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Search - The Flower Of England's Garland

The Flower Of England's Garland
Author: G. E. Manwaring

INTRODUCTION ALTHOUGH many books have been written about the history and achievements of the British Navy, none gives any detailed account of what the foreigner thought of the majesty and strength of our fleet through the centuries. In the early chapters of this book I have attempted to give a picture of the Navy in the past as seen through the ... more »eyes of foreign visitors to this country. The story opens about the middle of the fifteenth century, and it is difficult for us to realise that exactly five hundred years ago the estimates for the Navy were under five pounds a year nonr they run into sixty millions. In 1436 there appeared the wellknown Libel of English Policy, which is believed to have represented the views of the leading statesmen of the day, in which the anonymous author made a powerful plea for England to wake from her lethargy, and establish the commercial and naval supremacy of this country. A little more than a century later, Sir Nicholas Tlrockmorton, our Ambassador in France, made a no less powerful plea to the Secretary of State concerning The Flower of Englands Garland. That such a wise and eminent statesman should have so clearly recognised the value of sea power to this country long before the advent of the Spanish Armada, seems worthy of putting on permanent record, and I cannot do better than give my readers the following extract from his letter Bend your force, credit, and devise to maintain and increase your Navy by all the means lx you can possible, for in this time, considering all circumstances, it is the Flower of Englands Garland. Animate and cherish as many as you can to serve by sea. Let them neither want good deeds, nor good words. It is your best, and best cheap defence. In such beautiful and decisive prose does this great Elizabethan deliver his message to us to-day. Who will deny the truth or the wisdom of it The good words were provided by Richard Hakluyt in his great prose epic of the English nation, and the good deeds by Francis Drake and his companions in arms. Foreign Impressions of the Fleet is of special interest for us to-day, in view of the fact tha this country has wisely decided to considerably increase the strength of the Fleet, and has determined that the trident of the sea shall not be wrested from her. From the contemporary accounts of these foreign observers we are able to understand more fully the growth and splendour of our Fleet to realise the respect and admiration with which it was regarded throughout Europe and incidentally to appreciate its glorious traditions-which inspire and stimulate every branch of the sea semice to-day. In these pages you mill find that some of the problems which confronted our ancestors are subjects of discussion to-day. How a shrewd observer in the eighteenth century expressed his opinion concerning the huge battleships of his day. He believed the service done by these enormous ships was by no means proportionate to the expense they entailed that they were built more for ostenta- tion than real use, and that England would stop building them as soon as France thought fit to set the example...

ISBN-13: 9781443771658
ISBN-10: 1443771651
Publication Date: 10/27/2008
Pages: 260
Rating:

0 stars, based on 0 rating

Publisher: Burrard Press
Book Type: Paperback
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

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