Title: A social history of British naval officers, 1775 -1815 /
Authors: Wilson, Evan,
Date: 2017
Publisher: The Boydell Press,
Physical description: xii, 294 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Language: English
LC classification: V
Abstract: "This book explores the world of British naval officers at the height of the Royal Navy's power in the age of sail. It describes the full spectrum of officers, from commissioned officers to the unheralded but essential members of every ship's company, the warrant officers. The book focusses on naval officers' social status and its implications for their careers. The demands of life at sea conflicted with the expectations of genteel behaviour and background in eighteenth-century Britain, and the ways officers grappled with this challenge forms a key theme. Drawing on a large database of more than a thousand officers, the book argues that, contrary to the prevailing view, officers were mostly from the middling sort, not the landed elite. It shows how the navy attracted hordes of hopeful commissioned officers, how unemployment was common for the majority even in wartime, and how only a select group managed to gain promotion to post-captain. The book corrects our understanding of the men who lived and served in the wardrooms of the Royal Navy and refocusses our attention away from those who won fame and fortune and onto ordinary naval officers."--
Contents: The education of young gentlemen. -- Commissioned officers' careers. -- Warrant officers' careers. -- The wardroom as a social space. -- Patronage and promotion prospects. -- Pay and prize money. -- Domestic and international comparisons. -- Naval officers' social status.
Subject headings (LCSH): Great Britain. Royal Navy--Officers--History--18th century.; Great Britain. Royal Navy--Officers--History--19th century.; Great Britain. Royal Navy--Officers.; Navies--Great Britain--Officers--History.; Sailors--Great Britain--History--18th century.; Sailors--Great Britain--History--19th century.