General-At-Sea - Robert Blake

As Drake dominates naval history in the 16 and Nelson in the 18th and early 19th centuries, so the outstanding figure for the 17th century is Robert Blake. In the early 1650s, after seeing off Prince Rupert’s Royalist fleet, he won the first bruising round against the Dutch in the long campaign for mercantile supremacy at sea; he made Britain’s presence felt for the first time in the Mediterranean; he captured or destroyed the Spanish treasure fleet two years running. IN the process, the author argues, guidelines for tactics, discipline, and firepower emerged which allowed the Navy to achieve its worldwide supremacy in the subsequent great age of sail.