The Dutch navy was probably the strongest fleet of the moment, followed by France, Sweden, and then the underfunded Royal Navy. After the Glorious Revolution, Parliament assumed a stronger role in voting naval funds. Parliamentary debate could be slow, but an appropriation bound the government more consistently than a monarch's changeable preference. That institutional reliability helped turn finance into readiness and made sustained fleet development easier. Naval officers also sat in the Commons and Lords, allowing them to take part in the political institution that voted naval funds.
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Parliamentary funding helps the Royal Navy overtake its rivals
The Dutch and French fleets still ranked ahead in the 1670s, but steadier parliamentary appropriations later gave the Royal Navy a durable advantage.