Feeding Nelson’s Navy

Feeding Nelson’s Navy: The True Story of Food at Sea in the Georgian Era by Janet MacDonald

The first modern study of the process of naval provisioning Explodes many myths about shipboard food and drink Written with the general reader in mind The prevailing image of food at sea in the age of sail features rotting meat and weevily biscuits, but this highly original book proves beyond doubt that this was never the norm. Building on much recent research Janet Macdonald shows how the sailor’s official diet was better than he was likely to enjoy ashore, and of ample calorific value for his highly active shipboard life. When trouble flared – and food was a major grievance in the great mutinies of 1797 – the usual reason was the abuse of the system. This ‘system’ was an amazing achievement. At the height of the Napoleonic Wars the Royal Navy’s administrators fed a fleet of more than 150,000 men, in ships that often spent months on end at sea.…

The Articles of Bartholomew Roberts

The Pirate Code of Captain Bartholomew Roberts is one of the best surviving examples of the Articles of Agreement put together by pirates. Roberts success in capturing over 400 ships in a three year time period might be as a result of the discipline instilled into the men by this strict code, which helped to keep the running of the ship smooth and  fair, to avoid mutiny, and prevent other problems on board the ship. He probably based the articles on those of his predecessor Howell Davis.

A New Voyage Round the World

A New Voyage Round the World by William Dampier

The pirate and adventurer William Dampier circumnavigated the globe three times, and took notes wherever he went. This is his frank, vivid account of his buccaneering sea voyages around the world, from the Caribbean to the Pacific and East Indies. Filled with accounts of raids, escapes, wrecks and storms, it also contains precise observations of people, places, animals and food (including the first English accounts of guacamole, mango chutney and chopsticks). A bestseller on publication, this unique record of the colonial age influenced Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver’s Travels and consequently the whole of English literature.

 

Pages: 512

Published: 2020 (first published 1697)

ISBN: 978-0241413289

 

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The Pirate Code

Signing the Articles - from the 1936 Pac-Kups Jolly Roger Pirates trading card set, 1936.Pirates are often viewed a being lawless bunch in need of a strong, authoritative captain figure to keep them in line, but, in fact, they operated under their own strict set of rules, which were often deemed sacred to them. This set rules, commonly known as the Articles of Agreement or the Pirate Code determined everything on board a pirate vessel from the distribution of booty to the allotting of punishments. Overall, pirates were fairly democratic, but the punishments for breaking the agreed upon articles could often be severe. Articles that applied to all were a necessary measure to maintain the cohesion of the crew, many of whom had previously been subjected to the dictatorial methods of merchant and naval captains, so it was important that the crew agreed on what the Articles should cover together with the captain. In contrast, privateer vessels usually had their own charters, assigning larger shares to the officers and owners of the ship and what was left to the rest of the crew, although they sometimes contained points similar to those in the Pirate Code.…