Why the English fleet remained inactive in 1688

An older explanation based on an Orangist plot is contrasted with scholarship stressing Dartmouth's caution and legitimate professional reasons to avoid battle. The reading then questions the decision to regard naval action as pointless once William had landed. The Dutch fleet remained far from its support, even though the invasion troops did not intend to re-embark. Career interests and political opportunism are offered as possible explanations for officers choosing to await the land campaign's result. Whatever the balance of motives, political confusion could disable a large and professional fleet without destroying its ships. A few decisions in the naval council of war settled the fleet's role more quickly than the accumulating decisions that brought down James II's army.