The Leading Facts of English History | Page 6

power from becoming the unchecked will of an arbitrary ruler. Finally, it may be said that the isolation of England had much to do with the development of the strong individual character of its people.
13. Influence of the Island Form on the Danes and Normans.
In the course of the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries the Danes invaded England, but the sea prevented their coming all at once and with overwhelming force. They got possession of the throne (S63) and permanently established themselves in the northern half of the country. The English, however, held their own so well that the Danes were eventually compelled to unite with them. Even when the Normans invaded England and conquered it (SS74, 107), they felt obliged to make many concessions to both the English and the Danes. The result was that every invasion of the island ended in a compromise, so that no one race ever got complete predominance. In time all the elements mingled and became one people.
14. Influence of the Channel in Later History.
Furthermore, the immense protective value of the Channel to England may be traced down to our own day. In the great crisis when Simon de Montfort was fighting (1264) to secure parliamentary representation for the people (S213), King Henry III sought help from France. The French monarcy got a fleet ready to send to England, but bad weather held it back, and Henry was obliged to concede De Montfort's demands for reform.[1]
[1] W. Stubb's "Select Charters," p. 401
Again, when the Spanish Armada swooped down upn England (1588) a terrible tempest dispersed a part of the enemy's fleet. Many of the vessels were wrecked (S399) and only a few were left to creep back, crippled and disheartened, to the ports of Spain. When Queen Elizabeth publicly thanked the leaders of her valiant navy for what they had done to repel the Spanish forces, she also acknowledged how much England owed to the protective power of wind and wave.
The same elements taught Napoleon a lesson which he never forgot. He had carefully planned an expedition against England (S557), but violent and long-continued storms compelled him to abandon the hazardous undertaking (1804). The great French commander felt himself invincible on land, but he was obliged to confess that "a few leagues of salt water" had completely out-generaled him.
In fact, ever since England organized a regular navy (1512) the encircling arms of the ocean have been her closest and surest friend. They have exempted her from keeping up a large standing army and so preserved her from the danger of military despotism at home. They too have made her the greatest sea power,[1] and, at the same time, the greatest colonizing power[2] the world has yet seen. They have also made her the greatest commercial power on the globe.[3]
[1] The English navy far outranks that of any other nation in the number of its warships. [2] The English colonial possessions and "spheres of influence" cover an area of more than 11,400,000 square miles. (See map between pp. 422, 423.) [3] The total commerce of the United Kingdom in 1910 was nearly 912,000,000 pounds and that of the British Empire exceeded 1,990,680,000 pounds.
It is true that the use of steam for vessels of war has diminished the natural protective service of the Channel, since a hostile fleet can now move against England in almost any weather. Still, the "silver streak," as the English call that waterway, will always remain, in some degree, a defense against sudden invasion, except, of course, from a squadron of military airships.
15. England as a Commercial Center.
In closing this period, the position of England, with respect to facilities for commerce, deserves particular attention. In the first place the country has many excellent harbors; next, it is situated in the ocean which is the great highway between the two continents having the highest civilization and the most constant intercourse. Finally, a glance at the maps on pages 185 and 420 will show that geographically England is located at about the center of the land masses of the globe.
It is evident that a large island so placed stands in the favorable position for easy and rapid trade communications with every quarter of the world. For this reason England has been able to attain, and thus far to maintain, the highest rank among maritime and commercial powers. It is true that since the opening of the Suez Canal (1869) the trade with the Indies, China, and Japan has considerably changed. Many cargoes of teas, silks, spices, and other Eastern products, which formerly went to London, Liverpool, or Southampton, to be reshipped to different countries of Europe, now pass by other routes direct to the consumer. Furthermore, it is a question what effect the completion of the Panama Canal will have on English trade in