Navy - how did its role evolve 1763-1914?

Question 1

When was the Age of Sail?

Answer 1

period between 16th and mid-19th centuries when trade and naval warfare dominated by sailing vessels

Question 2

What naval tactics were generally used in the Age of Sail?

Answer 2

broadside, ie simultaneous discharge of rows of cannons mounted on side of warship

Question 3

What three features were found on victorious warships in Age of Sail?

Answer 3

• more, bigger, faster-firing, accurate guns (up to 60 each side of ship, up to 3 cannonballs per gun)
• more maneouvrable ships
• crews proficient in both sailing and gunnery

Question 4

Give four reasons why fleets approached enemy in a long line.

Answer 4

1. sustained bombardment, with each ship firing a broadside as it passed enemy
2. avoided friendly ships firing at each other
3. reduced exposure of vulnerable sterns and bows to enemy fire
4. improved speed and effectiveness of signalling using flags

Question 5

What tactic gave Britain a decisive victory at Trafalgar in 1805?

Answer 5

Nelson sailed his smaller fleet in two perpendicular lines towards enemy line (“crossing the T”) therefore having superior firepower at the point of intersection.

Question 6

What were British and French losses (ships and men) at Battle of Trafalgar?

Answer 6

France: 22 ships, over 13,000 men
Britain: no ships, less than 2,000 men

Question 7

What was a ship of the line?

Answer 7

ship deemed strong enough to be in the line of battle, so generally built long (so lots of cannons) and narrow (to maximise speed), with deep hulls to cut through water and huge sails on three masts

Question 8

What were first or second rate ships of the line?

Answer 8

Three gun decks
80-120 cannon

Question 9

What made a ship of the line third rate?

Answer 9

64-80 cannon
two gun decks
crew of about 500

Question 10

What made a ship of the line fourth rate?

Answer 10

less than 64 cannon

Question 11

What rating were most ships of the line around 1800?

Answer 11

third rate as good mix of firepower and maneouvrability

Question 12

What rating were frigates?

Answer 12

fifth and sixth rated

Question 13

What three things were frigates mainly used for?

Answer 13

patrolling
destroying enemy trade
escorting friendly shipping

Question 14

Why were frigates faster and more maneouvrable than ships of the line?

Answer 14

single gun deck

Question 15

How could fortunes be made on successful frigate?

Answer 15

Under Cruisers and Convoys Act 1708, captain and crew entitled to shares of value of captured ship and cargo, as prize money

Question 16

What was the first experimental steamship and when was it launched?

Answer 16

The Kent in 1794

Question 17

What was the first steam-powered warship and when was it launched?

Answer 17

American ship Demologos in 1816

Question 18

When did Britain launch its first steam-powered frigates?

Answer 18

1843

Question 19

Which country built the first ironclad warship and when?

Answer 19

France in 1859

Question 20

What was the first British
ironclad warship and when was it built?

Answer 20

HMS Warrior in 1861

Question 21

When did Britain abandon sail-powered warships in favour of steam power?

Answer 21

1873

Question 22

Why was Britain rarely the first country to develop new types of ships in 19th century?

Answer 22

It had more wooden sailing ships and could easily build more so no incentive to change

Question 23

Why were steam-powered ships deemed unsuitable for war for decades?

Answer 23

unreliable, slow engines that consumed lots of coal
paddle wheels unsuitable for heavy seas and took up space needed for guns

Question 24

In what type of areas did steamships start to be useful?

Answer 24

When not enough room for sailing ships to navigate, eg on rivers

Question 25

What innovation in 1830s meant steam-powered warships became more feasible?

Answer 25

invention of more powerful propeller screw propulsion

Question 26

What was the *two power standard*?

Answer 26

idea that Royal Navy should be at least as strong as next two largest navies combined, which became official policy in Naval Defence Act 1889

Question 27

What did Britain commit to in the Naval Defence Act 1889?

Answer 27

10 battleships, 42 cruisers and 18 torpedo gunships by 1893-94, at cost of £21.5m

Question 28

What did John Fisher become in 1904?

Answer 28

first sea lord of the Admiralty

Question 29

What was significant about HMS Dreadnought in 1906?

Answer 29

Easily the most powerful battleship (cost £1.8m, 160m long, top speed 21 knots, 5 huge guns that could fire 385kg shell over 22km)

Question 30

What was John Fisher's aim and did it work?

Answer 30

* to win the "arms race" by producing warships that were so technologically advanced that no other navy could challenge them * but Germany, USA and Japan started building their own equivalents

Question 31

What was *impressment*?

Answer 31

forcible recruitment of sailors into navy, eg by press gangs in ports offering gold, getting sailours drunk or kidnapping them, or at sea where navy had power to stop civilian ship and take some of the men onboard

Question 32

How many French merchant ships did the Royal Navy capture in the Seven Years' War?

Answer 32

1,165

Question 33

Who showed that of 5000 men leaving Britian on slaving voyages in 1785, only 2,329 returned?

Answer 33

abolitionist Thomas Clarkson

Question 34

How many slaves were shipped across the Atlantic in 1800 and 1830?

Answer 34

* 1800: 80,000 slaves * 1830: 135,000 slaves (despite abolition of slave trade in 1807)

Question 35

Why was Royal Navy unsuccessful in reducing slave trade?

Answer 35

* During Napoleonic Wars, not enough resources could be spared. * After Wars, Royal Navy couldn't board all foreign ships so slave ships would fly flag of other nations * (eventually, treaties signed that did allow them to if they were carrying slaves)

Question 36

What technology enabled Royal Navy to increase anti-slave trade operations in West Africa in 1840s?

Answer 36

use of paddle steamers to follow slaving ships upriver, and then use of clippers (small ships with large sails) captured from slavers

Question 37

In what ocean was French piracy a particular issue during Napoleonic Wars?

Answer 37

Indian Ocean

Question 38

Which renowned French pirateer captured over 40 boats including 16 in a single expedition in 1807-08?

Answer 38

Robert Surcouf

Question 39

How and when did Britain reduce the threat of piracy in Indian Ocean?

Answer 39

Capture of Isle de France in 1810

Question 40

What was Isle de France renamed and what did it become after 1810?

Answer 40

Mauritius and became a naval base

Question 41

Which two people did Britain sign treaties with in 1802 to protect British shipping in Red Sea?

Answer 41

* Imam of Mocha * Sultan of Aden

Question 42

When was the Anglo-Dutch Treaty signed?

Answer 42

March 1824

Question 43

What did the Anglo-Dutch Treaty do?

Answer 43

resolved territorial disputes in East Indies, formalising responsibility for suppressing piracy and introducing naval patrols

Question 44

Where are the straits of Malacca, a notorious piracy hotspot in 1800s?

Answer 44

narrow channel between China and India

Question 45

When was the attack on Algiers?

Answer 45

1816

Question 46

Name three ports that formed the *Barbary States*.

Answer 46

Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli

Question 47

What were the rulers of the Barbary States known as?

Answer 47

Beys

Question 48

How much did American government pay in ranson to Barbary States in 1795?

Answer 48

$1m

Question 49

What was the impetus for Admiral Pellow to be sent to North Africa in 1816?

Answer 49

criticism that Britain more interested in suppressing African slave trade than Europe

Question 50

Who did Admiral Pellow secure treaties with in 1816?

Answer 50

Beys of Tunis, Tripoli and Algiers

Question 51

Who were massacred on Algerian island of Bona soon after 1816 treaties signed?

Answer 51

200 captured Corsicans, Sardinians and Sicilians

Question 52

What did the 1816 massacre on Bona lead to?

Answer 52

Attack on Algiers by large fleet led by Admiral Pellow

Question 53

How many vessels were sunk in the attack on Algiers?

Answer 53

over 40

Question 54

How many cannonballs were fired in the attack on Algiers?

Answer 54

over 50,000 (almost all that British fleet had with them)

Question 55

How did Bey of Algiers respond to 1816 attack?

Answer 55

paid over £80k in ransom money and freed 3,000 slaves

Question 56

Did the attack on Algiers stop piracy?

Answer 56

Not completely - only stopped when France conquered Algiers in 1830

Question 57

Why was attach on Algiers significant?

Answer 57

It showed that Britain was willing to use Royal Navy to protect foreigners under British protection, and Royal Navy became the "world's police force".

Question 58

What happened in the Scilly naval disaster of 1707?

Answer 58

navigation error led to wrecking of 4 ships and loss of 1550 men

Question 59

How many Royal Navy ships were lost 1803-1815 and how many of those were due to running aground or sinking at sea?

Answer 59

317 lost 223 ran aground or sank at sea

Question 60

For which two reasons was navigation a particular problem with long-distance conflicts?

Answer 60

* less likely to know the details of the area from past experience * ships needed to have deep keels and long sides to travel long-distance

Question 61

Was it longitude or latitude that was a navigation problem at sea?

Answer 61

longitude (east-west), as latitude (north-south) could be measured from altitue of sun and stars

Question 62

What was the Longitude Act of 1714?

Answer 62

It offered a reward to anyone who could come with a way to measure longitude at sea.

Question 63

What did John Harrison produce in 1759 that could enable measurement of longitude at sea?

Answer 63

A watch that could keep time at sea

Question 64

When was Captain James Cook's circumnavigation of the globe?

Answer 64

1768-71

Question 65

Why was Cook's circumnavigation important?

Answer 65

* Showed that possible to stay at sea for three years without losing lots of men to disease if maintained cleanliness and fresh food access * proved effectiveness of new navigation technology for making accurate charts * established British claim to new lands in Australia, NZ and Pacific, the basis of future colonial expansion