近代前期英国崛起的历史逻辑

The Historical Logic of the Rise of Britain in Earlier Modern Times

英国虽然一直是欧洲的一个重要国家,但只是从1688年的光荣革命后才开始真正崛起,1763年七年战争结束,英国方成为无可撼动的世界性强国。促成近代英国崛起的要素包括:君主立宪制度保证了国家决策程序最大限度地体现国家的整体利益,从而激发了英国的潜能;运行良好的国债体系使英国政府得以聚集对外进取所需的巨额资金;不断壮大的海军力量及其"蓝水"政策使英国拥有了保障国家安全和进行海外开拓的有力工具;既面向欧洲大陆又面向海外贸易及殖民地的双向战略使英国在维持欧陆均势的同时全力拓展海外战略空间。

Although Britain has always been an important country in Europe,it was not until the beginning of the Glorious Revolution in 1688that it began to rise in the real sense and became a formidable world power in 1763,when the seven-year war ended.The causes for the rise of Britain are:the constitutional monarchy ensured the maximal reflection of the general interests of the state by national decision-making procedures, fueling the potential of Britain;the well-functioning public credit system enabled the British government to accumulate a huge amount of fund that was necessary for external expansion;the growing navy and its'Blue-Water'policy provided Britain with a powerful tool of safeguarding national security and overseas explorations;and the dual strategy oriented both to the European continent and overseas trade and colonies ensured Britain to explore overseas strategic space while maintaining European continental parity.