britain And The French Wars 1793-1815 Flashcards

1
Q

What were the main battleships called in the navy in the late 18th century

A

Ships of the line

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2
Q

How many guns were carried by ships of the line

A

70 guns

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3
Q

How many guns did the frigates carry

A

28-36 guns

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4
Q

What was the main function of frigates

A

Patrolling, scouting or conveying merchantmen

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5
Q

What was the purpose of sloops and gunboats

A

They were used on convoy and blockade duty

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6
Q

What is a closed blockade

A

Where the main fleet sailed near the enemy port

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7
Q

What is an open blockade

A

Where the main fleet was in a home port and frigates patrolled the coast of the enemy, informing the main fleet of enemy ships were put to sea

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8
Q

From what year was the Royal Navy obliged to perform daily gunnery practice

A

1745

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9
Q

How many sailors would man a 32 pound gun

A

7 sailors

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10
Q

What was the gun captain responsible for

A

Aiming and firing

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11
Q

How much did each gun wiegh

A

3 tons

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12
Q

How long did it take the Royal Navy to deliver a broadside in battle

A

1 minute 30 seconds (much quicker than most enemies)

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13
Q

What allowed midshipmen to fast-tracked to officers (like Nelson)

A

If the midshipmen has family influence in the navy and came from the professional middle class

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14
Q

Why did British officers born in 1750’s and 1760’s have more experience than the french officers

A

They fought in the American war of independence

Following the American war of independence, the French Revolution led to most of the officers being guillotined this officers in the french war lacked the crucial experience.

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15
Q

How many men were in the Royal Navy in 1793

A

120,000 men

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16
Q

How many men were in the Royal Navy in 1812

A

140,000 men

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17
Q

How many vessels did the navy have in 1812

A

1000

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18
Q

Why did the navy initiate impressment

A

Britain did not have conscription, therefore their was a lack of men in wartime.

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19
Q

What did the impressment service have the power to do

A

Force seafarers aged between 15 and 55 to join the Royal Navy

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20
Q

What was the purpose of press gangs

A

Round up suitable men around ports in the night. Often drunks and common criminals

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21
Q

How much of the Royal Navy was made up of pressed men in 1805

A

Half

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22
Q

What was the quota system

A

Each British colony was required to supply a certain number of volunteers (based on it population and number of seaports)

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23
Q

We’re most sailors in the Royal Navy British during the french wars

A

No,

for example, HMS Caledonia has seeds, Frenchmen, Portuguese, North American’s, West Indians, Brazilians, Germans, Italians, Africans and Russians (YOU DON’T NEED TO KNOW ALL THE ETHNICITIES)

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24
Q

How much were naval seamen paid a month

A

£1.12 1/5

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25
Q

When was the last wage increase for seamen at the start of the french war In 1793

A

1652

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26
Q

What was a sailor awarded if they captured an enemy ship

A

Prize money (essentially a bonus)

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27
Q

What were the naval reforms introduced by William Pitt

A

Dockyards were more closley supervised to eliminate waste and corruption

Massive stocks of timber and rope were built

New docks were constructed in Portsmouth and Plymouth

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28
Q

What replaces slow matches in gunnery

A

Gunlocks

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29
Q

What is the advantage of a gunlock

A

Allowed the captain to stand back from the gun, aim and then yank some rope which allowed the gun to be fired faster and more accurate than with slowmatches

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30
Q

What french port did the Royal Navy sieve in 1793 under admiral Hood

A

The port of Toulon

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31
Q

How many enemy ships were sank on the glorious first of June 1794

A

Seven enemy ships

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32
Q

How many french men were killed or taken prisoner on the glorious first of June

A

7000

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33
Q

How many casualties did the British sustain

A

1200 casualties

34
Q

Why was the battle of the glorious first of June not a total success for Britain

A

The Grain ships succeeded in reaching France which stopped a famine

35
Q

What was the ratio of British to Spanish ships in the battle of cape st Vincent 1797

A

1:2

36
Q

Who became a hero and was brought to the spotlight following the major British success in the battle of cape st Vincent

A

Nelson

37
Q

What did nelson refers to his captains as

A

“Band of brothers”

38
Q

What was the impact of the victory at the battle of the Nile

A

The Royal Navy has gained controlled of the Mediterranean

Napoleon and his army was trapped in Egypt

Austria, Russia, Naples and turkey joined Britain in the new coalition

39
Q

What caused the Baltic threat in 1800

A

Star Paul if Russia put pressure on Denmark, Sweden and Prussia to join the league of Armed Neutrality that would challenge the British arrogance of the high seas

40
Q

Why was the league of armed neutrality are real threat to the Royal Navy

A

The Baltic powers had nearly 100 ships between them

Most of the naval stores of timber, pitch,tar and hemp were in the Baltic which the league could prevent Britain accesssing

41
Q

What was the size of nelsons fleet at the battle for Copenhagen

A

11 ships of the line

5 frigates

4 sloops

7 bomb vessels (small ships that carried mortars)

42
Q

What date did the siege on Copenhagen begin?

A

2 April 1801

43
Q

What made the siege of Copenhagen significant of Nelson’s leadership

A

He disobeyed the orders of Parker to surrender by declaring “i really do see no signal” and managed to forced the prince of Denmark to sign a truce

44
Q

How what the damage to the naval capacity of Denmark following the siege on Copenhagen

A

2 ships were sunk

1 ship exploded

12 were taken by the British

45
Q

How may have the siege of Copenhagen not been very significant of nelsons leadership?

A

Tsar Paul if russia was assassinated.

he successor, tsar Alexander 1 had no wish to fight a war with Britain.

The Baltic threat had been settled in Britain’s favour, partly due to nelson.

46
Q

What did Britain and France sign in March 1802

A

The peace of Amiens

47
Q

What was the outcome of Britain signing the peace of Amiens

A

It ended hostilities between Britain and France until 1803

48
Q

What naval reforms did st Vincent introduce during the peace of Amiens

A

He cancelled shipbuilding contracts and dismissed 100’s of dock workers in an attempt to end corruption and save money.

49
Q

What was the negative outcomes of st Vincent’s reforms to the navy

A

In 1803 when napoleon began gathering an army of 100,000 men to invade Britain, fleets were short of men, ships and supplies

50
Q

What significant naval event happend in 1804 which posed a genuine threat to the sercurity of Britain

A

Spain allied with France

Between them they had 102 battleships

51
Q

How many battleships did the Royal Navy have in 1804

A

83

52
Q

What was the size of Nelsons fleet at the battle of trafalgar in 1805

A

27 battleships

170,000 men

2148 guns

53
Q

What was the size of Villanueve’s fleet at the battle of trafalgar in 1805

A

33 battleships

30,000 men

2568 guns

54
Q

What did the battle of trafalgar not have an impact on

A

Did not prevent a french invasion (had been postponed prior to the battle)

Did not have an impact on the war of the third coalition

55
Q

What was the positive outcome of Britain’s decisive victory in the battle of trafalgar

A

Britain would rule the waves for the reminder of the french war

The Royal Navy would go unchallenged by the french from 1806-12

The Royal Navy could focus its efforts on supplying the army in its efforts to take back Europe

56
Q

What did napoleon introduce in 1806

A

The Berlin decrees

57
Q

What was the aim of the Berlin decrees

A

To destroy Britain economically by forbidding Europe to trade with Britain

58
Q

What was the outcome of the treaty of Tilsit 1807

A

Russia would no longer trade with Britain

59
Q

What was the cause of the war of 1812

A

American merchants were angered that Britain had blockaded Europe as they had profited off the napoleonic wars

60
Q

How many warships did the USA have in 1812

A

14 small warships

61
Q

What was the outcome of the war of 1812

A

By 1813, Britain had successfully blockaded most American ports

62
Q

What party was prime minster William Pitt (during the french wars) a member of?

A

The Conservative party

63
Q

What was the position of the Whig party leaders in the french wars

A

They favoured appeasing France and making peace

64
Q

What caused 60 Whig politicians to move to the position of the government and continue war with France

A

The French Revolution

65
Q

What was the consequence of the French Revolution in the UK parliament

A

The Whig party would not get a majority for 40 years

66
Q

Why did Pitt resign

A

Pitt attempted to relax the laws which excluded catholics from the armed forces but king George 3 opposed the notion

67
Q

Who was the successor of William Pitt and what did he do in significance of the french wars

A

Henry addington

Sign the peace of Amiens agreement in 1802

68
Q

Who succeeded addington following the failures of the st Vincent naval reforms of 1802

A

William Pitt returned to office in 1804

69
Q

When did William pitt die

A

In January 1806

70
Q

What was the major problem with the government in the early 1800’s

A

It was very corrupt and inefficient as the scale and complexity of the war put a strain on government bureaucracy

71
Q

How many goods and services became taxed to fund the war effort

A

21 inc. salt, spirits and thread

72
Q

How much income did the spirit tax yield

A

£51 million

73
Q

In what year was the first graduated income tax introduce

A

1799

74
Q

How much did one have to earn before they were taxed on the new income tax from 1799 onwards

A

£60 a year

75
Q

How much had been raised by 1855 through the income tax

A

£155 million

76
Q

What other important institution helped fund the french wars

A

The city of London

77
Q

What part of the french war did Meyer Rothschild finance

A

The advance through Spain and France in 1813-14 where entire villages/towns were rapped, tortured, executed and burnt to the ground by British troops

78
Q

What year was Hansard introduced

A

1811

79
Q

What was the government expenditure in 1811

A

£85 million

80
Q

At what annual rate did Britain’s economy grow during the years 1783 to 1802

A

6%

81
Q

What canal built in 1806 joined the midlands to London

A

The grand junction canal

82
Q

What was the consequence for the canal network development

A

Reduced the cost of transporting bulk goods