The Changing Nature of the Royal Navy - Topic 2.1 Flashcards
Development of the navy and its role to Britain
What is a ‘Ship of the Line’?
1588-1873
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail. The ship of the line was designed for the line of battle. A line that included slow or weak ships could easily be broken, so a ship needed the right balance of speed and firepower to merit inclusion in the line. These ships were the best of the best.
What were the four main ships of the Royal Navy over the period?
And what were their main attributes?
1763-1914
HMS Victory (1765-1824)
- “Wooden walls” of the Royal Navy,
- Wood and sail,
- 104 guns and 850 sailors
- First rate Ship of the Line
HMS Warrior (1861)
- Steam-powered & sail, can keep moving when no wind but coal was needed,
- Ironside hulls (advance on ironclads),
- 43 more powerful guns (some muzzle-loaders, some rifle, some breech-loader)
- Obsolete in a decade
HMS Devastation (1873)
- Abandoned sails
- 2 giant 35 ton guns
- 250-300 mm hull shell
HMS Dreadnought (1906)
- Made other ships obsolete
- 5 huge guns that could fire a 385kg shell over 22km
- Dictate Pre-dreadnought and Post-dreadnought
Note: John Fisher’s modernisation programme
How significant was the Age of Steam in improving the Royal Navy?
1794-1914
- Sail-steamer ships were adequate enough to deal with foreign navies, and the Nemesis was first used against the Chinese junks in the first Opium war.
- Previously inaccessible inland areas to naval forces were now open as hybrid ships could tow ocean ships up rivers.
How significant were changing ship types for the role of the Royal Navy?
How did technological advancements improve the Navy?
1763-1914
- “Wooden walls” to iron (Ironclad); better defence and stronger
- Sail to steam (screw propeller - key advance); faster but needed fuel
- Gunnery improvements (Breech-loaders replaced muzzle-loaders); more powerful
At what battle did Britain secure naval dominance?
And why?
Battle of Trafalgar:
- Franco-Spanish navies v Royal Navy
- 22 ships & 13,000 lost / 0 ships lost & 2,000 sailors lost
- Superior seamanship, quick-thinking tactics (Crossing the T) and superior gunnery
British admirals and captains were trained and encouraged to create hyper-aggressive tactics, that frequently broke the enemy line in favour of close-quarter combat. These tactics often resulted in decisive victories unlike the usual parallel line tactics.
21st October 1805
By what doctrine did Britain live by to maintain their naval hegemony?
‘Two Power Standard’ - The doctrine that Britain’s navy should be as strong as the next two largest navies combined. This became an official policy with the Naval Defence Act of 1889 which required the government to have a naval expenditure that mathced the next two powerful navies combined.
How was impressment utilised to grow the Royal Navy?
1200-1820
By forcibly recruiting sailors into the navy, the supply of sailors was sustained. The navy had the power to stop any civilian ships and take some men on board. Impressments would usually happen around coastal areas as these regions would have more men that would most likely have a good understanding of how to run a ship.
What is a ‘blue water’ policy?
1689-1815
A large merchant navy was encouraged to produce a larger number of sailors for the Navy to use in times of war, in return, the Royal Navy would protect merchants and capture foreign ones as well. The system was designed to ensure the country’s security and supremacy at sea, while also taking into account political conditions in Western Europe.
How did Britain maintain this relationship with its merchant navy?
And how did this develop overtime?
The government supported the mutually beneficial relationship with the Navigation acts and the power the Royal Navy had to press sailors against their wills.
The merchant navy got protection in return for sailors. With this guarantee, the merchant navy had free rein with its free trade, producing more money for the nation.
With: scurvy being effectively eradicated, the French no longer a threat and impressment finished, the Royal Navy was able to protect all merchant ships across the world.
Why was the beginning of the West Africa Squadron troubled?
And why was it ineffective early on?
1808-1833
- From its founding to 1831, the Squadron only had 7 ships to patrol 5,000 km of the West Africa coast.
- The conditions were poor for the sailors stationed there
- Captains and admirals got very little recognition from their work there as it was seen as the most undesirable position to be posted.
- After 1815, the Squadron had to follow very strict rulings and were not allowed to board foreign ships, only the ones that had British flags flying. This meant that slaves could be smuggled into the West Indies colonies by using foreign flags even though the crew may be British (El Presidenté - 1828).
How did the West Africa Squadron recover?
And start to effective suppress the Slave trade?
1833-1867
- The Squadron grew to 32 warships by 1847
- British foreign secretaries with notable and strong diplomatic positions were able to sign treaties with other countries that allowed the Royal Navy to board and seize foreign slaving ships; making the leeway the Royal Navy had bigger, but only for slaves actually onboard and not on the coast about to be boarded (Regulo and Rapido - 1831)
- Britain could act more unilateraly against weaker countries but kept to the treaties for American and French ships.
- The Royal Navy developed paddle steamers which could follow slaving ships into river systems that were previously inaccessible
- The Squadron captured some clippers which previously outran the Squadron. Slaving ships that were previously faster than the Squadrons warships, could now be captured
- The Squadron freed about 150,000 slaves (10% of the total transported from 1810 to 1860) and the slave only really ended until after 1865
Why was defeating the French important for defending commerce to India?
At Isle de France
1810
- French privateers wreaked havoc on British merchant ships trading with the East. This was a threat to Britain’s income as the East was becoming a major source for Britain’s income.
- Capturing Isle de France (Mauritius) in 1810 allowed for Britain to set up a naval base on the island to protect their trade, while also destroying the French threat.
How were Arab pirates hindering British trade to India?
And what was the British response?
1800-1839
- Arab pirates were threatening shipping from the Red Sea to Bombay (Mumbai).
- The Royal Navy increased operations in the area and surveyors charted the Red Sea (1800-09).
- The British signed treaties with the Imam of Mokha and Sultan of Adan to protect British commercial ships (1802)
- Mokha (Mocha) was bombarded until the Imam accepted a commercial treaty (1820)
- Barbara (Berbera) was blockaded for five years until compensation was obtained for an attack on British shipping (1827-1832)
- Adan (Aden) would become a protectorate under the British in 1839
Why were the Straits of Malacca important?
And how did the British suppress piracy in the area?
1780-1946
The British used the Straits of Malacca to be able to trade (mainly opium) with the Chinese. The area was of strategic importance to the merchant navy and therefore the protection of those ships in the area.
In 1824, the British East India company agreed with the Dutch East India company to divide the area and patrol the straits, to protect the trade following through the waters. A naval squadron was founded and was based in Singapore. The piracy levels reduced, but were never fully eradicated.
What was monumental about the Attack of Algiers?
And how did the attack reduce piracy in the Mediterranean?
1816
- The Barbary States were previously capturing Europeans to then be turned into slaves and later be sold. By 1815, the British had good supplies in the Mediterranean and were also the dominant force in the sea. To clamp down on the slave trade that was being conducted through Algiers, the Royal Navy under Admiral Sir Pellew Exmouth was sent to make treaties.
- In 1816, the Beys of Tunis, Tripoli and Algiers all signed treaties with Pellew. 200 Tyrrhenians^ were killed on Bona and Pellew returned and bombarded Algiers and sunk 40 vessels. Algiers capitulated and paid £80,000 and freed 3,000 slaves.
- Sporadic raiding still continued however and Britain attacked Algiers again in 1820. Piracy from the Barbary States ended when the French occupied Algiers in 1830.
- The attack on Algiers showed that the Royal Navy was will to protect foreigners. Britain had assumed to role of the world’s police force and ‘Pax Britannica’ was formed.
^ - Corsicans, Sardinians and Sicilians
