Byng's execution after the failure to relieve Minorca established a penalty that later admirals knew had been used. No subsequent admiral suffered the same fate, but a commander could not assume that execution was impossible. Even a remote possibility of that punishment could influence decisions. Its deterrent effect depended on the precedent surviving in naval memory.
Notable Point · 19:55-21:06
Byng's execution changes the risks of command
John Byng's fate remained a deterrent because later admirals knew that catastrophic failure had once carried the ultimate penalty.