In the winter of this year, Sir Sydney Smith, with nine ships of the line, blockaded the Tagus and demanded the surrender of the Portuguese fleet, or else the retirement to South America of the Prince Regent, who naturally enough (and as had been expected) accepted the latter condition and went to South America with the bulk of his fleet. During the year, Curacoa was surprised and captured from the Dutch; St. Thomas and Santa Croix were taken from the Danes. The French being now in possession of Portugal, Madeira was also taken possession of by the British. Losses to the extent of thirty-nine British ships were sustained during this year, mostly by wreck; one sloop, two brigs and six cutters being the only ships captured by the enemy. At the end of 1807, Russia, which had hitherto been an ally, declared war, owing to the peace of Tilset. England, Austria and Sweden were thus at war with the rest of the continent. Russia had eleven ships of the line under Senyavin in the Mediterranean. Senyavin made a bolt for the Baltic with most of them, but having got as far as the Tagus found himself blockaded by Sir Sidney Smith. A squadron was sent under Samaurez to the Baltic in June to co-operate with the Swedes against the Russians who were in Rogerswick harbour. An attempt was made to destroy the entire Russian fleet, but owing to a strong boom the operation failed. The blockade was continued for two months, after which the British fleet retired. For 1808, the _personnel_ was 130,000. Estimates, £18,087,500. Ships of the Navy, 842; of which 189 were of the line. Of these, seventy-six were 74-gun ships. Napoleon had been steadily renovating his Navy ever since Trafalgar, and it now consisted of over sixty ships of the line, besides at least twenty others completing. A certain increase of naval activity consequently ensued, and early in the year Admiral Ganteaume, with five ships of the line, escaped from Rochefort in a gale during the absence of the blockading fleet and succeeded in reaching Toulon. Here he was joined by five more ships of the line and some frigates and transports. He sailed again and effected the relief of Corfu and thence returned to Toulon. In August, the Russian Admiral, Senyavin, who all this time had been blockaded in the Tagus, offered to surrender his ships to the British on condition that they should be given back after the war and that he and his men should be free to return to Russia. These terms were agreed to. This year saw the launch of the _Caledonia_ of 120 guns, the largest ship yet built in England. She was of 2,616 tons. An interesting item in connection with this ship is that she was designed and ordered to be laid down as long ago as 1794, but steps to build her were not taken until eighteen years later.