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Maritime Power in the Age of Nelson

Module description

This module will explore the multifaceted aspects of maritime power in the period c.1756-1815. It will allow you to define key aspects of maritime power and the relationships between, primarily, the British Royal Navy and wider culture, society, and politics. It will take a thematic approach and each week you will utilize primary sources to develop your skills and enhance your understanding. The focus will be on British maritime power; however, because power is contextual and relative, other perspectives will be introduced each week to help you critically analyze that week’s theme. 

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module will introduce you to a range of historical sources which you will use to explore, analyse, and assess maritime power. You will explore the Royal Navy as an organisation, its functions, and how it relates to policy and strategy. You will also explore the broader interactions between the maritime world and British society and culture. By doing so you will explore a range of perspectives and different voices as well as the richness of the available source material. You will explore the way that maritime life in general in this period has been portrayed in fiction and how that relates to the reality. 

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Understand and assess the character and nature of maritime power during the classic ‘age of sail’, identifying key themes and topics
• 2. Work critically with a range of written and visual sources relating to maritime power in the years 1756-1815

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Identify the benefits and problems of using historical sources, e.g. utility, limitations, etc., and compare the validity of different types of sources
• 4. Present historical arguments and answer questions orally and in writing

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Conduct independent study and group work, including the presentation of material for group discussion, developed through the mode of learning
• 6. Digest, select, and organise material to produce, to a deadline, a coherent and cogent argument, developed through the mode of assessment
• 7. Write to a tight word-limit

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

• Nelson and maritime power
• Policy, strategy and operations
• Empire, trade and slavery
• Shipboard life
• Dockyards and port towns
• Manning and the impress service
• Mutiny
• Heath and sexual attitudes
• Maritime power in fiction and reality

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment. 

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%. 

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Accessible introductions to the topic:

• Roger Knight, The Pursuit of Victory: The Life and Achievement of Horatio Nelson (London, 2006)
• Martin Robson, A History of the Royal Navy: The Napoleonic Wars (London, 2014)
• NAM Rodger, The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain 1649-1815 (London, 2004)

Primary sources

• Brian Lavery (ed.), Shipboard Life and Organisation, 1731-1815 (Navy Records Society), vol. 138, 1998

Secondary reading

• Jeremiah Dancy, The Myth of the Press Gang (Woodbridge, 2015)
• Ellen Gill, Naval Families, War and Duty in Britain, 1740-1820 (Woodbridge, 2016)
• Roger Knight, Britain Against Napoleon: The Organization of Victory, 1793-1815 (London, 2014)
• Margarette Lincoln, Representing the Royal Navy: British sea power, 1750-1815, (Aldershot, 2002)
• Ruddock Mackay and Michael Duffy, Hawke, Nelson, and British Naval Leadership, 1747-1805, (Woodbridge, 2009).    
• Roger Morriss, The Foundations of British Maritime Ascendancy. Resources, Logistics and the State, 1755-1815 (Cambridge, 2011)
• NAM Rodger, The Wooden World, An Anatomy of the Georgian Navy (London, 1986)

Key words search

Maritime, Royal Navy, Nelson, Dockyards, Strategy,