not enter it in countless hordes, but only in small numbers and by occasional attacks. Because of this, the invaders could only drive back the Britons by slow degrees, and they never entirely crushed them.

Again, the conquerors could not build up a strong, united kingdom, 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 single 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 (§ 63) 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 ($$ 74, 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 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 (§ 213), King Henry III sought help from France. The French monarch 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

Again, when the Spanish Armada swooped down upon England (1588) a terrible tempest dispersed a part of the enemy's fleet. 1 W. Stubbs's "Select Charters," p. 401.

INFLUENCE OF THE CHANNEL

9

Many of the vessels 'were wrecked (§ 399) 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 (§ 557), 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 outgeneraled 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 the world has yet seen. They have also made her the greatest commercial power on the globe.3

2

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.

९९

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

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, and that of the British Empire exceeded £1,990,680,000. ̧

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 most favorable position for easy and rapid trade communication 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 parts of the Pacific. But for the present England retains her supremacy as the great carrier and distributor of the productions of the earth, a fact which has had a very decided influence on her history, and on her relations with other nations, both in peace and war.

THIRD PERIOD1

"Force and Right rule the world: Force, till Right is ready."

JOUBERT

ROMAN BRITAIN, 55 B.C.; 43-410 A.D.

A CIVILIZATION WHICH DID NOT CIVILIZE

16. Europe shortly before Cæsar's Invasion of Britain. Before considering the Roman invasion of Britain let us take a glance at the condition of Europe. We have seen that the tribes (§ 2) of Britain, like those of Gaul (France), were not mere savages. On the contrary, we know that they had taken more than one important step in the path of progress; still the advance should not be overrated, for north of the shores of the Mediterranean there was no real civilization.

17. Cæsar's Campaigns. Such was the state of Europe when Julius Cæsar, who was governor of Gaul, but who aspired to be ruler of the world, set out on his first campaign against the tribes north of the Alps (58 B.C.).

In undertaking the war he had three objects in view: First, he wished to crush the power of those restless hordes that threatened the safety of the Roman Republic. Next, he sought military fame in the hope that it would make him supreme ruler of that Republic. Lastly, he wanted money to maintain his army and to bribe the party leaders of Rome to help him carry out his political plans. To this end he compelled every tribe which he conquered to pay him tribute in cash or slaves.

18. Cæsar reaches Boulogne and crosses over to Britain, 55 B.C. In three years Cæsar had subjugated the enemy in a succession

1 Reference BOOKS on this Period will be found in the CLASSIFIED List of Books in the Appendix. The pronunciation of names will be found in the Index. The LEADING DATES stand unenclosed; all others are in parentheses.

of victories, and a great part of Europe lay helpless at his feet. Late in the summer of 55 B.C. he reached Boulogne on the coast of Gaul. Standing there, he could see the gleaming chalk cliffs of Britain, so vividly described in Shakespeare's "King Lear." 1

While encamped on the shore he "resolved," he says, "to pass over into Britain, having had trustworthy information that in all

his wars with the Gauls the enemies of the Roman commonwealth had constantly received help from thence." 2

Embarking with a force of between eight and ten thousand men in eighty small vessels, Cæsar crossed the Channel and landed not far from Dover, where he overcame the Britons (§ 2), who made a desperate resistance. After a stay of a few weeks, during which he did not leave the coast, he returned to Gaul.

19. Cæsar's Second Invasion of Britain. The next year (54 B.C.), a little earlier in the season, Cæsar made a second invasion with a 1 Shakespeare's "King Lear," Act IV, scene vi. 2 Cæsar's "Gallic War," Book IV. 3 Cæsar probably sailed about the 25th of August, 55 B.C. His force consisted of two legions, the 7th and 10th. A legion varied at different times from 3000 foot and 200 horse soldiers to 6000 foot and 400 horse.