Page 178 - Early English Adventurers in the Middle East_Neat

178 EARLY ENGLISH ADVENTURERS IN THE EAST
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 cen­
tury. 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 expendi­
ture. So each dropped gradually into its appointed place
in Asia, the English securing a position of commercial in­
fluence 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

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