- The Tudors and the Royal Navy
The Tudor era was a critical one in the development of the
Royal Navy .Henry VII
Henry VII deserves a large share of credit in the establishment of a standing navy. Although there is no evidence for a conscious change of policy, Henry soon embarked on a program of building ships larger than heretofore. He also invested in dockyards, and commissioned the oldest surviving
dry dock (and the first in Europe) in1495 at Portsmouth.Henry VIII
Henry VIII inherited a force of some 15 ships, and continued expansion in "
great ship s" (eg "Mary Rose ", using the idea of firing throughgunport s in the sides of a ship, an idea only invented sometime between 1505 and 1509), infrastructure (includingTrinity House ) and facilities apace in expectation of war with France; in1512 SirEdward Howard took over asLord Admiral , and attacked on10 August , with inconclusive results despite a memorable slugging match between the English "Regent" and the French "Cordelière" resulting in the destruction of both. Additional combat in1513 resulted in the death of Sir Edward, and his brother Thomas Howard took his place. In 1514 the 1,500-toncarrack "Great Harry " was launched, the first Englishtwo-decker and one of the earliest warships equipped with gunports and heavy bronze cannon.Henry also commissioned the
Anthony Roll (now in thePepys Library ), a survey of his navy as it was c.1546 , from which comes much of the pictorial evidence for his ships.In the end, the chief result of the war with France was a decision to keep the 30 ships active during peacetime. This entailed the establishment of a number of shore facilities, and the hiring of additional administrators; a royal
shipwright appears in1538 . By1540 the navy consisted of 45 ships, and in1545 Lord Lisle had a force of 160 ships fighting with a French force of 130 attempting to invade England at theBattle of the Solent . In the same year a memorandum established a "king's majesty's council of his marine", a first formal organization comprising seven officers, each in charge of a specific area, presided over by "Lieutenant" or Vice-AdmiralSir Thomas Clere .Edward and Mary
Edward VI and Mary I added little new to their father's navy. Although the navy was involved in the maneuverings following the death of Henry VIII, it was ineffective. Mary maintained the building program, the navy performed satisfactorily if not outstandingly (it did not prevent the loss of
Calais ) in the war with France of 1557 to 1559.Elizabeth I
A fleet review on
Elizabeth I 's accession in 1559 showed the navy to consist of 39 ships, and there were plans to build another 30, to be grouped into five categories (a foreshadowing of the rating system). Elizabeth kept the navy at a constant expenditure for the next 20 years, and maintained a steady construction rate.By the 1580s, tensions with Spain had reached the breaking point, exacerbated by Elizabeth's support for the privateering expeditions of Hawkins, Drake, and others, and capped by the Cadiz raid of
1587 , in which Drake destroyed dozens of Spanish ships. In1588 ,Philip II of Spain launched theSpanish Armada against England, but after a running battle lasting over a week, the Armada was scattered and limped home. These famous battles were early actions in the long and costly Anglo-Spanish War of1585 –1604 .*
English Armada
*William Winter (admiral) Legacy
Important though this period was, it represents a soon-lost high point. After 1601 the efficiency of the Navy declined gradually, while corruption grew until brought under control in an inquiry of
1618 .ee also
*
Anthony Roll
*History of the Royal Navy
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