This was an interesting read. The author goes through the history of sea states like the Phoenician city states, the Greek city states, Carthage, Rhodes, Venice, the Netherlands, and England. He wanted to focus on powers who could live or die based on a naval battle. He covers the Portuguese and the Spanish but he considers both of them to be insufficiently mercantile in Lisbon and Madrid to be true seapower states. He puts great powers like Persia, America, and France into that category of nations which possess a great navy but which do not live or die on the basis of maritime commerce alone. All in all it was a thought provoking read.

>>17786025
Interesting subject matter