[26] Note that element one of Mahans schemein pride of placeis the geographical position of the home base, that is, the territorial nation-state. In 1883, he authored his first book, The Gulf and Inland Waters, a study of naval engagements in the Civil War. [71] Paul Kennedy, The Rise and Fall of Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000 (New York: Random House, 1987). Stylistically, Mahan rarely uses one word when ten will do. True, the book is both of those things, but Mahans account of Atlantic imperial rivalries is also more valuably an estimate of the effect of sea power upon the course of history and the prosperity of nations.[2] That form of comparative and nomological history makes Influence a strategic classic of enduring relevance. ENGLAND'S OVERWHELMING POWER AND CONQUESTS ON THE SEAS, IN NORTH AMERICA, EUROPE, AND EAST AND WEST INDIES. His understanding of the anarchical nature of international politics, the importance of geography to the global balance of power, the role of sea power in national security policy, and historys ability to shed light on contemporary world politics remains relevant to the 21st century world. [66] By the 1960s and 70s, still more historians, led by Walter LaFeber, portrayed Mahan as an arch-imperialist, consciously designing maritime empire across the Pacific and the Caribbean. Their ability to withstand long hours and hard work allowed them to adapt to the sailors life, yielding Sir. See also: Dingman, Japan and Mahan in The Influence of History on Mahan: The Proceedings of a Conference Marking the Centenary of Alfred Thayer Mahans The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783, ed. Continue with Recommended Cookies. 11) Principles of Maritime Strategy Autor: CORBETT, Julian S. Editora: Dover Publications, 2004 OBS: Outras edies disponveis da obra podem ser consultadas 12) The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783 Autor: MAHAN, Alfred T. Editora: Dover Publications, 1987 OBS: Outras edies disponveis da obra podem ser consultadas Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914) was a US Navy officer and author of influential marine history and strategy books. [59] Whatever the exact influence the book had on Roosevelt, it is hard to argue with the results: Roosevelts Great White Fleet (1907-1909) and the Panama Canal (1914) neatly reflected Mahans ambitions for U.S. Sea Power made good. He recalled that the books basic thesis dawned first on my inner consciousness. Best Sellers . Writing during the interwar period and World War II, he argued that the real contest for power in the 20th century would take place in the rimland around Eurasia (what Mackinder called the Inner Crescent) where Sea Power and Land Power meet in a sort of geopolitical estuary. . Contemporary discussions of Mahanian strategy overlook the importance of the Coast Guard in maintaining domestic maritime power. Most importantly, however, it is an outline of a grand strategy bound up in a national turn toward the maritime world. Mahan begins with a discussion of the elements he considers to be the key to a nation's . [63] Nicholas Spykman, The Geography of the Peace (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1944), 40-41. Anyone curious about the period in question should save time and energy by turning to N.A.M. Just $5 a month. Exacerbating matters, he originally wrote the text as a series of lectures at the War College. [22] Mahan, Influence, 71. naval power lagged far behind that of its European peers, not to mention a handful of Latin America nations. But theres just as much, if not more, tracking in the virtual world.". 8.650.0 square miles containing a population of, 241.700.0 (as of 1970). The decline of the U.S. Navy ended about 1880, and by 1890, a renaissance was in full swing. [60] More systematically, subsequent geopolitical thinkers were quick to raise alternate foundations of national and international power, even as they borrowed Mahans fundamental interest in the nexus of geography, economics, and policy. [40] Why did one succeed at sea and not the other? An armed force at sea, Mahan writes with serene confidence, naturally and healthfully springs from the need to defend seaborne commerce. It relates in detail how the Navy formed and reformed its doctrine of naval force and operations around a concept articulated by Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan - a concept of offensive sea control. These are not fatal deficiencies. A Great Wall 236 submarine of the . He famously listed six fundamental elements of sea. [88] Likewise, though World War II was not settled in a single fleet encounter, decisive naval engagements were key to winning whole theaters of the war. [9] Wayne Hughes, Fleet Tactics and Coastal Combat (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2000), 9. Deployment of ships at sea means the Soviet government must relinquish some of its cherished authority into the hands of naval officers, even though these officers are considered thoroughly dependable. This brings us to Mahans most vital characteristic. Soviet Seapower in Light of Mahans Principles, CNO Naval History - Midshipmen and Cadets, CNO Naval History - Professional Historian. decline in the naval strength of its major European rivals, paved the way for In an immediate sense, Mahans concept or strategy of sea power (lower case s; lower case p) refers to naval preponderance or military command of the sea. Mahan, however, as a historian and a grand-strategic proponent of geopolitics (to say nothing of his role as a polemicist for institutional prerogatives) remains both insightful and significant. He did not realize the extent to which technology would affect, for instance, the validity of some of his six elements of sea power. What concerned Mahan most was ensuring that the U.S. Government could guarantee access to these new international markets. During the interwar period, Charles Beard famously saw the Mahanian navy as more portent of war than authentic defense. In a narrow sense, Influence is a specific argumenta polemicaimed at fin de sicle navalists about the necessity of expanding the United States Navy (USN). It's free to sign up and bid on jobs. Most famously, Theodore Roosevelta naval historian in his own righttook from Mahan a vocabulary and rationale for naval power and U.S. foreign policy. Following the successful conclusion of the Spanish-American War in B.J. The inclination of a people toward the sea, it must be noted, is of vital importance in weighing the naval balance of a nation. I owed it to no other man.[46] Mahan was deeply religious, and so perhaps it should come as no surprise that his conversion to Sea Power has a Road-to-Damascus feel to it. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. He identified several narrow passages or strategic chokepoints, the control of which contributed to Great Britains command of the seas. [63] Rather than controlling the sea or retreating behind it, Spykman argued for consistent engagement with the rimlands of Western Europe, the Middle East, and the Asian Monsoon lands as a means of balancing power and controlling potential hegemons. While Mahan could work under the assumption of robust U.S. commercial shipping, modern strategists do not have the same luxury. Mahan was strongly influenced, as were most army officers of the period, by the writings of Jomini, a Swiss writer on strategy in Napoleon's campaigns. Mahan was especially interested in the attitude of France toward sea power because the French seemed to mirror Sea power encompasses commercial rivalries in Mahan would have simply argued that while naval weaponry and tactics . John Keegan, The Price of Admiralty: The Evolution of Naval Warfare (New York: Viking, 1988). The merchant marine performs the dual functions of economic trade and military logistics, as well as providing income and jobs, spreading Communism, collecting military intelligence, and helping to right the balance of payments. It details the role of sea power throughout history and discusses the various factors needed to support a strong navy.Alfred Thayer Mahan (September 27, 1840 - December 1, 1914) was a United States naval officer and historian, whom John Keegan called "the . 6. NB: Influence was published in 1890, but I have cited throughout the 1898 version because it is the one most widely available on Google Books c. 2022. The shift from Mahan to Corbett is reflective of a major shift in Chinese grand strategy - one that has implications for the U.S. and the Indo-Pacific at large. In the 21st century, even as technologies advance, the core insights of Mahan and his method remain fundamental. William Leeman and John B. Hattendorf, (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2020). Either is possible. Harrison Administration (1889-1893) Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Franklin Tracy read it approvingly, seeing the book as evidence in favor of naval investment. Consider the strategic indecisiveness of Confederate cruiser warfare during the U.S. Civil War. with profound social and economic consequences. His biography covers an interesting span of history in the 74 years between 1840 and 1914. [19] A.T. Mahan, The Life of Nelson: The Embodiment of the Sea Power of Great Britain (London: Sampson Low, Marston, 1897). The acquisition of Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam and Cienfuegos *n Cuba, for example, has greatly enhanced Soviet naval strategic positioning. [88] See: Wayne Hughes, Fleet Tactics and Coastal Combat, 1986/2000/2018. Indeed, he might be considered the thinker on sea power, the essential starting point for studying the course and conduct of war at sea and for understanding the strategic importance of the maritime commons in determining the rise and fall of great powers. NB originally published in 1911, pre-WWI. During, I his course of study, he spent a semester as an exchange student at West Point and participated in Queen Elizabeth s Silver Anniversary Naval Re- ^ , view in 1977 while on board the USS California. economic power. The basic principles of Mahan's maritime strategy were instrumental in evolution of the United States Navy and shaped its operations across two World Wars, the Cold War, and violent peace of the 20th and 21st centuries. [91] Immanuel C.Y. Stipulating his consistent skepticism of commerce raiding as a viable policy, Mahans text actually has relatively little to say about tactics (though he sometimes digresses) or even strategy qua naval strategy. Summary. Tactics were aspects of operations occurring after the beginning of combat. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Following the Civil War, Secretary of State William Seward had attempted to Answer: In battle fleets. Information, United States Department of This effort to encourage U.S. policy was, after all, Mahans main political projectas Joshua Bouchers 2015 Classics of Strategy and Diplomacy essay on The Interest of America in Sea Power, Present and Future demonstrates. While Mahan recognized clearly that tactics were fluid due to changes in armaments, he did not view strategy in the same way. Suzanne Geissler, God and Sea Power: The Influence of Religion on Alfred Thayer Mahan (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2015). from the meridian of western Asia Minor, until to the eastward it overpasses that of Japan. He envisioned an expansionist Russia needing to be contained by an alliance of the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, and Japan, which is precisely what happened between 1945 and 1991. As Captain William H. J. Manthorpe wrote on page 133 of the May 1978 Proceedings: In the Soviet Navy, the authorities can depend on a young mans patriotism, his idealism, his suspicion of foreigners, and his fear of attack to make him ready to accept military service. [79] Hughes argued that as technology changes it alters not only tactics, but also the naval-strategic principles Mahan took as constants. Mahans emphasis upon the acquisition of naval bases was not completely new. Naval Academy in 1859, served in the Union Navy during the Civil War, and thereafter served on numerous ships and at several naval stations until finding his permanent home at the Naval War College. [79] Wayne P. Hughes, Fleet Tactics and Coastal Combat (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1986/2000/2018). Mahan also grasped as early as 1901 the fundamental geopolitical realities of the Cold War that emerged from the ashes of the first two world wars. Sea power asaconcept means more than military power at sea. Identify the operational components of the U.S. Navy sea power. He stated, "In general . [84] Kevin D. McCranie,Mahan, Corbett, and the Foundations of Naval Strategic Thought(Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2021). The Inuence of Sea Power Upon History 1660-1783 - A. T. Mahan 2010 Mahan presents an examination of the general history of Europe and America with special reference to the eect of sea power on the course of history. The Influence of History on Mahan: The Proceedings of a Conference Marking the Centenary of Alfred Thayer Mahans The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783, ed. Most critically, William (of Orange) and Marys ascent to the British throne in 1688 reconfigured Dutch strategic concerns toward France at the expense of the navy.[41]. Alfred Mahan Author of the influential book, The Influence of Sea Power upon History" and the father of American Imperialism Yellow Journalism Exaggerated and sensationalized reporting for the purpose of boosting sales and circulation Spanish-American War In an age of technological change, these ideas began to seem obsolete to an influential group of American naval leaders. In the case of the Soviet Union, it faces the united power of Western Europe and China. by | Sep 22, 2020 | Uncategorized | 0 comments | Sep 22, 2020 | Uncategorized | 0 comments More recent criticsinterested in culture and ideologyhave highlighted the function of Influence as less historical project than deliberately crafted advocacy for a battleship-dominated U.S. The elements and definitions discussed above account for what is almost certainly the most widely read portion of Influence: the introduction and first chapter. A great navy is one designed to fight an enemy in fleet engagements in order to win command of the sea, not one designed for commerce raiding or guerre de course. Gen. Li Shangfu, with deep ties to Chinas military space enterprises, is widely expected to become Chinas next minister of defense. the 1890s, but his work resonated with many leading intellectuals and cOMPRAR. 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