"Builders of the Royal Navy: Private shipbuilders’ naval constructions at the turn of the eighteenth century"

This paper focuses on the naval constructions in Britain from the Nine Years War to the War of the Spanish Succession (1688-1714) to clarify the extent of private yards’ contribution. The period saw the rapid expansion of outsourcing of naval constructions (warship contracts) due to the war contexts and the advancing designs of warships. While the importance of the contractors to the British navy is recognised, the characteristics of the contractors are widely unknown. I employ the Navy Board in-letters (ADM 106) at the National Archives and the Johnson Papers at the British Library. Combining these documents, I examine the business of the Johnson family at Blackwall, the largest contractor at the time, to identify traits required to maintain a successful business with the navy. More precisely, I test three aspects of the family, the size of their capital including the yard facilities, their geographic advantage residing at Blackwall, and their personal connection to the navy. While most documents related to the contemporary private yards are no longer extant, the family left rich records in the Johnson Papers that enable gauging some aspects of their daily business. Moreover, the Navy Board in-letters contain various information regarding other contractors at the turn of the eighteenth century, especially because of the troubles in managing contracts caused by the rapid expansion at the time. Comparative examinations between the Johnson family and other builders also allow me to reveal the uniqueness of the former. Namely, the Winter and Wyatt families in Hampshire are concerned for the geographic advantage, and the Castle and Burchett families at the Thames are examined for personal ties. By elucidating their characteristics, I argue that the contractors exploited all three factors to reinvent their business to adapt to the changing market at the time of the wars and technological developments.