A history of the administration of the Royal Navy and of merchant shipping in relation to the Navy from MDIX to MDCLX, with an introduction treating of the preceding period

This volume offers a detailed look at how England’s naval power was supported from the early Tudor era through the tumult of the mid‑seventeenth century. Rather than recounting battles, it examines the bureaucratic structures, dockyards, payrolls and the relationship between the Royal Navy and the merchant fleet that supplied it. Listeners will travel from Henry VIII’s first reforms, through the reigns of Edward VI, Mary, Elizabeth and James I, and see how each monarch shaped the growing administrative machinery.

The author weaves fresh research with long‑standing scholarship, adding newly discovered documents and illustrated plates that bring archival sketches to life. Appendices include an inventory of the famous Henry Grace à Dieu, a dramatic mutiny account, and profiles of notable figures such as Sir John Hawkyns. By tracing the evolution of offices from modest medieval roots to the more formalized Admiralty, the book reveals how civil organization made large‑scale naval operations possible.