\paperw3360 \margr0\margl0\ATXph16380 \plain \fs20 \f1 \fs22 The need to secure supplies of raw materials and markets for the new manufactured goods spurred Britain to control im
perial and commercial sea routes. Naval ascendancy was established at the Battle of the Nile in 1798 and seven years later at the Battle of Trafalgar, when the French fleet was again soundly defeated. To inhibit the creation of any strong continental coa
lition, Britain opposed Napoleon from 1793 to 1815. Yet, when opportune, the British could also fight alongside the French. Their joint efforts in the Crimean War between 1854 and 1856 were aimed at preventing Russian expansion into the Mediterranean an
d protecting trade routes to the East. \b \cf4 \ATXht13221000 Queen Victoria\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 , who came to the throne in 1837, showed her subjects what the Empire meant for them. With her husband, \b \cf4 \ATXht10851000 Prince Albert\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 ,
she promoted the \b \cf4 \ATXht10861000 Great Exhibition\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 of 1851 with its 100,000 objects from all over the world. Held in LondonÆs Hyde Park in the purpose-built \b \cf4 \ATXht10871000 Crystal Palace\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 , it attracted over
