Archive Results For: Mediterranean
How to Defend the Turkish Straits Against the Russians: A century-long ‘Eastern Question’ in British defence planning, 1815–1914
The integrity of the Ottoman Empire was a fundamental concern in nineteenth-century European politics, often referred to as ‘the Eastern Question’. The main military aspect of this question was how Istanbul and the Turkish Straits, namely the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, could be defended against a probable Russian attack by land, sea or both. The […] Read More
Filed under: Mediterranean | Other (Twentieth C) | Other (Nineteenth C)
Subjects include: Strategy & Diplomacy
The Battle of Marathon and the Persian Navy
In the summer of 490 bc the Athenians secured their freedom and that of the European Greeks by defeating a Persian army in the battle of Marathon. Herodotus gives a sketchy description of the battle without any material information on the size of the respective armies but states that the Persians arrived at Marathon with […] Read More
Filed under: Antiquity | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Battles & Tactics | Logistics | Navies
Note: Maupassant’s Afloat: Why did this classic account of yacht cruising sink without trace?
A critical analysis of Guy de Maupassant’s yachting memoir Afloat discussing why it failed to appeal to contemporary critics and readers. Read More
Filed under: Mediterranean | Other (Nineteenth C)
Subjects include: Leisure & Small Craft
The Reduction of the French Mediterranean Fleet 1702–1719
After the losses sustained at Cherbourg and La Hogue following the battle of Barfleur in 1692, Louis XIV remained keen to continue building up his navy to a size equal to or exceeding in strength the combined English and Dutch fleets. Within a few days he authorized six replacement First Rank ships (three-deckers) and five […] Read More
Filed under: Mediterranean | Other (Eighteenth C)
Subjects include: Navies
The Ottoman Naval Academy and the Development of Naval Training in the Reign of Sultan Abdülaziz (1861–1876)
During the period after the battle of Navarino in 1827, steam warships were widely adopted by the major navies, and the rise of ironclads in the late 1850s marked the turning point both in warship construction and naval strategy as the dominant element of battle at sea. These rapid developments observed in European naval warfare […] Read More
Filed under: Mediterranean | Other (Nineteenth C)
Subjects include: Administration | Manpower & Life at Sea | Navies
Note: A Good Man in Every Sense of the Word: The reputation of Admiral Robert Man
A revision of the reputation of Admiral Robert Man, who obeyed orders and was rewarded for having done so. Read More
Filed under: Napoleonic War | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Administration | Battles & Tactics | Biography
A New Battle Fleet: The evolution of the Ottoman sailing navy, 1650–1718, revealed through Venetian sources
Between 1650 and 1718 the Ottoman navy developed a new fleet of sailing warships in response to similar developments in the Venetian navy. The Venetian government was kept informed of Ottoman naval developments through ambassadors’ reports from Constantinople and accounts from admirals during wartime. The files in the Archivio di Stato di Venezia therefore preserve […] Read More
Filed under: Other (Early Modern) | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Battles & Tactics | Navies | Shipbuilding & Design | Strategy & Diplomacy
Vegetius and Taccola: Was medieval writing on war at sea of any practical use?
For much of the medieval period little time was devoted to the discussion of how war should be waged at sea. Discussion on war was often based on the writings of Flavius Vegetius Renatus, from the late fourth or early fifth century. His short treatise De re militari is based on the works of earlier […] Read More
Filed under: Antiquity | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Battles & Tactics | Strategy & Diplomacy | Weapons
Note: An Offshore Hydrographic Survey by the Royal Navy in 1798
In 1798 St Vincent ordered an urgent examination of an alternative anchorage for the Mediterranean fleet south of Cape Spartel. This account describes the methods used to carry out the survey and its shortfalls. Read More
Filed under: French Revolution | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Science & Exploration
The Case of the Roman Transom Bow
The discovery of a Roman boat with a transom end during the construction of a Metro line in Naples has reopened the discussion about whether this end is the bow or the stern of the boat. This issue was debated through the twentieth century and still continues today. Discussion so far has mainly been focused […] Read More
Filed under: Antiquity | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Archaeology | Shipbuilding & Design