8. Gibraltar owes its great importance to the fact that it is situated on the strait that forms the gateway between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. It is, in consequence, called the Key to the Mediterranean. In time of war it would be invaluable to our shipping, serving as a place of refuge to our merchantmen, a coaling-station for our men-of-war, a dockyard for their repair, and a storehouse for providing them with guns, ammunition, and provisions. NOTE I. By the Peace of Utrecht (1713), which ended the War of the Spanish Succession, it was agreed that to Britain should belong--(1) Gibraltar and Minorca, (2) Newfoundland and Acadia (Nova Scotia), and (3) Hudson Bay Territory. NOTE 2. It should be remembered that the union between England and Scotland was effected in 1707. Hitherto we have spoken almost entirely of England and the English; we shall now have to speak chiefly of Britain and the British, not forgetting that Ireland and the Irish are included in these terms. (3) GRANDMOTHERLY GOVERNMENT OF THE FRENCH IN CANADA. 1. We are now on the threshold of one of the most important parts of our story. In the eighteenth century was fought out the question: Should the British or the French be the ruling race of North America? In answering that question, the British navy had much to say, although the battles which decided the contest were fought mostly on land; for it was owing to Britain's command of the seas, that we were able to send our soldiers in safety across the ocean, and to supply them with all things necessary for a fighting force, whilst depriving the enemy of all succour from their friends at home. 2. The commanding position which the British navy had reached at that time is undisputed. "Before the war of the Spanish Succession," says a distinguished naval officer of the United States, "England was one of the sea powers; after it, she was _the_ sea power, without any second. This power also she held alone, unshared by friend, unchecked by foe." 3. The Englishman who first enters Canada by way of Quebec is surprised to find himself among a people speaking French, whilst Quebec itself looks to him like a quaint old Norman town. The fact is, the majority of the inhabitants are of French descent, although at the present day as loyal to the British flag as any could desire. The explanation of this French air about the place is, of course, the fact that Canada was at first a French colony.