Why Did The British Gain Command Of The Sea Between 800 And 1805?

How did the British gain "Command of the Sea" Between 800 and 1805?

The most important factor that led to the British quest of gaining command of the sea was due to the British pursuing what is now known as Mahan's elements of sea power. Throughout history, the British conquests of gaining command of the sea were due to them operating on Mahan's six elements of sea power. However, precisely the most influential factor that is responsible for Great Britain gaining command of the sea are two of Mahan's elements, the character of the people and government. In other words, a society with an aptitude for the sea and commercial enterprise and a government with the influence to dominate the sea.

Mahan may not have published his elements of sea power

Mahan a naval historian wrote a thesis that the royal navy gained control of the sea which leads to their economic power. The significance of economic power is that it is the driving force for gaining command of the sea. Mahan mentions that the British have all of his elements of sea power, such as geography, which consist of a long coastline, physical topography of natural harbors, the extent of territory such as colonies, a population that has the ability to defend its territory. In addition, there is the character of the people since Great Britain is surrounded by water they heavily engaged in trade by sea. Lastly, there is the character of the government, which is driven by commercial interests. To advance those interests Britain built large fleets of large purpose-built warships to defeat the enemy's capital ships while protecting their own. The British understood that by having sea power, it meant command of the sea. With command of the sea, a nation's fleet can communicate across oceans and deny enemy communication. Also, there is the ability to invade enemies and prevent enemy invasions. Lastly, command of the sea meant the ability to conduct commerce and deny enemy from doing so. Overall, ultimately lead to a British

However, many European countries had access to the sea and markets. All nations may not have been the same amount of access. And the position of Britain gave them an advantage. However, Britain's rivals were still able to compete with Great Britain with a less ideal position. Also, coastal states were influenced due to geographic position, but there were external stimuli. Next, there is the extent of territory, for a long time, the extent of territory did not have a game-changing effect until after European nations left the feudal systems. Furthermore, an empire cannot gain benefits from additional territory unless they have the means of protecting it from enemies. Another element of sea power was population. During the time between 800-1805 there was a limited population per state; thus, there was a hinders effect on other European countries since economic roles were key to sea power. Not having a larger enough population to sustain economic roles is why other countries were not able to compete with Great Britain and ultimately lead to Britain gaining command of the sea. Lastly, physical conformation is an important element since it is necessary to have harbors and protected waters. Additionally, river networks shape maritime access, since Great Britain is not directly connected to the mainland Great Britain did not have much control over river networks outside of their territory. This was an element