The influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 kindle edition by mahan, a. Captain alfred thayer mahan, usn, was the first person to use the term sea power. Alfred thayer mahan was born on september 27, 1840 at west point, new york, where his father was a professor of civil and military engineering at the u. Background in 1904, while mahan was continuing to author books, the scholar halford mackinder presented to the british royal geographical society his view that the era of 400 years of sea power influence was drawing to a close, and that an era of.
Mahans emphasis on big fleets and decisive battles have led some to dismiss mahan as hopelessly out of date, but mahan was also writing about broader political questions about the maritime domain. Senator henry cabot lodge of massachusetts and other mahan disciples used his arguments to lobby congress for the battleship act of 1890 and an expansionist foreign policy. The influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 by alfred thayer mahan, 1918, little, brown edition, 12th ed. Nearly a century after his death, the influence of captain alfred thayer mahan continues to fuel debate, discussion and research. He concluded that supremacy at sea was essential for a nations political and commercial success. The influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 work. The definite object proposed in this work is an examination of the general history of europe and america with particular reference to the effect of sea power upon the course of. He graduated from the naval academy in 1859 and embarked on a nearly 40year naval career seeing duty in the south atlantic and gulf of mexico against the confederacy. The project gutenberg ebook of the influence of sea power. Pdf assesses the japanese adoption of mahanian concepts of sea power and decisive battle to the development of the imperial navys warfighting.
Pdf the influence of alfred thayer mahan upon the imperial. At age 46, mahan was just 10 years short of retirement age when the newly formed naval and war college at newport, rhode island, asked him to lecture on naval history and tactics. Scholars considered it the single most influential book in naval strategy. Alfred thayer mahan, the influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 boston.
The geopolitical vision of alfred thayer mahan the diplomat. As a prolific author, mahan used the print media, the dominant form of communication in the early twentieth century, to influence the american public, government and the united states navy. Though once again sharing an emphasis on combat, mahan employs a broader approach and posits that the nature of warfare is fundamentally tied to promoting seaborne commerce, access to overseas markets, and the pursuit of wealth. Its policies were quickly adopted by most major navies, ultimately leading to. See mahan, interest of america in sea poruer, of which a chapter is entitled, hawaii and our future sea power. The influence of sea power upon history, 16601783, by. The influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 book. The influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 inglese copertina flessibile 1 novembre 1987. An absolute must read for history and political science students.
Mahans scholarly effort, in preparation for a teaching assignment at the. In the influence of sea power upon history, alfred thayer mahan studied the rise and fall of naval powers. Mahan considers war to be simply a political movement, though violent and exceptional in character. It details the role of sea power during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and discusses the various factors needed to support and achieve sea power, with emphasis on having the largest and most powerful fleet. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Alfred thayer mahan, born september 27, 1840, west point, new york, u. 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. Maritime strategy is part of the growing body of literature that examines chinas expanding naval capabilities. Read the influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 pdf by alfred thayer mahan forgotten books the influence of sea power upon.
The influence of seapower upon history audiobook by. Cambridge core regional history after 1500 the influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 by a. Mahans 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. Mahan wrote extensively on the place of hawaii in naval strategy. Influence of alfred thayer mahan 72 naval war college journal. The naval strategy of alfred thayer mahan duration. He used it in his principal work, the influence of sea power upon history, 16601783,published in 1890. How influential was the influence of sea power upon. The project gutenberg ebook of the influence of sea power upon.
Thayer mahan s most famous book, the influence of sea power upon history, published in 1890. Mahans lecture notes become the basis for his book, the influence of sea power upon history, published in 1890. In 1885 he was appointed lecturer in naval history and tactics at the us naval war college, and became president of the institution between 18861889. 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. You may copy it, give it away or reuse it under the terms of the project gutenberg license included with this ebook or online at. It was written for the purpose of changing american attitudes towards modernizing its navy. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Mahans 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.
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. From his studies of naval warfare he drew principles of strategy that greatly influenced the development and employment of naval forces during the first half of the twentieth century. Alfred thayer mahan, the interest of america in sea power. The younger mahan, however, attended annapolis and embarked on a naval career seeing duty in the south atlantic and gulf of mexico against the confederacy. This is one of those unknown enormously influential books in history. First published almost a century ago, this classic text on the history and tactics of naval warfare had a profound. Alfred thayer mahan stands out as one of the foremost thinkers on naval warfare and maritime strategy. The influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 by. The influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 alfred thayer mahan first, in peace.
Patrick bratton, associate professor of national security strategy, sep. The influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 alfred thayer. 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. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read. The influence of seapower upon history by alfred t.
Mahan this ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. The influence of sea power on china, or the influence of mahan on yoshihara and holmes. His book the influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 1890 won immediate recognition, especially in europe, and with its successor, the influence of sea power upon. 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. Alfred thayer mahan 18401914 was an american naval officer, considered one of the most important naval strategists of the nineteenth century.
Holmes and toshi yoshihara, the influence of mahan upon chinas maritime strategy, comparative strategy, vol 24, no. The influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 by a. Alfred thayer mahan, the influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 1890. Navy who had spent much of his career observing the exemplary fleets of the british empire. Alfred thayer mahan 18401914 was an american naval officer who wrote extensively on naval strategy and the history of sea power. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the influence of sea power upon history, 16601783. It is said that it sold more copies on military theory than all of its predecessors including clausewitz combined. The project gutenberg ebook, the influence of sea power upon history, 16601783, by a. 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. It was his second book, the influence of sea power upon history 16601783 1890, however, that brought him national and international fame. For its time it was a tremendous success and extremely influential for most all large navies. The influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 by at mahan. Buy influence of sea power by alfred thayer mahan online at alibris. Indeed it can be argued that his influence continues to be exerted even today.
Title, the influence of sea power upon history, 16601783. The influence of sea power on china, or the influence of. 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. Influence of sea power by alfred thayer mahan alibris. In 1890, mahan published one of the most important books of the age, the influence of. Alfred thayer mahan, published the influence of sea power upon history, 16601783 in 1890. 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. 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. 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. Mahan influenced not only the development of the theory of naval art but also the development of foreign policy in many countries.
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