The Influence of Sea Power Upon History

Alfred T. Mahan

• Publisher: Mint Editions
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781513131900
• eBook ISBN: 9781513131900
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Science Biographies
• Index: Social Sciences

The Influence of Sea Power Upon History (1890) is a work of naval history and strategy by Alfred Thayer Mahan. Drawing on decades of experience as a naval officer, researcher, and university lecturer, Mahan develops his theory of sea power in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in this popular and important text. Despite a lack of primary sources, The Influence of Sea Power would prove essential to the expansion of European and American imperialism through the use of naval might and has been cited as one of the most influential works of the nineteenth century. "The history of Sea Power is largely, though by no means solely, a narrative of contests between nations, of mutual rivalries, of violence frequently culminating in war." For Alfred Thayer Mahan, there was no greater indicator of national might throughout history than control of the planet's oceans. In this detailed study of the subject, drawn from years of research and lectures given at the Naval War College in Rhode Island, Mahan traces the influence of sea power on such conflicts as the English Revolution and the Seven Years' War to argue that supremacy of the seas coincides with global commercial and political dominance throughout history. Immediately successful, The Influence of Sea Power Upon History would justify the expansion of imperialism as well as shape the naval arms race between Great Britain and Germany in the years preceding the First World War. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Alfred Thayer Mahan's The Influence of Sea Power Upon History is a classic of naval strategic scholarship reimagined for modern readers.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Introductory
• I. Discussion of the Elements of Sea Power
• II. State of Europe in 1660.—Second Anglo-Dutch War, 1665–1667. Sea Battles of Lowestoft and of the Four Days
• III. War of England and France in Alliance Against the United Provinces, 1672–1674.—Finally, of France Against Combined Europe, 1674–1678.—Sea Battles of Solebay, the Texel, and Stromboli
• IV. English Revolution.—War of the League of Augsburg, 1688–1697.—Sea Battles of Beachy Head and La Hougue
• V. War of the Spanish Succession, 1702–1713.—Sea Battle of Malaga
• VI. The Regency in France.—Alberoni in Spain.—Policies of Walpole and Fleuri.—War of the Polish Succession.—English Contraband Trade in Spanish America.—Great Britain Declares War Against Spain.—1715–1739
• VII. War Between Great Britain and Spain, 1739.—War of the Austrian Succession, 1740.—France Joins Spain Against Great Britain, 1744.—Sea Battles of Matthews, Anson, and Hawke.—Peace of Aix-La-Chapelle, 1748
• VIII. Seven Years’ War, 1756–1763.—England’s Overwhelming Power and Conquests on the Seas, in North America, Europe, and East and West Indies.—Sea Battles: Byng Off Minorca; Hawke and Conflans; Pocock and D’Aché in East Indies
• IX. Course of Events From the Peace of Paris to 1778.—Maritime War Consequent Upon the American Revolution.—Sea Battle Off Ushant
• X. Maritime War in North America and West Indies, 1778–1781.—Its Influence Upon the Course of the American Revolution.—Fleet Actions Off Grenada, Dominica, and Chesapeake Bay
• XI. Maritime War in Europe, 1779–1782
• XII. Events in the East Indies, 1778–1781.—Suffren Sails From Brest, 1781.—His Brilliant Naval Campaign in the Indian Seas, 1782, 1783
• XIII. Events in the West Indies after the Surrender of Yorktown—Encounters of De Grasse with Hood.—The Sea Battle of the Saints.—1781, 1782
• XIV. Critical Discussion of the Maritime War of 1778
• A Note About the Author
• A Note from the Publisher