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The Royal Navy 1793–1800: Birth of a Superpower
France declared war upon the British in 1793. The burden to conduct a long conflict proved heavy for that island nation. Poverty increased. Liberties and freedoms were sometimes taken away. Thousands of men had to leave their families, and disease, desertion and death meant that many never returned.
At first the Royal Navy barely had enough warships to cope, but eight years later she had more than enough. By that time a threat of invasion towards Ireland prompted Parliament to enact a new nation, christened The United Kingdom of Great Britain. As such, 1800 became the final year of the old Kingdom of Great Britain.
As she passed away, many of her men and women might have wondered as to what had made her navy a true Neptune. What had assisted the slow birth of a naval 'superpower'? This book seeks to answer that very question.
At first the Royal Navy barely had enough warships to cope, but eight years later she had more than enough. By that time a threat of invasion towards Ireland prompted Parliament to enact a new nation, christened The United Kingdom of Great Britain. As such, 1800 became the final year of the old Kingdom of Great Britain.
As she passed away, many of her men and women might have wondered as to what had made her navy a true Neptune. What had assisted the slow birth of a naval 'superpower'? This book seeks to answer that very question.
200 pages, Hardcover
Published January 4, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 19, 2019
The years chosen for this study of the Royal Navy comprise a period in which major changes affected almost all of Europe and Britain grew to become the most powerful navy in the world. This is an account of both world events and the impact they had on the navy and those at home and at sea. It opens in 1793, when news arrives in England of the beheading of the French monarch, Louis XVI. The first chapter sets the stage, introducing readers to the lay of the land and the readiness of the navy in the months prior to France’s declaration of war. Over the next eight years of fighting, the public bears a high price to defeat Napoleon. Not only are income taxes introduced for the first time, but freedoms are lost, and families are torn apart.
What sets this book apart from other histories of the Royal Navy is twofold. First, it contains tidbits of information not found in other such works. Second, and perhaps more importantly, it connects ordinary people in their everyday lives to a world at war and shows how this conflict alters both them and the navy. Nor is this your typical history; rather, it is a combination of fact and fiction. Each chapter begins with a fictional account steeped in historical facts from the perspective of unnamed participants. For example, chapter two recounts the tale of a Cornish miner who took the king’s shilling rather than face unemployment. The miner is imagined, but he represents one of eighty real miners who served aboard Sir Edward Pellew’s Nymphe when she encountered the French Cléopâtre. The next chapter, on the other hand, tells the story of a press gang and the what ifs and regrets a victim might ponder.
A host of topics are covered within the chapters: the cost of maintaining a navy and the number of vessels in the beginning and at the end; who was aboard the ships and what did they do; the Admiralty; medical care; seamen’s pay, prize money, and the 1797 mutinies; and hazards at sea. Chapters six and seven examine specific naval strategies and battles, such as blockades, the Glorious First of June (the first fleet action of the war), the Siege of St. Jean d’Acre, amphibious operations, Barbary pirates, and the Battles of Cape St. Vincent and Aboukir Bay. The last chapter discusses the importance of gunnery practice, naval stations in the Caribbean, and the decline of British trade in the West Indies.
This book begins with a list of major events between 1793 and 1800. It ends with two bibliographies and an extensive index. At the center of the book is a section containing black-and-white artwork and a series of maps. Footnotes, rather than endnotes, make it easy for readers to check source citations, read definitions, or discover other pertinent information not contained in the main text.
The inclusion of the fictional scenes allows readers to make a personal and more immediate connection with the war and world at the end of the eighteenth century. This is a highly readable history of the Royal Navy that packs an abundance of information into a scant 159 pages. Readers need not be familiar with either the navy or nautical language to grasp the content, and the book serves as a good introduction to the Royal Navy at a critical time in history.
What sets this book apart from other histories of the Royal Navy is twofold. First, it contains tidbits of information not found in other such works. Second, and perhaps more importantly, it connects ordinary people in their everyday lives to a world at war and shows how this conflict alters both them and the navy. Nor is this your typical history; rather, it is a combination of fact and fiction. Each chapter begins with a fictional account steeped in historical facts from the perspective of unnamed participants. For example, chapter two recounts the tale of a Cornish miner who took the king’s shilling rather than face unemployment. The miner is imagined, but he represents one of eighty real miners who served aboard Sir Edward Pellew’s Nymphe when she encountered the French Cléopâtre. The next chapter, on the other hand, tells the story of a press gang and the what ifs and regrets a victim might ponder.
A host of topics are covered within the chapters: the cost of maintaining a navy and the number of vessels in the beginning and at the end; who was aboard the ships and what did they do; the Admiralty; medical care; seamen’s pay, prize money, and the 1797 mutinies; and hazards at sea. Chapters six and seven examine specific naval strategies and battles, such as blockades, the Glorious First of June (the first fleet action of the war), the Siege of St. Jean d’Acre, amphibious operations, Barbary pirates, and the Battles of Cape St. Vincent and Aboukir Bay. The last chapter discusses the importance of gunnery practice, naval stations in the Caribbean, and the decline of British trade in the West Indies.
This book begins with a list of major events between 1793 and 1800. It ends with two bibliographies and an extensive index. At the center of the book is a section containing black-and-white artwork and a series of maps. Footnotes, rather than endnotes, make it easy for readers to check source citations, read definitions, or discover other pertinent information not contained in the main text.
The inclusion of the fictional scenes allows readers to make a personal and more immediate connection with the war and world at the end of the eighteenth century. This is a highly readable history of the Royal Navy that packs an abundance of information into a scant 159 pages. Readers need not be familiar with either the navy or nautical language to grasp the content, and the book serves as a good introduction to the Royal Navy at a critical time in history.
February 17, 2022
I think this is a really rather excellent if somewhat odd or unusual book. What's excellent is the density of information, and the vivid evocation of the era. It's how he achieves the latter that makes it odd and unusual.
Modern writing on such subjects tends to be either factual or fictional (at least in declared intent). A deliberate mixing of the two, as here, is a rare thing these days. At least in my reading experience.
As such, it takes a bit getting used to. Initially wary of such an approach, I both think and feel that it's sufficiently well done to have won me over. It's definitely 'mannered', so to speak. But it's also highly effective at bringing the subject vividly to life.
Having read this I feel inclined to seek out other writings by the author. It's not my primary area of interest for the period. But well written books such as this help develop any nascent taste for briny sea sagas in this colourful 'age of sail', when sea power was key to England punching well above her apparent weight.
A fascinating subject, well served by an erudite and imaginative author. Great stuff!
Modern writing on such subjects tends to be either factual or fictional (at least in declared intent). A deliberate mixing of the two, as here, is a rare thing these days. At least in my reading experience.
As such, it takes a bit getting used to. Initially wary of such an approach, I both think and feel that it's sufficiently well done to have won me over. It's definitely 'mannered', so to speak. But it's also highly effective at bringing the subject vividly to life.
Having read this I feel inclined to seek out other writings by the author. It's not my primary area of interest for the period. But well written books such as this help develop any nascent taste for briny sea sagas in this colourful 'age of sail', when sea power was key to England punching well above her apparent weight.
A fascinating subject, well served by an erudite and imaginative author. Great stuff!
December 12, 2024
I actually like what Jessop has done here. There is quite a bit of good information and conveying it through hypothetical participants in the events of the time - in introducing each chapter with a little fictional episode works. However a thorough reading of Hornblower over the years probably already gave me the same benefits. There is certainly good material here, but it is not necessarily presented in a scholarly nor detailed enough form for the reader to analyse themselves. Rather it is a broadbrush survey.
I suspect that had I read this as a teenager it would have rated as one of the best books I'd ever read - truly informative and inspiring history. This is probably its ideal market segment. However as an older adult experienced and fairly well read in the era (more land war than naval) I was underwhelmed and would have appreciated a lot more detail and explanation of the issue or events. For example the recounts of the battles read excitingly with the issues involved well explained, but the actions themselves instead of being expanded were swept up in a few words of jargon.
I suspect that had I read this as a teenager it would have rated as one of the best books I'd ever read - truly informative and inspiring history. This is probably its ideal market segment. However as an older adult experienced and fairly well read in the era (more land war than naval) I was underwhelmed and would have appreciated a lot more detail and explanation of the issue or events. For example the recounts of the battles read excitingly with the issues involved well explained, but the actions themselves instead of being expanded were swept up in a few words of jargon.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews