How larger ships made the rating system grow upward

The rating system grew as capital ships became larger, with new rates inserted below them. Small craft such as cutters, sloops, and brigs remained at the lower end. Under James I, the most prestigious Ships Royal carried about 400 men and roughly 60 guns, and three of these converted Elizabethan galleons had fought the Spanish Armada in 1588. This explains why a gun total that later described a much lower rate could once identify the navy's leading capital ship.