The 17th and 18th centuries witnessed the rise of fighting sailing navies, which became instruments of worldwide strategic power. Spain, Holland, France, and Britain were the leading protagonists; after the eclipse of the first two, the struggle for domination at sea revolved chiefly into a Franco-British conflict, culminating in Britain's maritime triumph in the Napoleonic Wars. Lambert shows how Britain's naval dominance was achieved, with detailed accounts of key conflicts that reveal both the highest levels of strategy and the experience of the ordinary sailor.