resentment against French invasion or French occupation of territory was greater than the resentment against the invisible pressure exercised by the British navy.  In the wars of liberation, though Great Britain was the welcome ally of all the States that were fighting against France, the pressure of British sea power was none the less disagreeable and, in the years of peace which followed, the British monopoly of sea power, of sea-carriage, of manufacturing industry, and of international trade were equally disliked by almost all the nations of Europe.  Protective duties were regarded as the means of fostering national industries and of sheltering them against the overpowering competition of British manufactures.  The British claim to the dominion of the sea was regarded as unfounded in right, and was in principle as strongly denounced as had been the territorial domination of France.  The mistress of the seas was regarded as a tyrant, whom it would be desirable, if it were possible, to depose, and there were many who thought that as the result of a conflict in which the final success had been gained by the co-operation of a number of States acting together, the gains of Great Britain which, as time went on, were seen to be growing into a world-wide empire, had been out of proportion to the services she had rendered to the common cause.

Meantime during the century which has elapsed since the last great war, there has been a complete change in the conditions of intercourse between nations at sea and of maritime warfare.  It has come about gradually, almost imperceptibly, so that it could hardly be appreciated before the close of the nineteenth century.  But it is vital to Great Britain that her people should understand the nature of the transformation.

The first thing to be observed is that the British monopoly of shipping and of oversea trade has disappeared.  Great Britain still has by far the largest mercantile marine and by far the greatest share in the world’s sea traffic, but she no longer stands alone.  Germany, the United States, France, Norway, Italy, and Japan all have great fleets of merchant ships and do an enormous, some of them a rapidly increasing, seaborne trade.  A large number of the principal States import the raw material of manufacture and carry on import and export on a large scale.  The railway system connects all the great manufacturing centres, even those which lie far inland, with the great ports to and from which the lines of steamers ply.  The industrial life of every nation is more than ever dependent upon its communications with and by the sea, and every nation has become more sensitive than ever to any disturbance of its maritime trade.  The preponderance of the British navy is therefore a subject of anxiety in every State which regards as possible a conflict of its own interests with those of Great Britain.  This is one of the reasons why continental States have during the last quarter of a century been disposed to increase their fleets and their naval expenditure.