To Rule The Waves: How The British Navy Shaped The Modern World, by Arthur Herman

This is one of the books I purchased during my most recent trip to Powell’s [1], and in all honesty it took me a long time to read, filling many hours of time. I’m not sure why this book took so long to read—it was 570 pages of solid text, but that alone does not account for the fact that it was such a challenge, although to be sure it is a book with the colossal ambition of discussing the rise of the British navy from the age of the Tudors to its difficult challenges in the Falklands War against Argentina. With this massive scope, and the fact that the book takes a narrative approach that frequently mentions past people and situations, it is clear that this book is best read by someone with a strong memory and a great love of naval history. The author is unabashedly pro-English (especially pro-West Country) in his approach, someone in favor of intelligent planning and strategy but also a fair amount of aggression (for this reason he is complementary of those more aggressive foreign navies like the Germans in WWI or the Japanese in WWII), and his comments about post-WWI and post-WWII cuts to the British navy are immensely scathing. Also, of interest, he appears not to be a great fan of Winston Churchill either.

That is not to say that this is a perfect book, because a book like this with such a strongly nationalistic approach (particularly a nation that does not happen to be my own) is going to have some errors. The author claims credit for the British navy in building up Chile’s navy and having a base in Valparaiso, but does passes over in silence the fact that Valparaiso was bombarded by the Spanish without there being any help or assistance from either Chile’s navy or anyone else’s navy in the 1860’s [2]. Likewise, the author makes some claims about the War of 1812 that are simply not true, claiming it as a victory by British naval forces, not mentioning defeats like that at Ft. McHenry at all or the fact that the war ended in a status quo antebellum—fancy language for a draw. Likewise, the author is at pains to emphasize the moral duty of the British navy in ending the slave trade in the 1800’s, but gives the mistaken impression by sins of omission that the United States still allowed the slave trade in the decades before the Civil War, when this was smuggling that had been prohibited by law since at least 1820. Through this sort of shading, the author makes it appear as if the British Navy was a more notable moral force and that Britain as a whole was more enlightened in comparison to the rest of the world than was really the case. His treatment of the United States, of post-WWII political leaders, and of Winston Churchill also indicates that when he has axes to grind, he does not hesitate to cut others down with withering words. These flaws do take away from what is clearly an attempt to write a magisterial work of naval history.

These flaws aside, and they cannot be entirely neglected, this book has much to offer, especially in its early telling. The writing about the piratical days of the early British navy, when it was largely entrepreneurial, are very excellently told, and it is clear that the author has done extensive reading of both primary and secondary sources. The author appears to be fond of Jane Austen, whose naval relatives are mentioned several times in the context of Nelson’s exploits as well as the post-Napoleonic gunboat diplomacy where one of Jane’s brothers died as the commander of a battle fleet sent up the Irrawaddy in his 70’s. Those who enjoy this book’s frequent small tales may not be daunted by the book’s tone or length. Still, this book travels not with the speed of a stealthy dreadnaught or nuclear submarine, but rather with the leisurely pace of a ship of sail. Those with the time and inclination to follow will find much to think about, even if there will be plenty to disagree about as well.

[1] https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2014/05/05/lead-us-not-into-temptation/

[2] https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2012/05/03/spain-and-the-american-civil-war/