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Channel was plagued with pirates, the Cinque Ports (“and two ancient towns”) were
designated along the Channel coast from Kent to Sussex (Hastings, Dover, Sandwich,
Romney Hythe, Rye, Winchelsea). The purpose of both of these arrangements is
usually described by historians as defending the island against attack. But as Unwin
makes clear, their primary purpose was to defend the Channel crossing.
Unwin shows how, throughout history, the Channel has been simultaneously two
contradictory things: a barrier, more challenging to cross than the widest river; but
also a highway, the main route for trade and travel to and from the continent (for
trade, it still is). Further, on two occasions, it became an internal line of
communication. This was when Britain was part of a cross-Channel political entity:
Roman Britain at the start of our period, and the Anglo-Norman monarchy at its end.
The Channel was also a gateway for the peoples of north-western European seeking
a sea-route out into the wider world. Then, in later centuries, the Channel became a
launch pad for British seamen embarking on global voyages of exploration and
colonial conquest.
