1758
HMS Victory built
1766–79
Captain Cook’s three epic voyages; now the world is known
Climax of Age of Sail The struggle to dominate the seas
1780s
sea trade patterns criss-cross the globe
1793–1815
Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars; Britain against France
1800s
design of ships becomes scientific
1805
Nelson at Trafalgar
1815
Napoleon goes into exile
Sunset of Age of Sail Steam and brute force; end of an era
1821
first steam tug for Royal Navy
1838
Great Western inaugurates regular Atlantic crossings
1850–1865
heyday of the clipper ship
1866
the Great Tea Race
1869
Cutty Sark launched
1900s
last Royal Navy ships under square-rig
1960s
final mercantile ocean voyages under sail
Size Matters
There were hundreds of ship types in the Golden Age of Sail, ranging from the smugglers’ abari to the corsairs’ xebec. Here are the vital statistics of some of history’s famous wooden ships, along with three of today’s grandest vessels for comparison.
Glossary
Picture Acknowledgements
The following images are in the public domain:-
1. from D. and J.T. Serres, Liber Nauticus, 1805
2. HMS Victory photographed at Portsmouth, 1884
3. painting by Robert Dodd, 1790 – the best known contemporary image of the mutiny on HMS Bounty
4. plan of the British attack on Porto Bello, drawn by Lt Philip Durrell in 1740
5. from Andrew Shewan, The Great Days of Sail, artist unknown
6. engraving from a portrait of Cochrane by Henry Meyer in 1810. The original painting shows fireships burning in the background
7. print, published by James Cundee, 1804
8. oil on canvas by Denis Dighton, c 1825
9. ‘Old Time Slaver’ from Charles N. Robinson, The British Fleet, 1894
10. print by W Elmes, artist and engraver, 1813
11. from New Students Reference Book, 1914
12. Japanese painting, 1634
13. lithograph of Napoleon by Zephyrin Belliard
14. from Charles N. Robinson, The British Fleet, 1894
15. portrait of Sidney Smith at Acre, painted by John Eckstein, engraved by Antoine Cardon. Published January1808
16. ‘The Shooting of Admiral Byng’, artist unknown
17. portrait of George III by Sir William Beechey
18. portrait of James Cook by Nathaniel Dance c 1775
19. from Charles N. Robinson, The British Fleet, 1894
20. pencil on paper portrait by Count D’Orsay, March 1842
21. from The World Encompassed by Sir Francis Drake,1628
22. ‘Tribute Giraffe from Bengal’ by Shen Du, 1414
23. engraving of the Eddystone Lighthouse, painted by Isaac Sailmaker
24. from a map by Abraham Ortelius, 1590
25. portrait of Henry the Navigator by Charles Legrand c 1841.
26. frontispiece to Mercator’s Atlas sive Cosmograhicae, published posthumously
27. print engraving of John Franklin, c 1844/45
28. etching of HM Sloop Investigator by Geoffrey Ingleton, 1937
29. from Peter Cordingley, The Maritime Compendium
30. nineteenth-century engraving by Louis Le Breton
31. from A. Hyatt, Knots, Splices and Rope Work, A Practical Treatise
32. woodcut, 1800
33. ‘The capture of the Cacafuego’, engraving by Levinus Hulsius, 1626
34. from Charles Darwin, A Naturalist’s Voyage Around the World, 1913, illustration by R.T. Pritchett
35. mezzo-tint of 1768 by P. L. Tassaert, after an oil painting by Thomas King, 1767
36. ‘A Scene Between Decks’ by W. J. Huggins in Charles N Robinson, The British Tar in Fact and Fiction, 1909
37. ‘The Sailor’s Description of a Chase and Capture’, coloured etching by George Cruikshank
38. ‘Mastheaded’ by J. E. Edwards in Charles N Robinson, The British Tar in Fact and Fiction, 1909
39. ‘Victors of the Nile’, a celebratory engraving published five years after the Battle of the Nile
40. ‘A Sailor’, R. Cruikshank, 1827
41. early nineteenth-century engraving by Thomas Rowlandson
42. from Peter Cordingley, The Maritime Compendium
43. ‘Colours Warranted Not to Run’ from Charles N Robinson, The British Tar in Fact and Fiction, 1909
44. ‘The Armada Portrait’, one of three surviving versions of an allegorical panel painting. Artist: George Gower, c 1588.
45. image by nineteenth-century French painter Antoine Morel-Fatio
46. ‘A Greenwich Pensioner’ by R Cruikshank from Charles N Robinson, The British Tar in Fact and Fiction, 1909
47. engraving by John Chapman, 1797
48. from Charles N Robinson, The British Tar in Fact and Fiction, 1909
49. ‘On the Look-Out!’ from Charles N. Robinson, The British Fleet, 1894
50. from D. and J.T. Serres, Liber Nauticus, 1805
51. ‘A Ship’s Cook’ by Thomas Rowlandson c. 1799
52. contemporary mezzo-tint
53. from Jones, Views of the Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen, 1829
54. from Olaus Magnus, Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus (History of the Northern Peoples) 1555
55. title page, Sir Francis Drake Revived, 1626.
56. ‘Neptune, King of Waters’, engraving by Virgil Solis for Ovid’s Metamorphoses
57. caricature of a press gang, 1780
58. from Dante’s Inferno, illustration by Gustave Doré
59. print by J. J. Baugean from Receuil de Petites Marines, 1819
60. illustration by Birket Foster, engraving by William Miller, 1872
61. image traditionally believed to represent Antonio Pigafetta, artist unknown
62. ‘The Battle of Trafalgar’ by William Clarkson Stanfield, engraving by William Miller, 1839
63. advertisement from ‘The Ladies’ World’, March 1898
64. from G. Hartwig, The Aerial World, 1886
65. Olaus Magnus, Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus, 1555
66. ‘Illustrated London News’ October 28, 1848
67. Bibliothèque Nationale
68. engraving by William Miller, 1875, after J M W Turner
69. from John Masefield, On the Spanish Main
70. ‘The Ghosts of Admiral Hosier and His Men Appearing to Admiral Vernon’, coloured etching published in July 1740 by C. Mosley
71. coloured aqua-tint by J. T. Lee, engraved by Robert Dodd, March 1804
72. engraving from a portrait by Sir George Chambers
73. nineteenth-century illustration by William Bradford
74. from Peter Cordingley, The Maritime Compendium
75. eighteenth-century illustration
76. from Stanley Lane-Poole, The Story of the Barbary Corsairs, published 1890
77. illustration by Henry Winstanley, 1696
78. image over 100 years old, no details available
79. map from the July 1750 issue of ‘The Gentleman’s Magazine’; attributed to Moses Harris, a naturalist and surveyor.
80. eighteenth-century drawing
81. black and white image of the wreck of Loch Leven, still under full sail, from ‘Illustrated Sydney News’, 25 November 1871, artist unknown
82. painting by Arnald George (1763–1841)
The following individuals/organisations have kindly given permission to use images:-
1. Jeremy Johns
2. The Marine Society & Sea Cadets
3. courtesy of the U.S. Navy
4. Annet
te M. Onslow
Author Acknowledgements
My sincere appreciation to all at Ebury Press, especially Carey Smith and Vicky Orchard for their editorial vision and guidance. Thanks, too, are due to David Fordham for his splendid book design. And I cannot omit my gratitude to two other very wonderful women, my agent Carole Blake for her enthusiasm for the project, and my wife Kathy for her assistance at every level.
Index
The page references in this index correspond to the printed edition from which this ebook was created. To find a specific word or phrase from the index, please use the search feature of your ebook reader.
Acre 34–5
Adams, Fanny 119
Adams, William 3, 26–7
admirals 103
Admiralty 41–2, 68, 72, 76–8, 83, 113, 132, 140, 159, 178
Africa (ship) 22–3
Ajax (ship) 90
alcohol 14–15, 111, 120–1
Alexander I, Tsar of Russia 72
Alexander (ship) 186
Alfred (ship) 25
Amphion (frigate) 163
Amundsen, Roald 66
anchors 113–14
Anne of Denmark 149
Anson, Commodore 165
Anson (ship) 71
Aphrodite 130
Ariel (clipper) 6, 6
Arthur, King 128
Articles of War 93, 169
asphaltum 96
Association (ship) 158, 176
‘at a stand’ 177
Atkins, Thomas 176
Australia 67–8, 69, 185–6
Bacchante (ship) 136–7
Ball, Alexander 95
Band of Brothers 95
Banks, Sir Joseph 22
Barbary pirates 173–4, 174
Barnum, P.T. 147
Bass, George 67
Bass Strait 184–5
‘batten down the hatches’ 91
Beagle (ship) 80, 81, 81
‘bearings, losing your’ 70
Beatty (surgeon to Nelson) 143
Beatty (training ship) 33
Beaty, Christopher 26
Beaumont, Rear-Admiral 176
Bellerophon (ship) 26, 28–9, 123, 186
Benbow, Admiral 107, 107
Berry, Capt 28
Berthelot, Lt 187
‘between the devil and the deep blue sea’ 47
Bianca, Commodore Casa 186
Bianca, Luc 186
Black Book 145
Black Joke (ship) 19
Black Tot Day 121
Blake, Admiral Robert 129
Blane, Gilbert 166
Bligh, William 3, 4, 38–9, 107, 170
blocks 99, 100, 150
Bluenose (schooner) 36–7, 37
Bonaparte, Napoleon 8, 28–9, 29, 34–5, 47, 69, 123, 178, 186
Bonhomme Richard (ship) 25
Boscawen, Admiral 45
bottle breaking 132
Bounty (ship) 38, 170
‘bow and scrape’ 34
Boxer, Colonel 72
Briggs, Capt 174–5
Briggs, Sarah 174–5
Britannia (steamship) 88
‘broadside, delivering a’ 79
Broke, Capt Philip 20–1
‘brought up short’ 182
Brown, William 100–1
Brueys, Vice-Admiral 186
Brunel, Mare 99
Brunswick (ship) 142
buccaneers 83
see also pirates
bully beef 119
burials 18, 102, 134, 143, 181
Burney, Fanny 22
Bushnell, David 75–6
‘by and large’ 137
Byng, Admiral John 40–1, 41
Byron, John 140
Byron, Lord 157
Cabot, John 65
Cabot, Sebastian 65
Campbell, Admiral John 88–9
Camperdown, battle of 47
Canada 36–7, 45–6, 179
cannibalism 66, 172
cannons 104, 105
Cape Bojador 63
capital punishment 13, 94, 170, 170
Captain (ship) 39
Carew, Sir Gawen 168
Carew, Vice-Admiral Sir George 168
Carleton, Mary 159
Carlyle, Thomas 69
Carter, John 24
Casson, Edward 173
cat-o’-nine-tails 93, 94
Cataraqui (ship) 185
catering 63, 97–8, 118–19, 149
cats 88, 90, 147, 149
cauls 144
Cawdor, Lord 17
Cazuneau, Capt William 172
Centaur (flagship) 7–8
Centurion (flagship) 165
Charles I, King of Spain 60
Charles, Prince 102
Charon 132, 133
Chase, Owen 167
Chatham Chest 105–6
Chebucto Harbour, Halifax 179, 180
Chesapeake (ship) 20–1, 21, 100–1
child labour 115–16, 116
China 55, 56–7
‘chock-a-block’ 150
Christian, Fletcher 38
chronometers 81–2, 159
‘clean slate’ 112
Clepham, James 107
clippers 5–6, 88, 142
‘close quarters’ 7
‘coast is clear’ 60
Cochrane, Thomas 8–9, 10, 111, 123
Coffin, Owen 167
Collingwood, Admiral Cuthbert 41, 89, 112–13, 117
colours 62
Columbus, Christopher 101, 135, 147, 148
Conflan, Admiral 45–6
Conrad, Joseph 157
Constitution (ship) 133
Continental Navy 25
Cook, Capt James 22, 45, 46, 66–7, 69, 76–8, 82, 107, 140, 165–6
‘copper bottomed’ 26
court martials 40–1, 164, 170
Cowper, William 184
Cracker, Joe 180
Cromwell, Samuel 170
‘Crossing the Line’ 129–30
Cruise-Wilkins, Reginald 153
Cruisers and Convoys Act 1708 121–2
currents 83
customs 132
‘cut of a jib’ 23
‘cut and run’ 135
‘cuts a fine feather’ 165
‘cuts no ice’ 15
Cutty Sark (clipper) 88, 142
Daedalus (ship) 151–2, 152
Dalliger, John 94
Dampier, William 83
Danish navy 181
Darwin, Charles 80
Davis, John 65
‘day of departure’ 135
de Belleville, Jane 117
de Leyburn, William 103
De Winter, Admiral Jan 47, 47
Deal 137–8, 138
death at sea 133–4, 135, 157–8
see also burials
Defiance (ship) 51
Defoe, Daniel 176
Dei Gratia (brigantine) 174–5
d’Entrecasteaux, Rear Admiral 69
Diamond Rock 7–8
Digby, Capt 22–3
Dillon, Peter 69–70
discipline 13, 40–1, 93–5, 164, 170, 170
dogs 9, 43, 88–9
doldrums 21, 130
Dolphin (ship) 140
Dönitz, Admiral Karl 137
Douglas, James 59
Doyle, Arthur Conan 175
Drake (née Sydenham), Elizabeth 128
Drake, Sir Francis 13, 26, 78–9, 101, 105, 128–9, 129
Drake (ship) 25
Drake’s Drum 129
drowning 114, 158
Drummond, Lt Edgar 151–2
duff 149
Duff, Norwich 115–16
Duncan, Admiral Adam 47
Durham, Capt 51
Dutch, the 64, 94
Dutton (troopship) 14
duty, devotion to 112–13
Eagle (flagship) 75, 158
Eannes, Gil 63
earrings 139
Ea
st India Company 27
Eckstein, John 8
Eddystone lighthouses 58–9, 59, 176, 176
Eddystone reef 58–9
Edward I, King of England 103
Edward, Duke of Kent 180
Egede, Hans 151
El Almirante (brig) 19
El Gamo (ship) 9
Elcano, Juan Sebastian 60
Elephant (ship) 160–1
Elizabeth I, Queen of England 78, 79, 103
Elizabeth (brig) 72
‘end of the world’ 63
Endeavour (ship) 77, 165–6
equator 129–30
Erebus (ship) 66
Espiegle (ship) 142
Essex (whaler) 166–7
Evelyn, John 44
Excellent (school of naval gunnery) 21
explosions 163, 186–7, 187
Fair Rosamund (ship) 19
Fearney, William 39
Fiddler’s Green 127, 134
Fiery Cross of Goa 152
figureheads 141–2
Finlay, Capt Christopher 185
fires 157, 177, 182–3
‘first-rate’ 141
Fishguard 17
Fitzroy, Robert 80–1
flags, signal 61–2
Flinders, Matthew 67, 88
Flinders bars 67
Flood, Frederick 175
Flying Dutchman, The (ghost ship) 136–7
Franklin, Benjamin 77
Franklin, Sir John 66, 66, 102
French, the 3, 7–9, 15, 17, 23–4, 34–5, 40, 45–6, 67–70, 92, 106, 123, 133, 152–3, 158, 173, 177–8, 186
Frisk (cutter) 164
Frobisher, Martin 65, 102
Furneaux, Capt Tobias 22
Gage, Admiral Sir W.H. 151–2
Galaup, Jean-François de, Comte de La Perouse 68–70
Galdy, Lewis 160
Gama, Vasco da 165
Garrick, David 45
gender of ships 145
gentlemanly code 47
George II, King of England 40, 105
George III, King of England 22, 28, 30, 42, 42, 109, 115
ghost ships 136–7, 138, 141
Gilbert, Sir Henry 150
Gilbert, Humphrey 65
Gjoa (ship) 66
globe, circumnavigation 60, 78, 83, 165–6
Glover, Richard 162
gods of the sea 130, 130, 132, 141–2
Golden Hinde (ship) 65, 79, 142
Goliath (ship) 118
‘gone by the board’ 110
Goodwin Sands 137–8
Grant, Lt James 75
Great Storm 1703 138, 175–6
Great Tea Race 1866 6, 6
Green Sea of Darkness 63