Page "First-rate" Paragraph 3

When the original rating system evolved during the first part of the 1600's, first rates were ships with a complement of at least 300 men ( it was not until after 1660 that the number of carriage-mounted guns became the deciding criterion ).

Early first rates had as few as 60 guns, but by the mid-1660's first rates generally carried between 90 and 100 guns.

By the early years of the