“The common sense of the word (navy) as we use it today refers to a permanent fighting service made up of ships designed for war, manned by professionals and supported by an adminsistrative and technical infrastructure. A navy in this sense is only one possible method of making war at sea, and by some way the most difficult and the most recent. There have in the past been, and to some extent still are, many other ways of generating sea power.” WayMadeStillsWarUseTodayPastFightingDifficultCommonSeaMethodCommon SenseShipsPermanentNavyInfrastructureSea Power Author:Nicholas Rodger
“In every age states of varying size and constitution and at every level of development have found naval warfare to be one of their most formidable and expensive tasks. Ships have always been large, costly and complicated, and warships much more complicated and costly than any others. Scholars are nowadays inclined to emphasize the power, wealth and sophistication of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, and there is not more striking illustration of this than the advanced and elaborate administrative structures of the early English navy.” StatesAgeFoundWealthLevelsDevelopmentTasksConstitutionStructureSizeComplicatedKingdomsShipsExpensiveScholarWarfareNavyIllustrationFormidableSophisticationNavalAdministrativeAnglo SaxonWarshipsNaval Warfare Author:Nicholas Rodger
“It is well known that we fight in God's cause... but unless God helps us by a miracle the English, who have faster and handier ships than ours, and many more long-range guns, and who know their advantage just as well as we do, will never close with us at all, but stand aloof and knock us to pieces with their culverins, without our being able to do them any serious hurt. So we are sailing against England in the confident hope of a miracle.” KnowsWellsLongHelpingAbleFightingCausesHurtKnownPiecesSeriousGunAdvantageMiracleEnglandShipsFasterRangeSailingWell KnownGod HelpAloofGod Help Us Author:Nicholas Rodger
“The arrival of the Barbary pirates radically changed English attitudes. Instead of patriotic pirates plundering foreign cargoes and bringing them homes to enrich their countrymen, the 'Turks' were in the usual Mediterranean business of slave-raiding - and now the English were the victims. The West Country men suffered the heaviest, and did not appreciate the irony. The Newfoundland fishery, dominated by Devon ports, lost at least 20 ships in 1611 alone.” MenCountryHomeLostAttitudeChangedAppreciateVictimSlaveWestShipsIronyPatrioticUsualPiratePortArrivalsCountrymenDevonFisheriesRaiding Author:Nicholas Rodger
