Anson's Navy

Building a Fleet for Empire 1744-1763

  • Subject: Royal Navy
  • Format:
    Hardcover
  • Pages:
    288
    pages
  • Illustrations:
    125 b/w and color illustrations and maps
  • Published:
    January 15, 2022
  • ISBN-10:
    1399002880
  • ISBN-13:
    9781399002882
  • Product Dimensions:
    11.33 × 9.5 × 1 in
  • Product Weight:
    50 oz
Hardcover $70.00
Member Price $56.00 Save 20%
Book: Cover Type

Overview

Despite a supreme belief, the Royal Navy of the early eighteenth century was becoming over-confident and outdated, and it had more than its share of disasters including the devastating sickness in Admiral Hosier’s fleet in 1727; failure at Cartagena, and an embarrassing action off Toulon in 1744. Anson’s great circumnavigation, though presented as a triumph, was achieved at huge cost in ships and lives. And in 1756 Admiral Byng was shot after failure off Minorca.

In this new book, the bestselling author Brian Lavery shows how, through reforms and the determined focus of a number of personalities, that navy was transformed in the middle years of the eighteenth century. Much of this transformation was due to the forceful if enigmatic personality of George, Lord Anson. In a static society, he changed the navy so that it was fit for purpose, and in readiness for Nelson just decades later. Using a mass of archival evidence and a mix of official reports and personal reminiscences, Lavery offers a fascinating and engrossing analysis of all these far-reaching reforms, which in turn led to the radical transformation of Britain’s navy into a truly global force.

About the Author

Editorial Reviews

“This is an excellent read, focusing on the nature of the Navy that won the key victories of the Seven Years War, and all aspects of life in that Navy.” —History of War
“The book quickly proves its worth as an addition to almost any shelf, particularly when paired with Lavery's two most similar titles Nelson's Navy: The Ships, Men, and Organisation, 1793-1815, and Churchill's Navy: The Ships, Men and Organisation, 1939-1945.” — Nautical Research Journal