ABSTRACT
Eighteenth-century naval officers thought that French warships were the finest in the world. Perceptive observers remarked on their attributes as early as the War of the Spanish Succession, when inferior French forces proved almost impossible to intercept. At the end of the century, French warships continued to display innovations that revealed their builders to be still in the forefront of naval ship design and construction. While British seagoing naval officers generally praised French prizes, dockyard officials and the Navy Board usually criticized the ships for possessing different qualities. Military and naval requirements in the 16th and 17th centuries demanded growing scientific awareness and technical ability among executive and administrative personnel in the armies and navies of European powers. The French met with such success in the matter of ship design and warship construction that they can be said to have established the profession of naval architecture.
