The evolution of the sailing navy, 1509-1815 / Richard Harding.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Harding, Richard, 1953-

Series:

British history in perspective

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Great Britain. Royal Navy.

History.

Sailing ships.

Great Britain--History, Naval.

Great Britain.

Naval history.

Sailing ships--Great Britain--History--16th century.

Sailing ships--Great Britain--History--17th century.

Sailing ships--Great Britain--History--18th century.

Great Britain. Royal Navy--History.

Physical Description:

ix, 181 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : St. Martin's Press, 1995.

Summary:

By 1815 the Royal Navy dominated the oceans of the world. Nelson's victory at Trafalgar in 1805 and the dramatic sea-fights of the age of sail are all well known. What is less well known is the process by which the Royal Navy developed from small beginnings to achieve oceanic hegemony. Nor is the Royal Navy's influence upon Britain's political and economic history often understood.

This work draws together the latest research into naval history to present a concise picture of the navy, why it took the organisational form that it did, why it was able to outperform its rivals, what contribution it made to the political and economic development of the British state, and the legacy it left in terms of tradition and assumptions about British sea-power.

This book is not a list of battles or campaigns, nor is it intended primarily for the naval expert. It aims to show the general student of history how the Royal Navy, the largest and most complex organisation of its kind during this period, came into being.

Contents:

1 1509-1603: Maritime Resources, the Navy Royal and Naval Power 1

The English Crown, society and naval requirements to 1509 2

1485-1546: The emergence of a navy royal 9

1547-1585: Consolidation and opportunity 17

1585-1603: Conflict with Spain 22

2 1603-1642: Decline and Recovery 31

1603-1619: A navy in decline 31

1619-1628: Buckingham as Lord Admiral 41

1628-1642: The English navy and Ship Money 50

3 1642-1660: Civil War, the Republic and a Standing Navy 58

1642-1648: The navy in the Civil War 58

1648-1660: The navy of the Republic and the First Dutch War 69

4 1660-1713: Consolidation, Challenges and Expansion 85

1660-1664: The Restoration navy 85

1664-1667: The Second Dutch War 95

1672-1674: The Third Dutch War 97

1674-1688: The navy and the wider world 99

1689-1697: The navy in the Nine Years War 101

1702-1713: The navy in the War of Spanish Succession 104

1689-1713: The emergence of an oceanic naval power 109

5 1713-1815: The Establishment of Oceanic Supremacy 114

1713-1739: Diplomacy and the boundaries of naval power 117

1739-1748: War, crisis and the development of naval power 120

1748-1763: Primacy at sea and a global capacity 125

1763-1783: Naval primacy, strain and recovery 130

1783-1815: Preservation and supremacy at sea 135.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 172-175) and index.

ISBN:

0312124074

0333596048

0333596056

OCLC:

30974080