Cindy Vallar's Blog - Posts Tagged "britain"

Britain and the Ocean Road: Shipwrecks and People, 1297-1825 by Ian Friel

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


If you seek information about shipwrecks, this book isn’t for you. If your interest lies in the victims and survivors of such wrecks, you’re likely to find more information in other volumes. If, however, you want a fascinating and outside-the-norm presentation of British maritime history, Britain and the Ocean Road may prove the perfect cup of tea. Presented in a chronological sequence, beginning in 1297 and ending in 1825, this first in a two-volume set explores that history using a particular shipwreck of a specific period as a facet of the development of the country’s dominance of the sea. Yet it’s not just a tale about ships and oceans; it’s also the story of England through the centuries, as well as her place on the world stage. Nor does it omit the people who played various roles in that history. During the voyage, readers discover tidbits about the oceans, weather, trade, naval warfare, and merchant shipping.

The first chapter, “Wine, Herrings and Blood,” discusses medieval seafaring, which was a combination of naval, merchant, and piratical shipping. It explores the rise of the Cinque ports, as well as the Anglo-French war during King Edward I’s reign that culminated in the destruction of the St Cross and twenty-two vessels from Great Yarmouth in 1297.

“Flimsy Cells” examines ships and pilgrims making their way to and from the Holy Land in 1446. Little is known about the men who died or the Cog Anne, one of the few ships to sail directly to the Mediterranean, and her final voyage. This necessitates the use of other firsthand accounts to recount what pilgrims endured on their inbound and outbound journeys during the Middle Ages.

The story of Henry VII’s royal warship Regent and the origins of the Royal Navy are the focus of chapter three, “Like a Volcano.” She was one of the earliest vessels built specifically to wage war at sea, and her size necessitated a new shipyard that eventually became the Portsmouth Naval Base. The chapter is principally about the development and technological advancements during a period when sailors, soldiers, and gunners comprised the crew of a warship. Life at sea, conditions aboard ship, and wages earned are also discussed, as is the Regent’s demise during the Battle of St. Mathieu in 1512.

“Trade, Not War” tells the story of the expansion of British commercial shipping beyond the Atlantic. The pride of the infant East India Company (EIC), Trade’s Increase, was the largest merchantman when she was launched in 1609. Five years later, she was gone, but it was merely the last in a series of stumbles that began on that day. Her birth and loss serve as the backdrop for exploring the rise of London as the dominant port in foreign trade, the origins and early years of various trade companies, and what it was like to be a sailor serving aboard an EIC ship.

The latter half of the seventeenth century is the age of buccaneers and chapter five uses “The Pirates of the Resolutions” to delve into piracy in the Atlantic and Caribbean.

“Line of Battle” is the focus of chapter six, which uses the 74-gun Berwick to discuss the similarities and differences between the Royal Navy and France’s Revolutionary navy between 1795 and 1805. The reason this particular ship stands out is because she began life as a British warship, but was captured in 1795 and taken into the French navy, only to be retaken at Trafalgar a decade later.

Chapter seven relates the story of “The Middle Passage” through the last voyage of the slave ship Eliza in 1806. With her colonies, England was a significant player in the selling of slaves, but Friel also shows that some Africans played complicit roles in these transactions. This chapter covers the voyages between Africa and the Caribbean, Liverpool’s rise as a center for the trade, conditions aboard the ships, Olaudah Equiano and John Newton, the abolition of the slave trade, and the Royal Navy’s role in suppressing slavery.

The final chapter, “‘In the very silence there is a deadness’,” recounts the story of HMS Fury. The difference between her voyage, which takes place in 1825, and the better-known Franklin Expedition two decades later, is that Captain William Parry and all but two of his men made it home. History has forgotten both him and the Fury while remembering the disappearance of Franklin’s, even though both dared to explore the Arctic’s unforgiving conditions in an attempt to find the Northwest Passage.

Throughout the book, Friel provides “see” references so readers know where certain information is discussed in greater detail or where pictures can be found. He includes maps, engravings, artwork, photographs, and diagrams. Nautical terms are described within the text, allowing readers to understand without having to search for a glossary. Also provided are endnotes, an index, and a bibliography.

The author’s purpose in writing this book is to introduce lay readers to England, the British, and the maritime world in which they played significant roles over the course of centuries. This volume covers the Middle Ages through Britain’s climb to the pinnacle of maritime dominance. The second volume, slated for release in May 2021 and entitled Breaking Seas, Broken Ships, will cover the years 1854 through 2007. It will examine not only the decline of Britain’s control of the seas, but also how humans have impacted that environment.

While Friel uses shipwrecks as the focal point of each chapter, readers need to understand three things about the use of this word. Here, “shipwreck” simply means a ship that is lost. Second, the known information about the individual vessels may be scant. Third, few people will be familiar with these ships. While each chapter teaches facets of Britain’s maritime history, often including tidbits rarely addressed in more thorough accounts of the subject, the author succeeds to greater and lesser extents in providing a riveting maritime history while teaching readers about the people, ships, dangers, and environment in which this history has evolved. For example, chapter two suffers from an excess of repetition and, while the discussion on pilgrims and pilgrimages is interesting, it’s not until the final paragraph that readers understand the true significance of the topic’s inclusion in this book: “English ships would not transport large numbers of passengers again until the seventeenth century, with the exception of soldiers carried for military campaigns.” (39) Chapter three provides the best demonstration of how shipwrecks serve as a device to discuss a grander topic under a unifying theme. Of all the chapters, seven provides the most information about the ship highlighted in the chapter title, although modern thoughts and opinions infiltrate the historical recounting. Chapter eight focuses specifically on the ship and the expedition, yet digresses into a discussion on the contact with and treatment of the Inuits.

Of the eight chapters included in the book, chapter five is perhaps the weakest. Much of the information provided here comes from the testimonies of seven pirates. Assumptions more than historical facts are provided to readers, and not all of the assumptions are correct. The reason that the captured pirates were transported to London in 1684 had nothing to do with authorities feeling that that city was the better place to hold their trial. The law said that all pirates had to be transported to London to face an admiralty court, and admiralty courts weren’t established in the colonies until 1701. Nor was it surprising for pirates to elude the hangman’s noose; in fact, prior to Henry Every’s capture of the Gang-i-Saway in 1695, captured pirates were rarely executed. The pirates in this chapter seem to acquire items through purchase rather than pillaging, and while pirates found that slave ships made tempting targets, they were more inclined to convert them into pirate ships than sail in consort with slavers. This chapter, by recounting the tale of three ships named Resolution and her four captains and their crews, supposedly reflects common piracy during the seventeenth and eighteenth century. This may be true during the 1600s, but there are many other pirates and their ships, some of which became shipwrecks, that would be more reflective of the golden age. Also, there were decided differences between the buccaneers of the seventeenth century and the pirates of the eighteenth. As for the inclusion of information about modern-day pirates, that information belongs in the second volume rather than being included in this chapter.

Those readers who venture within the pages of this book will find it readable and, at times, engrossing. No prior knowledge of maritime history is needed, because Friel does a commendable job entwining the necessary background information with the maritime history. Britain and the Ocean Road is perfect for anyone seeking information on English history from less common perspectives. Along the way, don’t be surprised if you discover answers to questions that you’ve not uncovered solutions to in reading other maritime texts.




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The Two Battles of Copenhagen 1801 and 1807: Britain and Denmark in the Napoleonic Wars by Gareth Glover

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A signal went up to break off the engagement, but Horatio Nelson was said to have brought his telescope up to his blind eye and claimed not to see his commander’s signal. This may be the only incident that readers are familiar with as regards these two battles. Many accounts of Nelson’s life mention the fight, but they don’t go into great depth and they often omit or gloss over what came before and after. They also recount the episode from a single perspective rather than including multiple sides of either conflict. Glover attempts to rectify this by showing the interconnecting threads in this period of history and how what transpired during the first battle impacted the second. He also shows the complexity of Anglo-Danish relations, as well as Denmark’s precarious situation as regards its neighbors and Napoleon’s aggressiveness.

During the Napoleonic Wars, Denmark managed to remain neutral despite its strategic location that provided ingress and egress to Baltic ports which supplied products vital to Britain’s shipbuilding industry. In 1799, the Russian tsar proposed that Denmark and other countries form a league of Armed Neutrality, wherein the members would fight to stay impartial. The Danes were set to be the “front line” of defense for this alliance, but they weren’t keen on being in this position. Britain saw the policy as a subtle shift and wished to safeguard their supply source since the Royal Navy was a key component in the fight against Napoleon’s territorial expansion.

To that end, a fleet was assembled, and Vice Admiral Sir Hyde Parker was placed in command of the Royal Navy’s Baltic Fleet. The problem with this proved twofold: Parker was sixty-one at the time and, being recently wed, was more interested in his eighteen-year-old wife than in preparing the fleet for departure. His second-in-command was a rising star, Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, whose seamanship, daring, and bravery were never in question, but some thought him arrogant and his private life involved scandals. Although their working relationship seemed to jibe, Parker’s orders weren’t explicit enough. He was to take or destroy the Danish fleet, but what then? The other difficulty was that Nelson craved action, while Parker had doubts even after decisions were made and commands given.

On the flipside, the Danes’ purpose during this time was to further fortify their defenses and stall long enough for the fleets of Sweden and Russia to arrive. Although the Danish navy was well-equipped, they didn’t truly plan for it to engage in battle. After all, if they lost their ships and men, who would defend their city and country? Even the Crown Prince, Commodore Fischer, and Admiral Wleugel doubted they could win against the British, but they didn’t see they had any alternative.

The outcome of this first battle depends on which side it is viewed from, as Glover shows. Afterward, there was a brief respite in the war until the conflict was renewed in 1803. Although Denmark maintained a strict neutrality once again, the defeat of Russian forces at the Battle of Friedland (1807) left Denmark as one of only three countries on the Continent that was still trading with the British. Napoleon’s new tactic involved economic warfare, which put Denmark in a tenuous situation. The British had no intention of losing their trading partner, but the Crown Prince of Denmark refused to hand over his fleet. Another confrontation between Denmark and Britain was inevitable, and it would involve a joint operation between the Royal Navy and the Royal Army. This time, the principals would be Admiral Gambier, General Arthur Wellesley, and Danish General Peymann.

Divided into twenty-three chapters, the narrative includes black-and-white illustrations throughout with color artwork at the center. An overview is provided as is a brief recounting of what visitors will see if they go to Copenhagen today. Aside from footnotes, a bibliography, and an index, Glover provides nine appendices concerning the 1801 battle and twenty-seven for the 1807 siege of the city.

Glover’s goal in writing this history is to heal any breaches that still exist and to provide a better understanding as to why each side did what they did. He provides a clear understanding of before, during, and after each battle and incorporates eyewitness reports, such as that of a student watching the battle who found his view obscured from all the gun smoke, or the twelve-year-old who climbed a crane and reported to the crowd below what transpired, or the private who believed he could win the battle by himself. This book is for anyone who wants a clearer, well-rounded picture of what happened and why.


(This review originally appeared at Pirates & Privateers: http://www.cindyvallar.com/adultpirat...)



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The Devil to Pay by Katie Daysh

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A French frigate leads HMS Scylla and HMS Meridian on a merry chase into dangerous waters in the Caribbean. A fight ensues, Meridian runs aground, and Scylla’s captain is slain, leaving Lieutenant Arthur Courtney in a quandary. The French ship catches fire and explodes while the Meridian’s captain has called for assistance. The French may be the enemy, but there are survivors and Arthur chooses to rescue them first – a decision the other captain will not forget.

With the signing of the Treaty of Amiens the following June, the 1802 peace means it’s no longer necessary for Britain to maintain a large naval presence. The services of Scylla>, her crew, and Arthur are no longer required, so she is broken up, the men dispersed, and he goes on half-pay with nothing to do. The only bright spots in his predicament are his visits to his beloved sister, who will soon wed, and the love of his life, Hiram Nightingale, who is already married. Theirs is an affair that must be kept secret; society and the navy are not accepting of intimate relations between two men. Still, they have much to discuss, but broaching these subjects may open quagmires Arthur’s not yet willing to confront.

One evening, an agitated Mrs. Nightingale arrives at the tavern where he and Hiram dine. They are all summoned to the Admiralty in London, which does not bode well for any of them. It turns out a ship carrying two diplomats – France’s Hugo Baptiste and England’s Sir William Haywood (Hiram’s father-in-law) – has gone missing. They were to discuss a key component of the treaty that hasn’t been implemented, and news of their disappearance could topple the tenuous peace between their two nations.

Initially, Arthur hopes to lead the expedition to find the missing ship. Those hopes are dashed when Sir Rodney Bryant reveals that the commander will be his brother, Jerome Bryant – the same captain Arthur had the audacity to abandon in favor of saving the enemy when their ship caught fire and then accuse of poor seamanship. Nor does Captain Bryant want Arthur as his first lieutenant, but Arthur knows Sir William and is a friend of Hiram. Equally surprising is the discovery that Arthur will reunite with the French captain he saved. Captain Bonfils commands Fantôme, the French ship also sent to search for the missing diplomats.

As Arthur comes to terms with his present situation, which feels almost as fragile as the peace, he finds himself thinking back on the early days of his naval career and his first love. The trigger for these memories is the theft of a surgeon’s scalpel and the accusations of the ship’s master, who used to be the Lysander’s captain when she was a merchant ship. As a result, two of the ship’s crew are arrested on multiple charges, and the penalty should they be found guilty is death. The situation strikes too close to home for Arthur, and he investigates the original crime in hopes of preventing the execution. At the same time, he strives to determine what happened to the missing Loyal>, especially after Captain Bryant is severely injured and Fantôme fails to arrive at the appointed rendezvous. The critical piece of the puzzle comes from an American captain, and Sir Bryant entrusts Arthur, with his outside-the-norm thinking and experience as a tarpaulin officer, to rescue the missing before it’s too late.

Amidst some chilling and mind-boggling action, including two ships colliding during a storm and a sea fight between foes as a volcano erupts, this is a novel of introspection. Arthur has more in common with the sailors than the officers, with the have-nots than the haves like Hiram. He must find his place in the world, but time and again the past and the present collide to prevent him from achieving his goals and his dreams. The Devil to Pay is the second in the Nightingale and Courtney series. Not everyone will find the story appealing, but if you’re willing to take a chance, Daysh does not disappoint. She vividly recreates the Georgian navy and neatly melds fiction and fact to create a compelling tale that is as heart-wrenching as it is rewarding. Her characters are three-dimensional, complete with foibles and strengths we’ve all faced at some point in our lives. You may think the past has little to do with the present, but time and again, she shows that the opposite is true. And sometimes confronting that past is the only way for us to move forward.


(This review originally appeared at Pirates and Privateers: http://www.cindyvallar.com/Daysh.html...)



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