Admiralty Relations with the Treasury, 1783–1806: the Preparation of Naval Estimates and the Beginnings of Treasury Control

The relations between the Treasury and other government departments in the eighteenth century still require detailed study. In the introduction to the Calendar of Treasury Books and Papers, 1742–1745, written nearly sixty years ago, William A. Shaw examined the Treasury’s control over the preparation of naval estimates in the first half of the century. ¹ This article traces the position between 1783 and 1806, in an attempt to discover any changes which had taken place or any lessening of the Admiralty’s financial independence by 1806.