20/20 gained in the ,"How far do you agree that the role of the Royal Navy did not substantially change in the years ?" TEACHER ANNOTATED and marked by a leading examiner for the Edexcel board. His annotations are seen at the end.
This is for Breadth study 2, BP1 Royal Navy , Option 35: Britain L...
How far do you agree that the role of the Royal Navy did not substantially change in
the years 1763-1914?
The Royal Navy was Britian maritime powerhouse which would cement British imperial ideology and
establish British supremacy throughout 1763-1914. The role of the Royal Navy was to destroy its
rivals in warfare but later the Navy role was expanded to which it became a central figurehead
towards protecting British commerce, diplomacy, and exploration. While the role of the Navy did
expand it was still ultimately based on destroying its European rivals through warfare. Substantially
changed argues that the Royal Navy faced a fundamental transformation in its role, but this isn’t the
case. The Royal Navy constant role from the start to end was based on militarism and supremacy
although once it established its dominance through the Battle of Trafalgar it did branch out towards
convoy protection and mapping but still the main role was kept towards maintaining British
imperialism and dominance. Its constant role was militarism and that did not face no substantial
change therefore it is not right to assume a fundamental transformation in its role.
The Royal Navy main role was towards establishing naval supremacy over its European rivals and this
did not change. During 1763 the Royal Navy was battling with growing powers France and Spain. The
battle of Trafalgar (1805) allowed Britain to crush the Franco-Spanish fleet through Nelson prodigious
naval tactics. By using his ship of line, he was able to sustain bombardment through a broadside
formation, improve maneuverability and was able to fire in concentrated bursts. His crushing of the
Franco-Spanish fleet led to 22 ships and 13,000 men destroyed while Britain suffered no significant
losses (no ship, 2000 men.) This retained England global supremacy and this role of the Navy was
continued throughout the time even to the age of Steam. This was significant as Britian got
supremacy and now it had the desire to maintain it. Towards the end of the period Britain was
focused on maintaining its naval supremacy. This fueled technological changes as its rivals would try
and find ways to gain an advantage over its enemy. Steam power ships, armor plating (iron clad) and
explosive shells (Paixhans) were all new technology which was used to further Royal Navy
supremacy. This can be seen through the Navy Defense Act of 1889 and Two Power standard. The
two-power standard was a idea that the Royal Navy should be as strong as its next two largest navies
combined. This shows us how the Navy main role of being committed to naval supremacy did not
change and how it remained as a integral focus. The Naval Defense Act was passed in 1889
supporting this with 10 battleships, 42 frigates etc costing the Navy £21.5 million. Even towards the
end of the period naval supremacy over its rivals was maintained as John Fisher , First Sea Lord of
Admiralty underwent a huge modernizing programme although his intention was to end the arms
race it led to Britain challenging Germany , Japan and USA. Britian creation of the Dreadnoughts led
to them by 1914 becoming the most powerful military force in the world showing how it maintained
dominance throughout. However, Protecting Britain was less important 1880-1914 but still a
possibility due to the rising threat of Germany seen later in the battle of Jutland.
Since the start, the Navy was used to protect Britain and its imperialism. Since the start of the period
in 1798, the Royal Navy was used to defeat the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile. This victory
helped to secure British control of the Mediterranean Sea and protect British trade routes to India
and the Far East. During the time period this continued as the Navy was important in establishing
trade routes. This can be seen with the Opium wars in China (1840) where HMS Nemesis was used to
destroy the Chinese fleet and establish the Treaty of Nanking (1842). This shows how the Navy was
used to protect British trade interests and maintain free trade and commerce through gunboat
diplomacy. Free trade was a idea cultivated by Britian and the Navy was used to enforce that idea
throughout the Far East and parts of Africa. This was not a standalone example as seen through
Gibraltar and West Indies. Franco-Spanish fleet attacked Gibraltar in 1779 and through breaking
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