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

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

from and to the important trading areas of the Hanseatic League,

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 province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

and

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-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 cultu ...

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 term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

were taken by the privateers to the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

, released only after diplomatic pressure. Appearing crown-sanctioned, the attack sparked outrage amongst the Hanseatic League 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 (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

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 economics