For its time it was a tremendous success and extremely influential for most all large navies. Fighting the forces of gravity seapower and maritime. Influence sea power upon history 1660 1783, first edition. September 27, 1840 december 1, 1914 was a united states naval officer and historian, whom john keegan called the most important american strategist of the nineteenth century. Consider by scholars as the single most influential book in naval strategy, alfred thayer mahans the influence of sea power upon history. Dec 30, 2014 december 1, 2014, was the 100th anniversary of the death of alfred thayer mahan, the renowned naval historian, strategist, and geopolitical theorist. Hc this excerpt is from alfred thayer mahans the influence. The influence of sea power upon history 1660 to 1783 from alfred thayer mahan.
The influence of sea power upon history, 1660 1783 by. Alfred mahan s grand vision of the great white fleet thus appears to be a nobel one, utterly consistent with the world of unprecedented commerce about which he was writing. Captain alfred thayer mahan, usn, was the first person to use the term. December 1, 2014, was the 100th anniversary of the death of alfred thayer mahan, the renowned naval historian, strategist, and geopolitical theorist. The influence of sea power upon history 16601783 scientia. Five leadership lessons from alfred thayer mahan, prophet of sea power by benjamin f. The influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 by alfred thayer mahan, 1918, little, brown edition, 12th ed.
View alfred thayer mahan research papers on academia. Mahans lecture notes become the basis for his book, the influence of sea power upon history, published in 1890. Five leadership lessons from alfred thayer mahan, prophet of. The author of this book, alfred thatcher mahan, is to naval warfare what clausewitz is to land warfare and his books are the source of many quotations and arguments over strategy, and above all, the meaning of seapower. Alfred thayer mahan s the influence of sea power upon history was a huge success in both america and overseas. His lectures at the college formed the basis for his two major works, the influence of sea power upon history, 16601783, published in 1890, and the influence of sea power upon the french revolution and empire, 17931812, published two years later. The influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 open library. The influence of sea power upon history 1660 to 1783 by.
The religion of 127 alfred thayer mahan lieutenant. The interesting and significant feature of this changing attitude is the turning of the eyes outward, instead of inward only, to seek the welfare of the country. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Alfred thayer mahan, published the influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 in 1890. The influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 by alfred. 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, 16601783, a revolutionary analysis of the importance of naval power as a factor in the rise of the british empire. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the influence of sea power upon history, 16601783. The influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 alfred. It was written for the purpose of changing american attitudes towards modernizing its navy. Sep 26, 2004 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. In 1890, mahan published one of the most important books of the age, the influence of sea power upon history, 16601783. Conveyed in works such as the influence of sea power upon history and the. Cambridge core regional history after 1500 the influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 by a. The influence of sea power upon history wikisource, the.
Mahan skip to main content accessibility help we use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. The influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 free pdf books from bookyards, one of the worlds first online libraries to offer ebooks to be downloaded for free. For the purposes of this paper i will combine geographical position. The influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 by a. The monumental text addressed the importance of both military and commercial fleets in the success of a nation in war and peacetime. Mahan s scholarly effort, in preparation for a teaching assignment at the naval war. The geopolitical vision of alfred thayer mahan the diplomat. To such a length did she carry her audacity that she compelled the alfred, the headmost ship of sir samuel hoods division. The influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 27 editions. Excerpts from alfred thayer mahans the interest of america in sea power. In this fourth episode of war rooms special series on great strategists, patrick bratton explores alfred thayer mahans the influence of seapower upon history and its relevance to the 21st century. Having therefore no foreign establishments, either colonial or military, the ships of war of the united states, in war, will be like land birds, unable to fly far from their own shores. The project gutenberg ebook of the influence of sea power upon.
This is one of those unknown enormously influential books in history. Oct 22, 2010 the influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 is an influential treatise on naval warfare written in 1890 by alfred thayer mahan. The influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 kindle edition by mahan, a. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the influence of sea power upon history, 1660 1783. Writing at the turn of the 20 th century, mahan was explicitly thinking about the role. It is said that it sold more copies on military theory than all of its predecessors including clausewitz combined. Influence of alfred thayer mahan 72 naval war college journal. Holmes and toshi yoshihara, the influence of mahan upon chinas maritime strategy, comparative strategy, vol 24, no. Sea power today includes many aspects of the naval strength of a. Mahan and sea power great strategists episode 4 us army. The influence of sea power upon history, 16601783, some principles of maritime strategy, command of the air, winged defense roots of strategy by david jablonsky and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Hc this excerpt is from alfred thayer mahan s the influence of sea power upon history.
Mahan wanted to be able to compete with powerful european countries. Mahans writings and lectures greatly influenced theodore roosevelt, henry cabot lodge, and other world leaders, including german emperor wilhelm ii, shaping global policy based on sea power at the beginning of the 20th century. United states navy flag officer, geostrategist, and historian 18401914. To affirm the importance of distant markets, and the. 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. Sea power and american interests in the western pacific. Mahan influenced not only the development of the theory of naval art but also the development of foreign policy in many countries around the world. Mahans scholarly effort, in preparation for a teaching assignment at the naval war. It is deeply biographical, concerning itself primarily with the mans christian life, albeit a christian life lived through a seagoing career and. Mahans emphasis on big fleets and decisive battles have led some to dismiss mahan as hopelessly out of date, but mahan was also writing about broader political questions about the maritime domain. Excerpts from the influence of sea power upon history, 1660.
Mahan s thesis that for an nation to be great it had to be a sea power was immensely influential in the growth of the german navy prior to world war 1 and the expansion of the us into overseas areas in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Apr 17, 2012 the influence of sea power upon historychapter i. Excerpts from alfred thayer mahans the interest of america. The influence of sea power upon history 16601805 alfred thayer mahan on. How influential was the influence of sea power upon history. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Excerpts from the influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 1890 by alfred thayer mahan first, in peace. The government by its policy can favor the natural growth of a peoples industries and its tendencies to seek adventure and gain by way of the sea.
Mahan 1840 1914 was writing in an era of technological. Jan 05, 2016 suzanne geisslers god and sea power is a delightful, wellresearched, and fascinating book. This excerpt is from alfred thayer mahan s the influence of sea power upon history. In 1890, united states navy captain alfred thayer mahan published a book titled the influence of sea power upon history. Alfred thayer mahans at the time of original publication mahan was a captain the influence of sea power upon history was and perhaps remains, the single most influential book ever written by an american. In the book, the influence of sea power upon history, mahan claimed that countries with sea power were the great nations of history.
Alfred mahan, the founder of the north american school of geopolitics, had introduced into the scientific circle such concepts as domination at sea, sea power and had developed the concept of sea power of the state for the first time. Mahans massively popular the influence of sea power. The september 2008 issue of armchair general magazine featured the leadership department article alfred thayer mahan by u. Alfred mahan was an admiral in the us navy who wrote the influence of the power of the sea. This lesson has been designed to provide you with a summary of alfred mahan s the influence of sea power upon history, including its impact modern history and naval thought. The influence of sea power upon history 16601783 by alfred. The influence of mahan upon chinas maritime strategy. The influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 work by. The naval officer in question is alfred thayer mahan 18401914 who, in 1890, published the results of his extensive study of history, the influence of sea power upon history, 16601783.
In this fourth episode of war rooms special series on great strategists, patrick bratton explores alfred thayer mahan s the influence of seapower upon history and its relevance to the 21 st century. His core argument was that sea power was the key to empirebuilding. This excerpt is from alfred thayer mahans the influence of. Jun 01, 2007 the influence of sea power upon history, 1660 1783 ebook written by alfred t. It details the role of sea power throughout history and discusses the various factors needed to support a strong navy.
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