The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649-1815

by N. A. M. Rodger

Overview

The Command of the Ocean describes with unprecedented authority and scholarship the rise of Britain to naval greatness, and the central place of the British Navy and naval activity in the life of the nation and its 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; how it was supplied with timber, hemp, and iron; how its men (and sometimes women) were fed; and above all how it was financed and directed. It was during the century and a half covered by this book that the successful organizing of these last three-victualing, money, and management-took the navy to the heart of the British state. It is the great achievement of The Command of the Ocean to show how completely integrated and mutually dependent Britain and its navy became.

N. A. M. Rodger provides convincing reassessments of such famous figures as Pepys, Hawke, Howe, and St. Vincent. The particular and distinct qualities of Nelson and Collingwood are illuminatingly contrasted, and the world of the officers and men who made 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780141026909
Publisher:	Viking Penguin
Publication date:	09/28/2006
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 1.25(h) x 9.00(d)

About the Author

N. A. M. Rodger is professor of naval history at Exeter University and a fellow of the British Academy. He is the author of The Wooden World and the highly acclaimed volumes of his naval history of Britain, The Safeguard of the Sea and The Command of the Ocean. He lives in England.

Table of Contents

	List of Illustrations	xiii
	Foreword	xvii
	A Note on Conventions	xix
	Maps	xxx
	Introduction	lxiii
1	A Mountain of Iron: Operations 1649-1654	1
2	Cromwell's Hooves: Operations 1654-1659	20
3	A Looking-Glass of Calamity: Administration 1649-1660	33
4	The Melody of Experienced Saints: Social History 1649-1660	50
5	Terrible, Obstinate and Bloody Battle: Operations 1660-1668	65
6	Protestant Liberty: Operations 1668-1687	80
7	Amazement and Discontent: Administration 1660-1688	95
8	Learning and Doing and Suffering: Social History 1660-1688	112
9	Mad Proceedings: Operations 1688-1692	136
10	Notorious and Treacherous Mismanagement: Operations 1693-1700	152
11	An Additional Empire: Operations 1701-1714	164
12	Strife and Envy: Administration 1689-1714	181
13	Our Mob: Social History 1689-1714	201
14	Great Frigates: Ships 1649-1714	216
15	Pride and Prejudice: Operations 1715-1744	226
16	A Strong Squadron in Soundings: Operations 1744-1748	241
17	A Scandal to the Navy: Operations 1749-1758	257
18	Myths Made Real: Operations 1758-1763	272
19	The Great Wheels of Commerce and War: Administration 1715-1763	291
20	Disagreeable Necessities: Social History 1715-1763	312
21	The Battle of the Legislature: Operations 1763-1779	327
22	Distant Waters: Operations 1780-1783	343
23	The British Lion Has Claws: Operations 1784-1792	358
24	Plans of Improvement: Administration 1763-1792	368
25	A Golden Chain or a Wooden Leg: Social History 1763-1792: Officers	380
26	Dividing and Quartering: Social History 1763-1792: Men and Manning	395
27	Science versus Technology: Ships 1714-1815	408
28	Order and Anarchy: Operations 1793-1797	426
29	Infinite Honour: Social History 1793-1802: Men and Manning	442
30	The Second Coalition: Operations 1797-1801	454
31	A Great and Virtuous Character: Administration 1793-1815	473
32	A Thinking Set of People: Social History 1803-1815: Men and Manning	489
33	Honour and Salt Beef: Social History 1793-1815: Officers	507
34	Gain and Loss: Operations 1803-1805	528
35	A Continental System: Operations 1806-1811	545
36	No Greater Obligations: Operations 1812-1815	563
	Conclusion	575
Appendix I	Chronology	585
Appendix II	Ships	606
Appendix III	Fleets	610
Appendix IV	Rates of Pay	618
Appendix V	Admirals and Officials	629
Appendix VI	Manpower	636
Appendix VII	Naval Finance	640
	References	647
	English Glossary	747
	Foreign Glossary	772
	Abbreviations	774
	Bibliography	777
	Index	865

Editorial Reviews

"As Mr. Rodger demonstrates on almost every page, if you do not understand the importance of British maritime history, you can never fully understand Britain."

The Economist

"Rodger illuminates the world of Nelson and Hardy and its portrayal by C. F. Forrester in the Hornblower novels and Patrick O’Brian in the Aubrey and Maturin cycle . . . to understand the Royal Navy at its peak, Rodger’s account is indispensable"

Washington Post Book World