Nevertheless, the Americans owed much of their prosperity to the assistance of the government that irritated them. It was the protection of the British navy that prevented Holland, Spain, and France from wiping out their settlements. Though their manufacture and trade were controlled in the interests of the mother country, they also enjoyed great advantages in her markets. Free trade existed nowhere upon the earth; but the broad empire of Britain was open to American ships and merchandise. It could be said, with good reason, that the disadvantages which the colonists suffered through British regulation of their industry and trade were more than offset by the privileges they enjoyed. Still that is somewhat beside the point, for mere economic advantage is not necessarily the determining factor in the fate of peoples. A thousand circumstances had helped to develop on this continent a nation, to inspire it with a passion for independence, and to prepare it for a destiny greater than that of a prosperous dominion of the British empire. The economists, who tried to prove by logic unassailable that America would be richer under the British flag, could not change the spirit of Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, or George Washington. =References= G.L. Beer, _Origin of the British Colonial System_ and _The Old Colonial System_. A. Bradley, _The Fight for Canada in North America_. C.M. Andrews, _Colonial Self-Government_ (American Nation Series). H. Egerton, _Short History of British Colonial Policy_. F. Parkman, _France and England in North America_ (12 vols.). R. Thwaites, _France in America_ (American Nation Series). J. Winsor, _The Mississippi Valley_ and _Cartier to Frontenac_. =Questions= 1. How would you define "nationalism"? 2. Can you give any illustrations of the way that war promotes nationalism? 3. Why was it impossible to establish and maintain a uniform policy in dealing with the Indians? 4. What was the outcome of the final clash with the French? 5. Enumerate the five chief results of the wars with the French and the Indians. Discuss each in detail. 6. Explain why it was that the character of the English king mattered to the colonists. 7. Contrast England under the Stuarts with England under the Hanoverians. 8. Explain how the English Crown, Courts, and Parliament controlled the colonies. 9. Name the three important classes of English legislation affecting the colonies. Explain each. 10. Do you think the English legislation was beneficial or injurious to the colonies? Why? =Research Topics= =Rise of French Power in North America.=--Special reference: Francis Parkman, _Struggle for a Continent_. =The French and Indian Wars.=--Special reference: W.M. Sloane, _French War and the Revolution_, Chaps. VI-IX. Parkman, _Montcalm and Wolfe_, Vol. II, pp. 195-299. Elson, _History of the United States_, pp. 171-196.