Simón Bolívar's Quest for Glory
Simón Bolívar's Quest for Glory

Author: Richard W. Slatta

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press

Published: 2003-06-25

Total Pages: 380

ISBN-13: 9781585442393

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Earning glory on the fields of battle, Simón Bolívar (1783–1830) was one of the most influential and enigmatic figures of Latin American history. Most North Americans know little of "the Liberator" who freed South America from Spanish rule from 1810 to 1826. Richard W. Slatta and Jane Lucas De Grummond bring forth the entire life and legacy of Simón Bolívar, with special attention to the ups and the downs of his military career in Bolívar's Quest for Glory. Bolívar's life contained all the makings of an epic war hero: repeated comebacks from defeat, flashes of military genius, tremendous mood swings, dogged persistence, a near-manic quest for glory, and fall from political grace. He exhibited both military leadership and foolhardiness. Egomaniacal, he strived for military might and political power. The tragedy of his life and his political legacy remain hotly debated, but no one would deny this man's historical significance. Drawing from an immense corpus of writings left behind by Bolívar, his allies, and his enemies, the authors transport the reader back to the life and times of the Liberator, introducing lesser known people who fought on both sides of the conflict and showing how Bolívar did not win Spanish American independence all on his own. Voices of the past ring from this rich narrative—expressions of admiration for Bolívar's courage, leadership, and vision, as well as proclamations of the leader's failures and weaknesses. The first ever biography to suggest that Bolívar suffered from bipolar disorder, Bolívar's Quest for Glory treads new ground and shows how the conflicts he faced during the independence era set a political pattern followed by much of Latin America for the next century. Scholars and fans of military history, anyone interested in the development of modern Latin America, and readers of great biography will all welcome this book.

The Battle of the Atlantic and Signals Intelligence
The Battle of the Atlantic and Signals Intelligence

Author: David Syrett

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-12-07

Total Pages: 456

ISBN-13: 1351766163

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This title was first published in 2002. This book contains the U-boats situations and trends written by the staff of the Admiralty’s Operational Intelligence Centre during the Second World War. Based largely on communications intelligence, the U-boat situations and trends were designed to inform a small number of senior officers and high officials of the latest events and developments in the Allied war against the U-boats. The Battle of the Atlantic and the war against the U-boats was the longest and the most complex naval battle in history. In this huge conflict which sprawled across the oceans of the world the U-boats sank 2,828 Allied merchant ships while the Allies destroyed more than 780 German U-boats. These documents relate on a weekly, and in some cases a daily, basis exactly what the Allies knew concerning the activities of the U-boats during the Battle of the Atlantic.

Nelson's Letters to Lady Hamilton and Related Documents
Nelson's Letters to Lady Hamilton and Related Documents

Author: Marianne Czisnik

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-09-28

Total Pages: 560

ISBN-13: 1000071685

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This critical edition of Admiral Nelson’s letters to Lady Hamilton is to bring together the important letters of Nelson to Lady Hamilton that have only been published in parts over the last 200 years. Only by bringing the letters of Nelson to Lady Hamilton together is it possible to assess their relationship and to present certain insights into Nelson’s personality that are not revealed in his official correspondence. Thorough research into this side of Nelson’s personality and into the nature of his notorious and unconventional relationship with Lady Hamilton has been hampered in the past by a desire not to look too closely at Nelson’s personal morality. To a considerable extent their relationship was regarded as a challenge to traditional gender roles and it indeed did not conform to stereotypes that are usually attributed to men and women in a heterosexual relationship. Lady Hamilton was so obviously lacking in the subservience and passivity expected from women in that era that authors over the course of time started to exclude her in their accounts of the public sphere by reducing her to a private weakness of Nelson’s, who could be successful at sea, where he was far away from the enthralling influence of a manipulating woman. The letters in this edition testify how Admiral Nelson’s life at sea was not exclusively public nor was Lady Hamilton’s life ashore solely private. It also shows how the two supposedly separate spheres of male and female lives were connected. A fresh approach and a thorough discussion of this important and neglected aspect not only of Nelson’s life, but of gender history, demands this exact and scholarly edition of the primary material, which consists of about 400 letters that Nelson wrote to Lady Hamilton over the course of the last seven years of his life and about a dozen letters of her to him that have survived.

Anglo-American-Canadian Naval Relations, 1943-1945
Anglo-American-Canadian Naval Relations, 1943-1945

Author: Michael Simpson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-06-29

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13: 100039400X

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The account in this volume begins with Admiral of the Fleet Sir Andrew Cunningham’s assumption of the First Sea Lordship on 5 October 1943, and concludes with the formal surrender of Japan on 2 September 1945. This volume is entitled Anglo-American-Canadian Naval Relations, 1943-1945, for the very good reason that, by the end of the war, the Royal Canadian Navy was the third largest in the world, after its two great partners, and Canadian naval and air forces played a major role in anti-submarine warfare in the Atlantic, and rendered important service also in other theatres. The period covered by this volume was the time in which victory was forged and the three major Allies enjoyed an almost unbroken series of maritime triumphs. In Part I, the relationships of the senior commanders, their services and their countries are discussed. Part II deals with the last stage of the fight against the U-boats, a war which by 1943 had spread to most of the world’s seas. Part III deals with the Western Allies’ eventual return to North West Europe. In Part IV, the final operations in the Mediterranean, including the landings in Southern France and at Anzio in Italy, are covered. Part V recounts the participation of the British Pacific Fleet in the concluding operations against Japan.

The Mediterranean Fleet, 1930-1939
The Mediterranean Fleet, 1930-1939

Author: Paul G. Halpern

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-12-01

Total Pages: 596

ISBN-13: 1317024125

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The Mediterranean Fleet entered the 1930s looking back to the lessons of Jutland and the First World War but also seeking to incorporate new technologies, notably air power. Unfortunately in the depression years of the early 1930s there was a lack of funds to remedy deficiencies. The problem became critical during the Abyssinian crisis of 1935. The crisis wound down by mid-1936 but the respite did not last long. In June 1936 the Spanish Civil War broke out and the Mediterranean Fleet was soon involved in evacuations of British and other endangered foreigners from Spanish ports as well as the protection of British flagged merchant ships in the war zone. In addition to the Spanish Civil War there was an increase of tension with Germany in 1938 that culminated with the Czechoslovak crisis in September. The situation of the Mediterranean Fleet and its possible actions had the Munich agreement not been reached are described. The Spanish Civil War ended in 1939 with the victory of the Nationalists and the Mediterranean Fleet was again involved in evacuations. By now the prospect of war with Germany and possibly Italy was quite clear and serious preparations for war continued. The plans for war in the Mediterranean are reproduced in detail.

Sea Power and the Control of Trade
Sea Power and the Control of Trade

Author: Nicholas Tracy

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-01-15

Total Pages: 535

ISBN-13: 1351549421

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The ability to influence world events through control of seaborne trade was profoundly affected by 19th-century developments in economic theory, commercial organization and naval technology, and by the growing power of the United States. In consequence the international law of belligerent rights at sea was repeatedly amended. Naval strategy in four wars reflected these changes in technology, power and law, and the ongoing process continues to influence international use of economic sanctions.

International Trade Theories and the Evolving International Economy
International Trade Theories and the Evolving International Economy

Author: Richard Anthony Johns

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2013-11-07

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 1472514483

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International Trade Theories and the Evolving International Economy provides a much-needed from which to approach this topic, offering a self-contained introduction to the subject of international trade theory. Drawing on a broad range of material this book provides the students with a well-rounded and more broadly informed view of the subject.

Contacts, Collisions and Relationships
Contacts, Collisions and Relationships

Author: Andrés Baeza Ruz

Publisher: Liverpool Latin American Studi

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1786941724

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A study of the relations between Britain and Chile during the Spanish American independence era (1806-1831). It focuses on the dynamic, unpredictable and changing nature of cultural encounters to cast doubt on the assumption that imperialism was their obvious outcome and to understand further nation-building processes.

The Shining Sea
The Shining Sea

Author: George Daughan

Publisher: Constellation

Published: 2013-10-08

Total Pages: 378

ISBN-13: 0465019625

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A few months after the outbreak of the War of 1812, Captain David Porter set out in the USS Essex on an epic, seventeen-month cruise to the South Seas. Porter was pursuing fame and riches, and by most accounts his odyssey was a stunning success: it brought glory to the fledgling American navy, cemented Porter’s reputation as a daring and talented commander, and has long been celebrated as one of the greatest maritime adventures in U.S. history. Less well known, however, is the terrible price that the crew of the Essex paid for their captain’s outsized ambitions. In The Shining Sea, award-winning historian George C. Daughan tells the full story of Porter’s thrilling, action-packed voyage, revealing the heights of Porter’s hubris and the true depths of his failure on this fateful cruise. Intent on achieving personal glory, Porter made the treacherous journey around Cape Horn and into the Pacific Ocean, where he planned to capture a British man-of-war. From Valparaiso to the Galapagos to the Marquesas, the Essex roamed the South Seas, seizing British whaling and merchant ships, wreaking havoc on British commerce, and earning Porter and his men wealth and acclaim. Flush with his victories, Porter welcomed the news that a British frigate—the HMS Phoebe—was on his tail, and he resolved to capture her. But Porter could not overcome the Phoebe’s superior firepower. Over the course of a desperate, bloody battle, he lost the Essex and over two-thirds of her crew—a shocking end to a daring journey. A swashbuckling tale of risk and ruin on the high seas, The Shining Sea brings to life the monomaniacal quest of one of the most misunderstood commanders of the War of 1812. Porter’s singular voyage, Daughan shows, stands as a cautionary tale for any leader who would put personal glory and ambition ahead of cause and countrymen.

The Woodbine Parish Report on the Revolutions in South America (1822)
The Woodbine Parish Report on the Revolutions in South America (1822)

Author: Mariano Martín Schlez

Publisher: Liverpool University Press

Published: 2022-09-15

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 1802079114

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This book presents the unpublished intelligence report “South America”, written in 1822 by Woodbine Parish, clerk at the Foreign Office, Castlereagh's private secretary and later the first British Consul to Buenos Aires. The document is transcribed, analysed and fully contextualised in order to foreground its decisive historical significance. The aim of Parish’s report was to outline British foreign policy and political strategy towards the South American revolutions at the final Congress of the Holy Alliance, held in Verona. Its publication contributes to the ongoing debates on Informal Empire, providing new empirical evidence that will enable us to better understand the social content of the political, economic and cultural relationships established between Britain and Latin America in the first half of the 19th century. The history of the document and of its author introduce the reader to the early stages of British intelligence and diplomacy with respect to an Independent Latin America, revealing the Foreign Office’s powers and limitations. Likewise, they offer an overview of the information about the South American revolutions circulating in London at the time, as well as the mechanisms used by the British government to obtain, classify and publicize this intelligence for political purposes. In this sense, the report makes evident the importance for the British government of knowing a specific historical and geographical reality in order to develop a foreign policy and political strategy. The book reflects on how this knowledge was mediated by class antagonisms and social relations (on a national and international scale) and was shaped by the stages of development of the productive forces in the regions involved. In this sense, studying the Parish family will allow us to more fully understand the role played by the increasingly influential social classes, in particular the merchants and manufacturers, in the development and implementation of a British foreign policy for Latin America.