Pirates & Privateers: J. D. Davies's Books

In his introduction, the author laments the lack of mention of the Royal Navy in any biography covering the Stuart kings. Naval histories of the 17th century do not indicate the Stuarts are responsible for any of the navy ships built or any changes to naval policies. The majority of contemporary written records on the navy are produced and kept by Samuel Pepys, making him the most important source of naval history from this period. It is also true that in diaries and meeting minutes Pepys put his own slant on things that are discussed and decided. The purpose of Kings of the Sea is to correct the historical record and give the Stuart brothers the acclaim they rightly deserve.

The publishers have produced a lavish book, which includes many of the superb naval paintings done in the 17th century. These are presented throughout the text in full color on glossy paper and range in size from ¼ page to double-page spreads. There are also photographs and/or pictures of places mentioned in the text and contemporary maps.

King James I established a permanent navy able to defend the British seas. By 1623, thirty-five warships were ready. Some had received repairs and others had been built. By the end of his reign, there were four Royal dockyards: Chatham, Deptford, Woolwich and Portsmouth. The king’s son, Henry, Prince of Wales, was very involved with the navy. He regularly visited the dockyards and inspected the ships being built. He promoted voyages of exploration that would lead to the growth of trade for the kingdom. Regrettably he died of typhus at the age of eighteen.

After James I dies in 1625, Charles I becomes King of England. He does not go to Parliament for approval on the levies to increase the royal coffers and in 1629, he dismisses Parliament to rule by himself. During this time, Charles builds larger ships. In 1637, the first vessel to hold more than 100 guns is completed. Sovereign of the Seas is given many ornate and expensive decorations with representations of Roman gods and the king. Some historians say this vessel, her name, great size, and expense epitomize the arrogant, out-of-touch monarch who will be engaged in a civil war in less than five years.

Charles I attends many ship launchings, tours his fleet and dockyards, makes significant changes to the Navy Board, and tries to reduce the corruption at the dockyards. He also decides how many ships will comprise a fleet and who will be their admirals and captains. His decisions on ship design and construction sometimes go against his shipwrights’ advice.

His young sons, Charles, Prince of Wales, and James, Duke of York and Albany, will have met many of the sea warriors that fight with Sir Francis Drake against the Spanish Armada. At age four, Charles is presented with a model ship, complete in her rigging, made by the shipbuilder Phineas Pett. There is every reason to believe the boys accompany their father to the dockyards and the launching ceremonies.

During the first Civil War, Parliament controls the navy. Young Charles commands the king’s forces in the west. A Royalist Navy captain is able to sneak through the naval blockade and take the brothers out of England, first to Scilly Isle and then to Jersey. During the trip, Charles takes the helm and begins his sailing lessons. While in exile, which lasts until 1660, James also learns to sail and serves in the military of France and Spain and even as Lord High Admiral of Spain.

After Oliver Cromwell’s death, different factions try to take control of England. In the end, a new Parliament wins control and declares the Stuart monarchy restored. A small fleet goes to the Dutch Republic town of Scheveningen to retrieve the royal brothers and their followers. The king and Duke of York go aboard Naseby. By nightfall her name is changed to Royal Charles. That same night other ships are also renamed to remove Cromwellian names and battles.

The ships of the Royal Navy belong to the monarch and the naming of vessels has always been a royal prerogative. The knowledge Davies has of naval affairs and the Stuarts is clearly shown in the first of two chapters (“His Majesty’s Ships I” and “His Majesty’s Ships II”) by his being able to understand and relate the reasons for naming each ship. Indeed, the author even writes about names Charles chooses not to use. The same type of detail is explained regarding the ship names that James, Duke of York, selects once he ascends the throne.

In the seventeenth century the science of shipbuilding is known only to the master shipwrights. The king and Duke of York acquire in-depth knowledge of the principles and designs of every construction phase and hold their own when speaking to captains and shipwrights. This is so incredible that Davies provides a modern analogy. It will be as if “two consecutive prime ministers of the United Kingdom, or presidents of the United States, possessed doctorates in astrophysics.” (66)

The king and his brother, now Lord High Admiral of England and Scotland, are very involved in governing the navy. They increase the size and technical knowledge of the Navy Board, make changes to personnel, and appoint the warrant officers permanently assigned to each new vessel. James issues many revised instructions to the board and his captains, including the Articles of War and the Fighting Instructions. The king’s Privy Council decides naval policy and the compositions of fleets.

Following the Restoration, the majority of Cromwell’s captains need to be removed from the king’s navy, but some are retained because they possess certain qualities expected of a naval captain. Although available, most merchant ship captains do not have these qualities. This led to the appointment of “gentlemen-captains,” who have the social standing to lead but lack knowledge in sailing and seamanship. To correct this deficiency, James institutes the post of “volunteers per order.” Younger sons of well-born parents are given places aboard men-of-war with the expectation that they will learn the ways of the sea before qualifying for commissions. In 1677, the standards for promotion to lieutenant – including years of service and examination by the king’s flag officers and senior captains – are approved by the Board.

The following year, the position of “midshipman” is established and young “tarpaulin” candidates are put together with young gentlemen to change attitudes and animosity within both groups of young officers and the more senior officers. The text indicates this is thought to be a plan of Pepys, or at least that’s how Pepys records it happened. Davies refutes why this is not the case in great detail and additionally in an appendix where he describes the way Admiralty meetings take place in the 1670s.

Detailed descriptions of the artwork in the royal chambers at Windsor and Whitehall are also given. Most depict Roman Gods paying homage to Charles II. The Sea Triumph depicts him as a Roman emperor, with his fleet in attendance, “being driven through the waters by Neptune and four sea horses.” The translation of its Latin legend is “whose empire, ocean, and whose fame the skies alone shall bound.”(151) In a chapter named “Sovereignty of the Seas,” the origins of this ideology are detailed, as are the disputes that arise when other nations refuse to salute an English squadron.

In addition to the beauty of the paintings already mentioned, each has a detailed caption. Many notes, mostly of sources, are found before a detailed index. The book also contains an appendix, a select bibliography, and suggestions for further reading.

Kings of the Sea is an excellent work detailing the role the Stuarts undertake in the design and construction of many ships and in the establishment of the infrastructure needed to support a permanent navy. This is a view of the 17th-century Royal Navy without battles or naval heroes as the central theme. Still the text holds your interest thanks to Davies’ conversational style, which makes it seem as if he is speaking with you instead of lecturing to you. My reason for choosing to read this book is that I am reading my way through Davies’s fiction series, The Matthew Quinton Journals, and realize how much I do not know about this period of naval history. Kings of the Sea is the perfect book for anyone interested in learning the actual history of the times, the importance of King Charles II and James II to the Royal Navy, or Quinton’s not-too-fictional naval world.

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