International Yachting in the Late Nineteenth Century: French,British, and American Inter-Relationships and Organisation |
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| Abstract: | In the late nineteenth century the yachting world was the scene of intense debate. For certain of the French participants in regattas, the main objective was to fight against the hegemony of the British and the imposition of their rules. This topic was the subject of much discussion in the nascent international sailing organisations, which were created at that time. In order to diminish the influence of British regulation, French representatives suggested rules that were developed in France but were inspired by American standards. In fact, the French position revealed the fact that there was more at stake than yachting alone and the controversy extended into questions of social status and international politics. French organisers saw this as an opportunity to strengthen their power within French yachting at a time when this activity was still developing and establishing its own institutions. Above all, French regatta competitors asserted their elite status within French society, reinforcing the idea that their group represented an increasingly important class. Their established geopolitical connections enabled them to promote and impose their values, and serve their own interests and ideas at the national economic and political level, where they had vested interests. In particular, these sportsmen were influenced by the widespread Anglophobia in France at the end of the nineteenth century, which balanced the better-known Anglophilia of figures such as Pierre de Coubertin. Thus, the role of French navigators in international institutions was part of a wider concern to solidify their elite status. |
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