Samuel Pepys and the Second Dutch War: Pepys’s Navy White Book and Brooke House Papers

The two pieces of work which make up this volume were compiled by Pepys in the 1660s. The first is Pepys’s own record of how the Navy Board functioned. It records details of meetings with fellow officers such as Sir William Penn and Sir John Mennes, and how work could be hampered at times by the refusal of an officer to sign a contract or bill as he had not been present at the original discussions.

The Navy White Book gives the discussions which took place over a variety of matters, such as, contracts with Sir William Warren, a timber merchant; costs and quality of masts and canvas.

The Brooke House Papers deal with the inquiry set up by the House of Commons into the conduct of the Second Dutch War, following the humiliation of the Dutch invasion of 1667, and the inefficiency of the Navy Board. The Brooke House Papers further show Pepys defending the Navy Board’s professionalism and integrity, and also that naval administration during the Second Dutch War was efficient. The Papers also show Charles II ‘s role in protecting the Navy Board, by making his dissatisfaction with the inquiry known, through his disrespectful language and interruptions, as well as his support for Pepys, whom he makes the Board’s spokesman.