cannot fail to be struck once more with "the stream of tendency" which, apart from direct initiative, induced, we might almost say compelled, the English to regard India as their first and greatest charge.
Prominently amongst these influences was the long struggle for ascendancy in the Eastern Seas which the English and Dutch waged in these early years of the seventeenth century. That contest, as the narrative will show, continued over a long period, more than two centuries, in fact—but the main issue of whether English or Dutch influence should predominate in the Eastern Archipelago was settled in the very earliest years by the overwhelming strength which the Dutch were able to concentrate in the disputed region. The English might have asserted themselves with effect even against these great odds if they had not taken upon themselves their Indian responsibilities. But it was more to them to widen their splendid opportunities in India than to stake their all on a dubious contest to secure possession of markets which could not be held without vast expenditure. So each dropped gradually into its appointed place in Asia, the English securing a position of commercial influence and ultimately of political supremacy on the Indian Continent, and the Dutch obtaining a like predominancy in the Eastern Archipelago. Neither was able ultimately to challenge seriously its opponent on its own special ground. By that very fact the destiny of each was more securely fixed, for it is obvious that if there had been less definitely marked spheres of influence the final result must have been very different by the action and counteraction of rivalries and conflicting interests.
The prize for which English and Dutch contended in the Eastern Seas was a fascinating one. From the remotest
