Maritime power

Not to be confused with Hydraulic empire or Thalassocracy.

A maritime power (sometimes a naval power^[1]) is a nation with a very strong navy, which often is also a great power, or at least a regional power. A maritime power is able to easily control their coast, and exert influence upon both nearby and far countries. A nation that dominates the world navally is known as a maritime superpower. Many countries that become maritime powers become strong to defend themselves from an extant threat, as the USSR did during the Cold War to defend itself from the United States Navy. In that scenario, it is common for the emerging maritime power to focus largely upon area denial tactics, rather than power projection.^[2]

Maritime powers are much more involved in global politics and trade than other powers.^[3]

History

Its status as an island nation that needed naval protection against Continental European states, Britain's fleet of naval and trade ships had already become several times larger than that of its closest rival before the advent of the Industrial Revolution. Britain maximised the economic advantage of the Industrial Revolution only by using the same naval power to convince or to force other countries to purchase its factory-manufactured goods.^[4]

Historic maritime powers

• The Roman Empire by 30 BC, Roman dominion extended from the Iberian Peninsula to Egypt. Romans controlled the whole Mediterranean Sea and called it Mare Nostrum (Latin: "Our Sea").^[5]
• The Republic of Venice dominated trade on the Mediterranean Sea between Europe, North Africa, and the Levant from the High Middle Ages to the beginning of the early modern period. It conquered numerous territories along the Adriatic Sea.^[6]
• The Republic of Genoa was one of the most powerful maritime and commercial powers of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea during the Late Middle Ages.^[7]
• The Ottoman Empire had one of the strongest navies in the 16th and 17th centuries, particularly dominating the Mediterranean, Aegean Sea and Black Sea. It reached the peak of its power under the command of Admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa.
• The Swedish Empire. The Dominium maris baltici ("Baltic Sea dominion") policy of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Kingdom of Sweden during the late medieval and early modern eras helped lead the Swedish Empire's domination of the Baltic Sea.
• The Portuguese Empire pioneered the Age of Discovery during the 15th. It was the first global sea power and the first global empire. It was also the most powerful empire during the 15th and 16th centuries.^{[citation needed]}
• The Spanish Empire was one of the first global empires and the most powerful empire during the 16th and the first half of the 17th centuries.^{[citation needed]}
• The Dutch Republic held a virtual monopoly in global commerce and trade routes during the second half of 17th century.^{[citation needed]}
• The British Empire was at one point a superpower, alongside being a maritime power (19th century).^{[citation needed]}
• Brazil in the 1820s to 1900s
• Chile in the 1880s and 1890s. From 1879 to 1881 Chile successfully reduced the Peruvian Navy and blockaded its ports in the naval campaign of the War of the Pacific. With the ship with Esmeralda laid down in 1883 Chile was able to lay claim to possessing the most powerful navy in the Americas.^[8][9] In 1885, that ship was deployed to Panama to show the Chilean flag and conduct gunboat diplomacy during an emerging crisis in the region. By annexing Easter Island in 1888, Chile joined the imperial nations in their partition of Oceania.^[10]: 53
• Argentina in the 1880s to 1960s
• The Empire of Japan was the leading Asian maritime power in the 19th and the 20th centuries. By 1920, the Imperial Japanese Navy was the third-largest navy in the world, behind the Royal Navy and the United States Navy.^[11]
• The German Empire in 1910, the German high seas fleet was one of the most powerful navy as it built many ships and had the biggest submarine fleet in the world, with 120 submarines in total.^{[citation needed]}
• The Soviet Union traditionally had a strong focus on land, but a period of rapid naval expansion allowed it to dominate its area.^[12]
• The Kingdom of Italy had one of the most powerful navies from 1918 to 1945.^{[citation needed]}

• Denmark-Norway had the second largest navy in most of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. Eventually Their entire fleet was captured by the British during the bombardement of Copenhagen in 1801 and 1807, however even after losing the kingdom of Norway Denmark managed to build most of its navy again, and eventually had the 4th largest navy during the 19th century

Current maritime powers

• China.^{[G20][BRICS][12]} China is a great power, and is considered by many scholars to be an emerging global superpower.^{[13][14][15][16][17]}
• France.^{[G7][G20][18]} France is also a great power with its nuclear powered aircraft carrier and a large surface fleet.^[19]
• India.^{[G20][BRICS][20][21][22][23]} India is a great power with blue-water capabilities.
• Russia.^{[G20][BRICS][24]} Russia is a great power with blue-water capability.^[25]
• United Kingdom.^{[G7][G20][A][B]} Royal Navy is considered a Blue water navy^[26]
• United States of America.^{[G7][G20][12]} Nearly all scholars consider the USA a superpower of the 20th and early 21st century.^{[27][28][29][30][31][32]}

See also

• Command of the sea
• Maritime republics
• Naval power
• Thalassocracy

Notes

^ Nation is a member of the Group of Twenty.^[33]

^ Nation is a member of the Group of Seven.^[34]

^ Nation is a member of BRICS.^[35]

Bibliography

• Tellegen-Couperus, Olga (1993). Short History of Roman Law. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-07251-4.
• Børresen, Jacob (1994). "The seapower of the coastal state". Journal of Strategic Studies. Informa UK Limited. 17 (1): 148–175. doi:10.1080/01402399408437544. ISSN 0140-2390.

References

1. Børresen 1994, p. 148.
2. "Stephen Biddle on Strategy in the Western Pacific". The Maritime Executive. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
3. "Can Israel become a maritime power?". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
4. David Sanders; David Patrick Houghton (2016). Losing an Empire, Finding a Role: British Foreign Policy Since 1945. Macmillan International Higher Education. p. 32. ISBN 978-1137447135.
5. Couperus (1993), p.32
6. "Venice - History". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
7. "Genoa | Geography, History, Facts, & Points of Interest". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
8. : Grant, Jonathan A. Rulers, Guns, and Money: The Global Arms Trade in the Age of Imperialism. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007. ISBN 0-674-02442-7. OCLC 166262725.  , pp. 121–23.
9. Scheina, Robert. Latin America: A Naval History 1810–1987. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1987, pp. 43–46.
10. William Sater, Chile and the United States: Empires in Conflict, 1990 by the University of Georgia Press, ISBN 0-8203-1249-5
11. Evans, David & Peattie, Mark R. (1997). Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887–1941. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-192-7.
12. "Who rules the waves?". The Economist. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
13. Muldavin, Joshua (9 February 2006). . Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
14. "A Point Of View: What kind of superpower could China be?". BBC. 19 October 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
15. John, Emmanuel (2019-06-13). "China: Emerging superpower". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
16. "Five big takeaways from the 2019 Asia Power Index". www.lowyinstitute.org. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
17. Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Many Germans believe China will replace US as superpower: survey | DW | 14.07.2020". DW.COM. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
18. "French Maritime Strategic Thought On the Indo-Pacific". Center for International Maritime Security. 31 March 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
19. Levy, Jack S. (1983). War in the modern great power system : 1495-1975. Lexington, Ky.: University press of Kentucky. p. 29. ISBN 978-0813101644.
20. Scott, David (Winter 2007–2008). (PDF). Journal of Military and Strategic Studies. 10 (2): 42. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-05-28.
21. "Indian Ocean: Reviving IOR-ARC forum". Strategic Affairs. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
22. Pubby, Manu (18 July 2007). "India activates first listening post on foreign soil: radars in Madagascar". The Indian Express. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
23. Gilboy, George J.; Heginbotham, Eric (12 Mar 2012). Chinese and Indian Strategic Behavior: Growing Power and Alarm. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. pp. 175–176.
24. "The Baltic: Grey-Zone Threats on NATO's Northern Flank". Center for International Maritime Security. 29 March 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
25. "What's Looming in Ukraine Is more Threatening than Georgia". Der Spiegel. October 16, 2008. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
26. "The Royal Navy Deployed Forward Operating Globally" (PDF). royalnavy.mod.uk/. Royal Navy. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
27. Tony Judt; Denis Lacorne (June 4, 2005). With Us Or Against Us: Studies in Global Anti-Americanism. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 61. ISBN 978-1-4039-8085-4.
28. Richard J. Samuels (December 21, 2005). Encyclopedia of United States National Security. SAGE Publications. p. 666. ISBN 978-1-4522-6535-3.
29. Paul R. Pillar (January 1, 2001). Terrorism and U.S. Foreign Policy. Brookings Institution Press. p. 57. ISBN 0-8157-0004-0.
30. Gabe T. Wang (January 1, 2006). China and the Taiwan Issue: Impending War at Taiwan Strait. University Press of America. p. 179. ISBN 978-0-7618-3434-2.
31. Understanding the "Victory Disease," From the Little Bighorn to Mogadishu and Beyond. DIANE Publishing. 2004. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-4289-1052-2.
32. Akis Kalaitzidis; Gregory W. Streich (2011). U.S. Foreign Policy: A Documentary and Reference Guide. ABC-CLIO. p. 313. ISBN 978-0-313-38375-5.
33. . www.g20.org. Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
34. "G8 Information Centre". www.g8.utoronto.ca. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
35. . infobrics.org. Archived from the original on 22 March 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.