Fortress Islands

Abstract

This chapter traces the military history of England’s islands from Elizabethan times to the civil war. It considers the vulnerability of the islands to foreign invasion and their utility as bases of English power. Fortifications were regularly strengthened in times of threat and suffered neglect in intervals of peace. Militarized islands had garrison economies, with substantial investment from London. This chapter examines the shifting deployment of ordnance and soldiery, the condition of castles and garrisons, and their role in England’s wars. Some of the jurisdictional issues addressed in earlier chapters had implications for national security, as island governors marshalled forces and braced for attack.