The Floating Republic: The Astonishing Story of the 1797 Naval Mutiny at the Nore & Spithead

by George Ernest Mainwaring, Bonamy Dobrée

A reconstruction of the 1797 mutiny of the English Navy over pay and conditions.

Genres: History

Paperback

First published January 1, 1937

Reviews

[James Kemp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating and thought provoking read. Drawn very heavily from the primary sources of the period it paints a picture of the events and also how the prevailing attitudes of the time shaped them. Those at the top believed (erroneously) that the mutinies were caused by foreign interference (from French Jacobins, or their English supporters). Those on board ship felt that the improvements in standards of living across the entire 18th century had left them behind, in 1797 the pay rates for seamen were the same they had been under Charles II. This was brought into stark relief by the sudden increase in the size of the navy with the war, bring on board many educated volunteers.

Life on board ship was harsh in the extreme, many officers brutal bullies who ignored the protections in the discipline regulations. Pursers sold short measures (the naval pound had 14 rather than 16 ounces) and the quality of their food was awful, not fit for human consumption - even by the laxer standards of the time. The book shows the conditions and explains why the mutinies happened, it contrasts the conduct and management of the two mutinies, both from a mutineer and an official point of view. There are lessons both on how to conduct a mutiny and on how to peacefully end one, the two adjacent mutinies clearly showing this.

I certainly felt inspired in reading the book and would strongly recommend it to both naval historians and social historians, an excellent work on a period that otherwise gets overlooked.

[Trawets · Rating 4 out of 5]

G E Manwary and Bonamy Dobree wrote this account of the 1797 Naval Mutinees at Spithead and the Nore in 1935, and their style of writing and their perspective, shortly after the Invergordon Mutiny and the General Strike, reflect this.
However their balanced approach and use of contemporary source material, from both sides of the dispute, make this still a very readable book.

[Chiefdonkey Bradey · Rating 5 out of 5]

My dad read this book - reading it, I hear his voice - I see the wooden ships on the grey water - I turn once more the fragile pages of The Hampshire Chronicle - I breath the air of Portsmouth Record Office - I feel he gentle weight of time