The Influence of Sea Power Upon History 1660-1783

Alfred Thayet Mahan

• Publisher: Pelican Publishing
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781589801554
• eBook ISBN: 9781455606344
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

The timeless classic on naval history, strategy, and principles—one of the most influential works of military theory in the modern era.

"Captain Mahan has written distinctively the best and most important, and also by far the most interesting, book on naval history which has been produced on either side of the water for many a long year." —The Atlantic Monthly, October 1890

First published over a century ago, this classic text on the history and tactics of naval warfare by the then-president of the Naval War College had a profound effect on the training of officers and the deployment of naval resources around the globe. It continues to be a primary reference for naval students and historians.

The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660–1783 presents the argument that, despite great changes and scientific advances in naval weaponry, certain principles of naval strategy remain constant. Beginning in the time of Alexander the Great, those nations with strong commercial and military command of the seas were the nations of greatest strength, wealth, and power. Though the determinants of military supremacy and the global balance of power have changed due to tremendous advances in technology, the principles and strategies discussed in the book remain creditable. The extensive presentation of the history of high-seas navigation alone makes this book an invaluable resource, as it has been credited with stimulating the growth of modern navies in leading countries of the world.

Alfred Thayer Mahan demonstrates through historical examples that the rise and fall of sea power and the wealth of nations have always been linked with commercial and military command of the sea. Mahan describes successful naval strategies employed in the past—from Greek and Roman times through the Napoleonic Wars—with an intense focus on England's rise as a sea power in the eighteenth century. This book provides not only an overview of naval tactics but also a lucid exposition of geographic, economic, and social factors governing the maintenance of sea power.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• INTRODUCTORY.
• CHAPTER I. DISCUSSION OF THE ELEMENTS OF SEA POWER.
• CHAPTER II. STATE OF EUROPE IN 1660.—SECOND ANGLO-DUTCH WAR, 1665-1667. SEA BATTLES OF LOWESTOFT AND OF THE FOUR DAYS.
• CHAPTER 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.
• CHAPTER IV. ENGLISH REVOLUTION. — WAR OF THE LEAGUE OF AUGSBURG, 1688-1697. — SEA BATTLES OF BEACHY HEAD AND LA HOUGUE.
• CHAPTER V. WAR OF THE SPANISH SUCCESSION, 1702-1713. — SEA BATTLE OF MALAGA.
• CHAPTER 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.
• CHAPTER 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.
• CHAPTER 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.
• CHAPTER IX. COURSE OF EVENTS FROM THE PEACE OF PARIS TO 1778. — MARITIME WAR CONSEQUENT UPON THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. — SEA BATTLE OFF USHANT.
• CHAPTER 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.
• CHAPTER XI. MARITIME WAR IN EUROPE, 1779-1782.
• CHAPTER XII. EVENTS IN THE EAST INDIES, 1778-1781. — SUFFREN SAILS FROM BREST, 1781. — BRILLIANT NAVAL CAMPAIGN IN THE INDIAN SEAS, 1782, 1783.
• CHAPTER 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.
• CHAPTER XIV. CRITICAL DISCUSSION OF THE MARITIME WAR OF 1778.
• INDEX.