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.