Thalassocracy

The thalassocracy (from classical Greek: θάλασσα, romanized: Thalassa; Attic Greek: θάλαττα, romanized as Thalatta, trans. 'Mar', and from Greek κρατεῖν, romanized as kratein, lit. 'power'; giving Koine Greek: θαλασσοκρατία, romanized: thalassokratia, lit. "maritime power") is a geostrategic concept that indicates the State whose domains are mainly maritime. The term was used to refer to civilizations such as the Minoan civilization on the coasts of the Aegean Sea, thanks to the magnitude of its fleet of small commercial vessels that were also used to transport warriors.

The next historical example in the so-called European Old Age was the network of colonies of the Phoenicians, not a typical empire, but a set of cities linked by sea routes that barely penetrated the interior, even in the case of metropolises (the cities of Tyre, Sidon and Byblos and the North African colony Carthage, established as the dominant Punic metropolis after their loss of independence). The so-called Athenian empire of the 5th century BC can also be called thalassocracy. C.. The importance of control of the Mediterranean Sea for the Roman Empire was decisive (as evidenced by its name Mare Nostrum ), but essentially it was a territorially based empire. However, the challenge implied by the great development of Carthage and its naval preeminence (the first time that we can properly speak of "ships of war") forced Rome to build a navy when the Carthaginians challenged them on the peninsula. Iberia and then in Italy itself.

In the Middle Ages, examples of maritime city-states arose, such as the Republic of Venice, the Republic of Ragusa or the Republic of Genoa, also in the Mediterranean; and the cities of the Hansa, on the Baltic Sea and the North Sea.

In the Modern Age, the Dutch Empire can be described as a thalassocracy.

In the Contemporary Age, the British Empire ruled the seas until World War II. The British has been considered the largest global thalassocracy in history. The other colonial empires typical of the era of imperialism (second half of the XIX century and first half of the XX), which began as commercial emporiums, gradually acquired vast territories in the interior (Empire French, Belgian Empire, etc.). The domain of the Pacific was disputed by Japan and the United States in the world wars, with the predominance of the second actor, but the subsequent diversification of resources and means prevents one from speaking of "thalassocracy"; in this case.

List of examples

• Cartago
• Brunéi Empire and its successor, the Sultanate of Brunéi
• Dinastía Chola
• League of Delos
• Denmark-Norway
• Dry Hexapolis
• Duchy of Amalfi
• Hanseatic League
• Kingdom of Mann and the Islands
• Norwegian Empire
• Kingdom of Sardinia
• Liburnia
• Majapahit Empire
• Minoica Civilization
• Crown of Aragon
• Sultanate of Mascate and Oman
• Fenicia
• Republic of Genoa
• Pirate Republic
• Republic of Pisa
• Republic of Ragusa
• Republic of Venice
• Kingdom of Ryūkyū
• Swedish Empire
• Srivijaya Empire
• Sultanate of Sulu
• Sultanate of Maguindanao
• Sultanate of Malacca and his successor, Sultanate of Johor
• Sultanate of Ternate
• Sultanate of Tidore
• Empire Tui Tonga
• Portuguese Empire
• British Empire