The decade from 1899 to 1909 was a critical period in the development of naval strategy. The 1899 and 1907 Peace Conferences and the 1909 London Conference debated, drafted, and formally imposed the laws of war on naval warfare. Consideration of the issues raised by the laws of naval warfare were vitally important for the Royal Navy – the acknowledged leading naval power in the world – and the US Navy – a small but ambitious force stepping onto the world stage following the Spanish-American War. Both navies were concerned about the impact of the laws of naval warfare on their strategic naval planning and sought to mould them to suit their own situations. The historiography of the pre-First World War era, however, has generally disregarded or minimized the significance of the laws of naval warfare for the navies of Great Britain and the United States. The numerous analyses by modern historians of naval strategy before the First World War ignore the 1899 Peace Conference and at best only tangentially consider the laws naval warfare from about 1905 onward. This thesis fills this lacuna in the research and returns the laws of naval warfare to their proper place as an important factor in naval planning in both countries. It establishes the foundational nature of the long-ignored 1899 Peace Conference, and reveals the significant planning and discussions in Great Britain and the United States with respect to the laws of naval warfare, the internal debates and conflicts that arose between the views and objectives of the naval leadership and their respective civilian authorities, and the conflicts that surfaced between the two countries, particularly at the 1907 Peace Conference. This thesis thereby provides new insights and adds to the vibrant discussion of naval history prior to the First World War.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:695736 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Anderson, Alan Marshall |
| Contributors | Lambert, Andrew David ; Verdirame, Guglielmo |
| Publisher | King's College London (University of London) |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/the-laws-of-war-and-naval-strategy-in-great-britain-and-the-united-states(89eca736-f4d2-4df6-a181-497d0648bf22).html |
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