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Preface
In this Naval History of
England, no more of our general history is included than was necessary
for forming a connected narrative, and for tracing the causes and
consequences of those events which are the proper subject of the work.
After the accession of Elizabeth, it may best be continued in a
biographical form; because there are then materials for such biography,
whereby we are enabled to understand how much depended upon the
character of individual commanders. It was not, indeed, till her reign
that the military and naval services began to be considered as distinct.
The evils which maritime enemies have inflicted upon this country, and
which we in return have inflicted upon others, may seem an unpromising
and ungrateful subject. Yet such a history will not be without interest,
while men retain their admiration for the great, their sympathy for the
brave, and the love of their native land. Entertainment, therefore, it
may be expected to afford; and the information which it may convey must
be in proportion to the research that has been employed in collecting
it; and a higher end will be attained, if the reader should feel that
the sense of right and wrong, and the ways of Providence, have been
borne in mind religiously throughout.
Keswick, Feb. 11. 1833.
Volume 1 |
Volume 2 |
Volume 3 |
Volume 4 |
