3. Had James I. been like the great queen whom he succeeded, Holland would probably not have got the start of England, as she did, when he was king. Under his timid government our nation sank to a low place among the Powers of Europe, whilst Holland stepped forward and took our place as the rival of Spain, and in the course of a few years made herself the first maritime state in the world. The Dutch became great ship-builders, and in their ships carried on the trade of a large part of Europe. They became in fact the great ocean carriers of the day, holding the position which is now held by ourselves; or to quote the writer of _Fights for the Flag_--"They swept the Spanish flag from the seas. The carrying trade of the world was in their hands. They fished in all waters, traded in all ports, gathered the wealth of the world under all skies, and, as far as marine qualities were concerned, might almost have been web-footed." 4. During our Civil War, in the reign of Charles I., the Dutch profited much by our home troubles. Much of the English trade fell into their hands, their ships being largely employed in carrying goods to and from our English ports. But no sooner was King Charles executed than steps were taken to revive English shipping. In the early days of the Commonwealth a _Navigation Act_ was passed, which struck a serious blow at the Dutch carrying trade. By this Act it was ordered that no goods should be imported into England except in English vessels, or in those belonging to the country in which the goods were produced. 5. The Dutch regarded this Act as a dagger aimed at their heart. There was another thing which rankled within them. English ships of war had for centuries claimed the right to require all foreign ships to salute them by lowering their topsails, or striking their flag, whenever they met in the narrow waters of the English Channel; and now, under the rule of Cromwell, the captains of our warships were ordered to enforce this claim. Before long "the greatest naval power of the day and the greatest naval power of the future" launched their forces against each other--the Dutch under their celebrated admiral, Van Tromp, and the English under Robert Blake, who became equally famous.