Keeping Britain strong in the 1930s depended on the movement of trade. Telegraph lines and ships connected the empire and the wider world economy. These connections were the sinews that the Royal Navy had to keep functioning. The National Archives map relates this commercial network to the Navy's choice of ships and their locations. Fleet battles belonged within this wider task of sustaining Britain's economic connections.
Chapter · 0:08-1:15
Trade routes define the Royal Navy's 1930s world
A National Archives trade map frames the Royal Navy's 1930s mission as keeping Britain's global shipping and communications moving.