Some (many?) of the sailors in the RN were press ganged into service.I cannot locate the author at the moment, but I spent a few months off and on in the first round of Covid Lock-downs reading a CS Forrster like author on Stories Online.
Really good sage, of about 5 novel length stories of British sailing life in the navy in the late Victoria age of sail.
Hard lives, but fascinating times, all well researched and written around real historical narratives
By the end of the Victorian era, the RN had already or was in the process of being supplanted by the American navy and/or the JIN. This was obvious when President Roosevelt in 1907 ordered the Great White Fleet to sail around the world.(Before the usual suspects start yelling racism, the Great White Fleet was named because the ships were painted white.)
Great White Fleet - Wikipedia