This is the first general selection from the substantial body of surviving documents about Elizabeth's navy. It stands alongside The Navy of Edward VI and Mary I with which it shares much common apparatus and complements the other NRS volumes that deal specifically with the Spanish Armada. This collection concentrates (though not exclusively so) on the early years of Elizabeth's reign when there was no formal war. From 1558-1585 the navy was involved in a number of small-scale campaigns, pursuit of pirates and occasional shows of force. The documents selected emphasize the financial and administrative processes that supported these operations, such as mustering, victualing, demobilisation, and ship maintenance and repair. The fleet varied in size from about 30 to 45 ships during the period and a vast amount of maintenance and repair was required. The documents here illustrate just how efficiently the dockyards functioned. They were one of the great early Elizabethan achievements.