Why the Royal Navy centralized officer education

The older system left most midshipman training to individual captains and ships, while the Admiralty paid little attention until an officer passed the lieutenant's examination. Fewer nineteenth-century wars reduced the supply of combat experience just as new technology made a common educational standard more important. Central appointments also replaced the older habit of captains carrying large personal followings from ship to ship. The Admiralty now bore more direct responsibility for officer competence, creating a strong case for an institution that could preserve and transmit naval knowledge.