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| His Majesty's Naval Service of theBritish Armed Forces |
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| Components |
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| History and future |
| Operations |
| Equipment |
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| Auxiliary services |
Properly speaking, thehistory of the Royal Navy began in 1546 with the establishment of the "Navy Royal" byHenry VIII.[1] This became theParliamentary Navy during the period of theCommonwealth with the modern incarnation of Royal Navy established in 1660 following theRestoration ofKing Charles II to the throne. The English navy began operating together with the much smallerRoyal Scots Navy at the time of theUnion of the Crowns underJames I in 1603 but only formally merged in 1707 at the establishment of the unitedKingdom of Great Britain.
The history of the English navy can be traced back much further, however.Ad hoc levies of ships allowed seaborne invasions by at least the 7th century and naval battles occurred againstinvading Vikings in the 9th. Following the 11th-centuryNorman Conquest, naval expenses were initially avoided but the 1204loss of Normandy made control of theChannel much more essential. Early fleets were borrowed from the kingdom's merchants and fishers, particularly at theCinque Ports, assembled as needed and then dispersed.King John began maintaining a number of large ships in the king's own name and the Cinque Port wardens developed intoadmirals, permanent officers ready to levy and command fleets and provided legal jurisdiction over England's seas and coasts. A full standing navy took shape during the 16th century and finally became a regular establishment during the tumults of the 17th.
Some evidence of English ship construction in theAnglo-Saxon period is available from the boat burials atSnape (about 550) andSutton Hoo (about 625), though warships would probably have been larger than the vessels interred there. There is little evidence of the naval activities of the English kingdoms before the mid-9th century, but KingEdwin of Northumbria (616/7–633/4) conquered theIsle of Man andAnglesey, and another King ofNorthumbria,Ecgfrith, sent a military expedition toGaelic Ireland in 684.[2]
The threat fromVikings increased significantly in the early 9th century, and invasions became a serious menace from about 835.[3] In 851 an unprecedentedly large force of Danes invaded southern England, carried on about 350 ships. Campaigning inland, this force was decisively defeated by KingÆthelwulf of Wessex at theBattle of Aclea, but a naval action was also won by Æthelwulf's sonÆthelstan and Ealdorman Ealhere atSandwich, Kent, capturing nine ships.[4]
The DanishGreat Army, which conquered about half of England during its campaigns in 865–879, operated largely by land and no naval operations against it by the English kingdoms are recorded. However, in the following years a number of clashes are recorded between Viking raiders and the forces ofAlfred the Great, the last remaining English king. These included a victory over four ships by a squadron led by the king himself in 882, and operations against the Danes ofEast Anglia in 884, which saw an entire Danish squadron of sixteen ships captured by an English force, which was then itself defeated on its way home by another fleet.[5] In 896 Alfred had a number of new ships built to his own design, "nearly twice as long as the others, some having 60 oars, some even more", to counter raids along the south coast.[6] A clash in theSolent later that year saw nine of his new ships defeat six Danish ships.[7]
Naval operations are glimpsed again in 934, whenKing Æthelstan, now ruler of all England,invaded Scotland with a combined sea and land force.[8] Under KingEdgar (959–975) the kings of Scotland, of Cumbria and of four other kingdoms would regularly swear to be King Edgar's faithful allies by land and sea.[9]
The renewal of serious Viking attacks in the reign ofÆthelred the Unready led to a general muster of ships at London in 992 against the fleet ofOlaf Tryggvason, but amid confusion and alleged treachery the English fleet suffered heavy losses. In 1008, Æthelred ordered a new programme of naval construction, under which one warship was to be provided for every 310 hides of land in the kingdom. In 1009 the king took the new fleet out toSandwich, Kent to guard against the threat of invasion (this port, near the junction of theNorth Sea and theEnglish Channel and lying within the sheltered offshore anchorage of the Downs, appears frequently in the sources for this period as a position where fleets were stationed on guard). However, this deployment ended in disaster due to internal dissension. Accusations against the greatSussex thegn Wulfnoth (probably the father ofGodwin, later Earl of Wessex) led to his flight from the fleet with 20 ships manned by his supporters. A force of 80 ships sent after him was wrecked by a storm and the beached ships burnt by Wulfnoth, after which the remainder of the fleet dispersed in confusion.[10]
English naval forces were supplemented by Scandinavian mercenaries. Directly after the fiasco of 1009 a new invasion force led by the Danish warlordThorkell the Tall began a devastating campaign in England. When the attackers were finally bought off and dispersed in 1012, Thorkell entered Æthelred's service with 45 ships. When the King of DenmarkSwein Forkbeard conquered England in 1013, the fleet remained loyal to Æthelred after the rest of the kingdom had submitted to the invader. Swein's death in 1014 led to Æthelred's brief return to power, but in 1015-16 England was again conquered by Swein's sonCnut, whose invasion force had been joined by 40 ship-loads of Danish mercenaries who defected from Æthelred's service. Having secured the throne, Cnut dismissed the bulk of his fleet, but maintained a standing force of 40 ships, funded by national taxation. In 1025 Cnut led an Anglo-Danish fleet to campaign against his enemies in Scandinavia, and in 1028 he conquered Norway with a force including 50 English ships. The standing fleet was in time reduced to 16 ships, but increased again after Cnut's sonHarthacnut brought a fleet from Denmark to claim the throne in 1040.[11]
The early years ofEdward the Confessor's reign saw a series of large naval operations under the king's own command, including in 1045 the deployment atSandwich of a particularly big fleet to guard against an expected invasion from Norway, and a blockade ofFlanders in 1049, in support of a land campaign by the German EmperorHenry III. In 1050 Edward reduced the standing force, then numbering 14 ships, to five. After a political crisis in 1051 saw Earl Godwin andhis sons driven into exile, Edward sent out a force of 40 ships to Sandwich to guard against their return. However Godwin, returning with ships from Flanders, eluded them, and he and his sonHarold, coming from Ireland, gathered a powerful fleet from thebutsecarles ("boatmen") of the Earldom of Wessex. With this fleet and an army also gathered from Wessex, Godwin came to London and confronted the king, who was supported by an army and a fleet of 50 ships. The crisis ended with the negotiated reinstatement of Godwin and his sons to their former possessions and power.[12]
In 1063 Earl Harold Godwinson led a fleet toWales againstGruffydd ap Llywelyn ofGwynedd, while his brotherTostig invaded by land. Harold put Gruffydd to flight and destroyed his fleet and his residence atRhuddlan, defeats which led to Gruffydd's murder by his own people in order to end the war. King Edward installed Gruffydd's half-brothers in his place, and they swore to serve him "on water and on land", suggesting that England's native naval forces could be supplemented by tributary contingents from neighbouring dependent territories as well as by foreign mercenaries.[13]
In 1066, following Edward's death and his own election as king, Harold assembled a powerful army and fleet in theSolent to guard against the invasion being prepared byWilliam of Normandy. However, having waited all summer without theNormans appearing, their provisions were exhausted and Harold was forced to dismiss them; many of the ships were wrecked on the way back to London. William was then able to cross unopposed.[14]
English naval power appears to have initially declined as a result of theNorman Conquest.[15] Following theBattle of Hastings, the Norman navy that brought overWilliam the Conqueror seemingly disappeared from records, possibly due to William receiving all of those ships fromfeudal obligations or because of some sort of leasing agreement which lasted only for the duration of the enterprise. There is no evidence that William adopted or kept the Anglo-Saxon ship mustering system, known as thescipfyrd ("shiplevy"). Hardly noted after 1066, it appears that the Normans let thescipfyrd languish so that by 1086, whenDomesday Book was completed, it had apparently ceased to exist.[16]
According to theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle, in 1068,Harold Godwinson's sonsGodwin andEdmund conducted a "raiding-ship army" which came from Ireland, raiding across the region and to the townships ofBristol andSomerset. In the following year of 1069, they returned with a bigger fleet which they sailed up the River Taw before being beaten back by a local earl nearDevon. However, this made explicitly clear that the newly conquered England under Norman rule, in effect, ceded the Irish Sea to the Irish, the Vikings of Dublin, and other Norwegians.[17] Besides ceding away the Irish Sea, the Normans also ceded the North Sea, a major area where Nordic peoples travelled. In 1069, this lack of naval presence in the North Sea allowed for the invasion and ravaging of England by Jarl Osborn (brother ofKing Svein Estridsson) and his sonsHarald,Cnut, and Bjorn. In addition to the ravaging of the English townships ofDover,Sandwich,Ipswich, andNorwich, the Danes connected with theaetheling (crown prince) Edgar and rebels in Northumbria. William chased Edgar and the rebels to Scotland, but could not defeat the Danes, causing him to resort to the old Anglo-Saxon practice of paying them off.[18]
Though William the Conqueror caused a massive decline in English naval practices, he did occasionally assemble small fleets of ships, but only for limited activities. Most of these limited actions also did not involve direct combat at sea. An example of this was when the rebellious Anglo-SaxonEarl Morcar and his ally BishopÆthelwine of Durham sought refuge on theIsle of Ely in 1071. According toFlorence of Worcester reported, "The king [William the Conqueror] hearing of this, blocked up every outlet on the eastern side by means of boatmen [butescarls], and caused a bridge two miles long to be constructed on the western side." The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle also confirms these events. Though William used ships for blockading purposes and for important strategic engagements, his infrequent use of an established navy promoted a damaging practice of infrequent maritime operations, which his successors would practice on a frequent basis.[19]
Upon the death of the conqueror in 1087, his realm was split between his elder sonRobert, who received Normandy, and his younger sonWilliam, who received England.[20] Robert attempted to claim England after the great barons, led byOdo of Bayeux, offered him the crown.[21] The English king besieged Robert's allies at Pevensey and completely defeated Robert's fleet.[22] This combined with other failures led to the defeat of Robert's invasion.[23] At the death of William II in 1100 in a hunting accident, the conqueror's youngest sonHenry seized the English throne, but in February of 1101 Robert began preparing another invasion of England with the help ofRanulf Flambard, and assembled a fleet atTréport.[24] Ranulf managed to buy off Henry's butsecarls who manned the fleet sent to defeat Robert's invasion, allowing for an uncontested landing in England at Portsmouth.[25] Although, Robert and Henry agreed to the Treaty of Alton, allowing Henry to maintain his kingdom despite the failure of his fleet.[26]
In 1141Henry II invaded Ireland while a fleet of 167 ships sailed fromDartmouth on a crusade to captureLisbon from theMoors. A further fleet was raised for theThird Crusade in 1190. TheNorman kings had a regular need for cross-Channel transport and raised a naval force in 1155, with theCinque Ports required to provide a total of 57 ships crewed by 21 sailors apiece. However, with the loss of Normandy byKing John (who even so had a fleet of 500 sail in an attempt to regain it), this had to become a force capable of preventing invasion and protecting traffic to and fromGascony. In the first years of the 13th centuryWilliam de Wrotham appears in the records as the clerk of a force ofgalleys to be used againstPhilip Augustus of France. In 1206King John ordered 54 royal galleys to be constructed and between 1207 and 1211 £5000 was spent on the royal fleet. The fleet also started to have an offensive capability, as in 1213 when ships commanded by theEarl of Salisbury raidedDamme inFlanders, where they burned many ships of the French fleet.[27]
WhenKing John's campaign to recover Normandy from the French was at a breaking point, the northern barons of England began to rise in revolt. Forced by the insurrection, John signedMagna Carta on 15 June 1215, in hopes of satisfying the barons to buy time forPope Innocent III to excommunicate the rebellious barons and condemn Magna Carta. From this, the barons revolted, commencing theFirst Barons' War with the capture ofRochester Castle. Grasping, however, that they (the barons) were outmatched by royalists and King John, the barons decided to turn to France for assistance. Realising the baron's intentions, John attempted to assemble a Navy, to prevent the arrival of the French.[28] France, who saw this as a fortunate opportunity, decided to assist the barons, withPhillip II's (King of France) sonDauphin Louis, later known as Louis VIII of France, to invade England. With John unable to swiftly build up his navy, due to the adopting of infrequent maritime operations from William the Conqueror, the French Navy under Louis invaded and landed at Sandwich unopposed in April 1216.[28] With Louis near London, John fled toWinchester, where he would stay until his death on 19 October 1216, having his nine-year-old sonHenry III as heir to the throne.[29]
Paradoxically, John's death turned the tide against Louis and the rebellion in England and spurred the development of the English navy.William Marshal, who became regent to the son of the recently deceased English king, began to regain support for the royalist cause through a regimen of compromise. Among his priorities were theCinque Ports, which had a substantial number of ships. Louis was then obliged to return to France to gather reinforcements and more ships of his own. Though he succeeded, English vessels began toblockade and harass French shipping, trade, and blockaded multiple French-controlled English ports.[30]
By mid-1217, English royalists began to gain the advantage over the rebellious Barons and their French allies. Again needing more troops, Louis requested from his wifeBlanche of Castile to assemble more troops for him. Up to the task, Blanche assisted in gathering forces for her husband, with a massive French force being assembled by August 1217 at the port of Calais. At the head of the French transports wasEustace the Monk, Louis's best naval commander, who had previously helped Louis escape several English blockades including the one inWinchelsea in January 1217.[31]Hubert de Burgh took command of the English forces raised in response, prompting the1217 Battle of Sandwich in the Downs. For the first time in northern waters a decisive naval battle was fought on the open sea. The battle was dominated by the English, with French losing almost all of their ships and many officers including Eustace the Monk. William Marshal was then able to isolate Louis in London, compelling him to renounce his claim to the English throne and force him to return to France.[32]
Later in the 13th century, ships begin to be mentioned regularly as support for various campaigns underEdward I, most notably inLuke de Tany's capture ofAnglesey in 1282.Edward II attempted to blockade Scotland, but this was ineffective. Naval expenses were considerable, with twenty 120-oared galleys being ordered in 1294 because of a fear of French invasion. In 1224 the firstadmiral of England is recorded incharters:Henry III granted the office toSir Richard de Lucy.[33] Other men were granted the same office but styled differently: in 1264, "Thomas de Moleton" as "Captain and Keeper of the Seas and Maritime Regions" (Latin:capitaneus et custos maris et partium maritimarum).[34][35]Sir William de Leybourne was noted as "Captain of the Sailors and Mariners of the Kingdom" (Capitaneus Nautarum & Marinellorum de Regno) in 1294,[36] "admiral of our navy of England" (French:amiral de nostre navie d'Engleterre) in 1295,[37] and "Admiral of the Sea of the King of England" (Amiral de la Mer du... Roy d'Engleterre) in 1297.[38][35] These offices were granted by Edward I. In 1321 Sir Richard de Leyburn was granted the titleAdmiral of England, Wales and Ireland by Edward II and in 1360Sir John de Beauchamp, asHigh Admiral of England was appointed byEdward III. Although each of these held the title ofAdmiralis Angliae, the civil jurisdiction of their offices was never used, nor did they officially receiveletters patent from the monarch.[33]
In 1321 Sir John de Beauchamp was also appointedAdmiral of the South, North and West, effectively the English Navy's firstAdmiral of the Fleet.[39] The first Admiral to be granted a patent by the monarch wasRichard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel asHigh Admiral of England, Ireland and Aquitaine given byKing Richard II in 1385.[40] In the early 13th century English admirals tended to be knights or barons, and their role was essentially administrative, not operational. In 1294 Edward I divided the English Navy into three geographical 'admiralties' each assigned a fleet and each of them administered by an admiral:[41] they were theAdmiral of the Northern Fleet, theAdmiral of the Western Fleet and theAdmiral of the Southern Fleet; they were each responsible for managing and enforcing admiralty jurisdiction in their respective areas and raising and administering the ships. It also allowed Edward I to mount expeditions to Brittany, Flanders or Scotland with greater ease.[41]
TheHundred Years' War (1337–1453) included frequent cross-Channel raids, frequently unopposed due to the lack of effective communications and the limitations of naval organisation. The navy was used for reconnaissance as well as for attacks on merchantmen and warships. Prize ships and cargoes were shared out. TheBattle of Sluys in 1340 was a significant English victory, withEdward III of England's 160 ships (mostly hired merchant vessels) assaulting a French force in theZwyn estuary and capturing 180 French ships in hand-to-hand combat.Les Espagnols sur Mer, fought in the Channel offWinchelsea in 1350, is possibly the first major battle in the open sea in English history; the English captured 14 Spanish ships. The 14th century also saw the creation of the post ofClerk of the King's Ships, who appears from 1344 on as in charge of some 34 royal vessels. At one point in the mid-14th century Edward III's navy had some 700 ships in service overall.[42] In 1364 the Northern and Western admiralties and fleets were combined commanded by theAdmiral of the North and West, and remained so on an ad hoc basis until 1414.[43]
Henry V of England revived the navy, building a number ofbalingers and "great ships", increasing the fleet from six in 1413 to 39 in 1417/8. These included the 1,400-tonGrace Dieu (which still exists, buried in theHamble estuary), and won victories in the Channel, reaching a high point in 1417 when the French fleet was destroyed. An invasion of France took place in 1415 which led to the capture ofHarfleur and thevictory at Agincourt. A second invasion, beginning in 1419, led to the conquest of the Channel coast of France, almost eliminating any seaborne threat to England and enabling the running down of Henry's naval forces.[44]
Dealing with the matter of naval administration during the 15th century the most significant development was the establishment of the first Admiralty of England. This was brought about in 1412 when the remaining geographic 'admiralties' (theNorthern Admiralty andWestern Admiralty) were abolished and their functions were unified under a single administrative and operational command, the Admiralty Office, later called theAdmiralty and Marine Affairs Office.[45]
There was no significant new construction until the 1480s, by which time ships mounted guns regularly. TheRegent of 1487 had 225 "serpentines", an early type of cannon.Henry VII deserves a large share of credit for the establishment of a standing navy. Although there is no evidence for a conscious change of policy, Henry soon embarked on a programme of building larger ships than previously. He also invested in dockyards, and commissioned the oldest survivingdry dock in 1495 atPortsmouth.[46]
The fleet began to increase in size underHenry VIII, from five ships in 1509 to thirty in 1514, including theHenri Grâce à Dieu or "Great Harry" of 1500 tons and theMary Rose of 600 tons. Most of the fleet was laid up after 1525 but, because of the break with the Catholic Church, 27 new ships, as well as forts and blockhouses, were built with money from the sale of the monasteries. A detailed and largely accurate contemporary document, theAnthony Roll, was written in 1540. It gave a nearly complete account of the English navy, which contained roughly 50 ships, includingcarracks,galleys,galleasses andpinnaces. The carracks included famous vessels such as theMary Rose, thePeter Pomegranate and theHenry Grâce à Dieu.[47] In 1544Boulogne was captured. TheFrench navy raided theIsle of Wight and was then fought off in theBattle of the Solent in 1545, before whichMary Rose sank.[48]
In the year following the battle,Henry VIII ordered the creation of a standing "Navy Royal",[1] a major expansion of the fleet, and the origin of the modern institution. For the first time, it had its own secretariat, dockyards and a permanent core of purpose-built warships, emerged during the reign ofHenry VIII.[49] In 1546, to support theAdmiralty and Marine Affairs Office in the civil administration of the Royal Navy, Henry VIII established a second organisation, theOffice of the Council of the Marine. This consisted of theChief Officers of the Admiralty who acted as advisers to the Lord Admiral of England. In 1576 it moved toDeptford Strand, where it became part of theNavy Office.[50]
In the 1550s English gentlemen opposed to the Catholicism ofPhilip andMary took refuge in France and were active in the English Channel asprivateers underletters of marque from the French king. Six of their vessels were captured off Plymouth in July 1556.[51] In 1580 Spanish and Portuguese troops were sent to Ireland, but were defeated by an English army and naval force.[52]
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While Henry VIII had launched the Royal Navy, his successors Edward VI and Mary I had neglected it, and it was little more than a system of coastal defence. Elizabeth made naval strength a high priority.[51][53] She risked war with Spain by supporting the "Sea Dogs", such as John Hawkins and Francis Drake, who preyed on the Spanish merchant ships carrying gold and silver from the New World. The Navy yards were leaders in technical innovation, and the captains devised new tactics.Geoffrey Parker argued that the full-rigged ship was one of the greatest technological advances of the century, and permanently transformed naval warfare. In 1573 English shipwrights introduced designs, first demonstrated on theDreadnaught, that allowed the ships to sail faster and manoeuvre better and permitted heavier guns.[54] Whereas before warships had tried to grapple with each other so that soldiers could board the enemy ship, now they stood off and fired broadsides that would sink the enemy vessel.[55]
UnderElizabeth I England became involved in a war with theSpanish Empire, at the time Europe's superpower and the leading naval power. Spain threatened England with invasion to restore Catholicism in England, at a time when England supported Dutch rebels, and raided Spanish commerce and colonies.[56] In 1588,Philip II of Spain sent theSpanish Armada against England to end English support for Dutch rebels, to stop Englishcorsair activity and to depose the Protestant Elizabeth I and restore Catholicism to England. Preparations, under the command of the Marqués de Santa Cruz, began in 1586 but were seriously delayed by asurprise attack on Cádiz bySir Francis Drake in 1587. By the time the expedition was ready Santa Cruz had died, and command was given to theDuke of Medina Sedonia. The Armada consisted of 130 ships, including transports and merchantmen, and carried about 30,000 men. It was to go to Flanders and from there convoy, the army of theDuke of Parma, to invade England. It set out fromLisbon in May 1588 but was forced intoA Coruña by storms and did not set sail again until July.[57]
The Armada was first sighted by the English offLizard Point, inCornwall, on 19 July, and the first engagement took place offPlymouth on 21 July. In four hours the Spanish fired 720round shot and the English 2,000 rounds, but little real damage was done to either side.[58] In fighting offPortland Bill on 23 July, some 5,000 shots were discharged by the rival fleets. Spanish casualties were about 50 killed and 70 wounded.[59] After another engagement off theIsle of Wight on 24 July, in which the Armada lost another 50 men slain, Medina Sedonia steered forCalais to replenish his empty powder and shot stocks from Parma's ammunition depots. Parma, however, blockaded inBruges by 60 Dutch ships, was unable to come to the Armada's assistance. After an indecisive engagement with the English offGravelines, the Armada ran out of ammunition. The Spanish had expended 125,000 cannonballs against the English. Consequently, the Spanish commander decided to retreat to Spain by going north around Scotland and Ireland. The Spanish ships were dispersed by storms; their provisions gave out, and many of those who landed in Ireland were killed by English troops. Only about half the fleet reached home. AnEnglish Armada sent to destroy the port at A Coruña and land in Lisbon in 1589 was itself defeated with 40 ships sunk and 15,000 men lost.[60] The Spanish victory marked a revival ofPhilip II's naval power through the next decade.[61] In October 1596,another Armada left Lisbon. The invasion fleet numbered 126 ships and carried 9,000 Spaniards and 3,000 Portuguese. The Royal Navy was unprepared, but England was saved by stormy seas that wrecked 72 ships and drowned 3,000 sailors and soldiers.[62] The following year, in October 1597, yetanother Armada was sent out, but this also was blown back.[63]
The destruction of the Spanish Armada marked the high point of Elizabeth's reign, but the loss of the English Armada (or Counter Armada) the following year discouraged further joint stock adventures on such a scale.[64][65] Technically, the Spanish Armada failed because Spain's over-complex strategy required coordination between the invasion fleet and the Spanish army on shore. But the poor design of the Spanish cannons meant they were much slower in reloading in a close-range battle, allowing England to take control. Spain and France still had stronger fleets, but England was catching up.[66][67]
The Royal Scots Navy (or Old Scots Navy) was thenavy of theKingdom of Scotland until its merger with theKingdom of England'sRoyal Navy in 1707 as a consequence of theTreaty of Union and theActs of Union that ratified it. From 1603 until 1707, the Royal Scots Navy and England's Royal Navy were organised as one force, though not formally merged.[68]
There are mentions in medieval records of fleets commanded by Scottish kings includingWilliam the Lion[69] andAlexander II. The latter took personal command of a large naval force which sailed from the Firth of Clyde and anchored off the island of Kerrera in 1249, intended to transport his army in a campaign against theKingdom of the Isles, but he died before the campaign could begin.[70][71]Viking naval power was disrupted by conflicts between the Scandinavian kingdoms but entered a period of resurgence in the 13th century when Norwegian kings began to build some of the largest ships seen in Northern European waters. These included kingHakon Hakonsson'sKristsúðin, built at Bergen from 1262–63, which was 260 feet (79 m) long, of 37 rooms.[72] In 1263 Hakon responded toAlexander III's designs on the Hebrides by personally leading a major fleet of forty vessels, including theKristsúðin, to the islands, where they were boosted by local allies to as many as 200 ships.[73] Records indicate that Alexander had several large oared ships built atAyr, but he avoided a sea battle.[69] Defeat on land at theBattle of Largs and winter storms forced the Norwegian fleet to return home, leaving the Scottish crown as the major power in the region and leading to the ceding of the Western Isles to Alexander in 1266.[74]
English naval power was vital to KingEdward I's successful campaigns in Scotland from 1296, using largely merchant ships from England, Ireland and his allies in the Islands to transport and supply his armies.[75] Part of the reason forRobert I's success was his ability to call on naval forces from the Islands. As a result of the expulsion of the Flemings from England in 1303, he gained the support of a major naval power in the North Sea.[75] The development of naval power allowed Robert to successfully defeat English attempts to capture him in the Highlands and Islands and to blockade major English controlled fortresses at Perth and Stirling, the last forcing KingEdward II to attempt the relief that resulted at English defeat atBannockburn in 1314.[75] Scottish naval forces allowed invasions of theIsle of Man in 1313 and 1317 and Ireland in 1315. They were also crucial in the blockade ofBerwick, which led to its fall in 1318.[75]
After the establishment of Scottish independence, KingRobert I turned his attention to building up a Scottish naval capacity. This was largely focused on the west coast, with the Exchequer Rolls of 1326 recording the feudal duties of his vassals in that region to aid him with their vessels and crews. Towards the end of his reign, he supervised the building of at least one royalman-of-war near his palace atCardross on theRiver Clyde. In the late 14th century naval warfare with England was conducted largely by hired Scots, Flemish and French merchantmen and privateers.[76] KingJames I of Scotland (1394–1437, reigned 1406–1437), took a greater interest in naval power. After his return to Scotland in 1424, he established a shipbuilding yard atLeith, a house for marine stores, and a workshop. King's ships were built and equipped there to be used for trade as well as war, one of which accompanied him on his expedition to the Islands in 1429. The office ofLord High Admiral was probably founded in this period.[76] It would soon become a hereditary office, in the control of theEarls of Bothwell in the 15th and 16th centuries and theEarls of Lennox in the 17th century.[77]
KingJames II (1430–1460, reigned 1437–1460) is known to have purchased acaravel by 1449.[78] Around 1476 the Scottish merchant John Barton receivedletters of marque that allowed him to gain compensation for the capture of his vessels by the Portuguese by capturing ships under their colours. These letters would be repeated to his three sons John,Andrew andRobert, who would play a major part in the Scottish naval effort into the 16th century.[79] In his struggles with his nobles in 1488James III (r. 1451–88) received assistance from his two warships theFlower and theKing's Carvel also known as theYellow Carvel, commanded byAndrew Wood of Largo.[76] After the king's death Wood served his sonJames IV (r. 1488–1513), defeating an English incursion into theForth by five English ships in 1489 and three more heavily armed English ships off the mouth of theRiver Tay the next year.[80]
James IV put theRoyal Scots Navy on a new footing, founding a harbour atNewhaven in May 1504, and two years later ordering the construction of a dockyard at the Pools ofAirth. The upper reaches of the Forth were protected by new fortifications onInchgarvie.[81] Scottish ships had some success against privateers, accompanied the king in his expeditions in the islands and intervened in conflicts inScandinavia and theBaltic Sea.[76] Expeditions to the Highlands to Islands to curb the power of theMacDonaldLord of the Isles were largely ineffective until in 1504 the king accompanied a squadron under Wood heavily armed with artillery, which battered the MacDonald strongholds into submission. Since some of these island fortresses could only be attacked from seaward, naval historianN.A.M. Rodger has suggested this may have marked the end of medieval naval warfare in theBritish Isles, ushering in a new tradition ofartillery warfare.[78] The king acquired a total of 38 ships for the Royal Scottish Navy, includingMargaret, and thecarrackMichael orGreat Michael, the largest warship of its time (1511).[82] The latter, built at great expense at Newhaven and launched in 1511, was 240 feet (73 m) in length, weighed 1,000 tons, had 24 cannon, and was, at that time, the largest ship inEurope.[82][83] It marked a shift in design as it was crafted specifically to carry a main armament of heavy artillery.[78]
During the Rough Wooing, the attempt to force a marriage between James V's heirMary, Queen of Scots andHenry VIII's son, the futureEdward VI, in 1542,Mary Willoughby,Lion, andSalamander under the command of John Barton, son of Robert Barton, attacked merchants and fishermen offWhitby. They later blockaded a London merchant ship calledAntony of Bruges in a creek on the coast of Brittany.[84] In 1544, Edinburgh was attacked by anEnglish marine force and burnt.Salamander and the Scottish-builtUnicorn were captured at Leith. The Scots still had two royal naval vessels and numerous smaller private vessels.[85]
When, as a result of the series of international treaties, Charles V declared war upon Scotland in 1544, the Scots were able to engage in a highly profitable campaign of privateering that lasted six years and the gains of which probably outweighed the losses in trade with the Low Countries.[86]
The Scots operated in theWest Indies from the 1540s, joining the French in the capture ofBurburuta in 1567.[87] English and Scottish naval warfare and privateering broke out sporadically in the 1550s.[88] When Anglo-Scottish relations deteriorated again in 1557 as part of a widerwar between Spain and France, small ships called 'shallops' were noted between Leith and France, passing as fishermen, but bringing munitions and money. Private merchant ships were rigged at Leith, Aberdeen andDundee as men-of-war, and the regent Mary of Guise claimed English prizes, one over 200 tons, for her fleet.[89] The re-fittedMary Willoughby sailed with 11 other ships against Scotland in August 1557, landing troops and six field guns onOrkney to attack theKirkwall Castle,St Magnus Cathedral and theBishop's Palace. The English were repulsed by a Scottish force numbering 3000, and the English vice-admiralSir John Clere ofOrmesby was killed, but none of the English ships were lost.[90][91]
TheScottish Reformation in 1560 established a government that was friendly to England and this resulted in less military necessity to maintain a fleet of great ships. With theUnion of the Crowns in 1603, the incentive to rebuild a separate royal fleet for Scotland diminished further since James VI now controlled the powerful EnglishRoyal Navy, which could send ships north to defend Scottish interests, and which now opened its ranks to Scottish officers.[92]
After 1603 the English and Scottish fleets were organised together underJames I but the efficiency of the Navy declined gradually, while corruption grew until brought under control in an inquiry of 1618. James concluded a peace with Spain and privateering was outlawed. Notable construction in the early 17th century included the 1,200-tonEnglish ship Prince Royal, the firstthree-decker, andSovereign of the Seas in 1637, designed byPhineas Pett.[93]
During the early 17th century, England's relative naval power deteriorated, and there were increasing raids byBarbary corsairs on ships and English coastal communities to capture people asslaves, which the Navy had little success in countering.[94]Charles I undertook a major programme of warship building, creating a small force of powerful ships, but his methods of fundraising to finance the fleet contributed to the outbreak of theEnglish Civil War.[95] However, by the end of the century the Royal Navy completed the transition from a semi-amateur Navy Royal fighting in conjunction with private vessels into a fully professional institution. Its financial provisions were gradually regularised, it came to rely on dedicated warships only, and it developed a professional officer corps with a defined career structure, superseding an earlier mix of "gentlemen" (upper-class soldiers) and "tarpaulins" (professional seamen, who generally served on merchant or fishing vessels in peacetime).[96][97][98] Operations underJames I did not go well, with expeditions against Algerian pirates in 1620/1,Cadiz in 1625, andLa Rochelle in 1627/8 being expensive failures.[99]
In the 1620s, Scotland found herself fighting a naval war as England's ally, firstagainst Spain and then alsoagainst France, while simultaneously embroiled in undeclared North Sea commitments in theDanish intervention in the Thirty Years' War. In 1626 a squadron of three ships was bought and equipped, at a cost of least £5,200 sterling, to guard against privateers operating out of Spanish-controlledDunkirk and other ships were armed in preparation for potential action.[100] The acting High AdmiralJohn Gordon of Lochinvar organised as many as threemarque fleets of privateers.[101] It was probably one of Lochinvar's marque fleets that was sent to support the English Royal Navy in defending Irish waters in 1626.[102] The manufacture and design of naval guns was improved byJohn Browne in 1625.[103] In 1627, the Royal Scots Navy and accompanying contingents of burgh privateers participated in themajor expedition to Biscay.[104] The Scots also returned to the West Indies, with Lochinvar taking French prizes and founding the colony of Charles Island onFloreana in theGalapagos Islands offEcuador.[87] In 1629, two squadrons of privateers led by Lochinvar and William Lord Alexander, sailed for Canada, taking part in the campaign that resulted in the capture ofQuebec from the French, which was handed back after the subsequent peace.[105]
Charles I levied "ship money" from 1634 and this unpopular tax was one of the main causes of the firstEnglish Civil War from 1642–45. At the beginning of the war the navy, then consisting of 35 vessels, sided withParliament. During the war the royalist side used a number of small ships to blockade ports and for supplying their own armies. These were afterwards combined into a single force. Charles had surrendered to the Scots and conspired with them to invade England during the secondEnglish Civil War of 1648–51. In 1648 part of the Parliamentary fleet mutinied and joined the Royalist side. However, the Royalist fleet was driven to Spain and destroyed during theCommonwealth period byRobert Blake.[106]
The Interregnum saw a considerable expansion in the strength of the navy, both in number of ships and in internal importance within English policy. The execution of Charles I forced the rapid expansion of the navy, by multiplying England's actual and potential enemies, and many vessels were constructed from the 1650s onward under a reformed institution.[107] TheCommonwealth of England (as arepublic), officially removed or changed most names and symbols (including heraldry) associated with royalty and/or thehigh church. This affected the Commonwealth Navy. As early as 1646, vessels were renamed, includingLiberty (ex-Charles),Resolution (ex-Royal Prince), andGeorge (ex-St George); new vessels were often given names associated with institutions or individual officials, includingPresident,Speaker,Fairfax (afterThomas Fairfax),Monck (George Monck) andRichard (Richard Cromwell), orParliamentary victories in the civil war, such asWorcester,Bristol,Gainsborough,Preston,Langport,Newbury,Martson Moor,Nantwich,Colchester, andNaseby.[108] (The prefix "English ship" has normally been used of naval vessels before the late 17th century; "His Majesty's Ship" was not official usage at the time.) The new regime, isolated and threatened from all sides, dramatically expanded the Commonwealth Navy, which became the most powerful in the world.[109]
The Commonwealth's introduction ofNavigation Acts, providing that all merchant shipping to and from England or her colonies should be carried out by English ships, led to war with theDutch Republic.[110] In the early stages of thisFirst Anglo-Dutch War (1652–1654), the superiority of the large, heavily armed English ships was offset by superior Dutch tactical organisation and the fighting was inconclusive.[111] English tactical improvements resulted in a series of crushing victories in 1653 atPortland,the Gabbard andScheveningen, bringing peace on favourable terms.[112] This was the first war fought largely, on the English side, by purpose-built, state-owned warships. It was followed by awar with Spain, which saw the English conquest ofJamaica in 1655 and successful attacks on Spanish treasure fleets in1656 and1657, but also the devastation of English merchant shipping by theprivateers of Dunkirk, until their home port was captured by Anglo-French forces in 1658.[113]
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The Restoration of the English, Scottish, and Irish monarchies occurred in May 1660, andCharles II assumed the throne. The Restoration Monarchy inherited this large navy and continued the same policy of expansion, focusing on large ships in order to provide a strong defence under Charles II.[114] At the start of theRestoration, Parliament listed forty ships of the Royal Navy (not of the Summer's Guard) with a complement of 3,695 sailors.[115] One of his first acts was to officially name the Royal Navy, The prefixHMS was also officially attached to its vessels for the first time. Nevertheless, the navy remained a national institution, rather than the personal possession of the reigning monarch, as it had been before the civil war.[116] The administration of the navy was greatly improved by SirWilliam Coventry andSamuel Pepys, both of whom began their service in 1660 with theRestoration. While it was Pepys's diary that made him the most famous of all naval bureaucrats, his nearly thirty years of administration were crucial in replacing thead hoc processes of years past with regular programmes of supply, construction, pay, and so forth. He was responsible for introduction of the "Navy List" which fixed the order of promotion.[117]
In 1664 the English capturedNew Amsterdam (later New York City) resulting in theSecond Dutch War (1665–1667). In 1666 theFour Days Battle was a defeat for the English but the Dutch fleet was crushed a month later offOrfordness. In 1667 the Dutch mounted theRaid on the Medway, breaking intoChatham Dockyard and capturing or burning many of the Navy's largest ships at their moorings.[118] The English were also defeated at Solebay in 1672. The experience of large-scale battle was instructive to the Navy; theArticles of War regularising the conduct of officers and seaman, and the "Fighting Instructions" establishing theline of battle, both date from this period.[119] The influence and reforms of Samuel Pepys, the Chief Secretary to theAdmiralty under bothKing Charles II and subsequentlyKing James II, were important in the early professionalisation of the Royal Navy.[98]
As a result of their defeat in the First Anglo-Dutch War, the Dutch transformed their navy, largely abandoning the use of militarised merchantmen and establishing a fleet composed mainly of heavily armed, purpose-built warships, as the English had done previously. Consequently, theSecond Anglo-Dutch War (1665–1667) was a closely fought struggle between evenly matched opponents, with English victory atLowestoft (1665) countered by Dutch triumph in the epicFour Days' Battle (1666).[120] The deadlock was broken not by combat but by the superiority of Dutch public finance, as in 1667 Charles II was forced to lay up the fleet in port for lack of money to keep it at sea while negotiating for peace. Disaster followed as the Dutch fleet mounted theRaid on the Medway, breaking intoChatham Dockyard and capturing or burning many of the Navy's largest ships at their moorings.[121] In theThird Anglo-Dutch War (1672–1674), Charles II allied withLouis XIV of France against the Dutch, but the combined Anglo-French fleet was fought to a standstill in a series of inconclusive battles, while the French invasion by land was warded off.[122]
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During the 1670s and 1680s, the English Royal Navy succeeded in permanently ending the threat to English shipping from the Barbary corsairs, inflicting defeats which induced the Barbary states to conclude long-lasting peace treaties.[123] Following theGlorious Revolution of 1688, England joined the European coalition against Louis XIV in theWar of the Grand Alliance (1688–1697). Louis' recent shipbuilding programme had given France the largest navy in Europe. A combined Anglo-Dutch fleet was defeated atBeachy Head (1690), but victory atBarfleur-La Hogue (1692) was a turning-point, marking the end of France's brief pre-eminence at sea and the beginning of an enduring English, later British, supremacy.[124] In 1683 the "Victualling Board" was set up which fixed the ration scales. In 1655 Blake routed theBarbary pirates and started a campaign against the Spanish in the Caribbean, capturing Jamaica.[125]
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. The English or Scottish fleets failed to intecept the Dutch invasion fleet andLouis XIV declared war on the Dutch just days later, a conflict which became known as theWar of the Grand Alliance. The English defeat at theBattle of Beachy Head of 1690 led to an improved version of the Fighting Instructions, and subsequent operations against French ports proved more successful, leading to decisive victory atLa Hougue in 1692.[126]
By 1697 the English Royal Navy had 323 warships, while Scotland was still dependent on merchantman and privateers. In the 1690s, two separate schemes for larger naval forces were put in motion. As usual, the larger part was played by the merchant community rather than the government. The first was theDarien Scheme to found a Scottish colony in Spanish controlled America. It was undertaken by theCompany of Scotland, who created a fleet of five ships, includingCaledonia andSt Andrew, all built or chartered in Holland and Hamburg. It sailed to theIsthmus of Darien in 1698, but the venture failed and only one ship returned to Scotland.[127] In the same period, it was decided to establish a professional navy for the protection of commerce in home waters during theNine Years' War (1688–1697) with France, with three purpose-built warships bought from English shipbuilders in 1696. These wereRoyal William, a 32-gunfifth rate and two smaller ships,Royal Mary andDumbarton Castle, each of 24 guns, generally described as frigates.[128]
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 1704 capture ofGibraltar.[129]
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