Admiralty in the 17th century
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During the early 17th century, England's relative naval power deteriorated, In the course of the rest of the 17th century, The office of the Admiralty and Marine Affairs steered the Navy's transition from a semi-amateur Navy Royal fighting in conjunction with private vessels into a fully professional institution, a Royal Navy. Its financial provisions were gradually regularised, it came to rely on dedicated warships only, and it developed a professional officer corps with a defined career structure, superseding an earlier mix of sailors and socially prominent former soldiers.


Historical overview

After 1603 the English and Scottish fleets were organized together under
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
but the efficiency of the Navy declined gradually, while corruption grew until brought under control in an inquiry of 1618. James concluded a peace with Spain and privateering was outlawed. Between 1618 and 1628, a Navy Commission temporarily replaced the Navy Board, due to misappropriation of
public funds Government spending or expenditure includes all government consumption, investment, and transfer payments. In national income accounting, the acquisition by governments of goods and services for current use, to directly satisfy the individual o ...
by board commissioners. After the inquiry was over the office of the Lord High Admiral (held by the
Duke of Buckingham Duke of Buckingham held with Duke of Chandos, referring to Buckingham, is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been earls and marquesses of Buckingham. ...
) was restored. However, he was murdered and King Charles I put the office into commission. This led to the creation of a new
Board of Admiralty The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...
which in its early formation was just the Privy Council in another reincarnation. This in turn also led to the removal of the
Admiralty Court Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offences. Admiralty courts in the United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland The Scottish court's earliest ...
from direct control of the Lord High Admiral's. His office was temporarily restored again in 1638, but then put in commission once more after 1679 the
Lords Commissioners of Admiralty This is a list of Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty (incomplete before the Restoration, 1660). The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of The Board of Admiralty, which exercised the office of Lord High Admiral when it was ...
became the permanent officers responsible for administration of the Navy.


Organization in the seventeenth century


Admiralty of England

File:Tudor Ensign 1485-1603.svg, Tudor Ensign 1600-1603 File:Stuart Royal Navy Squadron Ensign of 1620.svg, Stuart Navy Squadron Ensign 1603-1620 File:English White Ensign 1620.svg, English Navy White Ensign 1620-1707


Commanders-in-chief

*
Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...
* King James I & VI * King Charles I * Lord Protectors, Oliver Cromwell, Richard Cromwell * King Charles II * King James II & VII *
King William III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the ...
and Queen Mary II * Queen Anne


Naval Lords of England

* Office of the Lord High Admiral of England ** Vice-Admiral of England and Deputy Lord High Admiral *** Rear-Admiral of England


Civil administration of the Navy

Notes: ''the Secretary of State England for the period 1628 to 1679 was responsible for all policy decisions and direction on behalf of the government due to a continued
state of war A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the signing of a document) by an authorized party of a national government, in ...
''.


=Board of Admiralty

= ''The Board of Admiralty and the Lord's Commissioners executing the office of the Lord High Admiral'' * The Board of Admiralty First Commissioner and First Lord of the Admiralty *
First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...
, and member of the
English government There has not been a government of England since 1707 when the Kingdom of England ceased to exist as a sovereign state, as it merged with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.First Secretary to the Admiralty The Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty also known as the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Board of Admiralty was a position on the Board of Admiralty and a civil officer of the British Royal Navy. It was usually ...
(1652 – 1871) Naval Commissioner * Naval Lord from (1682 – 1689) *
Senior Naval Lord Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...
from (1689–1771) Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty ''91 commissioners served during the 17th century.'' ''Notes: Between 1693 and 1830 the commission always included either 1 or 2 additional naval lords except from 1757 until 1782 when it was just the Senior Naval Lord. After 1830 the Naval Lords are titled, First, Second, Third, Fourth until 1904 when they are re-styled Sea Lord. A junior naval lord is introduced in 1868 until 1903 then is re-styled Fifth Sea Lord from 1917.''


Naval operations


Senior leadership

''Naval High Command'' * Office of the Lord High Admiral of England (1600 – 1628) ** Office of the Vice-Admiral of England *** Office of the Rear-Admiral of England * Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty (1628 – 1964) ** Office of the Naval Lord of the Admiralty* *** Admiralty Secretariat, (1690-1932) *** Greenwich Hospital *** Nautical Almanac Office ***
Register office A register office or The General Register Office, much more commonly but erroneously registry office (except in official use), is a British government office where births, deaths, marriages, civil partnership, stillbirths and adoptions in England ...
*** Royal Observatory *** Sixpenny Office


Fleet commands

''Flag officers of the fleet'' * Admiral of the Fleet Red **
Vice-Admiral of the Red Vice-admiral of the Red was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank admiral of the Blue (see order of precedence below). Royal Navy officers currently holding the ranks of commodore, rear admira ...
*** Rear-Admiral of the Red * Admiral of the White **
Vice-Admiral of the White The Vice-Admiral of the White was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Vice-Admiral of the Red (see order of precedence below). Royal Navy officers holding the ranks of commodore, rear admira ...
***
Rear-Admiral of the White The Rear-Admiral of the White was a senior rank of the Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first maj ...
* Admiral of the Blue **
Vice-Admiral of the Blue The Vice-Admiral of the Blue was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Vice-Admiral of the White (see order of precedence below). Royal Navy officers currently holding the ranks of commodore, re ...
***
Rear-Admiral of the Blue The Rear-Admiral of the Blue was a senior rank of the Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major ...


Flag officers commanding fleets and stations

''Flag officer commanding individual fleets and stations''


=Home commands

= * Admiral Commanding, the Narrow Seas, (1412-1688) * Admiral/Vice-Admiral Commanding, in the Channel. (1512-1746) * Commander-in-Chief, the Downs, (1628-1834) * Commander-in-Chief, Medway, (1698-1699) *
Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. The commanders-in-chief were based at premises in High Street, Portsmouth from the 1790s until the end of Sir Thomas Williams's tenure, his succes ...
(1667-1969) * Commander, Royal Squadron, (1660-1995) *
Commander-in-Chief, Thames The Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Nore Station or Nore Command. The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of the Th ...
, (1695-1696) * Commander-in-Chief, Western Squadron, (1650-1854)


Shore commands

* Vice-Admiralties of the Coast of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, (1536-1830)


=Overseas commands

= * Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica Station (1655-1830) * Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet (1690-1967)


Fleet units

''Squadrons'' * Red Squadron * White Squadron * Blue Squadron


Administrative and logistical support


Board of ordnance


=Principal officers

= ''Board of Ordnance'' (1597 – 1855) * Office of the Board of Ordnance **
Master-General of the Ordnance The Master-General of the Ordnance (MGO) was a very senior British military position from 1415 to 2013 (except 1855–1895 and 1939–1958) with some changes to the name, usually held by a serving general. The Master-General of the Ordnance was ...
(1597 – 1855) ***
Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance The Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance was a member of the British Board of Ordnance and the deputy of the Master-General of the Ordnance. The office was established in 1545, and the holder was appointed by the crown under letters patent. It ...
(1597 – 1855) **** Treasurer of the Ordinance (1597 – 1855) ****
Surveyor-General of the Ordnance The Surveyor-General of the Ordnance was a subordinate of the Master-General of the Ordnance and a member of the Board of Ordnance, a British government body, from its constitution in 1597. Appointments to the post were made by the crown under L ...
(1597 – 1888) ****
Clerk of the Ordnance {{Infobox official post , post = Office of the Clerk of the Ordnance , body = , nativename = , insignia = File:Badge of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps on a RML 10 inch 18 ton gun in Gibraltar.jpg , insigniasize ...
(1554 – 1853) ****
Storekeeper of the Ordnance The Principal Storekeeper of the Ordnance was a subordinate of the Master-General of the Ordnance and a member of the English (and later British) Board of Ordnance from its constitution in 1597. He was responsible for the care and maintenance of ...
(1558 – 1845) ****
Clerk of Deliveries of the Ordnance {{Infobox official post , post = Office of the Clerk of the Deliveries of the Ordnance , body = , nativename = , insignia = File:Badge of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps on a RML 10 inch 18 ton gun in Gibraltar. ...
(1570 – 1812)


=Ordnance yards and stores

= ''Home ordinance yards'' * The Gun Wharf, Chatham Dockyard * Gunwharf Portsmouth Dockyard ''Gunpowder magazines stores'' *
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...
, London (1461 – 1855) *
Square Tower The Square Tower is one of the oldest parts of the fortifications of Portsmouth, England. It is a Grade I listed building. History A tower was built in 1494 as part of the fortifications and served as a home to the Governor of Portsmouth. I ...
, Portsmouth (1584 – 1855)


Navy board

''Construction, design, maintenance, supplies''


=Principal officers

= *Office of the
Navy Board The Navy Board (formerly known as the Council of the Marine or Council of the Marine Causes) was the commission responsible for the day-to-day civil administration of the Royal Navy between 1546 and 1832. The board was headquartered within the ...
** Comptroller of the Navy (1597 – 1832) ***
Surveyor of the Navy The Surveyor of the Navy also known as Department of the Surveyor of the Navy and originally known as Surveyor and Rigger of the Navy was a former principal commissioner and member of both the Navy Board from the inauguration of that body in 15 ...
(1597 – 1832) ***
Treasurer of the Navy The Treasurer of the Navy, originally called Treasurer of Marine Causes or Paymaster of the Navy, was a civilian officer of the Royal Navy, one of the principal commissioners of the Navy Board responsible for naval finance from 1524 to 1832. ...
(1597 – 1832) *** Clerk of the Navy *** Surveyor-General Victuals, (1550-1679) ***
Controller of Treasurer Accounts The Controller of Treasurer Accounts also called Comptroller of Treasurer Accounts was the civilian officer in the Royal Navy who was a principal member of the Navy Board initially from 1667 to 1679 and then again from 1691 until 1796, he was resp ...
, (1667-1796) ***
Controller of Victualling Accounts The Controller of Victualling Accounts also called Comptroller of Victualling Accounts was a civilian officer in the Royal Navy who was also a principal member of the Navy Board from 1667 until 1796, he was responsible for examining the accounts of ...
, (1667-1796) ***
Controller of Storekeepers Accounts The Controller of Storekeepers Accounts also known as the Comptroller of Storekeepers Accounts was a principal member of the Navy Board who was responsible for managing and processing all naval store-keeping accounts and deliveries to naval yards ...
, (1671-1796) *** Commissioners for Old Accounts, (1686-8) *** Commissioners for Current Business, (1686-8) *** Commissioners for Examining Accounts (Incurred), (1688-9)


=Subsidiary boards of navy board

= *Office of the
Navy Board The Navy Board (formerly known as the Council of the Marine or Council of the Marine Causes) was the commission responsible for the day-to-day civil administration of the Royal Navy between 1546 and 1832. The board was headquartered within the ...
**
Sick and Hurt Board The Sick and Hurt Commissioners (also known as the Sick and Hurt Board, but formally and fully titled The Commissioners for taking Care of Sick and Wounded Seamen and for the Care and Treatment of Prisoners of War) were responsible for medical ser ...
(established temporarily in times of war from 1653, placed on a permanent footing from 1715) ** Victualling Board (1683 – 1832) ** Transport Board (1690 – 1724, re-established 1794)


=Shore facilities

= Note: ''Dockyards during this period were managed by the commissioners of the Navy Board''. ''Home naval base and dockyards'' *
Portsmouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is l ...
(1496 – present) *
Woolwich Dockyard Woolwich Dockyard (formally H.M. Dockyard, Woolwich, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich) was an English naval dockyard along the river Thames at Woolwich in north-west Kent, where many ships were built from the early 16th century until th ...
(1512 – 1869) *
Deptford Dockyard Deptford Dockyard was an important naval dockyard and base at Deptford on the River Thames, operated by the Royal Navy from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. It built and maintained warships for 350 years, and many significant events ...
(1513 – 1869) * Erith Dockyard (1514 – 1521), failed yard: due to persistent flooding *
Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century ...
(1567 – 1983) *
Sheerness Dockyard Sheerness Dockyard also known as the Sheerness Station was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the Sheerness peninsula, at the mouth of the River Medway in Kent. It was opened in the 1660s and closed in 1960. Location In the Age of Sail, the Roy ...
(1665 – 1957) *
Plymouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport (HMNB Devonport) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth) and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Ro ...
, Plymouth (1690 – 1824) ''Oversea bases and dockyards'' *
Jamaica Dockyard Jamaica Dockyard also known as Port Royal Dockyard was a British Royal Navy Dockyard located at Port Royal, Jamaica. It was established 1675 and closed in 1905. The dockyard was initially administered by the Navy Board then later the Board of Adm ...
, Port Royal,
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
(1675 – 1905)


Judicial administration

''Note: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.'' The Deputy Lord High Admiral presided over the High Court.


Admiralty courts

*
Lord High Admiral of England Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...
** Vice Admiral of England and Deputy Lord High Admiral ***Advocate General to the office of the Lord High Admiral ''Legal advisors to the admiralty courts'' * Office of the Lord High Admiral ** Counsel to the Admiralty,(1673 – 1824), attached originally to the Navy Board ** Solicitor for the Affairs of the Admiralty and Navy, appointed (1692 – 1799)


High court of the admiralty

*Office of the High Court of the Admiralty Court (1450 – 1875) ** Judge of the High Court of Admiralty **
Judge Advocate of the Fleet The Judge Advocate of the Fleet was an appointed civilian judge who was responsible for the supervision and superintendence of the court martial system in the Royal Navy from 1663 to 2008. History The position dates to the sixteenth century but ...
*** Deputy Judge Advocate of the Fleet ** Proctor of the High Court of Admiralty ** Marshall of the High Court of Admiralty ** Droits of the High Court of Admiralty


Vice admiralty courts

The
Vice-Admiral of the Coast The vice-admiralties of the coast were posts established in each of the twenty maritime counties of England, the North and South of Wales, and the four provinces of Ireland. The officer holders, designated as "vice-admirals", were responsible fo ...
was responsible for the defence of one of the twenty maritime counties of
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, the North and South of
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
. 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 A prize court is a court (or even a single individual, such as an ambassador or consul) authorized to consider whether prizes have been lawfully captured, typically whether a ship has been lawfully captured or seized in time of war or under the t ...
(captured by
pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
ships), dealing with salvage claims for wrecks, and acting as a judge in relation to maritime issues. * Vice-Admiral Cheshire (1559 – 1835) * Vice-Admiral Cornwall (1559 – 1917) * Vice-Admiral Cumberland (1559 – 1835) * Vice-Admiral Devon (1559 – 1835) * Vice-Admiral Dorset (1559 – 1835) * Vice-Admiral Durham (1559 – 1835) * Vice-Admiral Essex (1559 – 1835) * Vice-Admiral Gloucestershire (1559 – 1835) * Vice-Admiral Hampshire (1558 – 1846) * Vice-Admiral Kent (1558 – 1846) * Vice-Admiral Lancashire (1569 – 1861) * Vice-Admiral Lincolnshire (1565 – 1862) * Vice-Admiral Norfolk (1554 – 1846) * Vice-Admiral Northumberland (1559 – 1847) * Vice-Admiral Somerset (1561 – 1865) * Vice-Admiral Suffolk (1554 – 1947) * Vice-Admiral Sussex (1559 – 1860) * Vice-Admiral Westmorland (1559 – 1802) * Vice-Admiral Yorkshire (1559 – 1860) Vice Admiralty jurisdictions and prizes abroad By appointing Vice-Admirals in the colonies, and by constituting courts as Vice-Admiralty Courts, the terminology recognized 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'' * Vice-Admiral Carolina * Vice-Admiral Maryland * Vice-Admiral Massachusetts * Vice-Admiral New Hampshire * Vice-Admiral New York, including
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
* Vice-Admiral Pennsylvania, including Delaware * Vice-Admiral Virginia ''West Indies'' * Vice-Admiral Barbados * Vice-Admiral Jamaica


See also

*
Admiralty in the 16th century The Admiralty and Marine Affairs Office (1546-1707), previously known as the Admiralty Office (1414-1546), was a government department of the Kingdom of England, responsible for the Royal Navy. First established in 1414 when the offices of the se ...
* Admiralty in the 18th century


References


Sources

*''The Statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 3 George IV. 1822''. London: By His Majesty's Statute and Law Printer. 1822. *Hamilton, Admiral Sir. R. Vesey, G.C.B. (1896). ''Naval Administration: The Constitution, Character, and Functions of the Board of Admiralty, and of the Civil Departments it Directs''. London: George Bell and Sons. *Logan, Karen Dale (1976). ''The Admiralty: Reforms and Re-organization, 1868-1892''. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. University of Oxford. *Miller, Francis H. (1884). ''The Origin and Constitution of the Admiralty and Navy Boards, to which is added an Account of the various Buildings in which the Business of the Navy has been transacted from time to time''. London: For Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Copy in Greene Papers. National Maritime Museum. GEE/19. * Rodger. N.A.M. (1979), ''The Admiralty (offices of state)'', T. Dalton, Lavenham, .


External links

{{Naval Service (British), state=collapsed History of the Royal Navy