Pepys's reporting network against naval fraud

Pepys designed for a world in which some captains padded payrolls with nonexistent sailors and some private profit was expected. Establishments limited the scale of that fraud by making implausible claims easier to spot. More importantly, captains did not control the only account sent to London. Masters, shipwrights, admirals, and officers seeking future commissions all reported to the Admiralty. Their letters could reveal whether a captain had maintained a ship or returned it damaged through negligence, with direct consequences for his career. A major conspiracy would therefore require bribing many independent correspondents, making corruption more expensive and less rewarding. The lesson is an early form of institutional accountability built from overlapping information channels.