Shipboard families, socialization and naval diplomacy

Some admirals allowed officers' wives and children to live aboard ships in peacetime or on distant stations. Young officers who matured almost entirely at sea otherwise had few opportunities to learn how civilian households and polite society worked. Contemporary references to families as a civilizing influence describe socialization rather than a judgement that sailors were uncivilized. That experience mattered when officers attended diplomatic gatherings, represented the Navy abroad or dealt with politics at home. The habit of resolving friction immediately aboard a crowded ship did not always suit an ashore society in which people might avoid a problem for the sake of politeness.