– for example, in 1659. Friderich Martens, who served as surgeon aboard a German whaleship in 1671, claimed that the "Frenchman (Basques) try up their train-oyl in their ships and by that means many ships are burnt at Spitzbergen; and this was the occasion of the burning of two ships in my time". In the northeastern North Atlantic the Spanish Basques used vessels of smaller tonnage than those that took part in the Terranova voyages, which resulted in a somewhat lower haul per ship, partly because of their smaller overall length and partly because of the space the tryworks occupied. The French Basques employed 250-ton frigates (r. 100–350 tons) with reinforced stem-posts and timbers in order to withstand the rigors of whaling in the West Ice - the area between eastern Greenland and Spitsbergen. They were also fitted with six to fourteen cannons, as France and Holland were often at war during this period. Many of the French Basque ships, instead of returning to Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Ciboure, or Bayonne (where they would have to transship their oil and bone), went into Le Havre or Honfleur in Normandy, where a large percentage of the whale oil market existed. Poor catches in the 1680s, and the War of the League of Augsburg (1688–97) caused a dramatic decline in French Basque whaling. By the early 18th century, only one or two vessels were left in the trade. Following the War of Spanish Succession, the French Basque fishery began to show signs of recovery. Perhaps because of the previous war, few experienced seaman were available for the trade, so they had to recruit Spanish Basques for their voyages. There were said to be twenty ships "from the ports in the Bay of Biscay" among the fleet of foreign whalers sent to the Davis Strait and the West Ice in 1721. Towards 1730 a "new period of prosperity" was reached with the fitting out of more than 30 whalers annually. This was followed by a rapid decline. The last Basque (French or Spanish) whaling expeditions were sent prior to the outbreak of the Seven Years' War (1756–63). Several attempts were made to revive the trade, but they were unsuccessful. Notes References Whaling Culture of Newfoundland and Labrador History of Svalbard Whaling in Canada Whaling in Iceland Whaling in Norway