Gentlemen and Tarpaulins

The first scholarly study of the Royal Navy during the reigns of Charles II and James II, this book assesses the traditional picture of the Restoration Navy in the light of recent scholarship, using the evidence not only of Samuel Pepys, the greatest diarist and naval administrator of the age, but also that of his contemporaries. Davies examines the reactions of naval personnel to the demands imposed by Pepys, and analyzes the structure of the service. He also explores the lives and attitudes of the men (the "tarpaulins") and their officers -- the quests for promotion, enrichment, and glory, their very different problems posed by peace and war, the nature of life at sea, and the role of the Navy in national life.