Amphibious Warfare 1000-1700

Book excerpt: This volume reconceptualizes amphibious warfare and also fills an important gap in its historiography, examining how it was conceived, practised and employed, from the Crusades, through the first wave of European exploration and colonization, the Price Revolution and the European wars of religion, up to the early Industrial Revolution and the beginnings of a new wave of imperialism. Essays examine issues related to strategy, operational art, tactics, logistics and military technology, but also consider commerce and culture. They reveal that amphibious warfare was often waged for economic reasons and was the quintessential warfare of European imperialism, for sea power was required to deliver and sustain land power. The volume is lavishly illustrated with 30 plates and twelve maps. Contributors: Matthew Bennett; Louis Sicking; Malyn Newitt; Jan Glete; John F. Guilmartin; R. B. Wernham; Mark Charles Fissel; Guy Rowlands; John Stapleton; David J.B. Trim.