Accounts calling Greig an overlooked Nelson risk projecting the Royal Navy of the late nineteenth century backward onto the eighteenth. Before Trafalgar made naval service socially glamorous, powerful nobles had less reason to capture commissions and professional ability carried more weight. In this interpretation, successful navies attracted aristocratic families seeking lustre for their houses, allowing genealogy to compete with leadership skill in both Britain and Russia. The same criticism applies to Zinovy Rozhestvensky's fleet before Tsushima, where impressive pedigrees did not guarantee officers capable of preparing for battle. Social prestige could weaken professional selection when status helped officers obtain responsibilities they were ill-equipped to discharge.
Notable Point · 20:31-22:17
Naval prestige can weaken professional selection
The social prestige gained by successful navies attracted aristocratic families whose genealogies did not necessarily supply the leadership skills a fleet required.