- Geographic position: maritime geography, colonies
- Physical conformation: coastline, borders
- Extent of territory: harbors, lengthy coastlines
- Population: large and seagoing
- National character: commercial
- Character of government: free, moral
Mahan also identified five geographic key points, the possession of which was
crucial to global maritime power:
- Straits of Dover
- Gibraltar
- Singapore/Malacca Strait
- Cape of Good Hope
- Suez Canal
Despite Mahan’s concentration on British maritime history, both of these lists
were directly applicable to the Asia-Pacific. Much more importantly, his general
theory relating maritime and national power held direct relevance for the region.
Japan certainly made a good ‘‘fit’’ for Mahan’s six national maritime characteris-
tics, and all of his key geographic points directly affected seaborne traffic between
Europe and East Asia. It was no coincidence that the American president who
dispatched the Great White Fleet on its epic voyage was one of Mahan’s biggest
supporters: Theodore Roosevelt was determined to establish the United States
as a global naval power.
America’s Rise in the Pacific: Operations
America’s naval, diplomatic, and commercial entrance into Pacific Asia
reached its ultimate stage in 1898, when the United States relied on naval power
to establish a colonial empire reaching from Hawaii to the Philippines. Hawaii,
part of the Samoas, and other minor territories were annexed, while the victory
over Spain that year led to the colonization of the Philippines, the Marianas,
and other island territories in Asia. Washington’s determination to ensure an
‘‘Open Door’’ for American businessmen in China led to the permanent assign-
ment of warships and troops to that unfortunate country.
The United States proved to be a rather ineffective imperial power; the colo-
nies almost certainly cost the colonizer more in resources and effort than they
yielded in commercial profit or strategic advantage. Guam and the Philippines
in particular proved to be a strategic stone around Washington’s neck: their
militarily vulnerable positions meantthat they had to be defended, impairing
their ability to serve as a vehicle for execution of a forward strategy in East Asia.
Clipper Ships to Carriers 51