TheGlorious Revolution of 1688 rearranged the political map of Europe and led to a series of wars with France that lasted well over a century. This was the classicage of sail; while the ships themselves evolved in only minor ways, technique and tactics were honed to a high degree, and the battles of theNapoleonic Wars entailed feats that would have been impossible for the fleets of the 17th century. Because of parliamentary opposition,James II fled the country. The landing ofWilliam III and theGlorious Revolution itself was a gigantic effort involving 100 warships and 400 transports carrying 11,000 infantry and 4,000 horses. It was not opposed by the English or Scottish fleets.
Naval operations in theWar of the Spanish Succession (1702–13) were with the Dutch against the Spanish and French. They were at first focused on the acquisition of a Mediterranean base, culminating in an alliance with Portugal and the capture ofGibraltar (1704) andPort Mahon inMenorca (1708). In additionNewfoundland andNova Scotia were obtained. Even so, freedom of action in the Mediterranean did not decide the war, although it gave the newKingdom of Great Britain (created by the Union of England and Scotland in 1707) an advantage when negotiating thePeace of Utrecht, and made Britain a recognizedgreat power. The British fleet ended Spanish occupation ofSicily in 1718 and in 1727 blockadedPanama.
The subsequent quarter-century of peace saw a few naval actions. The navy was used against Russia and Sweden in theBaltic from 1715 to 1727 to protect supplies of naval stores. It was used at theCape Passaro in 1718, during theGreat Northern War, and in theWest Indies (1726). There was a war against Spain in 1739 over the slave trade. In 1745 the navy transported troops and stores to Scotland to defeat theJacobite rising.
TheWar of Jenkins' Ear (1739–48) saw various naval operations in the Caribbean under different admirals against Spanish trade and possessions, before the war subsequently merged into the widerWar of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). This, in turn, brought a new round of naval operations against France. In 1745 the navy twice defeated the French offFinisterre but their convoys escaped. The Navy also defended against invasion byCharles Edward Stuart the "Young Pretender". By the end of the war, the Navy was fully engaged in the worldwide protection of British trade.
TheSeven Years' War (1756–63) began somewhat inauspiciously for the Navy, with a French siege ofMenorca and the failure to relieve it. Menorca was lost but subsequent operations went more successfully (due more to government support and better strategic thinking, rather than admirals "encouraged" by Byng's example), and the British fleet won several victories. The French tried to invade Britain in 1759 but their force was defeated atQuiberon Bay. Spain entered the war against Britain in 1762 but lostHavana andManila, though the latter was given back in exchange forFlorida. TheTreaty of Paris that ended the war left Britain with colonial gains, but isolated strategically.
At the beginning of theAmerican Revolutionary War (1775–83), the Royal Navy dealt with the fledglingContinental Navy handily, destroying or capturing many of its vessels. France soon took the American side, and in 1778 a French fleet sailed for America, where it attempted to land atRhode Island and nearly engaged with the British fleet before a storm intervened Spain and the Dutch Republic entered the war in 1780. Action shifted to the Caribbean, where there were a number of battles with varying results. The most important operation came in 1781 when, in theBattle of the Chesapeake, the British failed to lift the French blockade of Lord Cornwallis, resulting in a British surrender in theBattle of Yorktown. Although combat was over in North America, it continued in the Caribbean and India, where the British experienced both successes and failures. ThoughMenorca had been recaptured, it was returned to the Spanish.
Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty 609 commissioners served during 18th century
Notes: Between 1693 and 1830 the commission always included either 1 or 2 additional naval lords except from 1757 until 1782 when it was just the Senior Naval Lord. After 1830 the Naval Lords are titled, First, Second, Third, Fourth until 1904 when they are re-styled Sea Lord. A junior naval lord is introduced in 1868 until 1903 then is re-styled Fifth Sea lord from 1917.
Note:Admiralty Courts date to at least the 1360s, during the reign ofEdward III. At that time there were three such Courts, appointed by Admirals responsible for waters to the north, south and west of England. In 1483 these local courts were amalgamated into a single High Court of Admiralty, administered by theLord High Admiral of England.[7]
Vice-Admiral of the Coast[8] was responsible for the defence of one of the twenty maritime counties ofEngland, the North and South ofWales,Scotland andIreland As a Vice-Admiral, the post holder was the chief of naval administration for his district. His responsibilities included, deciding the outcome of thePrize court (captured bypirate ships), dealing with salvage claims for wrecks, acting as ajudge in relation to maritime issues.
Vice Admiralty Jurisdictions and prizes abroadBy appointing Vice-Admirals in the colonies, and by constituting courts as Vice-Admiralty Courts, the terminology recognized that the existence and superiority of the "mother" court in the United Kingdom. Thus, the "vice" tag denoted that whilst it was a separate court, it was not equal to the "mother" court. In the case of the courts abroad, a right of appeal lay back to the British Admiralty Court, which further reinforced this superiority. In all respects, the court was an Imperial court rather than a local Colonial court.
Note: Responsible for forced naval recruitment, the admiralty handled command and control of the impress service, whilst the navy board administered the service.[28]
^Baker, Sherston (Dec 20, 2010).Office of vice-admiral of the coast : being some account of that ancient office. [S.l.]: Gale Ecco, Making Of Mode. pp. 1–153.ISBN9781240154067.
^Cock, Randolph; Roger, NAM (2006).A guide to the naval records in the National Archives of the UK. London: Univ. of London, Inst. of Historical Research. pp. 25–28.ISBN1905165161.
^Wilkinson, Clive (2004).The British Navy and the state in the eighteenth century (1. publ. ed.). Woodbridge [u.a.]: Boydell Press. p. 69.ISBN9781843830429.
^Ennis, Daniel James (2002).Enter the press-gang : naval impressment in eighteenth-century British literature. Newark: University of Delaware Press. p. 17.ISBN9780874137552.
The Statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 3 George IV. 1822. London: By His Majesty's Statute and Law Printer. 1822.
Hamilton, Admiral Sir. R. Vesey, G.C.B. (1896).Naval Administration: The Constitution, Character, and Functions of the Board of Admiralty, and of the Civil Departments it Directs. London: George Bell and Sons.
Logan, Karen Dale (1976).The Admiralty: Reforms and Re-organization, 1868–1892. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. University of Oxford.
Miller, Francis H. (1884).The Origin and Constitution of the Admiralty and Navy Boards, to which is added an Account of the various Buildings in which the Business of the Navy has been transacted from time to time. London: For Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Copy in Greene Papers. National Maritime Museum. GEE/19.
Rodger. N.A.M., (1979)The Admiralty (offices of state), T. Dalton, Lavenham,ISBN978-0900963940.
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