How did the role of the Royal Navy evolve in the years 1763-1914?

What had the Navy's proficiency been demonstrated in?

decisive victories over the French al Lagos and Quiberon Bay

How were naval battles fought in the period 1763-1815?

- initially = ramming then boarding
- sailing ships carrying rows of powerful canons
- victorious = more and bigger guns, faster and more accurately and manoeuvre
- most important = speed of hull and skill of sailors - well-constructed ships

What does broadside mean?

main 'Age of Sail' tactic = simultaneous discharge of the large guns mounted along the side of a warship

What were the advantages of fleets approaching the enemy in a long line and what did this often lead to?

- sustained bombardment, avoided friendly fire, reduced target size as only the bows and sterns of the lead and end ships exposed, improved the speed and effectiveness of signalling
- often led to stalemates as both locked to gain a positional advantage

What was the best warship tactic?

- to split the enemy line and deliver a heavily concentrated burst of fire
- best seen at Trafalgar with Nelson's fleet breaking the combined Franco-Spanish fleet in 2 places to deliver a broadside

Explain ships of the line.

long, carried a large number of cannons mounted on each side, narrow to maximise speed and deep hulls, 3 masts, vital for fleet battles but restricted by size and limited manoeuvrability

Explain the first and second rate ships

- most powerful, tended to be flag ships of the admirals
- 3 decks, 80-120 guns
- best example = HMS Victory (100 guns)
- top heavy and less manoeuvrable

Explain the third rate ships

- most numerous and the backbone
- 76% of the fleet 1794, 80% by 1814
- 64-80 canons on 2 decks
- based on French design but improved

Explain the fourth rate ships

less than 64 guns, faded out of use by 18th century

Why was the British Navy increasingly dominant by the end of the period?

- superiority of sailors and commanders
→ better trained and innovative tactics e.g Nelson and Lollingwood
- Nelson - splitting opposition line in 2 places = devastating
→ risky and needed skills, but allows to destroy Franco Spanish fleet and secure Britain's dominance
- by 1815 = no country capable of taking in the British fleet in a head to head engagement

Explain frigates.

- shorter than ships of the line, faster, more manoeuvrable and one deck of canons, able to sail close to shore - perfect for patroling far flung places away from main European fleets
- less powerful and could take less damage

What were the disadvantages of early steam ships?

- 1794 HMS Kent experimental ship
- unreliable, slow, lots of coal to power = did not displace sail ships
- were paddle steamers = unsuitable for open seas, difficult to protect from canon fire, paddles took up canon space
- American ship 'Demologus' built 1816 but basically floating gun battery to protect NY harbour

What were the advantages of early steam ships?

- could go in river systems (normal sail powered couldn't)
- initially towed war ships up river systems from the Irawady in Burma to the Pirana in South America
- by the time of opium wars HMS Nemesis could destroy Chinese junks
- IMPORTANCE = opened up previously un-navigable river systems

What made ocean going steam ships a practical alternative to sail power?

- invention of screw propeller propulsion in the late 1830s
→ mostly combined with sails to conserve fuel = hybrid ships who could use steam engines for greater manoeuvrability as no longer had to rely on wind direction

When did Britain and France launch their first screw driven frigates?

Britain = 1843
France = 1845

How did the French appreciate the impact of the new technology of the screw propellers more than the British?

saw potential for steam powered battleships
→ 'Napoleon' (90 guns) 1850 - could hit 14 knots without wind

What did the launch of the 'Napoleon' do?

ended the 35 years of low cost naval superiority enjoyed by the British and triggered the great naval arms race

How did the 1850s see Britain and France pouring money into developing steam powered fleets?

- France = 10 new steam battle ships and converted 28
- Britain built 18 and converted 41

What was changing ship designs driven by?

rival powers

Why were the explosive shells used as on-land artillery initially not suitable for ship deployment?

due to high trajectories needed to fire them

When were shell firing guns deployed on ships?

1820s French engineer Henri-Joseph Paixhons invented shell firing guns with a flat trajectory
→ used by French from 1841 then Royal Navy
→ easily destroyed wooden ships

What was the counter to explosive ship mounted artillery shells?

- ships clad in iron plates = 'Iron Clads'
- French were first - 'La Gloire' 1850
- British Admiralty insisted on all future commission ships = HMS Warrior 1861
- power seen in American civil war - all major naval powers abandoned 'unarmoured' ships

How long were HMS Victory, Warrior and La Gloire in service for?

- HMS Victory = 60 years
- HMS Warrior and La Gloire = less than a decade due to emerging technology (became obsolete)

What technological areas were developed in the late 19th century?

- steam power, armour plating, weapons
- new battleships = bigger and heavier and reliant on engines

Why was the launch of HMS Devastation an important development in naval welfare?

- 1873, 87m long, 2 35 ton guns, 250-300mm thick armour plating
- sails were abandoned → shift in maritime history as traditional sailing techniques abandoned and Britain embraced benefits of industrialisation in pursuit of naval dominance

What was a major logistical challenge of the end of the Age of Sail?

- network of supply ports = vital in supplying coal to new ships (especially to India and the East Indes)
- needed to refuel ships (Devastation = 1,350 tons of coal) = fleet of coal supply ships

What was the impact of the end of the Age of Sail on the Navy's skills advantage over other powers?

- island with skilled sailors but sailing skills became less important so Britain's superiority reduced accordingly
- size and power of fleet now more important than skills
- threats came from economically powerful industrialised nations (biggest = Germany, Japan)

What was the 'Two Power Standard' and what was it intended as?

- idea that the Royal Navy should be as strong as the next two largest navies combined
- officially adopted under Naval Defence Act of 1889
- intended as deterrent → enshrining in law and commitment to naval supremacy and unassailability = others deterring from naval expenditure

What was the 1889 Naval Defence Act?

- Britain committed to building: 10 battleships, 42 frigates and 18 torpedo gunships by 1893-4
- total cost = £21.5 million

Why was the belief that Britain would save money in the long run by expanding the fleet in the 1890s a complete misjudgement?

France and Russia immediately increased capacity to 12 battleships (2 more than GB) and Germany and USA accelerated building programmes

What did John Fisher do in 1904?

- appointed First Sea Lord of the Admiralty and introduced navy modernising programme
- scrapped 154 obsolete warships
- restructured British fleets around the Empire = largest and most modern around Europe
- intention = end arms race by producing ships so technologically advanced that no other navy could challenge them = famous HMS Dreadnought 1906 (inspired whole class of warships, all existing battleships obsolete)

Was Fisher successful?

- no more than the Naval Defence Act
→ Germany, Japan and USA began building their own dreadnoughts
→ weakened less industrialised European maritime nations e.g France, Russia

By 1914 what was the Royal Navy's global dominance not as strong as?

in 1815 (but by far most powerful in the world)

What was the annual wage of the Royal Navy in 1794?

£14 - same as a male slave

What was impressment?

- men forced into Royal Navy by means of:
→ bribery (offering gold)
→ violence (attack drunk men, pass out and wake up on high seas)
→ subterfuge (Navy press gangs get them drunk, pass out and wake up on seas)

Explain the relationship between the Royal Navy and the Merchant Navy

- the navy protected the merchant shipping and preyed on rival nation's shipping during war time (7 Year War = captured 1,165 French merchant ships)
→ in return, merchant navy supplied men in times of need and lucrative trade brought in high tax revenue
- Navy became guarantor and protector of British interests at sea and the free trade policy of Empire → suppressed slavery, 'enforcing' positive trade agreements

When did the need for impressment end?

as conditions on board ships improved with end of scurvy and Napoleonic wars

How was slavery incredibly valuable to Britain's commerce?

- 150 plus ships left annually for 'triangular trade'
- slave economies of West Indies colonies = revenue when at war with France

What was the Navy's initial role in the slave trade?

- 1756-1815 fought 4 wars with France - dispatched to attack French holdings in the Caribbean and defend British slave plantations
- slave trade provided experienced and well trained men for Navy → tropical diseases undermines this
→ 5000 men deployed on slaving expeditions 2,239 returned

Why did the Navy's role in the slave trade change?

- economic argument and use of Navy to protect it collapsed 
- abolition of slavery act passed 1807 = became HUNTERS OF SLAVE TRADERS

What was deployed in 1808?

- new squadron - 'West African Squadron'
- only 2 ships to hunt 5,000km West African coastline
- 1821 = 6 ships (80,000 slave ships this year), 1831 = 7 (135,000 slave ships - still increasing) slavery still legal in empire, not in trading
- not a popular posting = limited prize money, strict rules of engagement (not allowed to attack certain nations so slavers sailed under those flags), high chance of deadly diseases (204/792 men in 1829 died)

How had the West African Squadron changed by 1847?

- 32 ships
- signed treaties to seize slavers but still could only attack if it was clear they were carrying slaves - if they had unloaded you couldn't attack = slaves were dumped overboard
→ Spanish ships Regulo and Rapido dumped 150 slaved in 1831
- attacks allowed on smaller nations but not on powerful like America and France

How did balance of power shift towards the slavers?

- Navy used paddle steamers to hunt slave in shore up river (HMS Hydron captured 4 1844-6)
- slavers used 'clippers' small, fast and manoeuvrable = out run the Navy

When did the balance of power shift back to the squadron?

when the squadron captured some clippers and used them to hunt slave ships - most famous the 'black joke' captured 11 slave ships in one year

How many slaves did the Navy capture and free 1810-60?

150,000 slaves, most unloaded at Free town

Was the Navy successful in ending the slave trade?

limited impact - only began to decline with abolition throughout Empire and America in 1833, Atlantic slave trade ended with end of US Civil War
→ more successful applying pressure to Sultan of Zanzibar

Why were French privateers a threat to the British and how was that threat ended?

- during Napoleonic Wars operating out of the Isle de France (Mauritius)
- tried to blockade but too fast for Navy ships → French pirate Robert Surcouf captured over 40 prizes
- eliminated 1810 when British forces invaded and captures the island

How did the navy deal with the problem of Arab pirates?

- enforcement of British imperial policy
- Arab pirates a threat between the Red Sea and Bombay = navy chartered here to allow for accurate deployment of resources
- signed treaties with Imam of Mocha and Sultan of Aden to protect British commerce
- Mocha bombarded 1820 to ensure treaty acceptance, Berbera blockaded 1827-33 to gain compensation
- 1824 EIC split Straights of Malacca with the Dutch and (while operating out of Singapore) had some success in reducing threat (was a priority as had a nest of pirates, over 100, which could even capture large European vessels)

Who operated out of Algiers and other North African ports like Tunis and Tripoli ('The Barbary States')?

- pirates raided Sicily and enslaved 900
- pirates and slavers - problem for European trade attacking shipping and raiding inland → capturing between 1-1.25m Europeans from 16th-19th century
- rulers of the states (The Beys) became wealthy - 10% out of ransom or price on slave block

How did the British deal with the pirates operating out of Algiers and the Barbary States?

- Tripoli (1675) and Algiers (1683) both bombarded to reinforce message to stay away from British shipping
- French = similar demonstration, smaller nations were vulnerable and USA paid $1m in ransom money 1795

Why did Britain have responsibility to deal with the pirates?

dominant navel power - Royal Navy's role evolved into one of enforcement

How did the British deal with the Berber states?

- Admiral Pellow sent to negotiate a treaty - but before he got home, the Berber states enslaved Europeans (200 Corsicans, Sardinians and Sicilians) and murdered them
- British response - return to Algiers → bombard and force payment of compensations (£80,000) and freed 3,000 slaves
- Berber States did have piracy (Navy attacked 1820) until French colonisation of Algeria in 1830s

What was 'Pax Britannica'?

Navy used to protect British interests anywhere in the world and enforcement of imperial policy
→ Navy = world's policemen until 1914

What was the problem the navy faced?

- could only estimate their position by guessing the distance they had already travelled east or west = 'dead reckoning'
→ unreliable
- could be dangerous and impractical for co-ordination of large fleets - can't organise fleets

How did Harrison solve the issue of not determining the precise position?

use of innovative techniques = produced a watch that could keep time at sea

Why was Harrison's watch significant?

can co-ordinate fleets (problem of longitude solved)