Originally published in 1898. PREFACE: The definite object proposed in this work is an examination of the general history of Europe and America with particular reference to the effect of sea power upon the course of that history. Historians generally have been unfamiliar with the conditions of the sea, having as to it neither special interest nor special knowledge; and the profound determining influence of maritime strength upon great issues has consequently been overlooked. The period embraced is from 1660, when the sailing ship era, with its distinctive features, had fairly begun, to 1783, the end of the American Revolution

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