Another factor often overlooked is that the British had a far deeper pool of experienced sailors to draw upon, due to their vast and far-flung mercantile empire and the associated merchant fleets that supported it.
The British navy was allowed to tap into these manpower reserves freely via impressment and utilized that power extensively during the Napoleonic Wars.
While you hear a lot about gunnery, sailing these square-rigged behemoths effectively and in unison was not a small feat and was just as important for winning battles, if not more so, than gunnery.
The French had nothing equivalent; the only other power that came close was the Dutch, who, unsurprisingly, fared considerably better in their 17th-century conflicts with the British than the French.
Another factor often overlooked is that the British had a far deeper pool of experienced sailors to draw upon, due to their vast and far-flung mercantile empire and the associated merchant fleets that supported it.
The British navy was allowed to tap into these manpower reserves freely via impressment and utilized that power extensively during the Napoleonic Wars.
While you hear a lot about gunnery, sailing these square-rigged behemoths effectively and in unison was not a small feat and was just as important for winning battles, if not more so, than gunnery.
The French had nothing equivalent; the only other power that came close was the Dutch, who, unsurprisingly, fared considerably better in their 17th-century conflicts with the British than the French.