A short history of the British commonwealth

Front matter

CORNELL

UNIVERSITY

LIBRARY

Preface

The book of which this volume is the first half is an atteihpt to tell, within moderate compass, the story of the British Commonwealth, regarded as a single whole, but also as a part of the greater commonwealth of Western CiviHsation. As 1-have conceived it, it is the story of a number of peoples gradually learning to live together ^^ in a free partnership, inspired by their common enjoyment of the institutions of poUtical hberty.

It is part of the plan of the book that the treatment should become fuller as the narrative draws nearer to our own time. The present volume extends to 1763, and covers all that part of the story which is common to aU the EngUsh-speaking peoples. It will be succeeded by a second volume of similar dimensions, which will bring the story down to the Great War.

In this first volume the bulk of the space is necessarily devoted to the history of England, because it was in England that the institutions and ideas characteristic of the whole Commonwealth had their birth and early development. But I have tried in several respects to differentiate my narrative from the many admir-able siunmaries of EngMsh history with which it may seem to challenge comparison.

(i) I have endeavoured to give a clear and distinctive treatment to the history of Wales, Scotland and Ireland, so far as the limits of space permitted ; while, in the second half of the volume, I have laid an increasing degree of emphasis upon the history of the Colonies, the development of oversea trade, and the part played by the Navy in determining the fortunes of the Commonwealth as a whole.

(2) I have striven to keep the reader's mind awake to the most significant features of contemporary European history, especially during the modem age ; and to show the influence of European events upon the development of vi SHORT HISTORY OF BRITISH COMMONWEALTH

the Commonwealth. In particular I have tried to make clear, at each stage, the part played by other European countries in the extension of European civiHsation to the non-European world, and the contrasts between the methods of the rivals in this field.

(3) Even in the narrative of English history my aim has been to emphasise those aspects only which seemed to be of direct importance for the future development of the whole Conamonwealth. I have therefore dealt comparatively lightly with the mediaeval period down to 1485 ; it occupies only one-fourth of the present volume. In the mediaeval section, and indeed throughout the volume, I have laid stress especially upon the growth of institutions, and upon the gradual change in the social organisation of the British peoples. This does not mean that I have thrust wars into the background. While I have deliberately dealt very summarily with minor wars, I have treated pretty fully the great struggles which have marked the principal epochs in the development of the British Commonwealth — the Elizabethan war against Spain, the Civil War, the wars against Louis xiv., and, above all, the culminating conflict with France in the middle of the eighteenth century. J. R. Green, that admirable writer, never wrote a more fooUsh sentence than one which occui:s in the preface to his most famous book : ' War plays a small part in the real story of European nations, and in that of England its part is smaller than in any.' Green wrote in a time of longestablished peace. We, who have hved through the most terrible of all wars, know that there are some wars which not only vitally influence the external fortunes of States, but profoundly affect their character, their institutions, and their social order ; and the four great wars which I have named assuredly faU into this category.

The plan of the book, and the complexity of its subject matter, have compelled me to disregard entirely the conventional division into dynasties and reigns, and to take a considerable latitude in departing from chronological order. As a means of remedyiag the defects of this method, of bringing out instructive synchronisms, and at the same time of making cross-reference easier, a ' Chronological

PREFACE

Vll

Index ' is added to the volume. For the gift of this index (which deUberately abstains from any attempt to be exhaustive) I am deeply indebted to Miss Harriet Davies. An index of the ordinary type will be included in the second volume.

No maps are inserted in the narrative : I have contented myself with frequent footnote references to my Students' Atlas of Modern History, 'to which this book is meant to be a companion. I have also used footnotes to direct the attention of the reader to a large number of good, short biographies, and to a few novels. Short hsts of good modem books in English are appended to each chapter.

I hope that the book may be useful to teachers, and that, in spite of its length, it may be suitable for the higher forms in schools, for training colleges, and for the junior classes in Universities. But while I have kept these needs in view, my primary aim has been to make the noble and stirring story of the development of the British Commonwealth at once intelligible and interesting to the general reader.

In conclusion I have to give my cordial thanks to my friends Miss B. A. Lees, Professor Powicke, Dr. G. S. Veitch, and Mr. C. S. S. Higham, who have kindly read parts of the volume in proof, and given me the advantage of their criticism.

RAMSAY MUIR.

Buxton, May 1920.

Preface To Second Edition

A FEW corrections of detail have been introduced in this

edition, but they are all of minor importance.

SUMMARY OF CONTENTS

BOOK I THE MAKING OF THE FOUR NATIONS (to a.d. 1215)

CHAP. rAOX

I. THE FIRST INHABITANTS AND THE FIRST CONTACT WITH

CIVILISATION, ...... 5

§ I. The Islands and their EarUest Peoples, p. 5 ; § 2. The Roman Occupation, p. 9.

II. THE TEUTONIC INVADERS (a.D. 4x0-825), . . I3

§ I. The Barbarian Conquerors and the Chaos they produced, p. 13 ; § 2. The Revival of Civilisation, p. 19 ; § 3. England in 800 A.D., p. 23.

III. THE INVASIONS OF THE NORTHMEN (A.D. 825-I066), .. 26

§ I. The Vikings and their Ravages, p. 26 ; § 2. Alfred the Great and the Emperor Kings, p. 29 ; § 3. The Second Danish Conquest and the Coming of the Normans, p. 34 ; § 4. The Need for the Norman Conquest, p. 37.

IV. THE WORK OF THE NORMAN KINGS (a.D. I066-I154), . 41

§ I. The Norman Conquest and the Establishment of the Feudal Order, p. 41 ; § 2. The Beginnings of a National System of Government, p. 43 ; § 3. Norman Influence in Wales and Scotland, p. 49.

V. THE REIGN OF LAW ESTABLISHED (a.D. II54-1216), . 51

§ I. The Angevin Empire and Europe in the Twelfth Century, p. 51 ; § 2. Henry ii.'s Work of Organisation, P- 57 ; § 3- Richard I. and John : the Winning of Magna Carta, p. 61.

VI. THE STATE OF ENGLAND IN I 21 5, . . .67

§ I. A Land of Communities, p. 67 ; § 2. The Church and its Services to Civilisation, p. 72 ; § 3. Contact with Europe, p. 75 ; § 4. The Backwardness of Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, p. 76.

CONTENTS ix

Book II

THE CONFLICTS OF THE FOUR NATIONS : AND THE GROWTH OF SELF-GOVERNMENT IN ENGLAND (a.d. 1215-1485)

CHAf. PAGE

I. THE MEDI/EVAL WORLD AND ITS INFLUENCE UPON THE

ISLANDS, . . . -83

§ I. Changes in the PoHtical Systems and Ideas of . Europe, p. 83 ; § 2. The Enrichment of Civihsation : the Friars and the Universities, p. 89.

II. THE ORGANISATION OF THE ENGLISH NATION (a.D. I216-

1307), ...... 95

§ I. The Rise of National Feeling, p. 95 ; § 2. Montfort and the First Attempt at Parliamentary Government, P- 97 > § 3- Edward I. and the Establishment of Parliament, p. loi ; § 4. The Lawyer - King as National Leader, p. 103.

III. THE CONQUEST OF WALES, .... I07

IV. THE INDEPENDENCE OF SCOTLAND, . . -US

§ 1. The Development of the Scottish Monarchy, p. 113 ; § 2. Edward l.'s Attempt to subjugate Scotland, p. 115 ; § 3. The Scottish Resistance under Wallace and Bruce, p. 116; §4. Bannockburn and the Establishment of Independence, p. 118.

V. THE FIRST ATTEMPT TO CONQUER FRANCE, . .122

§ I. The Motives of the Attempt, p. 122 ; § 2. The War and its Consequences, p. 125.

VI. CHANGING SOCIAL CONDITIONS, . . . .130

§ I. Changes in the Character of the Feudal Baronage, p. 130 ; § 2. Peasants and their Landlords : the Black Death, p. 133 ; §3. The Growth of Trade and Industry, and their Organisation, p. 136 ; § 4. Intellectual Ferment : Wycliffe and the Church, p. 140

vii. the development of english self-government

§ I. Edward II. and Thomas of Lancaster, p. 145 ; §2. The Wars of Edward ili. and the Growth of Parliamentary Power, p. 147 ; § 3. The Invention of Impeachment : ■ the Justices of the Peace, p. 1 50 ; § 4. Parliamentary Supremacy and the Revolt of the Peasants, p. 153 ; § 5. Reaction and Revolution, p. 1 56 ; § 6. The Lancastrian Experiment of Limited Monarchy, p. 161.

X SHORT HISTORY OF BRITISH COMMONWEALTH

CHAP. PAGE

.VIII. THE SECOND ATTEMPT TO CONQUER FRANCE (a.D. 14II-

1453)- -1^5

§ I. The French Factions, and the Victories of Henry v., p. 165 ; § 2. Joan of Arc, and the Ruin of EngHsh Ambitions in France, p. i6g.

IX. THE STRIFE OF FACTIONS IN ENGLAND (A.D. 1422-I485), 173 § I. Faction and Disorder in England, p. 173 ; § 2. The Wars of the Roses, p. 178 ; §3. The House of York and the Re-estabHshment of Royal Power, p. 180.

X. WALES, SCOTLAND AND IRELAND IN THK LATER MIDDLE

XI. EUROPE AND THE ISLANDS ON THE EVE OF THE MODERN

§ I. The Cosmopolitan Ideal of the Middle Ages and its Breakdown, p. 192 ; § 2. The Political Condition of Europe: the Rise of Nation-States, p. 195; §3. The Turkish Peril, p. 200 ; § 4. The Political Contrast between England and Europe, p. 201.

Book III

THE BEGINNING OF THE MODERN AGE: THE RE- FORMATION, AND THE OPENING OF THE SEAS (a.D. 1485-1603)

I. THE RESTORATION OF GOOD GOVERNMENT (A.D. 1485-

1529). • . . . . .210

§ 1. The Privy Council and the Re-establishment of Order, p. 210 ; § 2. The Splendour of Henry vni. and Wolsey, p. 214; §3. Growing National Strength, p. 216 ; § 4. England and her Sister Realms, p. 218.

II. THE RENASCENCE, • ■ . . . 222

§ 1. The Meaning of the Renascence, p. 222 ; § 2. The Renascence in England, p. 225 ; § 3. Moral and PoUtical Aspects of the Renascence, p. 228.

III. THE NEW ERA IN FOREIGN POLITICS (a.D. 1485-1529), . 230 § I. The Beginning of National Rivalries : the Wars of Italy, p. 230 ; § 2. Charles v., Francis I., and Solyman the Turk, p. 232 ; § 3. The Balance of Power, p. 235.

CONTENTS xi

CHAP. PAGE

IV. THE UNVEILING OF THE OUTFR WORLD, . . . 237

§1. The First Great Discoveries, p. 337; §2. The Portuguese Power in the East, p. 240 ; § 3. The Spanish Empire in America, p. 241 ; § 4. The Modest Enterprises of France and England, p. 244.

v. the reformation in europe and in england

§1. The Reformation in Europe, p. 246; §2. The King's Divorce and the Breach with Rome, p. 251 ; § 3. The Dissolution of the Monasteries, and the Organisation of Despotism, p. 256 ; § 4. The Culmination of Henry VIIl.'s Power, p. 260 ; § 5. Edward vi. and Protestantism Triumphant, p. 262 ; S 6. Mary and the Catholic Reaction, p. 267 ; § 7. The Elizabethan Settlement, p. 271. ^

VI. THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND (a.d. 1528-1561), . 274

§ I. Scotland in the Sixteenth Century, p. 274 ; § 2. Scotland, England and France, p. 277 ; § 3. John Knox and the Religious Revolution, p. 279 ; § 4. The Years of Crisis, and the Anglo-Scottish Alliance, p. 281 ; § 5. The Religious Settlement in Scotland, p. 284.

vii. elizabeth, mary queen of scots, and philip ii.

§ I. The Counter-Reformation and the Political Situation in Europe in 1559, p. 287; §2. Elizabeth and Mary, 1561-1571, p. 291; §3. Years of Intensifying Strain, 1571-1584, p. 295 ; §4. The Open Conflict with Spain, and the Execution of Mary, p. 300.

VIII. THE ENGLISH SEAMEN, AND THE DEFEAT OF THE SPANISH

§ I. The Search for New Trade Outlets, p. 303 ; § 2. The Pirates of the Narrow Seas, p. 305 ; § 3. Drake and the Adventures of the Spanish Main, p. 308 ; § 4. The Spanish Armada, p. 314.

IX. THE CONQUEST OF IRELAND, . . . -32 1

§1. The Problem of Ireland, p. 321 ; §2. The First Attempts to solve the Irish Problem, p. 324 ; § 3. Religious Conflict and the Munster Risings, p. 327 ; § 4. The Irish National Rising under Tyrone, p. 331.

X. THE AGE OF ELIZABETH (a. IJ. 1558-1603), . . 335

§1. Literary Activities, p. 335 ; §2. Social Conditions, P- 338 ; § 3- Economic Changes, p. 342 ; § 4. The Religious Changes, p. 346 ; § 5. The Queen and her Parliament, p. 350.

xii SHORT HISTORY OF BRITISH COMMONWEALTH

Book IV

THE STRUGGLE FOR NATIONAL SELF-GOVERN- MENT; AND THE BEGINNINGS OF ENGLISH EXPANSION OVERSEA (a.d. 1603-1660)

V. PERSONAL GOVERNMENT AND ITS DOWNFALL (a.D. 1629- 1642),. ......

§1. The Years of Personal Government, p. 414; §2. The Aims and Methods of Laud, p. 419 ; § 3. The Puritan Emigration, 421 ; § 4. Ship Money and its Significance, p. 428 ; § 5. The Collapse of Personal Government and the Definition of Limited Monarchy, p. 430; §6. The Cleavage of Parties and the Drift towards Civil War, p. 434.

PAGE

CHAP.

I. EUROPE IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE SEVENTEENTH CEN- TURY, . . . . • • 359

§1. Problems of Peace and War, p. 359; §2. The Thirty Years' War, p. 364.

II. THE FIRST COLONIES, AND THE BEGINNINGS OF TRADE

§ I. International Rivalry in Oversea Trade, p. 370 ; § 2. European Enterprises in the East : the East India Company, p. 372 ; § 3. Colonising Activities in the West : Canada, Virginia, and New England, p. 376.

III. THE CONFLICT OF CROWN AND PARLIAMENT (a.D. 1603-

1629),. . . . .385

§ I. The General Grounds of Conflict, p. 385 ; § 2. James I. and his Parliaments, p. 391 ; § 3. Charles I. and the Petition of Right, p. 394.

iv. ireland and scotland under the early stewarts

§ I. Ireland : the Plantation of Ulster, p. 401 ; § 2. The Irish Policy of Wentworth, p. 404 ; § 3. Scotland : the Absolutism of James I., p. 406 ; § 4. The Revolt of the Scots against the Policy of Charles I., p. 409.

CONTENTS xiii

CHAP. FACE

VI. CIVIL WAR IN THE ISLANDS (a.D. 1642-1649), . . 440

§ I. The Situation at the Outbreak of War, p. 440 ; § 2. The First Three Campaigns, p. 443 ; § 3. The Professional Army, and the Downfall of the Royalist Cause, p. 447 ; § 4. Attempts to find a Settlement, p. 451 ; § 5. Solution by the Sword, p. 454.

vii; the puritan republic and the protectorate

§ I. The Situation in 1649, p. 458 ; § 2. The Security of the Republic Established, p. 461 ; § 3. The Attempt to find a New System of Government, p. 465 ; § 4. The Achievements of the Republic and the Protectorate, p. 471.

VIII. THE puritan REPUBLIC AND THE OUTER WORLD, 475

§ I. Naval and Colonial Policy ; the Dutch War, 475 ; § 2. Cromwell's Foreign Policy and the War with Spain, p. 480.

IX. the COLLAPSE OF THE PURITAN REPUBLIC (a.D. 1658-

1660), ...... 484

BOOK V CONSTITUTIONAL SETTLEMENT AND IMPERIAL DEVELOPMENT (a.d. 1660-17 14)

I. THE RESTORATION, ..... 494

§ I. The Ideas of the Restoration and the Character of Charles n., p. 494 ; § 2. England : Limited Monarchy and Religious Intolerance, p. 496 ;^ § 3. Scotland : Absolutism and Religious Persecution, p. 501 ; § 4. Ireland : Absolutism and partial Reconciliation, p. 504.

II. EUROPE IN THE AGE OF LOUIS XIV. (a.D. 1661-1688), . 508

§ I. The Age of Enlightenment, p. 508 ; § 2. The Ascendency of France, p. 511 ; § 3. The Wars of Louis XIV. (to 1688), p. 514; § 4. Northern Europe: the Rise of the Hohenzollerns, p. 519; § 5. The Problem of the Turkish Empire, p. 521 ; § 6. The Prevalence of Absolute Monarchy in Europe, p. 523.

III. RIVAL COLONIAL EMPIRES, • 5*5

§ I. International Rivalry Overseas, p. 525 ; § 2. The French Colonial Empire and the Development of Canada, p. 526 ; § 3. A New Era in British Colonial Policy, p. S30 ; § 4. The Establishment of New Colonies, P- 534 ; § S- A Period of Friction, p. 539.

xiv SHORT HISTORY OF BRITISH COMMONWEALTH

CHAP. PAGE

IV. THE RISE OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN ENGLAND (a.D.

1660-1688), ... . . 542

§ I. The First Rudiments of a Cabinet and of Political Parties : Clarendon, 1660-7, p. 542 ; § 2. The Cabal : Religious Toleration, Secret Dealings with France and Parliamentary Opposition, 1667-73, P- 544 J § 3- Danby and the Organisation of Political 1-arties, 1673-78, p. 547; § 4. Violent Party Conflict, 1679-81, p. 550; § 5. Triumphant Reaction and the Disregard of Laws, 1681-88, P- 554-

§ I. The European Situation and the Downfall of James 11., p. 560 ; § 2. The War of the Revolution, in Scotland, in Ireland, and on the Seas, p. 564.

VI. THE REVOLUTION SETTLEMENT (a.D. 1689-1707), 570

§ I. The General Character of the Settlement, p. 570 ; § 2. Tories and Whigs : rival Conceptions of Government, p. 571 ; § 3. The Constitutional Settlement in England, p. 575 ; § 4. The Relations between Government and Parliament, p. 578 ; '^ 5. The Revolution Settlement in Scotland and its Eifects upon Anglo- Scottish Relations, p. 580 ; § 6. The Union of England and Scotland, p. 583 ; § 7. The Revolution Settlement in Ireland, and the Penal Code, p. 586 ; § 8. The Revolution in the Colonies, p. 591.

VII. THE DOWNFALL OF LOUIS XIV. (a.D. 1689-I713), . 597

§ I. The War of the League of Augsburg, and the British share in it, p. S97 ; § 2. The Problem of the Spanish Inheritance, p. 600 ; § 3. The Military Problem, and the Greatness of Marlborough, p. 606 ; § 4. The War of the Spanish Succession, p. 609 ; § 5. The Peace of Utrecht, p. 614.

VIII. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS (a.D. 1660-1714), . . 6x8

§ I. The Causes of the Growing Wealth of Britain : Foreign Trade and Banking, p. 6i8 ; § 2. The Influence of the ' Moneyed Interest' and its Effects upon National Policy, p. 624.

IX. PARTY CONFLICTS IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE

§ I. The Whigs and the Tories, p. 630 ; § 2. The War Government of Marlborough and the Ascendency ot the Whigs, p. 633 ; § 3. Bolingbroke and the New Toryism, p. 636.

CONTENTS XV

Book VI

THE WHIG OLIGARCHY; AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MARITIME AND COLONIAL SUPREMACY (1714-1763)

CHAP. PAGE

I. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WHIG OLIGAKCHY : THE

JACOBITE RISINGS, ... . 648

§ I. The Insecurity of the New Regime and the Jacobite Rising of 1715, p. 648 ; § 2. The Organisation of the Whig Oligarchy, p. 653 ; § 3. The House of Commons under the Whigs, p. 656 ; § 4. The Young Chevalier, and the Last Great Effort of the Jacobites, p. 659.

§ I. Characteristics of the Period, p. 664 ; § 2. The Decay of Turkey, Poland and Sweden, and the Rise of Russia, p. 665 ; § 3. The Franco-British Alliance for the Maintenance of Peace, p. 669 ; § 4. The Gradual Rupture of the Franco-British Alliance, and the Question of Poland, p. 673.

III. TRADE AND COLONIAL RIVALRY (a.D. 1714-I739), . 677

§ I. Exaggerated Expectations from Tropical Trade, P- 677 ; § 2. The Chief Spheres of Tropical Trade : the Slave-Trade and the Great Triangle, p. 679 ; § 3- North American Trade, and Franco-British Rivalry, p. 683.

IV. THE GOVERNMENT OF THE WHIGS (a.D. 1714-1739), . 687

§ I. The Whig Ministries, p. 687 ; § 2. Walpole, the Great Whig ; the Principles of his Policy, p. 689 ; § 3. Walpole's Constructive Work, p. 693 ; § 4. The Opposition to the Whigs : the Ideas of Bolingbroke, p. 697.

V. THE WESLEYS AND THE REVIVAL OF ENTHUSIASM, 70I

§ I. The Age of Reason, p. 701 ; § 2. The Beginnings of Organised Philanthropy : the Colony of Georgia, p. 704 ; § 3- I^he Religious Revival in Wales, and the Methodist Movement, p. 706.

xvi SHORT HISTORY OF BRITISH COMMONWEALTH

CHAP. I'*0=

VI. THE FIRST PHASES OF THE GREAT CONFLICT FOR

MARITIME \ND COLONIAL SUPREMACY (a.D. 1739-1755), 71° § I. The Opening of the Conflict, p. 710; § 2. The Maritime War with Spain, p. 71 1 ; § 3- The War of the Austrian Succession, and the Potency of Sea-Power, p. 712 ; § 4 The Beginning of Franco- British Conflict Overseas, p. 717 ; § 5. The Years of Nominal Peace, 1748-55, P- 719; § 6. The Diplomatic Revolution of 1756, p. 724; § 7. British Politics and the Great Conflict : the Emergence of Pitt, p. 728.

VII. WILLIAM PITT AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF BRITISH MARITIME AND COLONIAL SUPREMACY (a.D. 1755"

1763), 733

§ I. The Dark Days, p. 733 ; § 2. Pitt's Opportunity, and his Preparations, p. 736 ; § 3. The Turn of the Tide, 1758, p. 742 ; § 4. The Annus Mirabilis of 1759 : Quebec and Quiberon, p. 746 ; § 5. Negotiations for Peace : the Fall of Pitt, p. 752 ; § 6. The Aftermath : the Downfall of Spain, p. 755 ; § 7. The Peace of Paris, p. 756.

VIII. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF BRITISH POWER IN INDIA, . 759

§ I. The Main Factors of Indian Politics, p. 759 ; § 2. The Chaos of Eighteenth-Century India : the Mahrattas and the Afghans, p. 763 ; § 3. French and British in the Camatic : the Projects of Dupleix, p. 767 ; § 4. Renewed Conflict ; and the Establishment of British Influence in Bengal, p. 773 ; § 5. The Nature of the British Power in India in 1760, p. 778.

IX. THE SOCIAL ORGANISATION OF THE BRITISH COMMON- WEALTH IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, 782

§ I. The Prosperity and Freedom of England, p. 782 ; § 2. English Rural Society and its Organisation, p. 784 ; § 3. The Ruling Classes : the Squirearchy and the Magnates : an Aristocratic Society, p. 787 ; § 4. The Commercial and Industrial Interests : the Growth of Capitalist Control, p. 793 ; § 5. The Growth of Prosperity in Scotland, p. 798 ; § 6. The Stagnancy of Ireland, p. 802 ; § 7. The British Lands oversea : their Social Character, p. 804 ; § 8. Problems of the Commonwealth, p. 812.

Book I The Making Of The Four Nations

(to A.D. I2I5)

VOL. I.

We are citizens not merely of a great country, but of a wonderful partnership or fellowship of peoples, which is generally known as the British Empire, but is better described as the British Commonwealth of Nations. It includes one-quarter of the area and one-quarter of the population of the world, and its territories are to be foimd in every continent and are washed by every ocean. There has never been, in all the history of mankind, a political structure which at all resembled the British Commonwealth. For its most striking feature is that it is not a mere Empire, held together solely by the military power of a conquering people, like the many Empires that have arisen and decayed in the course of history ; but that each of its members retains its own distinct character, and is either entirely free in the management of its own affairs, or (if it is not ready for that) is governed with a view to the interests of its own people, and not with a view solely to the interests of the ruling race. All the innumerable nations and tribes included within the British Commonwealth are able to live together in peace, and to help and strengthen one another, while each of them retains its own customs and modes of life. That is something far more wonderful than the building of even the greatest empire by mere force. As we all are, or shall be, citizens of this world-wide Commonwealth of Nations, and must share the responsibility for maintaining and improving the traditions by which it has grown great, it is our duty to understand its character, and for that purpose to study its history. The purpose of this book is to explain how these traditions came into existence, and how the Commonwealth of Nations grew to its present marvellous dimensions.

It has all grown from the two small islands, Great Britain and Ireland, which lie off the north-west coast of Europe. They have shared in the common civilisation of Europe, but because they were islands they have been able to develop in security their own characteristic institutions.

And it has bfcen these institutions, the institutions of political freedom, which have mainly determined the character and course of the history of the whole Commonwealth. Moreover in these two islands there are, and there have been for many centuries, no less than four distinct nations. They have learned slowly and, in the case of Ireland, very imperfectly, the difficult lesson of hving together in peace as members of a single great State, without sacrificing their individual character. It has come to be one of the distinctive notes of the British Commonwealth that its ideal (not always realised) is to cultivate unity without sacrificing freedom or forcibly wiping out differences. And it was because the peoples of the islands had in some degree learnt to tolerate differences and to live together in mutual respect, that those who went forth from them into the new world and the old were able gradually to develop the world-wide partnership of free nations which is the British Commonwealth.

Hence our story must begin with the peoples of the islands ; and its first stage must deal (though only in the broadest outline) with the development of the four nations out of the very mixed races who have made their homes in the islands.

THE FIRST INHABITANTS AND THE FIRST CONTACT WITH CIVILISATION

§ I. The Islands and their Earliest Peoples.

Long before the dawn of history the British Islands were attached to the, mainland of Europe ; and the Thames and the Trent were tributaries of the Rhine. The first great event iti the history of the British Commonwealth was the gradual physical change — due, the geologists tell us, to the melting of the huge polar ice-cap that once extended over all Northern Europe — which caused the seas to rise and to submerge the low plains where the English Channel and the North Sea now he. For this change determined that the British lands, while forming a part of Europe, should stand a httle aloof from it ; and that their peoples, which were to be the mother-races of the Commonwealth, should be bred apart, not cut off from the influence of European civihsation, but yet free fropi constant contact and strife with their neighbours, and able, therefore, to develop their own institutions and modes of life in ■yieir own way.

Cut off thus from the Continent, and lying on its north-western margin with nothing beyond but the stormy expanse of ocean, the islands appeared to the ancients to be on the very edge of the round flat world. Ancient maps ^ show them thus, bordered by the great river Oceanus, which was supposed to encircle the earth, and beyond which, men thought, lay only emptiness. And so long as the Mediterranean Sea continued to be the centre of Western civihsation, as it did until four hundred years ago, the British Islands did indeed lie on the outskirts of the world, far from the heart of things, and counted for very little in the life of Europe. It was not until the great explorations of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries that the islands

1 See the maps reproduced in AtltLS, Plate 46.

ceased to be among the most remote outlying regions of the civilised world, and found that they lay in the main track of the world's concerns. Then the great age of their history began, for which all the earlier ages were but a long preparation.

The fact that the islands lay on the outermost verge of the Eurasian continent had another vitally important influence upon their history. The shallow sundering seas were narrow and easily crossed ; and so it came about that, in the incessant movement of peoples from the east westwards, branches of all the races which came into Western Europe also passed over the Narrow Seas, and made their contribution to the population of the islands. And because there were no further lands into which the earlier migrants could be driven by their successors, aU these peoples were forced to blend with one another ; with the result that the peoples of the islands derive their origin from a greater variety of racial stocks than perhaps any other people in Europe. As each of the migrant peoples pressed into the islands it conquered its predecessors, drove some of them into the less fertile regions of the north and west, enslaved the rest, and then gradually blended with them by intermarriage.