At Sea Under Impressment: Accounts of Involuntary Service Aboard Navy and Pirate Vessels, 1700-1820

ISBN-13: 9780786443741 / Angielski / Miękka / 2010 / 218 str.

Jean Choate

Opis

As Britain became a dominant sailing empire during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, her ships were manned in part by impressment. The stories of the impressed men, who were forced to serve on ships against their will, have often been neglected. This book provides an historical overview of the practice, in which naval officers oversaw a press gang that abducted both British and American citizens, particularly during times of war, and held them captive until they were sent to sea as unwilling sailors. The personal accounts of thirteen men are provided, most of whom were impressed into the British Navy, but some onto pirate ships. A chapter on Dartmoor Prison is also included, an institution which held thousands of impressed Americans during the War of 1812. The book also includes prints of sailor outfits, ships of the time, and sea battles.