DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 272
LECTURE I
THE SEA CRADLE OF THE REFORMATION
Jean Paul, the German poet, said that God had given to France the empire
of the land, to England the empire of the sea, and to his own country
the empire of the air. The world has changed since Jean Paul's days. The
wings of France have been clipped; the German Empire has become a solid
thing; but England still holds her watery dominion; Britannia does still
rule the waves, and in this proud position she has spread the English
race over the globe; she has created the great American nation; she is
peopling new Englands at the Antipodes; she has made her Queen Empress
of India; and is in fact the very considerable phenomenon in the social
and political world which all acknowledge her to be. And all this she
has achieved in the course of three centuries, entirely in consequence
of her predominance as an ocean power. Take away her merchant fleets;
take away the navy that guards them: her empire will come to an end; her
colonies will fall off, like leaves from a withered tree; and Britain
will become once more an insignificant island in the North Sea, for the
future students in Australian and New Zealand universities to discuss
the fate of in their debating societies.
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