of trial.

Before going on with the story of this maritime war, the military
situation as it existed in the different parts of the world should be
stated.

The three features which cause it to differ markedly from that at the
opening of the Seven Years' War, in 1756, are--(1) the hostile
relation of America to England; (2) the early appearance of Spain as
the ally of France; and (3) the neutrality of the other continental
States, which left France without preoccupation on the land side.

On the North American continent the Americans had held Boston for two
years. Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island were occupied by the English,
who also held New York and Philadelphia. Chesapeake Bay and its
entrance, being without strong posts, were in the power of any fleet
that appeared against them. In the South, since the unsuccessful
attack upon Charlestown in 1776, no movement of importance had been
made by the English; up to the declaration of war by France the chief
events of the war had been north of the Chesapeake (of Baltimore). In
Canada, on the other hand, the Americans had failed, and it remained
to the end a firm base to the English power.

In Europe the most significant element to be noted is the state of
preparedness of the French navy, and to some extent of the Spanish, as
compared with previous wars. England stood wholly on the defensive,
and without allies; while the Bourbon kings aimed at the conquest of
Gibraltar and Port Mahon, and the invasion of England. The first two,
however, were the dear objects of Spain, the last of France; and this
divergence of aims was fatal to the success of this maritime
coalition. In the introductory chapter allusion was made to the
strategic question raised by these two policies.

In the West Indies the grip of the two combatants on the land was in
fact about equal, though it should not have been so. Both France and
England were strongly posted in the Windward Islands,--the one at
Martinique, the other at Barbadoes. It must be noted that the position
of the latter, to windward of all others of the group, was a decided
strategic advantage in the days of sail. As it happened, the fighting
was pretty nearly confined to the neighborhood of the Lesser Antilles.
Here, at the opening of the struggle, the English island of Dominica
lay between the French Martinique and Guadeloupe; it was therefore
coveted and seized. Next south of Martinique lay Sta. Lucia, a French
colony. Its strong ha