navy Flashcards
1
Q
what were the royal navy stats in 1792?
A
125 ships in commission and 20k officers and seamen
2
Q
what were the two types of blockade?
A
- close blockade (main fleet sailed near enemy port)
- open blockade (main fleet was in home port and frigates patrolled the coast off the enemy port)
3
Q
gunnery in the late 18th century?
A
- daily gunnery practice on every ship since 1745
- most ships carried 32 pounder guns, each manned by a team of seven sailors
- fired broadsides every 90 seconds, faster than their enemies
4
Q
what were the naval officers like and how many were there?
A
- came from middle class, already related to naval officers
- 1793 - 120k mwn
5
Q
how did the navy recruit men?
A
- no conscription, relied on impressment
- impressment service sent out press gangs to round up men found near ports, captains also pressed seamen from merchant ships at sea
- by 1805 half the royal navy crew was made of pressed men
- quota system - each county had to supply a number of men
- many foreign sailors
6
Q
what were conditions like for sailors?
A
- 1793 - paid 22s
- sailors slept in 14 inch hammocks
- risk of scurvy due to monotonous food
7
Q
what reforms were made in the 1780s and by who?
A
- middleton and pitt
- coppering introduced
- new docks at portsmouth and plymouth
- massive stocks of timber and rope built up
- caronnade invented - light, fast and had great impact
- longrange guns developed - gunlocks replaced slowmatches so broadsides were faster and more accurate
8
Q
what was the effect of these reforms?
A
britain was more prepared for war in 1793 than france and spain
9
Q
what happened at toulon in 1793?
A
- august 1793
- admiral hood seized toulon, but was forced to abandon it in december when french army arrived
- captureed and destroyed many ships before leaving
10
Q
what was the battle of the glorious first of june?
A
- 1 june 1794
- rn, led by lord howe, blockaded french ports on atlantic coast eg brest
- howe sailed west to battle grain convoy returning to france from usa
- british victory, but not entirely a success as grain ships succeeded in reaching france
- 7k french casualties 1.2k british
11
Q
what developments occurred in 1795-96?
A
- 1795 jervis replaced hood in the med, trained his men + forged good relationships with them
- 1796 - spain and the netherlands joined france against britain, rn was strained
- december - french fleet sailed towards britain, but abandoned it’s mission due to weather and returned to brest
12
Q
what happened at the battle of cape st vincent?
A
- 14 february 1797
- jervis fleet encountered spanish fleet twice their size
- attacked, nelson boarded and captured san josef (much larger ship)
- jervis captured 4 ships and drove enemy back into cadiz, became earl of st vincent
13
Q
what was the spithead mutiny?
A
- 16 april 1797 - crews of every ship refused to listen to admiral hridport
- unhappy with pay, quality of food and brutal officers
- officers sympathised, and mutiny was carried out in a civil way
- 7 may fresh mutiny, led by petty officers who presented their demands
- howe held a banquet and visited every ship to reassure them
14
Q
what was the nore mutiny?
A
- 12 may 1797
- stronger demands - wanted power of veto over officers, longer leave and pardons for all deserters
- joined by north sea fleet, tried to blockade thames but pitt’s gov starved the mutineers
- ended in mid june when moderate sailors wrestled control from radicals, 29 men hung
15
Q
what happened at the battle of camperdown?
A
- 11 october 1797
- north sea fleet encountered dutch fleet near dutch coast
- led by duncan, smashed enemy line and captured 11 battleships
16
Q
what was the state of britain like after the battle of camperdown?
A
- threatened by french invasion
- austria made peace with france in 1797, no european allies for britsin
- large army and fleet preparing to sail at toulon, no one knew where it was going
- nelson was sent to the med to discover their intentions
17
Q
what were the events leading up to the battle of the nile?
A
- may 1798 napoleon left toulon with 13 ships and 50k men
- nelson heard french had taken malta and gambled on them going to france
- arrived at alexandria 29 june, but no sign of the french so sailed away
- napoleon reached alexandria 1 july
- nelson found french fleet at aboukir bay on 1 august
18
Q
what happened at the battle of the nile?
A
- 1 august 1798
- both sides had similarly sized fleets but french had the orient - very large ship
- nelson gave battle at nightfall, unconventional, but successful
- french hadn’t prepared portside guns, some ships were attacked on 2 sides
- the orient exploded after 30 mins
- only 2 french ships escaped
19
Q
what were the consequences of the battle of the nile?
A
- royal navy regained control of the med
- napoleon and his army were trapped in egypt
- austria, russia, naples and turkey joined britain in a coalition
- nelson became a national hero
20
Q
what happened in the mediterranean from 1798-1801?
A
- british naval forces were overstretched
- nelson had an affair with lady hamilton in naples and then returned home
- rn made significant gains under admiral keith and took malta in 1800
21
Q
what happened in the atlantic from 1798-1801?
A
- earl of st vincent blockaded brest
- difficult due to lack of supplies, shipwrecks and lack of opportunity to rest
- french couldn’t venture out
22
Q
what was the baltic threat?
A
- british blockade of french and spanish ports led to tsar putting pressure on denmark sweden and pressure to join league of armed neutrality against britain
- had nearly 100 warships between them
- could keep britain out of the baltic, where it obtained most of its naval stroes
- hyde parked given command of british baltic fleet
23
Q
what happened during the battle of copenhagen?
A
- 2 april 1800 the attack began
- danes suffered but fought back, parker told nelson to discontinue the action, nelson ignored it
- most danish ships surrendered in the next 45 mins
- nelson sent letter to the crown prince of denmark with a threat of setting fire to the ships, crown prince agreed to a truce
- nelson became commander of the baltic fleet
24
Q
what happened from 1802-1805
A
- march 1802 - britain and france signed peace of amiens
- st vincent tried to reform royal dockyards and dismissed hundreds of workers to save money
- may 1803 war recommenced and napoleon gathered his army to invade britain
- nelson given command of hms victory
- december 1804 - spain allied with france, had 102 battleships between them
25
how did britain chase after france in 1805?
- april - villeneuves fleet left toulon and joined up with a spanish fleet
- nelson followed, would've caught up but false intelligence led him south instead of north
- villeneuve sailed towards europe, nelson found out and recrossed the atlantic, sent a fast frigate ahead to warn his men
- 22 july - calder intercepted villeneuve and captured 2 ships
- villeneuve went to cadiz, napoleon left boulogne, no threat of invasion
26
what happened in the lead up to the battle of trafalgar?
- nelson given a fleet based near cadiz, wanted to lure villeneuve out
- inspired his captains, boosted morale
- stressed importance of getting into battle quickly
- had a line of frigates to report enemy movement
27
what happened during the battle of trafalgar?
- 19 october 1805 - villeneuve left cadiz to sail for italy
- nelson gave chase, split fleet into 2 divisions - hms victory and royal sovereign led by collingwood
- royal sovereign reached enemy line first and opened fire while victory was being fired on
- french and british ships suffered huge damage before more british ships arrived
- nelson was shot in the shoulder at 1:15pm and taken below deck, died at 4:30
28
what happened after trafalgar?
- napoleon won at austerlitz and beat austria 2 months after
- 1807 - prussia and russia defeeated
- royal navy was not seriously challenged by the french for the rest of the napoleonic wars
29
what was the continental system?
- napoleon's attempt at an economic blockade - berlin decrees
- tsar agreed to outlow russian trade with britain, which closed almost all of europe to british merchants
- thought it would make britain surrender but it didn't
- 1807 - britain banned trade with any ports complying with berlin decrees
- rn stopped and searched any neutral ship suspected to be trading with the enemy
- the rest of europe suffered more than britain
30
what naval action occurred between 1805 and 1814?
- britain seized land from france and the netherlands eg cape colony, sierra leone, mauritius etc
- july 1807 - britain attacked copenhagen, soldiers in the city + ships bombarding it, danes capitulated and surrendered their entire fleet in september
- saumerez ensured free pasage of british ships into the baltic
- 1808-1814 - rn helped transport troops and supplies to and from spain and portugal
- british frigates on european coastlines, damaged local trade, raided enemy ports etc
- french navy wasn't a threat after 1811 as money for frernch shipbuilding dried up, only 4 ships of the line launched by 1814
31
what was the war of 1812?
- european blockade angered american merchants + british sailors boarded american merchant ships to search for deserted seamen
- usa declared war in june 1812
- usa had 14 small warships, but frigates were larged + had more guns
- 1813/14 - rn had blockaded most american ports
32
what did william pitt the younger do?
- pitt + dundas + grenville controlled britain's war strategy from 1793-1801
- created first coalition in 1793 against revolutionary france until 1797, then a second from 1799-1801
- both coalitions collapsed due to french military success
- whigs were critical of pitt, but had joined the govs side in 1794, which kept them from power for 40 years except from 1806-7
33
when and why did pitt resign?
- 1801
- resigned over king george iiis' opposition to his measure to relax the rules excluding catholics from the armed forces
34
what did henry addington do?
- formed a new gov without many of pitt's friends
- march 1802 - signed treaty of amiens with the french, britain had to return all french overseas possessions
35
how and when did addington fall from power?
- may 1803 - war recommenced and pitt opposed addington for earl of st vincents naval administration
- fell from power may 1804
36
what did pitt do when he returned as prime minister?
- formed third coalition with austria and russia in 1805
- melville (dundas) reversed st vincents policies#- stores contracts renewed and private contractors employed to repair and build ships
- 1805 - melvilles rep ruined by monetary scandal and forced to resign
- jan 1806 - pitt died
37
what was the ministry of all talents and what did it do?
- grenville and fox formed a new gov in feb 1806 called ministry of all talents
- failed to make peace with napoleon
- 1807 - grenville tried to let catholics join military services, rejected by the king and then he resigned
38
what did the duke of portland do?
- had little control over his cabinet
- castlereagh was scretary of state for war
- canning was foreign secretary
- lorde mulgrave as the admiralty
- september 1809 - canning tried to plot to demote castlereagh which led to a duel and they both resigned
39
what did perceval do?
- replaced portland in 1809
- strong leader, ensured funding for war in spain and portugal
- political situation was unstable in 1810
40
what happened to perceval and who replaced him?
- may 1812 - assassinated in the lobby of the house of commons by a merchant
- replaced by lord liverpool until 1827
41
what was government bureaucracy like?
- corrupt and inefficient, strained by scale of the wars
- financial/administrative reform after 1806 - ancient customs abandoned, money was saved, sinecures diminished , less corruption due to stricter systems
42
how were loans used?
- 1793 - pitt thought the war would be short, raised loans from the city of london
- bank of england, banking house of benjamin, abraham goldsmid
43
what new taxes were introduced?
- 21 new goods and services taxed during the war
- over 22 years, taxes on spirits yielded £51 million
- 1799 - graduated income tax for everyone who earned >£60 a year
- raised £155m by 1815
44
how did the war impact the city of london?
- mutual dependence of politicians/merchants and bankers
- close relationship between gov + powerful capital markets gave britain an advantage over france
- lots of merchants and bankers came to london to escape the napoleon blockade
- 1815 - 2/3 of all merchant were foreign, from the continent eg rothschild
45
what financial successes occurred from 1808-1815?
- gov was able to meet wellingtons army expenses in the peninsula
- subsidised their allies against napoleon
46
how did industry grow during the war?
- cotton production grew 3x by 1813
- iron/steel manufacturing grew 4x by 1813
- steampower became popular, 112 steam engines in london by 1805
47
how did agriculture grow?
- imported grain from northern europe + north america
- high prices led to prosperity for farmers _ investment
- corn output increased by 20% by 1810
- board of agriculture - led by sinclair and young
48
how was british trade affected by the war?
- exported cotton textiles, value increased 6x by 1815
- new markets found in south america and caribbean
- 1810-12 - imports/exports declined, bankruptcy doubled
- recovered after napoleon's defeat in russia which led to collapse of continental system
49
what did the east india company do?
- exported british goods to india and china
- ships brought ack vital materials
- ships chartered to transport troops abroad
50
what was the convoy system?
- convoys - groups of merchant ships in formation + protected by warships
- became compulsory after 1798, more stringent after 1803
51
what happened with shipbuilding?
- gov had 6 home dockyards to build and repair ships + store equipment/raw materials
- 1815 - 3/4 of the 10k shipwrights in britain were employed in 500 private shipyards
- in newcastle, liverpool, hull etc
- built 426 warships vs 82 in the royal dockyards
52
what developments were made to reduce the price of war production?
- 1804 - began to build frigates from ship timer - cheaper/easier than hardwood
- new method of repair - each ship was doubled and strengthened with riders, enabled 34 ships at battle of trafalgar instead of 24
- block mills in portsmouth dockyards - first example of mass standardised production in the world
- new docks built in london
53
what did the board of ordnance do?
- oversaw manufacture of of munitions
- 1804 - new labs built at portsmouth and plymouth
- private contractors - canons provided by walkers of rotherham and carron company of scotland, birminghanm gunsmiths supllied 1m barrels and locks from 1808-1810
- distributed supplies/munitions to allies - 100k muskets sent to prussia and russia in 1813
54
what did the victualling board do?
- responsible for provisions for navy and army
- most foods and services provided by private contractors
- competitive market gave britain advantage over france and spain, who were dependent on the monopoly of individuals, which led to an inferior suuply chain
55
what did the transport board do?
- chartered merchant ships for overseas expeditions
- 1793-1802 - 135k troops successfully transported from britain
- figure rose considerable after 1803
56
what domestic unrest was there from 1794-5?
- high food prices
- october 1795 - king george iii jeered as he went to open parliament, had to be rescued by troops
- pitt pushed the treasonable practices act 1796, seditious meetings act 1796 and the combination acts 17999 and 1800
- expanded definitions of treason, banned lecture of more than 50 people made illegal for workers to gather in large numbers
57
what discontent was there in ireland?
- may 1798 - major rebellion, troops sent to deal with unrest
- 21 june - defeat of the irish rebels at vinegar hill
- hundreds of rebels executed
58
who were the luddites?
- opposed mechanisation in the midlands/northern england, which led to high unemployment
- smashed new machines + threatened mill/factory owners
- gov made destruction of machines a capital offence
- execution and transportation of luddite leaders led to end of their violence in 1813
59
what were the results of trafalgar in terms of numbers?
- british took 18 french battleships, 4 ships that escaped were captured in november, only 5 remaining ships were seaworthy
- not one british ship was lost
