Jervis entered the Admiralty convinced that the Navy Board and dockyards concealed extensive corruption. Investigations exposed implausible payroll practices, commissions taken from low-paid workers, and departments serving as informal welfare institutions rather than productive offices. Patronage and reciprocal favors could sometimes provide quality checks or social support, so sweeping them away disrupted supply and shipbuilding even while the resulting reports laid foundations for later improvement. Methods that worked in fleet command became destabilizing when applied without compromise to a civilian administration and its supply chain.
Chapter · 1:24:22-1:29:30
Jervis confronts the Navy Board and dockyards
As First Lord, Jervis attacks dockyard corruption but applies a sea commander's uncompromising methods to a civilian system built around patronage and informal obligations.