In order to understand the political history of New Cambria, it is necessary to remember the era before the existence of modern elections to choose rulers, before independent judges were chosen on merit, and before the existence of a professional police force. The need for government in New Cambria first arose when seasonal fishermen arrived in the spring and left in the autumn. Authority in these circumstances was often entrusted to individual ships' captains, who were awarded temporary status as "fishing admirals". Later, ships of the Royal Navy began to escort the English fishing fleets on their annual voyage to New Cambria, and from 1728 the naval commander was placed over the fishing admirals as supreme military, civil, and judicial official.