Title The myth of the press gang : volunteers, impressment and the naval manpower problem in the late eighteenth century / J. Ross Dancy

Published Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK : The Boydell Press, 2015

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Description 1 online resource Contents Frontcover; Contents; List of Illustrations; List of Abbreviations; Preface; Introduction; 1 British Naval Administration; 2 Manning Statistics; 3 Volunteers; 4 Impressment; 5 The Quota Acts; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index Summary The press gang is generally regarded as the means by which the British navy solved the problem of recruiting enough seamen in the late eighteenth century. This book, however, based on extensive original research conducted primarily in a large number of ships' muster books, demonstrates that this view is false. It argues that, in fact, the overwhelming majority of seamen in the navy were there of their own free will. Taking a long view across the late eighteenth century but concentrating on the period of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars of 1793-1815, the book provides great detail on the sort of men that were recruited and the means by which they were recruited, and includes a number of individuals' stories. It shows how manpower was a major concern for the Admiralty; how the Admiralty put in place a range of recruitment methods including the quota system; how it worried about depleting merchant shipping of sufficient sailors; and how, although most seamen were volunteers, the press gang was resorted to, especially during the initial mobilisation at the beginning of wars and to find certain kinds of particularly skilled seamen. The book also makes comparisons with recruitment methods employed by the navies of other countries and by the British army. J. Ross Dancy is Assistant Professor of History at Sam Houston State University Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Vendor-supplied metadata Subject Great Britain. Royal Navy -- History -- 18th century SUBJECT Great Britain. Royal Navy fast Subject Sailors -- Great Britain -- History Impressment -- Great Britain -- History TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING -- Marine & Naval. TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING -- Military Science. HISTORY -- Military -- Naval. Impressment Sailors SUBJECT Great Britain -- History, Naval -- 18th century. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85056846 Subject Great Britain Genre/Form History Naval history Form Electronic book ISBN 9781782044710 178204471X 9781782048794 1782048790

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