Thesis
Shield of empire: race, memory, and the "cult of the navy" in fin de siécle Britain
Washington State University
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
2009
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/101139
Abstract
This thesis argues that the various cultural manifestations of the Royal Navy during the period from 1880 to 1914 were indicative of a sense of racial decline in Great Britain, and that the Royal Navy as an institution was used to compensate or that sense of decline. Specifically, this thesis provides a narrative of the arms race, an analysis of the British caricature of the Germans as the "target" of their naval building, and a study of popular memory of Nelson and Trafalgar and the repulsion of the Spanish Armada. It then examines the meaning of fleet reviews as manifestations of current naval strength and as a means of reassuring the public about their future security. Finally, it studies the public reactions to the Battle of Jutland in 1916, and how these reactions indicate the degree to which public expectations of overwhelming naval victories had become unrealistic. This thesis then closes with a brief comparative analysis between early twentieth century Britain and the early twenty-first century United States, in that they share the same sense of shock and fear of decline, and found themselves increasingly inclined to use their militaries as reassuring cultural institutions.
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Details
- Title
- Shield of empire
- Creators
- Lewis James Patterson
- Contributors
- Heather Streets-Salter (Chair)Raymond C Sun (Committee Member) - Washington State University, History, Department ofJesse A. Spohnholz (Committee Member) - Washington State University, History, Department of
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- History, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; Pullman, Wash. :
- Identifiers
- 99900525087901842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis