The Washington herald., 1915-03-28

tent without colonies and without a trad
Ing post in all the newly opened world
beyond the seas. When she vcntured the
long trails that other nations had blaZcd
Il was mostly in the predatory spirit OF
Drak" and Hawkins and Cavendish. who
We're hardly more than tn" hichwaymen
of he ocean lanes. and when she entered
upon transma rine commerce the slave
trade was the first object OF her ampl-
ton.
Even as the Spanish Armada bore
down upon them tn" English DID not
instinctivelv take their stand on the sea
against the oncomnG boats of Spain.
The wise men of London, on the con-
trary. began To busy themselves win
tine arminE OF .he militia and the piling
I'D nf brushvood the fcad 'ands 10
be lighted as sisIIai fires AZ the ap-
proaci Of the encn;"- The counseis OF
sailors like Hovarl and Drake and
Hawkins prevailed. however. and their
daring with wind and wave for their
allies, brought disaster upon the Spanish
fleet.
England Driven to the Sea.
Her peril and her victory awakened
England at last to the necessity and
opportunity of her situation and both
have remained ever since the first OBJ
jects of her care As long as she sat
amid the trackless wastes OF an unex-
plored ocean her people were Indifferent
sailors. 1t was only when the Atlantic
had succeeded the Mediterranean in i'm
portance and the English Channel had
become the coveted Hellcspont OF the
West that the islanders turned their eyes
to the waters about them.
The English fairly were driven to the
sea therefore. not because the brine was
in their blood and they were race OF
seafarirg islanders but rather because
they had to take to the water in self
defense and self-preservation from the
conauc-ing peoples of the mainland 1t
va. and remains with them a matter OF
life and death
II is written in the strategy of nature
that whoever would control the sea must
control the English Channel 1t is the
gateway of Europe to the ocean. At that
gateway stands England. and while II
dues ret necessarily follow that the Eng
fish must rule the sea. It Is an absolute
necessity that the ruler of the sea must
rule England rs well. For England Is
the ia,ch on the gate and she is the
gatckeeper.
The TnvincibIc Dutch.
On the wreck OF Spanish sea power
England built nor own. Daring to pro-
| claim herself sovereign of the sea. she
REQUIRED every foreign ship that sailed
British colors. The Dutch. however. had
| a greater commerce than she and the
greatest in the world. With their 1900
| sail they were called the vaEoners OF
| the sea. and even Spain had to employ
| them in her colonial trade. Not Eng
! land but Holland sent forth that adj
y"nturous Englishman. Henry Hudson,
on his voyages Of exploration, and he
rewarded the Dutch by presenting to
! ha Ia Nnrfh Anarica-
New York, with its bay, Its sound and
| its river.
| Naturally the Dutch declined to touch
| their caps and step aside when the new
| claimant to the trident passed by. There
upon England opened in 1862 forty
| wear campaign for the annihilation OF
her saucy little rival. Holland was the
warehouse OF Europe and the English.
| in their ambition. I0nEed to destroy her
trade even as the Romans yearned for
| the figs Of Carthage. What matters
| this or that reasonc" bluntly demanded
| Gen. Monk. when war was under de-
| bate in the councils OF England. What
VIC want is more of the trade which the
| Dutch now have
| In the first war tbs Dutch admiral,
! Won Trnmp. sailed the channel with
| broom ut his masthead as sign o. his
| victory. but at the end OF that naval
|
dip her Colors TO the mistress OF the
! seas. In another -Anglo-Dutch war, that
| of 1861, however. the English were
4 badly worstcd. and the Dutch, sailing
| unchallcnged up the Thames cast upon
| London itself tire glare of the flames
OF burning British ships at Gravesend.
How America Was Freed ON the Sea
| Next France under Louis XIV began
to thrill with an ambition for navy
and an ocean commerce. The British
lion. ever alert to scent new rivsl
instantly made friends with the Dutch
! and formed in 1865 an alliance with
them to save Belgium from the
French. In the midst of the fraterniz-
ing. however. Charles II deserted his
| ally in 1870 and carried England over
to the other side. Nevertheless the
Dutch under d" Ruyter proved them
selves moro than equal to the COM
bined fleets of her allied foes.
| Although tho Dutch remained I'M
conquered. ih" English finally cstab-
nshed their supremacy by mining and
| the devious methods of craftsmanship
while William of Orange reigned a.
sovereign Of both countries. In the
arrangements made for that joint rule.
which lasted from 1889 to l7O2. Hol-
land received the SINAI! end OF Inc par
gain. Her navy fell into decay and her
trade was discouraged. while. IKE
youthful giant. England swept the
\ seas and gathered in colonial posses
sions everywhere along her now I'M
challenged way.
| Seven times France rose to check
her advance. but only in the time OF
the American Revolution did she halt
her for a moment French SHIPS de-
cided the issue then in favor of the re-
volted colonies and cost England
great empire. For it was by French
ships that Eochambeeus army came TO
the assistance of Washington and it
was French ships that cut of the re-
| lief of CORVALLIS at Yorktown, there
by compelling the surrender OF the
! English. American independence.
therefore, was gained in that rnomen-
tary suspension OF England's sea
! power.