Patronage and the British Navy, 1775-1815

Argues that patronage served a very useful function and should not be seen as a form of corruption.


This book, based on extensive original research, examines the rich and varied nature of patronage in the British navy at the end of the long eighteenth century. Patronage underpinned naval advancement, determined where officers, seamen and dockyard workers were stationed, and fashioned their reputations. It was also a system of trust whereby an individual's connections acted as guarantors of t...