The Seven Years' War was fought on four continents. There were few set-piece naval battles, but the Navy's ability to impose itself and deliver the waterborne transport of men and supplies abroad and far inland both in Germany and North America was decisive. The outcome of the war was determined by Britain's superiority on water.

British Naval Captains of the Seven Years' War explores the operation of the Navy during the Seven Years' War through the correspondence with the Admiralty of a sample of captains. Thirty-six men, referred to hereafter as ‘the cohort’, were made post captains in 1757 during the expansion of the Navy for the war and their names and careers are summarised in the Appendix. These men constituted about 16 per cent of the active captains in the Navy in 1757. Although they had achieved independent command in sloops at the rank of master and commander, being ‘made post’ signalled the transition to ‘rated’ ships of at least twenty guns. This study examines the working relationship between the Admiralty and the captains in the cohort, and particularly those holding commissions affording them independent commands. In addition the study compares the careers of the men in the cohort, as each of them had ostensibly the same opportunities of professional advancement resulting from the war.

The study is founded on The National Archives series ADM 1, Captains' Letters, which contains every letter written to the Admiralty by captains during the eighteenth century once they achieved independent command until their death or retirement from the service.