BRITANNIA RULES THE WAVES

The ancient art of ship-building, like many other arts, was lost in the over-whelming tide of barbarism which over threw the last of the great empires of antiquity.

But it appears evident that the progress made in shipbuilding under the Roman Empire, not to speak of the Phoenicians and other earlier navigators, was much greater than was transmitted to medieval Europe. There has always been two distinct modes of propulsion, by oars and sails. The war galley of the ancients may possibly be preserved in the medieval galleys applied to the same purpose. On the Mediterranean, too, an un-broken line of coasting ships may probably have continued to sail.

Throughout the Middle Ages many people believed that the earth was flat, Cosmas, the sixth century Greek wrote an account of his wanderings known as the "Christian Topography," he was convinced that the earth was perfectly flat, and that the four walls which compose the sky meet overhead in the dome of Heaven. It had been proved that it was possible to sail beyond the Pillars of Hercules (or Straits of Gibraltar). There was, nevertheless, great timidity and fear of the unknown in the minds of most travelers, and they preferred to keep to well-known routes.

The Northmen boldly sailed their un-decked ships many hundred of miles into unknown seas, the Viking longships started to come in fleets, sometimes up to 350 strong, due to these constant raids, Alfred the Great found it necessary to stop the menace of invasion. The organization of a naval force in England is assigned to him, he made a levy on each of the sea-border counties for the provision of a certain number of ships, or a certain amount of money or men for the upkeep of those ships, to defend the coasts of the country; He also experimented with many new types of vessels, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, states that some of these new ships were "full twice as long as the others; some had sixty oars, and some had more; they were both swifter and steadier, and also higher than the others."

THE CINQUE PORTS

		Hastings, Romney, Hythe, Dover, and Sandwich, - the five English Channel ports on the south east coast of England, continued to be granted special privileges by the later Saxon and earlier Norman kings, on condition of providing men and ships which were to serve the king for 15 days in the year at the expense of the towns. To improve the Navy, two Ancient Towns Winchelsea and Rye were added along with thirty villages.
Due to the ancient practice of waterproofing jackets with tar the name of "Jack Tar" was given to English seamen.		The early history of the personnel of the fleet of the Navy shows us that it was regarded very much more as a military force than as anything else. Between King Alfred's time and the Norman Conquest the ' levied ' Navy was supplemented by the royal ships, however during the Middle Ages, the Kings of England rarely possessed more than a token Navy.

During the years which followed the Norman Conquest the principles of feudalism were applied to the levying of a naval defence. During the 12th and 13th centuries the fleet of the Cinque Ports were practically the national fleet, but gradually the harbours grew too shallow and other ports, became more important.

In order to transport all his knights, men-at-arms and horses to Palestine. King Richard I, (Coeur-de-Lion 1189-99) needed large seaworthy ships. He provided the seamen with a welfare system, and introduced a code of sea laws, the punishments were severe, for instance, a murderer would be tied to the corpse of his victim and thrown into the sea; while a thief would be tarred and feathered before being thrown ashore. One result of the crusade of 1190 was the bringing into use of the title of admiral, although it was not used in the sense it is used today, until 1360, and a First Sea Lord, as the title is known today, was not appointed until well into the 15th century.

The national Navy, has come from these mercenary forces which formed part of the conqueror's invasion, later the Plantagenets, displaced the feudal system, with the main nucleus of the Navy, being the king's own ships commanded by the king royal officials.

Even during the reign of weak kings the sovereignty of the seas was retained. During John's reign England lost her main possessions in France. This started a dispute with France, there were victories over Philip Augustus.

In 1355 during the reign of Edward III. the first commission to press gang men between the ages of 18 and 55 into service was issued. The English claim to sovereignty in the narrow seas, was growing, and could not easily be disputed. Edward III gained a notable victory with 250 vessels at the Flemish port of Sluys in 1340. The English seldom found difficulty in invading France during the Hundred Years War as their retention of Calais shows. In 1350, Edward in the royal warship Thomas won a stunning battle (" les-Espagnols-Sur-Mer," ) at Winchelsea,. He had lost his ship, but jumped to a Spanish ship to gain victory and take 24 Spanish ships.

Ship-building had made little progress in Europe until the Crusaders, found better developed ships, in the East, they adopted their design of rigging, using the lateen, or leg-of-mutton sail. Gradually they developed the lateen into triangular head sails, stay-sails, and spanker, enabling vessels to sail several points closer to the wind. The compass, had also been introduced in a rudimentary form in the 12th century, and had come into common use by the 14th century. The Navy fluctuated in strength during the period 1399 - 1485 according to the strength or weakness of the reigning king.

THE TUDOR PERIOD & THE EARLY EXPLORERS

In Europe a great epoch now commenced, men were inspired to explore Marco Polo, (visited China), Vasco da Gama discovered a new passage to India. Columbus in 1492 in the Santa Maria sailed across the Atlantic to discover for Queen Isabella of Spain, the land he named San Salvador. Further voyages made it clear that it was a New World, in 1494 Spain and Portugal agreed by the treaty of Tordesillas to divide it between them. During the 16th century stimulated by the fabulous tales told of the wealth to be obtained, a Spanish expedition voyage led to the discovery, by Ferdinand Magellan (1520) of the Pacific Ocean, which was the first-ever voyage around the world.

The Spaniards took the lead, in building large vessels, followed by the French, who distinguished themselves in the theoretical study of the art. The English took little or no part, in the early progress of the art of ship-building. The Tudor period was a period of transition, as far as the fleet is concerned, the Navy increased in strength. Henry VII employed many of the royal ships on merchant ventures and laid the foundations, which his son improved upon.

In the early part of Elizabeth's reign, the number of ships in the Navy was less than that of Henry VIII, but the actual tonnage was greater. England was technically at peace with Spain, but feelings were running very high, and reprisals on both sides were made for alleged injustice.

THE STUART PERIOD

During the 17th century rapid improvement was being made in European ship-building, Holland and France were gaining importance as maritime states. James I.came to the throne in 1603, and promptly undid all the good work achieved during Elizabeth's reign. Parliament refused to vote him any money, so James was forced to economize, he laid up the Royal ships and discharged their crews.

Great fleets of Turks, corsairs from North Africa and Dunkirkers terrified merchants, as they roamed the channel. In Plymouth they complained that one thousand of its seamen, had been sold into slavery, and many ships were lost.

Having lain dormant for many years Charles I revived the levy of ship money for the construction and increase of those employed in the Navy, but Charles had only about 40 ships, at the outbreak of the civil war.

Under Cromwell the Navy was used as an instrument to enforce respect, and revived the days when England claimed sovereignty of the seas. "though his government did a tyrant's resemble, he made England great and her enemies tremble". During the period 1642-60 the Navy passed into the hands of Parliament, and was controlled by admirals appointed by it. By 1660 the Navy had more than trebled in size, to 229 ships and had nearly trebled in tonnage.

On the restoration of King Charles II. the Navy was renamed the Royal Navy, we also have during his reign the first mention of a vessel to which the name of "yacht" was given in England. "Yaugh" . The Catholic King James II.reigned for only three years before his persecution of the Protestants made him so unpopular that they decided to invite William of Orange, when he arrived at Torbay, the Glorious Revolution of 1688 the control of the Navy passed almost entirely into the hands of Parliament. The title of Royal Navy was still maintained, and occasionally the form of appointing a Lord High Admiral was gone through, but as a purely royal force the Navy ceased to exist.

It was in the reign of William and Mary that Greenwich Hospital was founded as a home for old seamen, and was built from the design of Sir Christopher Wren. John Evelyn was the first Treasurer. Attention began to be paid to lighting the coasts, and the first Eddystone Lighthouse was built 1694-98. During the reign of Queen Anne, England was again at war with France. In 1704 the Royal Navy under the command of Admiral Rooke captured the Rock of Gibraltar.

THE HANOVER PERIOD

When George I. came to the throne in 1714, the navy consisted of 178 ships, ranging from about 374 tons burden to one of 1869 tons, carrying 100 guns.

Two leading qualities now stood forth as the most important object to be attained in the construction and equipment of vessels for war- strength of armament, and speed and maneuvering. These qualities gained in relative importance at the expense of a previously preponderating element of equipment, namely, the number of fighting men available for assault at close quarters. Two classes of vessels, according to the preponderance of one or other of these qualities, thus came to constitute the chief strength of modem fleets. The ship of the line, or first-class war vessel, carried the strength of offensive equipment to the utmost limit practicable without sacrificing sea-going qualities. The great point in a first-class vessel was the weight of broadside, and a hundred or more guns on three decks were commonly carried. In a pitched battle it was the line-of-battle ships that bore the brunt of the fight and decided the day. The frigates scoured the seas on special missions, escaped from the enemy's line-of-battle ships by speed, destroyed his privateers, and protected the commerce of their own state. During all the great European wars these were the leading types of vessels employed.

Britain's first Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole had allowed the Royal Navy to deteriorate when in 1739 war was declared against Spain. Admiral Edward Vernon was given command of six ships and despatched to the West Indies. He soon captured the harbour of Porto Bello in Panama, he became a national hero and hundreds of roads and inns were named after Porto Bello in his honour . Rule Britannia written a year earlier became a hit.

In 1768 the French adopted three-deckers; and from their application of science they acquired a decided superiority in the size and models of their ships over the English. In 1793, when war broke out with the French, decisive command of the seas was not yet established, though the Navie's line-of-battle strength numbered 95 ships, with a section of which Howe defeated a French fleet off Ushant on 'the Glorious First of June', 1794.

James Cook a naval surveyor, charted the St. Lawrence river for Wolfe at Quebec and surveyed the coast of Newfoundland, and as a result was asked by the Royal Society to make observations from the South Seas on the transit of Venus. Operating from Tahiti. He established the location of New Zealand and landed on the coast of Australia, ( Terra. Australis ) claiming it for Great Britain as New South Wales. His landing place Botany Bay become the penal colony.Cook was promoted to Captain and continued mapping un-known land until he was killed by natives in Hawai in 1779.

In that same year Mutineers on H.M.S. Bounty turned adrift officers in to an open boat, an incident typical of the unrest of that time.

The production of cheap cast iron stimulated the invention of various kinds of machinery. Important work was done by James Watt in modifying the steam engine designed by Thomas Newcomen, employed in pumping out water in coal-mines. Soon steam engines were in demand, by 1781 attempts were being made to use steam power for ships.

During the Napoleonic War, naval vessels were sailing ships, built of wood and armed with cannon that fired broadsides. They engaged at close quarters and ratings were armed with muskets and hand-grenades.By the end of the 18th century the ships had reached their maximum size, especially with the building of such war ships as H.M.S. Victory (Nelsons flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar) which carried 100 guns.

Following the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), the British Navy dominated with its sea-power. Britain had usually over 100 ships of the line and about 150 frigates in commission, besides an equal number of ships and other vessels, measuring 800,000 to 900,000 tons in all.

CLIPPER SCHOONERS

In the early part of the 19th century the lead in improvement was taken by the United States, English builders were at first sceptical as to American improvements; but in 1832 Scott Russell theoretically established the principles on which speed in sailing depends - principles which had already been practically applied not only by the Americans but by the Spaniards. From the time of their theoretical establishment they were rapidly adopted in England, and a race of improvement began between Great Britain and America.

The true principles of construction both in build and rig were exemplified in the celebrated Baltimore clipper schooners, which were sharp in the bow, deep in the stern, of great length, and lying low in the water, with long, slender masts, and large sails cut with great skill. The same principles were afterwards applied to square rigged vessels, and produced the English and America clipper ships which did so much to develop the trade of India, China, and Australia with both Europe and America.

The North-West Passage

The North Western Passage was discovered by the great explorer Sir John Franklin, in 1847. ( The North-Eastern Passage defied discovery until 1879, when it was successfully negotiated by the Swedish explorer Nordenskiold )

IRON & STEAM SHIPS

A great change came over the art of ship-building when steam was introduced and wood gave place to iron and then to steel. By the beginning of the 19th century, rapid advances were made in ship design. Iron vessels were built for canal service, then for river service, and later for Packet service on the coasts.

By the end of the 19th century, the steel steamship was queen of the oceans. The great Cunard liners of 1893, Campania and Lucania had steam engines developing 30,000 hp, four times that of the Great Eastern.

Little did they realise that Germany's ambitious plans were to threaten the British Empires very existence.

HOUSE OF WINDSOR

WORLD WAR I.

By 1907 the powers of Europe had formed themselves into two opposing groups. Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy made up the Triple Alliance. To counter balance it, Britain, France and Russia came together in the Triple Entente. This had developed from the historic Entente Cardiale, or cordial understanding, established between Britain and France. When the heir to the Austrian throne was assassinated, Austria, blamed Serbia, and rushed to war against her. Russia prepared to come to the aid of Serbia, and Germany supporting Austria, declared war on Russia and France, and then invaded Belgium. Due to these events on the 4th of August 1914 Great Britain entered the war.

A prototype submarine had been built by the American Robert Fulton (1765-1815) but the submarine was extensively used in World War I. by the German's. The (U-boat) submarine fleet attacked merchant ships. The British Navy, responded to the German challenge with the huge steel Dreadnought battleships, blockading the enemy and protecting the lines of sea communication, protecting supplies and reinforcements, by the convoy system.

WORLD WAR II.

The flames of war were once again in the air, dissatisfaction over the failure in Norway and the critical situation in Belgium and northern France overthrew Chamberlain's government. On 1st September 1939, Hitler invaded Poland, two days later Britain and France declared war. Then suddenly the Germans pounced, by land, sea and air, on Denmark and Norway, largely to gain a base for attacks on British shipping. Gallant British and French attempts to oust the invaders failed. By 10th May 1940 the Germans were in Holland and Belgium.

The whole Allied position depended on command of the ocean routes for the transport of troops, food, munitions and other supplies. The responsibility, for this and for all the other multifarious operations at sea, fell almost entirely on Britain's Navy, until the United States came into the war after Pearl Harbour. The war was increasingly fought by aircraft from aircraft carriers, particularly the naval battles of the Pacific Campaign, naval aircraft could win a sea battle even before the ships guns had fired a shot. The aircraft carrier had thus superseded the battleship as the most important ship in the fleet.

Since the Second World War the Navy has swept the sea of thousands of mines laid during the war; continued to chart inadequately surveyed coasts; and carried out investigations in the polar regions. The Royal Navy has ensured the free use of the ocean trade routes, and restored stability in many other troubled areas such as Aden, the Persian Gulf, Mogadiscio and Borneo, it has played an active part in coastal operations against Communist bandits in Malaya and in the Korean War.

The development of Nuclear powered submarines, which use heat from the reactor to produce steam for the turbines, and are armed with long-range nuclear missiles has reduced the number of surface ships and revolutionized naval strategy. The Falklands War (1982) revealed the extent to which there remained a place for a conventional navy, but also showed how exposed surface ships were to missile attack.

During the Gulf War the navies of the Allied forces played an important strategic role. Six aircraft carriers provided launch sites from which air strikes against Iraqi ground targets were made.