Trading colonies and strategic naval stations

Long-distance shipping needed secure places for trade, refuge, and supplies. In Mahan's account, merchants established stations where cargo could accumulate safely while ships were away, and some stations grew into colonies. Governments also founded colonies for political purposes. Other possessions served chiefly to protect the route: the Cape of Good Hope, St Helena, and Mauritius supported voyages, while Gibraltar, Malta, and Louisbourg held strategic positions. A commercially valuable settlement was not necessarily an equally valuable military base. Production, shipping, and overseas support connected the peaceful maritime economy to armed sea power.