He exerted a major impact on Theodore Roosevelt, as well as upon leaders in Britain, Japan and Germany. This reasoning inferred a rationale for American acquisition of port facilities throughout the world.Īlfred Thayer Mahan wrote at the time of a great international arms race. Those facilities would not be dependable if controlled by other nations. He urged the United States forward in its naval building programs.Īlfred Thayer Mahan also argued that modern navies needed repair and coaling stations. In The Influence of Sea Power upon History, Alfred Thayer Mahan studied the rise and fall of naval powers.He concluded that supremacy at sea was essential for a nation’s political and commercial success. It saw the creation of the Naval War College in Newport, RI and the emergence of Alfred Thayer Mahan, who argued that if the United States was to be a great power, it had to build a battle fleet. According to his analysis of history, the great powers were those that maintained strong navies and merchant marines. The debate played out in debates over the annexation of Hawaii, and after the Spanish American War, the annexation of the Philippines and Cuba. He downplayed the philanthropic side of overseas involvement and concentrated on harsh political realities. These works made Alfred Thayer Mahan one of the leading spokesmen for the age of imperialism. The Influence of Sea Power upon History appeared in 1890 and The Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and Empire in 1892. Mahan served twice as president of the college, 1886 to 18 to 1893. He was a lecturer at the Newport War College, where he prepared ideas that would later appear in his highly influential writings. Naval Academy and served as a Union naval officer during the Civil War. In addition to his books on the history of naval warfare, he wrote biographies of David Farragut and Horatio Nelson.Alfred Thayer Mahan: Proponent of American Naval PowerĪlfred Thayer Mahan was born in West Point, New York, in 1840, educated at the U.S. Therefore, we can conclude that Mahan urged for a strong navy like the British and build a naval base in territories. Mahan became known as one of the leading spokesmen for the age of American imperialism. The extensive presentation of the history of high-seas navigation alone makes this book an invaluable resource, as it has been credited with stimulating the growth of modern navies in leading countries of the world.Īlfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914) served in the Civil War and twice served as the president of the United States Naval War College, beginning shortly after the college was founded. Though the determinants of military supremacy and the global balance of power have changed due to tremendous advances in technology, the principles and strategies discussed in the book remain creditable. Beginning in the time of Alexander the Great, those nations with strong commercial and military command of the seas were the nations of greatest strength, wealth, and power.

The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783 presents the argument that, despite great changes and scientific advances in naval weaponry, certain principles of naval strategy remain constant.

It continues to be a primary reference for naval students and historians. Many of the world's great military strategists since 1890 have avidly read this book, including both Franklin Delano and Theodore Roosevelt, Kaiser Wilhelm II, and a host of admirals, chancellors, prime ministers, kings, and other presidents. 'Captain Mahan has written distinctively the best and most important, and also by far the most interesting, book on naval history which has been produced on either side of the water for many a long year.' -Atlantic Monthly October 1890įirst published over a century ago, this classic text on the history and tactics of naval warfare had a profound effect on the training of officers and the deployment of naval resources around the globe. To learn more about how and for what purposes Amazon uses personal information (such as Amazon Store order history), please visit our Privacy Notice. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie Preferences, as described in the Cookie Notice. Click ‘Customise Cookies’ to decline these cookies, make more detailed choices, or learn more. Third parties use cookies for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalised ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. This includes using first- and third-party cookies, which store or access standard device information such as a unique identifier.

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