Why did the British navy dominate the world for three centuries?

1. Britain is located on the island of Great Britain in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, facing the European continent across the sea. It is the shipping center of the Atlantic Ocean and the maritime shipping hub connecting the north and south of Europe. It has a unique geographical advantage, and its unique geographical position has contributed to the rapid development of British marine industry. On the one hand, Britain, as an island country, has a long history and tradition of navigation. The British not only have mastered superb shipbuilding technology, but also have rich sailing experience. Almost every Englishman is a qualified sailor. With a little training, he can become a qualified sailor. British pirates crossing the Atlantic Ocean are world-famous. This is the unique advantage of maritime countries. On the other hand, because it faces the European continent across the sea, the rough English Channel allows Britain to avoid the threat from the European continent, and the British can fully develop their own navy, which is also an important reason why the British navy has developed more rapidly than other European countries.

2. Britain is the first country to carry out industrial revolution and the largest colonial empire in the world. On this basis, the industry, economy, finance, trade and culture of the British Empire are very developed. Advanced science and technology, developed industries, abundant financial resources and abundant resources from all over the world have provided support for Britain's strength. Britain has invested far more in the navy than other countries. Even the emerging Germany and the United States could not compete with Britain before World War II. Until the end of 19, Britain still maintained the advantage of "two strong standards", that is, the British navy could win any two naval powers at the same time. Although Germany caught up after the second industrial revolution, it was still much worse than Britain until the outbreak of World War I. To put it bluntly, Britain had a thick foundation and many resources and funds, so its naval advantage was maintained until the outbreak of World War II. Although Britain began to decline after World War I, the British navy is still one of the best naval forces in the world.

Britain has a large number of overseas colonies all over the world. Except the Panama Canal, all the sea routes in the world are controlled by the British. It can be said that the British monopolized the world's oceans. It is difficult for any country to break the maritime military and supply system established by Britain for hundreds of years. Until the outbreak of World War II, only the British navy had global delivery and combat capability, because only Britain had seaports and military bases in all major sea areas of the world. Anyone who wants to cross the sea must get the consent of the British and get the supplement from the British. In addition, the British also have huge ocean-going ships. At its peak, Britain owned half of the world's merchant ships. Only in this way can other countries not compete with Britain. After the outbreak of World War II, American materials are still mainly transported to all parts of the world by the British, and the United States still cannot do without British support in the ocean.

Britain is very political-minded, flexible in foreign policy and sophisticated in political skills. They engage in a balanced strategy, sow discord and fan the flames everywhere, and fool other naval powers around. Britain has successively hit the French and German navies and suppressed the Russian and Japanese navies, making itself a maritime hegemon for a long time. It was not until the Washington Conference that the United States broke the British maritime hegemony monopoly with its strong strength and achieved an equal position with Britain.