Discusses the lessons which Britain learned in the war of 1739-48 which,
when applied in later wars, brought about Britain's global naval
supremacy.
The British involvement in the war of 1739-1748 has been generally
neglected. Standing between the great victories of Marlborough in the
War of Spanish Succession [1701-1713] and the even greater victories
of the Seven Years War[1756-1763], it has been dismissed as
inconclusive and incompetently managed. For the first time this book
brings together the political and operational conduct of the war to
explore its contribution to a critical development in British history
during the eighteenth century - the emergence of Britain as the
paramount global naval power.
The war posed a unique set of problems for British politicians,
statesmen and servicemen. They had to overcome domestic and diplomatic
crises, culminating in the rebellion of 1745 and the threat of French
invasion. Yet, far from being incompetent, these people handled the
crises and learned a great deal about the conduct of global warfare.
Thechanges they made and decisions they took prepared Britain for the
decisive Anglo-French clash of arms in the Seven Years War. In this
misunderstood war lie some of the key factors that made Britain the
greatest naval power for the next one hundred and fifty years.
RICHARD HARDING is Professor of Organisational History at the University
of Westminster. He is the author of numerous articles and books on naval
history and editor, with Helen Doe, of Naval Leadership and Management,
1650-1950 (Boydell, 2012).
