A Sea of Opportunity: An Introduction to the Navy

One cannot overstate how important a navy, or sea power in general, is to a nation. Few things correlate to greatness as a strong navy does. Let's take an economical look at the navy, first. If anyone has ever seen the  U.S Navy commercial that is often on TV, you should know that "90% of all trade travels by water." This fact is even more pronounced back in the past. Exploration (also done by sea) was largely focused on finding new trade routes. Exploration led to the colonisation of the New World, and as you may have guessed, ships were what brought the colonists, and immigrants, later on, to the colonies. It is not a stretch to claim that naval power moved the world forward.

A strong navy was simply a key factor for a country to prosper. Look, for example, at the Spanish empire, who colonised most of South America. We can even take a look back at the Phoenicians, an ancient trading nation whose maritime affairs led to the spread of the alphabet. This nation prospered largely due to their navy, establishing monopolies and prospering, rising above even the Egyptians from 1200 to 800 B.C. The importance of the navy does not decline over time, in fact, less than 150 years ago, Alfred Thayer Mahan started the largest naval technology race in history, after publishing his book, The Influence of Sea Power Upon History: 1660-1778. Mahan's work is credited as being the single most influential book in naval strategy. His theories were adopted by all major nations, including Germany, Japan, France, and even the United States, a fact that is often forgotten. 

                                                              Alfred Thayer Mahan

Britain is undoubtedly the best example of naval power's influence. As Britain is made up of islands, the need for a strong navy is self explanatory. Britain navy was the elite, with ships like HMS Dreadnought outclassing every other vessel currently existing. It is no coincidence that Britain emerged as a superpower.

It is a simple, yet overlooked correlation: naval supremacy and overall success are two fishes in the same sea.

                                                                HMS Dreadnought