FOREWORD 



The most precious possession of the Anglo-Saxon race, and of the 

 British people in particular, is the sea sense which always draws them to 

 Blue Water. The Navy and the Merchant Service attract more men 

 than they can hold, in spite of the obvious fact that there are better 

 livings to be made ashore at infinitely less discomfort. Every expedi- 

 tion that sails to the unknown, whether it be to the Poles or the Great 

 Waters, is inundated with applications for places. It is the Sea, and that 

 is all that matters. We are not the only people in the World to have 

 this sense, but happily we have it developed to a greater extent than 

 anybody else, for without it our Empire, and indeed our existence as a 

 nation, would soon come to an end. 



The aim of this book is to trace the history of the Sea and of Ships 

 through the ages, particularly the part played by the Anglo-Saxons. 

 Our maritime history is not a matter of chance or of casual growth ; it is 

 the logical outcome of circumstances and persistent effort. We have 

 made our mistakes in plenty and have paid for them heavily enough. 

 Time and again we have turned aside after false gods and have lost sight 

 of the lessons that our fathers have taught us, but each time it has been the 

 Seaman who has saved us. Britain and her cousins must always look 

 to Blue Water for their salvation. It is our heritage, but it is a 

 heritage that must be guarded jealously and studied carefully in all its 

 phases. This can only be done through the history of our fathers, and it 

 is this history that is laid before the reader. 



Comparatively few except practical seamen can visualise the old 

 ships as they sailed and the old actions as they were fought. For this 

 reason every effort has been made to illustrate the story in all its aspects, 

 and this has been rendered possible only through the kindness and 

 enthusiasm of Mr. A. G. H. Macpherson, who has put the whole of his 

 famous collection of maritime prints at the disposal of the producers of 

 this book. The descendant of some of the pioneers of our Indian 

 Empire, which was one of the first results of Sea Power, he has been 

 an enthusiastic student of all nautical affairs since boyhood, and has 

 succeeded in getting together the finest collection of prints on the subject 

 in the world. No public collection or gallery has achieved a tithe of 

 what he has, and the author and publishers desire to make full 

 acknowledgment of his courtesy in allowing them access to his unique 

 accumulation of pictorial records to illustrate this work. 



