Admiralty Department (Themiclesia)
The Admiralty Department (黃府, gwāng-pwaq) was a Themiclesian government department responsible for the maintenance of the country's maritime resources and defences, as well as some overseas activities. It was established in 820 and ceased to exist as an independent department in 1970 when it was absorbed into the Ministry of Defence. Some of the Admiralty Department's former divisions survive within the MoD.
History
The Admiralty Department evolved out of the Privy Treasury (御府) which managed the monarch's private properties, leases, and revenues. It had the role of supplying ships for a royal navy in the case of incursion or disorder at sea, but there is little evidence for a permanent navy before the 9th century. Nevertheless, parts of royal forests were set aside in anticipation. In 820, the leader of the Admiralty Department was promoted to consular rank and became independent from the Privy Treasury. This change was more than symbolic, as it signified that its funding was now the responsibility of the Great Treasury, into which taxation from the realm at large was paid.
In the 19th century, the department was re-organized imitating the Anglian Admiralty.
Structure
Prior to absorption, the Admiralty Department consisted of the Barons of the Navy in addition to other officers. While the department was in charge of the Themiclesian Navy, it was not a fully-military department; rather, similar to the Air Ministry, it had a wide range of civilian functions. The department's leader, the President-Baron, was typically not a naval officer, and after 1824, the position was usually filled by a politician.