Elizabethan Naval Administration [Paperback]

This is the first general selection from the substantial body of surviving documents about Elizabeths navy. It is a companion to The Navy of Edward VI and Mary I (Vol.157 in the NRS Series), where the apparatus serving both volumes was printed, and it complements the other NRS volumes that deal specifically with the Spanish Armada. This collection concentrates (though not exclusively so) on the early years of Elizabeths reign when there was no formal war. From 1558-1585 the navy was involved in a number of small-scale campaigns, pursuit of pirates and occasional shows of force. The documents selected emphasize the financial and administrative processes that supported these operations, such as mustering, victualing, demobilisation, and ship maintenance and repair. The fleet varied in size from about 30 to 45 ships during the period and a vast amount of maintenance and repair was required. The main component of the volume is the massively detailed Navy Treasurer's account for 1562-3 which is followed by and collated with the corresponding Exchequer Account. The documents illustrate just how efficiently the dockyards functioned. They were one of the great early Elizabethan achievements.

I First Naval Business in the State Papers, II The Navy Treasurers Quarter Book for 15621563, III The Navy Treasurers Declared Account for 15621563, IV Extracts from James Humphreys Book of Forms, 1568, V Papers relating to Wages and Wage Rates, VI The Navy Victuallers 1565 Contract and related papers, VII Papers relating to Sir John Hawkins as Treasurer of the Navy, VIII Edward Fentons Notebook and other papers relating to the Expedition of 1590. Appendices.

David Loades was born on 19 January 1934. He served in the RAF 1953-55. He gained his BA and PhD at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and subsequently was awarded a D. Litt here. After teaching at St. Andrews and Durham Universities in the 1960s and 1970s he was appointed to be Professor of History at the Unilã¯