The Glorious Revolution of 1688 rearranged the political map of Europe and led to a series of wars with France that lasted well over a century. This was the classic Age of Sail; while the ships themselves evolved in only minor ways, technique and tactics were honed to a high degree, and the battles of the Napoleonic Wars entailed feats that would have been impossible for the fleets of the 17th century. Because of parliamentary opposition, James II fled the country. The landing of William III and the Glorious Revolution itself was a gigantic effort involving 100 warships and 400 transports carrying 11,000 infantry and 4,000 horses. It was not opposed by the English or Scottish fleets.

Historical overview

Naval operations in the War of the Spanish Succession (1702–13) were with the Dutch against the Spanish and French. They were at first focused on the acquisition of a Mediterranean base, culminating in an alliance with Portugal and the capture of Gibraltar (1704) and Port Mahon in Menorca (1708). In addition Newfoundland and Nova Scotia were obtained. Even so, freedom of action in the Mediterranean did not decide the war, although it gave the new Kingdom of Great Britain (created by the Union of England and Scotland in 1707) an advantage when negotiating the Peace of Utrecht, and made Britain a recognized great power. The British fleet ended Spanish occupation of Sicily in 1718 and in 1727 blockaded Panama.

The subsequent quarter-century of peace saw a few naval actions. The Navy was used against Russia and Sweden in the Baltic from 1715 to 1727 to protect supplies of naval stores. It was used at the Battle of Cape Passaro in 1718, during the Great Northern War, and in the West Indies (1726). There was a war against Spain in 1739 over the slave trade. In 1745 the Navy transported troops and stores to Scotland to defeat the Jacobite rising.

The War of Jenkins' Ear (1739–48) saw various naval operations in the Caribbean under different admirals against Spanish trade and possessions, before the war merged into the wider War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48). This in turn brought a new round of naval operations against France. In 1745 the Navy twice defeated the French off Finisterre, but their convoys escaped. The Navy also defended against invasion by Charles Edward Stuart the "Young Pretender". By the end of the war, the Navy was fully engaged in the worldwide protection of British trade.

The Seven Years' War (1756–63) began somewhat inauspiciously for the Navy, with the French siege of Menorca and the failure to relieve it. Menorca was lost, but subsequent operations were more successful (due more to government support and better strategic thinking, rather than admirals reacting to John Byng's execution), and the British fleet won several victories. The French tried to invade Britain in 1759 but their force was defeated at Quiberon Bay. Spain entered the war against Britain in 1762 but lost Havana and Manila, though the latter was given back in exchange for Florida. The Treaty of Paris that ended the war left Britain with colonial gains, but strategically isolated.

At the beginning of the American Revolutionary War (1775–83), the Royal Navy dealt with the fledgling Continental Navy handily, destroying or capturing many of its vessels. France soon took the American side, and in 1778 a French fleet sailed for America, where it attempted to land at Rhode Island and nearly engaged with the British fleet before a storm intervened. Spain and the Dutch Republic entered the war in 1780. Action shifted to the Caribbean, where there were a number of battles with varying results. The most important operation came in 1781, when in the Battle of the Chesapeake, the British failed to lift the French blockade of Lord Cornwallis, resulting in a British surrender in the Battle of Yorktown. Although combat was over in North America, it continued in the Caribbean and India, where the British experienced both successes and failures. Though Menorca had been recaptured, it was returned to the Spanish.

Organization

Admiralty of Great Britain

Commanders in chief Queen Anne King George I King George II King George III

Naval Lords of England and Great Britain Office of the Lord High Admiral of England Office of the Vice-Admiral of England Office of the Rear-Admiral of England Office of the Lord High Admiral of Great Britain Office of the Vice-Admiral of Great Britain Office of the Rear-Admiral of Great Britain

Civil administration of the Navy Board of Admiralty The Board of Admiralty and the Lord's Commissioners executing the office of the Lord High Admiral:

Board of Admiralty Private Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, and member of the English government to 1706, member of the British government (1707–1801) Office of Private Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty Office of the Clerk of the Admiralty Office of the Admiralty Clerk of the Journals, appointed (1638–1741) Messenger of the Admiralty, appointed (1687) Housekeeper of the Admiralty, appointed (1687–1799) Doorkeeper of the Admiralty (1687) Gardner of the Admiralty, appointed (1687–1799) Office of the Translator to the Admiralty (1755 – 1869).

Civil Commissioner First Secretary to the Admiralty (1652–1959) Office of the Chief Clerk of the Admiralty, appointed (1694–1870) Deputy Secretary to the Admiralty (1728–41; 1744–46; 1756–59; 1764–83) Joint Secretary to the Admiralty (1741–1742) Office of the Second Secretary to the Admiralty (1702–1766; 1759–1763).

Naval Lords Naval Lords Commissioners (1700–1762) Senior Naval Lord (1689–1860)

Lords Commissioners of the AdmiraltyA total of 609 commissioners served during the 18th century. Between 1693 and 1830, the commission always included one or two additional naval lords, except from 1757 until 1782 when it was just the Senior Naval Lord. After 1830 the naval lords were titled First, Second, Third, and Fourth until 1904, when they were re-styled Sea Lord. A Junior Naval Lord was introduced from 1868 until 1903, then re-styled Fifth Sea Lord from 1917.

Judicial administration The Admiralty Courts date to at least the 1360s, during the reign of Edward III. At that time there were three such courts, appointed by admirals responsible for waters to the north, south and west of England. In 1483 these local courts were amalgamated into a single High Court of Admiralty, administered by the Lord High Admiral of England. Office of the Lord High Admiral Advocate General to the Office of the Lord High Admiral

Legal advisors to the admiralty courts, also under the Office of the Lord High Admiral:

Office of the Counsel to the Admiralty, appointed (1673–1824; originally attached to the Navy Board) Office of Solicitor for the Affairs of the Admiralty and Navy, appointed (1692–1799).

High Court of Admiralty Office of the High Court of Admiralty (1450–1875) Office of the President and Judge of the High Court, in England and Wales only Office of the Judge Advocate of the Fleet Office of the Deputy Judge Advocate of the Fleet Office of the Proctor of the High Court Office of the Marshall of the High Court Office of the Droits of the High Court Vice Admiralty of the Courts (Home) Vice Admiralty of Jurisdictions and Prizes (Abroad) Vice admiralty courts The Vice-Admiral of the Coast was responsible for the defence of one of the twenty maritime counties of England, the north and south of Wales, Scotland and Ireland As a vice-admiral, the post holder was the chief of naval administration for his district. His responsibilities included deciding the outcome of the prize court (legality of ship captures), dealing with salvage claims for wrecks, and acting as a judge in relation to maritime issues.

England Vice-Admiral Cheshire Vice-Admiral Cornwall Vice-Admiral Cumberland Vice-Admiral Devon Vice-Admiral Dorset Vice-Admiral Durham Vice-Admiral Essex Vice-Admiral Gloucestershire Vice-Admiral Hampshire Vice-Admiral Kent Vice-Admiral Lancashire Vice-Admiral Lincolnshire Vice-Admiral Norfolk Vice-Admiral Northumberland Vice-Admiral Somerset Vice-Admiral Suffolk Vice-Admiral Sussex Vice-Admiral Westmorland Vice-Admiral Yorkshire

Ireland Vice-Admiral Ireland Vice-Admiral Connaught Vice-Admiral Leinster Vice-Admiral Munster Vice-Admiral Ulster

Scotland Vice-Admiral Scotland Vice-Admiral Orkney and Shetland Vice-Admiral Western Coast

Wales Vice-Admiral North Wales Vice-Admiral South Wales

Vice Admiralty Jurisdictions and prizes abroad By appointing Vice-Admirals in the colonies, and by constituting courts as Vice-Admiralty Courts, the terminology recognized that the existence and superiority of the "mother" court in the United Kingdom. Thus, the "vice" tag denoted that whilst it was a separate court, it was not equal to the "mother" court. In the case of the courts abroad, a right of appeal lay back to the British Admiralty Court, which further reinforced this superiority. In all respects, the court was an Imperial court rather than a local Colonial court.

North America Source: Vice-Admiral Carolina (1694–1712) Vice-Admiral Georgia (1754–1777) Vice-Admiral Maryland (1697–1776) Vice-Admiral Massachusetts (1698–1776) Vice-Admiral New Hampshire (1699–1776) Vice-Admiral New York, including, Connecticut and New Jersey (1694–1776) Vice-Admiral North Carolina (1729–1776) Vice-Admiral Pennsylvania, including Delaware, (1697–1776) Vice-Admiral Rhode Island (1704–1776) Vice-Admiral South Carolina (1712–1776) Vice-Admiral Virginia (1697–1776)

West Indies Vice-Admiral Barbados Vice-Admiral Jamaica

Naval operations

Senior leadership The Naval High Command included: Office of the Lord High Admiral (1600–1628) Office of the Vice-Admiral of England (1600–1707) Office of the Vice-Admiral of Great Britain (1707–1801) Office of the Rear-Admiral of England (1600–1707) Office of the Rear-Admiral of Great Britain (1707–1801) Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty (1628–1964) Office of the Naval Lord of the Admiralty Admiralty Secretariat Board of Longitude Greenwich Hospital Nautical Almanac Office Office of the Chaplain General Office of the Charity for Sea Officers' Widows Office of the Compassionate Fund Office of the Hydrographer of the Navy Office of the Poor Knights of Windsor Register Office Royal Naval Academy Royal Observatory Sixpenny Office

Fleet commands Flag officers of the fleet

Admiral of the Fleet Red Vice-Admiral of the Red. Rear-Admiral of the Red. Admiral of the White. Vice-Admiral of the White. Rear-Admiral of the White Admiral of the Blue. Vice-Admiral of the Blue. Rear-Admiral of the Blue

Flag officers commanding fleets and stations

Fleets Commander-in-Chief, Channel Fleet (1690 – 1909). Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet (1690 – 1967). Home Commands Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland Station (1797 – 1922). Commander-in-Chief, The Downs (1777 – 1815) Commander-in-Chief, The Nore (1742 – 1961) Admiral-Superintendent, Chatham (1752 – 1955) Captain Superintendent, Sheerness (1799 – 1898). Commander-in-Chief, North Sea (1782 – 1815) Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth (1697 – 1969). Admiral-superintendent, Portsmouth (1707 – 1712), (1832 – 1969) Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth (1743 – 1969). Admiral-Superintendent, Plymouth (1707 – 1712), (1832 – 1966) Overseas Commands

Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica Station (1655 – 1830). Commander-in-Chief, Newfoundland Station (1729 – 1825). Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station (1744 – 1941). Commander-in-Chief, North America Station (1745 – 1818). Commander-in-Chief, Leeward Islands Station (1775 – 1853). Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope Station (1795 – 1939).

Fleet units