The Political History of England Author:William Hunt Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. THE FRENCH WAR. Chap. The real interest of England lay, as the future was destined II- to show, in the development of her naval and commercial ... more »resources. That the War of the Roses had exercised a prejudicial effect upon the maritime position of Great Britain is only too likely, for we hear complaints that the English navy was decayed, and we find that much of the carrying trade of the Channel was now in the hands of the Spaniards, the Portuguese, and the Bretons. Everywhere English commerce was confronted with powerful competition. In the Baltic the Hanseatic league exercised its jealously guarded supremacy; in the Mediterranean trade was met by rivals from Barcelona and Marseilles, from Genoa and Pisa, from Florence and Venice. The trade with Iceland was broken ; the trade with Norway and Denmark was ill-protected. It was only in the marts of Flanders that England still held a commanding position in virtue of her exports of cloth, and for this reason it was essential that the Burgundian house should keep on good terms with the sovereigns of England. But even the export trade in English cloth and woollen was largely carried on by foreign merchants in foreign bottoms. The privileges granted by Edward IV. to the Hanseatic league were still un- repealed; and German, Flemish, and Italian traders had a share in the distribution of British goods throughout the continent. Of oceanic adventure there was as yet little talk, save perhaps among Bristol shippers; yet it was from oceanic adventure that England was destined to become the first naval and the first colonial power in Europe. A few months after Henry's accession Bartholomew Columbus set sail for England to make a present of his brother's dreams to the English king. 1485 FRANCE OR THE ATLANTIC. aV- Christophe...« less