Royal Historical Society Studies in History
1 total work
v. 62
Since the sixteenth century, amphibious warfare has been central toBritish strategy, and has coloured British political and culturalattitudes to this day. Received ideas about such warfare are largelybased on analysis of successful operations. This book examines failure:an expedition to the West Indies in 1740l-1742 which ended intotal disaster. Detailed examination of both public and private papersreveals that the expedition was in fact carefully plannedand executed,but was doomed to failure because of the impossibility of mobilisingadequate military resources within the constraints of contemporarypolitical and social conditions. This new assessment of a much neglectedevent in mid-eighteenth century history provides valuable insightinto how combined amphibious operations were conducted in the pre-industrial world, and the conditions necessary for their success.RICHARD HARDINGis senior lecturer in history at Harrow Collegeof Higher Education.