e beginning of this
epoch William III. accepted the British crown in order to be able to use
the strength of England to defend his native country, Holland. His work
was taken up by Marlborough, whose first great victory was won in
co-operation with the Imperial commander, Prince Eugene. From that time
on, each of the principal wars was a European war in which France was
fighting both by sea and land, her armies being engaged against
continental foes, while Great Britain could devote her energies almost
exclusively to her navy. In the Seven Years' War it was the Prussian
army which won the victories on land, while small British forces were
enabled by the help of the navy to win an Empire from France in Canada,
and to lay the foundations of the British Empire in India. In the war of
American Independence, Great Britain for once stood alone, but this was
the one conflict which contributed little or nothing towards
establishing the ascendency of the British navy. Great Britain failed of
her object because that ascendency was incomplete. Then came the wars of
the French Revolution and Empire in which the British navy was the
partner of the Austrian, Prussian, Russian, and Spanish armies.

These are the facts which we have to explain. We have to find out how it
was that so many continental nations, whether they liked it or not,
found themselves, in fighting their own battles, helping to bring about
the British predominance at sea. It must be remembered that land warfare
involves much heavier sacrifices of life than warfare at sea, and that
though Great Britain no doubt spent great sums of money not merely in
maintaining her navy but also in subsidising her allies, she could well
afford to do so because the prosperity of her over-sea trade, due to her
naval success, made her the richest country in Europe. The other nations
that were her allies might not unnaturally feel that they had toiled and
that Great Britain had gathered the increase. What is the explanation of
a co-operation of which in the long run it might seem that one partner
has had the principal benefit?

If two nations carry on a serious war on the same side, it may be
assumed that each of them is fighting for some cause which it holds to
be vital, and that some sort of common interest binds the allies
together. The most vital interest of any nation is its own independence,
and while that is in question it conceives of its struggle as one of
self-defence. The exp