Gunboat diplomacy and shallow-draft force

Naval coercion could involve cruisers, destroyers, or battleships, while actual gunboats solved a different geography problem. Cable's examples lead into the practical need for a shallow-draft vessel with a meaningful gun when a navy wanted influence up rivers or close inshore. Navigable rivers mattered because they reached inland cities that larger seagoing warships could not approach. The resulting gunboat combined a mobile command post, symbol of sovereignty, transport, and direct or indirect fire support in one small hull.