The Leading Facts of English History | Page 6

slow
degrees, and they never entirely crushed them.
Again, the conquerers could not build up a strong, united kinigdom, but
they had to content themselves with establishing a number of petty
kingdoms which were constantly at war with each other. Later, the
whole of England became subject to a sing sovereign. But the chief
men of the separate kingdoms, which had now become simply shires or
counties, retained a certain degree of control over the government. This
prevented the royal 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