Maritime Power and Struggle for Freedom: Naval Campaigns that Shaped the World, 1788-1851

Be the first to write a review

Want to read this on your NOOK? Request as NOOK Book from the publisher

Thank you for requesting this book as a NOOK book from the publisher.

Customers Who Bought This Also Bought

The Command of the Ocean: A...N. A. M. Rodger
Hardcover $42.30

Advertising

Overview

In the long-awaited Maritime Power and the Struggle for Freedom, Padfield skillfully combines the drama of battle with a trenchant analysis of the causes of victory, revealing the fascinating hidden constant of history whereby sea powers have inevitably prevailed over land-based empires. In his deft analysis and vivid re-creation of these events, Padfield shows naval history to be a major determinant and shaper of the modern world.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal

In this sequel to his Maritime Supremacy and the Opening of the Western Mind, naval historian Padfield continues to develop his thesis that "the beliefs and present dominance of those beliefs" of the liberal Western nations "are the result, not of any natural progression of the human mind but rather a consequence of the global distribution of sea and land masses which has conferred strategic advantage on powers able to use and dominate the seas." The essence of Padfield's present thesis is that "before the modern era and the development of the great-gunned sailing warship able to trade and achieve maritime supremacy around the globe, no maritime state could accumulate the wealth, and thus the strength, to do much more than coexist with neighboring territorial empires"; however, when, first the United Provinces (centered in Amsterdam), then Great Britain, and, finally, the United States, achieved "global maritime supremacy," the stage was set for "global capitalism and the liberal values and institutions which grew from it and served it." Padfield conducts a tour of crucial naval campaigns from those resulting from the French Revolution, through the American War of 1812, to the aftermath of the Napoleonic War in this insightful and far-reaching study. Recommended for both academic and public libraries.-Robert C. Jones, Warrensburg, MO Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Of fighting ships and their persuasive power. The title of British naval historian Padfield's latest, companion to his 2001 study, Maritime Supremacy and the Opening of the Western Mind, promises wide-ranging inquiry. In fact, this volume is of considerably narrower scope, focusing closely on the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, with some attention given to the later period between Waterloo and the rise of the transatlantic steamer trade. Though England's loss of its southern American colonies weakened it militarily, Padfield writes, victory against France at the 1782 Battle of the Saints "reestablished British naval ascendancy in the vital struggle against the Bourbons; even more significantly, although financially much exhausted, Britain ended the [colonial] war in far better shape than France or Spain." That ascendancy was instrumental in containing and eventually defeating Napoleon, who inherited some of Louis XVI's view that France's future would be built on the high seas but then devoted himself largely to dry-land conquests. Before contending with Napoleon full on, however, the Admiralty had to grapple with the financial problems of building and funding a modern navy, as well as with the occasional outbreak of mutiny (even if that of the Channel Fleet in 1797 was "conducted with exemplary restraint and respect." The author covers all these things well. He is particularly strong on naval tactics, as we see in his analysis of Admiral Duncan's conduct at Camperdown and Lord Nelson's at Trafalgar, "not the culminating achievement of the sailing era, but an anomaly induced by their enemy's decline. They were tactics of disdain." Disdain, of course, that won the world, if only fora few generations. Somewhat less accessible than Herman Arthur's recent To Rule the Waves (p. 848), but a narrative of interest to fans of Aubrey, Hornblower, and other heroes of the tall masts, as well as of naval history.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781585675890
Publisher: Overlook Press, The
Publication date: 2/28/2005
Pages: 480
Sales rank: 908,448
Product dimensions: 6.32 (w) x 9.32 (h) x 1.54 (d)

1	The French Revolution, 1789	29
2	The terror, 1793	55
3	The glorious first of June, 1794	69
4	St. Vincent, 1797	103
5	Camperdown, 1797	131
6	The Nile, 1798	147
7	Copenhagen, 1801	173
8	Warriors and merchants	187
9	Bonaparte's army of England, 1803	205
10	Trafalgar, 1805	217
11	The empire of the oceans	253
12	The continental blockade	279
13	The American War, 1812	293
14	Lake Erie and Plattsburg Bay, 1813-1814	313
15	Napoleon's nemesis	335
16	The sceptre of the world	351
	Glossary of nautical terms	389

Customer Reviews

Be the first to write a review

( 0 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(0)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines

Tell the world what you think of this product.

Add Recommendations

Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

- HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
- Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
- Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
- Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
- Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
- Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
- Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

- By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
- Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
- See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.

If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble

Maritime Power and Struggle for Freedom: Naval Campaigns that Shaped the World, 1788-1851

Overview

Customers Who Bought This Also Bought

More About This Book

Overview

Related Subjects

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal

Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

Table of Contents

Customer Reviews

Rating Distribution

5 Star

4 Star

3 Star

2 Star

1 Star

Your Rating:

Your Recommendations:

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

What to exclude from your review:

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

Reminder:

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!