Re: Was the RN always dominant w.r.t. the Spanish and French navies?

Thanks, that's the kind of information I can't get out of encyclopedias.

When Spain was busily raping the Americas (e.g. Cortez, Magellan) were they
the dominant naval power at that time?

I seem to remember the Catholic Church dividing the hemispheres between
Portugal and Spain so I figure Portugal must have had a naval presence at
some time?

Lastly, was Benjamin Disraeli Jewish? ;^)

--
Doug
"Andrew Robert Breen" <azb@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:e6s1ek$e7gv$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Of course they are - and encouraged - but a certain level of knowledge
(such as could be obtained by a quick poke at Google with "France Spain
naval alliance") would help you to be taken more seriously.

A very quick summary of the naval power balance might be:

1400s: Dominant powers in Atlantic were generally Genoese mercenarys
in various service - Monaco (Genoese exiles) also significant. Anglo
-French warfare endemic, England often exploring alliance with the various
Spanish powers (note: no unified Spain until the 1490s). France generally
had the naval lead over England in this period (esp. if in alliance with
Brittany) except during Henry Vs reign when England went through a major,
short-lived naval build up.

1500s: England a minor power at the start: well behind France, probably no
more than equal to Scotland (a French ally), certainly well behind
France+Brittany. Spain rising to be a regional superpower in the first
3/4 of the century. By the end of the century (1590s) Spain was clearly
the biggest naval power, France weaker than at the start of the century.
Brittany absorbed into France, Scotland eliminated as a naval power
outside the Highlands, England a decent second-line power and the Dutch
becoming very important, becoming /the/ major headache for the Spanish.

1600s: France building up again, Spain in decline c/f France, England,
Holland. Major English build-up mid century starting under Charlie One
but really taking off under the Commonwealth. England allied with France
for much of the century, but all change after 1688 when England allied
with Holland and Spain against France..


1700s: Britain vs. France, mostly. The two navies were about equal
until the 1780s, when the revolution destroyed much of the French officer
corps. Noble attempts made to build a new officer corps, but brave though
they were they never quite managed it. Century ended with France, Spain
and Holland allied against Britain.

1800s: Century began as the last one ended, but this was where Britain
gained real control of the sea. Spanish sea power destroyed at Trafalgar,
Dutch at Camperdown, Danish at Copenhagen (1807, not Nelson's battle),
French at Trafalgar (though they made heroic attempts to build up capacity
afterwards). During the peace from 1815 onwards the RN kept on top in
spite of spending constraints: France almost caught up in the 1840s
(steam battleships) and again in the 1860s (armoured battleships), but
each time the increasing industrial imbalance allowed Britain to outbuild
them. There were some scares (politically-driven) in the 1880s, but really
France was never in with a chance of catching up after the catastrophe of
1870. UK and France settled terms of mutual support in the early 1900s.

The books you really need are N.A.M. Rodger's Maritime history of Britain.
So far "The Safeguard of the Sea" and "The Command of the Ocean" are out
in paperback - they cover 660-1643 and 1643-1815 respectively. Read them
and you'll learn a lot. They're the first really substantive new histories
of the isles of Britain and their connection to naval power for nearly a
century, and they're a good read too.

--
Andy Breen ~ Speaking for myself, not the University of Wales
"your suggestion rates at four monkeys for six weeks"
(Peter D. Rieden)



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