The Witness To The Glorious Era Of Britain:the Portsmouth Harbour With The Development Of The British Navy From The 18^th Century To The Beginning Of The 20^th Century

The rapid rise of the modem Britain is so closely linked with the development of its maritime forces and the establishment of the Royal Navy which is a key factor during the extern expansion of this great empire.Being an important guarantee for British Navy as military base and shipyard,the Portsmouth Harbour plays a major role in designing,building and maintaining fleets,as well as cultivating numerous talents.Undoubtedly,it is an indispensable witness of those glorious days of the British Royal Navy.To explore the intimate relationship between the Portsmouth Harbour and the navy from the 18th to the turn of the 20th century,this paper,begins with the historical development of Portsmouth,will detail its development from three aspects:the exploration of researching institute,the improvement of inter-infrastructure and the utilization of steam power,and demonstrate its impact on the British Navy as well.First of all,the paper analyzes the reason why Portsmouth is able to become the first naval base in Britain.Besides its own strategic position in fighting against France,without the high appreciation from monarchs of the Norman Dynasty the Plantagenet dynasty,the initial development of Portsmouth Harbour would not enjoy such a success.As the Hundred Years' War ended,instead of focused on any continent development,the Britain paid more attention to the ocean considering the establisnment or a power over aerensing ana expanaing on the sea,which nas increasingly highlighted the importance of the navy.Confronting the threat from France,Portsmouth became best choice for developing navy.Moreover,the establishment of the Dockyard and military base have not only demonstrated the awakening of the British maritime consciousness,but it also reflected the determination to make 'ocean' as a national policy.Then,the following parts discusses the development of Portsmouth,between the 18th century and the 20th century,from exploration of researching institute,improvement of inter-infrastructure and the utilization of steam power respectively and explores the significant impact on the British Navy by these changes.This part is the main body of this paper and is divided into two chapters.Among them,the second chapter mainly uses the development of Portsmouth Harbour in the 18th century as a clue to illustrate the impact of changes in the port on the development of local naval forces during this period.After the French became the main threat to Britain again,Portsmouth Harbour has ushered in a great period.In 1729,the Portsmouth Naval Academy was established for a systematic and comprehensive maritime education system,which exerts a profound influence on the founding of other naval colleges in Britain(such as the Dartmouth Naval Academy,Greenwich Naval Academy,etc.),and on their teaching method as well.And the improvement of infrastructure,like docks and shipyards,and other services has expanded the capacity of the Portsmouth Harbour,which enables British navy to build sufficient military forces against France in a short time.At the same time,with the widespread of Industrial Revolution,steam power began appearing in the British shipbuilding industry and this was first used by Portsmouth Harbour in mechanizing the royal fleet which laid a solid foundation for the emergence of the steel warship in 19th century.Besides three aspects mentioned above,this chapter also describes the relationship between HMS Victory and Portsmouth Harbour.This famous battleship departed from Portsmouth had not only leading Britain to the victory of Trafalgar,but also becorming a symbol of the British navy spirit.The third chapter aims at the development of Portsmouth Harbour from 19th century to the beginning of 20th century;explores the effect further improvement ana creation exerted on the superpower of the navy at the height of the British Empire.At this point,different from the last century,the impetus for Portsmouth's development was no longer limited to war,but a variety of practical needs.From then on,schools like naval architecture college and the shipwright senior research class,which was designed to improve shipbuilders' ability,were available for the public.At the same time,the Industrial Revolution ending smoothly in the mid-19th century offered Portsmouth great opportunities to use steam power in a much larger scale,to build steam factories and to further expand the capacity of docks,which motivated the navy successfully transformed from the era of sailing into the era of steam giant ship.And the Second Industrial Revolution,which began in the late 19th century,broke out in several major capitalist countries,urged Britain to build new warships and to release the "two power-standard" for maintaining its own advantages.Under this standard,the newly built of the HMS Royal Sovereign,HMS Dreadnought fleets had not only demonstrated the major role of Portsmouth as a shipbuilding center,but also helped the British navy maintain its own dominance in the cut-throat arms race.Finally,combined with the historical background,the forth chapter briefly introduces the decline of Portsmouth Harbour in the 20th century and its omni bearing development after WWII.From the following aspects:the arms race,the rise of private shipyards and the war,this chapter analyzes reasons of Portsmouth Harbour's gradually fall that why it faced so much burden after 20th century.And these altogether will offer readers another perspective to understand the decline of the Royal Navy.After the war,facing the such reality,to get rid of the unilateral development model as a military city,Portsmouth wants to seek a breakthrough in the city's reconstruction and to boost its business at the basis of being a military port.