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

by N. A. M. Rodger

Overview

An Economist Best Book of 2004: "Destined to remain the reference on the subject for the coming generations."—U.S. Naval Institute

The Command of the Ocean describes with unprecedented authority and scholarship the rise of Britain to naval greatness, and the central place of the Navy and naval activity in the life of the nation and 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, supplied, fed, and, above all, how it was financed and directed.

N. A. M. Rodger provides convincing reassessments of such famous figures as Pepys, Hawke, Howe, and St. Vincent. The very particular and distinct qualities of Nelson and Collingwood are illuminatingly contrasted, and the world of officers and men who make 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:	9780393328479
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	05/17/2006
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	998
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

N. A. M. Rodger is emeritus fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, and professor of naval history at the University of Exeter. He has been awarded the Julian Corbett Prize in Naval History, the Duke of Westminster’s Medal for Military Literature, and the Hattendorf Prize. He lives in Oxford.

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

The adjective "magisterial" is justified for this colossal second volume of a complete history of British sea power, which began with The Safeguard of the Sea (1998); the author of the classic 18th-century British naval history, The Wooden World, has surpassed himself here. The book opens with the establishment of the Commonwealth in 1649; for its duration there were two British navies, the Commonwealth Navy (which laid the foundations for a professional officer corps and fought the First Dutch War of 1652-1654) and a semipiratical Royalist Navy-in-Exile. After the Restoration, we quickly find the diarist Samuel Pepys exercising less literary but more permanent influence as secretary (or chief administrative officer) of the admiralty. The book offers colossal amounts of information (organized sometimes thematically, sometimes chronologically) right through to its endpoint of 1815, accompanied by a formidable set of notes and bibliography, as well as 24 pages of illustrations. The author not only avoids a hagiography of famous admirals but displays psychological insight in his portraits of, for example, the trio of Lord St. Vincent, his protege Nelson and Nelson's indispensable second, Collingwood. Rodger also demonstrates a firm grasp of the relationship of technical subjects (the amount of tar caulking a ship needed) to British strategy (keeping the Baltic sources of tar accessible). Readers without an intense interest in the subject may be daunted; readers without some background knowledge in British social history may be somewhat at sea in the author's discussion of the officer corps and the recruitment of sailors (usually through the press-gang). Serious students of naval history, however, will find this absolutely indispensable; this is the place to find out whence the navy of Jack Aubrey and Horatio Hornblower came. Agent, Peter Robinson at Curtin Brown (London). (Apr.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Rodger (naval history, Exeter Univ.; The Safeguard of the Sea: A Naval History of Britain, 660-1649) presents the second of his three planned volumes on British naval history, a remarkable effort to put naval affairs back into the history of Britain. Rodger's first volume received accolades as the first part of a massive effort that, when completed, will present a comprehensive account of the history and traditions of the British Royal Navy for the first time in over a century. In Volume 2, Rodger again combines high academic scholarship with a lively narrative that explains how the political and social history of Britain has been inextricably intertwined with the strengths and weaknesses of her sea power. The book begins with the execution of Charles I in 1649 and ends with Napoleon's surrender to the Royal Navy in July 1815. Rodger shares his convincing reassessments of such famous figures as Pepys, Hawke, Howe, and St. Vincent, contrasts the qualities of Nelson and Collingwood, and describes the world of other distinct characters, including Jack Aubrey and Horatio Hornblower. Rodger's deep, impressive, research integrates numerous unpublished theses and dissertations, as well as an abundance of other published sources, cited in the 200 pages of reference notes and bibliography. This awesome second volume, alone or as part of its eventual three-volume set, is an essential addition to British history collections in all academic libraries and special libraries focusing on naval history. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 12/04.]-Dale Farris, Groves, TX Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

"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