Kings of the Sea
Charles II, James II & the Royal Navy
J. D. Davies
- It
- has
- always
- been
- widely
- accepted
- that
- the
- Stuart
- kings,
- Charles
- II
- and
- James
- II,
- had
- an
- interest
- in
- the
- navy
- and
- more
- generally
- in
- the
- sea.
- Their
- enthusiastic
- delight
- in
- sailing,
- for
- instance,
- is
- often
- cited
- as
- marking
- the
- establishment
- of
- yachting
- in
- England.
- The
- major
- naval
- developments
- in
- their
- reigns
- on
- the
- other
- hand
- developments
- that
- effectively
- turned
- the
- Royal
- Navy
- into
- a
- permanent,
- professional
- fighting
- force
- for
- the
- first
- time
- have
- traditionally
- been
- attributed
- to
- Samuel
- Pepys.This
- new
- book,
- based
- on
- a
- wide
- range
- of
- new
- and
- previously
- neglected
- evidence,
- presents
- a
- provocative
- new
- theory:
- that
- the
- creation
- of
- the
- proper
- Royal
- Navy
- was
- in
- fact
- due
- principally
- to
- the
- Stuart
- brothers,
- particularly
- Charles
- II,
- who
- is
- presented
- here,
- not
- as
- the
- lazy
- monarch
- neglectful
- of
- the
- detail
- of
- government,
- but
- as
- a
- king
- with
- an
- acute
- and
- detailed
- interest
- in
- naval
- affairs.
- The
- author
- also
- demonstrates
- that
- Charles
- Stuart
- predecessors
- were
- far
- more
- directly
- involved
- in
- naval
- matters
- than
- has
- usually
- been
- allowed,
- and
- proves
- that
- Charles
- and
- James
- command
- of
- ship
- design
- and
- other
- technical
- matters
- went
- well
- beyond
- the
- bounds
- of
- dilettante
- enthusiasm.It
- is
- shown
- how
- Charles
- in
- particular,
- intervened
- in
- ship
- design
- discussions
- at
- a
- highly
- technical
- level;
- how
- the
- brothers
- were
- principally
- responsible
- for
- the
- major
- reforms
- that
- established
- a
- permanent
- naval
- profession;
- and
- how
- they
- personally
- sponsored
- important
- expeditions
- and
- projects
- such
- as
- Greenvile
- Collins
- survey
- of
- British
- waters.
- The
- book
- also
- reassesses
- James
- IIs
- record
- as
- a
- fighting
- admiral.It
- is
- a
- fascinating
- journey
- into
- the
- world
- of
- the
- Stuart
- navy
- and
- shows
- how
- the
- Kings
- of
- the
- Sea
- were
- absolutely
- central
- to
- the
- development
- of
- its
- ships,
- their
- deployment
- and
- the
- officer
- corps
- which
- commanded
- them;
- it
- offers
- a
- major
- reassessment
- of
- that
- dynastys
- involvement
- in
- naval warfare.
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