Meyer, M., Nine Treatises on Naval Warfare 1810-1815

Until the invention of atomic weapons, sea power was arguably the dominant method of national force projection. Britain’s 1588 defeat of the Spanish Armada began a 350- year period when “Britannia ruled the waves” – but rival nations continually sought to take her place. The world’s great navies engaged in a centuries-long arms race to create the largest navies and the most powerful battleships. This handwritten volume contains nine treatises by a ship’s artillery officer in the Dutch Navy, covering his four years of training during the period that may have seen the height of the sea power’s impact on history.