The earliest I could find was the Navy Island Shipyard in Canada from 1763 following the taking of New France.
A Britain of Panthers and Lions: House of Oldenburg Britain
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Yeah same, there's the Jamaica station which was where Royal Navy ships were stationed, but it looks like it would be a nightmare to actually develop ships there
Jamaica I understand, but not sure I get why not in America itself? Send some engineers/shipbuilders over to the Colonies with current plans - we know from OTL there are plenty of places for good shipyards.
Building a shipyard would certainly increase local employment, and teach new trades etc.
VVD0D95
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Indeed it would, but at the time, the focus was otl on Britain etc, from what I can figure out, and ttl, well, let's just say James III and George were a bit more focused on Britain in terms of developing it, whether that remains the case remains to be seen.
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That may actually be something future governors of New York and Virginia etc look at changing also
I'm sure there will be. We seem to be a couple decades or more from when it started OTL so an earlier start needs a good reason and will need placing where the French can't take it. Probably Massachusetts Bay?
A shipyard that can repair , which is what they had , is a lot simpler than a shipyard that can build warships. Remember also in GB they have the cannon foundry's and all the other sorts of specialized support industries needed. Lots of stuff that would have to be shipped to the Americas if a warship was to be built, frankly it was quicker and cheaper to build the ship at say Portsmouth Hampshire and sail it over, rather than at say, its namesake in New Hampshire.
This is true, but given the availability of Lumber in the New World compared to Britain, plus the sear size of the America's shouldn't a shipyard be over there pumping this stuff out?
Or is lumber sailing the Atlantic?
Its a question of not all ships being equal. The Americas would build ships that did not need the more specialist equipment / skills so small vessels and Merchantmen. GB would keep making the big stuff especially warships. Over time the capability of the Americas yards would increase but if you look at Canada and Australia OTL, on the warship front, they normally stick to frigates/destroyers and smaller pre 1945 ( Australia built a single cruiser ) .
The capital ships are built in the UK and exported. They are maintained locally and have some refitting but major rebuilds are mostly in the UK. The rest of the Empire seems to follow a similar pattern . Even in the 1930's , GB yards still seem to be cheaper/quicker than the local ones for vessels over 1000t.
Just seems a tad bonkers to me considering the resources available in the Americas even at the date ITTL there where huge forests available for shipping compared to the depleted English forests.
Hindsight and such I know, but you’d think someone high up would have thought of it, eps when there is no hint of possible disloyalty in the colonies.
Hindsight and such I know, but you’d think someone high up would have thought of it, eps when there is no hint of possible disloyalty in the colonies.
I expect they did but the investment costs/time to build full shipyards versus shipping lumber to Britain and getting ships back probably counted against it, and then the ARW hit. I don't think the US had any functioning shipyards before 1800.
For warships , lumber is not really the problem, its the other bits and the cost of the ships. Numbers that can be afforded mean that there is not much need for extra yards building the big stuff. Better to have them where they can have synergy , helping driving advances in design etc.
Chapter 290: Election Season
VVD0D95
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Chapter 290: Election Season
February, 1748
February, 1748
James of Gloucester, Lord High Treasurer took a sip from his cup of wine and looked at the King. The man seemed more relaxed now than he had done for the past few months. He supposed that having finally dissolved Parliament and called an election would that. Now, the fate of Parliament hung in the electorate’s hands not his, which must have been very relaxing, given the way people seemed to vote or inclined to vote.
As if sensing his thoughts, the King asked. “How do you think it will go?”
James put his cup down and said. “I think it will go as we expect. Everything we’ve done suggests that the Tories will in a comfortable majority.”
“Any significant losses?” The King asked.
James shook his head. “Maybe in the South East, but other than that no. Everywhere else is comfortably Tory.”
“The Whigs won’t be happy with that.” The King said.
James snorted. “When are the Whigs ever happy with anything?” That was true, the Earl of Rutland had tried to delay the dissolution of Parliament by giving a three-hour speech, it had only ended when James had pointed out that the longer he did this the more likely he was to be done for treason, because the King was coming whether he liked it or not.
“True, though I do get the feeling that the Tory dominance of proceedings may soon be coming to an end.” The King said.
James raised an eyebrow, this wasn’t the first time the King had said something like this, and he found himself wondering what inspired it. “Your Majesty?”
“Think about it, the Tories have been dominant for sixty years now, and this is the first true election with the new franchise. Do you truly think they will win again and again with this new franchise?” The King asked.
James shifted. “All of the consultations that have been done suggest so. People in the Kingdom are naturally conservative. What the Whigs are proposing is far too radical for some.”
“Perhaps.” The King said. “But I still think that at some point there will be a change.”
James shrugged, he didn’t know whether there would be or wouldn’t be, but right now he was more concerned with who the King wanted in this new ministry, and therefore he asked. “Regardless of the election result, who will you be naming to the cabinet, Sire?”
The King smiled. “You and my brother of course, Uncle Albany, Wynn, Blandford, Berwick, Bulkeley and Barry.”
James nodded. “Bulkeley is a sensible choice, the man’s given some very good speeches as of late. But Barry? Are you sure, he’s rather eccentric.” That was putting it mildly, apparently, Barry had run around Wigan Town Hall completely naked, chasing after some poor young fellow.
“I think Barry will add spark to the whole thing. His father will be Lord Lieutenant, and he can serve as Secretary.” The King said.
James grinned at that. “Well, that will certainly make Ireland much more interesting.”
The King laughed. “I definitely think so.”
James laughed as well, before adding. “Perhaps a visit to Ireland when all this is done wouldn’t hurt, Sire. It has been some time since the last royal visit.”
The King shifted, becoming serious. “Perhaps you’re right.”
Chapter 291: Electricity
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Chapter 291: Electricity
May, 1748
May, 1748
“So, if we put the foil coating on the inner and outer surfaces, like this.” Charles said, gently placing the foil inside the container, whilst the thing was turned to its side, he didn’t know why but he’d always found it much easier to do it this way than any other way. Once the foil was secure on the inside, he grabbed the cup of water and poured it in, stopping when it had reached halfway. He then placed some foil on the outside rim.
“It’s important to make sure that the foil doesn’t touch the mouth of the jar.” Charles added, pointing to the foil and showing his wife how it stopped just short.
“Then we take the electrode.” Charles said taking the thing from his wife. “And we put it into the container.” He did just that, placing the hanging chain on the foil. “And now we wait for a moment.”
A second passed, then another, then a third, then he looked at his wife and said. “Touch the container.”
His wife did so, she pressed her hands to the sides of the container and then moved back quickly. “That was quite the shock!”
“I know right.” Charles said grinning.
“What now?” Charlotte asked.
“Now, we’re going to see whether the charge is stored in the water or in the glass itself.” Charles replied.
“How are we going to do that?” Charlotte asked.
“Like this.” Charles answered, he carefully picked up the electrode and removed it from the container, placing it on a piece of paper. He then looked at his wife and said. “I’m going to put a finger on the foil and see what happens.”
“Are you sure that’s safe?” Charlotte asked.
“I am.” Charles answered, he wasn’t really, but his wife didn’t need to know that.
As he tentatively put his finger on the foil, he felt nothing, no shock, no charge, nothing, just the smoothness of the foil. He then raised his finger and tentatively put it in the water. Again, nothing, just some slight discomfort at the heat of the water. Then he gently lifted his finger out of the water and placed it on the glass. That made him jolt back at the sharpness of the charge.
“So, it’s the glass that contains the charge?” His wife asked.
“It would seem so.” Charles agreed.
“I’m going to see for myself.” Charlotte said. Charles opened his mouth to stop her, but then stopped, his wife had shown before that she could take as much shock as he could perhaps more, if he considered her experience with the stillbirths.
She gently followed the steps he himself had taken, before putting her finger on the glass. “It’s definitely the container!” She exclaimed.
“I know!” Charles agreed.
“So, what does this mean?” Charlotte asked.
Charles grinned. “I think it means we’re going to have to do more experiments to get to the heart of the matter.”
“Do you think there is room for more experiments?” Charlotte asked.
“Oh I definitely think so.” Charles answered. “We need to know what more lies in store for us.”
