expeditionary adventures like the Crusades in the Middle East. Hundreds of thousands of British citizens served and died for causes truly remote from their daily lives and concerns, although the ferocity with which they fought gave the British renown as a warrior race.
The nature of Britain’s armed forces changed considerably during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, not least in terms of maritime power. By the sixteenth century, the nation had already established a ‘Navy Royal’, a force of State-owned warships and naval facilities. The size and power of the force waxed and waned, the British fleet often supplemented by private vessels to fight its wars. Crises were averted, such as the repulsion of the Spanish Armada in 1588 (as much by virtue of the resistant British weather as its navy), but as an island nation Britain needed a more formidable fleet. This ambition was realised in the seventeenth century, as the Navy Royal expanded under both Charles I (r. 1625–49) and II (r. 1660–85) and the rule of Oliver Cromwell/the Commonwealth that separated the kings’ rule. Through major programmes of shipbuilding, fuelled by conflicts such as the Third Anglo-Dutch War (1672–74) and the War of the Grand Alliance (1688–97), Britain acquired a ‘Royal Navy’ and became the most powerful naval force on the planet for the next 200 years.
The army was also changing. Queen Elizabeth’s long-running war against the Spanish in the Netherlands from 1595 demanded huge amounts of manpower. Although still using the militia system, Elizabeth oversaw a degree of professionalisation of the army, particularly in terms of command and administration, but it still didn’t give Britain a stable force. Ironically, it took revolution to transform Britain’s land forces. Following the overthrow and execution of Charles I, Oliver Cromwell’s ‘New Model Army’ became Britain’s first professional standing army. It was well-trained, liable for service in any destination (previously many militias had just been bound to service in a single local area) and had a professional officer class. Although the Commonwealth collapsed in 1660, with the restoration of Charles II, the new monarch saw the clear value of a standing army, and began to build up his own. This army swelled rapidly – it reached about 40,000 men strong under James II (1685–88) – and was structured around a regimental system that still exists today. This system, which first emerged in the sixteenth century, created formations of soldiers with a fierce sense of local identity and geographical connection. (The practice of creating county, as opposed to numbered, regiments was actually implemented by Richard Haldane, the British Secretary of State for War between 1905 and 1912.)
By the time Britain had a standing army, the nature of warfare had changed almost beyond recognition compared to the medieval period. Gunpowder was now a force on the battlefield. Crude cannon and ‘hand-gonnes’ (effectively the first small-arms) had been introduced into Europe in the fourteenth century. As the weapons developed in power and dependability, they had a fundamental impact on the social and political fabric of the nation. The castle, the traditional seat of noble power, could now be cracked open by gunpowder artillery (although this process still required some thunderous persistence) and humble infantry armed with musket firearms could kill the most esteemed knight, despite having just days training as opposed to the years required to create a professional archer. By the seventeenth century, the muskets were using flintlock mechanisms that gave faster and consistent volley fire, while the artillery was more mobile and devastating, wheeled into position on the battlefield to deliver terrible hails of solid ball and grape shot. Although much killing was still done at close quarters with bayonet and blade, now the bulk of the slaughter was performed at a distance by gunpowder
The nature of Britain’s armed forces changed considerably during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, not least in terms of maritime power. By the sixteenth century, the nation had already established a ‘Navy Royal’, a force of State-owned warships and naval facilities. The size and power of the force waxed and waned, the British fleet often supplemented by private vessels to fight its wars. Crises were averted, such as the repulsion of the Spanish Armada in 1588 (as much by virtue of the resistant British weather as its navy), but as an island nation Britain needed a more formidable fleet. This ambition was realised in the seventeenth century, as the Navy Royal expanded under both Charles I (r. 1625–49) and II (r. 1660–85) and the rule of Oliver Cromwell/the Commonwealth that separated the kings’ rule. Through major programmes of shipbuilding, fuelled by conflicts such as the Third Anglo-Dutch War (1672–74) and the War of the Grand Alliance (1688–97), Britain acquired a ‘Royal Navy’ and became the most powerful naval force on the planet for the next 200 years.
The army was also changing. Queen Elizabeth’s long-running war against the Spanish in the Netherlands from 1595 demanded huge amounts of manpower. Although still using the militia system, Elizabeth oversaw a degree of professionalisation of the army, particularly in terms of command and administration, but it still didn’t give Britain a stable force. Ironically, it took revolution to transform Britain’s land forces. Following the overthrow and execution of Charles I, Oliver Cromwell’s ‘New Model Army’ became Britain’s first professional standing army. It was well-trained, liable for service in any destination (previously many militias had just been bound to service in a single local area) and had a professional officer class. Although the Commonwealth collapsed in 1660, with the restoration of Charles II, the new monarch saw the clear value of a standing army, and began to build up his own. This army swelled rapidly – it reached about 40,000 men strong under James II (1685–88) – and was structured around a regimental system that still exists today. This system, which first emerged in the sixteenth century, created formations of soldiers with a fierce sense of local identity and geographical connection. (The practice of creating county, as opposed to numbered, regiments was actually implemented by Richard Haldane, the British Secretary of State for War between 1905 and 1912.)
By the time Britain had a standing army, the nature of warfare had changed almost beyond recognition compared to the medieval period. Gunpowder was now a force on the battlefield. Crude cannon and ‘hand-gonnes’ (effectively the first small-arms) had been introduced into Europe in the fourteenth century. As the weapons developed in power and dependability, they had a fundamental impact on the social and political fabric of the nation. The castle, the traditional seat of noble power, could now be cracked open by gunpowder artillery (although this process still required some thunderous persistence) and humble infantry armed with musket firearms could kill the most esteemed knight, despite having just days training as opposed to the years required to create a professional archer. By the seventeenth century, the muskets were using flintlock mechanisms that gave faster and consistent volley fire, while the artillery was more mobile and devastating, wheeled into position on the battlefield to deliver terrible hails of solid ball and grape shot. Although much killing was still done at close quarters with bayonet and blade, now the bulk of the slaughter was performed at a distance by gunpowder
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