National identity and public support help sustain long-term military commitments. The line "never shall be slaves" from Rule, Britannia! is connected here to Britain's experience of coastal slave raids. Raids from North Africa reached Cornwall, Devon, the south coast, and sometimes Scotland, carrying people away into slavery when Britain had no effective standing navy. Protecting those coasts and Britain's economic interests gave rulers reasons to develop naval forces. For an island, the surrounding sea becomes a defensive barrier only when naval forces can patrol and command it; otherwise it provides an attacker with a route to the coast.
Notable Point · 25:04-27:02
Sea power, national identity, and security
Britain's naval tradition is linked to both economic interest and the security problem of an island whose sea approaches must be patrolled.