To Rule the Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World

Why read a history of the British Navy? Why read a history of a Navy? A partial answer is that war is always entertaining. A truer answer perhaps would be that there is no greater teacher than war. Arthur Herman’s book is the story of one of the greatest instruments of war ever to exist – the Royal Navy. It is about how this instrument was forged. It is also about how it was wielded over five centuries to create the greatest empire in history. That the sun did not set on the British Empire was in very large measure due to its Navy.The book begins in 1568 with a raid on San Juan in Mexico by a John Hawkins of Plymouth. Hawkins and his flotilla of 5 small ships were out to attack the annual “treasure” fleet that carried gold and silver from South American mines to the royal Spanish treasury. To the Spaniards, Hawkins was a brigand and an outlaw, a pirate, albeit a rather distinguished pirate. His foray hade been financed by a syndicate of very respectable investors that included Queen Elizabeth. The syndicate invested on the basis of Hawkins rather remarkable track record of providing rates of return in tens of thousands of percent on capital in previous voyages. Piracy was one of his two revenue streams. The other more predictable source of profit was a controlling position in the slave trade that dominated world commerce in the 16th century.Hawkin’s cousin, Francis Drake, deserted him during this raid but went on to win eternal glory – and respectability – as the man who saved England from the wrath of then global hegemon, King Philip of Spain, by destroying the Spanish Armada in 1588. The second part of the story, which begins after this famous victory, is also about Empire, and about how small, scrappy England became the mighty United Kingdom. Mr Herman does a fine job of describing in rich detail the characters of Hawkins, Drake and their contemporaries and the temper of their lawless and violent world. He describes how these tough and brutal men created a nucleus of fighting vessels and sailors. Perhaps the most interesting part of the book is about how this marine force subsequently morphed into the mighty Royal Navy instead of becoming a criminal empire.A fighting organization is built on three pillars: its weapons, its administrative ability and the quality of its manpower in general and its leadership in particular. Over the course of the 17th and 18th centuries a succession of capable Englishmen strengthened each pillar. Shipbuilding became a major industry that ceaselessly innovated to increase the speed and maneuverability of its vessels and the lethality of its weapons. An Admiralty office with very capable officials oversaw the growing machinery that learned to pay, victual, arm and run the Navy. Ships and armaments were standardized. The officer corps attracted the best talent in the country and rewarded performance. Naval tactics like the broadside, signaling, maneuvering together under a single commander (that origin of the office of a fighting Admiral) were developed over a century of constant fighting with the French and more occasionally, the Dutch. Shipboard medicine and nutrition developed to treat war-wounds and diseases such as scurvy that incapacitated more sailors than the enemy. All this was in tune with the spirit of an England that was being energized by the Industrial Revolution and political reform.A fighting organization also requires what the French call elan. The Royal Navy was able to retain the habitual daring and the tradition of superb seamanship that were characteristic of its piratical forbears. It also found ways of maintaining very high levels of motivation and morale amongst its sailors even as it slowly moderated fearsome shipboard disciplinePerhaps no one represented the spirit of this Navy better than the impossibly brave and impossibly patriotic Nelson. His victories, culminating in Trafalgar (1805), and later, Wellington’s triumph at Waterloo, paved the way for world domination by a Britannia that ruled the waves. Nelson died because he, like Hawkins, led his men from the front. But the Royal Navy was a very dissimilar to Hawkins fleet of marauders. Amongst other things, it occupied itself very differently. England learnt from what it inflicted on the Spanish. Protection of free passage on the high seas became non-negotiable. A small island dependent almost entirely on its well being for ship-borne trade could not afford the insecurity of lawless seas. Hawkin’s descendants accordingly concentrated on stamping out piracy. They were very successful. The temper of the times had also changed. The Royal Navy became the scourge of slavers, stamping out the trade that had made Hawkins a rich man.The book describes not just how an institution like the Navy is created but also how it is necessary to possess such an instrument if a nation has an aspiration to become a great power. Mr Herman establishes that the guns of the Royal Navy anchored the unparalleled prosperity of the relatively small British Isles. The British state could transcend its island home because it could develop a mighty instrument of state. In Nelson’s time. when a voyage to India was still a six-month affair, the British already had “blue-water navy” with squadrons for the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. We would have called it “strategic thinking.” Another interesting take-away from this book is the very fine line that divides good and evil in statecraft. Today’s robber is tomorrow’s policemen and statecraft every so often consists of setting a robber to catch a thief.The book is a great read. Memorable characters populate it. Sir Francis Drake, Lord Nelson, King Philip of Spain, the Duke of Medina Sidonia, and Captain James Cook to name a few. The demands of command, the dreams of glory and the nightmares of defeat are brought out vividly. Dry technical details are brought to life and illuminate the fog of battle. The portrayals of the horrors of war, the details of lives of the human beings that fought and died on the ships are woven with the flow of larger events to create an excellent popular history.

"To Rule The Waves - How The British Navy Shaped The Modern World" is an engaging and enjoyable read! It spans centuries from the days of Francis Drake to the war in the Falklands and the author does a very good job of making a book of such wide scope and covering so many eras very enlightening and enjoyable.The book covers the British navy beginning with the privateers of the Elizabethan age that preyed upon ships of the "Spanish Main" and helped turn back the Armada. The author covers the history of English fleets against Spain, Holland, the many wars with France from Louis XIV to Napoleon as well as the Germans in two world wars.All the while, the author gives us insight into life in the navy for officers and seamen during these time periods. We learn much about the naval strategies and tactics employed (successes and failures) by both the British and their opponents. The author does a fine job of relating the importance of the technology that affected the wars at sea as well as how they were adopted. He brings the men who shaped the British navy to life for the readers, both their virtues and their vices.The author writes with a sense of genuine admiration for the Royal Navy and its predecessors - and here we come across the negatives of this book. Unfortunately, the author sometimes chooses to gloss over some failures and defeats. He has a tendency to explain away the Royal Navy's often being "behind the curve" in terms of technology. He sometimes overstates the importance of the British navy on history. For an example, the author states that the sinking of two RN battleships of Force Z by the Japanese as more significant than the attack on Pearl Harbor!Despite the negatives, this is such a well-written and enjoyable read that does indeed give the reader an idea of how important the navy was to Britain over such a long period of time (though, not nearly as important as the author would have us believe) I'm willing to still recommend it with four stars.

Arthur Herman has written a number of excellent historical accounts: Ghandi & Churchill, 1917 Stalin & Lenin, McArthur, McCarthy, Decline of the Idea of Western Society and How the Scots Invented the Modern World.This is really a book about Great Britain and how its history was shaped by its Navy. It starts with the early explorers searching for the North West Passage in the early 16th Century and ends with the Falkans War in 1980. It covers Sir Francis Drake, the Spanish Armada, Nelson at Trafalgar, Churchill & Gallipoli. It describes the arms race between nations over their individual navies during the 17th century between Britain and Spain, then the 18th between Britain and France and finally in the 20th between Britain and Germany. Each time Britain was able to come out on top and enlarge its empire by keeping control of the worlds oceans. Unfortunately after WWII Britain's energy was spent and it rapidly declined to what we have today.There was so much history covered and entire books could be dedicated to parts like WWI or the war with Napoleon. The author is able to cover a lot of ground in only 600 or so pages and the writing is exciting! It would have been helpful if he added a couple of items.- a picture of the ships from each era- more charts and maps of the sea battles- more information about the technical aspects of boat building

I can't remember why I bought this book - Not my normal read at all. But what a read!Certainly, this seems to be written with rose-coloured (or Union-Jack coloured) glasses on, but I (as a British citizen) really did not appreciate the history, and it is fascinating. From pirates like Drake all the way through to the Falklands, what a naval history this country has. The amazing power the UK once had and the way it used it to shape - No, Create - the modern world.Yes - it is all over now (we lost it all, first to technology and then during the sacrifices of WWII) and I can't help thinking that a shame (but then I was not on the wrong side of the Navy's guns!). But the story that is left behind is wonderful & awe-inspiring.

I have just finished this great book. It tells the story in a very readable narrative style of the Royal Navy from its small and rather piecemeal beginning. It tells the story of all the great explorers who sailed from these shores. It faithfully records the many battles and eventually tells the story of its glory days with Nelson. After two world wars also recorded in detail it tells the story of its slow decline and final burst of glory in the Falklands. It is well worth a read and will be a permanent addition to my bookcase.

I am hoping to buy a hardcover version of this book shortly. This will be my third such. The fact that an American has shown us just what a contribution we British and the Royal Navy in particular has made to the world intrigues me, makes me feel very proud and yet saddens me as I suspect few will know the detail between its pages. This should be essential reading for anyone who calls himself/herself a British Citizen. This is why I am on my third copy as I have passed the first two onto others ! Read it and be very, very proud.

Well worth the listen, in depth research and not just saying "look at how good the British are" giving all sides of To Rule The Waves, good and bad. Well worth the 1 credit for a well informed book lasting 28/29hrs.

Don't think I have ever came across an interesting book that chronicled the Royal Navy's role in shaping the modern world until this one. Full of things that will make you think - that makes sense - and surprise you as well. The Navy had a further reach and impact than you would realize!