UID:
edocfu_9961565753602883
Format:
1 online resource (535 pages)
ISBN:
0-300-25261-7
Content:
A brilliant telling of the history of the common seaman in the age of sail, and his role in Britain’s trade, exploration, and warfare British maritime history in the age of sail is full of the deeds of officers like Nelson but has given little voice to plain, "illiterate" seamen. Now Stephen Taylor draws on published and unpublished memoirs, letters, and naval records, including court-martials and petitions, to present these men in their own words. In this exhilarating account, ordinary seamen are far from the hapless sufferers of the press gangs. Proud and spirited, learned in their own fashion, with robust opinions and the courage to challenge overweening authority, they stand out from their less adventurous compatriots. Taylor demonstrates how the sailor was the engine of British prosperity and expansion up to the Industrial Revolution. From exploring the South Seas with Cook to establishing the East India Company as a global corporation, from the sea battles that made Britain a superpower to the crisis of the 1797 mutinies, these "sons of the waves" held the nation’s destiny in their calloused hands.
Note:
Frontmatter --
,
CONTENTS --
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Illustrations --
,
PREFACE --
,
PROLOGUE --
,
1. ORDEAL WITH ANSON 1740–44 --
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2. A LINCOLNSHIRE LAD 1755–59 --
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3. MAN AND BOY 1756–59 --
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4. HEART OF OAK 1759–61 --
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5. TO THE EASTERN SEAS 1760–70 --
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6. FARTHER STILL AND FARTHER 1768–88 --
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7. HANDS ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 1775–83 --
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8. BLACK GOLD 1750–90 --
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9. COMING HOME 1771–83 --
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10. FRUITS OF PEACE 1783–92 --
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11. ‘A TERROR TO SEAMEN’ 1788–92 --
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INTERLUDE: THE DEEP --
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12. ‘THESE VALUABLE BUT HELPLESS PEOPLE’ 1792–97 --
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13. FAMILY AND FRIENDS 1793–98 --
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14. A RISING TIDE 1794–97 --
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15. REVOLUTION AT SPITHEAD 1797 --
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16. ‘THE MACHINATIONS OF EVIL INCENDIARIES’ 1797 --
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17. HELLFIRE AND REDEMPTION 1797–1801 --
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18. TOM BOWLING 1801–03 --
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19. APOTHEOSIS 1805 --
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20. WINNING WAYS 1806–09 --
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21. OLD FRIENDS, OLD FOES 1803–14 --
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22. PASSAGES TO WATERLOO 1809–15 --
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23. OVER THE SIDE 1816–36 --
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24. STORYTELLERS 1810–40 --
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25. SAFE MOOR’D 1820–40 --
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26. PAX BRITANNICA 1819–40 --
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EPILOGUE --
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NOTES --
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BIBLIOGRAPHY --
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --
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INDEX
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In English.
Additional Edition:
ISBN 0-300-24571-8
Language:
English
Keywords:
History.
;
Naval history.
DOI:
10.12987/9780300252613
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