Archive Results For: Mutiny & Discipline
Lord Bridport and the Spithead Mutiny
While much has been written of the Spithead mutiny of 1797, little note has been taken of correspondence between Lord Bridport and the Admiralty while the Channel fleet was in a state of mutiny. Due to ill health, Lord Howe had resigned as C-in-C of the Fleet, leaving a rather untidy command structure, which resulted […] Read More
Filed under: English Channel | Mutiny & Discipline
Subjects include: Miscellaneous
The Final Voyage of the Jhelum
The article uses the logs and crew agreements of the Jhelum to describe her last voyage before being abandoned at the Falklands after her cargo of guano had become compromised by water leaking into the vessel. The constant disagreements between the captain and the crew are detailed, with the captain’s log putting his predicament into […] Read More
Filed under: Atlantic | Mutiny & Discipline | Other (Nineteenth C) | Pacific
Subjects include: Manpower & Life at Sea | Merchant Marines
Alexander Selkirk and the Last Voyage of the Cinque Ports Galley
In 1712 Alexander Selkirk acted as a witness in a case taken by investors against William Dampier, Commodore of the voyage during which he was marooned. The article explores the background to his depositions and queries the impartiality of his evidence. It is argued that Selkirk was not, as has generally been accepted, the master […] Read More
Filed under: Spanish Succession | Mutiny & Discipline | Pacific
Subjects include: Pirates, Corsairs & Privateers
The Sinews of War: Manning and Provisioning English Fighting Ships c.1550-1650
This article surveys the methods of recruitment of complements for both royal and private fighting ships and their provisioning. It demonstrates how inadequacies and problems reflected the administrative and political fragility of the early modern state. While, on the one hand, wars drained resources and threatened regimes, they also stimulated the growth and development of […] Read More
Filed under: Tudors | Francis Drake | Dutch Wars | The Armada | Mutiny & Discipline | Health at Sea | Press Gangs
Subjects include: Administration | Manpower & Life at Sea | Navies | Pirates, Corsairs & Privateers
The Mutiny in the John and Thomas
This article gives a background to press gangs operating in the mid 18th century navy. The events of the John and Thomas mutiny are recounted in the reports of Captain George Johnstone, sent to convoy and subsequently recover the press tender John and Thomas. Following these events Lieutenant Robert Sax commander of the John and […] Read More
Filed under: English Channel | Seven Years’ War | Mutiny & Discipline | Press Gangs
Subjects include: Administration | Navies
Note: The Constellation and the Hermione
The extraordinary connection between the American frigate Constellation and the mutinous Hermione is explained. Read More
Filed under: Atlantic | War of 1812 | Mutiny & Discipline | Caribbean
Subjects include: Manpower & Life at Sea
Bligh and the Defiance Mutiny
In October 1795 mutiny broke out on Defiance in Leith. Bligh, then captain of Calcutta had a prominent role in suppression of the mutiny, leading boatloads of soldiers onto the ship. In a letter to Sir Joseph Banks he was less than complimentary about the approach taken by the authorities. The author shows how this […] Read More
Filed under: Mutiny & Discipline | Eighteenth Century
Subjects include: Navies
The Glorious First of June: an Account of the Battle by Peter Heywood
This introduces and provides background information for a letter from Peter Heywood, who was signal midshipman on board the Queen Charlotte, Howe’s flagship at the Glorious First of June. Written to Isaac Littledale of Liverpool, a friend of Heywood’s, the text gives a detailed account of the action, describing each ship to ship encounter and […] Read More
Filed under: Atlantic | Mutiny & Discipline | French Revolution
Subjects include: Battles & Tactics | Biography
Note: William Bligh’s Pocket Notebook
An extensive overview and examination of the notebook created aboard the Bounty’s launch after the mutiny with ownership and sales history. Read More
Filed under: Popular Topics | Mutiny & Discipline | Other (Nineteenth C) | Other (Eighteenth C) | Pacific
Subjects include: Biography | Manpower & Life at Sea
Broughton’s Schooner and the Bounty Mutineers
William Broughton acquired a schooner in Macao in 1796 to assist with exploring the north-west Pacific. A letter of his in Admiralty records reported its weight but not its origin. Several published sources have since claimed that the schooner was originally built by James Morrison and some of the Bounty mutineers on Tahiti. The weight […] Read More
Filed under: Mutiny & Discipline | French Revolution | Pacific
Subjects include: Shipbuilding & Design