Marriage to Henrietta Dundas gave Duncan strong political and family connections, including to Henry Dundas as Treasurer of the Navy. The office dealt with merchants and insurers whose international movements created an informal information network. In an era before modern communications, commercial gossip could function as valuable open-source intelligence. The same political connections also mattered because peacetime appointments accumulated the sea service that shaped an officer's seniority.
Notable Point · 41:06-44:22
The Dundas connection and the Navy's merchant intelligence network
Duncan's marriage connected him to the Dundas family and opens a wider explanation of merchant gossip as Royal Navy intelligence.