Hamilton’s Expedition of 1639: The Contours of Amphibious Warfare

Abstract

This essay considers the challenges faced by amphibious operations, namely formulating a realistic strategy. Early-modern European states sometimes attempted bold strategies that incorporated conjunct amphibious operations, for example the Marquess of Hamilton’s expedition, up Britain’s eastern coastline, in 1639. That enterprise was bedeviled by a host of logistical problems, stemming from administrative and institutional failures. Disparities between Court and Country material interests (and mentalité) made it difficult for the Crown to fathom below the surface of local governmental apparati. Monarchical myopia further extended to the organs of central government as well as to the realm’s geographically distant local administrations. The results included military defeat, wastage of limited resources, and the inflammation of Britain’s political crisis.