The original force in Trieste had been funded by the city government directly, but they begrudged the increased expenditure caused by Joseph lI's Turkish war of 1788-90. Their hopes fell into line with the more peaceable Leopold II, who on his accession in 1790, virtually disbanded the Navy, leaving just a few gunboats to protect Trieste. All the senior officer ranks disappeared with them.

Francis II's accession in March 1792 coincided with the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars, but he still believed Austria only needed a coastal protection force. However, the Le Ferme, now a brigantine, was taken back on a two-year charter. Up to 1796, a further 20 smaller vessels augmented the flotilla, but the problems with marauding French and Algerian corsairs meant that help from Britain had to be requested, which arrived as a small squadron under Captain Tyler in mid-1796.

Other than that, the Trieste owners had to resort to self-help measures and the Imperial authorities resorted to a policy of chartering merchantmen to protect supply routes around Genoa and Trieste. Small gunboat squadrons were also established on the Rhine and Lake Garda until these areas were lost to the French in 1796.

Only as the war ended in March 1797 did the sea-going force see action against French vessels as the coastal provinces were evacuated, four of its vessels acquitting themselves well at Puerto Quieto in Istria on 27th March against a superior enemy force attempting to seize its 40 vessel convoy. (6)

Still a tiny force, the Trieste Navy stood at just 1 corvette, 16 cannon sloops, 2 schebeks and 3 Feluccas. Nominally, 750 crew were required, but only 400 were available (7)

Under the terms of the Peace of Campo Formio, Austria gained Venice and its Dalmatian possessions, (see 'Age of Napoleon' 11), which extended as far as Cattaro in modern Albania. Much of the Venetian military Navy had been wrecked by the departing French in January 1798, but the initial government response in February was a shipbuilding programme to repair what remained.

By May, its administrator, Querini, could report that 4 frigates and two cutters could be put into service. Col. Williams, commander of the Trieste fleet, proposed a plan the next month to put them into service and create a substantial 6 frigate and 6 brig fleet. (8)

Chancellor (Foreign and effectively Chief Minister) Thugut however changed his mind and the plans were restricted to work continuing on the salvage of the Venetian vessels and a 28-gun corvette, previously under charter, was bought from the Trieste Chamber of Commerce and named the 'Austria'. From March 1798, the two parts of the Navy were administered together as the 'Austrian-Venetian Navy', ultimately responsible to Thugut.

Pirates

The word 'pirate' conjures up images of the Caribbean, but the real problem in Napoleonic times were the Barbary pirates, based in what is now Tunisia, and Algeria. They operated freely throughout the Mediterranean and even encroached into the Adriatic The North African pirates were a problem for all the major powers throughout the entire Napoleonic period, including the United States, nearly all of whom largely resorted to paying protection money to the corsairs to protect their shipping in the early part of the wars.

Austria really came up against this in 1797, when she gained Venice's huge merchant fleet of nearly 500 vessels, much of which transferred to the Trieste registry to take advantage of its freeport status.

Venice had kept the peace largely by payments to the corsairs, but Thugut suspended all Austrian payments in late 1798, at the same time as rejecting plans for expanding the Navy with the newly-acquired Venetian vessels. For the following two years, huge merchant losses were sustained at the hands of Algerian pirates. In 1799, French privateers sailing under 'letters of marque', joined in raiding vessels in the Adriatic as the War of the Second Coalition broke out.

Nevertheless, the small Imperial Navy remained a very low priority for the Imperial government, but was involved in actions alongside the British and Russians against French bases in Italy during the War of the Second Coalition. Notably, Austrian vessels participated in supporting their army's attack on Ancona in the Autumn of 1799.

When the port fell on 14th November, three ax-Venetian ships of the line, a brig and four smaller vessels were taken. Only one ship of the line, the Beyrand, was in serviceable condition and she joined the Imperial fleet, along with the 16-gun brig Polluce, (formerly Castore), but as in the previous year, no attempt was made to build on these windfalls. (9)

Reorganize After defeat in the Second Coalition, as the new 'Minister of War and Marine', Archduke Charles took responsibility for the Navy from the Foreign Ministry and initially wanted to reorganise and expand the force. 8 frigates and 4 brigs were authorised as the core of a new fleet, but the state finances were in a hopeless mess and the financial cut-backs of 1802 fell heavily on the Navy. The fleet lost its major warships and was reduced to 1 active frigate, Bellona, with 2 more ax-Venetian frigates still being rebuilt, 1 corvette also undergoing reconstruction, and 4 exVenetian brigs

At the end of 1802, there was trouble w~th the Moroccans, who reneged on a 1783 treaty to protect Austrian merchantmen and began seizing them instead. For the first time, Imperial Navy vessels deployed outside the Adriatic: two 18-gun brigs, the Pilade and the Oreste went to Cadiz and Morocco in November 1802 to show the flag to the Sultan of Morocco for the next two years, but could do little to support the merchantmen. (10)

Work on the larger vessels was completed in 1804 and two more brigs laid down in Venice, As war threatened in 1805, the Imperial government once again resorted to chartering in and arming merchantmen to protect the convoys in particular, but only a handful were ready when war began in the Autumn. Facing a resurgence of piratical activity in the Adriatic as well as French privateers, Austria completed the 20-gun brig Eolo building in Venice and rushed it into service, but the Sparviero was not ready.

Crew Shortage

Despite these measures, on the outbreak of war, only sufficient military crew were available to man a corvette, two brigs and a schooner 500 men had to be press-ganged from Venice. With the Imperial Navy heavily involved in coastal defence and the withdrawal from Italy, merchant losses remained high.

The day before Trafalgar, the Austrian General Mack surrendered at Ulm in the opening stage of Napoleon's famous Austerlitz campaign. Two months later, under the December 1805 Peace of Pressburg, Austria lost her Venetian possessions and much of the old Venetian merchant fleet to the new Kingdom of Italy.

Left with a single major port at Trieste and a merchant navy down to 62 ships, the 'Second Trieste Navy' was reduced to 6 brigs and about 30 smaller vessels. Concentrating on the continuing army reforms, Austria lacked the money to undertake any measures with this small force. Corsair raids continued, but the Imperial authorities refused to provide military protection for the merchantmen and the expedition to recover Cattaro, (scheduled to be ceded to France), from the Russians at the end of 1806 had to be largely mounted with chartered merchantmen. All the expedition could do was stand off for 6 wintery months before Russia gave in to French pressure.

The remaining coastal territory was ceded to France under the 1809 Peace of Schonbrunn, cutting Austria off from the sea altogether. The coastline possessions were recovered in the 1813-14 Wars of Liberation and a number of Kingdom of Italy vessels were captured in Venice in April.

However, most were disarmed and laid up or sold. The fleet was fixed at 2 frigates, 2 brigs (2 more were repaired and entered service in 1815) and a small collection of smaller vessels. Policy as ever remained based on the view that the British would look after the seas and there was little need for anything above an Adriatic patrol squadron.

Austrian Naval Flag at Trafalgar (Part 2)