Rise of the British Royal Navy: Renaissance and Privateering

Introduction: England's Entry into the Age of Exploration

The British Royal Navy rose to remarkable prominence during the Renaissance period, roughly from 1461 through 1700, with privateering playing a central role in that ascent. During the Renaissance, the British Navy was one of the most powerful and commanding forces on Earth. Led by daring and brilliant admirals such as Sir Francis Drake, the British Royal Navy became the model for building a modern navy, and many other countries attempted to create their own maritime forces in England's image. Although plagued by privateering and piracy, the British Royal Navy reached the peak of its dominance and power during this era.

Before the fifteenth century, Great Britain was primarily occupied with issues at home, such as the Hundred Years' War and other civil conflicts. Exploration was left to other countries, such as Portugal and Spain. During the fifteenth century, however, all that changed, and England began to actively pursue exploration and discovery, especially in the Atlantic. By 1496, explorers such as John Cabot — an Italian living in Bristol — had obtained permission to begin exploring the globe, particularly in search of spice trade routes to the west, which most people believed was the way to reach Asia and the Indies. In 1497, Cabot set sail, and within three months he was back in England, convinced he had found the eastern shore of Asia. Most historians believe he actually found Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, or Labrador (Rose, Newton, and Benians 25–26).

The age of exploration had begun, and with it England's rise as a global naval power. Exploration continued throughout this entire period, helping England grow into a world empire and expand her navy and naval capabilities. This exploration also helped England establish a very successful trade with ports in India and the East following Drake's circumnavigation of the globe, which built the Empire and encouraged increased shipbuilding and sea voyages. The Navy grew primarily because of economic possibilities rather than concerns about national security. Indeed, the royalty did not see the Navy so much as protecting the country as protecting their own ships from other nations' privateers. As one historian notes, "As the use of artillery grew the armament of sailing vessels continually increased, but still it was rather with a view to their individual safety from pirates than to create a regular sailing navy" (Corbett 7). The English thus created a navy to plunder and to protect themselves from plundering — defense was secondary.

The Tudor Navy and Early Expansion

The British Royal Navy began to gain real momentum under the reign of the Tudors. As historians Rose, Newton, and Benians observe, "The success of the Tudor monarchy offered a practical field to the dreamer, action to discipline imagination, a material reward for the labours of the scholar and the projector. In no sphere is this so apparent as in that of the maritime adventurer" (Rose, Newton, and Benians 22). By the early sixteenth century, many British captains were setting out to seek a Northwest Passage to China, the Asian coastline, and a quicker route to India and the riches in spices that awaited there.

Tudor King Henry VII was responsible for sponsoring many voyages, and King Henry VIII sponsored two or three voyages of discovery. Nevertheless, France, Portugal, and Spain were all ahead of England in exploiting the seas at this time. France and Portugal had already discovered the rich cod fisheries off Newfoundland and fished there regularly, while the English waited some years before joining them. During this Tudor period, ships were not yet distinguished as either warships or merchant vessels, and there was little distinction between sailors and naval officers either. In fact, many officers — such as Lord Raleigh and others — were wealthy gentlemen who simply enjoyed the sea and recognized that there was profit to be made in privateering (Lloyd 1–2).

Sir Francis Drake and the Rise of Privateering

Probably the greatest and most well-known English sea captain of the Renaissance was Sir Francis Drake, who helped Elizabethan England repel the advancing Spanish Armada in 1588, an engagement that sealed England's superiority on the seas. Drake took to the sea as a young man and rose through the ranks to serve Queen Elizabeth I as her admiral. Historians note that "during hard experiences in the Channel he learned the seaman's craft, and the seaman's virtues, obedience, fidelity and utmost hardihood" (Rose, Newton, and Benians 98).

For much of his career, Drake was little more than a pirate or privateer, looting Spanish ships for the treasures they carried as they returned home from the New World. His plundering brought him fame at court, and Elizabeth agreed to sponsor a voyage he had dreamed of for years — an attempt to circumnavigate the globe. Drake helped bring the British Royal Navy to prominence by consistently besting the Spanish and Portuguese and making off with many of the riches they had discovered in the New World. He demonstrated that the British were crafty and possessed faster ships than the cumbersome Spanish vessels, and the British consequently began to be feared on the high seas.

Drake also helped create a long tradition of privateering — the commandeering of other countries' cargoes to fill England's coffers. As historian Lloyd notes of many such men, "Such men as Gilbert and Essex, Grenville and Raleigh, were courtiers and landsmen who were given executive posts at sea for hostilities only" (Lloyd 2). It was profitable, and many men knew it. Drake was not the only privateer; there were many, and the roots of the British Navy are grounded in this practice of privateering that lined British royal pockets and the pockets of the privateers themselves. Nor was Drake the first. The practice was officially sanctioned as early as 1544. As historian Janice E. Thomson writes, "In 1544 Henry VIII, in his war with France, gave blanket authorization for privateering and allowed the privateers to keep all the loot they seized" (Thomson 23). The tradition continued for decades, with many sailors and their backers making fortunes by seizing cargo from ships returning from the Spice Islands in Asia or the New World.

Conclusion: Privateering and the Legacy of the Renaissance Navy

The rise of the British Royal Navy during the Renaissance period remains legendary in naval circles and in the broader study of history. The British Navy was powerful, formidable, and effectively managed the seas of the globe. Much of the Royal Navy's success is rooted in the practice of privateering, and had it not been for men like Sir Francis Drake, the British Empire might not have had the financial resources to develop its navy and dominate the world's oceans for so long. The Navy was not initially formed to defend the country but rather to defend and support the privateers, which illustrates just how important privateering was to the country and its economy, and how it literally formed the backbone of the modern British Royal Navy.

References

Corbett, Julian S. Drake and the Tudor Navy: With a History of the Rise of England as a Maritime Power. Vol. 1. New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1898.

Lloyd, Christopher. The Nation and the Navy: A History of Naval Life and Policy. Revised ed. London: Cresset Press, 1961.

Mattingly, Garrett. The Invincible Armada and Elizabethan England. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1963.

Rose, J. Holland, A. P. Newton, and E. A. Benians, eds. The Cambridge History of the British Empire. New York: Macmillan Company, 1929.

Thomson, Janice E. Mercenaries, Pirates, and Sovereigns: State-Building and Extraterritorial Violence in Early Modern Europe. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994.