Diplomatic and legal concerns restricted the impact of British sea power. Consequently neutral Dutch, Danish and Swedish ports continued to trade with Germany. However, the rigour of the British economic blockade was initially limited by neutral - primarily American - protests. Only the Black and Baltic seas were closed to the Allies. By December 1914 Chilean nitrates, Argentine beef, Australian wheat, American industrial production, and overseas manpower were accessible to the Allies and denied to Germany. German counter-measures were small-scale and short-lived.
It prompted both radical ideas about collapsing the global economy in the event of war and more measured research into trade patterns and shipping routes, which shaped the later 1914-1919 war blockade.Īt the outbreak of war in 1914 Britain used its sea power to swiftly secure global communications and resources. Mahan’s argument that maritime economic warfare was decisive in defeating Napoleon influenced the Naval Race between Germany and Great Britain and British strategic thought. Wilhelm’s new battle fleet challenged British naval mastery, helped lead to the Anglo-French Entente of 1904 and the Anglo-Russian Entente of 1907, and prompted a major arms race. This monograph helped shape Wilhelm II, German Emperor’s (1859-1941) Weltpolitik. In 1890, Alfred Thayer Mahan’s (1840-1914) The Influence of Sea Power Upon History contended that naval dominance was the key to world power. He described sea power as the control of communications - the core definition of sea power. In 1911 Julian Corbett (1854-1922), the British naval historian and strategist, established British strategy as limited maritime warfare, attacking a European enemy’s economy and overseas possessions. In 1914 the British Empire was the only sea power among the great powers the rest were continental powers that viewed sea power as a strategy. While most states use sea power strategies, a sea power is a state in which the sea dominates security, trade and identity. The concept of sea power began with Thucydides’ (c.460-c.395 BC) Peloponnesian War, where it served as a cultural and strategic contrast to military power. In a total war, in which both sides sought to exploit global resources, sea power was a key to victory.
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