Description
Book SynopsisA searching collection of investigations into British naval power in the closing centuries of the sailing ship era. The discussions focus on the later seventeenth century strategy of a 'big ship' battlefleet; naval recruiting; naval power and foreign policy; and the administration of the early Victorian navy and the coming of steam.
Trade ReviewThe volume provides a model of how such a collection of essays should be organised and can be read with pleasure and profit both by students of the period and by modern naval strategists. * The Northern Mariner *
The editor has done well in assembling these stimulating and sometimes provocative essays on a common theme... The format is attractive and the references copious. It is much to be commended and sets a high standard for subsequent maritime studies to match. * Newsletter of South-West Maritime History Societies *
This collection of essays reflects the breadth and ambition of naval history in Britain. It raises a series of questions about our perception of naval power and demands that future historians should avoid both the simple triumphalist assumptions of the past and the equally flawed revisionism of more recent times. British policy was necessarily built on naval power, and the stateman and admirals of the period were experienced and generally able enough to make to make the most effective use of the limited opportunities provided by this particular form of power. We will only understand the role of the navy in British history if it is studied in breadth, depth and context. This volume is an encouraging sign. The University of Exeter is to be complimented for supporting the modern revival of scholarly naval history; the editor and contributors for a volume of quality essays. * War in History *
This book is certainly a welcome addition to the historiography of the Royal Navy. * Mariner's Mirror *
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgements
- 1. Introduction - MICHAEL DUFFY
- 2. The Birth of the Imperial Navy? Aspects of Maritime Strategy, c.1650-90 - DAVID DAVIES
- 3. British Naval Power and International Commitments: Political and Strategic Problems, 1688-1770 - JEREMY BLACK
- 4. The Establishment of the Western Squadron as the Linchpin of British Naval Strategy - MICHAEL DUFFY
- 5. 'A little navy of your own making.' Admiral Boscawen and the Cornish Connection in the Royal Navy - NICHOLAS RODGER
- 6. Naval Power, Strategy and Foreign Policy, 1775-1791 - JEREMY BLACK
- 7. Sir George Cockburn and the Management of the Royal Navy, 1841-6 - ROGER MORRISS
- 8. Notes on Contributors
