Most important naval battle in history?

[Joe McCarthy]

I've taken the liberty of deliberately excluding several battles that took place in East Asia as they have little relevance to Europeans.

[Wyn]

Lepanto.

[Joe McCarthy]

In terms of the creation of the modern world, it's hard to beat Chesapeake Bay. Ironically, many have never heard of it, as it tends to be overshadowed by Yorktown.

[Joe McCarthy]

Battle of Chesapeake Bay:

[Lábaru]

Battle of Lepanto "La más Grande Ocasión que Vieron los Siglos".





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lepanto

“When people talk as if the Crusades were nothing more than an aggressive raid against Islam, they seem to forget in the strangest way that Islam itself was only an aggressive raid against the old and ordered civilization in these parts…

[Joe McCarthy]

Battle of Lepanto "La más Grande Ocasión que Vieron los Siglos".





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lepanto

As important as Lepanto was in breaking Ottoman power in the Mediterranean, without Chesapeake Bay, the United States of America may very well not exist. It was responsible for preventing the British from being resupplied at Yorktown.

[Don]

Obviously Lepanto.

[Lábaru]

As important as Lepanto was in breaking Ottoman power in the Mediterranean, without Chesapeake Bay, the United States of America may very well not exist. It was responsible for preventing the British from being resupplied at Yorktown.

But the British are European and Western, world had not changed much with his victory.

Lepanto...

Victory gave the Holy League temporary control over the Mediterranean, protected Rome from invasion, and prevented the Ottomans from advancing further into Europe. Lepanto was the last major naval battle fought almost entirely between oar-powered galleys, and has been assigned great symbolic importance since then.

[Agrippa]

I voted for the Spanish Armada, because a successful invasion of Britain would have really changed the course of history, whereas many of the other battles would have just prolonged the more or less inevitable in my opinion.

My second choice would have been Lepanto, because of its significance in the defence of the occident, while I think Europeans would have made it otherwise too, whereas to change the course of history significantly, the battle between the English and Spanish was really decisive for the future developments.

[Great Dane]

What about the Battle of the Coral Sea? It stopped the southward advance of the Japanese, prevented the invasion of Australia and New Zealand. It was also the first naval battle in which aircraft carriers engaged one another.