Brian Lavery

An excellent read: stories of the sailors (as opposed to officers) that manned (and in a few cases, womaned) Royal Navy ships from the earliest records to the middle of the Victorian era. Author Brian Lavery, curator emeritus at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, regrets that many of the sailors were illiterate and thus never had a real chance to tell their stories, but gathers what evidence there is and presents it in a manner both scholarly and entertaining. Lavery only provides show more cursory coverage of the actual naval history of the times, so if you don’t know the causes and outcomes of the War of the League of Augsburg or the War of Jenkin’s Ear, you won’t find them here; on the other hand the sailors Lavery is profiling probably didn’t know what those causes were either – or care about them. Among things I learned is the details of the Spithead and Nore mutinies of 1797; what a guardship was; and the difference between a petty officer, a warrant officer, and a standing officer. I was also interested by the changes in class distinctions among sailors versus officers; in the 17th century it was fairly routine for a common sailor to eventually become an officer; by Napoleonic War times it was rare but not unheard of; after that it never happened (Lavery notes sailors were suspicious of officers who had risen from the ranks). Highly recommended if you’re fond of the adventures of Horatio Hornblower or Jack Aubrey. Extensive footnotes, bibliography, glossary and index; an appendix gives a guide to finding ancestors who served. Appropriate contemporary illustrations. show less

Having become enamored of Patrick O'Brian - as must be obvious to everyone by now - I did a search on his name to locate all his other works, In doing so, I stumbled across Nelson's Navy, by Brian Lavery for which O'Brian wrote the foreword. Lavery has written an encyclopedic introduction (if that's not oxymoronic)to life in the British Navy during the time of the Napoleonic Wars. He begins with a summary of the European political context, an understanding of which is essential to grasp the show more nuances of the O'Brian novels.
Every detail of working a ship, from construction costs and methods to a seaman's necessities to fleet administration and pictures of authentic uniforms is carefully explained. One section I found to be of particular interest was a discussion of "pressing' sailors for the fleet. The press gang myth depicts them descending on a community and dragging off every able-bodied male in sight, sometimes from the loving arms of his wife suckling their latest child. The fact is that by law only seamen could be impressed. Captains
had no wish to populate their ships with unskilled landsmen who didn't know a staysail from the orlop.

Seamen hated the law, however, because it meant that those in the merchant service, where in time of war pay was higher because of the shortage of sailors, could be dragged off to serve his Majesty for less money and with little hope of shore leave. Unlike merchant sailors, who could leave the ship at the end of the voyage, naval sailors were stuck for the duration of the war, which lasted for many years. Naval sailors would be transferred from one ship to another, rarely allowed on shore for fear of desertion. Once pressed
they were quartered on hulks in the harbor until their ship became available.

Ironically, it was the strength of the British Navy that protected the landsman from impressment or draft
into the army, as the navy was so successful defending the shores against invasion. The problem was that impressment (and perhaps the modern draft) was the vestige of a feudal society incompatible with the concept of individual liberty that the American and French revolutions were bringing to the minds of the average individual, who began to look askance at the practice of impressment. Despite attempts to regulate the press gangs, e.g., creating a formal impress Service, abuses occurred frequently among the informal press
gangs sent out by individual ships to fill out their company (a first-rater ship-of-the-line might require 600 men).

For those wanting even more detail on the sociology of Napoleonic era British seamen, I can avidly recommend Michael Lewis's [b:A Social History of the Navy 1793-1815|446048|A Social History of the Navy 1793-1815|Michael Arthur Lewis|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174848225s/446048.jpg|434752] This is a very readable study of the behavior and conditions on British men-of-war during that time period.

As was typical of the class-conscious society of the time, there were those men of the "quarterdeck" who came from the more privileged class and as gentlemen could become officers; then there were those important workers who inhabited the "lower-deck." These consisted mostly of volunteers, impressed reluctants, and products of the Marine Society (an organization Newt would have been proud of) that took impoverished youth, provided them with food, clothing, and rudimentary naval training before sending them off to sea as servants on board ship. They eventually could work their way up through the ranks of seamen to the quarterdeck. It was possible for a lower deck inhabitant to become an officer (hence entering the upper class as well) by meritorious service in battle or at sea and high marks on the examinations, but it was rare. show less

Brian Lavery presents this comprehensive and lavishly illustrated account of the history of seafaring from antiquity to the present day as a series of chronological descriptions of sea voyages through the ages, from the early Polynesians to the modern age. The individual sections consist of several chapters, and are frequently interspersed with maps, illustrations and photographs (of ship models and scientific navigational instruments) to illustrate the written matter so that there’s no show more time to get bored. A particular joy to me were the reproductions of the contemporary drawings, engravings, photographs and maps that bring a real flavour of the time to the material, helped greatly by numerous first-hand accounts written by travellers onboard ship. There are some amazing and interesting facts to be learned, as well as the answers to such varied questions such as: Who introduced the hammock to Europe? Who coined the term ‘Pacific’? When was the first transatlantic crossing made by a steamship? Which clipper won the closest ever tea race? - Inevitably, the earlier chapters are shorter than those covering relatively modern naval history, although these were the ones I would have wanted to learn more about, as I was already familiar with a lot of the topics covered in the sections on ‘Steam and Emigration’ and ‘The Wars on the Oceans’ through watching TV documentaries. As an introduction to the history of seafaring this could not be bettered, though, and with its very accessible and easy to understand style the book will no doubt appeal to the interested lay person. It is engaging and well written, and, because of its clear and unambiguous writing and layout, would also be suitable for older teenagers and young adults with an interest in maritime history. There’s a glossary at the end of the book explaining the most common nautical terms used in the book, and an extensive bibliography whets the appetite for more. Recommended for landlubbers young and old.

(This review was originally written as part of Amazon's Vine programme.) show less

First published in 1989 and reprinted many times since, 'Nelson's Navy' is a comprehensive overview of Britain's navy during the 'classic' period of the Napoleonic wars. Just about all bases are covered from the organisation of the entire navy to running a sick bay, together with an outline of the relevant wars for background context. If there is anything omitted then I can't think what it could be!

The reader is treated to an excellent grounding in all subjects from intricate details such as show more the construction of a Coles-Bentinck chain pump to wider issues like behaviour in victory or defeat. Of course, the scope of such a book precludes extended discourse on any individual aspect, but is more than adequate for most readers, though I would like to have seen a 'further reading' section for those who wish to explore in more depth.

Lavery is an acknowledged expert in this field. His narrative is, as always, authoritative yet easily assimilated, and accompanied by a wealth of monochrome illustrations throughout: maps, photos, charts, diagrams, plans, lists and drawings, nearly all of which are taken from contemporary sources [well, not the photos .... obviously!] to provide an essential ingredient of this fascinating book.

As the great Patrick O'Brian writes in his foreword "... anyone who has read and digested the work will have a more than ordinarily sound knowledge of Nelson's Navy". High praise indeed and well justified. show less