Great Harry's Navy: How Henry VIII Gave England Sea Power - Rilegato

Moorhouse, Geoffrey

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 0297645447 ISBN 13: 9780297645443

Casa editrice: Orion, 2005

Riassunto

It was Henry VIII who began the process of making England a first-rate sea-power. He inherited no more than seven warships from his father King Henry VII, yet at his own death the King's Navy had 53 seaworthy ships afloat (much the same size as the Royal Navy today) manned by almost 8,000 sailors. Here was the springboard for Queen Elizabeth's captains (such as Francis Drake) a decade later.

As G R Elton has commented (in 'England Under he Tudors') Henry VIII originally needed a navy to hold the English Channel and blockade the enemy while he invaded France. Later when invasion from the continent grew serious Henry's navy fought in many actions.

Moorhouse doesn't only deal with seagoing exploits. Thanks to Henry VIII dockyards were built (Greenwich and Deptford), timber had to be felled in quantities previously unknown (from land seized during the dissolution of the monasteries), and hemp (for rope) was harvested; new skills were developed, not least the gun-founders and the master shipwrights.

Some of the ships were celebrated - 'Henry Grace a Dieu' (aka 'Great Harry') was the biggest ship in the world - 1,000 tons, 122 guns, crew of 700 and the 'Mary Rose' (500 tons, 80 guns, 40 crew) became one of the most famous after she heeled over too far, took water and sank with the loss of almost all hands off Portsmouth.

In addition to guarding the Channel (three sea wars against the French during Henry's reign) there were naval skirmishes against the Scots. Moorhouse makes parallels with events 400 years later off Normandy.

KING HARRY'S NAVY draws on Moorhouse's special skills of description and atmosphere, which critics invariably comment on when reviewing his books.

Su questo libro

Recensione:

Geoffrey Moorhouse... brings to the subject a deep knowledge and love of the period (as shown previously in his book The Pilgrimage of Grace). With infectious relish he tells us everything that was going on in England at the time... in his detailed narrative of English naval and military affaris over the 38 years of Henry's reign. It is a rich fruitcake of a story, laden with plums... he gives us a rich and colourful tapestry of the age. (NAM RODGER GUARDIAN)

Till now a tabloid historiography has focused on his domestic difficulties and his spats with Rome, and this achievement has gone unregarded. As this absorbing study demonstrates, however, Henry's great project had implications for everything from diplomacy to the environment, and did much to build the Britannia which one day would rule the waves. (THE SCOTSMAN)

"Henry VIII's complex domestic life - he had six wives - has rather overshadowed that he founded what was to become the Royal Navy. But no more, in this well-researched and pacy account..." (BELFAST TELEGRAPH)

Moorhouse has all the credentials for writing this book... this book - which is beautifully written - should please the most rigorous academics as well as the general reader... His new book should change people's perceptions of this famous historical figure, and add another reason to that list of why he is remembered. It is also, it has to be said, a rattling good read. (TRIBUNE)

a good deal of detail about life in the Tudor navy. (DORSET ECHO)

Descrizione del libro:

Ground-breaking history of how King Henry VIII created England's navy

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Orion
• Data di pubblicazione: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0297645447
• ISBN 13: 9780297645443
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 352