Solidly researched, cogently argued, and gracefully written, Disciplining the Empire illuminates the emergence of British naval hegemony in the eighteenth century by placing it within the wider influence matrix of domestic and constitutional issues, and concurrent debates over the structure and governance of the British Empire. These debates, often tempestuous, were to be critical both to the course of future imperial politics, the development of the future Navy, and national political awareness. The rise of British naval preeminence, it is established, was neither preordained, unquestioned, nor consensual; it was the outcome of fierce polemical battles over the ideal configuration of empire as well as the bonds of political authority. Only within the context of this political contestation can the true nature of the Royal Navy and its rise be understood.By contextualizing military and naval concerns within an expanded imperial framework, this work casts new light on the complex inner dynamics of British ascendancy and so contributes significantly to the growing body of state-building literature. Moreover, in clarifying the mutually reinforcing links between imperial ventures and expanding public cultural awareness, Kinkel amplifies previous work on ruling-class attitudes and provides fresh perspectives on the issue of national identity as shaped by pro-imperial sentiments and visions.Three questions frame the narrative throughout: (1) Recognizing that the Navy’s place in British life was at no time unchallenged, what were the lines of rupture and what were the ultimate political stakes? (2) When did Britain’s naval preeminence actually begin? (3) How did the distinctive qualities of naval officers evolve, become legitimate, even admired?Scene-setting, incorporating the latest research, chapter 1 shows that the Navy was already a key arena within which the Stuarts and their opponents disputed the nature of English governance in the period following the Restoration. The contested issues continued to be a focus of conflict following the Glorious Revolution, particularly in debates over economic priorities, monarchical authority, imperial governance, foreign policy, and the fiscal-military state, transmuted into variant Whig-Tory party affiliations. Kinkel also shows that though commitment to trade and naval expansion was espoused at the apex of Whig leadership, the emphasis always remained more on pliability, restraint, and moderation than vigor or force. As such, Britain’s naval prospects, initially, were far from certain.Deftly unraveling the intellectual currents shaping naval policy under the oligarchical “Walpolean Whigs” (chapter 2) the author usefully supplements the work of Black, Colley, Brendan Simms, and H. T. Dickenson, among others, by identifying new standards among the varied domestic pressures conditioning Walpole’s minimalist naval stance but proactive continental policy. “The navy under Walpole was intended as a passive deterrent—large enough to dissuade other countries from going to war yet used forcefully only as a last resort, if alliances and negotiations broke down.” Illustrative here was the first major public debate over the role of the Navy in 1727 during Britain’s abortive war against Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. Once highlighted, the debate remained a central component of oppositional faction tirades against Walpole until his fall from power in 1742. Altogether, chapter 2 provides a superbly nuanced understanding of the myriad forces giving rise to the British world system, including input from conventionally marginalized and dissenting social groups.Against this background, the book proceeds from chapter 3 to unravel the alternative strategic designs of the “authoritarian Whigs”—one of the major factions opposed to Walpole’s supremacy. These opponents linked their fears of growing unrest in British society with countervailing programs of discipline, order, and hierarchy designed to avert impending anarchy at home, and bring the empire under rational centralized control. Similarly, they advocated professionalized naval reforms—designed to facilitate the imperial expansion they envisaged and mirroring the sociopolitical changes they sought in British society at large. These ambitions culminated in the 1749 Navy Bill designed to strengthen and streamline naval court-martial law and proved to be a major catalyst in the expanding public debate over military governance, state power, and threatening despotism.Chapter 4 examines the alternate naval scenario advanced by the “patriots,” another major opposition group to Walpole’s Whiggery, in response to perceived constitutional corruption within the body politic. Here, the author expertly elucidates the complexity of broadening reformist aspirations, showing how the Navy became a focal point of critical nationwide debates that were to have notable implications for the progressive liberation of British political life. New light is also cast on the genesis of the important Militia Act, formally enacted in 1757. Chapter 5 argues that during the period between the Seven Years’ War and the American Revolution, the Navy was charged with shaping imperial society into the same ordered system embodied by the merchant service. Indeed, naval officers became the prime exemplars of such professionalization throughout the empire at large. Encountering the most active resistance in North America, this policy was perceived as an attempt at military governance, and became a contributing precipitant of the American Revolution.Arguing that Britain’s capitulation in 1782 represented more a political rather than naval defeat, Kinkel’s conclusion works to convince readers that the cultural shifts within naval governance from restraint and defense in 1700 to audacity and aggression a century later were a consequence of broader ideological disputes over the shape of the Anglo-Imperial world, taking place in London, Philadelphia, Boston, even Madras and beyond: “The outcome of those arguments had real consequences for how Britain chose to project its power on the world stage and to what ends.” Altogether, Disciplining the Empire is a substantial contribution to scholarship on the convoluted political and ideological infrastructure of Britain’s rise to world power and is highly recommended to both students and scholars.