Which historical naval powers are most underrated?
Short answerDenmark and Portugal, with Denmark especially overshadowed by the attention given to Sweden.
NotesDenmark and Portugal are the choices for underrated historical naval powers. The Ottoman Empire's naval strength is already familiar to specialists, while China built impressive fleets at intervals but repeatedly dismantled them. That pattern complicates a simple claim that Chinese naval power has been continuously neglected. Denmark receives especially little attention compared with Sweden even though its naval history offers equally important subjects.