Social history of british naval officers, 1775 -1815 / Evan Wilson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wilson, Evan, 1984-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Great Britain. Royal Navy--Officers.

Great Britain.

Great Britain. Royal Navy.

Armed Forces--Officers.

Physical Description:

xii, 294 : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Woodbridge : Boydell Press, 2017.

Summary:

This book explores the world of British naval officers at the height of the Royal Navy's power in the age of sail. It describes the full spectrum of officers, from commissioned officers to the unheralded but essential members of every ship's company, the warrant officers. The book focusses on naval officers' social status and its implications for their careers. The demands of life at sea conflicted with the expectations of genteel behaviour and background in eighteenth-century Britain, and the ways officers grappled with this challenge forms a key theme. Drawing on a large database of more than a thousand officers, the book argues that, contrary to the prevailing view, officers were mostly from the middling sort, not the landed elite. It shows how the navy attracted hordes of hopeful commissioned officers, how unemployment was common for the majority even in wartime, and how only a select group managed to gain promotion to post-captain. The book corrects our understanding of the men who lived and served in the wardrooms of the Royal Navy and refocusses our attention away from those who won fame and fortune and onto ordinary naval officers.

Contents:

1 The Education of Young Gentlemen 9

2 Commissioned Officers' Careers 33

3 Warrant Officers' Careers 57

4 The Wardroom as a Social Space 83

5 Patronage and Promotion Prospects 105

6 Pay and Prize Money 131

7 Domestic and International Comparisons 155

8 Naval Officers' Social Status 185.

ISBN:

1783271744

9781783271740

OCLC:

953744751