Читать книгу Australian History For Dummies - Alex McDermott - Страница 53

In the second half of the 18th century, Britain managed to get herself tangled up in conflicts with all the other major global powers — France, Spain and Holland. These protracted conflicts made Britain vulnerable as it ran short of vital commodities controlled by enemy nations. Without flax plants and pine trees, Britain was going to have difficulty getting new masts, spars, canvas and cordage, and without these, its navy would have great difficulty maintaining the powerbase it had fought so hard to win.