Book Reviews
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BOOK REVIEWS David Childs. Invading America: The cleverly written synthesis. Childs has an English Assault on the New World, 1497- excellent grasp of the material, and an 1630. Barnsley, S. Yorks.: Pen & Sword impressive command of the primary Books Limited, www.pen-and-sword.co.uk, sources. While his focus may be too broad 2012. xi + 306 pp., illustrations, maps, for specialist readers, Childs should be appendices, notes, bibliography, index. UK commended for attempting to blaze a new £25.00, cloth; ISBN 978-1-84832-145-8. trail into this well-trodden territory. Childs’ declared timeframe is the Historians since Hakluyt have remarked on “long sixteenth century,” from John Cabot England’s slowness in establishing New to John Winthrop. The information on World colonies, especially in comparison Cabot is sketchy in the extreme, however, with her rival, Spain. David Childs seeks to and the author focuses almost exclusively explain the widespread failure of early on the period between Frobisher’s first English colonies by viewing them as voyage in 1576 and the Jamestown beachheads in an extended amphibious massacre of 1622. A literature review campaign. Childs identifies the factors identifies the intellectual underpinnings for crucial for successful amphibious New World voyages, ranging from John operations, which, when absent, doomed Donne to the King James Bible. The failure would-be settlers from Baffin Island to the of the Roanoke colony on the windswept Carolinas. These factors included proper reconnaissance and intelligence, sufficient Carolina Outer Banks is used to illustrate forces and supplies, realistic objectives, the importance of proper reconnaissance effective naval forces and joint command, and site selection. Chapters on period and timely resupply. Childs uses the vessels and navigation show that impressive examples of the Frobisher voyages, feats of seamanship aside, early English Roanoke, Jamestown, New England, and voyages were hamstrung by poor planning Newfoundland to demonstrate the and provisioning. Photos and numerous importance of these elements in the fortunes references to reconstructed vessels show of a colony. The work is organized that the author has done considerable thematically rather than chronologically. legwork, but these photos are often of poor While this allows the author to focus on a quality, and one is left wondering how particular topic, the result is a something of accurate these reconstructions really are. a juggling act, where events and Childs is right to emphasize the cramped personalities in different colonies are confines of these vessels, but how much mentioned in quick succession. A more worse were these conditions than those effective way to organize the work might experienced ashore? More information on have been to devote a specific chapter to the background, experiences, and values of each colony, identifying the factors inherent these Tudor and Jacobean soldiers, sailors, in its success or failure. Despite this and settlers would also be useful. Gilbert, criticism, Invading America is a detailed, Raleigh, and Lane all served in Ireland, The Northern Mariner/Le marin du nord, XXIII No. 1, (January 2013), 55-98 56 The Northern Mariner/Le marin du nord while John Smith fought as a mercenary on writers on the subject, Childs attributes the the Continent. Some mention is made of eventual success of the English New World these Irish events, such as Raleigh’s colonies to superior demographics and massacre of the garrison of Smerwick in technology. 1580, but these are isolated examples. The Invading America is a well written English experience in Ireland was summary of the early English voyages to formative, and provided a blueprint on how North America. It is rich with detail and to subdue a restive, alien population. Ivor anecdote, but marred by unwieldy Noël Hume and others have examined how organization and mediocre images. Elizabethan fortifications in Ireland formed Discussing each of the five colonies in turn, a model for similar structures in the New chronologically, might have produced a World. Childs does not consider this more cohesive work. There are no citations evidence, nor does he turn to archaeology in in the text, but the bibliography is his brief discussion of Amerindian forts and serviceable. The appendices form a handy settlements. reference, especially the chronology of Childs primarily blames greed and “Significant English Voyages to the New unrealistic expectations for the failure of World.” This volume could form a useful early English colonies. Investors expected classroom text, and will also appeal to those quick returns on their outlay, which forced interested in visiting historic sites and the settlers to fruitlessly mine for gold, or vessels. delayed resupply voyages while their John Ratcliffe commanders sought richer pickings through Ottawa, Ontario piracy. While these factors were certainly evident at Roanoke and Jamestown, they are Peter Dutton, Robert Ross and Oystein less applicable to the New England and Tunsjo (eds). Twenty-First Century Newfoundland experiences. Since these Seapower: cooperation and conflict at sea. latter colonies do not readily fit into Childs Abingdon, UK: Routledge, Taylor Francis explanatory paradigm, he devotes Group, Cass Series, ,www.routledge.com considerably less space to them, and focuses 2012. xii + 325 pp., notes, index. US $135, almost exclusively on the mid-Atlantic hardback; ISBN 978-0-415-69812-2. colonies. The author also identifies problems with joint land-sea command as The last thirty or so years have seen a one of the major factors influencing the growth in the number, size and success or failure of a colony. Tudor and sophistication of maritime forces; initially Jacobean expeditions usually featured two coastguards to manage surveillance and commanders: one in charge of soldiers and enforcement responsibilities in newly colonists, and an admiral to oversee naval designated exclusive economic zones under matters. Childs shows that the two rarely the United Nations Convention on the Law saw eye-to-eye, as the strident of the Sea 1982 (LOSC), but also navies. condemnation of Sir Richard Grenville in Why these navies are modernizing and Ralph Lane’s correspondence shows. growing, how they might be used by their Happy exceptions included John Smith and governments, and how they will interact Christopher Newport, and the effective with, and impact upon other navies, is collaboration between Sir George Somers currently engaging many defence and naval and Sir Thomas Dale after the Sea Venture analysts. was wrecked in 1609. In line with most In the Indo-Pacific region there are Book Reviews 57 some concerns that a naval arms race is book. underway, generally stated as either a Part 2 examines each of the four reaction to a Chinese naval modernization (re-) emerging navies, why they are and building program, or to unresolved expanding, how they are doing so, etc. maritime boundary claims arising from the Each chapter is succinct and, together, they LOSC. Notwithstanding the plethora of provide a good overview and snapshot of studies and reports on the subject, the jury the navies examined. Of course, these remains out over whether there is such a navies are not emerging into a vacuum, so race. There is also a complementary range Part 3 examines the existing security of studies examining how navies cooperate architecture and role of navies: for example, at sea, not least to overcome any possibility how navies are used to maintain the current of conflict between them due to strategic global trading system; the role of NATO as miscalculation. It is also natural (and a longstanding military alliance and how nothing new) for navies to cooperate at sea, navies are used within it; the impact of as the sea is inherently dangerous, while Chinese naval developments; and how many naval activities actually cannot be many navies are cooperating to counter done by one navy alone. piracy. Thus, we get good coverage of the This leads to the book under utility of navies at both the high and low review, which consists of the proceedings of ends of activity. an international conference; albeit the This leads to Part 4, which is conference theme, location and date it was concerned with managing contemporary held are unstated. The book examines the maritime security, and comprises four “emerging” navies of India, China, Japan papers which examine maritime law issues and (an oft-forgotten) Russia in the context which effect maritime boundaries and of how, where and why navies operate; how freedom of navigation, the growing they may be constrained by international “rivalry” between China and the United law; and their relationship with other navies States in the Pacific Ocean, and how navies and international organizations. The book is might cooperate in the future, while structured in four parts examining why land encouraging maritime capacity building. powers go to sea, the aforementioned This latter theme is important, as navies emerging navies, a new maritime strategy have worked together for centuries, for the twenty-first century, and how to collaboration often not visible to those on manage contemporary maritime security. land. To introduce some context for There are some very interesting current naval expansion, Part 1 contains papers in the book (some of which have three papers. The first paper provides a appeared elsewhere), but overall the book historical context by examining how smaller lacks coherence as the papers/topics just do navies in Europe fit within the international not fit well together; this appears to be the relations framework of the time. The natural outcome of publishing conference second paper examines the importance and proceedings. Some of the Chinese-authored impact of geography on navies and concepts papers, which purport to be “academic,” of sea power; this is a frequently neglected are, unfortunately, just emphatic topic and I found it very useful. The third restatements of Chinese government policy; paper is also historical and examines but they do serve another use, their conflict at sea within the context of dogmatic nature demonstrates why it can be Mahanian thinking.