In a final spectacle, a mock sea battle was staged on the Seine between rival “French” and “Portuguese” fleets in which real ships were packed with barrels of gunpowder. The sailors fired genuine cannons, most likely without shot. However, the inevitable happened and one of the barrels exploded, causing one ship to sink and its crew to lose their lives. Next day, the event was repeated with a substitute ship, but the same thing happened and more sailors were killed.
