How to Survive in the Georgian Navy

A Sailor's Guide

How to Survive in the Georgian Navy cover

Description

Rigidly organised and harshly disciplined, the Georgian Royal Navy was an orderly and efficient fighting force which played a major role in Great Britain's wars of the 18th and early 19th centuries.

This guide explores what it was like to be a sailor in the Georgian Navy. Focusing on the period from 1714 to 1820, this concise book examines the Navy within its wider historical, national, organisational and military context, and reveals exactly what it took to survive a life in its service.

It looks at how a seaman could join the Royal Navy, including the notorious 'press gangs'; what was meant by 'learning the ropes'; and the severe punishments that could be levied for even minor misdemeanours as a result of the Articles of War. Military tactics, including manning the guns and tactics for fending off pirates are also revealed, as is the problem of maintaining a healthy diet at sea – and the steps that sailors themselves could take to avoid the dreaded scurvy.

Covering other fascinating topics as wide-ranging as exploration, mutiny, storms, shipwrecks, and women on board ships, this 'Sailor's Guide' explores the lives of the Navy's officers and sailors, using extracts from contemporary documents and writings to reconstruct their experiences in vivid detail.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Foundations of a Georgian Navy
Chapter 1: The Officers and Ratings of the Georgian Royal Navy
Chapter 2: Joining the Georgian Royal Navy
Chapter 3: Crimes and Punishments: Discipline in the Georgian Navy
Chapter 4: Victuals and Time Out: Food, Drink and Recreation in the Georgian Navy
Chapter 5: Keeping a Healthy Crew: Medicine in the Georgian Navy
Chapter 6: A Matter of Survival: Storms, Shipwreck and Fire on Board Ship
Chapter 7: Venturing into the Unknown: Exploration and Science in the Georgian Navy
Chapter 8: A Navy at War: Sea Battles in the Georgian Era
Chapter 9: Mutiny in the Georgian Navy
Chapter 10: Women at Sea in the Age of Sail
Epilogue: The Legacy of the Georgian Navy

Timeline of Major Naval Battles and Events
Bibliography
Index

Product details

Published Feb 21 2019
Format Ebook (PDF)
Edition 1st
Extent 144
ISBN 9781472830852
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Series General Military
Short code GNM
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Bruno Pappalardo

Bruno Pappalardo joined the Public Record Office i…

Resources

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