Between January and April 2024, the team worked with Mr Wright and his pupils at the Island Free School in Ventnor on the Isle of Wight. Together, we explored various aspects of maritime history relating to the research project: from the origins of international trade to the use of computers and AI in historical research and the notorious roles played by privateers and press gangs. We rounded things off with a visit to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich (read our blog about that here).

Here are the reflections of the pupils on some of the key themes that we covered together.

In this blog, Adam explores maritime trade in the eighteenth century…

Figure 1 British School, Broad Quay, Bristol, c. 1760s (copyright Bristol Museums: Bristol Museum & City Art Gallery)

It’s no secret that international trade is a huge part of our world today: businesses (and the modern world altogether) could not function without it. It’s how we get goods from other parts of the world, and the cost varies depending on their contents and origins.

n the eighteenth century, overseas trade was highly profitable as it introduced a lot of foreign or exotic items to European markets. Items like sugar, coffee and tea in particular commanded high prices as they came from the Caribbean and Asia, making them harder to obtain as travelling to the other side of the world for goods was not such an easy task. Spices like pepper, cloves and cinnamon mostly came from India and South-East Asia and were valuable due to their rarity. At one point, cloves became more precious than gold.

Meanwhile, British merchants brought coloured glass beads, brightly coloured bales of cloth, and agricultural tools to West Africa. In return, they were given things like ivory, gold and even slaves. Across the Atlantic Ocean, rapid population growth in eighteenth-century North America provided a large market for cotton fabrics and other textile materials. The American colonists often turned to British merchants to get their materials and other goods.

The majority of Europe (especially the maritime nations) were involved heavily in the slave trade, mostly shipping enslaved people to colonies in both North America and South America, as well as the Caribbean.

Further north, what is today’s Canada was also involved in international trade. Furs, particularly beaver fur, were in high demand. Some of the native Canadian animals had waterproof skin which could be used for many things and would eventually become a symbol of wealth when used in clothing such as hats. A single hat could cost up to three months’ average wages. Canada also exported timber which was sometimes used for making the ships that enabled all of this international trade to take place.

In this blog, Chris explains the importance of Sir Francis Drake to the development of English maritime commerce…

Figure 2: Statue of Sir Francis Drake, Plymouth   https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File :Statue_of_Sir_Francis_Drake_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1846775.jpg

Sir Francis Drake was the first Englishman to lead a circumnavigation of the globe. But his voyage was also a secret pirate mission sanctioned by Queen Elizabeth against the Spanish. Drake was a privateer, which meant that he was given permission by the crown to raid enemy ships and cargoes. Elizabeth commissioned Drake to lead an expedition against the Spanish colonies on the Pacific coast of America.

But Drake was also one of the first British slave traders. As early as 1560, he and his cousin John Hawkins sailed to West Africa to capture men and women. They also attacked Portuguese slave ships in order to steal their human ‘cargo’.

Here, Luca considers the place of privateers in maritime history…

Privateers played an important role in maritime history. They were particularly valuable to governments who allowed what was essentially a legalised form of piracy for their own benefit by permitting the privateers to attack and sometimes destroy enemy vessels.

The letters that were issued to privateers, known as letters of marque and reprisal, specified what privateers could and couldn’t do. These rules included who they could target (the enemy of course) and who they couldn’t target (vessels that were not the enemy). This practice was beneficial to the privateers, because they got a share of the profits. It also benefited the government because, while they didn’t get all of the profits, they didn’t have to fund or maintain the whole military operation. It could also allow them to argue that they were not responsible for the attack.

However, some privateers abused the rules, and didn’t follow the regulations set out in the letters of marque and reprisal. Instead, they engaged in acts of regular piracy.

Privateering slowly declined, mainly due to diminishing profits. On 16 April 1856, the Declaration of Paris (officially the Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law) was signed by many major maritime powers. In it, privateering was outlawed during times of war.

There were many famous privateers, such as Sir Francis Drake, who had a large influence on the legacy of certain eras in maritime history.

What are the legacies of privateering? Privateering showed many things, such as the effectiveness of asymmetric warfare because privateering was significantly cheaper for the government while achieving similar results. It also demonstrated the ability of smaller, more nimble boats to fight against large vessels. Privateering also had an impact on the economy, with huge amounts of valuables taken from Spanish and Portuguese colonies in the 1600s and 1700s. However, in the modern day, privateering is seen as unacceptable and for good reason. It was not only abused and used for unethical purposes, but also increased the wealth of nations in unethical ways.

In this blog, Laurence explores the history of the infamous press gang...

Figure 3: James Gillray, The Liberty of the Subject [The Press Gang], 1779 (© Royal Museums Greenwich, PAG8527)  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File :The_Liberty_of_the_Subject_(the_Press_Gang)_(caricature)_RMG_PX8527.tiff

Press ganging involved able-bodied men being taken against their will, and forced to serve in the Royal Navy for extended lengths of time. The reason that press ganging came about was because of a lack of manpower. It was difficult to recruit seamen due to low pay and often atrocious working conditions.

Press-ganged men were often subject to extreme violence from the gang members in the capture process. This included being beaten unconscious or being held at knife-point. Press gangers often lurked in alleys or in the corners of pubs. They targeted vulnerable drunks who were easy prey. The press gangers also used more sly methods such as slipping the ‘king’s shilling’, a small payment, into their pockets or even going as far as dropping the shilling into the soon-to-be sailor’s pewter tankard of beer. When the sailor finished their beverage, or pulled the coin from their pocket, they would discover the coin and the press gangers would exclaim ‘you have taken the king’s shilling’ and the man would become an employee of the Royal Navy.

After the process of impressment, the men were taken aboard a large barge and ferried over to a larger ship where their work as a sailor began. The work involved cleaning, repairing, and actively participating in battle. But neither press-ganged men nor men who enlisted willingly were able to take the role of ship’s cook. That role was often given to a sailor who had been actively involved in combat and suffered injuries that resulted in the future cook having an amputation.

In this blog, Lucy explores the remarkable story of Hannah Snell…

Figure 4: Louis Philippe Boitard (1734- 1760)Hannah Snell - From the Life (in Male Dress), Yale Centre for British Art

Hannah Snell was Britain’s most famous female sea soldier. She was born on 23 April 1723 in Worcester. When she was 20 she married a Dutch seaman who left her when she became pregnant. Shortly after her daughter died, she decided to go and search for her husband.

Hannah decided to take on the persona of her brother-in-law, James Gray, a well-travelled soldier. She travelled to Coventry where she enlisted in the British Army. Hannah joined Captain Miller’s company and marched with them to Carlisle. Keeping her identity hidden was not as easy as she thought. If anyone found out there would be serious consequences. She managed to keep her female self hidden, even nursing her own wounds so no one would discover her secret. Her identity was nearly revealed was when she received 600 lashes following a clash with the sergeant. After a while, she was forced to desert from the army after recognising an old neighbour and worrying her secret would be revealed.

Her story doesn’t end there, however. She made her way to Portsmouth where she enlisted in the Royal Marines which was due to set sail for the East Indies on board HMS Swallow. While she was in Lisbon, she learnt her husband had been executed in Genoa. After hearing this tragic news, she decided to finish her tour of duty in 1750. She decided to return home to her sister in Wapping.

Many people believed that Hannah revealed her biggest secret in a pub surrounded by her fellow soldiers. It is claimed she declared ‘why gentleman, James Gray will cast off his skin like a snake and become a new creature. In a word, gentleman, I am as much a woman as my mother ever was, and my real name is Hannah Snell.’ Later on she took her remarkable story to the stage and later ran a tavern named ‘The Widow in Masquerade’.

And finally, Toby considers some of the changes in world of maritime technology that were on the horizon…

Since the time of the Ancient Egyptians, most sea-going vessels used sails as a source of propulsion. The power of the wind was captured in numerous huge, vertical sheets, often made from canvas, forcing the vessel forwards. This system was so reliable that it had been used for millennia. But with the invention of steam power, its use was about to decline.

The first steam-powered vessels were built in the late 1770s and 1780s, using wooden hulls. One of the first was the French ship Pyroscaphe. It was built in 1783 by Marquis Claude de Jouffroy along with his colleagues as an improved version of a previous attempt. Pyroscaphe was powered by a Newcomen steam engine, which turned a pair of circular paddles protruding from the sides.