2019 Reprint of 1892 Edition. Illustrated with maps and charts. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition software. In 1890, Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan, a lecturer in naval history and the president of the United States Naval War College, published The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783 , a revolutionary analysis of the importance of naval power as a factor in the rise of the British Empire. Mahan argued that British control of the seas, combined with a corresponding ...
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2019 Reprint of 1892 Edition. Illustrated with maps and charts. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition software. In 1890, Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan, a lecturer in naval history and the president of the United States Naval War College, published The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783 , a revolutionary analysis of the importance of naval power as a factor in the rise of the British Empire. Mahan argued that British control of the seas, combined with a corresponding decline in the naval strength of its major European rivals, paved the way for Great Britain's emergence as the world's dominant military, political, and economic power. Mahan and some leading American politicians believed that these lessons could be applied to U.S. foreign policy, particularly in the quest to expand U.S. markets overseas. It details the role of sea power during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and discussed the various factors needed to support and achieve sea power, with emphasis on having the largest and most powerful fleet. Scholars considered it the single most influential book in naval strategy. Its policies were quickly adopted by most major navies, ultimately leading to the World War I naval arms race. It is also cited as one of the contributing factors of the United States becoming a great power. An enduring classic.
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Add this copy of The Influence of Sea Power Upon History: 1660-1783 to cart. $27.97, new condition, Sold by BargainBookStores rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Grand Rapids, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2019 by Martino Fine Books.
When A.T. Mahan's opus was first published in 1890, it immediately became required reading in the wardrooms and naval ministries of every major navy from England, Germany, Japan, France, Italy and eventually the United States. Captain Mahan's twin tenets of a strong navy and commercial fleet as the historical basis of effective sea power was found to be of interest, but the premises of the effects of geography, strong fleets and the concept of the "decisive battle" are those which truly found receptive audiences in worldwide naval readers of the day.
The premise of the effects of geography upon sea power as manifested by Mahan seemed to justify the worldwide colonial possessions of the European powers, and the necessity of the acquisition of similar overseas possessions by other countries such as Germany and the United States, who desired to become world sea powers. Within a decade the European powers were caught up in a race to build more warships. Japan began building a feet to control the western Pacific, and after over 30 years of negligence, even the US Navy began to modernize. The concept of the "decisive battle" was given credence at the Battle of Tsushima in 1905 when the Japanese under Tojo annihilated the Russian Baltic Fleet, and the race for big gunned battleships to win the next "decisive battle" was on.
The lack of any other "decisive battles" after Tsushima and the changes in technology with the perfecting of the submarine and communications, and the invention of the airplane, have made Mahan passe to most modern naval readers. Still the twin tenets of a strong navy and commercial trade and communications remain the basis of effective sea power today. The expression of naval power through the ability to keep one's own sea lanes open while being able to deny similar lanes to one's foe is the ultimate expression of sea power. Today we use carrier battle groups instead of battleships or ships of the line, and Aegis destroyers rather than frigates