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A Naval History of Britain #2
The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649-1815
An Economist Best Book of 2004: "Destined to remain the reference on the subject for the coming generations."―U.S. Naval Institute The Command of the Ocean describes with unprecedented authority and scholarship the rise of Britain to naval greatness, and the central place of the Navy and naval activity in the life of the nation and government. Based on the author's own research in a dozen languages over more than a decade, it describes not just battles, voyages, and cruises but also how the Navy was manned, supplied, fed, and, above all, how it was financed and directed.
N. A. M. Rodger provides convincing reassessments of such famous figures as Pepys, Hawke, Howe, and St. Vincent. The very particular and distinct qualities of Nelson and Collingwood are illuminatingly contrasted, and the world of officers and men who make up the originals of Jack Aubrey and Horatio Hornblower is brilliantly brought to life. Rodger's comparative view of other navies―French, Dutch, Spanish, and American―allows him to make a fresh assessment of the qualities of the British. 24 pages of illustrations
N. A. M. Rodger provides convincing reassessments of such famous figures as Pepys, Hawke, Howe, and St. Vincent. The very particular and distinct qualities of Nelson and Collingwood are illuminatingly contrasted, and the world of officers and men who make up the originals of Jack Aubrey and Horatio Hornblower is brilliantly brought to life. Rodger's comparative view of other navies―French, Dutch, Spanish, and American―allows him to make a fresh assessment of the qualities of the British. 24 pages of illustrations
976 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
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1411 people want to read
About the author
N.A.M. Rodger
29 books31 followersNicholas Andrew Martin Rodger, FBA, is a historian of the British Royal Navy and Senior Research Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford.
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June 1, 2020This the middle volume of a three book narrative naval history of Britain weighs in at a hefty 1596 grams, about three lbs if you prefer , about 60 % of the weight is made up of the main text, half of which is an account of the military operations of the fleet from the Republic to the defeat of Napoleon, a quarter deals with the social history of sailors and officers, while the final quarter is the administrative history of the British navy, all delivered in chapters of around twenty pages. The other forty percent is given over to an odd selection of maps, footnotes, glossary and appendices.
I liked it very well down to the conclusion which I will return to later. The chapters on the military operations will not be enough to appeal to those who seek a cannonball by ball commentary on Britain's rise to global naval dominance, but they were through enough for me and full of droll observations on admirals and captains.
The text seemed to me, like the author's earlier work The Wooden World to be revisionist, but I am not familiar enough with British naval history to identity all the points that he seeks to revise, in passing he points out that some estimates of death from scurvy would mean that every man in the British navy would have to have died twice of the disease and perhaps with Dava Sobel's Longitude in mind he points out that the cost of Chronometers was such that well into the nineteenth century, longitude was mostly calculated by reference to the stars - which in turn required officers to have the knowledge of mathematics to do the calculations. This was potentially problematic as officers generally started their naval careers very young as boys - while their peers were in the classroom they were on board ship learning the ropes. To be eligible for the Lieutenants exam a candidate had to have served a minimum of six years in the navy - hence the premium in starting young. Rodgers is keen to point out that the army was far less effective than the navy in this period.
During the period covered by this book, Britain became the pre-eminent naval power, part of this process was the invention of a full-time professional navy, and of an administration, a network of state owned dockyards and several technical innovations - including lining ship's hulls with copper which improved the speed of ships and reduced the amount of time they needed in dock having barnacles removed which in turn increased the effective size of the fleet , and a crucial administrative improvement in developing a victualling system enabling ships to stay on duty or to undertake long voyages while maintaining the health of the crew. Such developments were not unique to Britain but the British navy seems to have adopted them earlier and faster than potential rivals.
Rodgers warns to beware of Samuel Pepys as the weight of his opinions on the management of the navy has burdened and blinkered historians. Rodgers warns that he was in lockstep with Colbert in France - producing a perfectly administered navy that was not intended to do any fighting.
Fighting at sea, curiously, seems to have been mysterious, signalling was often ineffective in this period and tactics unclear, there are some indications that the French preferred firing slowly and possibly at greater distance while the British preferred an intense rate of fire at close range that could only have been maintained briefly. Admiral Howe suggested that ships should hold their fire until their yardarms touched - which would have been twenty feet apart - (sixish metres) which strikes me as quite incredible rather like the distance two duelists would have stood apart to fire pistols at each other. But then Rodgers points out the wooden ships would have been rolling and pitching so only at such close range could one be sure of not missing your opponent.
I was fascinated by Rodgers' asides about the maritime rivals of Britain, the Netherlands abruptly reduced its number of warships during the War of the Spanish Succession, historians have tended to assume, Rodger's argues, that other countries were pursuing the same strategy as Britain rather than appreciating that they had their own strategic imperatives, he gives the example of Spain and the government of Charles III which concentrated on developing fleet capability only to escort convoys of ships from South America across the Atlantic. At the same time he says that since the word strategy was only coming into European languages in this period we must beware of assuming that politicians were thinking strategical which strikes me as one of the dangers of the Saphir-Whorf heresy.
In other ways the narrative is mostly a traditional one - the capture of Jamaica during the years of the Republic, the Anglo-Dutch wars, 1688, wars with Louis XIV, the war of Jenkin's Ear , though seeing the wars with Napoleon from the perspective of the navy was refreshing.
I would have been satisfied and enjoyed this book thoroughly but for the conclusion which for me did not conclude anything but instead revealed that the ship's biscuit was full of worms., because Rodgers turns to the question of why Britain became the pre-eminent naval power - that is very interesting, but much of what he suggests I felt ran counter to what he had told us readers in the preceding text, but on the plus side the prevailing and historical views . Since I have mentioned Brexit once I might as well continue, Rodgers points out that " the significance of sea power to British history lies at least as much in domestic politics and the growth of the state as in foreign policy and war " (p.577), that is the domestic political commitment to a Protestant succession required a fleet to protect the country from invasion from Catholic Stuarts, that sounds fairly reasonable except that a strong fleet repeatedly failed to prevent landings in 1715 and 1745 and a few times in Ireland, fear of invasion could have been more effectively guarded against by a coastguard with watch towers and signals.
Rodgers makes an interesting argument that eighteenth century government in Britain was divided between crown and parliament, the royal bit was inefficient and archaic while the parliamentary component was centralised and increasingly professional (p.579). The interesting thing about this was that the conclusion I had drawn from the earlier part of the book was the opposite - parliament was a problem, the navy was highly politicised, while the navy evaded parliamentary scrutiny and control as much as possible , perhaps we can distinguish between parliament and (cabinet) government which rescues the argument slightly, from here he sees the navy as emblematic of the liberty of the people (in distinction to the army that instrument of oppression) the thing is that the navy was famous for the Press gang and forcing men into service, which seems to me a curious expression of popular liberty, unless one understands it in an eighteenth century sense that liberty = men of property, which certainly was the case with press ganging - if the officer in charge took the time to meet with the local magistrate and reach agreement with him then general press gangs operated freely, if they did not then magistrates on occasion condoned riots against press gangs and even the murder of sailors trying to impress the unwilling.
Rodgers identifies the importance of Britain's tax base, which allowed the country, particularly compared to France to punch above it's weight, but the key really was not taxation alone but the Bank of England and the national debt which was serviced by taxation.
I think he is correct to point out how government spending on the navy had a distorting or formative effect on the economy as a whole, he suggests that the navy's need for supplies lead to an integrated national economy. Dockyards he points out in the text were islands of modernity with their focus on quality, technical innovation, mechanisation, and even some employment practises - though it is unclear how far if at all any of this slipped over into the wider economy, on the other hand France and Spain also had substantial navies in the eighteenth centuries without getting the same degree of economic benefit - but Britain may have been simply more dependent on shipping generally for trade (even internally). This meant that a national credit based financial system developed - but here again the navy could be profoundly dangerous to economic development as it was a chronic late payer which drove various enterprises dependant on the navy into bankruptcy.
The overall effect of the conclusion was to leave me rudderless and demasted. It was clear from the text overall that British ships were not the biggest, nor the fastest, nor the most heavily armed, nor even good at map making in the early part of the book British warships but the Britain did become the pre-eminent naval power, it did have a more equal system of officer selection and since the only reward available for Lieutenants was promotion to Captain that may have encouraged a greater degree of aggression among the officer corp - a factor only encouraged by the execution of Admiral Byng for failing to engage the enemy. For me Rodgers might have been better spinning off the analytical question of the rise of British sea power to a separate book rather than as ten pages spliced on to the end of a 570 page narrative (plus appendices). Still a fascinating narrative with wind in its sails.
The big absence is the lack of discussion of the merchant navy and international commercial shipping when plainly they were intertwined with the war fleet.
I liked it very well down to the conclusion which I will return to later. The chapters on the military operations will not be enough to appeal to those who seek a cannonball by ball commentary on Britain's rise to global naval dominance, but they were through enough for me and full of droll observations on admirals and captains.
The text seemed to me, like the author's earlier work The Wooden World to be revisionist, but I am not familiar enough with British naval history to identity all the points that he seeks to revise, in passing he points out that some estimates of death from scurvy would mean that every man in the British navy would have to have died twice of the disease and perhaps with Dava Sobel's Longitude in mind he points out that the cost of Chronometers was such that well into the nineteenth century, longitude was mostly calculated by reference to the stars - which in turn required officers to have the knowledge of mathematics to do the calculations. This was potentially problematic as officers generally started their naval careers very young as boys - while their peers were in the classroom they were on board ship learning the ropes. To be eligible for the Lieutenants exam a candidate had to have served a minimum of six years in the navy - hence the premium in starting young. Rodgers is keen to point out that the army was far less effective than the navy in this period.
During the period covered by this book, Britain became the pre-eminent naval power, part of this process was the invention of a full-time professional navy, and of an administration, a network of state owned dockyards and several technical innovations - including lining ship's hulls with copper which improved the speed of ships and reduced the amount of time they needed in dock having barnacles removed which in turn increased the effective size of the fleet , and a crucial administrative improvement in developing a victualling system enabling ships to stay on duty or to undertake long voyages while maintaining the health of the crew. Such developments were not unique to Britain but the British navy seems to have adopted them earlier and faster than potential rivals.
Rodgers warns to beware of Samuel Pepys as the weight of his opinions on the management of the navy has burdened and blinkered historians. Rodgers warns that he was in lockstep with Colbert in France - producing a perfectly administered navy that was not intended to do any fighting.
Fighting at sea, curiously, seems to have been mysterious, signalling was often ineffective in this period and tactics unclear, there are some indications that the French preferred firing slowly and possibly at greater distance while the British preferred an intense rate of fire at close range that could only have been maintained briefly. Admiral Howe suggested that ships should hold their fire until their yardarms touched - which would have been twenty feet apart - (sixish metres) which strikes me as quite incredible rather like the distance two duelists would have stood apart to fire pistols at each other. But then Rodgers points out the wooden ships would have been rolling and pitching so only at such close range could one be sure of not missing your opponent.
I was fascinated by Rodgers' asides about the maritime rivals of Britain, the Netherlands abruptly reduced its number of warships during the War of the Spanish Succession, historians have tended to assume, Rodger's argues, that other countries were pursuing the same strategy as Britain rather than appreciating that they had their own strategic imperatives, he gives the example of Spain and the government of Charles III which concentrated on developing fleet capability only to escort convoys of ships from South America across the Atlantic. At the same time he says that since the word strategy was only coming into European languages in this period we must beware of assuming that politicians were thinking strategical which strikes me as one of the dangers of the Saphir-Whorf heresy.
In other ways the narrative is mostly a traditional one - the capture of Jamaica during the years of the Republic, the Anglo-Dutch wars, 1688, wars with Louis XIV, the war of Jenkin's Ear , though seeing the wars with Napoleon from the perspective of the navy was refreshing.
I would have been satisfied and enjoyed this book thoroughly but for the conclusion which for me did not conclude anything but instead revealed that the ship's biscuit was full of worms., because Rodgers turns to the question of why Britain became the pre-eminent naval power - that is very interesting, but much of what he suggests I felt ran counter to what he had told us readers in the preceding text, but on the plus side the prevailing and historical views . Since I have mentioned Brexit once I might as well continue, Rodgers points out that " the significance of sea power to British history lies at least as much in domestic politics and the growth of the state as in foreign policy and war " (p.577), that is the domestic political commitment to a Protestant succession required a fleet to protect the country from invasion from Catholic Stuarts, that sounds fairly reasonable except that a strong fleet repeatedly failed to prevent landings in 1715 and 1745 and a few times in Ireland, fear of invasion could have been more effectively guarded against by a coastguard with watch towers and signals.
Rodgers makes an interesting argument that eighteenth century government in Britain was divided between crown and parliament, the royal bit was inefficient and archaic while the parliamentary component was centralised and increasingly professional (p.579). The interesting thing about this was that the conclusion I had drawn from the earlier part of the book was the opposite - parliament was a problem, the navy was highly politicised, while the navy evaded parliamentary scrutiny and control as much as possible , perhaps we can distinguish between parliament and (cabinet) government which rescues the argument slightly, from here he sees the navy as emblematic of the liberty of the people (in distinction to the army that instrument of oppression) the thing is that the navy was famous for the Press gang and forcing men into service, which seems to me a curious expression of popular liberty, unless one understands it in an eighteenth century sense that liberty = men of property, which certainly was the case with press ganging - if the officer in charge took the time to meet with the local magistrate and reach agreement with him then general press gangs operated freely, if they did not then magistrates on occasion condoned riots against press gangs and even the murder of sailors trying to impress the unwilling.
Rodgers identifies the importance of Britain's tax base, which allowed the country, particularly compared to France to punch above it's weight, but the key really was not taxation alone but the Bank of England and the national debt which was serviced by taxation.
I think he is correct to point out how government spending on the navy had a distorting or formative effect on the economy as a whole, he suggests that the navy's need for supplies lead to an integrated national economy. Dockyards he points out in the text were islands of modernity with their focus on quality, technical innovation, mechanisation, and even some employment practises - though it is unclear how far if at all any of this slipped over into the wider economy, on the other hand France and Spain also had substantial navies in the eighteenth centuries without getting the same degree of economic benefit - but Britain may have been simply more dependent on shipping generally for trade (even internally). This meant that a national credit based financial system developed - but here again the navy could be profoundly dangerous to economic development as it was a chronic late payer which drove various enterprises dependant on the navy into bankruptcy.
The overall effect of the conclusion was to leave me rudderless and demasted. It was clear from the text overall that British ships were not the biggest, nor the fastest, nor the most heavily armed, nor even good at map making in the early part of the book British warships but the Britain did become the pre-eminent naval power, it did have a more equal system of officer selection and since the only reward available for Lieutenants was promotion to Captain that may have encouraged a greater degree of aggression among the officer corp - a factor only encouraged by the execution of Admiral Byng for failing to engage the enemy. For me Rodgers might have been better spinning off the analytical question of the rise of British sea power to a separate book rather than as ten pages spliced on to the end of a 570 page narrative (plus appendices). Still a fascinating narrative with wind in its sails.
The big absence is the lack of discussion of the merchant navy and international commercial shipping when plainly they were intertwined with the war fleet.
January 26, 2018
A comprehensive history of the Royal Navy’s rise to dominance. The narrative is dense but engaging, Rodger’s points are easy to follow, and his conclusions are well-argued.
The narrative is not a straightforward chronology, and Rodger does assume some background knowledge on the reader’s part. The main things he covers are British naval operations (wartime engagements and world exploration) and the impact they had, the inner workings of naval administration (how the Admiralty Board was founded and operated, and what figures had an impact, for example), and the navy’s impact on Europe (and how European developments affected the navy).
There isn’t too much new material, but the narrative is coherent and Rodger’s arguments are clearly made.Rodger also covers British naval strategy and how the navy was financed and managed. He discusses what made the British navy superior to the French, such as better ship maintenance and design, better health precautions, and more well-trained officers. He also aims to debunk some myths, arguing that Admiral Byng suffered his fate due to the incompetence of his defenders, rather than a conspiracy by politicians, for example.
Rodger’s arguments aren’t too unconventional. However, his study of the life of the British sailor seems a bit too general, and at one point he writes that violent punishments of sailors was relatively uncommon, but this wasn’t that convincing.
A rich, thorough work.
The narrative is not a straightforward chronology, and Rodger does assume some background knowledge on the reader’s part. The main things he covers are British naval operations (wartime engagements and world exploration) and the impact they had, the inner workings of naval administration (how the Admiralty Board was founded and operated, and what figures had an impact, for example), and the navy’s impact on Europe (and how European developments affected the navy).
There isn’t too much new material, but the narrative is coherent and Rodger’s arguments are clearly made.Rodger also covers British naval strategy and how the navy was financed and managed. He discusses what made the British navy superior to the French, such as better ship maintenance and design, better health precautions, and more well-trained officers. He also aims to debunk some myths, arguing that Admiral Byng suffered his fate due to the incompetence of his defenders, rather than a conspiracy by politicians, for example.
Rodger’s arguments aren’t too unconventional. However, his study of the life of the British sailor seems a bit too general, and at one point he writes that violent punishments of sailors was relatively uncommon, but this wasn’t that convincing.
A rich, thorough work.
August 3, 2024
I really enjoyed most of this book. It interwove the naval history with the political, social, and economic history of Britain in an effort to show how each influenced the other which was fascinating. Rodger sometimes relies on anecdote as evidence for his assertions, which doesn’t make him wrong, but more statistics might have reinforced the points (if they’re available). But overall, it was an enjoyable but slow read.
June 1, 2016
A great book and thorough work of research ruined by very poor writing choices.
If you're interested in this book (I'll be the first to admit, British Naval history is strictly for the geeky niche fans, like me), I recommend the following:
Skip the "Operations" chapters and just read a wikipedia page instead. I've been spoiled by Robert Caro, but there's absolutely no characterization, context, or care put into these sections. Every operations section makes the two critical mistakes of history writers.
1. It's an endless series of "and then, and then, and thens." This year-person-event retelling of history gets boring really fast.
2. He treats the people and their actions as words in a document rather than living, breathing humans. This makes his pacing wildly erratic, but more importantly it makes me not care. Except for Nelson, Collingwood, and De Ruyter, there's no reason to care about anyone or what they're doing. Set up these characters of history and tell me what they saw. I want to know them as people making choices, not as names in a book.
This also makes it impossible to recognize who's who. Another minor mistake he makes is using a person's title rather than their actual name. There's a bazillion Earls of Sandwich, and keeping track of which one is which is impossible given the lack of characterization.
However, I do want to remark that the "Administration" and "Social" chapters were a geeky dream for me. The author's analysis is spot on and backed up by an impressive array of statistics, charts, maps, and first hand sources.
His analysis was particularly effective at conveying how the Sea Power of Britain rose through the "boring" factors, like sound finance and health (love them victuals!). It's not always easy given his bungled writing, but he is effective in connecting the dots of how effective administration and manning made a power navy. While we may see another incompetent decision of the 18th Century Parliament as pure stupidity, Rodgers does a great job of explaining how the mistake in the short term created the context through which Britain gained the tool to run the Navy efficiently in the long term.
One last note that gave me some amount of amusement: the author's perspective is entirely British, but surprisingly Monarchist. Except for his Conclusion, he seems to reinforce the intelligence of any British born King, and take particular relish in demonstrating Parliament's incompetence. This is odd given that his conclusion makes the opposite analysis: that only a country with such a democratic way of life could have created such a brilliantly, powerful navy. His inclination towards the Monarchy doesn't detract or add to the book, but it was oddly refreshing to get a perspective so foreign to my own.
If you're interested in this book (I'll be the first to admit, British Naval history is strictly for the geeky niche fans, like me), I recommend the following:
Skip the "Operations" chapters and just read a wikipedia page instead. I've been spoiled by Robert Caro, but there's absolutely no characterization, context, or care put into these sections. Every operations section makes the two critical mistakes of history writers.
1. It's an endless series of "and then, and then, and thens." This year-person-event retelling of history gets boring really fast.
2. He treats the people and their actions as words in a document rather than living, breathing humans. This makes his pacing wildly erratic, but more importantly it makes me not care. Except for Nelson, Collingwood, and De Ruyter, there's no reason to care about anyone or what they're doing. Set up these characters of history and tell me what they saw. I want to know them as people making choices, not as names in a book.
This also makes it impossible to recognize who's who. Another minor mistake he makes is using a person's title rather than their actual name. There's a bazillion Earls of Sandwich, and keeping track of which one is which is impossible given the lack of characterization.
However, I do want to remark that the "Administration" and "Social" chapters were a geeky dream for me. The author's analysis is spot on and backed up by an impressive array of statistics, charts, maps, and first hand sources.
His analysis was particularly effective at conveying how the Sea Power of Britain rose through the "boring" factors, like sound finance and health (love them victuals!). It's not always easy given his bungled writing, but he is effective in connecting the dots of how effective administration and manning made a power navy. While we may see another incompetent decision of the 18th Century Parliament as pure stupidity, Rodgers does a great job of explaining how the mistake in the short term created the context through which Britain gained the tool to run the Navy efficiently in the long term.
One last note that gave me some amount of amusement: the author's perspective is entirely British, but surprisingly Monarchist. Except for his Conclusion, he seems to reinforce the intelligence of any British born King, and take particular relish in demonstrating Parliament's incompetence. This is odd given that his conclusion makes the opposite analysis: that only a country with such a democratic way of life could have created such a brilliantly, powerful navy. His inclination towards the Monarchy doesn't detract or add to the book, but it was oddly refreshing to get a perspective so foreign to my own.
February 11, 2012
A hefty book, but very, very readable for a serious work on the history of the British Navy. Most chapters on operational history of the navy are well known (Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century, Seven Years War, Napoleonic Wars), but even they offer fresh insights in the way naval battles were fought tactical, operational and strategical.
For me the chapters on political infighting in the administration were not so interesting, but those on the social and technical development of sea officers, their men and their ships are very enlightening. For example, the British navy had lighter, more efficient blocks on their ships from the 1790's onwards, giving them less weight for blocks, cordage and rigging and thus less tophamper than the French vessels. A number of these small but significant improvements gave the British navy a technological advantage over their adversaries.
For added atmosphere, I read the book while on vacation, sailing through Ionian waters in Greece. Highly recommended to add 30 knots of wind, salt water and a pitching sailboat to this reading experienc
For me the chapters on political infighting in the administration were not so interesting, but those on the social and technical development of sea officers, their men and their ships are very enlightening. For example, the British navy had lighter, more efficient blocks on their ships from the 1790's onwards, giving them less weight for blocks, cordage and rigging and thus less tophamper than the French vessels. A number of these small but significant improvements gave the British navy a technological advantage over their adversaries.
For added atmosphere, I read the book while on vacation, sailing through Ionian waters in Greece. Highly recommended to add 30 knots of wind, salt water and a pitching sailboat to this reading experienc
August 13, 2008
This book is a history of the British Navy from Cromwell to the war of 1812. It's focus is institutional and social. Each time period is told from three viewpoints: first operations, what happened, then administration, how the navy ran itself, and finally social perspectives of the period for example, the social classes of the officers. It is excellent. Read the appendixes, the chronology and the glossary if you want some grounding.
March 30, 2024
Pretty good book, however it remains for some events pretty much on the surface only.
December 18, 2024
This is the middle book of Rodger's three-volume history of the Royal Navy, covering 166 formative years of almost continuous warfare. It begins with the execution of Charles I and ends with the Royal Navy undisputed master of the world's oceans. He ends with Marshal Gneisenau's scathing assessment of Bonaparte:
"for it is the events which he has brought about which have raised England's greatness, security and wealth so high. They are lords of the sea, and neither in this dominion nor in world trade have they any rivals left to fear."
Beginning with the Civil War and ending with the Napoleonic wars and the American war of 1812-14, the author devotes chapters for each natural time break to operations, administration, social history and ships. He thus places the purely naval business in its political, social and technological context. A conclusion debates the different explanations for the rise of Britain's naval dominance, and to my mind strongly challenges the reader to ask whether Britain can afford not to maintain a strong navy.
The text is amplified by seven appendices, notes, glossary, maps and index. There are useful plate sections which reproduce contemporary paintings. In a perfect world I would have wished them to be in colour but no doubt the cost impact would have been prohibitive.
Rodger's series has justly gained enthusiastic reviews. We should bear in mind though that, in order to cover the ground, he has to keep up the pace. Whole books have been written about some of his paragraphs. As a cruise through the period, though it's difficult to beat (but for a shorter read try Wilson's Empire of the Deep: The Rise and Fall of the British Navy)
"for it is the events which he has brought about which have raised England's greatness, security and wealth so high. They are lords of the sea, and neither in this dominion nor in world trade have they any rivals left to fear."
Beginning with the Civil War and ending with the Napoleonic wars and the American war of 1812-14, the author devotes chapters for each natural time break to operations, administration, social history and ships. He thus places the purely naval business in its political, social and technological context. A conclusion debates the different explanations for the rise of Britain's naval dominance, and to my mind strongly challenges the reader to ask whether Britain can afford not to maintain a strong navy.
The text is amplified by seven appendices, notes, glossary, maps and index. There are useful plate sections which reproduce contemporary paintings. In a perfect world I would have wished them to be in colour but no doubt the cost impact would have been prohibitive.
Rodger's series has justly gained enthusiastic reviews. We should bear in mind though that, in order to cover the ground, he has to keep up the pace. Whole books have been written about some of his paragraphs. As a cruise through the period, though it's difficult to beat (but for a shorter read try Wilson's Empire of the Deep: The Rise and Fall of the British Navy)
April 13, 2021
I’m not really sure how to describe this incredible book. It gives extensive coverage of an action-packed 165 years of British naval history, broken out into chapters on operations, administration, and social history. The author places the growth of the British navy in the context and development of economics, commerce, technology, politics, history, society, and culture. There is so much here one feels as if some serious reading on these topics is almost necessary to understand the book itself. It’s as if the book is the graduate course to some undergraduate reading you’ll have to do before taking the book on. I exaggerate here, so please don’t be deterred from picking it up; but it is a commitment. Hard as it is to believe, there are quite a number of laugh lines. Rodger is a terrific writer who keeps things moving comprehensively. Whew. Now back to a Jack Aubrey novel (O’Brian read Rodger, by the way, although too late for the Aubrey series. Command was published the same year as the last Aubrey novel.)
September 30, 2014
This was one of the most interesting, extensive, and comprehensive looks at naval operations I have had the pleasure of reading. Rodger covers major events, but also delves into the background of a Navy's success or failure. His breakdown into operations, social history, administration, and major events offers an overview of important battles and influences on navies while also providing a clear understanding of the entire scope of how politics, technology, and social issues transformed the British navy. An amazing book.
November 29, 2021
Great amount of information, but oh my god, it is presented almost as if the author just lists it and does not care. However, this gave me some needed information for my class, which could be used in research (not a lot though, considering its a 600 page read). 3 stars
July 22, 2013
Although this book is a first rate history of everything from operations to equipping to shipbuilding to officer corps to social history, I do have to say it took a while to get into the book due to the authors assumption of the readers knowledge of English history. Not a book you buy at Barnes and noble for an everyday reader in my opinion. Loved his thesis and ideas, however.
July 17, 2012
Highly recommended, not just for its military, but also for its social and administrative, history.
December 31, 2021
I was looking for a comprehensive overview of British naval history of the 18th century through the Napoleonic Wars, and in this book I found that and much more. I've had a fascination with naval history of this period as a result of Patrick O'Brien's Aubrey/Maturin novels which I've been reading over the past 10 years or so. I thought it finally time to delve into the actual history in which these stories take place. I can confidently say that Command of the Ocean was the perfect place to start.
Initially I was a bit put off by the structure of this book. Broken into chapters, Rodger deals with "operations," or the actual naval actions and events that took place, over a period of 10-20 years. This is followed by a chapter on administration, naturally detailing the administrative history, over the years of the preceding chapter, and finally by the social history over the same span. This cycle continues through the entirety of the book from 1650 to 1815. When I picked up this book, I was looking for a purely operational history, but as I discovered, the history of one cannot exist without the other, and all three perspectives are crucial to understanding the broader context. Besides that, I found that I eventually became more fascinated with the non-operational chapters.
Even for those who are interested exclusively in the American Revolutionary period, the Napoleonic Wars, etc. should not skip directly to those chapters. The early history of the foundations of the British Navy are essential to grasp in order to understand how it came to be such a dominating force during the mid to late 1700s. Rodger masterfully guides readers through broad histories, personal storylines, and complicated strategic choices with an ease only possible in those rare authors who have dedicated their lives to a particular subject. His understanding and depth of research would be near impossible to match. Where some authors might take this subject and genuinely massive undertaking towards a more academic audience, I found that even as a novice, I was able to grasp and thoroughly enjoy Rodger's style of writing.
There are a few reasons that Command of the Ocean is a perfect starting point for anyone interested in the age of sail. First, Rodger's goal is to provide a comprehensive overview of the period, without getting too bogged down in one subject or another. As I found out, there are countless angles to explore and moving parts to consider when taking the broad view of British naval history. Instead, by providing a glimpse at all of these angles, he encourages readers to delve further into those topics that they found most fascinating while still offering an essential overview of the relevant, albeit less inspiring, subjects. This leads me to my second reason: Rodger's extensive compilation of notes and bibliography. I have never read a book with more useful and frequently cited notes. His annotated bibliography has given me a wealth of options for going down this historic rabbit hole and I have already purchased a number of books discovered there. If there was a section I found particularly intriguing (such as the history of the Royal Dockyards where the great ships of the age were built, or the varied and eccentric characters that led the Admiralty as First Lord), I needed simply to refer to the notes, find relevant titles in the bibliography, and add to my reading list. Simply put Rodger left no stone unturned in his research and referenced sources for this work.
As an avid fan of the Patrick O'Brien series I would recommend this book with the utmost enthusiasm to anyone looking for a deeper understanding of the machinations and events that led to the world Aubrey would eventually. Additionally, any reader with an interest in naval history of this time period would do well to begin their journey here with Rodger's masterpiece, as it provides a springboard on which to pursue this topic to the hearts content.
Initially I was a bit put off by the structure of this book. Broken into chapters, Rodger deals with "operations," or the actual naval actions and events that took place, over a period of 10-20 years. This is followed by a chapter on administration, naturally detailing the administrative history, over the years of the preceding chapter, and finally by the social history over the same span. This cycle continues through the entirety of the book from 1650 to 1815. When I picked up this book, I was looking for a purely operational history, but as I discovered, the history of one cannot exist without the other, and all three perspectives are crucial to understanding the broader context. Besides that, I found that I eventually became more fascinated with the non-operational chapters.
Even for those who are interested exclusively in the American Revolutionary period, the Napoleonic Wars, etc. should not skip directly to those chapters. The early history of the foundations of the British Navy are essential to grasp in order to understand how it came to be such a dominating force during the mid to late 1700s. Rodger masterfully guides readers through broad histories, personal storylines, and complicated strategic choices with an ease only possible in those rare authors who have dedicated their lives to a particular subject. His understanding and depth of research would be near impossible to match. Where some authors might take this subject and genuinely massive undertaking towards a more academic audience, I found that even as a novice, I was able to grasp and thoroughly enjoy Rodger's style of writing.
There are a few reasons that Command of the Ocean is a perfect starting point for anyone interested in the age of sail. First, Rodger's goal is to provide a comprehensive overview of the period, without getting too bogged down in one subject or another. As I found out, there are countless angles to explore and moving parts to consider when taking the broad view of British naval history. Instead, by providing a glimpse at all of these angles, he encourages readers to delve further into those topics that they found most fascinating while still offering an essential overview of the relevant, albeit less inspiring, subjects. This leads me to my second reason: Rodger's extensive compilation of notes and bibliography. I have never read a book with more useful and frequently cited notes. His annotated bibliography has given me a wealth of options for going down this historic rabbit hole and I have already purchased a number of books discovered there. If there was a section I found particularly intriguing (such as the history of the Royal Dockyards where the great ships of the age were built, or the varied and eccentric characters that led the Admiralty as First Lord), I needed simply to refer to the notes, find relevant titles in the bibliography, and add to my reading list. Simply put Rodger left no stone unturned in his research and referenced sources for this work.
As an avid fan of the Patrick O'Brien series I would recommend this book with the utmost enthusiasm to anyone looking for a deeper understanding of the machinations and events that led to the world Aubrey would eventually. Additionally, any reader with an interest in naval history of this time period would do well to begin their journey here with Rodger's masterpiece, as it provides a springboard on which to pursue this topic to the hearts content.
April 9, 2025
Buckle up to get really, really deep into how the British Navy operated and was administered in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Read this book if you want to get insights into how the British Navy really worked (and insighs into human organizations in general) like:
-Supply chains are really hard. A lot of thought went into how to source the large and straight timber needed for masts. And victualling (keeping ships supplied and fed) was actually the greatest improvement the British Navy made.
-Finance details are important and sometimes its good to trick your bosses. Navy administrators basically ran a ponzi scheme on building and repairing new ships by using inflated estimates of annual budgets to build new ships which hadn't been approved by borrowing against seamen's wages. This was key because Parliament was clueless about the needs of the Navy.
-If admiral/leading politicians don't like an opposing area in their own country, make sure you design ships that can't work for them like a Dutch admiral did in the 17th century. He would design ships that were big enough so that they could get out of his port but not his political opponents smaller port.
If any of these kinds of details interest you. This book is for you.
Read this book if you want to get insights into how the British Navy really worked (and insighs into human organizations in general) like:
-Supply chains are really hard. A lot of thought went into how to source the large and straight timber needed for masts. And victualling (keeping ships supplied and fed) was actually the greatest improvement the British Navy made.
-Finance details are important and sometimes its good to trick your bosses. Navy administrators basically ran a ponzi scheme on building and repairing new ships by using inflated estimates of annual budgets to build new ships which hadn't been approved by borrowing against seamen's wages. This was key because Parliament was clueless about the needs of the Navy.
-If admiral/leading politicians don't like an opposing area in their own country, make sure you design ships that can't work for them like a Dutch admiral did in the 17th century. He would design ships that were big enough so that they could get out of his port but not his political opponents smaller port.
If any of these kinds of details interest you. This book is for you.
June 26, 2025
Another tour de force. Required a commitment to read it, no idea of the commitment to write it.
This book charts naval progress from the Commonwealth through to the Battle of Waterloo, with its highs and lows. Becoming Protestant with Henry VIII required the maintenance of a capable navy to defend us from, generally Catholic, enemies. This was managed, mainly by the strength of our fleet, but sometimes by failures of our enemies.
Although primarily a Royal Naval history the author summarises the politics and economies of the major European nations, often putting a different reading to my not very great knowledge.
Also the social history of the officers and men is discussed at length as well as the government politics, so a wide ranging brief, which can at times be a bit overwhelming.
This completes the trilogy for me, unfortunately not in chronological order, mainly because I stumbled on the newly published final volume in Waterstones just before Christmas. Volumes 1 & 2 have been read on an iPad making things easier on my arms
The only issue that I have is that the transfer from print to eBook has introduced a few typos, nothing too serious, but shows a lack of care, bit of an insult to the author and his efforts.
This book charts naval progress from the Commonwealth through to the Battle of Waterloo, with its highs and lows. Becoming Protestant with Henry VIII required the maintenance of a capable navy to defend us from, generally Catholic, enemies. This was managed, mainly by the strength of our fleet, but sometimes by failures of our enemies.
Although primarily a Royal Naval history the author summarises the politics and economies of the major European nations, often putting a different reading to my not very great knowledge.
Also the social history of the officers and men is discussed at length as well as the government politics, so a wide ranging brief, which can at times be a bit overwhelming.
This completes the trilogy for me, unfortunately not in chronological order, mainly because I stumbled on the newly published final volume in Waterstones just before Christmas. Volumes 1 & 2 have been read on an iPad making things easier on my arms
The only issue that I have is that the transfer from print to eBook has introduced a few typos, nothing too serious, but shows a lack of care, bit of an insult to the author and his efforts.
June 7, 2025
I accidentally read this, the second part of an amazing trilogy, first! And I was immediately and completely hooked. I’ve now got and have read all three (well, in truth I’m only part way through vol 3).
This second volume is probably my favourite, thanks to it covering the eras I find most nautically and navally fascinating.
But, like all three volumes, the scale and scope are literally dumbfounding. From social history, to politics, technology, religion, all sorts… the many tentacles of this leviathan reach all over the globe, and delve into all manner of aspects of life and history.
It’s books like this that have me addicted to factual rather than fictional reading.
Brilliant. Essential reading.
This second volume is probably my favourite, thanks to it covering the eras I find most nautically and navally fascinating.
But, like all three volumes, the scale and scope are literally dumbfounding. From social history, to politics, technology, religion, all sorts… the many tentacles of this leviathan reach all over the globe, and delve into all manner of aspects of life and history.
It’s books like this that have me addicted to factual rather than fictional reading.
Brilliant. Essential reading.
August 29, 2025
A long time to read this and if I count every word not yet read. Fascinating replacement of maritime power and the institution of the navy into the centre of British history. Insights such as:
Naval demand driving industrialisation and specialisation.
Craftsmen shipwrights driving shipbuilding innovation.
Strategic location of fleet in home waters and control/neutralisation of Netherlands/Belgium area underpin British security
Heavy on the offhand conservative rejections of too much modern scholarship. Self Indulgent bibliography.
Naval demand driving industrialisation and specialisation.
Craftsmen shipwrights driving shipbuilding innovation.
Strategic location of fleet in home waters and control/neutralisation of Netherlands/Belgium area underpin British security
Heavy on the offhand conservative rejections of too much modern scholarship. Self Indulgent bibliography.
September 14, 2025
The best book I’ve read this year, and immediately joining the list of my favorite all time history books. The narrative thread (the “operations” chapters) are well researched and compelling, but for me the book really shines in the chapters on administration, social history, and shipbuilding. This book is a wonderful accomplishment, and I could not more strongly recommend it to anyone interested in seapower, history, economics, etc.
I loved book one as well, but this volume outshone it. Loved this book. On to volume three!
I loved book one as well, but this volume outshone it. Loved this book. On to volume three!
November 28, 2024
Magisterial.
Despite its hefty nine hundred or so pages, the paperback edition is surprisingly good to handle: I bought it at Helsinki's wonderful Akademiska Bokhandeln one summer and started reading it on the train. Maps and extensive appendices help navigate (excuse the pun) space, time, and naval organization. Appendix IV: Rates of Pay and Appendix VII: Naval Finance make for rather fascinating reading in themselves . . .
Despite its hefty nine hundred or so pages, the paperback edition is surprisingly good to handle: I bought it at Helsinki's wonderful Akademiska Bokhandeln one summer and started reading it on the train. Maps and extensive appendices help navigate (excuse the pun) space, time, and naval organization. Appendix IV: Rates of Pay and Appendix VII: Naval Finance make for rather fascinating reading in themselves . . .
July 17, 2017
There isn't much that Nicholas Rodger and his team of researchers don't know about the Royal Navy.
Easy to read and full of in-depth research. By its very scope it has to skim over some areas we might like to see in more detail but it is a textbook of considerable importance in this heavily scrutinised period.
Easy to read and full of in-depth research. By its very scope it has to skim over some areas we might like to see in more detail but it is a textbook of considerable importance in this heavily scrutinised period.
July 28, 2025
Incredible, in-depth examination of the Royal Navy and its impact on life in Britain. It is the only work of its kind published in several decades and surely an indispensable reference for those seeking to understand how this island country, relatively small on population and less technically proficient than some peers, came to be in a position to "rule the waves" during the 19th century.
April 9, 2022
Not a detailed description of the naval campaigns of the period, but a comprehensive review of the strategic position, including the development, manning, technology, administration, and control of the Royal Navy.
December 27, 2024
Great read - very detailed on the social and administrative history of the various elements of the English/British navy during the heyday of the wooden ships era - operations too. Highly recommended for history nerds who enjoy this sort of thing. Great notes and bibliography too!
August 30, 2023
An in-depth history of naval matters. A very interesting book full of facts and figures , policy ,politics naval history and all things navy . Absorbing and astonishing.
August 22, 2025
Looking forward to the final volume.
April 30, 2025
What a great read. This book was so interesting and well formulated. I think that the method of separating the actions, the administrative and the social was brilliant. Obviously all three are inter-related, but separating them out helps you keep the thread of what is going on with each of them and see how they developed without getting overwhelmed.
Transformation is the name of the game in this book as well. The navy and wars that we open the book with are fundamentally changed by the time the book closes. The story and effort that it took to allow the British navy to dominate the seas is breathtaking. In many way the key "innovation" was the brute logistical effort that allowed the navy to undertake these long cruises and blockade enemy ports for long periods of time. Easier said than done. You really feel the triumph that it was and the book helps you understand why, and how it was done.
A part of this book that will stick with me was actually in the introduction. The author points out that there is a myth of the Royal Navy that has made it seem like it was inevitable and almost eternal that the British would rule the waves and that being an island nation was a boon that was automatically. The opposite is the case, it was not inevitable, it was a culmination of huge effort that the RA became what it was, and Britain's earlier history shows that being and island just means that ANYONE can invade you so long as they have a coast line. A powerful inversion of the simple story that I had in my head.
I just loved this book and was swept up in the period. The sails, the rigging, boat construction, the interplay of tides and win, the new technology, the docks and the ports. It's everything. All I want is a grand strategic board game that covers all the beautiful intricacies.
Transformation is the name of the game in this book as well. The navy and wars that we open the book with are fundamentally changed by the time the book closes. The story and effort that it took to allow the British navy to dominate the seas is breathtaking. In many way the key "innovation" was the brute logistical effort that allowed the navy to undertake these long cruises and blockade enemy ports for long periods of time. Easier said than done. You really feel the triumph that it was and the book helps you understand why, and how it was done.
A part of this book that will stick with me was actually in the introduction. The author points out that there is a myth of the Royal Navy that has made it seem like it was inevitable and almost eternal that the British would rule the waves and that being an island nation was a boon that was automatically. The opposite is the case, it was not inevitable, it was a culmination of huge effort that the RA became what it was, and Britain's earlier history shows that being and island just means that ANYONE can invade you so long as they have a coast line. A powerful inversion of the simple story that I had in my head.
I just loved this book and was swept up in the period. The sails, the rigging, boat construction, the interplay of tides and win, the new technology, the docks and the ports. It's everything. All I want is a grand strategic board game that covers all the beautiful intricacies.
September 3, 2018
A readable though academically stringent book about the organization of the Royal Navy from the end of the Republic to the Napoleonic Wars.
A lot about shipyard organization and political maneuvering, but hugely interesting if you’re a Patrick O’Brian buff like I am.
A lot about shipyard organization and political maneuvering, but hugely interesting if you’re a Patrick O’Brian buff like I am.
July 27, 2013
I wonder how many readers come to this expecting Jack Aubrey; surely WW Norton relied upon that demographic.
Yet the thesis really is that the victories of Aubrey's nonfiction counterparts were achieved not only though gallantry, but through infrastructure; that the difference between the successful heroes of the Royal Navy and the glorious failures of its foes lay in competent administration and effective matching of resources to strategy.
The chapters on operations run through the expected battles, but do so with great haste, and little time for heroic exploits. Jervis the narrow-minded and short-sighted instigator of misguided administrative reform receives far more weight than Jervis the victor of St Vincent. The Earl of Sandwich receives more attention than the Viscount of the Nile.
And that paen to competence is a tonic.
Yet the thesis really is that the victories of Aubrey's nonfiction counterparts were achieved not only though gallantry, but through infrastructure; that the difference between the successful heroes of the Royal Navy and the glorious failures of its foes lay in competent administration and effective matching of resources to strategy.
The chapters on operations run through the expected battles, but do so with great haste, and little time for heroic exploits. Jervis the narrow-minded and short-sighted instigator of misguided administrative reform receives far more weight than Jervis the victor of St Vincent. The Earl of Sandwich receives more attention than the Viscount of the Nile.
And that paen to competence is a tonic.
June 28, 2021
Well almost 600 hundred large tightly written pages, I am relieved to have finally finished it. It was however truly fascinating. With Hornblower, as my main reference point, it gave a completely new perspective of the development of the British Navy, from the unknown victories of the Republic who first established a proper navy to the battles of the American War of 1812, it was full of incident, counterpointing my very roughly remembered English military and political history . The social history and life at sea was a revelation, and the history of the adminstration of the Navy, which was essential to its success, also demanding of attention. I am not sure how much I will ever remember after next week, but am very glad I read it.
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