love of adventure of such men as Hawkins, Drake and Raleigh but it also gave them wealth. So long as their acts harmonized with the queen's policy she did not care to inquire too closely into the strict legality of all their seizures. This policy by which the queen not only made the navy support itself but actually received income from it through her share of prizes enabled Elizabeth to carry on her wars without any national expense. Her reign is renowned for its economy and lack of taxation. This doubtless added to its popularity and increased the sense of nationalism in the English nation. During this period generous giving of prize money was a valuable means of increasing the efficiency of the navy and the national unity of England. The strict acts of the latter part of Elizabeth's reign and their consistent enforcement indicated genuine progress in the protection of neutral rights at sea through governmental control. _NOTES._ Chapter III, Part 3. [1] Political History of England, William Hunt and Reginald Poole, Editors, 12 Vols., London, 1910, v, 106. [2] Rymer, Op. cit. xiii, 1326. [3] Henry VIII, Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Master of the Rolls, Great Britain, Director, 1524-1526, p. 33. [4] Select Pleas of the Admiralty, Seldon Series, vi, 37. [5] Ibid, vi, 82. [6] Marsdon, English Historical Review, xxiv, 684. [7] Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, Mary, 1547-1580, p. 93. [8] G. W. Prothero, Select Statutes and Other Documents, 3rd Edition, Oxford, 1906, p. 464. [9] Marsdon, English Historical Review, xxiv, 689, 697, also Prothero, op. cit. p. 465. [10] Marsdon, English Historical Review, xxiv, 689, 697. [11] Select Pleas of the Admiralty, Seldon Series, xi, 107. [12] Ibid. xi, 130. [13] Ibid. xi, 17. [14] Acts of the Privy Council, 1588-1589, New Series, xvii, 283, 413. [15] Ibid. xvii, 357. [16] Marsdon, English Historical Review, xxiv, 696. [17] Select Pleas of the Admiralty, Seldon Series, xi, 204. [18] Marsdon, English Historical Review, xxiv, 696. [19] Vattel, The Law of Nations, English translation from French by Joseph Chitty, Philadelphia, 1883, p. 285. PART 4, 1603-1688. a. Laws.