For five centuries, since Vasco de Gama's ships began making the Indian Ocean a Portuguese lake, many governments used naval force to serve their political purposes. The sceptre of the seas passed from one nation to another, but political success did not always reward the strongest navy. This selective, international history of naval force as a political instrument, whether in peace or war, ranges from Calicut, navally cannonaded in 1501, to Baghdad, assailed by sea launched missiles in 1991.
Preface Scope and Definitions The Pre-Naval Era Explorers and Freebooters The Early Naval Wars The High Noon of Naval Force: 1690-1815 Naval Force without Naval War: 1815-1882 Instrumental Change New Naval Powers: Japan and the United States The First World War Between Two Wars The Second World War The Cold War and Its Hot Spots Violent Peace: A Continuing Process Lessons and Speculations Notes and References Bibliography Index
