Spain relative to
the possession of the Falkland Islands. It is not material to state
the nature of either claim to what was then but a collection of barren
islands, destitute of military as well as of natural advantages. Both
England and Spain had had a settlement, on which the national colors
were flying; and at the English station a captain in the navy
commanded. Before this settlement, called Port Egmont, there suddenly
appeared, in June, 1770, a Spanish expedition, fitted out in Buenos
Ayres, of five frigates and sixteen hundred soldiers. To such a force
the handful of Englishmen could make no serious resistance; so after a
few shots, exchanged for the honor of the flag, they capitulated.

The news of this transaction, which reached England in the following
October, showed by its reception how much more serious is an insult
than an injury, and how much more bitterly resented. The transfer of
Corsica had scarcely occasioned a stir outside the offices of
statesmen; the attack on Port Egmont roused the people and Parliament.
The minister to Madrid was ordered to demand the immediate restoration
of the islands, with a disavowal of the action of the officer who had
ordered the attack. Without waiting for a reply, ships were ordered
into commission, press-gangs swept the streets, and in a short time a
powerful fleet was ready at Spithead to revenge the insult. Spain,
relying upon the Bourbon family compact and the support of France, was
disposed to stand firm; but the old king, Louis XV., was averse to
war, and Choiseul, among whose enemies at court was the last mistress,
was dismissed. With his fall disappeared the hopes of Spain, which at
once complied with the demands of England, reserving, however, the
question as to the rights of sovereignty. This conclusion shows
clearly that England, though still wielding an effective sea power
able to control Spain, was not eager for a war merely in order to
break down the rival navies.

It is not wholly alien to the question of sea power to note, without
dwelling upon it, a great event which now happened, seemingly utterly
removed from all relation to the sea. The first partition of Poland
between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, carried out in 1772, was made
easier by the preoccupation of Choiseul with his naval policy and the
Spanish alliance. The friendship and support of Poland and Turkey, as
checks upon the House of Austria, were part of the tradition received
from Henry IV