Naval warfare during the War of 1812

Naval warfare during the War of 1812 in North America proved decisive not because the United States rivalled the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland global sea power, but because control of specific maritime and inland waters shaped military campaigns, territorial security and diplomacy. Great Britain retained overwhelming naval supremacy on the world's oceans; however, American success in selected local theatres, most notably on the Great Lakes, directly influenced the outcome of the War of 1812 on land and constrained British negotiating leverage at the peace table. Historians increasingly emphasize that the war's naval dimension must be understood regionally rather than globally.