Even before Spain joined the war in early 1762, it was obvious that it wouldn’t have the strategic effect that the cousins, King Louis and King Charles, had hoped. France needed a success to bring Britain to the negotiating table: nothing grand – Louis didn’t have the force for that – but something that would hurt the City of London in its pocket.
A raid on the Newfoundland fisheries would have an immediate financial impact. In normal times the dried cod provided an important dietary supplement to the population of the Atlantic basin and a steady stream of gold for the City’s coffers. The longer-lasting effect would come from the loss of the trained seamen that the fishery provided to the navy in time of war.
George Holbrooke’s frigate Argonaut is in the thick of the action as he is pitted against an old adversary.
Fishery protection was one of the Royal Navy’s earliest tasks and it continues to patrol the rich waters around Britain to this day. It may not be exciting, but it’s always been a part of naval life. An Upright Man offers an insight into the vital Newfoundland fishery in the eighteenth century.