Description
Book SynopsisSarah Kinkel shows that the rise of British naval power was neither inevitable nor unquestioned: it was the outcome of fierce battles over the shape of Britain's empire and the bonds of political authority. The Navy was one of many battlefields where British subjects debated whether the empire would be ruled from Parliament down or the people up.
Trade ReviewDisciplining the Empire is a piece of superb research. Kinkel fills a historiographical gap that many scholars, even those working in the field, probably have no idea exists. There is no comparable work on the British navy. -- Denver Brunsman, author of
The Evil Necessity: British Naval Impressment in the Eighteenth-Century Atlantic WorldImpressively researched and well-written,
Disciplining the Empire is an important, compelling book, not least because it emphasizes very clearly just how integrated the Royal Navy was into broader political discussions. It successfully contextualizes military concerns into a larger imperial framework, which had global implications as Britain became a world power in the eighteenth century. -- Abigail Swingen, author of
Competing Visions of Empire: Labor, Slavery, and the Origins of the British Atlantic EmpireA highly original approach to an important topic, this well-researched study throws fresh light on the emergence of British naval hegemony.
Disciplining the Empire offers a skillful blending of power politics ideology and naval and imperial history that is significant for American colonial as well as British history. -- Jeremy Black, author of
Naval Power: A History of Warfare and the Sea from 1500 onwardsKinkel’s exciting and savvy account of the Royal Navy gives flesh to its status as the long arm of the pugnacious British state, while also making clear that it was an arm that punched back, shaping that state’s global designs and domestic strategies for rule. An impressive professional debut! -- Kathleen Wilson, author of
The Sense of the People: Politics, Culture and Imperialism in England, 1715–1785
