The United States banned the slave trade in the same year that Britain did. It Looking at why demonstrates the reason that the West African Squadron was so important. An annotated script and sources can be found on our website: https://www.thebluejackets.co.uk/video/WestAfricaSquadronSeeingStarsStripes

At one point Cuba was one of the largest markets for slaves, but this time the Royal Navy's West African Squadron couldn't strong arm them into abolition the way that they had with Brazil. This time it was going to be a game of political manoeuvring.

In the 1850s Royal Navy raided into Brazilian ports in order to capture slave trading vessels. This was a blatant violation of international law daring the Brazilians to fight them. The Brazilians had a choice to make. They could continue give up the Atlantic Slave Trade, or they could go to war with the most powerful of the Great Powers. An annotated script and the sources for this talk are available on our website: https://www.thebluejackets.co.uk/video/WestAfricanSquadronRaidParanaguaBrazil

Joseph Denman was a naval officer and a passionate abolitionist. He hated the slave traders operating out of the Gallinas, but he had a solution: fire ... lots of fire. All the sources for this video can be found on our website: https://www.thebluejackets.co.uk/video/WestAfricanSquadronJosephDenmanGallinas

The West African Squadron was tasked stopping the salve trade by with hunting down slavers and arresting them, but they were not going to stop without a fight. Britain managed to sign treaties with most of the other maritime powers, but is was an African people that proved to be their best ally in the fight. The script and sources can be found on our website https://www.thebluejackets.co.uk/video/WestAfricaSquadronHuntingSlavers

Robert Thorpe an early judge at the admiralty court in Sierra Leone, where he set the rules of engagement for the West Africa Squadron as they went out to fight the Atlantic Slave Trade. All the sources can be found on the Bluejackets website

As Britain entered WW1 The Duke of Westminster was the richest man in the kingdom. He personally paid to raise a squadron of the Royal Naval Armoured Car Division. His squadron was sent to Egypt where it was part of the force that defeated an invasion of Egypt by Islamic insurgents known as the Senussi. All of the sources are available on our website https://www.thebluejackets.co.uk/video/SeaSandCampaignSenussiNorthAfrica

After the western front became bogged down in the trenches there was not much that the Royal Naval Armoured Card Division could do there. Some ended up at Gallipoli. Some ended up in Africa, but a young and ambitious naval officer called Commander Oliver Locker Lampson took his squadrons out to Russia to fight on the Eastern Front. The script and sources can be found on our websitehttps://www.thebluejackets.co.uk/video/SeaGrassRoyalNavyRussianSteppe

The Battle of the Somme was one of the deadliest battles in human history. This is the story of the sailors from the Royal Navy who fought to capture Beaucourt Hamel, and how their commanding officer won the Victoria Cross. An annotated script and all of the sources can be found on the bluejackets website 

Before the First World War the Kaiser joked that he did not have to worry about Britain as they could not put wheels on a dreadnought. So the Admiralty decided to do just that, and this is how they did it.

The First World War was mainly a land war, but that did not stop the Royal Navy from carving out its place on the front lines. The Royal Navy had a large reserve of men who had expected to fight on ships, with comfortable hammocks and a daily ration of rum. Instead, they were sent to fight in the Siege of Antwerp. All the sources for this video can be found on the Bluejackets Reenactment Society website.

The history of the Reserve forces of the Royal Navy and how they evolved in the years leading up to WW1  The complete script and sources can be found on the Bluejackets website

Life as a merchant navy sailor in the victorian era was hard. It was a difficult and dangerous job, but it was also a vital job as by he end of the victorian era Britain had become dependent on imports of food to stop its growing population form starving. The script and all the sources for this video can be found on our website. 

The history of the prison ships that were used that were used to lock up criminals during the victorian era. This video takes the story from their beginning, through the reformatory ships  of the victorian era, and onto the end of that era in the early years of the twentieth century. An annotated script and all of the sources can be found on the Bluejackets website 

During the Victorian period institutions known as Industrial Training Ships sprang up around the coasts of Britain. They were similar to the infamous Industrial Schools, but they were set up to train youths in danger of beginning a life of crime for a useful career at sea instead. All the sources for this talk are on the Bluejackets Website

Beatie Fry created the Training Ship Mercury and turned it into the famous institution for training young sailors. She ran it until the day that she died, but what made this formidable lady the woman that she was? The script and sources can be found on the Bluejackets Reenactment Society website: 

What was the Merchant Navy? And did you need to do if you wanted to become an officer on a ship of the Merchant Navy? The script and sources can be found on the Bluejackets website.

Who were the West African sailors that served with the Royal Navy? The script and sources can be found on the Bluejackets website.

The Royal Navy liked to recruit sailors young so that they would be able to accept the a life at sea, but how young could you be in order to volunteer for service?   The script and sources can be found on our website 

How did the Royal Navy recruit the sailors that it needed to man its ships? There is an annotated script and sources on the bluejackets website