A Short History of the Royal Navy, 1217-1815. Volume II, 1689-1815

A concise history traces the Royal Navy’s development from the late seventeenth century through the Napoleonic era, surveying organization, tactics, and major campaigns. It explains how the Revolution shifted authority toward Parliament, altered patronage, and professionalized the officer corps, improving seamanship while reshaping military culture. Naval doctrine such as the line-ahead fighting orders is examined, with attention to how prescriptive tactics affected initiative in battle. Chapters recount convoy operations, privateering, colonial conflicts, the Seven Years’ War, the American war, the mutinies, Mediterranean actions culminating in the Nile and Trafalgar, and the service’s eventual command of the sea. The narrative balances tactical detail, administration, and sailors’ daily life to show how seapower supported policy.