the.com/seapower
whoever controls the water controls everyone who needs the water.
means the ability to use the sea for your own trade and war while denying that same use to rivals.
from popularized by alfred thayer mahan in his 1890 book the influence of sea power upon history, which argued that naval dominance, not land armies, built and broke empires.
mahan's obsessionbritain's navy, he argued, built its whole empire
not just warshipsmerchant fleets and colonies count as much as guns
cold war twistsubmarines let seapower hide instead of parade
chokepoints matter moststraits and canals worth more than open ocean
for instance
royal navy — ruled global trade routes for over 200 years until wwii
us seventh fleet — patrols the pacific, 70+ ships, since 1943
battle of trafalgar — 1805 win locked in british naval supremacy for a century
strait of malacca — a fifth of world trade squeezes through it yearly