t HANDBOOK OF ADMIRALTY LAW SECOND EDITION CHAPTER I OF THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE ADMIRALTY AND ITS EXTENT IN THE UNITED STATES 1. Origin and History. 2. The Admiralty Classics. 3. The Colonial Admiralty Jurisdiction, and Constitutional Grant of "Admiralty and Maritime Jurisdiction." 4. The Waters Included. 5. The Craft Included. ORIGIN AND HISTORY 1. The admiralty law originated in the needs of commerce and the custom and usage of merchants. In the dawn of recorded story, when mythology and history were too intermingled to separate the legendary from the authentic, commerce by means of ships was drawing the nations together, and beginning to break down the barriers of prejudice and hostility due to the difficulty and danger of land communication. The voyage of the Argonauts, the Trojan Expedition, the wanderings of Odysseus, though military in the songs of Homer, were probably as HUGHES,ADM. (2D ED.)—1 much for exploration as for conquest; merchants and warriors were combined in one person of necessity. The enterprising Rhodians had not only a commerce, but a Code, in which is found the germ of the law of general average. The Phoenician traders were carriers for the wise Solomon, and planted trading colonies throughout the Mediterranean: Their Carthagenian descendants were Worthy successors. Until Rome copied their trireme, her domain was limited to Italy. When maritime skill supplemented military prowess, and placed at her command new and easier lines of advance, she overran the world. The mart followed the camp; for it is a teaching of history that in the providence of God the havoc of war opens new avenues for the arts of peace. In the Middle Ages the Italian republics became the carriers of the world, and reached a high plane of enlightenment. The Saracen civilization could compare favorably with that of the West; and the Italians, in their constant warfare against Mohammedanism, acquired and assimilated this civilization, and spread it over Europe. Venice, Florence, Pisa, and Genoa furnished the mariners who scattered the gloom of the Dark Ages; who civilized the old world, and discovered the new. The Conflict between the English Common Law and Admiralty Courts The student who observes the present commerce and maritime power of England finds it hard to realize how recent is its development. Yet our English ancestors were not by nature addicted to maritime enterprise. The AngloSaxon loved the quiet recesses of the forest, and was reluctant to venture on the water. He could not be made to understand that his only security against the Danes, who harried the British coast, was to meet them at sea. The naval victory of Alfred was sporadic, and the sea power of the Danes enabled them to overrun and conquer England. Even the Danish conquest did not infuse sufficient mari |