The industrial revolution changes the nature of sea power dramatically. The Atlantic world seizes the initiative and wields it in politics, economics, and society as it shapes global power. Wind and sail yield to steam and iron.

Why did rich France fail to compete successfully with Britain at sea? How did Britain capitalize on its advantages?

Maritime Europe Discovers the Pacific and we look at the life of the sailor.

A newly-united Britain, with growing prosperity and new markets, vigorously contests other maritime powers.

England admires and fights the Dutch, and begins to develop a powerful navy.

Remarkable Tudor rulers strengthen and enrich the government. At sea, privateers capture foreign wealth and popular admiration. Defeating the Spanish armada electrifies the nation.

England takes on the sea, beginning to embracing it as part of its life.

Dutch visual arts take on great brilliance in this maritime society. Merchant society exhibits extraordinary skill in buying and selling; process becomes product. Tolerance and diversity characterize society. Why then does this remarkable vitality fade?

Digging further into the Dutch experience, we explore how this small nation could create such a dynamic and sweeping maritime presence.

The Dutch make the world’s first global trading state.