This is the first study in German concerning the role of the British Royal Navy in the general European expansion abroad during the 18th and 19th centuries. In the early years of the 19th century the Royal Navy was a major force on all seas. It served not only as an instrument of conducting maritime warfare, but also had the responsibility of turning the wilderness of Tasmania into a veritable garden as well as teaching the pirates of Malaysia the merits of agriculture. This was all part of a global maritime strategy that served as the basis for Great Britain´s imperial goal to maintain world power. Julia Angster describes here not only the military background, but also touches on the civil and political history of the Royal Navy and its role in the non-European world of its time.

Prof. Dr. Julia Angster ist Inhaberin des Lehrstuhls für Neuere und Neueste Geschichte an der Universität Mannheim.