The Bay Fleet was a summer convoy of trading ships that travelled through the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

from and to the important trading areas of the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

and

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

in the Middle Ages. The fleet's frequent destination was the salt manufacturing lands of the Bay of Bourgneuf. In 1449, a fleet organised by Henry VI to keep the Channel free of pirates, turned to piracy themselves under the charge of Robert Winnington, attacking the Bay fleet in an unprovoked peace time assault. Sixty Hanseatic ships and fifty ships from the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

were taken by the privateers to the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

, released only after diplomatic pressure. Appearing crown-sanctioned, the attack sparked outrage amongst the

and a period of reprisals occurred. Most importantly, English goods (significantly wool) were now excluded from the continental markets. This had severe consequences for a country with an increasingly large and powerful merchant class who relied on trade with the continent. It could also be argued that the effects permeated throughout society, with 2/3 of wool being produced by peasants who must have suffered from the lack of foreign demand. The attack on the Bay Fleet came at a time of English foreign policy setbacks on the continent, culminating in Charles VII's entry into

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

in 1459–60. The attack is an example of how English foreign policy resulted in domestic discontent at the poor governance of the King's Council. This was a major factor for Jack Cade's Revolt of 1450. A letter describing the attack on the Bay Fleet was written by Robert Winnington to Thomas Daniel on 25 May 1449.{{cite book, title=English Historical Documents, 1327-1485, author=Myers, A.R., date=1995, publisher=Routledge, isbn=9780415143691, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_fWRPXOMP1wC, page=259, accessdate=2015-04-13

References

1449 in Europe 15th century in England Hanseatic League Conflicts of the Hundred Years' War Military units and formations of the Hundred Years' War Piracy in the Atlantic Ocean Anti-piracy Trade routes History of the Isle of Wight Medieval economic history