ave made the country a maritime power as well--for an insular
country must also have the ships with which to carry its merchandise to
its markets.

The development of the manufactures, therefore, is inseparably connected
with that of the mineral and metal industries. From very early times the
metal deposits of the country have been a source of power. Copper and
tin were used by the aboriginal Britons long before Caesar's
reconnaissance of the islands, and it is not unlikely that the Bronze
Period was the natural development that resulted from the discovery of
these metals.

Coal occurs in various fields that extend from the River Clyde to the
River Severn. The annual output of these mines at the close of the
century was about two hundred and twenty-five million tons. In the past
century the inroads upon the visible supply were so great that the
output in the near future will be considerably lessened. Not far from
one-sixth of the output is sold to consumers in Russia and the
Mediterranean countries, but a growing sentiment to forbid any sale of
coal to foreign buyers is taking shape.

[Illustration: BRITISH ISLES]

Iron ores are fairly abundant, but the hematite required for the best
Bessemer steel is limited to the region about Manchester and Birmingham.
The shortage of this ore has become so apparent within recent years that
Great Britain has become a heavy purchaser of ores in foreign markets.
The coal in the Clyde basin is employed mainly in the manufacture of
railway iron, steamship material, and rolling stock. The manufacture of
Bessemer steel is gradually moving to the vicinity of South Wales, at
the ports of which foreign pig-iron can be most cheaply landed. In
west-central England the several coal-fields form a single centre of
manufacture, where are located some of the largest woollen and cotton
mills in Europe. It also includes the plants for the manufacture of
machinery, cutlery, and pottery.

The import trade of Great Britain consists mainly of food-stuffs and raw
materials.[67] Of the latter, cotton is by far the most important. Most
of it comes from the United States, but the Nile delta, Brazil, the
Dekkan of India, the Iran plateau, and the Piura Valley of Peru send
portions, each region having fibre of specific qualities designed for
specific uses. The native wool clip forms only a small part of the
amount used in manufacture. The remainder, more than three million
pounds, comes from Australia, Ne