Cinque Ports

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The Cinque Ports ( French five ports ) are a union of originally five, now 14 port cities in the English counties of Kent and Sussex . The military and economic alliance of the five founding members represented an influential political power in late medieval England . Today, the association of cities mainly serves the economic cooperation of the port cities on the Channel coast of south-east England.

Flag of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Admiral Lord Boyce

history

Foundation and advancement

The date on which the Cinque Ports was founded is unknown, but it is believed that an economic alliance existed before the Norman invasion in 1066. The ports were founding members

In addition, at the request of the City of Hastings, which presided over the alliance, the locations

accepted into the alliance because their ports were strategically more favorable than that of Hastings. The alliance was officially mentioned for the first time in 1155 in a royal document. In this the members were obliged to make ships available to the Crown should it need them. The main focus was on protection against Danish attacks. Since England did not have a permanent navy at that time, the king had to rely on the port cities to provide him with ships and crews.

In return, the king granted the cities extensive rights. They were allowed to administer themselves in many areas, were exempt from a number of taxes and duties and took over jurisdiction for their seafarers. The latter meant that criminal sailors could only be prosecuted and punished by the cities, not by the crown. As a result, piracy and smuggling flourished and was tolerated as they generated high revenue for cities. In addition, the cities were granted that beach debris washed ashore passed into their possession after a year. Stranded ships were allowed to be looted immediately, so that at times false beacons were lit along the coast to deliberately run aground ( beach robbery ). The cities gained wealth and influence through these powers, especially Hastings (as the seat of the Alliance) and New Romney (as the most important port).

The office of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports was created as early as the 12th century . He was entrusted with the administration of the cities of the alliance and their jurisdiction. Due to the extensive autonomy from the crown, he was long considered the most important sovereign in England after the king. After the expansion of the Cinque Ports in the 15th century, almost all of Kent and Sussex fell under his influence .

Decline

The decline of the Cinque Ports began towards the end of the 14th century. Several ports began to silt up and became unusable over time. In addition, significantly larger ships were introduced from the 15th century, for which the Cinque Ports were not equipped. Attempts were made to counteract these developments by including seven other ports, which were politically connected to the original members, as corporate members in the alliance. These were:

The expansion of the alliance, however, brought no long-term success. In the 16th century, the Royal Navy was officially founded , a permanent English Navy, which made the provision of ships and crews by the Cinque Ports superfluous. Because of this development, most of their privileges were withdrawn from them. Cities like Portsmouth or Bristol now developed into centers of shipbuilding and soon surpassed the south-east English port cities in size and importance.

Today's meaning

The Cinque Ports exist to this day with their 14 members. The main task today is economic cooperation between the port cities of south-east England. The office of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports was cut more and more in the course of the 18th and 19th centuries and is now only symbolic.

At the coronation of British monarchs , the barons of the Cinque Ports have held the right, since Richard I's coronation in 1189, to wear a canopy over the monarch during the procession to Westminster Abbey. This right has not been required since Edward VII , but has always been confirmed by the Court of Claims .

In the Royal Navy it has been customary since the 1970s for cities or regions to symbolically sponsor a warship. In the case of the Cinque Ports , this was the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious from 1985 to 2005 , and since then it has been the Duke- class frigate HMS Kent . This is to symbolize the connection with the maritime tradition of these places.

See also

Web links