Did the Royal Navy invent fireships?

Did the British invent fireships?

No; fireships are much older than the Royal Navy, though it used them often.

Fireships belong to a much longer maritime tradition than the institutional Royal Navy. British fleets became strongly associated with them because they used the weapon often. Frequent and effective adoption is not the same thing as invention. The answer is a useful reminder to separate a navy's reputation for a tactic from the tactic's deeper history.