Power Upon History: 1660-1783 | The Influence Of Sea

of Germany ordered a copy for every single one of his naval officers. It fueled the arms race that eventually led to World War I.

By looking back at the age of sail (1660–1783), Mahan actually predicted the age of steel—and every aircraft carrier patrolling the globe today is, in a way, a ghost of his 1890 theories.

Mahan’s influence is why we have "Blue Water Navies" today. He taught the world that you can’t be a Great Power without a Great Navy. He turned the ocean from a "moat" that protected nations into a "bridge" for their ambition.

translated it and used it as a manual to build the fleet that would eventually shock the world at the Battle of Tsushima.

The book was an overnight sensation, but not just in America.