"Naval History of the Mediterranean" Topic

I am looking for sources (preferably online, free and/or cheap) on the development of naval warfare in the Mediterranean, preferably from a strategic and diplomatic standpoint rather than on the tactical level.

I hope someone can help!

Cheers,
Elohim

That's a huge topic. Is there a particular period or periods you want to concentrate on?

Yes, there are good books per period but no good book covering the whole era.

A good place to start would be Fernand Braudel The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Phillip II. Not online, but there's an inexpensive paperback edition available. That kept me busy for about a year.

link

Naval Wars In The Levant, 1559-1853 by R. C. Anderson perhaps?

Particularly the age of sail, 1530-1830, but it's for a fantasy wargaming project. I know a lot more about global trade routes and Caribbean skirmishing than I do about Mediterranean warfare, which is most applicable to said project.

Basically, I'm looking at what the difficulties and duties of naval projection are in a relatively closed environment.

Guilmartin Gunpowder and Galleys is good on the sixteenth century, he has plenty of information on logistics as well as tactics.

The aforementioned book by RC Anderson is your best bet (it deals not only with the Med, but also the Black Sea, which might be of use – though you'll need a bit of luck finding a cheap copy.

Cheers guys – I'm looking for Anderson right now, and Google's suggestions mentions a book on the Baltic, which I hadn't considered. Any thoughts on that theatre?

In many ways naval warfare in the Baltic mirrors that of the Med – much of it involved galleys and other oared vessels over a few centuries.

it's for a fantasy wargaming project.

Then surely you can just make it up?

Gunpowder and Galleys is excellent -- but very hard to find (and tends to be very expensive). However, you might want to check out local libraries. I found a copy to borrow in my University Library. (Some universities have relatively cheap fees to allow community members to borrow books, if you are not a student).

"Basically, I'm looking at what the difficulties and duties of naval projection are in a relatively closed environment."

Discussions of this are mostly in academic papers, but any book on the development of seapower will include some discussion of it.

For 1530-1830 (and later, right up to the 1940's) the basic doctrine has been command of the sea. Once that's achieved then close blockade in war and demonstrations of power (cruising) in peace time.

For 1530-1830 (and later, right up to the 1940's) the basic doctrine has been command of the sea. Once that's achieved then close blockade in war and demonstrations of power (cruising) in peace time.

Actually this is what Guilmartin argues against in the case of the Mediterranean in the 16th century. It's called Mahanian naval theory, and as a theory wasn't developed until the late 19th century. Mahan himself was unclear about how far it should be taken back, and whether or not it applied to Mediterranean warfare around that time. Guilmartin argues that it doesn't make sense in the context of Mediterranean naval warfare of the 16th century, and attempts at applying it there make the decisions and actions seem confusing or non-sensical.

A more accessible introduction can be found in the Osprey book "Renaissance War Galleys", but I found their description difficult to follow, until after I had read Guilmartin's "Gunpowder and Galleys". :-(

I have some sympathy with Guilmartin. His theory is reasonable and ties in with galley fleets.

The key differences between galley fleets and square rigger fleets are:

# Galleys are quicker and cheaper to build.
# Galleys have a much shorter operational life.
# Galleys are far less seaworthy.
# Galleys have a very short operational range.

This means that a decisive fleet victory provides much shorter command periods. Galleys are far less suited to both blockade and cruising operations. Galley fleets can be defeated by capturing bases.

Interestingly the Venetian records show both a clear acceptance of this (hence the long term and highly successful use of convoys) and a continual search for means to sweep the Turkish fleets from the sea.

An additional difference – partly for the reasons above – is that they are much more suited to amphibious warfare / supporting land forces operating near the littoral. Particularly relevant to the Ottomans, who are less bothered about command of the sea, much more bothered about command of their extensive coasts and power projection onto annoying islands like Malta, Cyprus, Rhodes, and to the Venetians whose trade routes need a string of safe anchorages and entrepots.

Yeah, the nature of galley warfare meant that it relied upon capturing bases to extend the range of the fleet, which had to put into port often for water and food.

While the ships were typically cheap to build, the experience of the crews and soldiers could not be easily replaced. The loss at Djerba was crippling to Spain for a while, and likewise the loss of the Turks at Lepanto. Lepanto, especially, makes little sense when viewed through the Mahanian lens, as the Turks still managed to take Cyprus, and rebuilt the fleet quickly. Also the Holy League fell apart. But the defeat was still a severe strategic blow to the Turks -- just one in an system of warfare that is very strange to us.

Cheers guys, this sort of discussion really helps. I hadn't considered the strategic differences between galleys and sailing ships before, only their tactical handling.

Cheers guys – I'm looking for Anderson right now, and Google's suggestions mentions a book on the Baltic, which I hadn't considered. Any thoughts on that theatre?

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The book on the Baltic is freely available at the Archive.org

For the nineteenth century and later, you might try Blue-Water Empire: The British in the Mediterranean since 1800 by Robert Holland, which was published recently and has been well reviewed.

I had not come across the Archive before, thanks Jeroen!

Holland's book looks interesting too, thanks vitrier =]