Despite a supreme belief, the Royal Navy of the early eighteenth century was becoming over-confident and outdated, and it had more than its share of disasters including the devastating sickness in Admiral Hosier’s fleet in 1727; failure at Cartagena, and an embarrassing action off Toulon in 1744. Anson’s great circumnavigation, though presented as a triumph, was achieved at huge cost in ships and ...
On a map, the Azores appear as nine tiny specks in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, but their location was to prove strategically vital in two world wars. The Atlantic became a crucial battleground twice within the space of 25 years, as the U.S. arsenal of democracy sent firstly stores, arms, and equipment, followed by many thousands of troops ...