An Indicator of Informal Empire: Patterns of U.S. Navy Cruising on Overseas Stations, 1869-1897.
Abstract
Several historians, notably Gallagher and Robinson in England and William Appleman Williams in the U.S., have expressed the theory that nineteenth century imperialism included not only the well-known formal empires but also what Gallagher and Robinson call 'informal empire' over much of the rest of the world. They add that the latter was the preferred means of control, and that formal empire was resorted to only if informal methods failed. These years were also the heyday of overseas cruising by the U.S. and major European navies. These navies put a large proportion of their resources into maintaining 'station fleets' of cruisers and gunboats in nearly all parts of the world, often at the expense of the battle fleets at home. It seems that, if the concept of informal empire is valid, the activities of the station fleets must necessarily have been consistent with it, since these fleets were the primary representatives of U.S. and European military strength overseas and therefore would have been the primary type of 'police force' for whatever form of empire (or control, or influence) was in force.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1980
- Accession Number
- ADA091316
Entities
People
- Stephen S. Roberts
Organizations
- Center for Naval Analyses