CHAPTER I THE VERY BEGINNING OF SEA-POWER
(10,000 years and more B.C.) II THE FIRST FAR WEST (The last 5,000 years B.C.) III EAST AGAINST WEST (480 B. C.-146 B.C.) IV CELTIC BRITAIN UNDER ROME (55 B.C.-410 A.D.) V THE HARDY NORSEMAN (449-1066) VI THE IMPERIAL NORMAN (1066-1451) VII KING OF THE ENGLISH ERA (1545)
BOOK II
THE SAILING AGE
WHEN SAILORS FOUGHT ON EVERY OCEAN AND THE ROYAL NAVY OF THE MOTHER COUNTRY WON THE BRITISH COMMAND OF THE SEA BOTH IN THE OLD WORLD AND THE NEW
DRAKE TO NELSON
1585-1805
PART I--THE SPANISH WAR
VIII OLD SPAIN AND NEW (1492-1571) IX THE ENGLISH SEA-DOGS (1545-1580) X THE SPANISH ARMADA (1588)
PART II--THE DUTCH WAR
XI THE FIRST DUTCH WAR (1623-1653) XII THE SECOND AND THIRD DUTCH WARS (1665-1673)
PART III--THE FRENCH WAR
XIII THE FIRST WAR AGAINST LOUIS XIV (1689-1697) XIV THE SECOND WAR AGAINST LOUIS XIV (1702-1713) XV WAR AGAINST FRANCE AND SPAIN (1739-1748) XVI PITT'S IMPERIAL WAR (1756-1763) XVII THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (1775-1783) XVIII NELSON (1798-1805) XIX "1812"
BOOK III
THE AGE OF STEAM AND STEEL
WHEN THE BRITISH COMMAND OF THE SEA SAVED THE WORLD FROM GERMAN SLAVERY IN THE GREATEST OF ALL WARS
1914-1918
PART I--A CENTURY OF CHANGE (1814-1914)
XX A CENTURY OF BRITISH-FRENCH-AMERICAN PEACE (1815-1914) XXI A CENTURY OF MINOR BRITISH WARS (1815-1914)
PART II--THE GREAT WAR (1914-1918)
XXII THE HANDY MAN XXIII FIFTY YEARS OF WARNING (1864-1914) XXIV WAR (1914-1915) XXV JUTLAND (1916) XXVI SUBMARINING (1917-1918) XXVII SURRENDER! (1918) XXVIII WELL DONE!
POSTSCRIPT THE FREEDOM OF THE SEAS
[Transcriber's note: The following two errata items have been applied to this e-book.]
ERRATA
Page XIII. For "Henry VII's" read "Henry VIII's."
Page 254. L. 20 for "facing the Germans" read "away from Scheer,"
ILLUSTRATIONS
VIKING MAN-OF-WAR. . . . . . . . . _Frontispiece_
"DUG-OUT" CANOE
ROMAN TRIREME--A vessel with three benches of oars
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR'S TRANSPORTS
Eddystone Lighthouse, 1699. The first structure of stone and timber. Build for Trinity House by Winstanley and swept away in a storm. Eddystone Lighthouse, 1882. The fourth and present structure, erected by Sir J. N. Douglass for Trinity House.
The _Santa Maria_, flagship of Christopher Columbus when he discovered America in 1492. Length of keel, 60 feet. Length of ship proper, 93 feet. Length over all, 128 feet. Breadth, 26 feet. Tonnage, full displacement, 233.
DRAKE
One of Drake's Men-of-War that Fought the Great Armada in 1588.
ARMADA OFF FOWEY (Cornwall) as first seen in the English Channel.
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE ON BOARD THE _REVENGE_ receiving the surrender of Don Pedro de Valdes.
SAILING SHIP. The Pilgrim Fathers crossed in a similar vessel (1620).
LA HOGUE, 1692.
H.M.S. _Centurion_ engaged and took the Spanish Galleon _Nuestra Senhora de Capadongo_, from Acapulco bound to Manila, off Cape Espiritu Santo, Philippine Islands, June 20, 1743.
The _ROYAL GEORGE_
NELSON
FIGHTING THE GUNS ON THE MAIN DECK, 1782.
THE BLOWING UP OF _L'ORIENT_ DURING THE BATTLE OF THE NILE.
THE BATTLE OF COPENHAGEN, APRIL 2nd, 1801. (Note the British line ahead.)
The _VICTORY_. Nelson's Flagship at Trafalgar, launched in 1765, and still used as the flagship in Portsmouth Harbour.
TRAFALGAR. 21st October, 1805.
MODEL OF THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. (Reproduced by permission from the model at the Royal United Service Institution.)
THE _SHANNON_ AND THE _CHESAPEAKE_.
THE _ROYAL WILLIAM_. Canadian built; the first boat to cross any ocean steaming the whole way (1833), the first steamer in the world to fire a shot in action (May 5, 1836).
BATTLESHIP.
Seaplane Returning after flight.
DESTROYER.
A PARTING SHOT FROM THE TURKS AT GALLIPOLI.
JELLICOE.
BEATTY.
LIGHT CRUISER.
H.M.S. _Monmouth_, Armoured Cruiser. Sunk at Coronel, November 1st, 1914.
BATTLESHIP FIRING A BROADSIDE.
Jellicoe's Battle Fleet in Columns of Divisions. 6.14 P.M.
THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND--PLAN II. Jellicoe's battle line formed and fighting. 6:38 P.M.
British Submarine.
Minesweeper at work.
H.M. KING GEORGE V.
FLAG AND FLEET
BOOK I
THE ROWING AGE