Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Young Gentlemen Defined
- 2 A Social Survey: The Social Backgrounds of Young Gentlemen
- 3 Eighteenth-Century Selection, 1771–1800
- 4 Eighteenth-Century Crime and Punishment, 1760–1800
- 5 Nineteenth-Century Selection, 1801–1815
- 6 Nineteenth-Century Selection, 1815–1831
- 7 Nineteenth-Century Crime and Punishment, 1801–1831
- 8 Beyond Reform: the Future of Naval Command
- Conclusion
- Appendices
- Bibliography
- Index
Introduction
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 February 2013
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Young Gentlemen Defined
- 2 A Social Survey: The Social Backgrounds of Young Gentlemen
- 3 Eighteenth-Century Selection, 1771–1800
- 4 Eighteenth-Century Crime and Punishment, 1760–1800
- 5 Nineteenth-Century Selection, 1801–1815
- 6 Nineteenth-Century Selection, 1815–1831
- 7 Nineteenth-Century Crime and Punishment, 1801–1831
- 8 Beyond Reform: the Future of Naval Command
- Conclusion
- Appendices
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Sir Edward Hawke,
I hear you have beat the French fleet when they were coming to kill us and that one of your captains twirled a French Ship round till it sunk. I wish you was come home, for I intend to go to sea if you will take me with you.
So reads the letter from five-year-old Charles Manners, the second son of Lord Granby, to the victor of the Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759. His words convey all the excitement of a boy's view of naval life – the action, the adventure, and of course the glory. Absent, however, is any sense of the dangers or hardships that went hand-in-hand with these attractions, or any comprehension of the mental and physical demands associated with becoming a sea officer in the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century. As it turned out, young Charles did not embark on a career at sea and was spared the struggle that lay ahead for officer recruits. His younger brother, Robert, did enter the navy, eventually becoming a captain before being killed at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782. While Robert's lofty social credentials undoubtedly boosted his career he, like so many other young aspirants, faced a multitude of pressures, including fierce competition for limited appointments, years of professional training to prepare for the all-important examination for lieutenant, and the anxiety attending the offer of a lieutenant's commission. Such universal concerns united a socially diverse group of boys and adolescents who endured the most rigorous professional initiation of their day for the chance to become sea officers.
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- Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2012