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‘Enthusiastically written, in depth yet at a good rate of knots … this is a fascinating, action-packed history.’ SUNDAY EXPRESS
‘A fascinating overview of nearly 400 years of naval history … [and] a great entry point for family historians exploring what life was like for their seafaring forebears.’ WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?
D
uring the reign of Elizabeth I the inspirational leadership of seafarers such as Drake and Hawkins set a tiny impoverished kingdom on the path to greatness. In time, this fledgling navy transformed Britain into the most powerful empire in history, with enormous consequences for the rest of the world. There was slavery, conquest, and war on a titanic scale, but the navy also ensured that Britain would preserve her independence and unique economic and political systems. Over the next four centuries the navy made the sea and seafaring an integral part of our culture and national identity. The reasons and consequences of this dramatic progress are explored by leading naval historian, Brian Lavery, drawing on the themes raised by Dan Snow in the popular BBC2 series. Rising through the administrative brilliance of Pepys, Anson and Sandwich, and the military genius of Blake, Hawke and Nelson, the navy’s successes eventually brought about the ‘long peace’ of the nineteenth century. But the resultant sterility in strategic thinking and complacency lead to the bruising experience of the Battle of Jutland in 1916.
Empire of the seas
‘This is an excellent book, readable yet informed and underpinned by Brian Lavery’s expertise as one of the best naval historians in Britain, if not the world.’ BBC HISTORY
BRIAN LAVERY
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
Empire of the seas
www.conwaypublishing.com MARITIME & MILITARY HISTORY UK £9.99
www.anovabooks.com
The remarkable story of How the Navy Forged the Modern World
BRIAN LAVERY