Nippers and Powder Monkeys
Warships during the age of sail carried a surprisingly large number of children. It was perfectly normal for the five to six hundred compliment of a ship of the line to include fifty or more ship’s boys. They appear in the muster books as either officer’s servant or as ordinary seamen. Admiralty regulations for Royal Navy ships stated that they should be at least thirteen years old, unless they were sons accompanying their fathers, in which case the limit was eleven. But like
The Man who named Australia
Construction work on a new high-speed railway line at London’s Euston station has included the excavation of a former cemetery. One of the newly-opened graves provoked considerable media interest, both in the UK and Australia. The remains were those of a forty year-old Royal Navy officer, identified by a decorated lead plaque which is all that remains of his coffin. The man was Captain Mathew Flinders. Flinders was born in rural Lincolnshire, the son of a surgeon, with little
The Sovereign of the Seas
In 17th century Europe, the Power of Kings was at its zenith and conspicuous display was all the rage. Louis XIV of France built the largest palace in Europe at Versailles. In Russia, Peter the Great planned to go one better, and build a whole new city, modestly naming it St Petersburg, after the apostle rather than himself. Across Europe lesser monarchs ordered new buildings, commissioned artworks and lured the famous to their courts. But the ultimate status symbol for a kin
Mutiny on the Hermione
Mutinies occur much more frequently than most navies care to admit. They have been a part of life on board warships for centuries. The majority are non-violent, with the crew refusing to work or leave port until their grievance is resolved. But for every rule there is an exception, and few mutinies have approached the levels of violence seen during the one which took place in September 1797, on board the Royal Navy frigate Hermione. Most commentators, including those at the t
