Maritime Supremacy and the Opening of the Western Mind: Naval Campaigns That Shaped the Modern World, 1588-1782. - Review - book review

Naval War College Review, Spring, 2001 by Andrew G. Wilson

Padfield, Peter. Maritime Supremacy and the Opening of the Western Mind: Naval Campaigns That Shaped the Modern World, 1588-1782. New York: Overlook Press, 2000. 340pp. $35

"Maritime supremacy is the key which unlocks most, if not all, large questions of modern history, certainly the puzzle of how and why we--the Western democracies--are as we are. We are the heirs of maritime supremacy." So begins the argument of naval historian Peter Padfield's latest work. Like Nelson, Padfield is prone to bold acts, and in this case, it is his thesis. Beginning with a look at the Spanish Armada of 1588, Padfield leads the reader through several pivotal naval battles, including The Downs (1639), Beachy Head (1690), Quiberon Bay (1759), and the American Revolution's naval campaigns. He contends that these battles not only were critical from a tactical or strategic standpoint but played a long-term role in the development and political, economic, and social lives of the countries involved. Put simply, maritime power and success lead to such liberty as has been enjoyed by the Western democracies over the recent centuries. "Our faith in democracy, personal freedoms and human 'rights,' and other c omforting prescriptions of the humanist liberal credo, stem from the supremacy of maritime over territorial power.

Drawing primarily upon published materials, the author builds a strong argument for the relationship between naval and maritime power and the success of such liberal democratic states as the Dutch United Provinces, England, and the United States.

The success of these maritime nations was and is based on the principles so well outlined by Alfred Thayer Mahan. Control of the sea is a two-stage issue--control of trade, and naval protection of that trade. Padfield reminds the reader that during the period of royal absolutism only a state with a strong merchant class could be a true maritime power, and only a strong merchant class could enable a kingdom or state to finance and operate successfully naval fleets--"by far the greatest industrial-bureaucratic organizations of the time." The result of the merchant influence was a decline in royal prerogative. Fleets cost money, and the merchants had the money; as a result, merchants gained an increasing role in official decision-making circles. Along with the rise of the merchant class in the early modern states came a rise in the belief of political and social freedoms. According to Padfield, "Liberty has always been the pride and rallying cry of powers enjoying maritime supremacy."

Beginning with the United Provinces, Padfield contends that their maritime power, along with their fairly urban nature, created "the first mass market in intellectual and artistic properties." Padfield states further that in essence the seventeenth-century Dutch burghers "produced a prototype of late-twentieth-century Western civilization." In short, the Dutch were the "harbingers of the modern West." With the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688, the mantle of maritime greatness passed to England.

These are strong assertions. However, as Padfield outlines it in Maritime Supremacy, his thesis that maritime supremacy and the "opening of the western mind" are inseparably linked is convincing.

If there is a shortcoming to Maritime Supremacy, it is in the naval history used to illustrate Padfield's points. Although his descriptions of these famous naval engagements are interesting, there is entirely too much detail. This section of the work could be an entire book by itself, without the discussion of Western freedoms and democracy. The naval battles within the work represent simply the author's canvas, whereas his focal point is the thesis concerning the relationship between maritime power and the development of the liberal democratic state. This reviewer's suggestion is to ignore the battle minutiae and enjoy the argument. With its brief glossary of nautical terminology, bibliography of the leading secondary literature concerning the subject, and decent annotation, this work will make a welcome addition to the library of the naval specialist, professor, and armchair admiral alike.

Today's naval powers operate in a global theater. Padfield's research not only demonstrates the origins of this global maritime arena but reinforces the importance of maintaining a nation's maritime heritage, diversity, and power. The book's dust jacket calls the United States of America the "ultimate successor" to this maritime past. If the United States is to maintain the position Padfield claims its maritime history has granted it, then its naval leadership--if not its citizenry--should be reading this work, to understand the past and prepare for the future.