The Royal Navy during the French Wars, 1793-1815

• 1793- France declares war on Britain.
• 1794- Battle of the Glorious (1st of June)
• 1797- Battle of Cape Vincent (February) and Naval Mutinies at Spithead and the Nore
• 1797- Battle of Camperdown (October)
• 1798- Battle of the Nile
• 1801- Battle of Copenhagen
• 1802-3- Peace of Amiens
• 1805- Battle of Trafalgar
• 1812-13- The War of 1812

• Most ships were made out of wood and were dependant on sails for movement. The main battleships were called ships of the line. 
• Usually carrying more than 70 guns, they had crews of 100 men. 
• The navy also relied on frigates. These were smaller, but faster ships, usually carrying 28-36 guns.
• In battle, warships raked the enemy with broadsides. If ships came together, they might be boarded by crews and marines from the other sides.

Blockade:

• A close blockade, where the main fleet sailed near the enemy port.
• An open blockade, where the main fleet was in a home port or miles away at sea and frigates patrolled the cost off the enemy port

Gunnery:

• Since 1745 every Royal Navy ship was obliged to perform daily gunnery practice. Most British ships carried 32-pounder guns which could fire a cannon ball weighing approximately 32 pounds.
• Each gun was manned by seven sailors. Guns weighed more than 3 tons and recoiled on firing. 
• British seamen could unleash a broadside every minute and a half- which was faster than their enemies.

Naval officers:

• Most were middleclass or the offspring of previous officers.
• British officers born in the 1750s and 17960s had gained valuable experience of naval warfare in the American War of Independence.  

Naval Crews:

• After 1793 the navy’s strength was about 120,000 men, climbing to over 140,000 sailing in 1000 vessels by 1812.

Recruitment:

• Britain didn’t impose conscription. The Impressment Service had the power to force seafarers aged between 15 and 55 to join the Royal Navy. By 1805, half the Royal Navy’s crews were made of pressed men.
• Britain also used the Quota System, whereby each country was required to supply a certain number of volunteers, based on its population and the number of its seaports.
• HMS Caledonia had Swedes, Frenchmen, Portuguese, North Americans, West Indians, Brazilians, Germans, Italians, Africans and Russians on board.

Conditions:

• Able-bodied naval seamen in 1793 were paid 22s. 6d a month. There had been no wage increase since 1652 and pay was often months in arrears. 
• Sailors who slept in hammocks were permitted a width of just 14 inches per man.
• Food, while plentiful by the standards of today, tended to be monotonous. But there was realisation that sailors needed to have fresh fruit and veg in order to prevent scurvy.
• Work was hard physically.
• Discipline was harsh. Those who broke the rules could expect to be flogged with the cat-o’-nine-tails.
• Sailors could also be at sea for years at a time.

Discipline:

• The Royal Navy’s strength was based on ships that hummed like well-oiled machines, with each part contributing to the smooth running of the whole navy.

• While the navy retained its dominance for most of the American War for independence that conflict had exposed some shortcomings, and efforts were made to address these.
• In the 1780s the Conservative Prime Minister William Pitt developed a good working relationship with Rear Admiral Charles Middleton, a determined reformer: 
•  Dockyards were more closely supervised to eliminate waste and corruption.   
• Middleton was the brains behind coppering the fleet, which meant that warships                      needed fewer repairs.
• Massive stocks of timber and rope were built up. 
• New ports were built at Portsmouth and Plymouth

Toulon:

• In August 1793, Admiral Hood, who commanded the British Mediterranean fleet, seized Toulon, the main French naval base in the Mediterranean. Before departing, he captured or destroyed a large number of French ships.

The Battle of the Glorious First of June:

• In 1794, Lord Howe, who commanded the blockading fleet, heard that a grain convoy was returning to France from the USA. Howe sailed west to give battle. The two fleets met 400 miles out in the Atlantic on 1st Jude 1794. The French had 26 ships of the line, the British had 25. Howe’s fleet captured or sank seven enemy ships. Some 7000 French sailors were killed or taken prisoner. The British sustained 1200 casualties. But the battle was not a success as the ships succeeded in reaching France.

• In 1795, Sir John Jervis took over command in the Mediterranean, replacing Hood. Jervis set about whipping the fleet into shape. He forged an excellent relationship with those officers whom he trusted a respected.
• In 1796 the situation deteriorated when the Netherlands and Spain changed sides, joining France against Britain. The Royal Navy, now facing far more enemy ships was seriously strained. The main British fleet was stationed at Spithead, leaving fifteen battleships to blockade Brest, where double that number of French ships were preparing to break out. In December 1796, 44 French ships, carrying 14,000 troops sailed from Brest, aiming to land in Ireland. Fortunately for Britain, after a week of gales, the French fleet abandoned its mission and returned to Brest.

Spithead:

• On 16th April 1797 Admiral Lord Bridport ordered the fleet at Spithead to sea. The crews of every ship refused the admirals command. Discontent centred on pay, the quality of food and brutal officers. A petition was sent to the Admiralty describing the many hardships and oppressions they have laboured under for many years.
• Things then soured as legislation to improve matters ground through parliament. On 7th May a fresh mutiny broke out, which was led by the backbone of the navy, the petty officers, who presented their demands in a reasonable manner. Lord Howe dealt in person with the mutineers’ delegates entertaining them at a banquet on 15th May.

Nore:

• On 12th May 1797, the ships at the Nore mutinied, this mutiny was more serious. The men had more far-reaching demands: the power of veto over officers, longer leave and pardons for deserters. The Nore mutineers were joined by the North Sea Fleet, which was responsible for blockading the Duty Navy. In an effort to achieve their demands, the mutineers attempted to blockade the Thames. Pitt’s government determined to make no more concessions, took steps to isolate and starve the mutineers. The mutiny ended in mid-June when moderate sailors wrestled control from the radicals. Richard Parker, the mutiny’s leader, was hanged, as were 28 other ring leaders.

The Battle of the Nile:

• In May 1798 Napoleon left Toulon with thirteen battleships and 280 transports carrying nearly 50,000 troops. His destination was Egypt. In June his fleet was reinforced by eleven ships of the line. Hearing rumours that the French had taken Malta, Nelson gambled on the fact that Napoleon was making for Egypt, he sailed eastwards arriving at Alexandria on 29th June. There was no sign of the French, weighing anchor, he set off to search elsewhere. Napoleon arrived at Alexandria on 1st July- the day after Nelson sailed away.
• A month later, on 1st August Nelson found the French fleet in Aboukir Bay at the mouth of the River Nile. The thirteen enemy battleships were anchored in a line with both flanks close to shoal. The two fleets had the same amount of ships but the French had one 120-gun ship.
• Although it was near nightfall, Nelson gave battle. He simply ordered his captains to get close to the enemy and fight. Soon after 6pm, the Goliath, commanded by Thomas Foley, sailed round the French so as to attack from the shore side. Superior British gunnery devastated the French. At 9.37pm, the French Flagship, the Orient, ablaze for 30 minutes exploded. The fight continued through the night. By morning it was clear that Nelson’s ‘band of brothers’ had done him proud. Only 2/13 French ships escaped.

• The combined French and Spanish fleets survived a skirmish with the British under Admiral Calder, and reached port in Cadiz. Nelson returned for a month’s rest in England, before sailing once more in September 1805 in HMS Victory. In October, the French and Spanish ships emerge ordered by Napoleon to sail to support Italy to support his campaign against the Austrians. This was Nelson’s opportunity. His fleet had 27 ships of the line against the enemy’s 33 and he caught up with Villeneuve off Cape Trafalgar, in southern Spain on 21st October. The British ships formed two columns, one led by nelson and the other by Vice-Admiral Collingwood. They broke through the Franco-Spanish line and fighting at close quarters ensued. 
• Nelsons flagship HMS Victory ran alongside the French Redoutable and from both ships guns of all sizes, from cannons to muskets and pistols, fired at point blank range.  HMS Temeraire joined in firing broadside into the other side of the French ship, whose captain, Jean Lucas, described how its decks were covered with dead, buried beneath debris and splinters. The French ship lost 490 men out of 643. Nelson remained on deck in his admiral’s uniform, which made him a very visible target. He was shot by a French sniper positioned atop the mast of Redoutable, the bullet pierced his lung and lodged his spine. Carried below deck, he was told of his victory before he died at 4.30 pm.
• The remnants of Villeneuve’s fleet, now under Spanish command since Villeneuve had been captured, returned to Cadiz. Most of the ships taken as prizes by the British went down in a terrible storm that blew up after Trafalgar, the British taking only four into Gibraltar. Nelsons body was brought back to England, for burial in St Paul’s Cathedral. His last ship survived the scrapheap, and HMS Victory is now a historic attraction at the dockyard in Portsmouth.

Impact on trade:

• In Europe, and on the high seas, Britain imposed its own blockade, stopping neutral shops as well as effectively shutting off key French Ports. Trade was a key weapon. The British army could not deal with Napoleon on land unaided, but Britain’s economic weaponry and its ability to wage a trade war using its navy gave it powerful assets. This is demonstrated by the Order in Council issued by George III and his ministers in 1807, which was aimed not just at Napoleon’s allies, but at any countries that tried to exclude the British flag.
• The British economy survived and grew, despite the cost of war. Britain’s financial strength, and its ability to trade worldwide thanks to the protection of the navy enabled them to stay at war. Beaten nations were expected to stop trade with Britain. Napoleon hoped the continental system, imposed in 1807, would choke Britain’s economy and force them to make peace.The French ended up suffering more as they relied heavily on the British trades. British retaliatory measures against France in this economic war caused a war with the USA. The Royal Navy demanded to board and search any ship trading with France. 
• The USA banned British trade, a move that hurt Americans more than Britain, and the ensuing tension led to the war of 1812, a pointless distraction for Britain until it ended in 1814.

• The value of British exports overall rose during the wars, whilst exports to Europe almost doubled between the 1790s and the end of the war. By 1813, tariffs meant that timber from Canada was a third cheaper than from other sources. 
• New markets were opened up in Spain, Portugal and Latin America, and trade with the USA also continued despite difficulties caused by the US retaliating against British naval action.
• The financial squeeze was on private spending and household incomes. Wages in real terms stagnated between 1796 and 1814, and the low paid were hit by rising food prices.
• The most well-known one of these systems was the Speenhamland system, named after a parish in Berkshire, which linked the size of families to the price of bread in order to determine relief. 

The War Debt:

• The French Wars (1793-1815) cost Britain £1,600 million this was funded on credit.
• Its success was due to Britain’s already fairly sophisticated manufacturing and banking systems, to the government’s refusal to admit changes such as legal minimum wages and by massive borrowing. 
• The government responded to fears about the growth of the national debt by raising taxes.
• To raise money, the government offered government stocks more secure in wartime than risky new ventures, but on the whole investment remained steady. 

• The French wars followed a period of agricultural change known as the agrarian revolution. 
• Output per worker was 50% higher than other European countries. 
• Corn Laws of 1815, protected home wheat growers from cheap foreign imports.
• The Board of Agriculture, to make surveys of farming in every county. The farming revolution was spurred on by the demands of the war, even though for most rural community’s war was a distant event.
• A key change to land use was the enclosure of farmland. 
• Parliamentary Enclosure Acts consolidated small landholdings into larger more efficient farms. There were more than 3,000 such Acts between 1760 and 1820. 
• Grain continued to be imported, though when imports were restricted (as in 1808 when they fell from 114,000 tons in 1807 to only 14,000 tons)

• Cyfartha ironworks in south-wales made 500 tons of iron in 1787; by 1812 it was producing 10,000 tons a year. 
• Merthyr Tydfil had 20 times more people than it had in 1790.
• The war demanded infrastructure improvement, with canal building to move heavy building materials by water, continuing apace 
• New canals around London and the South and Midlands, including the Royal Military Canal in Kent.
• Steam engine development also continued, mostly for industrial use.
• In 1796, Boulton and Watt opened a factory to make steam pumping engines. The demonstration in 1804 of a steam locomotive by Richard Trevithick was a pointer towards the age of railways about to begin.
• The government was directly involved in some wartime construction projects, such as the building of Martello towers along the coast to guard against the threat of invasion. It also borrowed the French invention of the Chappe telegraph and a signal system using mechanical arms and shutters to transmit semaphore messages, setting up links such as the telegraph from London to Portsmouth completed in 1806.

• Changed produced fear and uncertainty, often seen by the government as evidence of ‘revolutionary sympathies’. 
• Machine-breaking was a symptom of the fear felt by skilled workers, as traditional craft jobs disappeared.
• The government cracked down on this.
• Luddism flared in Nottinghamshire in 1811, and spread to Yorkshire and Lancashire among textile workers fearful of mechanisation.
• The government responded to protests by sending in troops to keep the peace, while factory owners hired security guards to protect their machines. 
• Magistrates cracked down on ‘trouble makers’
• There were new laws to prevent workers forming trade unions and, in 1794, the government suspended habeas corpus- ‘the legal procedure that prevents authorities from imprisoning people indefinitely without trial. 
• In 1812, the breaking of machines became a capital offence and, in 1813, 17 luddites were hung.
• The ideals of the French revolution, especially liberal ideas of social justice, influenced some industrialists such as Robert Owen, who found support for his plans for new model factory communities from social philosophers such as Jeremy Bentham.