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Introduction

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Book cover Eighteenth-Century Naval Officers

Part of the book series: War, Culture and Society, 1750 –1850 ((WCS))

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Abstract

Naval officers in the eighteenth century comprised an international community, but our understanding of that community is fractured. This book traces the professionalization of naval officers across Europe in the age of sail. It depicts their shared experiences, the similarities that connected officers, and the differences that can only be seen from an international perspective.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Francis Venables Vernon, Voyages and Travels of a Sea Officer (London: Published for the Author, 1792).

  2. 2.

    Jan Glete, Navies and Nations: Warships, Navies and State Building in Europe and America, 1500–1860 (Stockholm: Almqvist and Wiksell, 1993); John Brewer, The Sinews of Power: War and the English State, 1688–1783 (London: Century Hutchinson, 1988); N.A.M. Rodger, ‘From the “Military Revolution” to the “Fiscal-Naval State”’, Journal for Maritime Research 13 (2011): 119–28; Christopher Storrs, ed., The Fiscal-Military State in Eighteenth-Century Europe: Essays in Honour of P.G.M. Dickson (Farnham: Routledge, 2009); Geoffrey Parker, The Military Revolution: Military Innovation and the Rise of the West, 1500–1800 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988).

  3. 3.

    For more on this topic, see the article previously published by the editorial team: E. Wilson, A. Hammar, and J. Seerup, ‘The Education and Careers of Naval Officers in the Long Eighteenth Century: An International Perspective’, Journal for Maritime Research 17 (2015): 17–33.

  4. 4.

    Some examples include Brian Lavery, ed., Shipboard Life and Organisation, 1731–1815 (Navy Records Society, 1998), 369–416; Markus Eder, Crime and Punishment in the Royal Navy of the Seven Years’ War, 1755–1763 (Aldershot, 2004); J.D. Byrn, Crime and Punishment in the Royal Navy: Discipline on the Leeward Islands Station, 1784–1812 (Aldershot: Ashgate, 1989); A.G. Jamieson, ‘Tyranny of the Lash? Punishment in the Royal Navy during the American War, 1776–1783’, Northern Mariner 9 (1999): 53–66; Jonathan Neale, The Cutlass and the Lash: Mutiny and Discipline in Nelson’s Navy (London: Pluto, 1985).

  5. 5.

    N. A. M. Rodger, ‘Honour and Duty at Sea, 1660–1815’, Historical Research 75 (2002): 425–47; Daniel Benjamin and Christopher Thornberg, ‘Comment: Rules, Monitoring, and Incentives in the Age of Sail’, Explorations in Economic History 40 (2003): 195–211; Idem., ‘Organization and Incentives in the Age of Sail’, Explorations in Economic History 44 (2007): 317–41; Amy Miller, Dressed to Kill: British Naval Uniform, Masculinity and Contemporary Fashions 1748–1857 (London: National Maritime Museum, 2007); Evan Wilson, ‘Social Background and Promotion Prospects in the Royal Navy, 1775–1815’, The English Historical Review 131 (2016): 570–95.

  6. 6.

    Two exceptions, though both are written from the British perspective: James Davey, The Transformation of British Naval Strategy: Seapower and Supply in Northern Europe, 1808–1812 (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2012) and Tim Voelcker, Admiral Saumarez Versus Napoleon: The Baltic, 1807–1812 (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2008).

  7. 7.

    One exception is Jonathan Dull, The Age of the Ship of the Line: The British & French Navies, 1650–1815 (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska, 2009).

  8. 8.

    See the recent volume: Quintin Colville and James Davey, eds., A New Naval History (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2018).

  9. 9.

    For example: Roland Pietsch, ‘The Experiences and Weapons of War’ in Q. Colville and J. Davey, eds., Nelson, Navy & Nation: The Royal Navy and the British People, 1688–1815 (London: Conway, 2013); Roger Morriss, The Foundations of British Maritime Ascendancy: Resources, Logistics and the State, 1755–1815 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011); Margarette Lincoln, Representing the Royal Navy: British Sea Power, 1750–1815 (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2002).

  10. 10.

    See, for example, The International Journal of Maritime History and the conferences organized by the International Maritime Economic History Association.

  11. 11.

    Julia Leikin, ‘Across the Seven Seas: Is Russian Maritime History More Than Regional History?’ Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History 17 (2016): 631–46.

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Wilson, E., Hammar, A., Seerup, J. (2019). Introduction. In: Wilson, E., Hammar, A., Seerup, J. (eds) Eighteenth-Century Naval Officers. War, Culture and Society, 1750 –1850. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25700-2_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25700-2_1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-25699-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-25700-2

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