Maritime history of England
It is clear that in the Iron Age trade between Gaul and Britain was routine and that fishermen travelled to Orkney, Shetland and Norway.
The first vessels used by Britons are presumed to have been rafts and dugout canoes, though the coracle, a small single passenger boat is known to have been used at least since the Roman invasion.
Coracles are round or oval in shape, made of a wooden basket-like frame with a hide stretched over it then tarred to provide waterproofing.
Examples of these canoes have been found buried in marshes and mud banks of river, at lengths upwards of two metres.
The boat could have easily carried a significant amount of cargo and with a strong crew may have been able to traverse up to thirty nautical miles in a day.
There was a Roman officer in charge of the "Saxon Shore" and a series of forts (or perhaps trading posts) was set up along the south and east coast.
Roman trade with Britain was in grain and olive oil from North Africa, with slaves and lead being exported, while men for the army and administration also came.
When an important person died their body would be placed inside a ship burial, as at Sutton Hoo where the traces of a boat 27 m long by 4.5 m wide and 1.5 m deep were found, dating to about 625 AD.
In the western areas of Britain trade with the Mediterranean world continued, many pots and other goods from Byzantium having been found at sites such as Tintagel.
The knarr was a cargo vessel that differed from the longship in that it was larger and relied solely on its square rigged sail for propulsion.
The Norman conquest of England, in the autumn of 1066, which occurred after a seaborne invasion at Hastings, was unopposed as the English fleet had returned to base.
The Cinque Ports were a group of harbours, originally five, that were given privileges in exchange for providing ships to the kings of England when required.
Before Christopher Columbus reached mainland America, John Cabot was employed by the English government to discover new lands.
Some scholars maintain that the name "America" comes from Richard Amerike, a Bristol merchant and customs officer, who is claimed (on very slender evidence) to have helped finance the Cabots' voyages.
The first (unsuccessful) British colony in America was set up by Sir Walter Raleigh at Roanoke, "Virginia" (now North Carolina) in 1585.
[1] Again in 1688, the monarchy changed leadership as Roman Catholic James II fled the country; the English fleet made no effort oppose the landing of the Protestant William of Orange.
During the early part of the 17th century, English shipbuilders developed sturdy, well masted and defensible ships, that because of the way they were rigged, required a significant crew to man.
English ships were being used as a strategic transportation method, especially for Armenian merchants, to link the Persian Gulf trading centers to the Levant.
[9] After the restoration, the fishing industry, which now was focusing more on the Iceland fishery than Newfoundland which had been taken over by North American fishermen, reached its apex of expansion, however foreign trade continued to significantly expand.
England's first known navy was established by Alfred the Great which, despite inflicting a significant defeat on the Vikings in the Wantsum Channel, Kent, fell into disuse.
When the Norman invasion was imminent, King Harold had trusted his navy to prevent William the Conqueror's fleet from crossing the Channel.
During the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453) the French fleet was initially stronger than that of the English, but the former was almost completely destroyed at the Battle of Sluys in 1340.
It was sent by King Philip II of Spain to take the Duke of Parma's army from the Spanish Netherlands to a landing in southeast England.
The Armada was blown north up the east coast of England and attempted to return to Spain by sailing around Scotland but many ships were wrecked off Ireland.
The Spanish sent a smaller fleet, about 100 ships, the following year but this ran into stormy weather off Cornwall and was blown back to Spain.
The peace enabled the British to consolidate their hold on Ireland and make a concerted effort to establish colonies in North America.
The main type of English galleon had a low bow, a sleek hull and a large number of heavy guns.
Mary Rose sank on 19 July 1545 off Portsmouth as she was leaving for an engagement with a French fleet that had attacked the English coast.
The Sea Beggars (Geuzen) were a small group of Protestant noblemen in Queen Elizabeth's time and who were determined to drive the Spanish out of the Netherlands.
Sir Henry Morgan, Captain William Kidd and Edward Teach (Blackbeard) were just three of the many English pirate leaders who operated in the Atlantic and Caribbean in the 17th century.
