War in the Nineteenth Century

This book provides an accessible and up-to-date account of the rich military history of the nineteenth century. It takes a fresh approach, making novel links with conflict and coercion, and moving away from teleological emphases. Naval developments and warfare are included, as are social and cultural dimensions of military activity. Leading military historian Jeremy Black offers the reader a twenty-first century approach to this period, particularly through his focus on the dynamic drive provided by different forms of military goals, or "tasking". This allows echoes with modern warfare to come to the fore and provides a fuller understanding of a period sometimes considered solely as background to the total war of 1914-45. Alongside state-to-state warfare and the move toward "total war", Black's emphasis on different military goals gives due weight to trans-oceanic conflict at the expense of non-Europeans. Irregular, internal and asymmetric war are all considered, ranging from local insurgencies to imperial expeditions, and provide a deliberate shift from Western-centricity. At the very cutting edge of its field, this book is a must read for all students and scholars of military history and its related disciplines.

Preface viii 1 Introduction: Framing the Problems 1 2 Napoleonic Background 5 3 1815–1849 27 4 The 1850s 60 5 Naval Power and Warfare 71 6 Outside Europe, 1815–1860 96 7 1860–1871 107 8 1872–1902 135 9 The Victory of the West, 1860–1913 151 10 Towards the First World War, 1903–1914 172 11 War and Society 187 12 Conclusions 204 Notes 208 Further Reading 232 Index 236