. >> coming up next on booktv denver brunsman and his book "the evil necessity: british naval impressment in the eighteenth-century atlantic world." >> the british empire in the 18th century was really a maritime empire. they depended heavily on trade and the various colonial territories. we are especially concentrated in the atlantic. the only way that they could resupply those ships, in that way america was introduced to the underside of this british system. in many ways, they benefit from and what was being involved in being a bigger subject. it was always one of the most unpopular parts of the british empire. one of the things that we forget that americans today is that many love to be part of this. it was something of an aberration. but there were these issues that emerged early on. during the american revolutionary era, it was incredibly unpopular in the 1760s leading up to be one of the grievances against george the iii. he was captured by the british. so they really had no choice. the american revolution ended in 1783. a decade later, the french revolutionary and napoleonic wars,

in alexandria, virginia, with the help of our local cable partner, comcast, we sat down with denver brunsman to discuss the navy shall. his book is "the evil necessity british naval impressment in the eighteenth-century atlantic world." it's next here on booktv. >> the british empire in the 18th century was really a maritime empire. as an island nation they depended really heavily on trade and controlling really the trade of the colonial territory. well, they need a very powerful navy, and the navy needed men. and so british naval ships really sell the world, but were specially consecrated indialantic. and this is how the system affected american colonists. when british naval vessels came into very sports, they often lost in because of the three d's, death, disease and desertion. the only way that they could resupply the ships was to capture colonists. so in that way, america was introduced to really what i can think of as the nasty underside of the british system that in many ways they benefited from and appreciated but they got some hand at, you know, what was really involved in the obliga