Description
Main historical base of the British Royal Navy (Royal Navy), located in a large natural harbor on the south coast of England.
Year of Foundation or Oldest Source
Founded around 1180. The naval shipyard (Royal Dockyard) was established in 1495, making it one of the oldest in the world. A dry dock existed there as early as 1700.
Country (State or Region)
United Kingdom (England)
Location
Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, on Portsea Island, within Portsmouth Harbour.
Structuring
Large, highly protected natural harbor. Extensive naval shipyard complex (Portsmouth Historic Dockyard) with multiple dry docks, building basins, workshops, ropewalk, warehouses, and extensive land and maritime fortifications. It already had docks as early as the early 18th century.
Notes
Considered the "home" of the British Royal Navy and its most important base for centuries. A vital center for the construction, repair, outfitting, and command of the British fleet. The site of countless historical naval events and home to iconic ships (such as HMS Victory - Not in snippets). Its infrastructure represented the peak of naval technology and military industrial organization of the era.
Sources
LIVERPOOL MARITIME SOCIETY. The Liverpool Dock System. [s.d.].; MARNOT, Bruno. Ports as Tools of European Expansion. Encyclopédie d'histoire numérique de l'Europe [online], 2020.
