As we have seen in the previous chapter, the argument supporting maritime war emphasis on the economic advantages of war at sea as its key and common feature. However, at the same time, the pro-maritime war argument was also influenced by the contemporary political situation. In the period of the ‘rage of party’, the political struggle between the Whigs and Tories affected and diversified the content of the argument. By examining the pamphlets and periodicals that appeared during the War of the Spanish Succession, this chapter points out the existence of two different pro-maritime war arguments, which reflected the political struggle between the Whigs and Tories, and by putting them in the political context of the time reveals who was behind these arguments and what political purposes they had.

The Early Stages of the War

Emergence of the First Pro-maritime War Argument

Before analysing several pro-maritime war arguments that appeared during the War of the Spanish Succession, we need to look at the political situations of England and Europe at the time. The brief period of peace after the end of the Nine Years War did not last long, and the hostility that smouldered in Europe was soon rekindled. One of the main issues that triggered a new conflict was the succession of the Spanish monarchy. When it became clear that Charles II of Spain was going to die without issue, the question of the Spanish Succession became the focal centre point of the interests of European powers, as it would also determine into whose hands the vast Spanish empire and its wealth would fall.