An Instrument of Early-Stuart Sea Power: the Armed Merchantman Abigail c. 1615–39

Abstract

This is an exemplar for of the life and times of the ubiquitous ocean-going craft that sailed from England during the early 17th century.  At times merchant ship, privateer and warship, the Abigail had a busy life spanning 24 years.  Sailing under the English and Venetian Flags  with voyages across the Atlantic and Mediterranean, from the Adriatic to the St. Lawrence, her story charts the international politics of the reigns of the early Stuarts, ending in a hurricane and shipwreck at St Kitts.

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Filed under: Atlantic | English Channel | Other (Early Modern) | Mediterranean | Health at Sea | Caribbean | Shipwrecks
Subjects include: Merchant Marines | Navies | Pirates, Corsairs & Privateers