For Eurasia this formed the great rhythm of history over the course of many cen-
turies. Gunpowder weapons would end the era of the horse, but continental
space still seemed to hold great advantage, with centrality of position providing
a classic strategic asset. Early in the twentieth century, the British geographer
Sir Halford Mackinder defined the underdeveloped core of Eurasia as the Heart-
land, center of what he called the world island. But the centrality was something
not yet achieved. Its integrity relied on a transportation network that had earlier
been furnished by the horse but was awaiting something to replace it.
The network of railroads such as Mackinder anticipated has yet to be
constructed. His Heartland remains undeveloped. Furthermore, it could not
be global. Global power demands control of global space. And that control is
necessarily maritime.
The continental era now appears to be gone, with the collapse of the Soviet
Union in 1989 punctuating its end. Today the world’s hinterland nations in
Eurasia, Africa, and Latin America are overwhelmingly poor (unless they possess
oil and gas deposits) and isolated from main currents of international thought
and activity. Not only are they poor, but they are also disaffected, often dis-
trusting of the outside world and its cargo of new ideas. The parts of the world
least touched by maritime influences are now the world’s most unstable and most
unhappy, the most desperate and the most dangerous.
Location would appear to be fixed, a frozen fact of life, offering no element of
choice. And yet a coastal location seems to provide something more than the
continental. This is access. Here lies a special opportunity for the adaptable, for
those who perceive the current of the times and choose to flow with it, even to
direct it.
Extrinsic factors may affect location. We know from our study of history that
location is not necessarily static and can become dynamic. Changes in technology
can affect the significance of location. In the nineteenth century, a revolution
occurred at sea when engineers applied the steam engine to the ship to provide a
new mode of propulsion. Ships could now operate without relying upon tide,
current, or wind, but they became newly dependent upon fuel sources. The
coaling station became a key element in transport and changed world oceanic
routes.
The British benefited hugely, more so than any other power, from the switch
from sail to steam. By 1900, Britain was already a global empire, with ports
scattered strategically around the world to stock coal for both merchant ships
and warships. These service stations became essential links in what came to
be called the ‘‘lifeline of empire’’ that stretched from Gibraltar to Hong Kong,
making Pacific Asia a salient of British power and Britain a major presence in
those waters.
A second benefit the British enjoyed was their huge home resource of
high-quality coal deposits. For Britain, ‘‘Welsh Cardiff,’’ an anthracite coal of18 Asia Looks Seaward