irely. This added only another reason to
England's need of a navy. For unless the home country's lines of
communication with its colonies in all parts of the world were kept
open at all times, the latter would have lost a great deal of their
value. In a way it may be claimed that English foreign politics was
predicated by these three fundamental conditions: to defend the home
country against all comers; to insure a plentiful supply of all raw
materials and products needed by the home country at all times; to
keep open communication with its colonies in every part of the world
against any interference, and to protect these colonial possessions
against all attacks.

Needless to say, the fact that England possessed colonies in all
parts of the world made it at once the greatest, richest, most
influential, and most jealous nation. For one of the chief national
characteristics of the English race is its tenacity, and it is loath
to let go of anything that has once come into its possession. This
characteristic frequently brought it into conflict with other
nations who wanted some of England's possessions. Furthermore, there
were many other instances where other nations were desirous of
acquiring territory or, at least, certain rights in other countries,
the acquisition of which found England's disapproval and opposition,
not because England possessed these lands or wished to possess them,
but because English interests apparently did not make it desirable
that the nation which was trying to gain these lands should succeed.
If we, however, consider that a great many of England's colonial
possessions were wrested at one time or another from other nations,
and that in some other cases their acquisition by conquest or treaty
ran counter against the interests of some other nations which,
however, were not strong or subtle enough to prevent England from
carrying out its plans, it becomes clear why England up to
comparatively recent times may be said to have possessed more and
more bitter enemies than any other nation.

In the consideration of the historical development of the various
European nations which we have set forth so far we have seen that,
whenever a nation possessed or acquired colonies, it was brought
immediately into contact, sometimes friendly and more frequently
unfriendly, with other nations, and this, of course, is not only
equally true of England, but even more so, because its colonial
interests were so much mor