[Frontispiece: King Edward] King Edward's Realm * * * STORY OF THE MAKING OF THE EMPIRE. BY THE REV. C. S. DAWE, B.A., _Author of "Queen Victoria, and her People," &c._ London: THE EDUCATIONAL SUPPLY ASSOCIATION, LIMITED, HOLBORN VIADUCT. 1902 PREFACE As Englishmen we have been born to a great inheritance, which we hold in common with our kinsmen in all parts of the empire. It is quite time that all who share in its possession should have some knowledge of the way in which it has been founded and built up, and should learn something of the great men under whose guidance and inspiration the work has been done. The writer has attempted to impart such knowledge in an attractive form, avoiding mere dry details, and that closely-packed synopsis of facts which may be desirable in a work intended for a student preparing for examination. But this little work is not written for the student, but as a pleasant course of reading for young or old, who desire to know something of the men who have made the empire, and of the principal events which stand out as mile-stones on the road along which our nation has travelled. Whilst selecting the more picturesque parts of the story of the empire for special treatment, an endeavour has been made to keep up the continuity of the narrative, so as to enable the reader to trace the connection between events, their results and causes, and to help in sustaining his intelligent interest from page to page throughout the book. An endeavour has also been made to foster that imperial spirit which takes a true pride in what our forefathers have achieved, which resolves to hold what they have won, and which broadens our view of public questions by setting them in relation to the interests of the empire at large. CONTENTS. INTRODUCTORY. The Empire and its Living Link. CHAPTER I. England Preparing for Empire (1475-1603). (1) Invention of Printing (2) Invention of Fire-Arms (3) Discovery of a Sea-Route to India (4) Discovery of a World to the West (5) Rise of the English Navy (6) Queen Elizabeth at the Helm (7) Coming Struggle with Spain (8) An Elizabethan Mariner (9) A Celebrated Voyage Round the World (10) Singeing the King of Spain's Beard (11) Arming for the Fight (12) Defeating the "Invincible" (13) Expansion of England into the "United Kingdom" CHAPTER II. Early English Colonisation (1603-1688). (1) England's Success in Colonizing (2) England's First Colony (3) "Farewell, dear England" (4) Progress in Colonizing (5) Struggle for the Mastery at Sea (6) Our Great "General-at-Sea" CHAPTER III. Expansion by Conquest (1688-1763).