Full Description
The story of the war at sea in the reign of Edward III, including the important sea battles, and an analysis of the development of the English navy in the period.
This book describes naval warfare during the opening phase of the Hundred Years War, a vital period in the development of the early Royal Navy, in which Edward III's government struggled to harness English naval power in a dramatic battle for supremacy with their French and Spanish adversaries. It shows how the escalating demands of Edward's astonishing military ambitions led to an intense period of evolution in the English navy and the growth of a cultureof naval specialism and professionalism. It addresses how this in turn affected the livelihoods of England's mariners and coastal communities.
The book covers in detail the most important sea battles of Edward III's reign -Sluys, Winchelsea and La Rochelle - as well as raids and naval blockades. It highlights the systems by which ships were brought into service and mariners recruited, and explores how these were resisted by mariners and coastal communities. It also tells the story of the range of personalities, heroes and villains who influenced the development of the navy in the reign of Edward III.
GRAHAM CUSHWAY holds a PhD in Maritime History from the University of Exeter.
Contents
Introduction
Edward II and Mortimer's invasion (1307-27)
The King's Navy
Mortimer, the Admirals and Scotland (1327-31)
Edward III, the Navy and the Disinherited (1331-35)
The King's ships: Logistics and Structure
England, France, Scotland and the War at Sea (1336)
Walter Manny, Cadzand and Antwerp (1337-39)
Merchant Shipping in English Fleets
Tactics, Strategy and the Battle of Sluys (1340)
The Organisation of Impressed Fleets
Brittany and the War at Sea (1340-42)
The Crecy Campaign and Calais (1342-47)
Mastery of The Channel (1347-50)
The Battle of Winchelsea (1350)
Barges and Truces (1353-57)
Edward III and Resistance to the Navy
The Fleet of 1359 and the Winchelsea Raid (1357-60)
Years of Peace, Years of Decay (1360-69)
The Decline of the Fleet in the Final Years of Edward III
Failure and Fiasco: Knolles and La Rochelle (1369-73)
Edward III's Final Years (1373-77)
