The primary task of the fleet was to counter the power of the Hanseatic League and secure control in the Baltic sea. The fleet was one of the largest in Europe under King Christian IV with 50-60 larger battle ships and a large number of defensive ships.
The navy was considered to be the King's personal property, and "the King's waters" consisted of the sea off Norway, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland, large parts of the Baltic, the waters east of the North Cape and off Spitsbergen.
In 1679 the fleet's regular officers corps consisted of 217 men. Of these 31 % were Dutch, 27 % were Norwegian, 19 % were Danish and the rest were from other nations[2].
In 1709 there were about 15,000 personnel enrolled in the common fleet. Of these 10 000 were Norwegian. When Tordenskjold made his famous raid at Dynekil in 1716, over 80 % of the sailors and 90 % of the soldiers were Norwegian.[3]
The navy was for a large part funded by Norwegian means as a royal resolution dictated that the income from Norway was to be used towards its construction and upkeep.
