Bøger i Cambridge Library Collection - Naval and Military History serien

This book, first published in 1897, examines two important factors in the growth of Liverpool as a major port: privateering and the slave trade. It incorporates a large amount of primary source material, including extracts from letters and newspaper reports. Privateeering developed as Britain became a global maritime power through merchant shipping and exploration, privateers being ships and individuals authorised by the government through Letters of Marque to attack and capture foreign ships for profit. Williams recounts the exploits of several notorious privateers sailing from Liverpool, and describes how the industry functioned and flourished during the French revolution, the Seven Years' War and the American wars. He provides much practical detail, including how best to capture ships while causing them minimal damage. The second part of his book is still regarded as a classic history of the Liverpool slave trade, and clearly reveals the author's anti-imperialist views.

Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914) was an American naval officer, considered one of the most important naval strategists of the nineteenth century. In 1885 he was appointed Lecturer in Naval History and Tactics at the US Naval War College, and served as President of the institution between 1886 and 1889. This book, first published in 1901, contains detailed comparative biographies of six leading British admirals from the late eighteenth century including Sir James Saumarez and Sir Edward Pellew. Mahan illustrates the marked differences in professional manner by pairing the biographies of the admirals, highlighting the contrasts between his subjects' command styles and tactics. Mahan also clearly demonstrates the marked and dramatic changes in British naval warfare during the late eighteenth century through the achievements and capabilities of the six admirals. This influential study provides fascinating insights into a key period of British naval history.

Captain James Burney (1750-1821), the son of the musicologist Dr Charles Burney and brother of the novelist Fanny Burney, was a well-travelled sailor, best known for A Chronological History of the Discoveries in the South Sea or Pacific Ocean (1803-1817), of which this work formed a part. It was subsequently republished separately, and is here taken from the edition of 1907. Burney concentrates on the activities of the buccaneers on the Pacific coast of South America and in the East Indies, as well as in the Caribbean, describing how their piracy was tolerated, and even encouraged, by the English and French because it was generally aimed at Spanish possessions. The book covers the period from the first European settlements in the Caribbean up to 1700, and includes anecdotes about the activities and lifestyle of the buccaneers, and the relationships between the European powers and their new colonies.

Lieutenant-Colonel John Drinkwater (1762-1844), an army officer, was on board the Minerva, bearing Commodore Nelson's pennant, after the British evacuation from Corsica, when they found themselves in the middle of the Spanish fleet. Having been transferred to another ship, and Nelson to the Captain, Drinkwater thus became an eyewitness of the Battle of St Vincent, 14 February 1797. He made sketches of the positions of the fleet during the battle, that were subsequently praised for their accuracy by naval officers. His Narrative was originally published the same year, but reissued in 1840 with the addition of anecdotes of Nelson, to raise funds for a Nelson testimonial. The original aim of the work was to give due credit to the officers, particularly Nelson, to whom it was felt that Admiral Sir John Jervis had not given sufficient recognition for their part in his most significant victory.

Following the British naval successes of the early French Revolutionary Wars, which culminated in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, public interest in the history and growth of the Royal Navy increased dramatically, inspiring the publication of scholarly works relating to naval history. This volume, written by Naval Office clerk Charles Derrick and first published in 1806, contains a detailed account of the changes in the state of the Royal Navy between 1485 and 1805. Derrick focuses on the decline and growth of the number of ships in the Navy during the reign of each monarch through this period, listing the number of ships and tonnage at the start of each reign and describing innovations and new ships built during the period. Including copies of contemporary naval reports on ship numbers, tonnage and shipbuilding techniques, this clear and concise study remains a valuable reference for the study of naval history.

David Steel was one of the most respected and prolific naval publishers of the early nineteenth century. His published volumes focused on naval strategy and shipbuilding techniques, and he was the first to publish regular Navy Lists. This volume, first published in 1801, contains information concerning British naval battles and losses which occurred during the early part of the French Revolutionary Wars, 1793-1800. This volume lists all ships belonging to the major European powers involved in the war which had been destroyed, describes settlements and colonies which had been captured by the British Navy, lists ships with details concerning their crew which were captured by the British Navy, and provides a list of commanding officers who were killed during this period. This volume presents a valuable summary of the major actions and prizes the British Navy fought and captured during this early period of the Revolutionary Wars.

Sir Julian Corbett (1854-1922) was an eminent British naval historian who focused on the analysis of historic naval strategy. After graduating from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1876 Corbett practised as a barrister until 1882, when he turned to historical writing. He was appointed Lecturer in History to the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, in 1903, and was consulted on naval reforms during the First World War. These volumes, first published in 1907, contain Corbett's detailed analysis of naval warfare during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). Focusing on the strategy of the British navy, Corbett recounts chronologically the major actions of the war, analysing in detail fleet movements and naval tactics in their political and diplomatic context. These volumes were the first scholarly work on this subject, and provide valuable information concerning the development of English naval strategy during this formative period. Volume 2 covers 1759-1763.

Piracy on the coast of China in the nineteenth century inflicted chaos and serious economic damage, with large mobs of bandits attacking coastal villages as well as wreaking havoc at sea. Yung-lun Yuan's account of this period, published in Chinese in 1830 and in English in 1831, is a colourful depiction of the pirate scourge. Interwoven with the narratives of the pirates themselves as well as those of the courageous civilians who resisted them, the text describes the organisation and rules of the pirates as well as the authorities' attempts to broker peace. Also included is Sir John Dalrymple Hay's account of battling pirates in the 1840s, first published in 1849. Hay (1821-1912) describes his tenure as a British naval commander struggling to suppress piracy. As well as providing a naval perspective on the pirate problem, Hay recounts numerous anecdotes of daring and heroism on the seas.

George W. Forrest (1845-1926) was born in India, the son of an army captain who had won the Victoria Cross during the Indian Mutiny. Forrest became an historian and journalist, who also created and ran the Imperial Record Office in Calcutta. He produced many editions of state papers and historical memoirs on governors of India, providing primary material on British India to scholars of imperial history. First published in 1901 on Forrest's retirement to England due to ill health, Sepoy Generals is a study of British generals who played a significant role in India during the nineteenth century. The term 'sepoy general' was coined as an insult to Wellington, the first subject, insinuating that his important military successes in India were insignificant and would not equip him to defeat Napoleon. Forrest's nine subjects spanned the whole nineteenth century, ending with Lord Roberts of Kandahar, who died in 1900.

Sir Walter Oakeshott was a British scholar who is best known as the discoverer of the Winchester Manuscript of Malory's Morte d'Arthur while he was an assistant master at Winchester College. He later became Rector of Lincoln College, and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1962 to 1964. Oakeshott had a scholarly interest in Elizabethan exploration, which he examines in this volume, first published in 1942. He describes the military and exploratory achievements of the Elizabethan and Stuart navy, including attempts to find the Northwest Passage, the settlement of Virginia and the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Oakeshott also discusses the role of Renaissance thought and contemporary politics in these achievements, through changes in naval tactics and advances in cartography. The personalities of leading explorers including Sir Francis Drake, Sir John Hawkins and Sir Walter Raleigh are also vividly described in this clear and concise historical account.

Under Queen Anne, who reigned from 1702 to 1714, the expansion of the British Fleet begun by William III continued, with her husband Prince George as Lord High Admiral. The major naval battles of her reign were decisive in maintaining Britain's supremacy over France in the War of Spanish Succession. This book, first published in 1938, is an account of the Navy's role in Queen Anne's wars against France by Winston Churchill's naval historical adviser John Owen (1890-1970) whose own experience in the Navy equipped him to write from an insider's perspective about daily life and strategic decisions. He provides lively descriptions of the important figures of the age, drawn from extensive research in the original records. The book is illustrated with maps and portraits. It includes appendices explaining the Navy's organisation and listing facts and figures about the ships then active.

The Caucasus region, which forms a natural boundary between Asia and Europe, has always been of great strategic importance. Russia's expansion into the region in the late eighteenth century brought conflict with the Ottoman Empire, creating a new area of contention between these two states, and the borderlands remained in a state of intermittent conflict until the end of the First World War. This volume, first published in 1953, discusses the four major conflicts which took place in the region during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Focusing on military strategy, the book describes in great detail battles, skirmishes and logistical problems of warfare in a mountainous and remote region. Illustrated with thirty-nine maps, it provides a wealth of information for military historians and remains an authoritative account.

J. S. Omond's study of 1933 documents the historically problematic relationship between Parliament and the Army. Providing an overview of the 260 years which elapsed from the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642 until the establishment of the Army Council in 1904, the book describes the phases through which the problem of political control of the army has passed. Omond draws upon a wide variety of historical material including biographies, memoirs, letters, parliamentary debates and newspaper articles in addressing how and why this relationship has remained of principal concern since the reign of Charles I. An Epilogue takes account of events from 1904 to the book's publication in 1933, and a chronological table summarises the key historical and political events.

As Europe was poised on the cusp of the Great War (1914-1918), issues of national defence were of paramount concern. Despite the importance to German security of concentrating its resources on continental defence within Europe, the preceding years had been steeped in the cult of the navy. Germany's daunting pursuit of Weltpolitik had raised a serious challenge to traditional British naval hegemony. At issue were the future course of international relations, economic development and, crucially, the balance of power on both regional and global scales. Published in early 1914, some papers in this volume reviewed historic contributions of the British navy, offering a timely opportunity to formulate a better understanding of how the navy might be expected to perform in the future. The contents are evenly divided between essays on naval and military history, with the value of such historical analyses to contemporary officers being an explicit theme throughout.

This 1880 book considers, 'with special reference to gunpowder and firearms', the weaponry of the Hindu armies of the Middle Ages. Oppert's claim that gunpowder was being used in India in the twelfth century is probably untenable, but the work remains an interesting study of Hindu fighting forces.

These 'opinions and reflections of Napoleon ... in his own words' were published in two volumes in 1822 by Barry O'Meara, who became the ex-emperor's physician during his final exile. This fascinating and controversial work is also a polemic against the allegedly harsh treatment of Napoleon, strongly denied by other witnesses.

Following a controversial naval career, Isaac Schomberg (1753-1813) published this five-volume work in 1802. A classic source of naval history, it includes detailed descriptions of engagements, events on board, and politics at home, as well as an appendix of facts and figures stretching back to the Royal Navy's origins.

A comprehensive two-volume account, published in 1845, of the history of the Royal Marines from their formation to 1842, by former marine Paul Harris Nicolas (1790-1860). Volume 1 covers the seventeenth-century genesis of the corps through to the first phase of the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

This two-volume history, published between 1832 and 1837, is the definitive account of what was effectively the Hanoverian army in exile between 1803 and 1816. Its most notable period of service came when it formed part of Wellington's army during the Peninsular War and Waterloo Campaign.

William Siborne (1797-1849) constructed his famous model of the field at Waterloo using testimony from scores of British officers who had fought in the battle on 18 June 1815. These accounts form the basis of this classic and extremely detailed two-volume history of the campaign, first published in 1844.

This two-volume work, published in 1851 by the Scottish traveller James Baillie Fraser (1783-1856), charts the career of James Skinner (1778-1841), a military adventurer who acquired wealth and fame in India for raising regiments of irregular cavalry, aiding the British in their wars against the Marathas and Pindaris.

Charles Napier (1786-1860), a brave but controversial naval officer, became a hero in Britain after taking part in major battles during a sixty-year career. In this two-volume work, published in 1836, Napier gives a first-hand account of the Portuguese Civil War, in which he was a key participant.

Naval officer Thomas Cochrane (1775-1860) published this two-volume work in 1859. Volume 1 concerns the wars of independence of Chile and Peru, covering attacks on Spanish shipping, littoral warfare, seizure of booty, and the author's efforts to liberate Peru from the Portuguese.

James Outram (1803-63) was a British East India Company Army officer who became famous after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. This two-volume biography of him, published in 1880, was written by Frederic John Goldsmid (1818-1908), who also served in India. Volume 1 covers Outram's childhood and early career.

Lieutenant Charles Rathbone Low (1837-1918) published this two-volume history in 1877. It is an exceptionally detailed historical source and contains full indexes of the ships and officers of the Indian Navy. Volume 1 includes events up to 1830, when the Bombay Marine became the Indian Navy.

The courage and steadfastness of Sir Edward Codrington (1770-1851) are depicted in this 1873 biography. Structured around his letters and edited by his daughter, the two-volume work reveals the realities of the eighteenth-century navy, and Codrington's role in some of the most important naval conflicts of his time.

This two-volume work, published in 1847 by cavalry officer Daniel Henry Mackinnon (1813-84) describes his military service in India, in the campaigns against the Afghans in 1839 and the Sikhs in 1845-6. Volume 1 begins with his arrival in India and his involvement during the First Anglo-Afghan War.

First published between 1844 and 1846, this seven-volume collection of letters documents the celebrated naval career of Lord Nelson in his own words. Volume 1 covers Nelson's career until 1794, from service in the Caribbean to his Mediterranean posting following France's declaration of war in 1793.

Arthur Wellesley (1769-1852), first Duke of Wellington, was one of the leading military figures of the nineteenth century. These volumes of dispatches, reissued from the revised 1844 edition, provide fascinating details of his military campaigns. Volume 1 covers campaigns in India between 1798-1803.

This five-volume survey of the state of the British Navy, its ships and organisation, was published between 1882 and 1883. Brassey was much involved with questions of the modernisation and reform of the Navy, at a time when international relations were marked by a maritime arms race.