The Rise And Fall of British Naval Mastery

by Kennedy, Paul M.

• ISBN13: 9781591023746
• ISBN10: 1591023742
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2006-10-30
• Publisher: Humanity Books

Summary

First published in 1976, this book is the first detailed examination of the history of British sea power since A T Mahan's classic 'The Influence of Sea Power on History', published in 1890. In analysing the reasons for the rise and fall of Great Britain as a predominant maritime nation in the period from the Tudors to the present day, Professor Kennedy sets the Royal Navy within a framework of national, international, economic, political and strategical considerations. A new introduction has been added on the implications of the Falklands war, not only for the future of the British Navy, but also for the defence policies of the government of the day.

Author Biography

Paul M. Kennedy is J. Richardson Dilworth Professor of History and Director of International Security Studies at Yale University

Table of Contents

LIST OF MAPS	ix
INTRODUCTION: NAVAL MASTERY, PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE: SOME THOUGHTS, TWENTY-FIVE YEARS LATER	xi
INTRODUCTION TO THE PAPERBACK EDITION	xxv
PREFACE	xxxix
INTRODUCTION: THE ELEMENTS OF SEA POWER	1	(12)
Definition of the term 'sea power' and its various stages; the 'Navalist' emphasis upon its far-reaching effects.
The many elements of sea power, according to Mahan.
Reservations about the universal applicability of Mahan's teachings.
Definition of the term 'naval mastery'.
PART ONE: RISE
CHAPTER 1: THE EARLY YEARS OF ENGLISH SEA POWER (TO 1603)	13	(24)
The age of reconnaissance.
Why Europe gained the lead in overseas expansion: technical advances; economic, political and religious drives; superior armaments, especially the galleon.
Effects of this naval expansion upon world history; upon Europe.
Limitations of this development.
Reasons for England's early naval growth; geographical, political, commercial, social.
Need to stress the continental aspects of English policy; strategical debate under Elizabeth.
The Queen's foreign and defence policy.
Limitations on English fleet strength; on commercial and colonial expansion; on tactical and strategical development.
England's potential as a maritime power.
The importance of Europe.
CHAPTER 2: THE STUART NAVY AND THE WARS WITH THE DUTCH (1603-88)	37	(32)
Reasons for post-1603 decline of English sea power; why this merits closer examination.
Yet colonization and trade increasing.
Role of naval power and wars in England's commercial expansion.
The navy in the Civil War.
Results of English revolution: a 'national' navy; improved finances; support from new social forces; growth of mercantilism.
Political and commercial origins of the Anglo-Dutch wars; common features of those wars.
Growth of the concept of 'sea power'.
Role of commercial interests in the First Dutch War and the Anglo-Spanish War.
England's world-wide policy under Cromwell.
The Restoration navy and the Second and Third Dutch Wars.
Role of these wars in the growth of English maritime power.
Expansion of English overseas trade in the late seven-teenth century.
Chief advances in the navy and sea power since 1603.
The pattern of English expansion.
CHAPTER 3: THE STRUGGLE AGAINST FRANCE AND SPAIN (1689-1756)	69	(28)
Background to the Anglo-French wars of this period.
England's political stability and economic growth.
The economic consequences of warfare.
Growth of a colonial empire.
Formidable nature of the French enemy; consequent strategic debate.
Course of the Nine Years War.
Effectiveness of French commerce-raiding.
The settlement of 1697.
Reasons for its breakdown.
Similarity of War of Spanish Succession with its predecessor.
Role of sea power in combined operations, colonial campaigns, and commerce-protection.
Britain in the Mediterranean.
The Treaty of Utrecht; reasons for, and results of, British victory.
British 'armed diplomacy' after 1713.
Origins of the War of Austrian Succession.
Strategy of that conflict; land power cancels out sea power.
Implications for future Anglo-French wars.
PART TWO: ZENITH
CHAPTER 4: TRIUMPH AND CHECK (1756-93)	97	(26)
Strategic similarities of the wars of 1756-63 and 1776-83.
Origins of the Seven Years War.
British maritime superiority leads to recovery of early losses.
Chatham's leadership.
Naval and colonial victories.
Importance of Chatham's continental policy; reasons for its abandonment.
Britain's predominance in 1763.
Changed circumstances by 1776.
Lack of coherent leadership and strategy; of adequate naval strength.
Why French fleet now strong; significance of no European war and of British isolation.
Impossibility of crushing American revolt by maritime means alone; and difficulties of a large-scale land campaign.
Lessons of both these wars.
Why the loss of America not as serious as contemporaries believed.
The Industrial Revolution; reasons for Britain's lead.
Growth in overseas trade.
The founding of the 'Second British Empire'.
Augmentation in Britain's naval potential.
Government interest in the navy.
Britain's strong position in 1793.
CHAPTER 5: THE STRUGGLE AGAINST FRANCE RENEWED (1793-1815)	123	(26)
These wars the culmination point in Britain's rise.
Succession of naval victories due to superior seamanship and leadership; improved gunnery; enemy weaknesses.
British victories in colonial campaigns, too; reasons for this British interest.
French commerce-raiding and British counter-measures.
Problem of defeating France's continental designs; land power versus sea power.
Coastal raids and the Peninsular War.
The War of 1812; reasons for stale-mate.
Inter-connection of European and North American theatres in British strategy.
Economic aspects of these wars.
Industrial development; taxes and loans.
Growth of British overseas trade.
The Continental System; why it failed.
Reasons for the eventual British victory in 1815; role of European revolt against Napoleon.
Lessons for the future.
CHAPTER 6: PAX BRITANNICA (1815-59)	149
Meaning of the term 'Pax Britannica'.
Britain's economic lead; the adoption of free trade.
Growth of informal empire; but also of naval bases and formal colonies.
Unchallenged position of Royal Navy after 1815.
European powers concentrate upon internal political and economic affairs; previous wars undermine their colonial and industrial development.
Balance of power in Europe.
Various roles of the Royal Navy: charting the seas; eradicating piracy; anti-slave patrols.
Consequent enhancement of British world influence.
Gunboat diplomacy, its meaning and its limitations.
Altered composition and distribution of the navy.
The French 'scares' of the 1840's and 1850's.
The navy in the Crimean War.
Acknowledgement in 1856 of 'freedom of the seas' a symbol of British confidence.
CHAPTER 7: MAHAN VERSUS MACKINDER (1859-97)	17	(188)
British naval supremacy unchallenged until the 1880's; analysis of the Fanco-Russian threat.
Post-1859 distribution of navy, growth of Empire, increase in London's financial dominance, growing appreciation of sea power, all suggest things are well.
Role of Mahan's teachings.
More perceptive analysis of Mackinder, forecasting the decline of Britain and of sea power itself.
Loss of industrial lead and implications of this development; why it was not regarded so seriously.
Imperial Federation and its failure.
Spiralling costs of warships.
Colonial challenges.
End of the 'Columbian era'; growth of railways, and the economic and military consequences of this.
Vulnerability of British Empire to land attack.
Decreasing effectiveness of traditional weapons such as the blockade.
Development of mass armies; implications for Britain's role in future European war.
PART THREE: FALL
CHAPTER 8: THE END OF PAX BRITANNICA (1897-1914)	205	(34)
Apparent maritime strength of Britain in 1897; yet other sea powers rising inside and out-side Europe.
Defence reorganization and withdrawal: in Western Hemisphere; in Far East.
The German naval challenge.
The 'Fisher Revolution'; redistribution of the navy.
Withdrawal from the Mediterranean - and its implications.
Growing military commitment to France; renewed debate between 'continental' and 'maritime' schools of strategy.
Reason for success of the former, and for the navy's relative decline in influence.
The general trend for these years.
CHAPTER 9: STALEMATE AND STRAIN (1914-18)	239	(28)
Increasing involvement of Britain in continental war.
Lack of a decisive fleet battle.
The U-boat threat to the battle-fleet; and to trade routes.
Drop in Royal Navy's prestige.
Attempts at waging traditional 'maritime' warfare: seizure of German overseas trade and colonies; blockade; peripheral operations.
Reasons for their ineffectiveness.
Great cost of the war to Britain.
Dependence upon foreign navies in overseas waters.
The Far East.
The American naval challenge; why it could not be met.
Implications for the Empire, and for Britain's world position.
CHAPTER 10: THE YEARS OF DECAY (1919-39)	267	(32)
The economic decline of Britain in the inter-war years.
Growing influence of democracy and socialism.
Revulsion against war.
Reduction in defence expenditures.
The Washington Conference of 1921 to 1922, and its results.
The navy in the 19206.
Unsolved problems in world affairs.
The rise of air power and its implications; attitude of the admirals.
Japanese aggression in the Far East.
The beginnings of re-armament; why it was so slow.
Emphasis upon air power.
Decline in British shipbuilding capacity.
Poor use of the Fleet Air Arm.
Growing threats in the mid-1930's.
Strategic appeasement and the abandonment
of financial control over re-armament.
The Royal Navy's strength and strategic position in 1939.
Impossibility of defeating Germany by naval means alone.
Britain's financial weakness rules out a long war.
CHAPTER 11: THE ILLUSORY VICTORY (1939-45)	299	(24)
Comparison of the Royal Navy's performance and strategic position in both world wars.
Essentially negative role of sea power.
The threat from the air.
Ineffectiveness of the naval blockade against Germany; economic aspects of the war.
Growing British dependence upon the United States, and its implications.
Cost of the war to Britain.
The A-bomb.
Disintegration of the Empire.
The rise of the 'super-powers'.
The illusion of a British victory.
CHAPTER 12: THE END OF THE ROAD: BRITISH SEA POWER IN THE POST-WAR WORLD	323	(26)
Britain's immediate post-war position.
The withdrawal from India; and other possessions.
The strategic commitment to Europe.
The navy's independence; and its budget.
Britain's defence commitments, and the navy's limited role and capacity: nuclear warfare; defence of western Europe; control of sea routes; protection of overseas interests.
Impossibility of major increase in Britain's military strength; her relative economic decline and the strategical consequences.
Other decaying world empires compared.
The defence budget, and the cost of warships.
Gross National Products compared.
Implications for the future.
Conclusion of this story.
EPILOGUE	349	(2)
REFERENCES	351	(30)
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY	381	(14)
INDEX	395