Navy

Question	Answer
What centuries was the Age of Sail, and what does this mean?	16th - mid 19th century. Trade and naval warfare was dominated by sailing vessels.
What Battle was in 1805?	The Battle of Trafalgar.
What happened during the Battle of Trafalgar?	The Franco-Spanish forces lost 22 ships and over 13,000 men, while Britain lost no ships and under 2,000 men.
What were the naval tactics of the medieval, and earlier, period?	A fleets objective was to ram and pull alongside enemy ships , so soldiers could boards them.
What was the Age of Sail naval tactic?	The fleet approached the enemy in a long line.
What were the advantages of this line tactic?	It enabled a sustained bombardment, with each ship able to fire a broadside as the line passed an enemy ship. It avoided friendly ships firing on each other. And it reduced the exposure of the vulnerable bows and sterns of the ships.
What is a broadside?	The simultaneous discharge of large guns along the side of a ship.
Why were battles often indecisive?	If neither fleet could gain a positional advantage, with fleets sailing in parallel lines firing broadsides at each other.
However, how could fleets gain a positional advantage?	If a fleet could sail across the enemy line, it could concentrate its fire at the point of intersection, and receive little fire in return.
This is an example of what kind of tactics that British captains and admirals were trained in?	Hyper-aggressive tactics. (Such as the Battle of Trafalgar)
What was a ships of the line?	A ship deemed strong enough to take place in the line of battle. Until the end of the Age of Sail, the number of a navy's ships of the line indicated their naval strength.
What were First and Second rate ships like?	They had 3 gun decks and 80-120 canons.
What was the job of First and Second rate ships, and why?	They were often used as flagships (Eg Nelson's 100 gun 'Victory'), because their extra gun powers made them heavy and therefore less manoeuvrable.
What were Fourth rate ships like?	They had less than 64 cannons.
Why were Fourth rate ships phased out from the late 18th century?	Because they lacked sufficient firepower.
What rate of ships was the backbone of the fleet?	Third rate ships.
What were Third rate ships like?	They had 2 gun decks and 64-80 canons, and a crew of up to 500.
In 1794, Thirds rate ships made up what percentage of all Royal Navy ships of the line? And by 1814, they made up what percentage of ships of the line?	In 1794 they made up 76% and in 1814 they made up 80%.
Why were ships of the line less effective outside of pitched battles?	Because they'd sacrificed manoeuvrability and speed for firepower.
Therefore, what kind of ships filled the roles of patrolling, destroying enemy trade or escorting friendly ships?	Fifth and Sixth rate ships, known as frigates.
What were frigates like?	They typically had a single gun deck, so were after, more manoeuvrable and able to sail closer to shore.
Why were frigates appealing to young captains?	Because frigates could roam the world, looking for enemy shipping, and there were fortunes to be made in prize money (captain and crew could share the value of captured ships and their cargo).
On the frigate 'Speedy', Captain Cochrane captured or destroyed how many French ships, and in how many months, between 1800-01?	He captured or destroyed 53 French ships in 13 months.
In 1815, the Royal Navy finished the Napoleonic Wars with how many ships of the line and how many frigates? What did this rapidly reduce to?	214 Ships of the line and 792 frigates. This rapidly reduced to 100 ships of the line and 162 frigates.
By 1835, the Royal Navy only had how many operational ships of the line?	Only 58 operational ships of the line.
Their position of naval hegemony meant what?	Meant that there was little desire to experiment with new ship types.
Where were steamships first effective, and what was the result of this?	Steamships were first effective in areas where sailing ships didn't have room to navigate, Eg particularly river systems. Therefore, the Age of Steam opened up previously inaccessible inland areas to naval forces.
What year was the first steam powered frigate launched in Britain, and in France?	In 1843 in Britain, and 1845 in France.
In 1850, what was significant about the launch of the Napoleon?	In French launched the 90-gun Napoleon, that could reach 14 knots without wind. This marked the end of 35 years of low-cost naval supremacy for the Royal Navy and the beginning of the naval arms race.
What did the Navy need to hit enemy ships?	Shell firing guns with a flat trajectory.
These were not produced until when?	Until 1820s by French engineer, Henri Joseph Paixhans. n 1841 the French fitted them to their boats, and the Royal Navy copied.
These guns could easily do what, and why was this concerning?	They could easily destroy wooden ships, concerning naval strategists about the destruction that could occur in battle.
What year was first ironclad, and what did this result in?	1859, the first ironclad was the French 'La Gloire'. Britain followed, and all new ships commissioned would by ironclads, beginning with HMS Warrior in 1861.
What year were sails completely abandoned with the launch of what ship?	1873 with HMS Devastation.
What was HMS Devastation like?	It was 87 meters long, armed with 2 35-ton guns, and protected by armour 250-300 mm thick.
What did the launch of the HMS Devastation symbolise?	A turning point, as Britain embraces industrialisation in the pursuit of continued naval dominance.
Why did the end of the Age of Sail have major implications for ports, especially on the trade route to India and the West Indies?	They had, previously, been stopping points for sailing ships, but they were vital for steamers.
Give an example of why the ports were so vital for steamers?	Eg, Devestation carried 1,350 tons of coals, and without deep-water ports to stock up on coal, it wouldn't have been able to make lengthy sea voyages.
Britain sought to maintain the two power standard. What does this mean?	It's the idea that the Royal Navy should be as strong as the next two navies combined.
What did the Admiralty argue, regarding rapidly expanding and committing to supremacy?	The admiralty argued rapidly expanding and committing to supremacy would deter other powers because Britain's position would be so unassailable.
What year was the Naval Defence Act and, in it, what did Britain commit to?	1889. Britain committed to 10 battleships, 42 cruisers and 18 torpedo gunships by 1893-94, costing £21.5 million.
But, in the same period, France and Russia increased their joint production to how many battleships?	To 12 battleships.
In 1904 John Fisher, first sea lord of the Admiralty, introduced a modernisations programme. What did this consist of?	He scrapped 154 older warships and concentrated Britain's largest and most modern warships in Europe.
What were Fisher's intentions for the modernisation programme?	To end the arms race by producing warships so advanced, that no other navy would challenge them.
Fisher's idea culminated in what?	In 1906, with the launch of HMS Dreadnought, which was so powerful, it made all existing battleships obsolete.
Despite this, what happened?	Powers like Germany, USA and Japan began to produce their own dreadnoughts.
Why was life in the navy tough?	Because of cramped conditions, harsh discipline (Eg flogging) and modest pay.
In 1794, what was an able seaman's wage?	£14 per year, the same amount as a male servant working in a landowner's home in Durham in the same year.
Because of the tough conditions and the chance of injury and death, the navy struggled to do what?	It struggled to attract volunteers to man its ships.
Because it struggled to find volunteers, what dd the navy rely on?	It relied on the liberal use of impressment - the forcible recruitment of sailors into the navy.
So the burden of impressment was felt less, from the 17th century, the government adopted its 'blue water' policy. What did this mean?	Under the policy, the merchants fleet and Royal Navy were mutually sustainable. The Royal Navy protected the seas for merchantmen and captured foreign merchants during war, making trade routes safe for English merchant and dangerous for foreign competitors. For example, the Royal Navy captured 1,165 French merchant ships in the Seven Years' War, totally disrupting French trade to the advantage of English merchants. And British merchant shipping was expected to provide tens of thousands of skilled soldiers to the Royal Navy.
How did government policy further support this relationship, through the passing of the Navigation Acts (1660s)?	The Navigation Acts mandated that trade between Britain and its colonies must be carried on British ships. In addition, the Royal Navy were empowered ti press civilian soldiers into service against their will to ensure a continuous flow of men from the merchant fleet onto naval ships.
The Royal Navy's role developed from a mutually beneficial exchange of protection for manpower with British merchant ships, to what?	To the ultimate guarantor of Britain's free trade empire.
Supporters of the slave trade argued that it was what?	That is was the 'nursery of the Royal Navy' due to the number of experienced sailors recruited by the Royal Navy from slaving ships.
This argument was less persuasive, when?	When the Admiralty was losing thousands of men defending West Indian slave economics.
In 1788 the abolitionist, Thomas Clarkson, produced figures stating what?	That, of the 5,000 men leaving Britain on slaving voyages in 1785, only 2,329 returned.
What did Clarkson's figures show?	The fact that sailing between the topical regions of West Africa and the West Indies, with no medicine for tropical diseases, the save crews suffered high mortality rates, effectively depriving Britain of skilled manpower and, thus, undermining the perception that the Royal Navy and the slave trade were mutually dependent.
What happened in 1807?	With the passing of a legislation abolishing the slave trade, the Royal Navy became the enemy of the slavers.
In 1808, what was created to stop the transatlantic slave trade, and what was the result of this?	A new squadron was created, but only 2 ships were dispatched to patrol 5,000km of West African coastline. By 1831, this had only risen to 7 ships.
In 1829, out of the 792 men on the West African squadron, how many died?	204.
In 1831, the Spanish slavers, called what, threw how many chained slavers overboard while being chased by the Royal Navy?	Spanish slavers 'Regulo' and 'Rapido' threw 150 chained slaves overboard.
In 1840s, the Royal Navy began using what, and why?	They began using paddle steamers, which could follow slaving ships into river systems.
What was the name of the paddle steamer, and how many slave ships did it capture between 1844-46?	The paddle steamer HMS Hydra captured 4 slave ships between 1844-46.
By contrast, slavers began using what kind of ships, and why?	Slavers began using clipper ships, which were small ships of around 200 tons, designed solely for speed. They were fast enough to outrun Royal Navy ships.
The slavers use of clipper ships put the West African squadron at a disadvantage until what?	Until some clippers were captured and added to the squadron. Eg the 'Black Joke', which captures 11 slavers in a single year.
From 1810-60, the Royal Navy captured and freed how many slaves?	Around 150,000 slaves.
However, freed slaves only represented what percent of the total number shipped to the Americas during this time?	Freed slaves only represented around 10% of the total number.
Why was the suppression of piracy in the Indian Ocean a major task?	As French privateers operating out of the Isle de France wreaked havoc on British shipping.f
When was French threats from the Isle de France eliminated?	In 1810, when Britain captured Isle de France.
Since the late 16th century, pirates and slavers had operated where?	Out of Algiers and other North African ports (Eg Tunis and Tripoli), known collectively as the Barbary States.
The pirates around the Barbary States were well armed and organised enough to capture shipping and undertake large coastal raids. Between the 16th-19th century, they captured how many Europeans?	An estimated 1-1.25 million Europeans.
The Royal Navy had been strong enough to do what?	To intimidate the Beys into leaving British shipping alone, after bombarding Tripoli (1675) and Algiers (1685).
However, who was vulnerable to the Beys?	Smaller powers, without great fleets. For example, in 1795 the American government paid $1 million in ransom to the Barbary States, and in 1789 900 Sardinians were taken as slaves in a single raid.
What year was an expedition, under Admiral Pellet, Lord Exmouth, sent to North Africa? What was the result of this?	1816. And, backed by a naval squadron he secured treaties with the Beys of Tunis, Tripoli and Algiers.
But before Exmouth returned to England, what happened?	200 captured Sardinians, Corsicans, and Sicilians were massacred on an Algerian island.
How did Exmouth respond to the massacre?	In the same year (1816) he returned with a larger fleet and bombarded Algiers, firing over 50,000 canon balls and sinking over 40 vessels.
How did the Bey of Algiers respond to Exmouth's bombardment?	Unaware that Britain was almost out of ammunition, they capitulated the next day, repaid over £80,000 in ransom and freed 3,000 slaves.
However, the bombardment wasn't entirely effective. Why?	Because the Beys were heavily reliant of piracy for their wealth, the sporadic raids continued.
This shows the role of the Royal Navy as what?	As the world's police force, known as Pax Britannica.
What does Pax Britannic mean?	'British peace', referring to peace in Europe.
With navigation, the Royal navy was haunted by what?	1707, the Scilly naval disaster, in which 4 warships and 1,500 men were lost due to a navigational error.
Between 1803-15 out of the 317 Royal Navy ships lost, how many ran aground on dangerous coastline or sank at sea? What does this show?	223 of the 317. It shows that wind and rocks were more dangerous than enemy guns.
In 1768, what did the Royal Society propose?	A scientific expedition to the Pacific because they were interested in using the transit of Venus in front of the sun to measure the distance between the earth and sun.
What did the Admiralty want to do?	The Admiralty wanted to lay claim to new land and chart potential anchorages for warships.
Who was appointed to lead the mission?	Captain James Cook.
Between what years did Captain Cook successfully complete a circumnavigation of the globe?	1768-71.
Although Cook was unable to take accurate measurements of the transit of Venus, why was his voyage important?	It showed it was possible for an expedition to stay at sea for 3 years without losing an unacceptable number of men. It proved the effectiveness of new technology - Cook was a cartographer and, using a duplicate of Harrison's watch, the charts he produced of the Pacific remained in use until the 20th century. And it established British claim to new lands in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.
What year was Cook killed in Hawaii?	1779.
After 1795, why did exploration become more systematic?	Because the Admiralty established a Hydrographic Office to collate reliable charts.
To calculate position at sea, it's necessary to know what?	Both the latitude (distance north or south from the equator) and the longitude (location east or west).
What issues did this raise?	There was no way to measure longitude at sea. Therefore, because ships couldn't determine their precise position, to wasn't possible to produce accurate maps.
What year was this issue solved, and how?	In 1759, John Harrison produced a watch that could keep the time at sea. With the time travelled and latitude, the longitude could then be calculated.
What did the acquisition of Malta, Ceylon and the Cape in 1815 show?	It was essentially a reaction to French threat and gave the Royal Navy the ability to blockade France in the Mediterranean while safeguarding the main route to India.

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