U.S. Navy Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan’s thesis, The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 (1890), argued that control of the sea was crucial to world dominance, which led to the United States’ military and strategic interest in imperialism at the end of the 19th century. His book also stimulated the naval race among the great world powers and caused the U.S. to emerge into naval supremacy. Control of the sea indicated control of trade, which essentially meant control of the world. Mahan stated that British control of the seas, coupled with a concurrent decrease in the naval strength of its European competitors, instigated Great Britain to become the world’s leading military, political, and economic authority. Mahan and many primary
