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00:00En el día de 1690, un ciudadano de Sussex, llamado Samuel Jeque,
00:10looked hacia el canal de su casa, aquí en Rye.
00:15Lo que se ve, llenó con dread.
00:19Los guerrilleros de los guerrilleros, en el marco del marco del horizonte.
00:24El país ha estado en guerra con Francia por dos años,
00:27y la gente en este ciudadano sabía que, un poco de tiempo antes,
00:30la Royal Navy ha sido maldita, 25 miles hacia la costa, off Beachy Head.
00:36Así que la sight de esos equipos de los equipos de los guerrilleros en la run
00:38podía significar solo una cosa.
00:40La Frenchie fueron llegando.
00:44Con la navidad beaten, la Englishie podía hacer nada para evitar una invasión de la invasión de la invasión.
00:49La resulta era inevitable.
00:52La church bells rang out in panic.
00:54Jeque wrote about what happened next in his diary.
00:58A terrible alarm in the town of Rye, the French's coming to land.
01:04Their intentions were to fire and plunder the town.
01:07In desperation, people seized hold of their valuables and attempted to flee the town.
01:17This gate was the only way in and out of Rye,
01:19and soon this narrow street was clogged with people clinging to their possessions.
01:24Their panic increased by the terrible sight
01:27that was now smoldering down on the beach below the town.
01:30If ever there was a vision to terrify the people of Rye,
01:37it must have been that of England's first line of defence in flames.
01:45Lying here on the beach within sight of Rye Harbour
01:48was the Anne, a 70-gun Royal Naval warship
01:52which had been terribly damaged in the fighting at Beachy Head.
01:55A hundred of her crew had been killed or wounded.
01:58Unable to sail on any further, her captain ran her aground on this very spot
02:06and then fearing that the French would capture her, he set her alight.
02:12Her remains are under my feet now.
02:14Sometimes when these sands shift, she re-emerges
02:18like a ghostly reminder of a forgotten moment in our history.
02:22A moment of terror, chaos and defeat.
02:27Royal Britannia? I don't think so.
02:32In 1690, there could have been no doubt in anyone's mind.
02:37France ruled the waves and England was at her mercy.
02:42For the English, this disaster was a turning point.
02:46They had no choice.
02:47If they were to survive, they would have to build a navy
02:50capable of resisting the greatest power in Europe.
02:55But to do that would require a national effort
02:58unlike anything that had been seen before.
03:01It would transform the country, revolutionise agriculture,
03:05lay the foundations of industry
03:07and most of all, unleash the power of money.
03:11It's passing 185, sir.
03:38The Battle of Beachy Head in 1690
03:49still ranks as one of the Royal Navy's most humiliating defeats.
03:53But then, in 1693, came an even more terrible loss.
03:59England was a nation of traders,
04:01utterly dependent on the wealth generated by her huge merchant fleet.
04:05A fleet which, unless it was properly protected,
04:09was terribly vulnerable to enemy attack.
04:12On 30th May 1693,
04:16400 merchant ships gathered in a huge fleet
04:19and set out from England to the town of Smyrna
04:22in the eastern Mediterranean.
04:24This giant trade flotilla
04:26was described as the richest that ever went for Turkey.
04:30On board was a year's worth of trade.
04:35Wool, tin, spices and silver.
04:38The lifeblood of the economy,
04:39which had been accumulating in port
04:41for fear of being captured or destroyed at sea.
04:46The convoy was such a vital national interest
04:49that it was given an escort of 102 warships.
04:52The convoy moved down the channel
04:55and out into the Atlantic.
04:57But this route took them past Brest,
04:59home of the French Navy,
05:00which is where the accompanying English admirals
05:02were expecting trouble.
05:04So as they passed without incident
05:06and entered the Bay of Biscay,
05:08the English escort ships turned round
05:10and headed home,
05:12thinking the convoy would be safe.
05:13This was a disastrous decision.
05:15The French had found out about the convoy
05:17and the time of its departure
05:19and they were preparing ships further down here
05:21to intercept it.
05:28As the convoy reached Lagos Bay
05:30on the southern tip of Portugal,
05:32they found 93 French warships waiting for them.
05:35Almost a hundred merchant vessels
05:42carrying a year's worth of trade
05:44were captured or destroyed.
05:54When news of the disaster reached England,
05:57it sent the business community
05:59into a paroxysm of despair.
06:01From his house here in Rye,
06:06the merchant Samuel Jeek wrote in his diary,
06:09news of the miscarriage of the Turkey fleet
06:12has put a great stop to trade.
06:14And this was an understatement.
06:16The losses suffered by the Smyrna convoy
06:18were as bad as those
06:20in the Great Fire of London of 1666.
06:23And there followed a wave of bankruptcies
06:25among insurers and merchants.
06:28The secretary to King William III
06:31said that he had never seen his majesty
06:33so sensibly affected with any accident as this.
06:38This commercial disaster,
06:40coming just three years after
06:41one of the Navy's worst military disasters,
06:44served as a brutal reminder.
06:47For England, a powerful Navy was not a luxury.
06:50It was a central pillar of state.
06:52Without it, the country was doomed.
06:55William desperately needed more ships
06:58and to build them, money.
07:01But the treasury was empty.
07:04Then in 1694,
07:06a completely new kind of financial institution
07:09was created in London,
07:10one offering a unique investment opportunity.
07:14Anyone willing to put in at least £25
07:16would receive a guaranteed return of 8%.
07:20The savvy merchant from Rye, Samuel Jeek,
07:28thought this sounded like a chance
07:30that was too good to miss
07:31and he instructed his agent in London
07:33to invest £200.
07:34But then he decided to gather together
07:36all this spare cash
07:37and head into London himself.
07:40He wrote in his diary,
07:41I made myself ready for my journey,
07:43carrying the £100 with me
07:45and at 7pm I took horse for London.
07:48Now that was a 15-hour ride,
07:50so it's fair to suggest
07:51that by the time he met up with his agent
07:53the following afternoon in the city,
07:55Mr Jeek would have been quite saddle sore.
07:57So keen was Jeek to take advantage
08:01of the 8% interest being offered
08:03that he even scraped together
08:05a further £200
08:06while he was here in London
08:07to take his total stake
08:09up to £500.
08:14£500 is a lot of money for anyone,
08:16even Jeek.
08:17But it turns out
08:18it was a pretty good investment.
08:20That exciting new financial institution
08:22that launched in 1694
08:24still exists.
08:25It's called the Bank of England.
08:31The funds required
08:32to build a new navy were vast,
08:34but the Bank of England delivered.
08:36In just 12 days
08:38it raised £1.2 million
08:39and on August 1st, 1694,
08:43it made its first loan
08:44to the government.
08:46The national debt was born
08:48and the Royal Navy was saved.
08:50England would build now
08:52and pay later.
08:55This is a list
08:56of all the original investors
08:58in the Bank of England,
08:59known as subscribers at the time.
09:01At the top of each page here
09:02is the date
09:02and their names
09:04neatly written out here
09:05with their occupations next to them.
09:07Right here at the bottom of this page
09:08is Samuel Jeek of Ryan Sussex,
09:11a merchant.
09:12This is a remarkable document
09:15because it allows us to get
09:17a kind of investor profile
09:18of this extraordinary new venture.
09:21At the very top of the list,
09:23appropriately enough,
09:24are their majesties,
09:25the king and queen
09:26who invested £10,000.
09:28But there's lots of other people
09:29from the very pinnacle
09:30of society as well.
09:32Men like Edward Russell,
09:33the first lord of the admiralty,
09:34invested £2,000.
09:37But it wasn't just
09:39the bigwigs that subscribed.
09:41There are nine people
09:42listed here
09:43as being in domestic service.
09:45And here,
09:46I've found Thomas Day of London
09:48who's a blacksmith
09:50and he's invested £100
09:51while over the page,
09:54Joseph Cake,
09:56is a bricklayer.
09:58The national debt
09:59created a virtuous circle
10:01of funding.
10:03The government
10:03borrowed money
10:04from the people
10:05which it spent
10:06on the navy,
10:07which protected trade,
10:08which brought in taxes,
10:10which allowed the government
10:10to pay the people back.
10:16It was a financial revolution
10:18which uniquely
10:19would allow England
10:20to spend its way
10:21to greatness.
10:23More than half
10:24of that first loan,
10:25over £600,000,
10:28went on building up
10:29the navy.
10:30And that huge injection
10:31of cash,
10:32the first of many,
10:33had a transforming effect
10:35on whole areas
10:36of the economy
10:37all over the country.
10:39The northeast of England
10:40soon had Europe's
10:42largest ironworks,
10:43thanks to the navy's
10:44spending spree
10:45and one enterprising
10:47industrialist
10:47called Ambrose Crowley.
10:52Iron ran in Ambrose Crowley's blood.
10:54His father and grandfather
10:56had both had a steady business
10:58in the Midlands
10:59in the iron trade.
11:00But young Ambrose Crowley III
11:02wanted more.
11:03He wanted to expand
11:04and he realised
11:05that to do so
11:06he'd have to up sticks
11:07and move closer
11:08to his most precious
11:09raw material.
11:10Not iron,
11:11but coal.
11:13And that's why
11:13he ended up here
11:14on the south bank
11:16of the time.
11:17He set up
11:18a series of blacksmith's shops
11:19up there,
11:20about a mile away,
11:22and brought the goods
11:23down here
11:23to the river
11:24where they could be
11:25shipped south.
11:29South was where
11:30England's shipyards
11:31were embarked
11:32on a massive building program.
11:34And it was this
11:35that made Ambrose Crowley's
11:36ironworks so successful
11:38because wooden ships
11:39need lots of iron nails.
11:42And in those days,
11:44every single one
11:45had to be made
11:46by hand.
11:48Blacksmith Mark Fern
11:49still uses
11:50exactly the same techniques.
11:55This is the
11:56traditional set-up,
11:57isn't it?
11:57It is.
11:58A double-acting bellows
11:59and every time
12:00you press that down,
12:02it's feeding air
12:02into the fire.
12:04And how hot
12:05is that,
12:05do you reckon?
12:05About 1,300.
12:06You can see.
12:071,300 degrees centigrade.
12:10It's hard to believe
12:11that a packet of nails
12:12that we buy
12:13in the shop
12:14were actually made
12:15individually like this.
12:16Isn't it remarkable?
12:19Right, so here we go.
12:29And then,
12:30we're going to be ready
12:31to put it in the heading tool.
12:36And then you see that.
12:37Wow.
12:38And then,
12:39beat the head onto it.
12:44Into the quench bucket.
12:47That should
12:48That's not a bad nail.
12:52Well,
12:52do you reckon
12:53I could have a go?
12:54I reckon you could.
12:57There you go.
12:58Piece of iron, Dan.
12:59Piece of iron.
13:00Yes, OK.
13:01Get ready for one nail.
13:02Yes, indeed.
13:03First of all,
13:03I'll give it some of this.
13:07OK, how about that?
13:08That's looking good.
13:09By 1700,
13:10the industrialist
13:11Ambrose Crowley
13:12was providing
13:1240%
13:13of all the Navy's
13:15iron orders.
13:19He created
13:20a factory system
13:21with hundreds
13:22of workshops
13:22like this one
13:23and built iron mills
13:25and steel furnaces
13:26alongside.
13:27It turned
13:28what had been
13:29a cottage industry
13:30into mass production.
13:32Into the heading tool.
13:34Right, huh?
13:35After the financial revolution,
13:37here were the first shoots
13:38of the industrial revolution
13:40and driving it all
13:41was the Navy.
13:43In only a decade,
13:45English dockyards
13:46built over 150
13:48new naval ships.
13:50But since England
13:51was at war,
13:51many of those ships
13:52were, of course,
13:53destroyed or captured
13:54by the enemy.
13:56Nevertheless,
13:56by the end of the decade,
13:58the English Navy
13:59numbered 176
14:01warships.
14:04And each of them
14:05contained over
14:06five tonnes
14:07of iron nails.
14:08My first nail.
14:10And you should be able
14:11to knock that out.
14:13Look at that.
14:14In fact,
14:14it's just sliding out.
14:16Hey!
14:17How good is that?
14:18Look at that.
14:19Congratulations.
14:20Your first nail.
14:21That's fantastic.
14:23I can imagine that
14:24going through a piece
14:25of planking
14:26onto the hull
14:26of a ship.
14:34Of course,
14:35the Navy
14:36didn't just need nails.
14:37Each new ship
14:39typically contained
14:40the wood
14:40of more than
14:402,000 trees,
14:42over 7,000 square
14:44yards of canvas
14:45and 10 miles of rope
14:47weighing 19 tonnes.
14:50The sailing ship
14:51was the most complex
14:52man-made machine
14:54on Earth,
14:55a glorious piece
14:56of wooden architecture
14:57driven entirely
14:58by the wind.
14:59But it relied,
15:00most of all,
15:01on manpower.
15:02In 10 years,
15:05the number of men
15:06serving in the Royal Navy
15:07quadrupled
15:08to over 44,000.
15:10That's more people
15:11than lived in any city
15:13outside London.
15:14And feeding them all
15:15transformed
15:16England's agriculture.
15:19The Navy
15:19was the single
15:20largest consumer
15:21of produce
15:22in the country.
15:23And it awarded
15:24huge contracts
15:25to a handful
15:26of suppliers
15:27who bought up
15:28vast quantities
15:29of food
15:29from small farmers
15:30all over the country.
15:33Agricultural output
15:34went up by a third.
15:36But because this
15:36was a competitive market,
15:38prices stayed low.
15:40Once again,
15:41the Navy's
15:42insatiable demand
15:43was driving
15:44the economy forward.
15:46It had become
15:46the engine
15:47of English commerce,
15:49a national enterprise.
15:50It took the work
15:58of thousands
15:59on land
16:00to build the ships
16:01of the Royal Navy
16:01and keep them supplied.
16:05But once at sea,
16:06survival depended
16:07most of all
16:08on the skill,
16:09fortitude
16:10and raw strength
16:12of the crew.
16:14And to fuel
16:14all those men
16:15required by the Navy
16:16was actually quite
16:17a generous allocation
16:18of food.
16:19The central part
16:21of the diet
16:21was of course
16:22meat,
16:23salted
16:23so that it survived
16:25for long ocean voyages.
16:27This is the weekly ration,
16:29six pounds of meat,
16:30four pounds of beef,
16:31two pounds of pork.
16:32Now the beef
16:33was typically eaten
16:34in some kind of
16:35stew with suet
16:36apparently.
16:41Very salty.
16:45With suet.
16:49If you think salty
16:53boot leather,
16:55that's about right.
16:57Perhaps the most
16:57famous part
16:58of the sailing
16:59Navy's diet
17:00was the key staple,
17:02standing in for bread,
17:03the ship's biscuit.
17:05A subtle combination,
17:06flour,
17:07water
17:07and salt,
17:08baked for hours
17:10until it was rock hard.
17:11It's like a particularly
17:20disgusting and tasteless
17:21version of rye bread.
17:23An added complication
17:25was that this became
17:26a home of little weevils,
17:28almost like tiny worms
17:29that used to live in them
17:30and feed off them.
17:31Now,
17:32some people like to
17:33bang them
17:34until the weevils fell out
17:35and you could get rid of them.
17:36Others used to go
17:37to a dark corner,
17:38simply eat the biscuit,
17:40weevils and all.
17:44What this diet does show
17:46is that the Navy's
17:48high command
17:48understood just how
17:49much physical effort
17:50was required
17:51to sail a ship
17:52effectively.
17:53Sailors were constantly
17:55climbing up and down
17:56masts
17:56and adjusting sails
17:57with no protection
17:59from the elements.
18:00And in battle,
18:02there were cannons
18:02weighing three tons
18:03each to manoeuvre.
18:06Little wonder then
18:07that the Navy's rations
18:08provided sailors
18:09with 5,000 calories a day.
18:12That's twice the
18:13recommended intake
18:14for an active man today.
18:16Oh, this feels a little
18:17bit precarious up here.
18:19It takes a special
18:20kind of head for heights
18:21to spend your time
18:22as a topman
18:23up in the,
18:24up in the mast heads.
18:26And from up here,
18:27of course,
18:27you also get a much
18:28better view.
18:28So they're the ones
18:29with the sharpest eyesight.
18:30They could spot enemy sails
18:32when they saw them
18:33on the horizon.
18:35The one bad thing
18:35about being up here,
18:36though,
18:36is that the movement
18:38on deck
18:38is magnified
18:39quite a lot.
18:41Up here,
18:42we go through
18:42quite a big angle
18:44when you rock around.
18:51Sailors in this period
18:52were a breed apart.
18:54The average age
18:55would have been
18:55about 27,
18:56but they'd have
18:57looked much older,
18:58their faces lined
18:59and weathered
19:00from a lifetime
19:01at sea.
19:02Their hands
19:03would have been
19:03calloused
19:04and scarred
19:04and their vocabulary
19:05was almost indecipherable
19:07to landlubbers.
19:09A mixture of swearing
19:11and nautical terms.
19:13Line down.
19:15Most noticeable
19:16of all
19:17was their peculiar
19:18rolling gait,
19:19more suitable
19:20for the pitching
19:20deck of a ship
19:21than walking
19:22on dry land.
19:23And all of this
19:24made them
19:24very recognisable
19:25to the naval press
19:27gangs who patrolled
19:28the ports
19:28looking for
19:29experienced recruits.
19:34That was quite tiring
19:35and the amazing part
19:36about that process
19:37is that every time
19:38the wind changes
19:39in strength
19:39you've got to go
19:40back up there
19:40and alter the sails.
19:49There are some
19:50written accounts
19:51that tell us
19:51what life was like
19:52for ordinary sailors.
19:54One of the most
19:55remarkable
19:55is by Edward Barlow.
19:58He first went to sea
19:59at the age of 13.
20:01He came ashore
20:02for the last time
20:02in 1703
20:03at the age of 61.
20:06A total of 48 years
20:08at sea
20:08which was an amazing
20:10feat of survival.
20:13Throughout that time
20:14he kept
20:14an incredible
20:15illustrated diary
20:17and I've got it here
20:18and it paints his life
20:19at sea in the most
20:19vivid terms
20:20and leaves you
20:21in no doubt
20:22as to how tough it was.
20:24He says
20:24often we were called up
20:26before we had slept
20:27half an hour
20:28and forced to go
20:29into the main top
20:30or foretop
20:30to take in our topsails
20:31half awake
20:33and half asleep.
20:35There we must haul
20:35and pull
20:36to make fast the sail
20:37seeing nothing
20:38but the air above us
20:39and the water beneath us
20:40and that's so raging
20:42as though every wave
20:44would make a grave for us.
20:48The Royal Navy
20:50rebuilt and renewed
20:51with borrowed money
20:52was able to avenge
20:53the defeats
20:54of the early 1690s.
20:56It even captured
20:57Gibraltar and Menorca
20:59two important bases
21:00in the Mediterranean.
21:03The English Navy
21:04was now a global weapon.
21:07Its ships
21:08opening up
21:08the wealth of the world
21:09to the merchant fleet
21:10thousands of miles
21:12across the ocean
21:13and no part of the world
21:16was more important
21:17than the one
21:17that had first fired
21:18the dreams
21:19of England's mariners.
21:24The island of Jamaica
21:26was the largest
21:27English colony
21:28in the Caribbean
21:29the most hotly contested
21:31and dangerous region
21:32in the world.
21:34In the autumn of 1708
21:35a 23-year-old naval captain
21:37called Edward Vernon
21:39arrived here
21:40in Port Royal
21:40the nerve centre
21:42of the Navy's operations.
21:43Vernon's father
21:53was an MP
21:53and he disapproved
21:54of his son's career choice
21:56but such was the draw
21:57of the sea
21:58on the minds
21:58of young men
21:59in that period
22:00that Edward
22:01had always had his heart
22:02set on joining
22:03the Royal Navy.
22:04He was just a kind
22:05of aggressive
22:06bold commander
22:07that would thrive
22:08in an environment
22:08like this
22:09where courage
22:10and initiative
22:11were key requirements.
22:13Vernon served
22:16in the Caribbean
22:16for four years
22:17during which time
22:19the country
22:19was at war
22:20with France
22:21and Spain.
22:23It was the job
22:24of men like him
22:25to defend
22:25the merchant fleet
22:26on which England's
22:27prosperity depended.
22:30The Caribbean
22:31was the centre
22:32of world trade
22:33because of what
22:34was grown here.
22:38So this
22:39is raw
22:40sugar cane juice
22:41made from pressing
22:42the sugar cane.
22:43I'm going to have
22:43a bit of a taste.
22:47That's disgusting.
22:48That just tastes
22:48of mud,
22:50grass and sugar
22:51which is not
22:52wholly surprising
22:52because that's
22:53basically what it is.
22:54But of course
22:55when this is
22:55boiled down
22:56and crystallised
22:57you get sugar
22:57imported into Europe
22:59in vast quantities
23:00to liven up
23:01the rather dull
23:01European diet
23:03added to things
23:04like pastries
23:04but also other imports
23:05like tea and coffee.
23:08Over here
23:08we have another drink
23:09made from sugar cane
23:10and that
23:11of course
23:11is rum.
23:13Much more recognisable
23:14becomes synonymous
23:14with the Navy
23:15in this period.
23:16Favoured drink
23:16of sailors.
23:24That's much more
23:25drinkable
23:25but still a bit rough.
23:27This became
23:28synonymous
23:28with Edward Vernon
23:29because Vernon
23:31returns out here
23:31to the Caribbean
23:32as a senior commander
23:33and he discovers
23:34that rum
23:35has become
23:35a staple
23:36among the
23:37Royal Navy
23:38ship's companies
23:38out here.
23:39They drink
23:40half a pint
23:40per man per day
23:42so they're in danger
23:42of getting quite drunk
23:43and falling out
23:44of the mast
23:45and rigging
23:45when they go aloft.
23:46So he insists
23:47that the rum ration
23:48is mixed
23:48with water.
23:50Now because his nickname
23:51is Old Grogham
23:52thanks to a coat
23:53he used to wear
23:54made out of material
23:55called Grogham
23:55this new mixture
23:57of rum and water
23:58that's introduced
23:59on his watch
23:59is known as Grog.
24:03Sugarcane
24:09was cultivated
24:10by slaves
24:11as was the tobacco
24:13which was grown
24:14in the American colonies.
24:15The slave trade
24:16was a lucrative sideline.
24:20But the English
24:21did not have a monopoly
24:22on all these commodities.
24:24The Caribbean
24:24was a pressure cooker
24:26of competing nations
24:27all jostling
24:28over a few small islands.
24:30The Dutch
24:30the French
24:31and the Spanish
24:32were all here
24:33each of them
24:34greedily protecting
24:35their own interests
24:36but also looking
24:37for opportunities
24:38to conquer
24:38new territories.
24:43And then
24:44there were the pirates.
24:46It's not hard to see
24:47what attracted
24:48those men
24:48to the Caribbean.
24:49It was the job
24:50of officers
24:51like Edward Vernon
24:52to hunt them down
24:53and provide
24:54a violent deterrent.
24:57Many of those pirates
24:57were of course
24:58state sponsored
25:00known as privateers
25:01because they carried
25:02licenses issued
25:03to them
25:04by the French
25:04and Spanish governments
25:06to prey on British shipping.
25:08Not that the British government
25:09was above using
25:10the profit motive either.
25:12In 1708
25:13the year that Vernon
25:13arrived out here
25:14in the Caribbean
25:15Parliament passed
25:16the Prize Act.
25:18This gave
25:18the captain,
25:19officers and ship's company
25:20of any Royal Navy ship
25:21a portion of the value
25:23of any enemy vessel
25:25they captured.
25:26At a time
25:29when a Royal Navy
25:30captain
25:30typically earned
25:31about £20 a month
25:32and an ordinary seaman
25:34less than a pound
25:35a month
25:35these prizes
25:36represented
25:37a significant
25:38salary bonus.
25:41While he was out here
25:42Vernon took
25:42full advantage.
25:44He captured
25:44several prizes.
25:46One was a Spanish ship
25:47laden with tobacco
25:48another was French
25:49with 400 slaves
25:51on board.
25:51He brought them
25:52back in here
25:52to Port Royal
25:53to have them valued
25:54then as captain
25:55he was entitled
25:56to a quarter share.
25:59It was the most
26:00brutal form
26:01of incentive.
26:02Patriotism
26:03was now bolstered
26:05by prize money.
26:07Vernon embodied
26:08the naval revolution
26:09rich, confident
26:11and supremely professional.
26:13He was the product
26:14of a navy
26:15and a country
26:16that had come
26:16a long way
26:17since those dark
26:18early years
26:19of King William's reign
26:20in the 1690s.
26:24After 25 years
26:29of almost continual warfare
26:31the strategy
26:32laid down
26:33by William III
26:34finally paid off.
26:36France and Spain
26:37couldn't match
26:38the vast resources
26:39being poured
26:40into the Royal Navy
26:41and after a series
26:42of defeats
26:43in 1713
26:45they made peace.
26:47On this side
26:47of the channel
26:48it felt like
26:49time to celebrate.
26:50This is the painted
27:09hall of the old
27:10Royal Naval Hospital
27:11in Greenwich
27:12and the magnificent
27:14ceiling tells you
27:16everything you need
27:17to know
27:17about how the British
27:18saw themselves
27:19at the start
27:20of the 18th century.
27:32And I use the word
27:33British deliberately
27:34because after 1707
27:35England and Scotland
27:36were joined together
27:37by act of union
27:38to form the Kingdom
27:39of Great Britain.
27:40And this is the image
27:42of that new nation
27:44rich, confident
27:45and filled
27:47with a sense
27:48of destiny.
27:51The central character
27:52is William
27:53sitting in all
27:55his majesty
27:56bringing peace
27:57and harmony
27:57to Europe
27:58and if you notice
27:59he's sitting
28:00on the defeated figure
28:02of the King of France
28:03the terrible
28:03Louis XIV.
28:08The overwhelming theme
28:10is of course
28:10naval
28:11and at the end
28:12of the painting
28:13here you see
28:14this vast
28:16British man of war
28:17towering out
28:19of the water
28:20with its cannons
28:20run out
28:21ready for battle.
28:22The decks
28:23of the ship
28:24are crowded
28:24with the spoils
28:26of victory
28:27stuff, booty
28:28stolen off
28:29the French
28:29and Spanish
28:30but fascinatingly
28:32the ship
28:32is resting
28:33on the shoulders
28:34of a figure
28:35representing
28:36the City of London
28:37and all that
28:37financial wealth
28:39that she generated
28:39and she
28:40in turn
28:41is above
28:42figures representing
28:43the great rivers
28:44of England
28:45Isis
28:45and a man
28:46representing
28:47the Thames
28:47and even the Tyne
28:48bringing an offering
28:49of coal.
28:51The message
28:52couldn't be clearer
28:52this vast
28:54awesome military machine
28:55is totally
28:56dependent
28:57on the wealth
28:58created
28:59by the City
29:00of London.
29:03In 1726
29:04just as the finishing
29:05touches were being
29:06put to this hall
29:07the French philosopher
29:07Voltaire
29:08visited Britain
29:09and was very struck
29:10by what he described
29:10as the grandeur
29:11of state.
29:12He wrote
29:13Trade
29:14raised by insensible
29:16degrees
29:16the naval power
29:17which gives the English
29:18a superiority
29:19over the seas
29:20and they are now
29:21masters of very near
29:22200 ships of war.
29:24Posterity will very
29:25probably be surprised
29:26to hear
29:27that an island
29:28whose only produce
29:29is a little lead
29:30tin
29:30full as earth
29:31and coarse wool
29:32should become
29:33so powerful
29:34by its commerce.
29:36Voltaire saw
29:37instantly
29:38that commerce
29:38and naval power
29:39were linked.
29:43It was a formula
29:44for success
29:45that was tied up
29:46with the creation
29:47of the Bank of England
29:48and now Britain
29:49was reaping the rewards.
29:54Britain in the 1720s
29:56was a changed country.
30:00Thanks to the Navy
30:01she had resisted
30:02the combined might
30:04of the French
30:04and Spanish alliance.
30:10But the coming of peace
30:12brought an end
30:13to 25 years
30:15of naval expansion.
30:17With no enemies
30:18to engage at sea
30:20a generation
30:21of aggressive naval commanders
30:22took their fight
30:23to Westminster
30:24where they argued
30:26the British ship
30:27of state
30:27should stick
30:28to its natural course
30:29war.
30:34In 1722
30:36the country
30:36held a general election
30:37and former
30:38commodore
30:39Edward Vernon
30:40became MP
30:41for Penryn
30:42in Cornwall.
30:44Vernon was a
30:45fiery patriot
30:46and what really
30:47got him going
30:48was the Caribbean.
30:50During his 21 years
30:51in the Royal Navy
30:52he'd served out there
30:53twice.
30:53The second time
30:54as commander-in-chief
30:55of His Majesty's
30:56ships in Jamaica
30:57and while there
30:58he'd seen ports
31:00stuffed with ships
31:01carrying the produce
31:02of Spain's
31:03American Empire
31:05and he'd seen
31:06how the Spanish Navy
31:07were all too keen
31:08to run away
31:09from a fight.
31:11Vernon was convinced
31:12that this was
31:13the soft underbelly
31:14of the Spanish Empire.
31:16Attack their settlements
31:17in America
31:17he wrote
31:18and Spain will fall.
31:20And if Spain fell
31:22that would have
31:23dire consequences
31:24for her close
31:25ally France
31:26who of course
31:27was Britain's
31:28greatest rival
31:29so actually
31:29Britain would get
31:30two victories
31:31for the price
31:32of one.
31:33It all sounded
31:33like a great idea
31:34but there was
31:35a problem.
31:38During the 1720s
31:39and 30s
31:40the government's
31:41policy was to
31:42avoid war
31:43but at the same
31:45time
31:45British traders
31:47in the Caribbean
31:47were aggressively
31:48encroaching
31:49into the Spanish Empire
31:51and they had
31:52the backing
31:52of merchants
31:53and former
31:53naval officers
31:54at home.
31:56Then in 1738
31:58something extraordinary
31:59happened.
32:00A merchant captain
32:01called Robert Jenkins
32:02appeared here
32:03before Parliament.
32:05He brought with him
32:05a bundle of cotton wool.
32:07Opening it
32:08he produced
32:09his own severed ear.
32:11The story that Jenkins
32:17told Parliament
32:17that day
32:18was political
32:19dynamite.
32:21He said
32:21that the ear
32:22had been chopped
32:23off by a Spanish
32:24naval officer
32:25while he'd been
32:25minding his own
32:26business peaceably
32:27off the coast
32:28of Cuba.
32:29It unleashed
32:30a wave of xenophobia
32:31through Parliament
32:32and the public
32:33and no one's voice
32:35was louder
32:35than Edward Vernon.
32:38Jenkins'
32:38mutilation
32:39was Vernon's gain.
32:41He strode
32:42into the Admiralty
32:43and demanded
32:44to be given
32:44command in the Caribbean
32:45and Vernon
32:47got his wish.
32:5430 years
32:55after he first
32:56sailed to Jamaica
32:57Edward Vernon
32:58returned
32:59this time
33:00as a vice-admiral.
33:01He arrived
33:04in Port Royal
33:05on 12th October
33:061739
33:07and began
33:08his preparations.
33:11A week later
33:13the British government
33:13finally made up
33:14its mind
33:14and declared
33:15war
33:16against Spain.
33:18Vernon was now
33:19given official
33:19licence
33:20to commit
33:21all hostilities
33:22against the Spaniards
33:24in such manner
33:25as you shall
33:26judge most proper.
33:31Britain's belligerent
33:33naval officers
33:33and her merchant
33:34class
33:35had got their war
33:37the war
33:37of Jenkins' ear
33:39and it began
33:41when Vernon
33:41launched an attack
33:42on the Spanish
33:43colonial base
33:44at Portobello.
33:47On November 21st
33:49Vernon sailed
33:50into Portobello
33:51with six
33:52Royal Navy warships
33:53and opened up
33:54a massive bombardment
33:56against the Spanish
33:57defenders.
33:57The lead ship
34:01fired 400 shots
34:03in just 25 minutes.
34:05The Spanish
34:06were powerless
34:06to resist
34:07partly because
34:07much of their
34:08gunpowder
34:09was damp.
34:10When Vernon's
34:11men stormed
34:12ashore
34:12only 40
34:14of the original
34:15300 Spaniards
34:16were able to resist.
34:18They surrendered
34:19within 24 hours.
34:23Britain rejoiced.
34:26The Navy
34:26had delivered
34:27on its promise
34:28projecting British
34:30force thousands
34:31of miles
34:32away from home
34:32and Admiral
34:34Vernon
34:34the scourge
34:35of Spain
34:36was a hero
34:37heir to Drake
34:39and the embodiment
34:40of a new
34:41imperial mission.
34:43A Scottish
34:44poet
34:45James Thompson
34:46really caught
34:46the national
34:47mood of celebration
34:48by penning
34:49a poem
34:49that became
34:50wildly popular.
34:52It contained
34:52the lines
34:53to thee
34:54belongs
34:55the rural
34:55rain
34:56and thy
34:57cities
34:57shall
34:58with commerce
34:59shine.
35:00In case you
35:00haven't guessed
35:01what it is yet
35:01a few lines
35:02later comes
35:03rule Britannia
35:04rule the waves
35:06Britons
35:06never will
35:08be slaves.
35:09These words
35:10have become
35:10part of our
35:11cultural DNA.
35:13Liberty
35:13commerce
35:14and mastery
35:15of the seas
35:15all rolled
35:17inextricably
35:18together.
35:19It was a
35:19defining moment
35:20in the creation
35:22of Britishness.
35:30Buoyed
35:30by his
35:31success
35:31Vernon
35:32decided to
35:33attack
35:33Cartagena
35:34the largest
35:35and richest
35:35city in
35:36Spanish
35:37America.
35:38He took
35:38a massive
35:38force of
35:398,500
35:40troops
35:41and 124
35:42ships.
35:43The public
35:44at home
35:45anticipated
35:45another easy
35:46victory
35:46but Vernon
35:49had overreached
35:50himself.
35:51The attack
35:52was an
35:52uncoordinated
35:53disaster
35:53and soon
35:54stalled.
35:56Exposed
35:56to the extremes
35:57of the
35:57Caribbean
35:58climate
35:58and running
35:59low on
35:59water
35:59the British
36:00were killed
36:01in horrifying
36:01numbers
36:02not by the
36:03Spanish
36:04but by
36:05disease.
36:06Worse
36:06still
36:07Vernon
36:07was out
36:08of range
36:08of reinforcements
36:09and so
36:10after almost
36:11six weeks
36:11of fighting
36:12he was
36:13forced
36:13to withdraw.
36:16Cartagena
36:18was a
36:18wake-up
36:18call
36:19to a
36:19nation
36:19drunk
36:20on
36:20patriotism.
36:21There were
36:21limits
36:22after all
36:22to what
36:23the Navy
36:23could achieve.
36:25The problem
36:25wasn't so much
36:26ships and
36:26men
36:27it was
36:27organisation.
36:29If Britain
36:29wanted to
36:30realise her
36:31dream of
36:31global
36:31domination
36:32then the
36:33Navy's
36:33internal
36:34structures
36:34running
36:35things like
36:35logistics
36:36and strategic
36:36thinking
36:37had to be
36:38of the same
36:38quality
36:39as her
36:40awesomely
36:40powerful
36:41ships
36:41and her
36:42tough
36:42sailors.
36:46The man
36:48who would
36:48take on
36:49that
36:49challenge
36:49was
36:50another
36:50veteran
36:51of the
36:51Caribbean
36:51Captain
36:52George
36:53Anson.
36:55Following
36:56Vernon's
36:57victory
36:57at
36:57Portobello
36:58Anson
36:58had been
36:59ordered
36:59to take
36:59a squadron
37:00of six
37:01warships
37:01to attack
37:02the
37:02Spanish
37:02in the
37:02Pacific
37:03but his
37:04mission
37:04quickly
37:05turned
37:06into
37:06a
37:06nightmare.
37:09Anson's
37:10route
37:10may look
37:11like the
37:11trail
37:11of a
37:11drunken
37:12spider
37:12but as
37:13he
37:13attempted
37:14to
37:14round
37:14Cape
37:14Horn
37:15his
37:15squadron
37:16was so
37:16battered
37:17by
37:17storms
37:17that
37:17he
37:18lost
37:18half
37:18his
37:18ships
37:19and
37:19after
37:20so
37:20long
37:20at
37:20sea
37:20a
37:21third
37:21of
37:21his
37:22men
37:22had
37:22succumbed
37:23to
37:23scurvy
37:23typhus
37:24and
37:25dysentery.
37:26Yet by the
37:27time he arrived
37:28back here
37:28in Britain
37:29in 1744
37:30he'd become
37:31a national
37:32hero.
37:33Why?
37:33Because on
37:34his way
37:34home as
37:35he'd
37:35passed
37:35the
37:35Philippines
37:36he'd
37:36managed
37:37to
37:37capture
37:37a
37:38Spanish
37:38galleon
37:39the
37:40Nuestra
37:40Senora
37:41de
37:41Covadonga
37:42and in
37:43her
37:43hold
37:43was over
37:44a thousand
37:46of virgin
37:46silver
37:47and more
37:48than one
37:49million
37:49pieces of
37:50eight
37:50solid
37:51silver
37:52coins.
37:53She was
37:53one of
37:53the most
37:53valuable
37:54prizes
37:54ever
37:55captured
37:55by a
37:56British
37:56ship.
37:58The
37:59public
37:59had a
37:59new
37:59hero
38:00to
38:00cheer
38:00and
38:01the
38:01treasure
38:01was
38:01paraded
38:02in
38:0232
38:03wagons
38:04through
38:04the
38:04streets
38:05of
38:05London.
38:06To
38:07cap it
38:07all
38:08off
38:08just
38:08six
38:08months
38:09later
38:09at
38:09the
38:09age
38:09of
38:0947
38:10Anson
38:11was
38:11appointed
38:12to
38:12the
38:12board
38:12of
38:13the
38:13Admiralty.
38:16George
38:16Anson
38:17arrived
38:17here
38:17just
38:18after
38:18Christmas
38:181744
38:20with a
38:21reputation
38:21as a
38:22man
38:22of
38:22action
38:22and
38:23he
38:24was
38:24shocked
38:24by
38:25the
38:25bureaucratic
38:26lethargy
38:26he
38:26found.
38:28The
38:28organisation
38:28needed a
38:29shake-up
38:29from
38:30top
38:30to
38:31bottom.
38:31So
38:45this
38:46is
38:46it
38:46the
38:47Admiralty
38:47boardroom
38:48the
38:49beating
38:49heart
38:49of
38:50Anson's
38:50navy
38:50I'll
38:52tell you
38:52what
38:52it
38:52feels
38:52like
38:52a
38:53long
38:53way
38:53from
38:54the
38:54pitching
38:54quarter
38:55deck
38:55of
38:55a
38:55man
38:55of
38:55war
38:55going
38:56around
38:56Cape
38:56Horn
38:56but
38:58in
38:58the
38:58way
38:58of
38:58course
38:59Anson's
38:59experiences
39:00on that
39:00epic
39:01circumnavigation
39:02had prepared
39:03him well
39:03for one
39:04of these
39:04seats
39:05at this
39:05table.
39:06On
39:06that
39:07voyage
39:07he
39:07hadn't
39:07just
39:08been
39:08the
39:08commander
39:08of a
39:09naval
39:09squadron
39:09he'd
39:10had to
39:10become
39:10a
39:11shipwright
39:11a
39:11teacher
39:12a
39:12judge
39:13even
39:13a
39:13diplomat
39:13and
39:14of
39:14course
39:15he'd
39:15seen
39:15the
39:15terrible
39:16effects
39:16of
39:17diseases
39:17like
39:17scurvy
39:18at
39:18first
39:18hand.
39:21Anson
39:21was
39:21the
39:21most
39:21experienced
39:22sailor
39:23in
39:23the
39:23Navy
39:23he
39:24was
39:24the
39:24perfect
39:25man
39:25to
39:25lead
39:26a
39:26complete
39:26overhaul
39:27of
39:27the
39:27service.
39:29Incredible
39:30as it
39:30may
39:30sound
39:31at
39:32the
39:32time
39:32the
39:32Navy
39:33had
39:33no
39:33formal
39:34system
39:34of
39:34rank
39:35it
39:36didn't
39:36even
39:36have
39:36a
39:36uniform
39:37Anson
39:38introduced
39:38both
39:39this
39:40is
39:40him
39:41in
39:41full
39:41dress
39:41he
39:43also
39:43made
39:43the
39:43Navy
39:44more
39:44of
39:44a
39:44meritocracy
39:45officers
39:46were
39:47to
39:47be
39:47promoted
39:47on
39:48the
39:48basis
39:48of
39:48ability
39:49instead
39:50of
39:50time
39:50served
39:51Anson
39:53literally
39:53rewrote
39:54the
39:54rulebook
39:55of
39:55the
39:55Royal
39:55Navy
39:56so
39:56called
39:56Articles
39:57of
39:57War
39:57this
39:58was
39:58partly
39:59in
39:59response
39:59to
39:59a
40:00manpower
40:00shortage
40:00increasing
40:01numbers
40:01of
40:02inexperienced
40:03men
40:03were being
40:04recruited
40:04as
40:04sailors
40:05but
40:05he
40:05also
40:06wanted
40:06to
40:06stiffen
40:07the
40:07resolve
40:07of
40:08his
40:08officer
40:08corps
40:09from
40:09now
40:09on
40:10the
40:10penalty
40:10for
40:11negligence
40:11disaffection
40:12or
40:12cowardice
40:13would
40:14be
40:14death
40:14iron
40:15discipline
40:16and
40:17organisation
40:17would
40:18be
40:18the
40:18keys
40:18to
40:18success
40:19in
40:19Anson's
40:20Navy
40:20Anson
40:22was
40:22not
40:23prepared
40:23to
40:23rely
40:23on
40:24the
40:24natural
40:24talent
40:25of
40:25a
40:25few
40:25good
40:25men
40:26he
40:27wanted
40:27to
40:27ensure
40:27that
40:28the
40:28correct
40:28mindset
40:29and
40:29skills
40:30were
40:30perpetuated
40:31throughout
40:31the
40:31Navy
40:32he
40:33was
40:34institutionalizing
40:35the
40:35qualities
40:35needed
40:36to
40:36guarantee
40:37victory
40:37and
40:38he
40:38was
40:38doing
40:38it
40:39with
40:39a
40:39clear
40:39enemy
40:40in
40:40mind
40:40over
40:42the
40:42previous
40:43three
40:43decades
40:44France
40:44had
40:45been
40:45rebuilding
40:46her
40:46navy
40:46and
40:47massively
40:47expanding
40:48her
40:48trade
40:49and
40:49her
40:50empire
40:50in
40:51places
40:51like
40:51North
40:51America
40:52and
40:52India
40:53by
40:53the
40:53middle
40:54of
40:54the
40:54century
40:54the
40:54two
40:55great
40:55rivals
40:56Britain
40:56and
40:56France
40:57were
40:57evenly
40:58matched
40:58their
40:59relationship
41:00was a
41:00powder keg
41:01of competing
41:01interests
41:02it was only
41:03a matter
41:03of time
41:04before
41:05someone
41:05lit
41:05the
41:05fuse
41:06on
41:20the
41:208th
41:20of
41:20June
41:211755
41:22a
41:23French
41:23squadron
41:24was
41:24heading
41:25for
41:25Canada
41:25when
41:26through
41:26the
41:26murk
41:27of
41:27a
41:27North
41:27Atlantic
41:27morning
41:28they
41:28caught
41:29sight
41:29of
41:30Royal
41:30Naval
41:30ships
41:31as
41:32the
41:32two
41:32fleets
41:32converged
41:33a
41:33French
41:33captain
41:34shouted
41:34across
41:35to
41:35his
41:35opposite
41:35number
41:36on
41:36the
41:36British
41:36ship
41:37are
41:37we
41:37at
41:38peace
41:38or
41:39at
41:39war
41:39the
41:40words
41:40came
41:40back
41:41at
41:41peace
41:42at
41:42peace
41:43but
41:43it
41:43was
41:44followed
41:44seconds
41:44later
41:45by
41:45a
41:46crashing
41:46broadside
41:47the
41:53British
41:53Admiral
41:54Edward
41:54Boscawen
41:55had
41:55loaded
41:56all
41:56his
41:56cannon
41:56with
41:57two
41:57cannonballs
41:58and
41:59the
41:59French
41:59ships
41:59were
42:00pulverized
42:01after
42:09after
42:09this
42:09naked
42:10act
42:11of
42:11aggression
42:11a
42:12formal
42:12declaration
42:13of war
42:14was an
42:14inevitability
42:15the
42:20seven
42:20years
42:21war
42:21as it
42:21became
42:22known
42:22was also
42:23the first
42:23world war
42:24wherever
42:25British or
42:26French flags
42:27flew from
42:27North America
42:28to the
42:28Caribbean
42:29West Africa
42:30to India
42:31the two
42:31sides launched
42:32themselves at
42:33each other
42:34but perhaps
42:36surprisingly
42:36the first real
42:38test for the
42:38navy came in
42:40defending their
42:40own base
42:41in the
42:41Mediterranean
42:42in the
42:44spring of
42:441756
42:45Admiral
42:46John
42:47Bing
42:47set sail
42:48from
42:48England
42:48he was
42:49to take
42:50a squadron
42:50of 13
42:51warships
42:51to protect
42:52the island
42:52of
42:53Menorca
42:53but by
42:54the time
42:55he arrived
42:55he found
42:56the French
42:56had already
42:57landed
42:57and had
42:58the British
42:58garrison
42:59under siege
43:00from land
43:00and sea
43:01despite
43:02enjoying
43:03a small
43:03advantage
43:04in terms
43:04of the
43:04number
43:05of ships
43:05Bing
43:06decided
43:06not to
43:06risk
43:06a full
43:07scale
43:07battle
43:07and
43:08retreated
43:09to
43:09Gibraltar
43:09this
43:10meant
43:10the French
43:11captured
43:12Menorca
43:12back in
43:13Britain
43:14the news
43:14of the loss
43:15of such
43:15an important
43:16naval base
43:17in the
43:17Mediterranean
43:17was greeted
43:18with outrage
43:19Bing was
43:21ordered back
43:22to England
43:23to meet
43:23his fate
43:24he was
43:25court
43:25marshalled
43:26according
43:26to the
43:27new
43:27articles
43:27of war
43:28and found
43:29guilty
43:29of failing
43:30to do
43:31his utmost
43:31to take
43:32or destroy
43:32the enemy's
43:33ships
43:33the sentence
43:35was death
43:36on the
43:4014th
43:41of March
43:411757
43:42Admiral
43:43John
43:44Bing
43:44was executed
43:45on the
43:46quarterdeck
43:46of his
43:47own ship
43:47he'd been
43:48allowed to
43:49direct his
43:49own firing
43:50squad
43:50when he was
43:52ready for them
43:52to fire
43:53he dropped
43:54a handkerchief
43:55once again
43:59the great
43:59French
44:00philosopher
44:00Voltaire
44:01put it
44:01most succinctly
44:02in this
44:03country
44:04he wrote
44:04it is wise
44:05to kill
44:05an admiral
44:05from time
44:06to time
44:06to encourage
44:08the others
44:08well
44:10it worked
44:10from then on
44:11Royal Naval
44:12officers
44:13were aggressive
44:14to a fault
44:14relentless
44:17aggression
44:18became a
44:18hallmark
44:19of the
44:19Royal Navy
44:20a psychological
44:21weapon
44:21just as
44:22important
44:22as the
44:23quality
44:23of its
44:23ships
44:24and guns
44:25but victory
44:27in this
44:27war
44:27would require
44:28more than
44:29just aggression
44:29the Navy
44:31needed
44:31a strategy
44:32back at
44:38the Admiralty
44:38the First
44:39Lord
44:39Anson
44:40was wrestling
44:41with the
44:41challenges
44:41of fighting
44:42war
44:42on this
44:42global
44:43scale
44:43even though
44:44British
44:44naval
44:44expenditure
44:45was twice
44:46that of
44:46France
44:47there still
44:47weren't
44:47enough
44:48ships
44:48to send
44:48in sufficient
44:49numbers
44:49to all
44:50the different
44:51theatres
44:51of war
44:51and so
44:52instead
44:52Anson
44:53seized
44:54on a
44:54very simple
44:55idea
44:55it had
44:57first been
44:57conceived
44:58by Admiral
44:58Edward
44:59Vernon
44:59in a
45:00previous
45:00war
45:01now
45:01Vernon's
45:01idea
45:02was keeping
45:03a fleet
45:03of battleships
45:04here
45:04to the
45:05southwest
45:05of the
45:06British
45:06Isles
45:07here
45:08they could
45:08keep an
45:08eye
45:09on the
45:09French
45:09naval
45:10base
45:10at
45:11Brest
45:11blockading
45:12the
45:12French
45:12ships
45:13in there
45:13but also
45:14protect
45:14the trade
45:15coming back
45:15in here
45:16from North
45:16America
45:16and the
45:17Caribbean
45:17and up
45:18here
45:18from the
45:19Mediterranean
45:19but there
45:21was one
45:21key
45:21problem
45:22any fleet
45:23of ships
45:23being kept
45:24at sea
45:24for that
45:25long
45:25would inevitably
45:26come up
45:26against the
45:27two
45:27deadliest
45:28enemies
45:28of the
45:28sailor
45:29malnutrition
45:30and disease
45:3118th century
45:35naval rations
45:36were based
45:36around salted
45:37meat
45:38and sea
45:38biscuits
45:38any food
45:40that couldn't
45:40be dried
45:41or salted
45:41would quickly
45:42rot
45:42so a balanced
45:44diet was almost
45:45impossible
45:45and that's
45:46where the problems
45:47began
45:47even on the
45:50Navy's
45:51most modern
45:51warship
45:52maintaining
45:52food supply
45:53victualling
45:54as it's
45:54known
45:54is still
45:55a prime
45:56consideration
45:56on HMS
45:58daring
45:58it's the
45:59responsibility
45:59of petty
46:01officer
46:01Neil Mogridge
46:02come through
46:03this way
46:04what's in here
46:06this is
46:07the main
46:09freezer
46:09compartment
46:10right
46:11it's freezing
46:12this gets
46:14about minus
46:1422
46:15in here
46:16so
46:16quite cold
46:17I can see
46:18some frozen
46:19chips down
46:19there
46:19is everything
46:20chips
46:20no
46:21no
46:21we keep
46:22your basic
46:23meats on board
46:25chicken
46:25minced beef
46:27you can see
46:27down here
46:28stuff like
46:29gammon
46:29bacon
46:30sausages
46:30you know
46:31it's literally
46:31everything you go
46:33down the supermarket
46:33for
46:34you can pretty much
46:34find down here
46:35so if we just
46:37steamed off
46:38into the horizon
46:39now
46:39how many days
46:40could we last
46:40for with a full
46:41hold of food
46:42what we call
46:44endurance
46:44on this ship
46:45is a maximum
46:46of 90 days
46:47so the ship
46:48can actually
46:48stay at sea
46:50and sustain
46:51itself for 90 days
46:52on a balanced diet
46:53for the ship's company
46:53but that must represent
46:54quite a lot of money
46:55so what's a full hold
46:56cost
46:56you're probably looking
46:58on a maximum
46:59endurance
47:00probably between
47:01about 150
47:02to 200,000
47:03pounds worth of food
47:04on board
47:04so how much
47:05is that per
47:06sailor per day
47:07at the moment
47:08we get
47:09a massive
47:10two pound
47:11thirty one
47:11to feed
47:12per man
47:13per day
47:13keeping the crews
47:17well fed
47:18was the greatest
47:18challenge
47:19Admiral Anson
47:20faced
47:20back in the
47:211750s
47:22as he tried
47:22to maintain
47:23his western
47:24squadron at sea
47:25if this had been
47:30an 18th century
47:31ship
47:31within a few weeks
47:32of leaving harbour
47:33these sailors
47:34would be reduced
47:35to eating
47:35rock hard
47:36stale biscuits
47:37crawling with weevils
47:38and water
47:39polluted with algae
47:40and bacteria
47:41within about six weeks
47:43typically diseases
47:44like dysentery
47:45typhus
47:45and scurvy
47:46would spread
47:47no one knew
47:48what caused
47:48these diseases
47:49but Anson did know
47:50that fresh produce
47:52seemed to prevent them
47:53therefore in order
47:54for the western squadron
47:55to become an effective
47:56weapon
47:57they had to work out
47:58a proper way
47:59of revittling it
48:00this was the challenge
48:02that Anson set
48:03to the man
48:03he placed in command
48:04of the western squadron
48:05the appropriately named
48:07Admiral Edward Hawke
48:09Hawke had over 20 years
48:13of command experience
48:14in the navy
48:15and had earned
48:15a reputation
48:16for great tactical skill
48:17and single-minded aggression
48:19he was the personification
48:21of the new navy
48:22he was given 30 ships
48:25and 14,000 men
48:27his orders
48:29were to position
48:30his squadron
48:30just outside
48:31the French naval base
48:32at Brest
48:33and to stay there
48:34realising the implications
48:38of this
48:38Hawke set up
48:39a supply chain
48:40from Plymouth
48:40to deliver fresh fruit
48:42and vegetables
48:43and even live cattle
48:44directly to his squadron
48:45ship to ship
48:46this beat scurvy
48:50for the first time
48:51allowing Hawke
48:52to stay at sea
48:53almost indefinitely
48:54it was a feat
48:55unimaginable
48:5680 years before
48:57with the threat
49:03of disease
49:03eliminated
49:04Hawke could concentrate
49:05on his mission
49:06and that was maintaining
49:07such a strong presence
49:08outside the French naval base
49:10that their fleet
49:11would not dare
49:12to leave
49:12it was called
49:13close blockade
49:14and it was the first time
49:15in history
49:15it had ever been tried
49:16successfully
49:17on this scale
49:18from May
49:19to November
49:201759
49:21Hawke bottled up
49:22the French fleet
49:23in its harbour
49:24it was a massive achievement
49:26and it had a decisive impact
49:28on the outcome
49:28of the war
49:29and all of it
49:30was done
49:31without Hawke's
49:32big battleships
49:33firing a shot in anger
49:34not only
49:37was the French navy
49:38rendered utterly powerless
49:39their land forces
49:40in America
49:41and India
49:41were cut off
49:42from vital supplies
49:43and reinforcements
49:44and as French forces
49:48around the world
49:48began to capitulate
49:49in Britain
49:50the church bells
49:51rang in celebration
49:53it became known
49:54as the Annus Mirabilis
49:56the year of wonders
49:57first of all
50:01was Guadeloupe
50:02the jewel
50:03in France's
50:03Caribbean crown
50:04then Quebec
50:06capital of her
50:07vast North American empire
50:08was captured
50:09by the British
50:10at sea
50:13the Gibraltar squadron
50:15attacked and destroyed
50:16the French Mediterranean fleet
50:17off the coast of Portugal
50:18while in the east
50:20the Royal Navy
50:21chased the French
50:22out of the Indian Ocean
50:23allowing the British army
50:25to achieve victory on land
50:27it was the greatest year
50:33in British military history
50:35and being Brits
50:36they turned into
50:37a year of wild rejoicing
50:39one author
50:41Horace Warpole
50:42wrote that the
50:43church bells
50:44were threadbare
50:45with the ringing
50:46of victories
50:47but across the channel
50:49the French
50:50had one card
50:50left to play
50:51King Louis XV
50:52with his empire
50:54in ruins
50:54his trade destroyed
50:56and his treasury
50:57empty
50:57ordered his breast fleet
50:59to collect an army
51:00and head to sea
51:02to invade Britain
51:04his admiral
51:05Conflans
51:05hoped to avoid
51:06the Royal Navy
51:07but if they did meet
51:08he promised
51:09I will fight them
51:11with all possible glory
51:13the French Navy's
51:17opportunity came in November
51:19when autumn gales
51:20scattered the British ships
51:21that were blockading
51:22Brest
51:22immediately the French
51:25which Admiral Conflans
51:26took to sea
51:27he headed south
51:29to pick up a fleet
51:29of ships
51:30with soldiers embarked
51:31and ready to launch
51:32an invasion
51:33Admiral Hawke
51:35wasted no time
51:36in pursuing him
51:37sensing an opportunity
51:38for the decisive
51:39clash he craved
51:41he caught up
51:43he caught up with the French
51:44here
51:44in Kiberon Bay
51:46that reef there
51:51with the rollers
51:52crashing onto it
51:53and all the white water
51:54around it
51:54is the reason the French
51:55thought they'd be safe
51:56because they were coming
51:57into this dangerous bay
51:59between two reefs
52:00as you can see
52:02from the chart
52:02there's an almost
52:02impenetrable barrier
52:04of rocks
52:04islands
52:05and reefs
52:06I've never seen
52:08Kiberon Bay before
52:09and it's absolutely
52:09fascinating
52:10these incredibly
52:11jagged reefs here
52:13are absolutely terrifying
52:14terrifying for me
52:15but terrifying for the
52:16British ships
52:16who had no chance
52:17at this area
52:18the British ships
52:19were charging into
52:20an unknown bay
52:21with the wind blowing
52:23on shore
52:23on a November twilight
52:26I'm only about half
52:38my sails up today
52:39because it's so windy
52:40and if you put any more up
52:41it risks kind of
52:42ripping fittings out
52:43of the deck
52:43and actually doing
52:44huge damage to the ship
52:45only that incredible
52:50aggression
52:51of the kind
52:52that had been bred
52:53in the Royal Navy
52:53over the past decade
52:54and reinforced
52:55by the execution
52:56of Bing
52:56I mean that
52:57incredible aggression
52:58would have driven
52:59those men in here
53:00and on that
53:05November night
53:06there was
53:07a full gale blowing
53:09from that direction
53:10Hawke himself
53:17Hawke himself
53:20was so keen
53:22to get to grips
53:22with the French
53:23particularly the French
53:23Admiral
53:24the French flagship
53:25his opposite number
53:25his captain warned him
53:27he said
53:27it's too dangerous
53:28it's too dark
53:29and we can't go in
53:29after those Frenchmen
53:30and Hawke said
53:31your duty was to tell me
53:33that it's not safe
53:34but your duty is also
53:35to obey my orders
53:36and lay me alongside
53:37that French flagship
53:39Hawke was not going to
53:40make the same mistake
53:41that Bing had made
53:41he was not going to let
53:42these French get away
53:44after six months
53:45of tedious blockading
53:46he now had his chance
53:47to destroy the flower
53:48to destroy the flower
53:48of the French fleet
53:49he came alongside
54:01and he waited so close
54:02that his men could reach out
54:04and touch the French ship
54:05with their hands
54:05and he fired a giant broadside
54:07into them
54:08tons of lead
54:10pounding into a French ship
54:11at point-blank range
54:13the wood shattered
54:14sending splinters
54:15a yard long
54:17cartwheeling through the air
54:18scything people down
54:19and soon they see
54:20it was covered
54:21in wreckage masts
54:22survivors clinging
54:23to the masts
54:24dead bodies
54:25a scene of total anarchy
54:27the French lost five ships
54:33and two and a half thousand men
54:35the British only lost two ships
54:37the battle fought
54:42in these waters
54:42is one of the most
54:43decisive in British history
54:44it annihilated
54:45French naval power
54:46and it removed
54:47any chance
54:48France had
54:49of getting back
54:50her colonies
54:50the Royal Navy
54:52in this storm-tossed bay
54:54fought and won
54:56a battle
54:56for global supremacy
54:57the story of Britain's transformation
55:13inside 80 years
55:15is a remarkable one
55:16in 1690 England had been
55:19the sick man of Europe
55:21broke
55:21and completely at the mercy
55:23of the French Navy
55:24but now in 1759
55:26the situation
55:27was completely reversed
55:29now for the first time
55:30in history
55:31one nation
55:32dominated the world's oceans
55:34Britannia
55:35really did rule the waves
55:37behind the vanguard
55:44of its now formidable
55:45naval forces
55:46Britain had become
55:47a commercial powerhouse
55:48boosted by an explosion
55:50in credit
55:51and overseas trade
55:52General salute
55:55at the same time
56:03mastery of the sea
56:04had helped secure
56:05the first footholds
56:06of empire
56:07around the globe
56:08the Navy had delivered victory
56:18and Britain was prosperous
56:20afloat
56:20on a golden ocean
56:22but away from all the celebrations
56:37something else was going on
56:38unnoticed by most
56:40in 1690
56:41England had been part of an alliance
56:43of smaller nations
56:44together they had resisted
56:46the continental ambitions
56:48of the French king
56:48Louis XIV
56:49and they'd survived
56:51but by 1759
56:53what the British couldn't understand
56:54was that the rest of Europe
56:56now regarded them
56:57as as greater threat to liberty
56:59as Louis had been
57:0080 years before
57:02Britannia was triumphant
57:04but alone
57:05next time
57:08how the Navy
57:09forged an empire
57:10that became
57:11the envy of the age
57:12fuelling a ferocious conflict
57:14with her old enemy
57:15France
57:16and transforming
57:18one British commander
57:19into a national icon
57:21and you can see
57:29the next chapter
57:29of the story
57:30on Saturday night
57:31Empire of the Seas
57:32at half past seven
57:33last stop tonight
57:34on BBC HD
57:35is with Coldplay
57:36at the BBC
57:37and you can see
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57:26
23:30
59:29
1:17
1:28
1:57
44:07
47:42
1:11:04
1:04:24
49:09
23:10
25:12
24:41
58:38
29:08
29:15
56:43
45:03
44:08
44:08
58:38
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