Great Harry's Navy: How Henry VIII Gave England Seapower
by Geoffrey Moorhouse
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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 show more 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. show lessTags
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Geoffrey Moorhouse sets out to tell us "how Henry VIII gave England seapower". He brings to the subject a deep knowledge and love of the period (as previously shown in his book The Pilgrimage of Grace). With infectious relish he tells us everything that was going on in England at the time, and everything else that comes to mind while he is telling it. Chinese seaborne exploration (he is a show more devout believer in the voyages of Zhu Di), the history of Portuguese voyaging, the Breton weaving industry, Henry's 1520 meeting with Francis I of France at the "Field of the Cloth of Gold" (a splendid, witty, set-piece description) all find their place in his detailed narrative of English naval and military affairs over the 38 years of Henry's reign.
It is a rich fruitcake of a story, laden with plums, but readers may find, as the author himself seems to have done, that it is hard to digest the whole book. show less
It is a rich fruitcake of a story, laden with plums, but readers may find, as the author himself seems to have done, that it is hard to digest the whole book. show less
added by John_Vaughan
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Great Harry's navy : how Henry VIII gave England sea power
- Original title
- Great Harry's navy : how Henry VIII gave England sea power
- People/Characters
- Henry VIII, King of England; Elizabeth I, Queen of England; Sir Francis Drake; Christopher Columbus; Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex
- Important events
- Tudor Era (1485 | 1603); Reign of Henry VIII (1509-04-21 | 1547-01-28)
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, History, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 359.0094109031 — Society, government, & culture Public administration & military science Naval forces and warfare Biography; History By Place Europe British Isles -- Ireland & Scotland
- LCC
- DA86 .M78 — History of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania Great Britain History of Great Britain England History Political, military, naval, and Air Force history.
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 88
- Popularity
- 364,599
- Rating
- (3.38)
- Languages
- English, French
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
- 1
