CHAPTER I— THE DISCOVERY OF BRITAIN 



The Dawn of Sea History 



The earliest dawn of sea history is obvious and has often been 

 pictured. The prehistoric savage on his log in a river — probably 

 unwillingly — discovering that a fair wind will carry him along and trans- 

 port him from one bank to the other ; the theory is so natural that it is 

 impossible to doubt it. Whether that river was the Euphrates, or one 

 of the great Indian streams, or any other waterway, is beyond anything 

 more than the vaguest conjecture and can safely be left at that. This 

 history proposes to deal with the history of the sea, principally as it has 

 affected the Anglo-Saxon races and this country in particular ; and, 

 therefore, although the East is certainly the cradle of navigation, and 

 although it must be admitted that it is impossible to get a proper con- 

 ception of sea power and all that it means without first making a close 

 study of the history of the Mediterranean peoples on the water, it is 

 only necessary to deal with them where they came into touch with 

 Britain. This misses a portion of the World's Sea Story that is extra- 

 ordinarily interesting, but which would require many volumes to itself. 



As far as it concerns us the dawn of sea history is the time of the 

 Phoenicians, for it was almost certainly they that first brought shipping 

 to us. They came in search of gold only, and like every other power 

 that is founded with that idea alone they declined and fell. But their 

 endeavours brought the beginning of many things which made for 

 civilisation, and the world owes them a lot. Unfortunately the 

 Phoenicians were not historians, possibly because they were always in 

 terror of divulging the secrets of their trade, and we know far less about 

 them than we do about many peoples who were far less deserving, but 

 the scraps that we possess make fascinating reading. 



The Phoenicians and Britain. 



It is a generally accepted fact that the Phoenicians visited the 

 British Isles at a very early period, just how early it is a little difficult 

 to say as they were very cautious not to give their markets away to 

 possible trade rivals and maintained the closest secrecy as to their 

 doings. On the other hand there have been authorities, and of a 

 calibre whose opinion cannot lightly be disregarded, who maintained 

 that the Tin Islands mentioned in the records were not the Scillies but 

 were off the coast of Spain, where it is known without the least shadow 

 of doubt that the Phoenicians traded. Against this there are equally 

 important authorities who have described as Phoenician certain tokens 

 and ornaments found in Irish bogs and in Scotland, so that the British 

 legend may well be allowed to stand. In any circumstances it has to 

 be admitted that their influence was felt, even if it were only second- 

 hand. 

 Earliest Britain. 



Whether the Phoenician legend be true or not, it is certain that the 

 British Isles were visited very early in the history of navigation. In the 

 iifth century before Christ Herodotus does not appear to have heard 



