Sovereign of the Seas, 1637: A Reconstruction of the Most Powerful Warship of Its Day

“McKay’s artful renderings provide a fitting tribute to this amazing vessel and those who participated in her planning and construction.” —Pirates and Privateers

Sovereign of the Seas was the most spectacular, extravagant and controversial warship of the early seventeenth century. The ultimate royal prestige project, whose armament was increased by the King’s decree to the unheard-of figure of 100 guns, the ship finally cost the equivalent of ten more conventional warships. A significant proportion of this total was spent on her gilded decoration, which gave the ship a unique combination of firepower and visual impact in battle that led her Dutch opponents to dub her the “Golden Devil.”

It is unsurprising that such a high-profile ship should be well-documented, but there are no contemporary plans and much of the visual evidence is contradictory. In this book, John McKay sets out to analyze the data and reconstruct the design and appearance of the ship in a degree of detail never previously attempted. The results are presented as a folio of superbly drafted plans, isometric drawings and colored renderings, covering every aspect of the design from the hull form to the minutiae of sails and rigging. Each section is accompanied by an explanatory text, setting out the rationale for his conclusions, so the book will be of value to historians of the period as well as providing superb reference for any modeler tackling of one of the most popular of all sailing ship subjects.

“A magnificent book on a magnificent ship.” —Nautical Research Journal

“Very few books of warships contain the level of detail provided here.” —Firetrench

© 2020 Seaforth Publishing (Ebook): 9781526766304

Release date

Ebook: 28 February 2020