Victor David Hanson described how the Ottoman Admiral Ali Pasha carried his entire fortune into the battle with him at the Battle of Lepanto (1571). Hanson argues he did that in part because he couldn't trust that the Sultan would not arbitrarily confiscate his fortune. In contrast, the Venetians were part of the city states of northern Italy which safeguarded their money in a relatively democratic republic with free markets and a respect for property rights. This resulted in a striking imbalance of economic and military power between the Venetians and Ottomans. Despite having far vastly smaller amounts of territory and resources compared to the Ottoman Empire, the Venetians and their shipyards and armories that made up the Arsenal of Venice could create a relatively larger fleet of higher quality ships faster than their opponents.
This website seeks to highlight and promote ideas that defend the fundamental principles of American strength, including free market principles, commitment to the rule of law, limited government, and military strength symbolically represented in the Arsenal of Venice. It also serves to highlight my writing projects and I humbly hope to be as productive in producing quality policy and military analysis as the historical Arsenal of Venice.
This is a new website I've developed to highlight my broader writings, and provide an online presence for them The end goal is for this website to do with my various political and military writings what this website did for my ideas concerning warfare in the Book of Mormon. I hope you get a chance to look at it and provide any feedback.
Looks good!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I was a little worried about the readability of the new blog but I think it will be fine.
ReplyDelete